Name: "Feather" Sonic Gun Description: Feather is the name of a makeshift, custom fabricated sonic weapon. The physical design is a blocky assortment of wires and circuitry. On the left innermost side of the gun is an activation switch akin to a light switch, a dial that goes from one to ten, and an horizontal dimmer switch with incremental ticks of 15 going up to 150.. Despite the guns small length of about 1.5 feet, the body of the gun is a thick four inches. A high-quality, lightweight car battery is the source of its power as well as its weight, an unwieldy twelve pounds. The barrel of the gun is an exotic, cone like shape, and nestled within it is a smaller main barrel with an inner diameter of two inches. Located at the back of the gun are two large, round, oblong cavities, nestled between which is the sight. Abilities: The firing mechanism of Feather relies on sonic and concussive based energy expulsion.The dial determines the degree of power that is projected forth, with a setting of "one" producing a 130 db shot or beam of sound (given a spread of zero), enough to cause substantial ear pain. The shot's spread can be focused by the dimmer switch, with a successive spread decreasing the effective power and/or volume upon hit. At a spread of 'zero', the weapon is feasibly accurate, with cone of spread at only 6 degrees; this translates to substantial spread at increased distances. The following is a breakdown of the different power settings, their effectiveness, and their power consumption. Each of these explanations imply a direct otic (ear) hit within 40 yards at a spread setting of zero (the base 6 degrees). For the purposes of explanation, when fully loaded, feather has 1018 "power units", or pu. 1: Effective crowd control agent at 130 db. Uses 1 pu/sec 2: At 145 db, this weapon irks its way past the threshold of pain and is capable of causing temporary hearing loss (Permanent with prolonged exposure). Uses 2 pu/sec Ex: When used with a spread setting of 15, targets will experience an impact of level 1 within a cone of 15 degrees. Power consumption remains a constant 2 pu/sec. Range is reduced from 40 yds to 30yds. 3: At 155 db, targets will experience hearing loss similar to a flashbang. Feather exhibits recoil similar to a pistol here, and hits taken will impart similar kinetic energy to the target. The weapon also ceases to provide constant beams, turning into a semi-automatic weapon that must be charged before firing. 4 pu/shot Ex: At spread setting 30, targets experience level 1 within a 30 degree cone. Power consumption will equate to 4 pu/ *sec*. Range of 30 yds. Ex: At spread setting 15, targets experience level 2 within a 15 degree cone. Power consumption will equate to 4 pu/ *sec* Range of 20yds. 4:163 db. At and beyond this setting, Feather is more aptly described as a concussive or kinetic firearm than a sonic one. Targets will be effectively punched; recoil is substantial. Uses 8 pu/shot. Ex: At spread setting 15, targets experience level 3 within a 15 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10 yds. Power consumption is a constant 8 pu/shot (or 8pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 30 yds. 5: 167 db. Affectionately nicknamed the "kicker" setting, this blast imparts kinetic energy similar to a strong kick. Recoil is much like a shotgun. Will easily cause user long term hearing loss without proper protection and repeated use. 16pu/shot Ex: At spread setting 15, targets experience level 4 within a 15 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10yds. Power consumption is a constant 16 pu/shot (or 16pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 30 yds. 6: 170 db. Impact is equivalent to a tackle. Reaching this level of power stretches the very limit of the resonance chamber and foci barrel; Spread is an automatic 15 degrees. Recoil is comparable to a hunting rifle. Hearing protection is needed by the user beyond this point. At and beyond this point, ear protection by the user and anyone in the vicinity of fire is required to prevent temporary to permanent hearing loss. 32 pu/shot. Ex: At spread setting 15, targets experience level 5 within a 30 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10yds. Power consumption is a constant 32 pu/shot (or 32pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 20 yds. 7: Any level at or above 6 is guaranteed to overload the chamber and cause and catastrophic kinetic explosion without a proper spread setting to disperse the output; as a consequence, power level 7 can only be used with a spread of setting of 15 degrees or above (compounded with level six's 15 for a total of 30) to result in an impact damage equivalent to power level six or less, with a greater spread, and at the cost of more energy. db ratings beyond this point depend on the spread associated with it, reaching no higher than 170 db. Recoil is comparable to a sniper rifle. 64 pu/shot Ex: At spread setting 15, targets experience level 6 within a 30 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10 yds. Power consumption is a constant 64 pu/shot (or 64pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 20 yds. 8: Recoil is comparable to an anti-tank rifle, and is user-damaging without a stock modification. Minimum 45 degree spread. 128 pu/shot. At spread setting 15, targets experience level 7 within a 30 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10yds. Power consumption is a constant 128 pu/shot (or 128pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 20 yds. 9: Recoil is too great to be shot from the hand, needing to be affixed to the ground by some ingenuitive method. Minimum 60 degree spread. (256 pu/shot At spread setting 15, targets experience level 8 within a 30 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10yds. Power consumption is a constant 256 pu/shot (or 256 pu/sec with an impact power of 1 to 2). Range of 20 yds. 10: Highly inadvisable and experimental setting. Use of this setting can easily compromise the weapon and/or result in personal injury, including but not limited to firearm kinetic explosion. Minimum spread of 75 degrees. Drains the battery utterly. At spread setting 15, targets experience level 9 within a 30 degree cone, with each additional 15 degrees lowering the impact level further by 1 and the range by 10yds. Power consumption is a constant 768 pu/shot (Will fire for one second before draining the battery at impact power of 1 or 2). Range of 20 yds. Conditional Abilities: Specific audio can be routed through the weapon. Functions as a loudspeaker microphone on a setting of 1 with any increased spread. Limitations: Shots must be charged for approximately one second prior to firing beyond a setting of 2; this can be held for about five before firing, before the battery is over pressured and short circuits from a volt flooding. Collateral is often very likely; in addition to those listed in the "abilities" section, enclosed spaces present dangerous threat to the user and others through wave reflection, with walls tending to act like mirrors depending on their material hardness. Without a direct otic hit (ears directly within the cone of attack), this weapon will not effect hearing unless otherwise mentioned (settings above 6) Ceases to work in liquid or space. Highly susceptible to EMP. Battery is a hefty 8 pounds, and is unwieldy to reload. How does it work: By effectively 'charging' it's shots, Feather reverberates sound waves from an advanced, conventional subwoofer nestled within an extremely specialized chamber at the back of the weapon. Through highly precise reflection and wave emission, constructive interference allows for powerful amplification of concussive bursts. The secondary, larger barrel is powered by a separate chamber, and is the source of the weapon's focusing capabilities. By emitting precise, equal and opposite sound waves at the correct moment, precise swaths of the field of fire are effectively neutralized, allowing the shockwaves to be 'contained' to precise cones. Flavor text: Feather is Lyra's crowning achievement of her research as a student of naval academy; soon after she wrought it, however, her professor wizened up to her breakthrough. Snooping about the communications systems revealed the nefarious purposes that the military planned for her work, and she soon fled her degree and her life, carrying little but this prototype, and burning her remaining notes. Referenced Technologies: None. Attainability: Open; While Lyra was the first to develop this technology, she could not stop it's blueprints from being spread through lofty government and military deals with the Mars government and military, as well as its remnants. Anyone with advanced weapons tech knowledge and machinery can manufacture Feather tech with the right connections to attain the blueprints. Tags: [Military] Category: Ranged Armaments.
Hi. I’m glad you changed the application to be more balanced and gave it some more variability with its uses involving the spread function, but you never changed it’s availability like was asked. I can’t allow a homemade tool that is private to one character for reasons unexplained and uses cut Prisilite. That would very much cause an issue with wealth distribution in this setting.
Attainabilty edits made as well as more precise description of power settings and spread combinations. Prisilite removed.
Having had some more time to reflect on this application, while it is balanced, I've come to the conclusion that there's absolutely no way to make it work in a sensible way even in a science fiction setting and that it really just doesn't seem to fit here. There's no way outside of the barrel to condense sound in such a manner as this, and assuming there was, if the sound is actually successfully condensed into a beam in such a way, rather than a wave of vibrations, which sound normally is, the person on the receiving end wouldn't even 'hear' it unless it were to hit them directly in the head or ear. The fact that this is somehow still causing direct ear pain in some instances despite the fact that the sound is compressed to a beam, while still being audible to others somewhat on the receiving end, but not at all requiring hearing protection from the user, is contradictory logic in not one, but several ways. I just can't see it working. Something like sound being so controlled as to be put in a beam and somehow kept that way even yards out of the barrel is unfathomable even in this setting, to the point where I find its attainability rating change to be irrelevant in light of the fact that the research a character would have to perform, pertaining to creating this weapon is a very blatant defiance of physics bordering if not surpassing actually being impossible.
