Weapons

In the world of the forty-first millenium, there are as many different kinds of weapons as there are people to make them. Different patterns can be found on hive and forge worlds, and some planets use primitive arms such as muskets or even spears.

Phalanx Weapons
Though the Phalaxians use simple arms such as autoguns and shotguns, these weapons are loaded with overpowered ammunition, designed to bring down orks and other such large threats. They take quite a bit of time to master, but the damage they wreak is worth the drilling. Phalaxians love loading manstopper rounds into their weapons to pierce ork hides, but most of these guns are bored for standard Imperial bullets.

MA37 Autogun: the staple weapon of the Phalaxian PDF, the MA37 uses large caliber bullets in a wide magazine, increasing the weight of the gun compared to other autoguns but packing more punch. All MA37s are issued with a bayonet attached in the lugs, and it is advised not to remove it due to orks' love of close quarters combat. The MA37 relies on a special ammunition to work, however, and using other bullets will cause the gun to lose effectiveness and possibly jam. These bullets, the P118 FMJ AP (Full-Metal Jacket Armor-Piercing) are designed to fire at low velocity to cause the most damage, and are shaped to penetrate body armor. It has a moderate rate of fire from a forty-round magazine, counting more for stopping power than number of rounds fired.

MC4 Stub Automatic: the new Phalaxian PDF sidearm to replace the standard autopistol, the MC4 is cheap and inexpensive, a must have for the PDF, but as an added bonus, it is also an incredibly light, fast and suprisingly effective weapon. It's unique bullets, the P229 SAP HP (Semi-Armor Piercing Hollow-Point) are specially designed to pack more punch than the autopistol as well as greater effect against armor. While some will note that it's not that much different from a stub automatic, the MC4 carries twelve of these rounds, and each of these is capable of defeating light armor without losing kinetic energy. However, as astounding as these rounds are against human targets, their effectiveness against orks is still limited, and the MC4 should only be used in the most desperate of situations.

Scorpion Grenade Launcher : a simple weapon, this launcher is a staple weapon on Phalanx, found in special weapons troopers’ hands. It’s single barrel might at first give it a disadvantage when compared to the standard issue Imperial grenade launcher, but the Scorpion’s longer range, short reload time, lighter weight and simple jam-free mechanism make this weapon a good choice to carry around.

Marksman Rifle: made for the intense close-quarters fighting that would occur in the Phalaxian hives, the marksman rifle is a cut down sniper weapon, made to provide long range support but still be easily portable. With a smaller caliber and semi-automatic action the marksman rifle is a specialist weapon rather than a heavy one like a sniper rifle, and these guns are often found with infantry squads instead of in small teams like snipers. The ten round magazine reloads about the same, but the ability to quickly move from place to place with regular infantry makes the marksman rifle a unique piece of arsenal.



Light Stubber: though the name may seem misleading, the light stubber is a semi-heavy weapon and of smaller caliber and weight than the heavy stubber, making it man-portable to lay down fire support for the squad. Classified a Phalanx special weapon, the light stubber carries a large, one-hundred round magazine and is made to keep an enemy in cover to let squad mates advance or retreat.

Quad Shotgun: another weapon unique to Phalanx, the quad shotgun is sometimes used by the PDF and Imperial Guard in close quarters combat. While it has half the ammunition of a pump-action shotgun, the quad shotgun is more versatile with its ability to fire one or two barrels at once. A specially made fire selector can be purchased for this gun, giving the ability to fire all four barrels at once, but risking injury to the shooter. The quad shotgun is also famous for a special shell the Phalaxians have developed, the Doorbuster. Made to blast down locked doors and even thin walls, the doorbuster, when loaded into a quad, can have devastating effects on whoever is also on the other side.

Tracker Missile: a crown jewel among the Phalaxians, the single-use tracker missile uses a unique lock-on technology (sanctioned by the Adeptus Mechanicus of course) to acquire a target and follow it once the missile is launched. The thrusters then turn the missile to track its target and the armor-piercing warhead can make short work of practically any armor, but is useless against infantry thanks to its small blast radius. Best of all, this launcher is lightweight, and can be thrown aside after firing, as they are cheap and easy for Phalanx to make. This weapon is mostly used by the PDF on Phalanx, as Imperial Guard regiments will burn through these very quickly and have few left.

Auxiliary Shotgun: a weapon attachment, the aux shotgun can be clipped underneath the barrel of a basic weapon and used in case of a jam, expenditure of the clip or if the range is too short to try and get a better shot with the weapon it is attached to. Though very short ranged and only containing four shells, the aux shotgun can turn a long range weapon into a close-ranged one as well.

CS191 "Thrasher" Shotgun: set to take the place of the antiquated Quad Shotgun, the Thrasher shotgun was designed specifically to counter orks with its heavy triple-ought (000) amputator shells. This weapon weighs the same as a Mk. II Lawbringer Imperial pattern, but the ammunition has been decreased to five of the fat shells. The gun is also very solid, and can wreak havoc on an enemy at point blank range. It's main attribute over other pump-action shotguns, designed with human limits in mind and made to take down creatures of just as much toughness, is the immense stopping power and enormous pellets in each shell. This weapon has not yet been released to civilians on Phalanx, who still commonly use the Quad Shotgun instead, or to other worlds aside from the Imperial Guard.



Force Weapons
Upgrade (Force): Upgrades allowing standard ranged weapons to channel psychic powers are rarely seen and less often used by up-standing members of the inquisition as technically speaking the process for making one has yet to be sanctioned. The prime reason for the delay thus far has of course been the Mechanicus, secondly the Ministorums fear of illegal 'mass' production leading to over powered rebels. Both the weapon and the ammunition are re-worked using similar psycho-reactive materials as are used in force swords and staves, yet the initial pattern of the weapon itself does not change. Therefore the (Force) quality counts as an add-on.

Example: Bolt Pistol (Force)

Class: Pistol

Range: 30m

RoF: S/2/-

Dam: 1D10+5+PR E

Pen: 4+PR

Clip: 8

Rld: Full

Special: Reliable, Tearing

Wt: 3.5kg

Cost: 50,000

Availability: Near Unique

PR = Psy-Rating: if the user has a psy-rating of 3 the weapons damage becomes 1D10+8 E Pen 7

In adddition to normal Damage the psycher may, as a free action, channel psychic force and killing will into the projectile. Treat this effect as a power with a Threshold 6. (Overbleed: For every 5 points over the TH, add +10 to the Ballistic Skill Test to hit.) On a hit the Psycher and the victim make opposed Willpower Tests. For every degree of success, the force weapons wielder deals an additional 1D10 points of damage that iognore armour and toughness.

To determine the cost of a Force upgrade, simply times the cost of the original weapon by 200.

Scintilla Weapons
The Protectorate Army of Scintilla, the PDF of the sector capital, is an elite organization, possessing their own patterns of equipment. They pass these along to their Imperial Guard regiments, and are built to take Imperial ammunition and powercells.

Tarsis Pattern Lasgun: the Army prefers to use a pattern of lasgun modified to their own liking, using a heavy wood stock and solid, thick furniture as opposed to other Imperial patterns like the Kantreal, Catachan or Cadian models. The weapon also uses a unique set of magnetic coils and firing lense, restricting the weapon to single shot only, but adding some penetrative power. This does not increase the damage the Tarsis pattern causes, but focuses the laser to more easily cut through armor like flak and even light carapace. The ammo capacity is halved from a standard power pack. The Tarsis is commonly issued with an auxiliary grenade launcher clipped under the barrel.

Redclaw Revolver: the Redclaw is a weapon straight out of Gunmetal City. A large caliber revolver, the Redclaw is built for magnum bullets, and packs as much punch as most handcannons with the revolver's reliability. The Army has taken to it fondly for it's ability to keep firing in any situation, outclassing all other sidearms with its' man-stopping power and fast, double-action trigger. Most Redclaws found in Army holsters are loaded with dumdum rounds, a popular choice to increase the gun's already high power. It's flat bullets, however, are less than effective against substantial body armor.

Sibellus 238 Combat Shotgun: the 238 was made by the Enforcers of Sibellus with crowd control in mind. The twin barrels are quite intimidating enough, but the semi-automatic nature of the weapon makes this gun a fast-firing suppressor weapon. Fed shells by a ten-round magazine, the shooter can maintain a high rate of fire, switching clips and continuing to fire with all abandon. The second barrel is a bolt round, firing the high-explosive shells at armored targets. Thanks to the nature of all aspects of the weapon, the gun can be loaded with any number of specialty shells.



Common Weapons
Some weapons are just so popular across the Imperium that seeing one is nothing anyone will turn their heads at. These guns and blades are produced in such magnitude that they sell for the cheapest prices ever. Any military or paramilitary group should be at least familiar with the weapons below.



Mark II "Lawbringer" Pattern Arbites Shotgun: one of the more popular weapons to keep around, the Lawbringer is standard issue to the Adeptus Arbites, and can be found on practically any planet in the Imperium. Holding eight rounds of buckshot shells, the Lawbringer has stopping power to spare, and the choke ensures that many targets can be hit with a single shot at the right range. The Lawbringer is dependable, and will only jam under the worst conditions. The weapon can also, like most shotguns, take many different kinds of specialty ammunition, though the Arbites prefer to use modified Navy Amputator fragmentation shells.





Mark III Mars Pattern Lasgun: standard issue for many Imperial Guard regiments across the Imperium since M.36, the blocky Mk. III is a remarkably robust and easy to use weapon. Legendarily able to stand up to any amount of abuse, and keep firing, the "Guardsman's Friend" as the Uplifting Primer calls its, is respected over more powerful shoulder arms for its practicality and extreme reliability in almost any condition. The Mars pattern is produced in great numbers on Scintilla and Malfi and is the standard armament of most Calixian Guard regiments. The foregrip is easily replaceable with other auxiliery weapons.







Cadian Pattern Lasgun: the staple for most lasguns across the Imperium, the Cadian pattern lasgun is used by the Cadian Shock Troops, the best Imperial Guardsmen in the galaxy. As such, the fortress world ships out millions of these weapons every year, sent to planets to be used by other Guardsmen and PDF regiments. There have been several other variants based off the Cadian pattern, but most people can recognize this grandaddy of all lasguns from the appearance.





Specialty Weapons
Some armaments, be they firearm or blade, are specially made for specific purposes such as infiltration or harsh environments. However, some arms companies and weaponsmiths will secretly engage in more clandestine operations, producing guns and swords for professional soldiers, assassins, hitmen, mercenaries and powerful criminal groups. These weapons are of exceptional quality, and are often ordered with customization options to fit the user specifically.

KAV556 "Panther": though there is a large gap in usefullness between hard round stubbers and energy-powered lasguns, there is indeed a niche in between where high quality bullet weapons are made. The Kosovo Arms Foundation, for example, produces the Panther autogun, an advanced automatic rifle that is accurate, lightweight and reliable. High-end mercenaries and rogue traders in the Calixis Sector find the Panther to be a good favorite if they are in need of fine quality stub weapons, for the Panther will almost never jam, and its simplistic mechanism makes it easy to maintain. One rogue trader had his entire crew of armsmen trade out their shotguns and use the Panther as the standard assault weapon, and fought off several boarding actions with these guns.

KAV 556C "Cub": the "young brother" to the Panther, the Cub is another Kosovo Arms assault weapon of exceptional quality, built specifically for secret operatives. As such, this gun does not show up on the official weapons list, as it's components, as well as the customer usually asking for these, break several regulations. The Cub is made especially for assassins and black ops teams, though a few hive mafias have been known to "acquire" a few. The Cub is essentially a cut down version of the Panther, with a shorter barrel, smaller magazine and a folding skeletal stock. However, these give it several advantages, chief among them being compactibility. With such a small size, the Cub is easy to conceal under a cloak or in a rucksack or suitcase. It can also be easily fired one handed, making quick shots possible. The Cub comes with a red-dot sight straight off the factory floor as well as the removable stock.

KASP21 "Diamondback": the Diamondback is the Kosovo Arms Foundation's greatest secret. Produced carefully by hand so the bulk of workers do not know of its existence, the Diamondback is an assassin's weapon, built to fulfill just such a purpose from the ground up. The barrel is a permanent silencer, the gun itself built out of plastics to fool security scanners. The pistol is lightweight, fast-firing and compact, easy to hide in a pocket or a belt. Though the ammo capacity may seem small, one or two shots are usally only ever needed thanks to the sharp flachette-like rounds it fires, ripping through flesh like nothing else. Diamondbacks are completely against Imperial law, and anyone found with one by the authorities will be hauled in for questioning on the spot. Curiously, though a few samples have been collected and traced back to Kosovo, no action has been taken against the company.

KAMGL-08 "Cayuse": originally a prototype for the Scintillan Protectorate Army, this grenade launcher was overlooked in favor of the standard Voss Pattern grenade launcher. However, Kosovo Arms was not dissuaded, and slowly and quietly began spreading these new guns among hive gangs and mercenary groups. The results have been overwhelmingly favourable, and for a group to possess a Cayuse is a mark of success, that the gang is not only wealthy but also well respected and good in a fight. The Cayuse works like a pump-action shotgun, rapidly sliding the next grenade in the tube into position. The Cayuse also has special "frag shells" that have a wider blast range than hand grenades, as well as the ability to be launched further from any grenade launcher.

Melee Weapons (Rare and Common)
Much as mankind has advanced, blades are still a popular way to kill people, almost as much as guns. They are silent, easily concealable and, so long as you keep them clean and sharp, will almost always outlive their owners. Some assassin cults and crusader houses eschew firearms of any kind for the clean, clear elegance of blades, though this is sometimes not always true. The chainsword, for example, is one of the messiest melee weapons ever invented, made to terrorize the enemy as much as kill them.

Combat Hatchet: as orks love to go into hand-to-hand combat, the Phalaxian PDF decided that combat knives, as short and ineffective against ork flesh as they are, were a poor choice. Instead, knives were relegated to bayonets, and their role was replaced by the combat hatchet. Lightweight and made of hammered steel, the combat hatchet is as much a tool as a weapon, and has the power behind it to split even the stoutest of ork skulls when held by a strong arm. It's blade is also mono-edged, so it is more effective against armor.