Just something thats been bothering me for a while which I finally got written down.
====== Weapons of Fenspace ======
Whilst Fenspace is a land of wonders begging for exploration, the need to defend oneself is sadly also a part of it. Much like the historic ages of discovery back on Earth, danger from the wildlife means that arming yourself is a regular thing. Even more unfortunately, the wildlife is our fellow man.
===== Personal Weapons =====
Hand weapons
In the sometimes fragile environments of space habitats and vehicles, hand-to-hand combat is normally the safest proposition. In most cases people have knives on their person, mainly because their useful for many things other than stabbing people. Throwing weapons, swords, and clubs of various designs also proliferate, as do any number of Ninja weapons due to Hidden Asteroid's presence in the system, but the following are some of the more unique Fen weapons:
Denn'bok - The Minbari Fighting Pike used by The Rangers. This is a quarterstaff like weapon that compacts to a cylinder the size of an average hand. Anyone who carries one of these is assumed to be a skilled fighter, as the weapon is not as balanced as a simple staff and requires a lot of control to use effectively. Very few have been given to non-Rangers.
Shockrods - A simple device that was intended to be a safe riot control weapon, as they were designed to stun the recipient of the blow. Unfortunately they are so effective slavers use them regularly, giving then a brutal reputation.
Mono-blades - 'Wavetech blades that have a monomolecular edge. These are only produced by a few people, and only for specific highly skilled customers.
Projectile Weapons
Like hand weapons, most anything to be found in the 'Danelaw made it up the well. However, while there are no specific Fen made weapons, the use of specialist ammunition makes them more effective.
Gun Ammo - This has stabilised at mostly 9mm and .45 calibre ammunition. However to be effective against waved body armour they have a far more powerful cartridge, necessitating modification of the guns that fire them to handle recoil (along with the modification of some to WORK in vacuum). Certain types are 'banned' (read restricted as it's still possible to get them) on all stations and craft due to the damage they can do. These include the deadly hyper-penetrator rounds just hitting the space lanes.
Chemical Pellets - A rare but effective weapon (mainly because the resources used to create them are more useful elsewhere most of the time), and used in everything from arrowheads to paintballs to airsoft pellets.
Directed Energy Weapons
Of this class of weapon, only one type of handheld device exists. Commonly known as Stunners but officially called a neural disruptor, the stunner is a projective charge device. Using a combination of microwaves and sound waves to carry a charge to its target which induces a quick shock to a person's central nervous system. They are let down by the fact they can easily be defeated by grounding the charge.
===== Combat Weapons ======
Projectile Weapons
Military weapons are expensive, especially in Fenspace. Never the less, the type of weapons to be found are usually military surplus or black market. However the type of combat encountered by the military forces of the Factions is mostly close quarters, which makes the assault rifles normally used unwieldy. Carbine or bullpup weapon designs have gradually filtered into service. It wasn't until July 2013 that the fist Fen designed combat weapon was produced.
Whistler Custom Shop WX-18/Stark/Wayne International SWI-18 MPAW
Based on a prototype design Eddie of the SS White Stallion worked up with assistance from Whistler who then preceded to flesh out to a working prototype, this is the standard weapon of the Space Patrol FESWAT teams and is gradually becoming the standard assault weapon of OGJ and the armed services.
MPAW stands for Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon, and that is a good description. A mix of the IMI Tavor TAR-21, the XM-29 OICW, and M4A1, the SWI-18 is a bullpup format triple barrelled weapon.
The top-mounted longer barrel is a 460mm rifle. It is chambered for 5.56mm NATO rounds, accurate to 300m and has a rate of fire of 700-900 rounds per minute.
The middle barrel is a shortened 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun.
The third barrel is a permanent under-barrel 40mm grenade launcher based on the .
The bullpup format allows clips for both the rifle and shotgun to be loaded at the same time.
The weapon also sports a built in laser designator, red dot active sight, and an extendable 8"/20cm bayonet, along with the new PCAD rails developed for the XM-8 project.
Sidebar:
The Whistler Custom Shop is considered the best gun shop in Fenspace, mainly because of its proprietor. The shop only accepts jobs on appointment, and Whistler himself only works on the weapons of specific customers. This is because Whistler is the Chief Weapons-smith of Justice League International, and spends much of his time in the Supers Q Branch as the third in command. Whistler is generally regarded as the best Gunsmith in Fenspace, and his apprentices and employees some of the best in the business. Having a Whistler Custom Shop gun is a mark of respect, but a Whistler Special is something that could give a person BNF status.
Explosives
The use of explosives in Fenspace is typically a military matter. Given the nature of hulls in Fenspace, an explosive charge is generally necessary to penetrate them. Grenades are a mix of concussion, gas, and HEAP with some special Chemical grenades rounding them off. They are either the standard hand-held, 40mm shells, or the rare aerodynamic versions.
===== Ship Weapons =====
There are a wide variety of weapons mounted on ships and they break down in the following way.
Projectile Weapons
Generally these are coilguns in the 20mm - 100mm range. Coilguns have proven themselves as a good general purpose weapon, and have been around a while.
Lately the Railgun has been perfected. This is a weapon good for armour piercing and has a superior rapid firing ability as well as a faster muzzle velocity on 100 times the speed of sound. The most effective calibre currently is the 20mm round.
Currently in prototyping is the Rail Cannon, a weapon using a 155mm round weighing 5Kg with a projected muzzle velocity of 1 PSL (Percent of the Speed of Light).
Directed Energy Weapons
By far the most common of these is the Laser. Useful for many things, it wasn't long before their use as weapons became viable.
Electromagnetic Pulse Guns have proven a difficult proposition, leading mainly to various Maser devices. As a side effect, most vessels have been shielded against this due to its obvious practicality.
Particle Beams are still only a theoretical weapon, requiring power and hardtech equipment that Fenspace can't access at the moment.
Missiles, Bombs, and Mines
As it stands, most missiles are vacuum adapted versions of those found in the 'Danelaw. Only Stellvia has access to pure space designs, and these use specialist warheads (specifically Kaboomite, but rumours of other high level warheads exist).
Bombs and Mines and fairly simple, although Mines in particular have limited range and usefulness. Bombs are rarely use, as they're only good against (relatively) static targets.
====== Weapons of Fenspace ======
Whilst Fenspace is a land of wonders begging for exploration, the need to defend oneself is sadly also a part of it. Much like the historic ages of discovery back on Earth, danger from the wildlife means that arming yourself is a regular thing. Even more unfortunately, the wildlife is our fellow man.
===== Personal Weapons =====
Hand weapons
In the sometimes fragile environments of space habitats and vehicles, hand-to-hand combat is normally the safest proposition. In most cases people have knives on their person, mainly because their useful for many things other than stabbing people. Throwing weapons, swords, and clubs of various designs also proliferate, as do any number of Ninja weapons due to Hidden Asteroid's presence in the system, but the following are some of the more unique Fen weapons:
Denn'bok - The Minbari Fighting Pike used by The Rangers. This is a quarterstaff like weapon that compacts to a cylinder the size of an average hand. Anyone who carries one of these is assumed to be a skilled fighter, as the weapon is not as balanced as a simple staff and requires a lot of control to use effectively. Very few have been given to non-Rangers.
Shockrods - A simple device that was intended to be a safe riot control weapon, as they were designed to stun the recipient of the blow. Unfortunately they are so effective slavers use them regularly, giving then a brutal reputation.
Mono-blades - 'Wavetech blades that have a monomolecular edge. These are only produced by a few people, and only for specific highly skilled customers.
Projectile Weapons
Like hand weapons, most anything to be found in the 'Danelaw made it up the well. However, while there are no specific Fen made weapons, the use of specialist ammunition makes them more effective.
Gun Ammo - This has stabilised at mostly 9mm and .45 calibre ammunition. However to be effective against waved body armour they have a far more powerful cartridge, necessitating modification of the guns that fire them to handle recoil (along with the modification of some to WORK in vacuum). Certain types are 'banned' (read restricted as it's still possible to get them) on all stations and craft due to the damage they can do. These include the deadly hyper-penetrator rounds just hitting the space lanes.
Chemical Pellets - A rare but effective weapon (mainly because the resources used to create them are more useful elsewhere most of the time), and used in everything from arrowheads to paintballs to airsoft pellets.
Directed Energy Weapons
Of this class of weapon, only one type of handheld device exists. Commonly known as Stunners but officially called a neural disruptor, the stunner is a projective charge device. Using a combination of microwaves and sound waves to carry a charge to its target which induces a quick shock to a person's central nervous system. They are let down by the fact they can easily be defeated by grounding the charge.
===== Combat Weapons ======
Projectile Weapons
Military weapons are expensive, especially in Fenspace. Never the less, the type of weapons to be found are usually military surplus or black market. However the type of combat encountered by the military forces of the Factions is mostly close quarters, which makes the assault rifles normally used unwieldy. Carbine or bullpup weapon designs have gradually filtered into service. It wasn't until July 2013 that the fist Fen designed combat weapon was produced.
Whistler Custom Shop WX-18/Stark/Wayne International SWI-18 MPAW
Based on a prototype design Eddie of the SS White Stallion worked up with assistance from Whistler who then preceded to flesh out to a working prototype, this is the standard weapon of the Space Patrol FESWAT teams and is gradually becoming the standard assault weapon of OGJ and the armed services.
MPAW stands for Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon, and that is a good description. A mix of the IMI Tavor TAR-21, the XM-29 OICW, and M4A1, the SWI-18 is a bullpup format triple barrelled weapon.
The top-mounted longer barrel is a 460mm rifle. It is chambered for 5.56mm NATO rounds, accurate to 300m and has a rate of fire of 700-900 rounds per minute.
The middle barrel is a shortened 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun.
The third barrel is a permanent under-barrel 40mm grenade launcher based on the .
The bullpup format allows clips for both the rifle and shotgun to be loaded at the same time.
The weapon also sports a built in laser designator, red dot active sight, and an extendable 8"/20cm bayonet, along with the new PCAD rails developed for the XM-8 project.
Sidebar:
The Whistler Custom Shop is considered the best gun shop in Fenspace, mainly because of its proprietor. The shop only accepts jobs on appointment, and Whistler himself only works on the weapons of specific customers. This is because Whistler is the Chief Weapons-smith of Justice League International, and spends much of his time in the Supers Q Branch as the third in command. Whistler is generally regarded as the best Gunsmith in Fenspace, and his apprentices and employees some of the best in the business. Having a Whistler Custom Shop gun is a mark of respect, but a Whistler Special is something that could give a person BNF status.
Explosives
The use of explosives in Fenspace is typically a military matter. Given the nature of hulls in Fenspace, an explosive charge is generally necessary to penetrate them. Grenades are a mix of concussion, gas, and HEAP with some special Chemical grenades rounding them off. They are either the standard hand-held, 40mm shells, or the rare aerodynamic versions.
===== Ship Weapons =====
There are a wide variety of weapons mounted on ships and they break down in the following way.
Projectile Weapons
Generally these are coilguns in the 20mm - 100mm range. Coilguns have proven themselves as a good general purpose weapon, and have been around a while.
Lately the Railgun has been perfected. This is a weapon good for armour piercing and has a superior rapid firing ability as well as a faster muzzle velocity on 100 times the speed of sound. The most effective calibre currently is the 20mm round.
Currently in prototyping is the Rail Cannon, a weapon using a 155mm round weighing 5Kg with a projected muzzle velocity of 1 PSL (Percent of the Speed of Light).
Directed Energy Weapons
By far the most common of these is the Laser. Useful for many things, it wasn't long before their use as weapons became viable.
Electromagnetic Pulse Guns have proven a difficult proposition, leading mainly to various Maser devices. As a side effect, most vessels have been shielded against this due to its obvious practicality.
Particle Beams are still only a theoretical weapon, requiring power and hardtech equipment that Fenspace can't access at the moment.
Missiles, Bombs, and Mines
As it stands, most missiles are vacuum adapted versions of those found in the 'Danelaw. Only Stellvia has access to pure space designs, and these use specialist warheads (specifically Kaboomite, but rumours of other high level warheads exist).
Bombs and Mines and fairly simple, although Mines in particular have limited range and usefulness. Bombs are rarely use, as they're only good against (relatively) static targets.