Sniper Weapons

Sniper weapons are handheld, long-ranged weapons that must be held and operated with two hands. They are similar to long arms, but they are designed to emphasize range and accuracy, even if this requires some sacrifice in damage potential. Sniper weapons require a battery or ammunition of the proper size and type to function, as shown on Table 7–6.

Assassin Rifle
When assembled, an assassin rifle looks similar to a typical sniper rifle. Its modular construction, however, allows it to be broken down into small component parts that can be hidden on the user’s person—or even smuggled in a ysoki’s cheek pouches—making the weapon difficult to detect or identify. Assassin rifles are available in stalker, shadow, phantom, spectre, and wraith models.

Coil Rifle
A coil rifle is a long, slender firearm surrounded by a coil that generates carefully aligned magnetic fields that accelerate a single round with impressive power and accuracy. Precision coil rifles are the most affordable of these weapons, while specialist coil rifles have greater range and efficacy. Rangefinder, saboteur, and assassin coil rifles are especially deadly weapons that are appreciated by true connoisseurs, veteran mercenaries, and experienced firearm specialists.

Focus Rifle
This elongated laser rifle contains additional lenses that further focus its output, creating a powerful beam that can punch through many substances at ranges far greater than those of a typical laser rifle. Dual, triple, and quad focus rifles use increasing numbers of focusing lenses, intensifying the laser but compounding the price. A compound focus rifle’s lenses are specially made of a rare form of glass, creating the most powerful output currently possible for such weapons.

Gamma Rifle
Gamma rifles direct concentrated bursts of gamma radiation that are strong enough to overcome normal environmental protections, burning targets from a distance, though users of such weapons risk exposure to that very radiation. Many find that the destructive effects of the ray are sufficient to outweigh the risk, and targets can even be subject to radiation sickness when struck in a vital organ. Terrestrial gamma rifles and ionizing gamma rifles feed energy through a mass of radioactive material in the muzzle to produce their deadly effects. Fusion and synchrotron gamma rifles instead produce radiation in a torus near the rifle’s stock, making them far more powerful, though still dangerous to the user.

Multistage Rifle
The multistage rifle requires mini-rocket ammunition, which it detonates in multiple stages. The initial firing of the weapon is a subsonic round that’s boosted by one or more subsequent, stronger discharges some distance from the user. This results in two effects that aid in obfuscating the user’s position: the sound of the weapon firing is displaced, and the later stages can cause subtle changes in direction, creating an impact angle that suggests the mini-rocket had been fired from a different angle. Dual and dual-plus multistage rifles use a two-stage firing process, while triple and triple-plus multistage rifles employ a three-stage process for added range. The quad multistage rifle is the only weapon on the market with an unrivaled four-stage firing process for maximum damage.

Nanite Rifle
Nanite rifles can fire nanotech-infused darts at targets from extreme ranges. Although the darts deal little damage, the nanites eat into the target immediately and can cause grievous injuries. Nanites from tactical models target the site where they land, while an advanced rifle’s nanites can spread farther within the target. An elite rifle allows its nanites to move even farther from the point struck, dealing more damage.

Plasma Guide
A plasma guide maintains a magnetic guidance system around its plasma discharge, which continues guiding the shot after it is fired. This increases accuracy at ranges far beyond those of typical plasma weapons and bypasses the advantage of partial cover as the magnetic guidance directs the plasma toward its target. Vesk snipers are believed to be the earliest users of the plasma guide during the Silent War, but it’s become a standard in many military and mercenary arsenals since then. This weapon has been continually refined since its invention; series-21, series-28, series-37, series-42, series-62, and series-73 plasma guides have proven generally stable and thus remain in production.

Shirren-Eye Rifle
Shirren-eye rifles are named for their compound sights, which resemble the eyes of the insectile race, but are rarely manufactured by shirren companies. Shirren-eye rifles are extremely accurate and favored by snipers and sharpshooters.

Shobhad Horizon Striker
Refined from traditional shobhad designs stretching back to long before the Gap, a horizon striker has remarkable range.

Wraith-Sting Rifle
Wraith-sting rifles fire darts that are loaded with an injectable substance. The low velocity and slim profile of these darts mean the target often remains unaware of the initial attack. Once the effects of the injected substance take hold, however, it is usually easy to identify the delivery method. These insidious weapons are said to be a favorite of reptoid assassins, but as with any information on that race, the veracity of this rumor is suspect. Ironically, this weapon’s models are named after stinging insects: yellow jacket, wasp, and hornet.