Ranged Weapons

Bolt weapons are iconic of the Imperium’s finest warriors, the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, and they carry with them an air of authority that few dare question. If they should, the weapon is capable of inflicting an utterly brutal death — one befitting any enemy of the Imperium. Bolt Weapons fire large calibre self-propelled rounds, known as bolts, filled with mass-reactive explosives capable of penetrating most armour and detonating inside their target. These lethal weapons often develop reputations and legacies of their own, with some becoming venerated relics of great warriors or momentous campaigns. Even the sight of a bolt weapon being prepared for combat is enough for some opponents to rethink their actions before facing such terrifying weaponry.

Bolt Weapons loaded with standard ammunition have the Penetrating (x) and Spread Traits — the latter a result of the exploding shrapnel released from these devastating, explosive rounds.

These weapons commonly use canisters of highly flammable Promethium as their ammunition and are popular for a variety of reasons, most notably that they can inflict fiery death upon a bunker full of foes with a single gout of purifying flame. They are also relatively easy to manufacture and operate, such that hive gangs can cobble them together from salvaged tech. For holy warriors of the Ecclesiarchy, though, flame weapons ensure heretics and other foul enemies are properly eradicated with cleansing flames. Nothing is left but charred bones as warnings of what becomes of those who face the Emperor’s Wrath.

Flame weapons usually have the Torrent (Ablaze), but always have limited magazines.

Warr's Note: I've heavily edited the traits and how they work together for this one, which hopefully comes through, but in case it's not self-evident, here's the intended effect:

• Hand Flamers and Flamers can be fired at a single target, which deals damage and inflicts Ablaze. Hand Flamers will always have the Spread trait "on" - be wary of this before making use of that Close trait.
• Hand Flamers and Flamers can opt to use their Torrent function to slap the Ablaze function on the target Zone, and everyone in it, but this will not by itself deal damage.
• Heavy Flamers, with the Blast Trait, have no single-target function - as the saying goes, they are addressed "to whom it may concern". This also over-writes the "secondary fire" part of Torrent, while keeping the "ignores cover" bit.
  

Las weapons are perhaps the most common ranged weapon in the Imperium as they are the standard weapon for untold billions of Astra Militarum troopers. They are durable, simple to manufacture and maintain, and have easily-rechargeable power packs. Each Las weapon shot emits a pulse of concentrated energy with a distinctive whip-like crack that signals the end of one of the Emperor’s foes.

Las weapons typically have large Magazines and come with the Reliable Trait.

Rite of the Enduring Light

Provided a character has access to an Imperial energy source, such as an Imperial vehicle or a hab power system, a standard las weapon magazine can be recharged without a test. In dire circumstances, however, the humble pack is designed to be recharged in a number of field- expedient ways. The most common of these is to toss a pack into a fire. This requires a Routine (+20) Tech (INT) Test to complete efficiently. It takes four hours to reload the magazine in this way, or eight if the Test was failed. On a fumble however, the charging cell is damaged, and the pack is permanently rendered useless.

Though usually short ranged, Melta weapons are powerful and can turn most armour and even the toughest of foes into molten liquids. They commonly use highly pressurised, unstable sub-molecular gases that are fired in beams of intense heat, so strong that the air itself burns to steam along the path only to be overshadowed by screams of agony. They use a focused beam of intense energy to induce sub-molecular thermal agitation in their targets, and excel at melting through the stout armour of bunkers or combat vehicles. These specifics are lost on most users, who care only that the weapons destructive capabilities are outstripped only by the targets brief screams of agony.

Melta weapons have high damage and the Rend (x) Trait, but suffer from limited range.

The secrets of Plasma weaponry are lost to most Tech-priests, and a carefully guarded secret to those who can still manufacture and repair these ancient devices. Perhaps because of this, or perhaps due to some inherent animosity in the machine spirits of such lethal relics, Plasma weapons are temperamental, difficult to manufacture, and dangerous to use. Most examples in Imperial armouries are poorly maintained, and the knowledge of their safe operation is also rare. As a result they commonly suffer from plasma leakage, usually an unpleasant annoyance, but it can occasionally cause severe burns or even catastrophic explosions.

Plasma weapons deal high damage and have the Supercharge (x) and Unstable Traits. If the weapon jams while using Supercharge, it automatically fails its Unstable Test and detonates.

While the Imperium relies heavily on energy weapons for war, the equally lethal battles in the shadows are often fought with solid projectile weaponry. Stubbers, Autoguns, and shotguns come in a variety of forms and firing modes; stub weapons alone can be seen as single-shot stub revolvers to heavy stubbers, which can only be fired in barely-controlled cascades of bullets.

Many Militarum regiments used for planetary defence favour Autoguns over Las weapons for their ease of manufacture of both the weapons and their ammunition. Enforcers across the Askellon Sector carry a shotgun on their patrols. Solid projectile weapons can also be fitted with an almost endless array of ammunition types, making the same weapon able to fill a variety of combat roles from penetrating armour to incinerating flesh.

Solid projectile weapons vary wildly in their statistics and Traits and tend to accept a wider variety of Custom Ammunition (see below).

Some weapons employ bespoke ammunition or operate in such highly specialised ways that they are rare sights on the battlefields and in the back-alleys of the Imperium.

Web weapons, often called ‘glue guns’ fire a wide net of sticky fluid which constricts and solidifies on contact — making them perfect tools for Arbites officers or bounty hunters. Webbing material is designed to dissolve in minutes or hours after use.

Meanwhile, Needle weapons project a near imperceptible beam of light, along which they project a venom-tipped needle to strike their targets with stealth and precision — ideal for espionage and assassinations. They inflict the Poisoned Condition.

Graviton weapons,  exceedingly rare relics from the Dark Age of Technology, are jealously guarded by the Adeptus Mechanicus as sacred relics, who very rarely allow one outside of their armouries. Hits from a Graviton weapon:

• Inflict the Stunned condition
• Ignore all Armour that does not come from a Force Field or Psychic Power.
• Add the Armour value of the hit location to the inflicted damage.
  

Specialised Ranged Weapons always come with unique combinations or Traits. In some cases, Characters may need to take a Forbidden Knowledge Talent in order to correctly operate such specialised weaponry.

Masters of technology before mankind first left the surface of Holy Terra, the Eldar produce equipment that far outclasses the wargear of lesser races. Be they from craftworlds or pirate fleets, dark webways or garden worlds, their equipment possesses a beauty and elegance that echoes the tragic history of their once-mighty empire.

Xenotech (Aeldari) equipment usually has the Lightweight weapon quality to compensate for the Xenotech (x) flaw. Exceptions to this rule will be called out in the weapon entry's own text. All qualities will be incorporated into the weapons' attributes.

(Warr's note: this includes the debuff to Availability and price mark-up, since IM adventures are assumed to take place within Imperial territory)

* Melee attachments on Dark Eldar weapons have the Mono-edge upgrade and count as different weapons depending on the size of the gun:

• Splinter pistol - Knife
• Shredder - Sword
• Splinter Rifle - Staff

** The Splinter Cannon is written as though it is always firing with Rapid Fire and choosing to spread fire.

Substitutions

The following ranged weapons are similar enough to their Imperial counterparts that they can be adequately represented with only the Xenotech / Lightweight modifiers.

Since the Kin and Humanity share a common technological heritage, most Votann tech can be adequately represented by taking an imperial piece of equipment and granting it the Xenotech (Votann) and Durable equipment qualities. Some common substitutions are outlined below:

Nevertheless, the Leagues of Votann have made plenty of innovations and discoveries in the millenia since their divergence.

*(Warr's Note: Forbidden - Ion technology is proscribed by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Anyone openly carrying one of these weapons suffers the full effects of Stranger in a Strange Land, overrriding the usual reduced effect that Kin and their tech recieve due to being Almost Human).

All ranged weapons require ammunition to function. Standard ammunition for a ranged weapon has an Unknown one step lower than the weapon itself, to a minimum of Common. The standard cost of purchasing one full magazine is equal to 10% of the weapon’s listed price. When you buy a weapon it comes with two magazines of standard ammunition.

In addition, some weapons can load custom ammunition. These can drastically enhance or change the functionality of a weapon — turning a normal Shotgun (Pump Action) into a flame-spitting terror or making a mere Autopistol powerful enough to pierce thick armour. These specialised ammunition types have higher costs and are less commonly available than standard loads.