[HOE] Some New Weapons and Ammunition

[Machiavelli132@aol.com]

Feedback desired.


Damnation Rounds:
    The first damnation round was created in 1882 by an thaumaturgical 
diffusionist in Salt Lake. In short, the metal mage discovered a way to bind 
a manitou into a bullet, so that when someone was shot with them the manitou 
would attempt possession.
Naturally, the manitou's jumped at the chance to possess living people, even 
if they were wounded. Not only that, but someone who died from a Damnation 
round could easily be brought back harrowed and the manitou automatically got 
total dominion. A pretty good deal. The spirit of the manitou depended on the 
size of the bullet. The metal mage spread this little trick around, and soon 
many thaumaturgical diffusionists, hucksters, and hexslingers had loaded 
themselves with the demonic ammunition.

Game Effects:
    When someone is hit by a Damnation round, the marshal should draw a card 
and use the Manitou spirit table on page 190 of the rulebook. This determines 
the spirit of the manitou, which immediately attempts to possess the wounded 
person. If the manitou gains control, they usually attempt to flee the scene, 
but it's up to the marshal. This is a very unpredictable tactic-best used to 
slow down pursuit or cause havoc with a far off enemy group. The few 
diffusionists who ever found themselves using a sniper rifle could really 
inflict a lot of damage on enemy groups using only "flesh wounds." The 
manitou can keep attempting possession every round the bullet is in the 
wounded person's body. Damnation rounds are extremely rare in the wasted west 
and most of them are unmarked, which might give your posse quite a surprise.

Psychic Bullets: 
    During the last war, commanders increasingly had to face Syker 
infiltration teams, which were difficult to find and destroy. Southern 
Alliance laboratories came up with a specially built and designed pistol to 
issue to officers. Each pistol would carry small bullets equipped with a 
"Astral Disrupter", which interfered with contact to the hunting grounds. 
Shooting a Syker with this would cut him off from his Psychic powers for as 
long as the bullet remained in him, making them far less dangerous. 

Game effects:
Psychic bullets come in small,  5 round revolvers, have a range increment of 
5 and do 2d6 damage. Their best use is, however, to cut off contact with the 
hunting grounds. Anyone hit with a psychic bullet automatically loses 4d6 
strain (This goes for any Strain-using arcane background.) Negative strain is 
possible. Strain cannot be regained until the bullet is removed, at which 
point it can be regained normally. These rounds are extremely rare and were 
only introduced in the last year of the Last War. They were issued to 
Confederate officers almost exclusively, though a few had made their way to 
the British. 

(Both ideas stolen from Unknown Armies.)

Hex Rifle:
    In the early 1900's, the same Thaumaturgical Diffusionist that created 
the Damnation rounds came up with a weapon that could have a manitou with a 
pre-set hex bound to it. The first was a Mad Scientist's lightning gun with 
the Black Lightning hex. The second was a Winchester loaded with a Soul 
Blast. Over the years, a handful of Hex-armed weaponry made their way amongst 
Metal Mage circles, some of which survive to this day. Most of them are 
equipped with Soul Blast or Soul Burst. Once bound with a manitou, the weapon 
can no longer function as it did before. A winchester with Soul Blast cannot 
fire bullets. Most Hex-weapons cast hexes as if they had a Hexslingin' of 
5d8. The metal mage who created them originally believed that he would be 
immune to backlash, only to find out his error the hard way when his gun 
backlashed in the 30's and killed him. If you've got a book with a Huckster 
backlash table, use that one, but otherwise, they just do 3d10 damage to the 
guts of whoever fired it. Only a handful of these weapons exist, most of them 
dating back to the 1930's. A sniper in World War Two used a Springfield 
loaded with Soul Blast to good effect, as Soul Blast can go through walls. 

Remotes:

New Skill: Remote Operatin'
    During the Last War, casualties began to mount so high that most Armed 
forces were forced to supplement their armies with remote controlled drones 
and robots. Remote Operators, who could be active far away from the front 
lines, could command up to a dozen combat remotes at once. To use a remote, 
the operator must possess a headset control system and integrated backpack 
command center. Battery powered, these systems have two components- the 
headset, which provides sensory information to the controller, and the vest, 
which has the battery and built in nerve-stimulated controls. The vest is 
equivalent to AP 1, but a bullet would damage the control center beyond 
repair. These systems were fairly fragile, as they were designed to operate 
well away from combat. Their range is much depleted in the post-war 
environment. Originally, the signals were bounced between military 
satellites, which meant an operator in Cleveland could direct drones in 
Australia, but nowadays the operator has to be within one mile. Nevertheless, 
Remotes can provide a valuable edge in battle. Remote Operatin' is what is 
used to control and command remotes in battle. Tinkerin' is needed to repair 
them.

Remote Control System: $ 5,000

Example Remotes:

Triage Remote:
    A five legged, dog-sized medical remote that roamed battlefields looking 
for wounded soldiers. They can administer drugs, perform simple surgical 
operations, and dress bandages. (They can use that medical implant thing from 
Waste Warriors.) They operate as if they had Medicine: General 4d8, and 
Medicine: Surgery at 3d8. Size of 4, pace 10. 
Cost: $ 1,000. 

Hover-reconaissance Remote:
    A floating disk with a constellation of cameras and sensors, the Recon 
remote proved invaluable in warfare. Capable of sensing in all visible 
spectrums, equipped with Radar and Lidar systems, and a laser-targeting 
system for artillery, the Recon remote is a marvel of technology. They were 
spent like poker chips in the Last War, leaving only a handful left to lucky 
remote specialists. They have a base Cognition of 5d10+4, can see in almost 
all manners.(infared, light-amplification, ultraviolet, etc.) Can record 
information onto data slugs and mark targets with a laser designator. They 
float quietly and are usually camouflaged to become much harder to spot. Can 
spot things at a great distance and can hover to over 300 feet into the air. 
Have an armor value of -4, and a size of 2. Easily destroyed. They have an 
active pace of 14.
Cost: 2,000.

Most  remotes are equipped with rechargeable solar batteries, though they can 
be hooked up to Spirit Batteries if necessary. 



(A note: These are rough drafts. Please give feedback.)