Melee Weapons ||Slugthrowers || Gauss Weapons || Plasma Sprayers || Lasers || Masers || Tanglers || Neural Scramblers || Blasters || Needlers || Disintegrators || Ion Weapons
This weapon uses a magnetic field to propel a projectile at incredible velocity. Velocity is directly proportional to barrel length; with enough power and a long enough barrel, in a vacuum it is possible to accelerate projectiles to relatavistic velocities. The examples given here are all-purpose weapons, optimized for portability and power efficiency.
A gauss weapon of a given type will typically be substantially longer than a similar slugthrower, because of the need to maximize barrel length within acceptable parameters. A typical gauss pistol, while reasonably light weight, will average about 60cm in length, and a 4mm gauss rifle is liable to be a shade over two metres long.
Generally speaking, ammunition for portable gauss weapons comes packed with a disposable battery of sufficient power to fire the entire clip. Ammunition is most often simple solid metal needles, but for those willing to pay, specialist ammo is also available: explosive, memory-form, poison, and illuminating rounds can be obtained. The clips come pre-loaded and sealed, and with the exception of tracer (which is normally loaded with solid shot at varying proportions), will usually be of an homogenous type.
Weapons mounted in vehicles or similar will have permanent power lines, and ammunition is supplied from separate feed systems. Computer-controlled feed systems can load varying ammunition types according to need (for example, a gunner could select a firing sequence of one tracer, ten solid, one explosive ten solid, and the feed system will maintain those ratios until further notice). Naturally, this sort of sophistication requires the room and power to keep multiple ammunition lines running, so will generally be reserved for large vehicles or static positions.
The mode of operation of gauss weapons makes extremely high rates of fire possible. In normal operation, portable weapons are restricted to about 2000rpm, both to conserve ammunition, and to maintain control of the weapon. Weapons in permanent mounts don't have these problems, and rates of fire of 10,000rpm or more are easily attainable. (See Rate of Fire Table). However, a very high rate of fire can be mind-bogglingly expensive to maintain. If you're paying 25svu per round for 60mm HEAP ammo, you may want to think hard about cranking your rate of fire up to 10,000 rpm.
| MODEL | OCV | RMod | Damage | STUN Mod | STR Min | Shots | Active Pts | Real Cost | Mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2mm Hideout | +0 | +0 | 1d6K AP | +1 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 10 | 0.5 |
| 2mm AutoPistol | +1 | +0 | 2d6K AP | +1 | 7 | 16 | 70 | 35 | 1.0 |
| 2mm Assault Rifle (A) | +2 | +2 | 2d6K AP | +1 | 5/9 | 180 | 113 | 56 | 2.0 |
| 4mm Rifle: Bipod Mount (A) | +2 | +4 | 3d6K AP | +1 | 11/16 | 180 | 186 | 93 | 4.0 |
| 4mm Rifle: Tripod Mount (A,*) | +3 | +4 | 4d6K AP | +1 | - | 2,500 | 250 | 100 | 8.0 |
| 5mm Tripod Mount (A,*) | +3 | +4 | 5d6K AP | +1 | - | 2,500 | 322 | 129 | 16.0 |
| 10mm Lt Cannon (A,N,1,*) | +3 | - | 6d6K AP | +1 | - | 1,500 | 451 | 180 | 32.0 |
| 30mm Md Cannon (A,N,2,*) | +3 | - | 7d6K AP | +1 | - | 1,000 | 605 | 242 | 64.0 |
| 60mm Hy Cannon (A,N,3,*) | +3 | - | 8d6K AP | +1 | - | 500 | 781 | 312 | 128. |
It may be assumed that hand gauss weapons with autofire capabilities are locked to a ROF of 2,000rpm. Bipod-mounted portable weapons may increase ROF to 6,000rpm, and tripod-mounted weapons with recoil dampers can fire at a ROF of 12,000rpm. Higher rates of fire will require solid vehicle or building mounts, with substantial recoil damping enabled.
| RATE OF FIRE | ||
| Rounds per Minute | Rounds per Segment | Suppression OCV Modifier |
| 500 | 8 | +2 |
| 1,000 | 17 | +4 |
| 1,500 | 25 | +6 |
| 2,000 | 33 | +6 |
| 3,000 | 50 | +8 |
| 4,000 | 66 | +8 |
| 5,000 | 83 | +10 |
| 6,000 | 100 | +10 |
| 7,000 | 116 | +10 |
| 8,000 | 133 | +10 |
| 9,000 | 150 | +10 |
| 10,000 | 166 | +12 |
| 20,000 | 333 | +14 |
| 50,000 | 833 | +16 |
The Rate of Fire per Phase can be found by multiplying the Rounds per Segment by the number of Segments in the character's Phase; this is the absolute maximum rate of fire. It is fairly unlikely, however, that a character will keep his or her finger pressed tightly on the trigger for an entire phase, if for no other reason than that the ammunition supply will vanish very quickly if they do. It may be important for Suppression Effects.
All weapons are OAF unless otherwise indicated
Note that STR Min is -10 With Bipod (minimum STR Min min is 5).