Wednesday, May 13, 2015

134. Dart Guns

A specialized tool as much as a weapon, dart guns are still found in the service of animal handlers, shepherds, and  assassins. Dart guns are relatively under-powered, with a steep ballistic arc, so smartgun systems are commonly used to cope. The wide range of drugs, nanoswarms, toxins and chemicals that can be injected keep dart guns useful.

A kinetic firearm firing a capsule round would seem to be objectively better in many ways, but a dart gun still has a few advantages. They are less inherently dangerous, and so most polities do not restrict them as rigidly as with firearms (although many payloads will have their own restrictions). They are lighter and smaller than most rifles, and are often able to be disassembled for easy carrying.
Pneumatic versions can be repressurized with a hand crank, and low-powered rail variants can similarly be charged by hand.

Mechanics

Dart guns use the kinetic weapons skill [Moderate]

Dart Gun [Moderate] DV: * DV Average: * AP: *
Ranges: Short 0 - 30 Medium 31 - 80 Long 81 - 125 Extreme 126 - 230

* The injection darts fired by dart guns do negligible damage. If a called shot to bypass armor is made, however, the dart's payload is injected into the target.

Accushot and homing darts are commonly used but no other types of ammunition are applicable.

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