New Weaponry

The following creations are designed for Rifts^R, though they could certainly be altered to work in another game genre.

Most of the following were created by Brett Hegr. E-mail him below

Weapon List:

Vibro-Spike, created by Brett Hegr
Vibro-Disc,
Vibro-Disc Handgun,
Vibro-Disc Rifle,
Vibro-Disc Assassin's Rifle,
Multiple Use Anti-Personnel Mine,
Naruni^tm Shock Glove,
Northern Gun^tm Lion Paw,
Wilk's Lightsaber,
Coaliton Alpha Vibro-Sword,
Wellington Industries^tm Multi-Strike Axe,
Wellington Industries^tm Powered Nunchaku,
Wellington Industries^tm Micro-Missile Gun,

Vibro-Spike

A vibro-spike is a small rod about a foot in length (can be extended to a foot and a half) with one sharp point. Each spike has 8 M.D.C.^tm It can be used as a weapon, but this is usually not it's purpose. Scores of these spikes can be used to create mega-damage^tm traps. They are used as the Punji sticks in a Punji stick trap, but their cost tends to restrict them to use by well funded mercenary bands. To offset the cost of production, a trap maker commonly combines vibro-spikes and wooden or metal S.D.C.^tm spikes. The vibro-spikes come with a small trigger that spreads and retracts three rows of small teeth. This gives the benefit of easy use - just hollow out a hole for the spike and extend the teeth so that it is locked in place.

Weight: 1 lb
Mega-Damage^tm: 1d6
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee
Black Market Cost: 5000 credits for one, 50,000 for a dozen, or 100,000 for a set of 30.

Vibro-Disc

Vibro-discs are a favorite weapon among modern ninja, assasins, Crazies, and adventurers who go for the fast and silent weapon. The discs themselves are made of a tough, yet wafer-thin metal shaped into a circle one inch in diameter. The hand-held charging unit uses a standard E-Clip to temporarily charge the discs, making them resonate at mega-damage^tm intensity. The discs are then thrown and do a small amount of mega-damage^tm. The charge is not permanent, and fades within 1d4+1 minutes of being powered up. The discs also shatter on impact, imbedding metal fragments into flesh and stone alike. Any sort of roll to administer medical treatment is -5%, because the fragments need to be removed before the patient can properly heal.

Weight: Negligible
Damage: 3d4x10 S.D.C.^tm, or 1 M.D.^tm point to M.D.C.^tm structures when thrown.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Thrown about 50 ft for a normal human, 100 ft for extraordinary strength, and 200 ft for supernatural creatures (plus one foot per P.S. point).
Payload: The charging/carrying unit can store 30 discs.
Black Market Cost: 50 credits each, or 30 for 1400 credits. The special charging and carrying unit costs 2000 credits, and can charge 1000 discs on one E-Clip before needing a recharge.

Vibro-Disc Handgun

This is a small, palm size pistol that is very popular among assassins and travelling merchants. It weighs very little and acts like a miniature rail gun, spewing vibro-discs at speeds of nearly 60 mph from a small electromagnetic track.

Weight: 1 lb
Damage: 3d6x10 S.D.C.^tm, or 1 M.D.^tm point to M.D.C.^tm structures per single shot. A rapid burst of 3 discs does 1d4x100 S.D.C.^tm damage.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: 400 ft
Payload: A disc tube holds 60 discs and costs 100 credits (empty of discs). One is included with every purchase of a handgun. A refill of discs costs 2500 credits. A standard E-Clip will power the handgun for 1000 shots, or roughly three to four months of consistent use. If used as a main weapon, the E-Clip has to be recharged once a month.
Black Market Cost: 5000 credits

Vibro-Disc Rifle

Essentially, this is a rifle version of the pistol. The longer electromagnetic track gives the rifle more range, while the increased payload and burst capacity give it greater damage capability. The weapon is shunned by most mercenaries as a poor man's rail gun, but terrorists and theives have found it to be useful in their line of work.

Weight: 4 lbs
Damage: 4d4x10 S.D.C.^tm, or 1 M.D.^tm point to M.D.C.^tm structures per single shot. A rapid burst of 3 discs does 1d4+1 M.D.^tm, while a burst of 10 does 3d4+4 M.D.^tm to one target or 1d4 M.D.^tm to 2d4 targets in a 10ft area.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: 600 ft
Payload: A disc tube holds 60 discs and costs 100 credits (empty of discs), and the gun can draw on up to three at a time. Three disc tubes are included with every purchase of a handgun. A refill of discs costs 2500 credits per tube. A standard E-Clip will power the handgun for 1000 shots, or roughly one or two months of consistent use. If used as a main weapon, the E-Clip has to be recharged every couple of weeks.
Black Market Cost: 7000 credits

Vibro-Disc Assassin's Rifle

An even longer electromagnetic track gives the assassin's rifle much more range without sacrificing damage capability. It has a burst capacity slightly different from the previous rifle, as it is designed to handle augmented humans as well as normal humans. The benefit of using the disc rifle as an assassin's weapon is that the discs are difficult to see. A laser beam can be traced back to it's point of origin, but a series of vibro-discs can seemingly come out of nowhere (a perception roll of 18 is required to view the general area of the attacker's location). The shattering effect of the vibro-discs also makes it more difficult to determine the angle of entry (-15% on the forensics skill).

Weight: 5 lbs
Damage: 4d4x10 S.D.C.^tm, or 1 M.D.^tm point to M.D.C.^tm structures per single shot. A rapid burst of 5 discs does 1d4+2 M.D.^tm
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: 1200 ft
Payload: A disc tube holds 60 discs and costs 100 credits (empty of discs). One is included with every purchase of a handgun. A refill of discs costs 2500 credits. A standard E-Clip will power the handgun for 1000 shots, or roughly three to four months of consistent use. If used as a main weapon, the E-Clip has to be recharged once a month.
Black Market Cost: 8000 credits

M.U.A.P. Mine

The Multiple Use Anti-Personnel Mine is a pre-Rifts^tm weapon system recently recovered by the black market. Lots of companies have copied the weapon system to the point where it is commonplace and pretty standardized. The "mooapp," as it is commonly called, is a cylinder about the size of a coffee can with a plasma bulb attached to the top of it. Inside the cylinder, six standard E-Clips can be placed to power it. The entire thing seals up into a tight little package that can be buried and attached to a pressure plate or tripwire (either one costs a mere 200 credits and can be reused), or jury-rigged by an Armorer or Weapons Engineer with some other trigger. When activated, the plasma bulb emits an area effect blast of energy. One soldier in a group can blunder into the device and set off a blast that harms the whole group. Best of all, the device resets after one melee attack and can pulse again to damage the group all over again if set off. Victims suffer knockdown - the loss of one attack and initiative.

Mooapps can be used anywhere that mines can be. They are also common in pit traps and as a sabotage device inside vehicles ("Wait! Don't sit in that ch...FIZZAPPFFH!!!") Even better, they can be linked together to pulse in tandem and/or all fire when one of several triggers is activated. Each mooapp only intensifies the damage done. Since they run off of E-Clips, the power source is easy to replace. Detecting a mooapp that has already fired is done at only a -5% penalty, unless someone took care enough to camouflage it again. Each unit comes with a small combination sensor, power readout, pulse trigger, and on/off switch. It only has a 30ft range, so it is a good idea to have a good idea of where the thing is placed. The sensors have a range of 1000 frequencies, so there is little chance of successfully using a sensor from one unit to detect and turn off another unit. A communications expert with electrical engineering skills could probably rig a general sensing device.

Weight: 8 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: 4d6 on the light setting, or 1d4x10 on the heavy one.
Rate of Fire: Can pulse once every other melee attack.
Effective Range: 15ft radius on the light setting, 10ft radius on the heavy one.
Payload: One heavy pulse or two light pulses per fully charged E-Clip in the clip rack.
Black Market Cost: 10,000 credits (E-Clips not included).

NE-M18 Shock Glove

The Naruni^tm have also noticed the lack of mega-damage^tm melee weapons, and have entered the market. They are using Earth as a test market for the first new weapon they have released in over a decade. The shock glove creates a light electrical field that enables a wearer with normal strength to deliver a powerful (1 M.D.^tm) punch. A palm trigger can be pressed to engage an electric supercharger, to deliver a much stronger punch that both damages and stuns the victim. Beings with mega-damage^tm strength add the glove's damage to their punch damage. The glove is popular among bounty hunters, Juicers^tm, and headhunters. Giant versions do exist - double the damage, cost, and weight, plus the larger versions can also draw energy from up to four E-Clips at a time.

A stunned victim is -8 to strike, parry, and dodge and his speed and melee attacks are halved. The stun effect lasts for 2d4 melee rounds, but add 2d4 melee rounds to the duration for each strike that the victim doesn't save against. The victim saves vs non-lethal poison (16 or better). A successful save means the victim isn't affected by the stun and only loses initiative and one attack. After being struck more than four times, a victim might be knocked unconcious for a while. On the fourth (and all those after) save roll, a failed roll means the victim has a 50% chance of falling unconcious for 2d4 melee rounds. When the victim comes to, he will suffer the stun penalties for a full 1d4+2 minutes.

The weapon does full penalties to S.D.C.^tm beings in non-environmental power armor. M.D.C.^tm beings and beings in full environmental armor gain a +2 bonus to save and only suffer half the penalties if affected. Such characters cannot be stunned into unconciousness. Characters in power armor and robot vehicles are not affected by the stun. The principal difference between the shock glove and a neural mace is that the glove does much more damage and can affect beings in environmental armor. It has 20 M.D.C.^tm and can function down to 10. A -5% penalty (per glove) is applied to skills being performed with the glove on. Surgery and other skills requiring fine manual dexterity suffer a -15% penalty (per glove).

Weight: 8 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: A standard punch does +1 M.D.^tm, while an electrified punch does 1d6+2 damage (plus penalties).
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee
Payload: 30 punches from a standard E-Clip, or 60 from a long one. Giant versions have half the payload, but can use four E-Clips at a time (four short clips give 60 punches).
Black Market Cost: 9,000 credits
Note: If successful, Naruni^tm will release the weapon on a widespread basis. It will then use a standard Naruni^tm E-Clip that gives a 100 punch payload.

NG-C34 Lion Paw

Not to be outdone by the firearm manufacturers entering the melee weapon market, Northern Gun^tm has come up with the Lion Paw. It is a terrific melee weapon, as it offers a multitude of possible customizations. The most common ones are a mini-missile launcher, a particle beam, and a folding shield. However, Northern Gun^tm has gone a step further than the other companies and provides a weapon with a modular interface - a particle beam can be removed and replaced with a mini-missile launcher, a folding shield, or anything else in a matter of seconds (two melee actions). The genius comes in the modular interface slot - a general wiring and structure frame can be purchased and almost any kind of electrical device can be mounted inside it or on top of it. This allows Operators and other technicians to implement virtually any sort of system into a modular interface and it will be compatible with the system. Anything from a hand-held computer, to a radar detector, to storage compartment can be put into the extra area.

The extra weapon system is powered by an E-Clip in the inner forearm, and the extra weapon system is mounted on the outer forearm. Four extra buttons line the inner arm, and can be wired for different functions depending on the modular weapon system. The paw also has a forearm and elbow brace, to help prevent injury. The basic paw has 30 M.D.C.^tm and the extra weapon systems usually have 10 to 20 more. Yes, right and left handed versions are avaliable (as well as a large and small size), but all versions have two finger claws and one thumb claw. The folding shield can raise up out of a housing and spread two half-circles to form a small forearm shield. It has 40 M.D.C.^tm and a +2 bonus to parry. Integrating the Lion Paw into a suit of environmental armor costs around 2,000 credits.

The claws aren't extremely useful for climbing (only add a +3% bonus), but do allow a wearer to climb up mega-damage^tm walls. A potential climber must have a pair of Lion Paws and probably some sort of climbing tool on the feet. Performing manual dexterity skills with the claws in nearly impossible, since they impose a -30% (per glove) penalty. Surgery, lock picking, demolition work, and similar skills cannot be performed at all. Firing most weapons is impossible with the paw, but they can be held by the Lion's Paw arm and fired by the other one (unless it too has a paw on it).

Weight: 10 lbs base weight. Most additional weapon systems add another four to eight pounds.
Mega-Damage^tm: The three vibro-claws do 2d6+3 damage (they're pretty large). A punch with the gauntlet adds +4 S.D.C.^tm damage to a punch.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee for the claws,
Bonuses: For the claws, use W.P. Knife.
Penalties: With a weapon system installed, the character is -1 to strike unless he has a P.S. of 20 or more.
Payload: Varies according to the weapon system.
Black Market Cost: 12,000 credits for the claw, costs for the extra systems are comparable to the forearm blaster bionic implant (pg. 241 of the Rifts^R RPG). The folding shield costs 8,000 credits and is easy to find. A base module costs 2,000 credits.

Wilk's S3 Lightsaber

The Wilk's company has recently made a move to enter the hand weapon combat in order to capitalize on the huge demand for melee weapons by augmented soldiers. The S3 is their first effort. An executive for the company was taking his family to a circus near the administration building he worked at. There, they watched a pre-Rifts^R movie. That movie was Star Wars^R, an extremely popular movie among the lower class in North America. The executive was hit with a brilliant idea - why couldn't Wilk's make a light sword, as was depicted in the movie? Bringing the concept back to his superiors, he was immediately put in charge of the project.

The designers got a copy of the original movie and had a prototype designed within three months. Word got out on the street about the top secret project, and there were hundreds of demands for the product before there was even a finished design plan! Once it was done, the company created the slogan "Making the fantasy of the past the weapon of today." The S3 was an instant success! Though the weapon does not look exactly like the lightsabers of Star Wars^R, they still bear the same name. Wilk's has combined the power of fantasy with their expertise in laser technology and come up with a winner.

Knock offs are avaliable, but only do 1d8+2 damage and cost on the upside of 18,000 credits. These are usually sold to gullible soldiers who can't wait to spend their money. The lightsabers are popular among Crazies (some identify with the characters in the movie), Temporal Warriors, and Techno-wizards^tm (they love improving on the weapon). It comes with a stylish black grip, a hard rubber pommel (does 1d4 S.D.C.^tm), a 15 M.D.C.^tm casing (can function down to 3), a blade that can parry energy blasts without taking any damage and has an adjustable length (2 to 5 feet), and the capacity to slice through many mega-damage^tm alloys in seconds.

Weight: 2 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: 2d6+10
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee
Bonuses: +1 to strike and +2 to parry, from Wilk's trademark balance and ceramic construction.
Payload: An E-Clip connected to the charging holster will power the S3 for a half hour (long E-Clips provide 50 minutes of energy). Turning the weapon on drains a minute's worth of energy. The sword can hold ten minutes of energy at a time.
Black Market Cost: 30,000 credits, but weapon dealers can charge 50% to 80% more (and do) because the weapon is both hard to find and very popular.

C-7V Alpha Vibro-Sword

The Alpha blade is a recent Coalition development that hasn't seen mass production quite yet. However, the plans were sold to the black market by a corrupt major in charge of the project. So, there are more Alpha blades in possession of mercenaries and adventurers than in the hands of Coalition officers (the intended recipients). The Alpha blades use state-of-the-art vibro technology combined with a pair of vibro-blades spaced just a few millimeters apart. The dual blades create an impressive energy field, providing more damage than the average blade.

In addition, the C-7V also has a longer grip to provide better leverage and balance. It also has the added bonus of a trigger near the blade. This trigger makes the Alpha blade generate an intense and concentrated vibration that can be used to attack at a short distance. As it is a physical attack, beings who are impervious to energy attacks suffer normal damage. The Alpha looks like a futuristic silver and black katana.

Weight: 3 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: 2d6+4 per sword strike, or 4d6+1 for a vibration blast.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks. The vibration blast can be used up to three times a melee.
Effective Range: Melee range for the sword itself, and the vibration blasts have a range of 60ft.
Bonuses: +1 to parry with the sword, none to strike with the vibration blast. After an experience level of usage, a character can use his W.P. Sword bonus (not the P.P. bonus) to strike with the blast.
Payload: The sword is powered by an E-Clip attached to a charging sheath, probably the idea of a weaponsmith who studied the sword and sheath of a Kremin Cyborg^tm (pg. 209 of the Coalition War Campaign^tm). An E-Clip can power the sword for 30 vibration blasts, the sword can hold a charge of ten blasts, and recovers one blast per six minutes of charging (10 per hour).
Black Market Cost: 20,000 credits (usually about 25% more, since it is a pretty uncommon weapon).

WI-C3A Multi-Strike Axe

The multi-strike is good effort from Wellington's. It combines a vibro-axe, a grenade launcher, and a durable mesh net for capturing opponents. On the opposite side of the axe blade is a solid rubber handle, for extra stability when using the grenade launcher. It also has a unique pinky trigger for firing the net (it comes out of the end with the blade). That same sturdy handle can also be used in place of the vibro-axe as an S.D.C.^tm bludgeoning weapon. The handle of the axe is also slightly crooked, both to provide extra leverage when using the axe and to make firing the nets and grenades a bit more like a gun. The weapon is roughly three feet long and has 20 M.D.C.^tm

The net captures 1d6 targets in a 10ft area. Targets with mega-damage^tm weapons and supernatural strength can break free in as soon as two melees. Unfortunates without these capabilities are stuck for at least 4d4 minutes. The net has a total of 30 M.D.C.^tm

There also exists a firefighter's version of the axe - the WI-C3B. In place of the grenade launcher is a slightly modified mechanism for launching concentrated CO₂ packages, and the net launcher is replaced by a powerful mini-flashlight (60ft range, illuminates a 15ft area at maximum distance). A Techno-wizard^tm can take either version and modify it to suit multiple needs (something they love to do anyways).

Weight: 8 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: The vibro-blade does and 3d4 the the grenades do 4d6 to a 12ft radius.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee for the axe, grenades get launched a distance of 300ft away, and the nets have a range of 30ft. The fire retardant foam affects a 12ft area (76% chance of putting a fire out per foam grenade) and has the same range as the grenades.
Bonuses: The net is +2 to strike.
Payload: Three nets and four grenades.
Black Market Cost: 12,000 credits for the WI-C3A. Grenades cost 400 apiece or 3800 per dozen and nets run 50 apiece or 500 per dozen. Nets can be recycled and recompressed - you typically get 15 to 20 credits per net. The WI-C3B only costs 6,000 credits, and CO₂ cartridges run 100 apiece, 1000 per dozen, or 10,000 for 150.
Note: To totally reconfigure a WI-C3B into a WI-C3A costs 5,000 in parts and a few hours of labor. Someone with the Armorer or Weapons Engineer skills can do this pretty easily.

WI-C19 Powered Nunchaku

WI-C19 Powered Nunchaku are made of mega-damage^tm ceramics and steel, giving them the capacity to parry vibro-knives and even energy blasts (though difficult). Each handle of a pair has 8 M.D.C.^tm, while the chain itself has 3 M.D.C.^tm The damage capabilties come in with studs that line the handles. They each resonate a light energy field that is computer controlled to intensify in power when the nunchaku are in fast motion. The chucks do no damage until they are spinning around quickly, as a safety precaution. The energy fields crackle a bluish-green when at a high charge, and make a soft screeching noise. The WI-C19 are commonly called power 'chucks, silent whistlers, or just whistlers.

Weight: 3 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: 2d4+2
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: Melee
Payload: A specially designed E-Tube slides into the end of one of the handles, providing two hours of constant use. Each time the whistlers are turned on, the tube is drained of one minute of energy. Each power tube costs 4000 credits, and a recharge costs 1000 credits. A newly purchased pair of whistlers normally comes with a charged tube.
Black Market Cost: 10,000 credits.

WI-80M Micro-Missle Gun

The MMG is a recent development by Wellington Industries^tm and has become a popular and intimidating weapon. It is very similar in design to the WI-GL4 (pg. 104 of Rifts^R Mercenaries^tm) but has a smaller drum and a longer barrel (the thin part at the right end of the picture extends just under a foot longer). The drum holds inch thick, eight inch long micro-missiles that have their own fuel and explosives. The gun makes an impressive little roar when fired, and has almost no recoil. Reloading the drum takes one melee.

Due to the appearance of the micro-missiles, the gun has been labeled with a number of unflattering (but funny) names. It is not uncommon to hear it referred to as the "cockshooter," "dildomatic", and the "phalloblaster" since the missiles are about the size of a ... well, you get the picture. Don't let the nicknames fool you - the weapon can be quite devastating.

Weight: 18 lbs
Mega-Damage^tm: 4d6+6 per missile, or 1d6x10+20 for a burst of three. The blast radius is very localized, a mere four inches.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the wielder's hand to hand attacks.
Effective Range: 4000 ft
Payload: 21 missiles.
Bonuses: The missiles have a +1 strike bonus (a small sensor system makes them arc into nearby targets).
Penalties: Anyone with a P.S. below 20 is -1 to strike, negating the missile bonus to strike.
Black Market Cost: 55,000 credits. Each missile runs 600 credits. A full load of 21 missiles can be purchased for 9,000 credits. Smoke missiles cost only 200 credits and have the same effects as a smoke grenade.