What should this weapon be called?

[Charistoph]

I have a concept for a new weapon in mind, but I can't think of a good name for it.

Basic concept is that someone takes a Imperium's lasgun and converts it to accept Tau Pulse Rifle energy cell. This hybrid improves its ability to penetrate and range. For all intents and purposes it's a Pulse Rifle -2 Str, or the old Ordos Helgun with +6" Range.

Right now I'm using a temporary name of PLaser, but it just doesn't flow right.

Thoughts, ideas?

Edit: Stats would be useful, yes? There will also be a Pistol, Carbine, and Salvo version of the weapon, too.

Weapon.............Range..Str..AP..Type
{Plaser Rifle?}.....30"......3.....5.....Rapid-Fire

[Rick Blaine]

Tech-heresy, that's what it's called!

[DarthSte]

Tech-heresy, that's what it's called!

Exactly what I was thinking! It's a sure way of ending up getting the wrong kind of attention.

[Charistoph]

Okay... A little background information is apparently needed:

Short fluff version: Humans conquered by Tau for several centuries. Tau are gone now. The humans left can recreate lasguns and Pulse Rifle Cells, but not Pulse Rifles. The P Rifle Cells provide more power than the lasgun cells do, allowing for stronger bursts of energy, but lack the punch of true Pulse weapons.

Short Gameplay version: I wanted a unique small arm that wasn't a lasgun/boltgun/pulse rifle pt deux. Helguns aren't in use anymore (unless they are available to Inquisitorial Troops, still, I don't have the GK codex, yet). And this one has a little more range than the standard Helgun had. (stats posted in edited OP).

[DarthSte]

Pulse or Burst LASER?
Throb Rifle?

[Son of Sanguinius]

Couple suggestions:
- "Damocles" pattern las weapons
- "Greyskin" pattern las weapons

[Bubble Ghost]

To what extent are these guys still influenced by Tau culture? Are they proud of or at least comfortable with their history with the Tau, or do they reject it and see their co-opting of the technology as a sort of revenge?

Anyway, without knowing that... um. Chimera would be a good word if it wasn't already a bloody tank. Um.

Simple one - hybrid rifle? (and hybrid pistol, hybrid cannon etc)

Naming it after a place is a decent shout, Son of Sanguinius could be onto something with "Damocles lasgun". If there's a particularly relevant spot in their background you could use that

XV lasgun?

[Charistoph]

To what extent are these guys still influenced by Tau culture? Are they proud of or at least comfortable with their history with the Tau, or do they reject it and see their co-opting of the technology as a sort of revenge?

A little of column A, a little of column B. I'm considering the position that that things were good until the Ethereals all died out in quick order, then the rest of the Tau kind of started a little Mon'Tau in the sector, dragging the Humans into it. The Tau colonizing group had been slingshotted far from the Damocles Gulf and knew that reconnecting with the rest of the Empire was impracitical, at best, and dangerously irresponsible at worst, using the Human Navigators, so restoring order through "normal" means was out of the question.

Simple one - hybrid rifle? (and hybrid pistol, hybrid cannon etc)

A little too generic, I think.

Naming it after a place is a decent shout, Son of Sanguinius could be onto something with "Damocles lasgun". If there's a particularly relevant spot in their background you could use that

No offense to SoS, but that's a little clunky.

XV lasgun?

Or Mk XV lasgun? Could work.

Right now I'm leaning towards Burst Rifle, but we'll see. I'm liking the way these suggestions are going.

[Son of Sanguinius]

CLUNKY? HOW DARE YOU!

If I had a cutsie little black glove, I'd challenge you to a duel. The weapons? Planetary Annihilators.

[Bubble Ghost]

A little too generic, I think.

Exatly, that's kinda why I asked for more details about the generic background.

No offense to SoS, but that's a little clunky.

Didn't mean specifically that one, but if you have a particular place name you could use instead.

I like "burst rifle" as a name in its own right. But if it was me, I'd try to make the Tau link a little less explicit than that. That's a nit-pick though, I think it's good.

[DarthSte]

Just a thought, isn't a pulse rifle a projectile weapon - a "bullet" surrounded by or energised by some sort of energy pulse? So is this las-gun hybrid just the energy pulse without the projectile?

(I may have that wrong, but I'm pretty sure it fires a projectile...)

[Charistoph]

Just a thought, isn't a pulse rifle a projectile weapon - a "bullet" surrounded by or energised by some sort of energy pulse? So is this las-gun hybrid just the energy pulse without the projectile?

(I may have that wrong, but I'm pretty sure it fires a projectile...)

A projectile of mass converted to plasma. But something had to get that mass and plasma moving, hence the energy cell.