Ammo: It's a laser; infinite ammo. Windup period to precharge the storage ring; details below.
Requirements: Heavy infantry weapon, takes two slots. Energy +0. Two-handed.
Rolls: Conventional and energy vs. durability and intuition
Description: It's a giant laser powered by a particle accelerator. Obliterate your enemies with the power of bremsstrahlung. The beam exits the weapon in a narrow vertical plane, perfect for cutting.
More details:
- Pulse is very short; no beam-sweeping.
- Long, multi-turn windup period. Windup can be interrupted early, with corresponding damage reduction.
- Tunable through a wide band of frequencies, from microwave up to hard X-ray.
- Microwave can penetrate smoke and suspended dust. However, it does less damage, and cannot penetrate armor. If you want to know how it interacts with metal objects, ask Frank.
- Visible is a solid cutting setting. High damage, weak to armor but extremely effective against unprotected flesh.
- X-rays are excellent against armored foes. However, because the device is not equipped to deal with such a high-energy beam, its beam quality is reduced. Nearly useless in atmosphere save for point blank, and short-ranged even in vacuum, its secondary effect is giving your foes cancer.
- Higher-energy bands are only available after significant windup. Microwave is available nearly immediately; visible after a moderate windup period; x-ray only at the very end of the allowable windup period.
- If the device overruns its windup period, it will automatically discharge. Automatic discharge incurs a large cooldown penalty, due to the superconducting elements in the wiggler quenching with the intense beam.
- Electron beam is quenched by exit from the bottom of the weapon, near the muzzle. A grounding strap prevents the user from attaining a net charge. (If the circuit is not completed, user will build up a positive charge and may be shocked.)
- Electron beam is probably only taser-level once attenuated. Still, placing your hand beneath it is likely to result in Bad Things™.
- Heavy as hell.
- Relatively fragile. Don't try to use it in melee unless you want the electron beam going in strange directions. (Spoiler: You probably don't want the electron beam going in strange directions.)
- Has a component called a "wiggler."
Vigorously edited after discussion with Tal.