Post by Julius Quintus on Mar 23, 2009 8:27:57 GMT
Flamer
Flamers are flamethrowing weapons. They spray incendiary fuel from pressurised tanks which is either ignited by a weapon mounted pilot light or ignites on contact with air. The weapon is used by all the imperiums forces as a short range support weapon to flush enemies out of cover or suppress them for a close assault.
Astartes flamers use a promethium based mixture of chemicals which ignites on contact with oxygen, burns underwater and congeals rapidly from a liquid into a sticky jelly which sticks to clothes and flesh. Each cannister of fuel contains about 1 minutes continuous fire and the weapon can project it out to 50 feet depending on the nozzles width. The nozzle is of variable aperture allowing the operator to cover a broad area at very close range or tighten the stream to increase the range.
Plasma Gun
Plasma weapons emit bolts of concentrated plasma. Plasma weapons are used to cut down heavily armoured foes and destroy light armoured vehicles. However, there is a risk of overheating and an overheat may lead to damage to the weapon and injury to the user.
Plasma weapons are difficult to manufacture and require complex and demanding maintenance so they are rare in imperial service when compared to other support weapons like flamers or grenade launchers.
The model of plasma weapon in use by the Omega Marines is the Mk.XII 'Sunfire' pattern plasma gun. The weapon fire bolts of hydrogen plasma from a pressurised cylinder. The hydrogen is siphoned into a laser excitation chamber where it is converted into a plasmic state and fired from the weapon by an electromagnetic containment field. The cylinders contain enough hydrogen for 200 shots before reloading but they are fragile and even a small crack or puncture can cause them to explode, destroying the weapon and injuring the user.
The Mk.XII has an effective range comparable to that of the Mk.Vb boltgun but a much slower rate of fire due to the need for the weapons laser capacitors to recharge between shots.
Melta Weapons
Melta Weapons are heat-based weapons which work by sub-atomic agitation of the air. Targets on the receiving end are heated to the point of being vaporised. The effect on flesh is fearsome to say the least, while vehicles can be reduced to molten slag.
Astartes melta weapons use highly pressurized pyrum-petrol gases with a two part injection system which forces the gases into a molecular state, which will vaporise just about anything. Unfortunately, due to the high power consumption and range dissipation, the weapon is only effective over very short distances, but anything caught in the blast is likely to be destroyed. The weapon fires as a continuous stream of energy which must be maintained on the target until it is destroyed. For flesh this is a fraction of a second but for heavier armour it can take a full second or more. The weapons gas capacity is sufficient for 1 minutes continuous fire and the two gas cannisters must be changed out individually which makes reloading a slow process.
The fuel cannisters for flamers and plasma guns take up the same space as a Duplus bolter magazine. The melta gun cannisters are smaller and take up the same space as a sickle pattern bolter magazine but they come in pairs so a standard ammo loadout for a marine 5 complete reloads.
Flamers are flamethrowing weapons. They spray incendiary fuel from pressurised tanks which is either ignited by a weapon mounted pilot light or ignites on contact with air. The weapon is used by all the imperiums forces as a short range support weapon to flush enemies out of cover or suppress them for a close assault.
Astartes flamers use a promethium based mixture of chemicals which ignites on contact with oxygen, burns underwater and congeals rapidly from a liquid into a sticky jelly which sticks to clothes and flesh. Each cannister of fuel contains about 1 minutes continuous fire and the weapon can project it out to 50 feet depending on the nozzles width. The nozzle is of variable aperture allowing the operator to cover a broad area at very close range or tighten the stream to increase the range.
Plasma Gun
Plasma weapons emit bolts of concentrated plasma. Plasma weapons are used to cut down heavily armoured foes and destroy light armoured vehicles. However, there is a risk of overheating and an overheat may lead to damage to the weapon and injury to the user.
Plasma weapons are difficult to manufacture and require complex and demanding maintenance so they are rare in imperial service when compared to other support weapons like flamers or grenade launchers.
The model of plasma weapon in use by the Omega Marines is the Mk.XII 'Sunfire' pattern plasma gun. The weapon fire bolts of hydrogen plasma from a pressurised cylinder. The hydrogen is siphoned into a laser excitation chamber where it is converted into a plasmic state and fired from the weapon by an electromagnetic containment field. The cylinders contain enough hydrogen for 200 shots before reloading but they are fragile and even a small crack or puncture can cause them to explode, destroying the weapon and injuring the user.
The Mk.XII has an effective range comparable to that of the Mk.Vb boltgun but a much slower rate of fire due to the need for the weapons laser capacitors to recharge between shots.
Melta Weapons
Melta Weapons are heat-based weapons which work by sub-atomic agitation of the air. Targets on the receiving end are heated to the point of being vaporised. The effect on flesh is fearsome to say the least, while vehicles can be reduced to molten slag.
Astartes melta weapons use highly pressurized pyrum-petrol gases with a two part injection system which forces the gases into a molecular state, which will vaporise just about anything. Unfortunately, due to the high power consumption and range dissipation, the weapon is only effective over very short distances, but anything caught in the blast is likely to be destroyed. The weapon fires as a continuous stream of energy which must be maintained on the target until it is destroyed. For flesh this is a fraction of a second but for heavier armour it can take a full second or more. The weapons gas capacity is sufficient for 1 minutes continuous fire and the two gas cannisters must be changed out individually which makes reloading a slow process.
The fuel cannisters for flamers and plasma guns take up the same space as a Duplus bolter magazine. The melta gun cannisters are smaller and take up the same space as a sickle pattern bolter magazine but they come in pairs so a standard ammo loadout for a marine 5 complete reloads.