Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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So, am I the only one who feels like Paizo really missed an opportunity with broadcast power? If they had just made all ultra tech items dependent on broadcast power, they would have given themselves a really good reason why ultra tech doesn't spread outside Numeria, and then the pfs people who really resent ultratech in their "fantasy"* setting could just avoid scenarios set in Numeria, and not worry about getting a dragon shot out from under them by a lazer rifle.
*I would have said Golarian is more of a kitchen sink pulp setting, but some people are really convinced it is Tolkien fantasy.
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Like a tesla coil. You have an antenna that doesn't transmit radio waves, but actual electricity. it works (somewhat) but apparently that much juice has side effects (it made cows stop giving milk for one thing)
If something like that were required for numerian devices and it was relatively immobile (like a crashed ship) it would mean that once you left numeria the broadcast powered laser pistols would stop working.
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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Old, old trope from gamma world, brought across in the tech rules (which to my reading look very gamma world inspired, from the color coded security devices, to the fire arms being ranked mark II etc.
think the grown up Sci fi version of the inductive charger that lets you set your cell phone on a pad and let it charge without having to plug anything in. (if you have the right cell phone.)
it is in the tech rules in the prd, but they left it as a optional replacement for battery power, rather than a core requirement.
they could have even left all the rules intact, and just provided broadcast power receivers, and no batteries, and then ruled that timeworn devices lose their charges between scenarios.
but frankly, "rechargeable" blasters that can only fire x shots, then wait to recharge are every bit as much a trope as blasters powered by battery packs.
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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Lot of blaster variants out there.
Deathstalker has crystals that take a minute between charges, turning most fights into an opening volley of shots followed by melee.|
David Drake has chemical lasers as I recall that use a chemical reaction in a disposable chamber
Paizo has recharging blasters, at least as long as you have a power reciever and a generator in range. (the recharging is instant unless you are firing faster than the generator can power you, in which case you are limited to the generators speed.)
Eve online all of a ships weapons pretty much run off a capacitor which recharges from the ships generator.
Starwars had recharging blasters
Pretty much how blasters works has more to do with the needs of the author than any fixed way.