289. Pulse Gun

The gun produces a brief but intense broad-spectrum electromagnetic pulse, powerful enough to cause burns on flesh in addition to playing havoc with electronics. Very little transhuman tech is actually vulnerable to EMPs, but radio signals and nanobots are inherently open to these attacks. The pulse is focused into a tight 10° arc in front of the weapon, with the power of the pulse falling off according to the inverse-square law. 

Pulse guns are banned in many habitats due to their special capacity for indiscriminate destruction of people and equipment. They also have an unfortunate tendency to burn themselves out with their own pulse.

Mechanics

Pulse guns are wielded with the Spray Weapons skill.

Pulse Gun [High] DV:  * Average: * AP: * Firing Modes: SS Ammo: 1
Ranges: Short 0 - 10 Medium 11 - 30 Long 31 - 70 Extreme 71 - 150

*Effect depends on range. At extreme ranges the pulse disrupts radio signals. At long ranges the pulse also does 2d10 + 5 damage against nanoswarms, and inflicts a -10 modifier to all tests. At medium ranges it acts as a microwave agonizer. At short ranges it acts as a microwave agonizer set to roast.

On a critical failure, the pulse gun has burned itself out, and can no longer be used.

284. Cybernetic Jewelry

Mesh inserts offer unparalleled convenience and immediacy, but it still doesn't always seem worth it when neurosurgery is required. Their functionality can be replicated with worn accessories: ectos replicate their most important functions, and can be combined glasses and earbuds for AR.. Among bioconservatives who forgo even implants, it has become fashionable to disguise these items as jewelry. Biomonitors often take the form of necklaces, arm-bands or bracelets. Earbuds can be built into earrings or ear cuffs. Glasses are fashionable despite everyone's perfect eyesight, and contact lenses with unusual colors and patterns are also popular.

278. Plate Beetles

Plate beetles (actually engineered primarily from ticks) are large saucer-shaped arachnids with massive carapaces and very little else. They are limbless and immobile, consisting of a hypostome for sucking blood and a pocket of tissue feeding on that blood and maintaining their exoskeleton, which makes up over 90% of their mass. Placed on bare skin, a plate beetle will anchor itself (usually with the aid of non-toxic glue) and begin sucking blood. Attached, the beetles act as a form of ablative plate, absorbing damage.

Mechanics

Plate beetles are armor [Low]

They provide 6/6 armor, reduced by 1/1 for each hit.

272. Mars Wagon

Made obsolescent by new buggy designs, but too useful to die out, Mars wagons have been present for almost as long as Mars has been a permanent colony. Their design is simple and robust, virtually fail-proof and possessing strong self-repair capabilities in the form of a dedicated repair hive. Magrails will get there smoothly, rocket buggies get there faster, but a wagon always gets there.

Nomadic rednecks attach special habitat trailers to their wagons and live on the road, pulling two or more cargo trailers behind them to form road trains. Often they travel in convoys, for mutual protection, and are not usually averse to some casual smuggling. Barsoomians also use wagons, indistinguishable from commercial trucks, to smuggle people and heavy weapons.

Wagons use an older, tougher, but less efficient model of smart wheel, allowing for speeds of 90 kph on roads, 65 kph on relatively flat terrain, and up to 40 kph on jagged and rocky terrain. The cab seats 6, or 2 plus 2 cots and a maker. The life support system of the cab can provide a breathable atmosphere for six people for 64 hours. The heavier and more sophisticated gear used by habitat trailers can work indefinitely, however, provided it is supplied with a kilogram of water-ice per person per week.

Mechanics

Mars Wagons are vehicles [High]

Passenger Capacity 6 Handling - Movement Rate 6/24 Max Velocity 40/70/100 Armor 30/20 Durability 180 Wound Threshold 36

265. The Good, the Bad, and the Name Brand Weapons

Open Source "Rosie"

Rosies were not designed, but born of desperation. The first was created as part of a desperate fight for survival against an exsurgent monster aboard an Earth-Moon shuttle during the Fall. Rosies are made from heavy rivet guns, with a linear motor attached to the end. Rivets fired by the gun are given extra speed by the linear motor, up to ballistically useful velocities.

Rosie [Low] DV: 2d10 + 6 DV Average: 17 AP: -7 Firing Modes: SS Ammo: 1
Ranges: Short 0 - 15 Medium 16 - 50 Long 51 - 90 Extreme 91 - 120

Improvised "Electrochucks"

Wielding one electrode in each hand, an arc welder can be turned into a deadly, if awkward weapon. Almost as dangerous to wield as it is to fall victim to, electrochucks are used in gladiatorial entertainment or desperation. With capacitors on a belt or in a backpack, simultaneously touching both electrodes to a target causes a massive flow of electricity, often fatal, as well as severe electrical burns.

 Electrochucks [Low] DV: 4d10 DV + Shock Average: 21 AP: 0 Ammo: 1

Omnicor "Sprinkler"

Research into industrial tools, high-energy physics and materials science often suggests weaponized spin-offs. Omnicor is an energy and materials-science oriented company, and has no established arms division, usually selling these ideas to companies like Direct Action or Gorgon Limited. One of the few exceptions is the sprinkler, a design that was simple and cheap enough to be worth manufacturing themselves. The sprinkler holds lead, heated just enough to be a liquid, which is then sprayed through a powerful electromagnetic field which accelerates and further heats the stream.

Sprinkler [Moderate] DV: * Average: * AP: * Firing Modes: SA Ammo: 20
Ranges: Short 0 - 5 Medium 6 - 15 Long 16 - 30 Extreme 31 - 50
*As liquid thermite.

253. For a Few Name Brand Weapons More

Open Source "Pipe Rifle"

Pipe rifles are designed to be made from common materials (such as pipes) and do not require any nanotech or fabrication. With the right materials, a strong enough synth can even make one by hand. Their simplicity of design also makes them unfailingly reliable, and virtually indestructible. Of course, there are significant drawbacks: the rifle can load only one shot at a time, and the barrel and firing mechanism are both sub-par. Although the Planetary Consortium will occasionally seed memes promoting fear of pipe rifles and similar improvised weapons, relating them to fears of anarchist assassins, most of them are used by desperate criminals.

Pipe Rifle [Trivial] DV: 2d10 + 6 DV Average: 16 AP: -6 Firing Modes: SS Ammo: 1
Ranges: Short 0 - 100 Medium 101 - 200 Long 201 - 300 Extreme 301 - 400

Go-Nin "ForeArm"

Designed for discrete security, and presumably for Go-Nin special agents and operatives, the ForeArm hides a rail smg inside a mundane prosthesis. The arm is opaque to most wavelengths, but if viewed with t-rays or x-rays a -30 perception check or relevant knowledge check can identify it as a weapon. When activated, the wrist straightens and locks and the hand splits between the index and middle fingers, revealing the end of the barrel from inside what was the palm. The gun is designed for situations of surprise or desperation, and must be partially disassembled to be reloaded.

ForeArm [High] Treat as a rail smg.

Direct Action "HMG-15"

The HMG-15 is the descendant of an Indian National Arms product, designed to meet the threats of an ever-more mechanized battlefield. The railgun fires a heavy flechette, with superior armor-penetration at the cost of a mild reduction in damage potential and rate of fire. Direct Action picked up the patent during the Fall, and still mounts the gun on many of their vehicles.

HMG-15 [High] DV:  2d10 + 6 DV Average: 16 AP: -15 Firing Modes: FA Ammo: 50
Ranges: Short 0 - 200 Medium 101 - 500 Long 501 - 1200 Extreme 1201 - 2401

251. Skin-Suits

Solemn is one of the most habitable exoplanets discovered, but it is not without its environmental hazards. in particular, temperatures ranging from freezing to literally boiling. As part of the Solemn Initiative, Argonaut work-groups have designed a biological alternative to hazmat, vacc, and combat suits. Skin-suits are all those in one package, but have yet to catch on.

Skin-suits not only replace combat armor, but act as environmental protection against dangerous gasses, non-breathable atmospheres, high and low temperatures, and allow for digestion of a greater array of foods. In fact, the suit effectively takes over a number of the body's tasks, using a feeding tube, breathing mask, catheter, colostomy, and associated recycling systems.

The suit designers have done their best to shy away from biohorror. From a distance the suit looks like tight leather with protective sports gear. Looking closer, however, reveals that the "leather" is a living hide, and that the helmet, knee pads and other extra protection is chitin, melded into the hide. The face is minimal, as early attempts to maintain a human face fell deep into the uncanny valley. Instead, the mouth is almost invisible when closed and the ears and nose are simply small openings. They eyes are large, blank and reflective, looking like insectoid sunglasses.

Mechanics

Skin-suits are armor [Expensive]

A skin-suit provides 11/11 armor (equivalent to carapace armor, stacks with bioweave), as well as purifying air to human-tolerances (equivalent to enhanced respiration), providing improved insulation (equivalent to temperature tolerance) and expanded options for sustenance (equivalent to digestive symbiotes).

The primary variant is designed for vacuum (with vacuum sealing and oxygen reserves). Medichines are also common, as the suit can be healed just like a morph, but requires a special variety, and does not benefit from the medichines of the morph wearing it.

245. A Fistful of Brand Name Weapons

Heckler, Koch & Browning "Longarm"

Sometime in the pre-Fall era, a team of gunsmiths took stock of materials science and firearms design and realized it might now be possible to build a usable rifle-caliber handgun. As would be expected, their final design is unusually large, with a magazine located in front of the trigger, much like on the Mauser C96.

Longarm [Moderate] DV:  2d10 + 6 DV Average: 17 AP: -6 Firing Modes: SA Ammo: 10
Ranges: Short 0 - 10 Medium 11 - 35 Long 36 - 60 Extreme 61 - 80

Direct Action "Wild Thing"

The "Wild Thing" was developed in response to the proliferation of synths on the battlefield. It fires small flechettes, sacrificing damage-per-shot for armor piercing potential and compensating with a high rate of fire. The gun resembles a futuristic tommy gun, with a cylindrical magazine in front of the trigger and behind a foregrip. Both railed and kinetic varients are available

Wild Thing [Moderate] DV:  2d10 DV Average: 11 AP: -12 Firing Modes: BF, FA Ammo: 50*
Ranges: Short 0 - 30 Medium 31 - 80 Long 81 - 125 Extreme 126 - 230
*Compatible with AP ammo only, already incorporated into stats.

Fa Jing "Duality"

Fa Jing has venutred into the small-arms market only a few times, and while their designs have not proven popular, they have been interesting. The "Duality" is named for its two barrels, one on top of the other, feeding from two magazines, similarly stacked and loaded into the left side of the firearm. The weapon fires two rounds simultaneously, increasing damage, as well as allowing for two types of ammunition to be used at once.

Duality [Expensive] DV:  2d10 + 10 DV Average: 21 AP: -12 Firing Modes: BF Ammo: 2x10
Ranges: Short 0 - 180 Medium 181 - 400 Long 401 - 1100 Extreme 1101 - 2300

228. Magnetar

Magnetically sheathed batons, popularly dubbed magnetars, do not look like they might slice through a steel beam. They resemble swords, but with the blade replaced by a cylinder of dark metal somewhat resembling rebar, and with a cable emerging from the bottom of the handle, attached to a battery usually worn on the hip. When turned on, the "blade" is surrounded by a magnetic field, limited in range but immensely powerful. The field causes magnetic materials, such as iron, to deform and rapidly heat, allowing the magnetar to melt through. Against other materials, of course, the blade has little to no effect.

While anyone would expect a magnetar to be useless against biomorphs, they are not useful against synths a often as might be expected. Transhumanity uses less and less materials like iron and steel, and more and more nanotech built exotics, designed to be inert in all ways except those a design calls for. You are more likely to see a magnetar being used as an industrial tool than as as a weapon.

Mechanics

Magnetar [Moderate] mechanics depend on whether it is being used against a ferromagnetic material

Against magnetic substances, magnetars are wielded with the Blades skill.

DV: 3d10 + (SOM / 10)  Average: 15 + (SOM / 10) AP: -5

Against non-magnetic substances, magnetars are wielded with the Clubs skill.

DV: 1d10 + (SOM / 10) Average: 5 + (SOM / 10) AP: -

215. Ticklers

The societies of the solar system are far too divided and opposed to agree on a new Geneva convention to ban inhumane practices in wartime, but if they did, ticklers would probably be on them. They are rarely lethal, although they deal make horrendous wounds. Ticklers were designed to be weapons of fear, or failing that, distraction. Not many people can engage effectively in combat with a tickler on them.

Ticklers are small robots about the size of a human palm, with a spider-like body designed to maximize the effectiveness of grip pads. They attach themselves to their targets, digging out furrows and cavities, spraying the material out their backs. Damage is dealt too slowly to be a threat in and of itself, although bleeding can quickly become a problem for those without medchines. They come in the form of single-use launchers, which cannot be reloaded. The launchers use springs, which are cheap, but not very powerful.

Mechanics

Tickler launchers are single-use, and use medium pistol ranges

Tickler Launcher [Moderate, including tickler] DV: - Average: - AP: - Ranges: Short 1 - 10 Medium 11- 20 Long 21 - 30 Extreme 31 - 40

Ticklers are both robots, and a type of ammo.

Movement Rate: 4/12 Max Velocity: 12 Armor: 2/2 Durability: 25 Wound Threshold: 5

Mobility System: Walker

Enhancements: Access Jacks, Extra Limbs (4), Fractal Digits, Grip Pads

200. Supercavitating Rounds

Supercavitating rounds are a smart ammo option for kinetic weapons using the principles of supercavitation to give ballistic rounds usable ranges and velocities underwater. Caps fitted to the tips of bullets vent stores of pressurized gas, eliminating most contact between the round and the water, allowing bullets to reach almost their usual speeds. They can at times be difficult to procure, as the Hidden Concern does their best to corrupt or delete the blueprints.

Mechanics

Supercavitating rounds are smart ammo [Low]

Supercavitating rounds cannot be combined with other ammo types.

163. Cluster Missiles

In their continued effort to expand the utility of seeker weapons, Ares Munitions has recently put a model of "cluster missile" on the market. The missiles contain other, smaller missiles, ready to burst out and engage separate targets. They market these new missiles as a way to effectively engage groups or overwhelm point defense. A standard missile can hold 2 mini or 4 micro seekers, and a mini-missile can hold 2 micro seekers.

Cluster missiles obviously put out more warheads per shot than a single missile, but the difference is usually not so large as to be worth the increased expense. In practice. the primary use of cluster missiles has been to increase range: a standard missile has a maximum range of 10km, a mini of 3km and a micro of 2km, so a standard missile can be used to carry clusters to far targets, at which point it breaks apart and the mini or micro seekers attack as usual.

Mechanics

Cluster missiles are [High, plus contained missiles]

155. Auto-Bombs

Autonomous explosive vehicles (usually called auto-bombs) are purpose built suicide-bombers, saucer-like drones containing charges equivalent to mini-grenades.

Auto-bombs are often used as screens for other units, engaging an enemy before they have the chance to attack, and quite effectively ruining many ambushes. Unlike seekers they can remain in flight for extended periods of time and recharge when necessary, making it possible to have them patrol a perimeter, lay an ambush, or go on extended search-and-destroy missions. Their more advanced AIs are capable of adhering to complex rules of engagement, from "HEAPs should only target vehicles" to "do not kill or injure anyone not visibly armed".

The ionic propulsion systems of most models are slower than the rockets used by seekers, making them much easier targets for point-defense systems. They are also, however, much less obvious, and stealth variants can bypass defenses that would quickly acquire a bright, loud rocket.

Mechanics

Auto-Bombs are robots [Low plus payload]

Movement Rate: 8/40 Max Velocity: 80 Armor: 2/2 Durability: 25 Wound Threshold: 5         Mobility System: Ionic

Enhancements: 360 Degree Vision, Access Jacks, Enhanced Vision, Radar

A stealth variant adds chameleon coating and signature reduction [Moderate plus payload]

154. Smart Seekers

Seekers have many advantages. As homing missiles, they are very accurate, different warheads allow for a great deal of flexibility, and they have the longest range of any small-arm, but there is always room for improvement.

Seekers can take best advantage of their range and homing abilities over flat landscapes, but much of transhumanity live in cluster, beehive and otherwise dense, built-up areas their guidance systems struggle with. Additionally, taking advantage of a seeker's full range often requires spotters,

Smart seekers link the missiles to an AI more powerful than any that could be run on a warhead. The AI can guide the missile through complicated, confined spaces as well as choose and prioritize targets on its own. Smart seeker AIs, however, must be run on a launcher-mounted computer. A constant link is required between warhead and AI, something that can be potentially exploited by hackers.

Mechanics

Smart seeker AIs are software [Moderate]

The software adds a +10 modifier to the attack test, but requires a constant connection with the missile, providing an opportunity for hackers.

152. Reflexive Seeker Point Defense

Reflexive seeker point defense systems (RSPD) counter one of the most prolific and dangerous weapon systems in the post-Fall era: seekers. The system fights fire with fire by intercepting incoming seekers with micro-seekers of its own, loaded with HE to cause the destruction or premature detonation of the incoming warhead.

The launcher is typically mounted on one of the shoulders, with one set of sensors mounted on the launcher, and the other on the opposite shoulder in order to ensure 360° coverage. When an incoming seeker is detected, the micro-seekers pop forwards, adjusting themselves with internal gyros, then rocket towards their target. Note that the system has a tendency to produce collateral damage if the intercepted warhead is explosive.

Mechanics

RSPDs can be installed as an armor or robotic enhancement [Moderate]

The system uses an AI with Seeker Weapons 40, on a successful roll, the incoming missile has been intercepted. The detonation of intercepted warheads can cause collateral damage at the GM's discretion.

146. Long-Guns

Long-guns are the current pinnacle of specialized sniper gear. Railguns with nine meter barrels, designed to take shots from many kilometers away, they fire special flechettes: darts a meter long.

Kilometer range shots present a number of problems to the shooter. Primarily, even the highest velocity projectiles will have at least several seconds of flight time, greatly limiting their use against moving targets. Additionally, the longer the flight time, the more the projectile will be influenced by wind. Long-guns almost always use homing rounds to overcome these problems, and come with special optics and smartgun systems suited to guiding rounds towards moving targets from greater than usual distances.

There are other problems. Each shot exhausts large capacitors and coolant tanks, making them resource hungry. Long-guns can be disassembled for transportation, but even then are hardly man-portable, breaking into five ~25kg pieces. They are therefore only used for shots that can be planned well in advance, or are built into fortifications. Many military bases have camouflaged bunkers set kilometers away, positioned to fire on attackers from unexpected angles.

Several military contractors and hypercorps are designing vehicles that will serve as long-gun platforms. A mobile driving or flying long-gun would be very difficult to defend against, as it will have re-positioned by the time any shot can be traced back.

Mechanics

Long-guns are wielded with the Kinetic Weapons or Gunnery skills.

Long-Gun [Expensive] DV: 3d10 + 10 DV Average: 26 AP: -25
Ranges: Short 1km Medium 5km Long 10km Extreme 15km

All long-gun ammo is armor-piercing (effects incorporated into stats) and homing.

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.

132. Frames

Exosuits are designed to give biomorphs access to the advantages of synths. Yet frames, open-source modular exosuits designed for synth wearers, are also growing in popularity. Why design a robot for another robot to wear when you could simply sleeve into it?

Sleeving into a suit as a morph is the best options, giving the greatest degree and depth of control, but  it is not without its downsides. Sleeving takes specialized equipment, and time spent resleeving before and after every mission adds up. Puppeting is also insufficiency, as controlling a suit from a distance introduces latency problems. Frames can allow you to live in a civilian combat morph,while rapidly gaining the abilities of a specialized combat morph when needed.

Other than its requirement for synth wearers, the big draw of frames is their potential for customization. The basic frame is a scaffold attaching to the synth, with longer limbs and a cyberbrain port for direct control. On its own it is underwhelming, but large numbers of modules are available.

Mechanics

The basic framework, including extended limbs and a cyberbrain port for direct control, gives a morph the Increased Size trait and +5 SOM. [High]

Armor plating, bolted to the framework, is equivalent to light body armor, adding 10/10 to armor. (Armor modifications can be added as with any armor) [Moderate]

A back-piece with extendable wings and a thrust-vector system for extended gliding, or maneuvering in zero-g [Moderate]

Weapons can be mounted, usually on the wrists or over the shoulder, allowing the wearer to carry multiple weapons at the ready without encumbrance [Low + weapon cost]

A sensor suite with the capabilities of a 360° pair of specs can be easily incorporated and piped into the wearers sensorium [Moderate]

Most cyberware and robotic enhancements can be used as modules, at the GM's discretion.

125. Kinetics in Vacuum

Anyone using firearms in space must deal with one major problem: heat. Guns on Earth can rely on the convection of the atmosphere to transfer heat from their weapon. In space, a barrel can cool itself only through thermal radiation, which does not radiate heat fast enough for sustained fire. Heat buildup can weaken or deform the barrel, is dangerous to the user, and makes users obvious targets in infrared. Present-day designs use meta-materials to handle or radiate large amounts of heat, or even convert it to electricity, but older designs can still be found in use throughout the system.

The Hydra line of late 21st century firearms solved the heat problem by using multiple barrels. Their primary product uses typical intermediate rifle rounds but is bulkier due to its three barrels and Gatling gun mechanism. Despite its three barrels, overall rate of fire is kept low. The heat increase of each barrel is thus a third what it would otherwise be. Sustained use can still eventually build up dangerous amounts of heat, however.

The Drunkard line of rifles and machine-guns uses liquid cooling, surrounding its single barrel with a water-tight cylinder which can be flooded. The liquid rapidly absorbs heat from the barrel. The system was originally paired with a proprietary fluid, but can work with almost any fluid, so usually water is used. The reservoir of coolant also acts as a reservoir of heat, greatly increasing the amount of heat that the gun can generate before problems occur.

Mechanics

All of these guns are considered kinetic firearms. The GM may rule that they cannot accept smart ammo or take full advantage of smartgun systems if they wish to emphasize their obsolete designs.

108. Atlatl

The eternal race between criminals, seeking to bypass fabber restrictions, and security, updating them, has led to a surge in the popularity of "throwbacks," ancient and simple weapon designs. The simplicity of these designs makes them difficult to restrict without also restricting many simple objects.

The atlatl used by many criminals and gangs is a post-singularity update on one of humanities oldest weapons. The atlatl adds leverage to a human throw, allowing for projectile speeds upwards of 150 km/h. Typical designs are the approximate length of a forearm, throwing darts several meters long. When possible, they are made from smart materials that will store energy and redistribute their weight to further amplify the strength of its wielder. A strong morph, using a good design can achieve speeds of upwards of 300 km/h.

While the atlatl itself is a small, simple object easily overlooked by restriction software, the darts can be quite large and are easily recognized as weapons. Some designs are modified to throw small objects such as rocks or grenades.

Mechanics

Atlatls are wielded with the Exotic Ranged Weapon: [Atlatl] skill.

Atlatl [Trivial] DV: 1d10 + 2 + (SOM / 10)* DV Average: 7 + (SOM / 10)* AP: SOM / 10* Ranges: Short SOM, Medium SOM / 2 * 10 Long SOM / 5 * 10 Extreme SOM * 10

* or as grenade.