Heretic Weapons
Valiant:
It is said that in the face of determination, there is nothing evil can hide behind. The Valiant was created with this specific philosophy in mind. While not bearing any specific hallmarks of a single crafter or engineer, the Valiant is nevertheless a unique style of crossbow.
A weapon that is deemed “too evil to be wielded” by a holy authority is a weapon with serious power behind it. Acting as a handheld ballista, the crossbow was superior in range, speed, and power to a normal bow–the only major problem being difficulty in reloading. The Valiant is no different among these other wonders of engineering, with amazing launch speed and almost pin-point accuracy. Boasting a special pump-action feeding mechanism as well as an underfed coil-loaded magazine, this helps to assist with the loading time to ensure that the wielder is always capable of getting off another shot as quickly as possible.
One interesting thing about crossbows is their ability to penetrate. While the development of gunpowder is still primitive, it is nonetheless as powerful as can be and is on the way of replacing bows. The biggest problem that guns have to face at the moment, however, is deflective armor. A crossbow handily solves this problem in its penetration. With the long shaft and the incredibly sharp tip down to a monomolecular point, a crossbow bolt is capable of piercing armor and going straight through shields. While bullets may have trouble even scratching armor and may get stopped straight by shields, the Valiant can handle these like nothing.
This is an advantage especially needed when going against the forces of darkness. While crossbows may be the grim reaper on battlefields when facing humans, that power is drastically reduced when facing enemies not quite as frail. The Valiant is not lethal at all when put up against the undead and the beastly, but perhaps its range and its penetration will still allow it some use.
Ironsheath:
Gunpowder is an interesting invention in a medieval world. Firing balls of lead at people through controlled explosions, rather than small blades launched through torque, has a lot of potential to change the face of the battlefield as we know it. The speed, the power, and the reliability of a firearm has many more advantages than what bows can do, not to mention many others simply consider them more stylish.
The Ironsheath Pistol is a unique design for flintlocks, boasting a second barrel built into the body of the gun underneath the first barrel. This second barrel acts as a “sheath” for additional rounds, and a simple cock of the hammer after each shot promptly pulls the next round into the barrel. This design allows the gun to fire multiple times in rapid succession without needing to reload right away, providing maximum lethality and speed for those capable of (or trained enough for) handling it. Also interesting about the Ironsheath is the bullets. While most flintlocks take a musketball load, the bullets for this handgun are all heavily modified. They are oblong in shape, with the front and back containing a small hole. The back is filled with gunpowder, so as to keep the prime of the loading mechanism when the next round is pulled in, while the front of the bullet seems to have rock salt drilled into it.
Scrapbox:
While elven villages are not known for their prejudice, it is rare to see humans among their homes. Yet, Allen Cantrell was welcomed with open arms, a blacksmith given all of the luxury that the elven host could provide. Allen provided a much-needed human perspective (and quality of work) on metallurgy, helping their industry to prosper. As time went on, he found immense amounts of success in the village.
Even masters have problems, though. During a mid-point of his life, Allen found himself with a severe head injury that hampered his work. Afterwards, all of the chainmail and blades he crafted would tend to break easily under duress. Not one to be set back by a little thing like brain damage, however, Allen decided to put the junk to use. He developed a small weapon that would take the broken scraps in its barrel, and with a pull of a trigger it would eject them all out in a spray of shredding power. Unfortunately, shortly after, the brain damage took its toll on him, and Allen regressed into a vegatative state until his final days. The blueprints to the weapon were found, and quietly passed around–partially as an interesting novelty, but also partially in honor of his…eccentric final creation.
The Scrapbox bears a resemblance to a bulky handgun, and in function it works much in the same way. Loaded with small boxes of scrap metal, chain, nails, jagged rocks, and other junk, cocking the gun pulls back a large piston from the back. Upon firing, there is no actual spark, but rather the piston slings forward and breaks the box, spraying the sharp shards of metal and waste out forward at rapid speeds. The design does not provide any form of accuracy whatsoever, with the junk spraying outwards in a dramatically inaccurate spread, but what it lacks in accuracy it makes up for with sheer power. Anyone who stands close to the resulting blast is guaranteed to be shredded, no matter how tough or powerful they are. While its short range renders it questionable to rely on as a sole weapon, combined with other weapons to make up for its shortcoming it becomes a staple weapon in any arsenal.
Godcannon:
The fabled engineer Lacerta Thunderheart was known primarily for two things–her genius and her arrogance. Having come from a rare union between a dragon and a elf, she had the intelligence of dragon and the wisdom of elves, but none of the humility. She frequently proclaimed herself to be the superior of all, and could easily demonstrate it. Her creations defied all attempts at study, with abilities far beyond their time and capable of easily doing what was thought impossible. Only until recently, centuries after her death, can modern science understand how she made her equipment work.
The Godcannon was perhaps Lacerta’s most infamous creation. While no stranger to controversy, due to her ego, the Church was perhaps her most prominent foe. When crafting the Godcannon, Lacerta made her goal very clear–a powerful siege cannon that was capable of tearing down even the gates of Heaven and making the gods above cry for mercy. The Church made several attempts to politely inform her of the price of such blasphemy, but she snidely deflected all attempts. A couple days later, she was found dead next to the completed pieces, killed by a poisoned assassin’s blade in the back of her throat. Even now, the Church denies any and all involvement, and historians wonder if the assassin did the world a favor or foul turn.
The Godcannon at first looks unassuming, like a large pack with two barrels sticking out of it, barely the size of two forearms. The genius of Lacerta is not to be underestimated, however, as true to her boast the Godcannon packs magnificent firepower. The weapon takes two modes, a “run” mode and a “gun” mode. The “run” mode is the default form, in which it simply takes the form of an easily-carried back. Upon being needed for combat, however, a mount sprouts out of the bottom and two handles out of the side for holding. Upon pulling the trigger, the two barrels alternate rapidly, spewing forth explosive firepower at a devastating rate, easily tearing apart anything in its line of path underneath the sheer weight of assault. Walls, armor, shields, magic, nothing can stand up to the assault. Perhaps the most amazing part of the design, however, is the fact that it doesn’t seem to run on any ammo at all–when the Godcannon starts to choke up, all it needs is a couple cranks to power it back up again and it once again can sling out destruction. Unfortunately, this amazing firepower comes with a hefty price–in “gun” mode, being mounted to the ground, it is unable to move at all. In a hectic situation where movement and agility is required, the Godcannon is useless. For anything else, however, the Godcannon is a god-slayer.
