Pistols: A long time staple of self defence, the pistol remains a common weapon in the Cosmic Era. Despite the widespread bans and restrictions on civilian owned weapons, the pistol is a relatively easy to obtain weapon, and is the most common firearm found.
Rifles: A generic term now given to any long gun that is not a shotgun, rifles remain very common weapons in security corporations and very obviously in military operations. Rifles are rarely found in private civilian ownership, and they are never found in Arcologies, seacologies or other enclosed spaces.
Shotguns: Shotguns are noted for being large bore and firing plastic cased scatter or cluster rounds. They are close range weapons, and while capable of large amounts of damage, they are not known for their penetration. Shotguns can fire solid slug rounds, but these, while potent, reveal the basic inaccuracy of the shotgun design.
Other Firearms: Not all types of potential weapons are covered, but this is an attempt to cover a few of the more salient weapons that don't fit into the above categories.
In the Cosmic Era, explosives are very tightly controlled items, as the amount of damage and social panic they can cause in the enclosed environments of the arcologies and other megastructures is impressive. These items are rare even in the hands of legitimate military personnel and even paramilitary forces working in arcos and built up areas have to walk through tons of red tape for even the most mundane explosive device.
Hand Grenades
Hand Grenades are the pull the pin and toss type of weapon and come in a variety of types. The most common are concussion, shrapnel, and flashbang. Flashbangs are the most common in use by paramilitary forces and generally are the only such devices legal in an urban environment. Second and third world militaries and terrorist forces still use hand grenades, and improvised hand grenades.
Plasma and EMP grenades explode in a blast of high energy which can cause very high damage in a small location, start fires, and play havoc with electronic systems. If used near a CogNet node, this can cause a local outage. These weapons were made to take out androids and combat robots.
Gas Grenades exist, but are considered a backwards and barbaric weapon, and are strongly associated with Petroleum Era dictatorships and the liberal use of these weapons during the collapse of that era's federal superstates.
Conventional Explosives
Conventional explosives like dynamite and C4 are uncommon as there is seldom use for these now primitive weapons. They are also of limited use against the modern armors of the cosmic era. C4 and its Cosmic Era contempary H16 are used in shaped charges, demolition work, and in the anti-mech satchel charges used by elite infantry to take down the massive war machines.
Plasma Detonator
The Plasma Detonator is a high energy explosive device built for the purpose of creating a small amount of highly localized damage and a large EMP. These large and heavy explosive devices are mainly used by Terrorist and militant sects to eliminate or disrupt the high tech devices often used by the New Earth Governments. plasma detonators are also effective for disrupting robot and android systems.
Thermal Detonator
The original thermal detonators, or thermobaric weapons used large amounts of explosive fuel the create massive explosions, on par with pocket nukes. The modern thermal detonator is much less powerful than these archaic devices, but can be carried by infantrymen now, instead of bombers. The thermal detonator uses arcanotechnology to create a fireball capable of slagging metal, shattering stone, and starting wildfires with ease.
Frost Bomb
The Frost Bomb is a recent addition. Mixing cryo and arcanotechnology, the frost bomb causes a massive drop in temperature when it goes off. The sudden shock will cause water vapor to momentarily condense in the air, and then quickly 'ice' surfaces around it. Some frost bombs will have small amounts of water inside of them to supply the icing agent in dry conditions. While the actual detonation isn't much more than a flashbang, the rapid temp change can damage sensitive electronics, cause momentary brittleness in metal, and the ice that is left behind can present a terrain hazard. Used underwater, this creates a large starburst chunk of ice. Some marine forces are experimenting with cryotech warheads, but this is a new area of development.
Storm Detonator
The Storm Detonator is a lightning bomb that is based out of arcanotech. The weapon when it detonates creates a very strongly charged cloud of particles that arc for a fraction of a second before fizzling out. Metal and conductive objects in the area of effect are hit with multiple electrical arcs and suffer from heat damage, and the other negative effects of being hit by lightning. Small storm grenades are good for taking out bunkers and enclosed spaces. Shells fit for grenade launchers are mainly used for anti-droid and anti-power armor purposes. The Eurasian Alliance has developed an air dropped Storm Detonator that has proven effective for taking out large numbers of droids and causing black outs in grid supported regions as opposed to arco-centralized utility networks.
Armor-Buster
Body Armor is important in a setting as innately dangerous as the Cosmic Era. There are all sorts of weapons ranging from exotic to the truly strange and some foes can bite rip and shred and have things like acid and poison attacks.
Encounter suits are light body armor and are common in layered and composite armor suits. As a fabric, this reflexokinetic material is good for stopping injury sustained by falls, impact damage from fist and non powered martial arts and general concussion weapons. Most Encounter suits are able to stop conventional and civilian firearms.
Standard Light Ablative Ballistic or SLAB armor is very common armor made of Ferro-plastic materials. This basic style of armor is piece built and worn like medieval armor. The armor ranges in quality from rent a cop to storm trooper grade. This armor is low cost and low maintenance, making it popular. SLAB is typically worn over either a padded under suit or encounter suit.
Powered Armor is a signature piece of gear in the Cosmic Era.
Light Power Armor is commonly used by police and security forces and provides protection superior to SLAB type armors, but has no integral equipment or weapons. It is commonly paired with a helmet that sports comm equipment and visual enhancement.
Hardsuits are commercial grade power armors that used in hazardous situations, such as mining or the operation of a foundry. They have no weaponry, but can be surprisingly strong, and very durable.
Standard Power Armor has good protection, and has basic equipment mounted to it, communications, sensor systems, and other non-combat gear. Weapons must be carried, and none are integral to the armor system. This allows for versatile use of modular weapons, and for a suit to equip multiple systems to use as the need arises.
Mobile Armor Suits are 50% larger than the standard power armor suit, and rather than being worn, the pilot sits cramped inside the torso with the arms and legs being entirely mechanical. Mobile Armor Suits are typically used as heavy support units for power armor platoons. Being larger and stronger, these machines equip the larger scale support weapons that conventional power armor cannot equip. Their armor is little better than standard.
Heavy Power Armors emphasize protection over mobility and firepower and can be very tough. Heavy armor is rare outside of defensive or specialized roles, and most heavy armor suits are older designs that have hung around because of basically how tough they are.
Aerial Power Armor is expensive and thusly rare. It is cheaper to equip a larger number of jet and jump pack infantry troopers, or more effective to deploy standard aerospace fighters. Aerial power armors do remain in use for stealth, recon, and boarding actions against aerial warships and other craft.
Aquatic versions of the above armors (especially the light, standard, and aerial (hydrojet)
Space versons of the above armors.
Items (Equipment Listing) (Campaign Defining)
Primitive Melee Weapons:
Swords, axes, clubs and spears are readily available weapons that have been around since the invention of war and hunting. These weapons are restricted property inside Arcologies and constitute a misdemeanor level offense. In the urban sprawl, especially the favelas and geofront undercities, these weapons are common among street level criminals. They are cheap, easy, and hard to trace if discarded.
Non-Lethal Melee Weapons:
Tasers and Electro-Stunning Weaponry is common equipment in Arcology law enforcement arsenals. It is also a common form of personal defense, and these small handheld devices are typically able to knock down or knock out an unarmored opponent. They are of limited use against augmented humans, armored opponents, and contrary to popular media, not very effective against droids and machines.
Nausea Inducing Weapons, specifically the 'Sick Stick' is a variant on the stun baton used by crowd dispersing police forces. Rather than causes a stun reaction, the Sick Stick can cause vomiting, bowel movements, and other temporary but disabling bodily functions. While a rioter might not be afraid of being knocked out, puking all over themselves while crapping their pants is much more deterring.
Advanced Melee Weapons:
The Hyperedge Blade hasn't been around for a long time, but it in the short time it has been around, it has made a name for itself. A hypertech device, the Hyperedge blade is a heavy sword with a power pack. The blade generates a vibration/energy field along its cutting edge, allowing it to cut easily through most materials. These weapons are heavy and bulky, requiring either augmented strength, or a power armor suit to use with any degree of skill. As the blade can hack through advanced armors, tanks, and so forth, it is really an overkill to use it against unarmored targets. Hyperedge blades can be made into the form of swords, spears, and axes, so long as there is a cutting edge involved.
Lightning Claws are a variation of the hyperedge blade. Rather than one large blade, there are two or more small blades, generally in the 12" to 18" range. These 'claws' are typically attached to a gauntlet, bracer or glove, Wolverine style and have the same effect and function as a regular hyperedge blade. As they are smaller, and the bulk can be moved to a backpack or waist position without having a power cable dangling, they are more common than the Swords. Lightning Claws are hot items on the Black Market.
Tesla Fist: the Tesla Fist is technically a ranged weapon, but it has a very short range, and it isn't so much aimed as it is swung. The Fist is a steel ball attached to the end of a gauntlet or bracer. The ball is a powerful electrical generator fueled by a vest or backpack battery pack. The fist 'throws' lightning bolts that cause electrical burns, and can easily kill an unarmored ungrounded foe. Tesla Fists are also good for damaging robots and power suits. They are as mentioned, not very controllable, and when the trigger is pulled, the energy discharged will sometimes go where the user wants it to, but sometimes it won't.
Siege Hammer: A siege hammer is just what it says, typically these weapons are forged out of high density materials for a smaller but very heavy head. Siege hammers are used by power armor soldiers, and some high end cyborg and genetic augments. These weapons are effective at destroying barriers and structures and can also be put to use in melee combat against infantry and power armor soldiers. Unlike the hyperedge blade, these massive hammers are of very limited value against armored vehicles and mecha.
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