Small Arms

Small arms are handheld ranged weapons that can be held and operated with one hand. Various pistols are the most common type, though many types of small arms exist. Small arms require a battery or ammunition of the proper size and type to function, as shown on Table 7–3.

Anchor Pistol
Blasts from this electromagnetic pistol create a magnetic field that hampers a foe’s movement. Barathus working on Liavara developed these weapons, as the magnetic fields ensnare a target without causing it to fall—a useful feature when confronting the operators of illicit harvesting endeavors on a gas giant. Many parts of an anchor pistol are grown from living organisms, resulting in a lightweight pistol that gleams like mother-of-pearl. Voltaic anchor pistols employ typical electromagnetism, while the emergent and inductive anchor pistols use higher symmetries to produce aperiodic force. The flux anchor pistol relies on quantum-phase factors to generate extraordinarily powerful blasts.

Arc Pistol
Arc pistols fire deadly, stunning blasts of electricity at ranged targets. They have a two-pronged emitter that directs the electrical blast and a bulky chamber that holds the capacitor.

Bone Pistol
Usually crafted from bone and gristle, these pistols are prized by the Corpse Fleet and members of the Urgathoan church, but they have also been found in reaches of the galaxy untouched by Eoxian influence. The energy blasts from a bone pistol are a special blend of cold and negative energy that passes harmlessly over the nonliving. Bone pistols are commonly categorized as grave-class, crypt-class, sepulcher-class, and vault-class.

Cavitation Pistol
A series of prongs takes the place of this pistol’s barrel; firing the weapon causes a small sphere of energy to form at their center and launch forward at speed. If the wielder times the shot perfectly, the plasma sphere pulses just as it hits the target, dealing damage to nearby creatures, but most find the feat difficult to replicate consistently. A vapor cavitation pistol creates a very focused sphere, while the inertial cavitation pistol creates one that implodes on impact. Hydrodynamic and thermodynamic cavitation pistols use more complex reactions that carry significantly more destructive power.

Compliance Ray
With a wider beam than typical lasers, the compliance ray is designed for crowd control and other nonmilitary uses. Although these rays are legal for civilians to own, most models are themed to fit in with the local constabulary’s armor; the Stewards’ blue-and-gold models are common throughout the Pact Worlds. Shots from these pistols cause intense discomfort, and a hit to the eyes can cause temporary blindness. Models begin with the flash designation and increase in intensity as follows: flare, strobe, starburst, and sunspot.

Decoupler
Some manufacturers have streamlined the disintegrator pistol’s design to create a more affordable option; the result of their efforts is referred to simply as a decoupler. A decoupler is smaller and lighter than a disintegrator pistol, trading some of its outright destructive power for the ability to deal superficial pain that can leave targets shaking in their boots. In the Apostaean city of Nightarch, the ruling House Zeizerer issues decouplers to its enforcers, many of whom refer to the weapons as “facilitators.” Manufacturers typically produce bruiser, pusher, and screamer decouplers.

Dirge Pistol
The oscillating sonic waves discharged from a dirge pistol work like those fired from a dirge cannon. Raiders and hijackers prize these weapons for their effect against living targets, which can leave many valuables unharmed. Harmonic and resonant dirge pistols generate stable oscillations, while the anharmonic, parametric, and radial dirge pistols have concentric generator cylinders to produce dissonant and more harmful output.

Disintegrator Pistol
This hefty pistol has two small internal tanks that generate the energy needed to deliquesce the wielder’s targets. Disintegrator pistols come in liquidator, decimator, executioner, and eradicator models.

Dragon Pistol
A dragon pistol features a wide muzzle that is often shaped like a dragon’s maw. The weapon discharges discrete orbs of flaming petrol that can cling to targets. A wyrmling dragon pistol casts small petrol globules, while drake and wyvern dragon pistols have increased outputs. The true dragon pistol is as devastating as it is rare.

Flame Pistol
A flame pistol shoots a line of ignited petrol from its barrel. Inventive manufacturers have developed more effective versions of the classic flame pistol, resulting in the blaze, inferno, and solar flare models. Like other flame pistols, the more advanced models fire lines of ignited petrol from their barrels, but they work at higher pressure and include nanotechnology that breaks down the petrol into more volatile compounds as the weapon is fired.

Forked Pistol
Plasma builds up and arcs between the two long, notched tines of this pistol, amplifying in power as the stream travels the length of the weapon. Forked pistols are named for the number of notches in their plasma-generating forks, as each notch contributes to a more powerful blast. Pistols are typically available in 6-notch, 8-notch, 9-notch, and 10-notch models.

Graviton Pistol
Many security forces and peacekeepers employ graviton pistols, since these weapons deal no damage but instead push or pull a target. Long rods running in parallel lines form a barrel-like structure that makes such a pistol easy to identify. The available models of graviton pistols start at linear, with vector, tensor, and chiral models are able to move a target increasing distances.

Gyrojet Pistol
Gyrojet pistols fire mini-rockets that can hit with a force great enough to knock down targets. Gyrojet pistols are slightly larger than semiautomatic pistols, and they have a reinforced barrel.

Hail Pistol
A hail pistol includes a chamber behind the barrel that circulates supercooled vapor and causes it to coalesce into razor-edged shards of ice that leave foes with rime-edged bleeding wounds. Subzero, gelid, ultracold, and absolute-zero hail pistols each produce progressively larger and more jagged shards.

Handcannon
Handcannons are popular with those who want to impress or intimidate their foes through the sheer presence of their armament without having to invest in the training required to master longarms or heavy weaponry. Its oversized barrel and muzzle are somewhat precariously balanced on a one-handed grip, though most wielders use both hands to make the weapon more manageable in combat situations. The various model names of this weapon—bravado, swagger, bombast, braggadocio, and gasconade—were originally facetious references to the character of those who tend to favor them, though many users embrace the names unironically.

Handcoil
An ultraminiaturized version of the coilguns used on starships, this weapon has a short range but a powerful effect. Some of the first versions were produced by starship manufacturers and were accompanied by a promotional campaign suggesting that a starship’s crew should match the starship itself, complete with flight suits to match a given ship’s paint job. Most manufacturers still use the model classification set forth in those early campaigns: explorer, fighter, pilot, and capital handcoils.

Injector Pistol
Manufacturers worked to the specifications of xenobiologists to design and produce these firearms, which use magnetic fields to accelerate darts loaded with various substances for injection into the target. They do so far less gently than the smaller needler pistol, however, and they have become a popular tool for poisoners, slavers, and others with less scientific intentions. Medic and zoologist injector pistols are often used by xenobiologists studying unintelligent species; poacher, subjugation, and elite injector pistols are generally regarded as illicit since they more often used to target sentient species, though most markets nevertheless carry the weapons.

Ionizer
The ionizer’s beam ionizes a path to its target, which serves as a route for the ensuing electric charge. There are several different elemental ions used in constructing ionizers, with the strength of the output based on the metal used. The most common are cupric, ferric, chromic, and stannic ionizers. Generally, the weapon’s hardware is stored in two upgrade slots of a piece of armor, while a connected wand-like barrel extends from an extremity. Aballon’s anacites designed the first ionizers, but they have long since spread throughout the Pact Worlds and beyond.

Laser Pistol
The laser pistol is possibly the most common small arm used by explorers, guards, mercenaries, and traders. Laser pistols are light and reliable, yet they still deal a respectable amount of damage.

Lightning Pistol
When fired, this weapon erupts with a long, crackling bolt of electricity reminiscent of lightning. Sheet lightning pistols and ribbon lightning pistols are relatively common, but rocket and smooth-channel lightning pistols typically require a special license to carry legally.

Lens Pistol
The lenses of this laser pistol reconfigure themselves for optimal focus between every shot, resulting in a more powerfully focused laser at a slower rate of fire. Cylindrical lens pistols and lenticular lens pistols focus their lasers using specially shaped lenses, while electron lens pistols and sunglass lens pistols are made of rarer materials and incorporate fine electronics.

Needler Pistol
A favorite of assassins and battlefield medics alike, the needler pistol uses magnetic fields or pressurized gas to launch darts that inject a substance into the target. This injection gun can be fitted with cartridges containing medicine or poison.

Nightarch Needler
Popular among the drow on Apostae, this needle gun can deliver deadly poisons. The weapon is so small you gain a +2 bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to hide it on your person.

Perforator Pistol
Focused sound waves from a perforator pistol punch through objects and bodies. Drow employ perforators because the dark elves enjoy the weapon’s ability to inflict gruesome wounds, which are as effective against morale as against life and limb. Diffraction and refraction perforator pistols align and compound sound waves, while linear and phased perforator pistols are named for the internal matrices that focus wavelengths the pistols emitters generate.

Persuader
This small, brutish sidearm fires a surprisingly large globule of plasma that stretches into a rope as it travels, sometimes inflicting terrible wounds on its target. It is a perennial favorite of officers in the Veskarium; those seeking to surprise and intimidate their foes use the weapon’s reputation to their advantage. Although the first persuaders date back to the Silent War and are considered rare collectibles in the Pact Worlds, dozens of manufacturers make their own modern versions.

Plasma Pistol
Plasma pistols fire a line of ionized plasma out to a relatively short range. The plasma can continue to burn after contact.

Plasma Ring
Plasma rings are relatively flat, circular weapons with an easily grippable interior, allowing them to be used in a variety of orientations. Plasma cycles through a channel within the ring at high speeds, and a release valve allows a stream of plasma to escape in a directed jet. Single-valve plasma rings produce a small discharge, while dual-valve plasma rings have a synchronized pair of valves to produce a larger discharge. Multichannel plasma rings build plasma in a series of parallel rings that vent into a single release valve for an extremely powerful blast.

Pulsecaster Pistol
A smaller version of an arc pistol, the pulsecaster sends a lowenergy blast at its target. This blast stuns the target without dealing serious damage.

Radshot
Banned in most civilized regions of the Pact Worlds, radshots are known for the reckless amount of radiation they generate. Despite the objections of the living, radshots’ signature short barrels and bulky containment sheaths can often be seen in the markets of Eox or at the hip of a Corpse Fleet officer. They are named for the type of radiation waves they emit: electromagnetic, neutron, and rapid-decay.

Resonant Pistol
The crystalline structure inside a resonant pistol comes from the same synthetic material used in the resonant gauntlet. An electrical current can be directed through a long, conical barrel fitted with layers of the crystal, causing the material to reverberate with a devastating ultrasonic frequency. These weapons are noted for their ease of use, since they create no recoil. The only indication that these weapons have fired is a faint, high-pitched beep. Resonant pistols using a crystal lattice are more common and less expensive than those that contain a crystal matrix.

Rotating Pistol
A rotating pistol is a modern execution of an ancient design found on Earth and several other worlds. The multiple barrels on this pistol rotate while firing to dissipate heat, which allows a more powerful shot without melting the weapon. The rotating pistol’s shots deal significant damage to their target, but the weapon requires frequent reloading. Rotating pistols are available in tactical, advanced, and elite models.

Scorchgun
Common in areas where petrol’s flammability is a liability, such as in the protected jungles of Castrovel, scorchguns employ a microwave emitter to burn targets. The emitter is generally a squat cylinder positioned above the pistol’s trigger, and its adjustable output allows a wielder to deal either lethal or nonlethal damage. The original design, the microwave scorchgun, is the most widely used, and later designs focus on a specific bandwidth, with S-band, C-band, K-band, and X-band scorchguns achieving progressively more power and precision.

Semi-Auto Pistol
The semiautomatic mechanism of this pistol discharges spent cartridges and reloads fresh ones in the barrel, provided a cartridge remains in the magazine.

Shadow Pistol
Inspired by the Shadow Plane—or, some say, followers of Zon-Kuthon—a shadow pistol replicates the energy of the Plane of Shadow to momentarily separate the target from the thermodynamic energy of the universe, damaging it with the instantaneous change in temperature. With their shadowy appearance, the caliginous and sable models resemble guns cut from polished obsidian, while the more advanced tenebrous and umbral models look more like they were cut from the blackness of space.

Shellgun
A bulky weapon favored by scrappy fighters with limited resources, this oversized pistol uses scattergun shells as ammunition but creates a short-range tongue of flame. Thought to be inspired by the longer gulchgun, the shellgun is also a favorite of ysoki. Available models include the bombard shellgun, the blaze shellgun, and the fury shellgun.

Shield Projector
A shield projector is a heavy weapon that encases its target in a short-duration force field, akin to that produced by an armor upgrade. Such force fields are of limited strength, but higher-power shield projectors can create a stronger protective barrier around the target. Shield projectors see the most use among security forces assigned to protect diplomats and high-profile celebrities. Available models—from the least to most powerful— include sentry, defender, guardian, and warden shield projectors.

Shoulder Laser
This laser weapon has a smooth, curved housing and an eyelike aperture, and it can be installed in an armor upgrade slot, leaving the wielder’s hands free for other tasks. As the name implies, most users mount the eyelike aperture over one shoulder, but it can work just as easily mounted on the torso or a forearm. Many shoulder laser users are androids who integrate them into their bodies as emergency weapons. Azimuth, corona, aphelion, and perihelion shoulder lasers are available in most areas.

Sonic Pistol
Sonic pistols have a stocky barrel capped with a concave resonating chamber that amplifies and directs its sonic blast. They use high-intensity sound to shake molecules apart.

Sonic Suppressor
A sonic suppressor noiselessly creates a static energy field that absorbs and amplifies sound, focusing the captured frequencies back upon the target in a damaging burst. Drow, assassins, and other covert killers favor the weapon because no sound escapes this bubble, resulting in a silent attack and, sometimes, a soundless takedown. The suppressor’s sonic cascade can have an anomalously large initial area, which crashes in from a wider radius, absorbing sound from and damaging those nearby while brutally affecting the intended target. Most manufacturers produce four suppressor models, including the murmur, whisper, hush, and repose.

Subduer
A subduer resembles a hollow rod with internal coolant reserves, and it relies on the user’s forceful movements to spray the coolant forward. Employed primarily by kasathan security forces to prevent suspects from fleeing, subduers coat their targets in a thin layer of expelled coolants that cause temporary painful freezing of the target’s skin that deals little lasting damage. On a lucky shot, the frozen layer also interferes with the target’s ability to function. Frost and rime subduers are often employed by peacekeeping forces, while sleet and glacier subduers typically see use only by pirates or mercenary groups.

Tetrad Rings
Tetrad rings deal lighter damage than weapons of a similar class, but the device launches a bolt of force that bypasses many common defenses. The design of tetrad rings is proprietary witchwyrd technology, which makes them expensive and difficult to find. They are manufactured in only three models: tactical, advanced, and elite. All three are elaborate sets of rings covered in delicate carvings, with a wire mesh to house the battery. Advanced and elite models have finer decorations.

Wave Modulator
The frequency of a wave modulator’s output can be adjusted to either burn a target or bombard it with damaging sonic bursts. Shirrens favor these boxy pistols because of the thrill of choosing the damage type of every shot fired. Wave modulators come in numbered models.

Zero Pistol
Zero pistols have a weighted grip to balance their unusually heavy barrels. A cylindrical canister over the barrel contains and directs the coolants.