HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image Source: Deviant Art, piece called "Crossbow Remake" by artist Bobafettdk, link here
Intent: To create an updated version of a bowcaster available to HK, his forces, and his allies
Development Thread: A Free Wookie
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: The Bobcasters/The Shattering Bowcasters
Affiliation: ARGH, Firemane, The Galactic Alliance
Modularity: Comes in two variants, standard and heavy, both variants have railing on the spine of the weapon for mounting scopes and special ironsights as well as underneath the weapon for attachments like flashlights, laser points, or special attachments manufactures by ARGH like the grappling gun attachment
Attachment point for a small or large tri-pod.
Standard variant- scaled down version, small enough to be used by humans but with reduced fire-power and range
Heavy variant- larger version, the size a bowcaster was supposed to be made, but requires greater degree of physical strength to use
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel, Bronzium accents for aesthetic purposes on some of the designs, Echani Graphite Wires and Filaments (Bowstrings)
Classification: Bowcaster (Hybrid Blaster-Slugthrower Rifle)
Size: Handheld (Heavy Variants can be mounted on tripods)
Length: Standard- 65 cm (Heavy /2) Heavy- 130 cm (Based on SR-1)
Weight: Standard- 6.5 kg (based on SR-1) Heavy- 13 kg (Standard x2)
Ammunition Type: Metal quarrels/bolts
Ammunition Capacity: 50 shots (Based on Bowcaster information, link here, +15 to show technological improvement)
Effective Range: Personal, 725 meters for heavy (the mean of the difference between ranges of canon bowcasters and SR-1 as the weapon utilizes a hybrid of both mechanisms) and 500 meters for standard variant
Rate of Fire: Semi-automatic (the pulley system loads bolts automatically)
Special Features: Ability to load 5 bolts and fire them at once (Due to spread accurate only at up to 30 meters), bolts can bounce off of surfaces for up to 5 times depending on the distance between the surfaces before the bolts lose their velocity (Based on the features of canon Bowcasters)
Modifications allow the weapon to fill non-combat roles as well, for example creating rope bridges or scaling cliffs during search-and rescue operations
The plasma-enveloping system can be turned off to simply fire the ammunition without it exploding on contact
Strengths:
- Stopping power- Bowcasters were able to generate an impressive amount of stopping power to stop even the hardest of Kashyyk's predators in their tracks, as a result these weapons can get through armor rather easily, using standard quarrels the standard variants can easily break through 1-6 armor ratings even at maximum range while the heavy variants can pierce 1-8 armor ratings, higher ratings require closing down the distance and firing multiple shots at the same point. These bowcasters also have enough power to punch through light vehicle armor.
- Explosive ammunition- due to the plasma enveloping technology of the bowcasters, they can turn common durasteel ammo explosive, the resulting explosion causes enough of a shockwave and shrapnel to cause potentially lethal damage in close proximity (~0.5 meters) and cause damage at short distance (~1-2 meters) from the explosion's origin point
- Versatility- The plasma enveloping field can be always turned off to fire specialized trick bolts and create different effects on and off the battlefield. Specialized armor is developed and sold separately.
- Intimidation- The large size of the weapon and its reputation can potentially be used to intimidate someone, although this highly depends on who is faced with it
- Quick projectile- Since the projectiles from this weapon are fired at high speed (Due to both the bowstring and rail-gun firing mechanisms) it may be difficult to react to them before they connect with their target, this highly depends on who is faced with them as certain beings have fast enough reaction times.
Weaknesses:
- Heavy- due to the weight of the weapon and the knock-back it generates, even standard version requires a greater degree of strength to wield properly, it shouldn't cause too much strain on a trained soldier, but a spacer, or anyone not used to heavier weaponry, for example, could have issues keeping it steady.
- Exotic- due to their rare status among non-Wookiees, one would need some amount of training to fire this weapon accurately, not to mention start training others in its use. As such, training larger groups of soldiers in using these bowcasters requires a development thread.
- Physical ammunition- because the bolts themselves are a physical projectile, they can be affected by gravity to a greater degree than energy projectiles, this makes the weapon harder to aim at greater distances and less effective in environments where physical kinetic energy cannot be greater or objects cannot move as easily
- Two types of ammunition- because the bowcasters utilize plasma enveloping as well as quarrels, the weapon needs to be reloaded in two ways, with magazines of bolts, and standard powerpacks to keep the weapon functioning. Unfortunately, those two do not always line up, bolts can ran out before the powerpack runs dry, or the bowcaster can run out of energy halfway through the magazine. User needs to pay attention to both of these.
- Electronics- due to the amount of electronics this weapon depends on (magnetic rails and enveloping system) it is susceptible to EMP and ionic strikes. When the electronic systems are disabled the weapon can still be fired, using the mechanized pulley system, but its range and fire power is dropped dramatically, heavy variants can fire up to 75 meters and easily break through 1-6 armor ratings, standard variants can fire up to 50 meters and easily break through 1-4 armor ratings.
- Noisy- although magnetic propulsion is a silent system and the pulley mechanism causes minimal noise, the process of plasma enveloping and such projectiles being fired is rather noisy, quickly giving away the user's position. However, should these be turned off, the bowcaster then has a potential to be a stealthy weapon.
Description:
The Bobcaster, also known as the Shattering Bowcaster, was named so after @Bobawwa(@Mrrew) a Wookiee who agreed to teach HK how to make bowcasters in return for 10% of the profits these weapons would bring and endorsement of his flower shop on Naboo.
A bastard child of a shattergun and the bowcaster, this weapon is a modern updated take on the classical Wookiee design, using their traditional pulley and plasma envelopment systems and combining with the state-of-the-art magnetic railing systems the Gados within Guild of Hammers developed over the many shattergun-based experiments and projects, replacing the previous magnetic orbs bowcasters utilized. The powerful magnetic propulsion allows the projectiles from these bowcasters to be fired over greater distances and with more power than ever before. As a result these weapons are perfect for anti-armored-personnel duties, able to punch through most common battle armor and even light vehicle armor. Tests showed that higher grade armor and medium vehicle armor can also be damaged by these weapons, however multiple shots of continues fire are required to accomplish such.
Along with updating the magnetic propulsion systems, the bowstring within the pulley system was also replaced with a wire made from Echani Graphite, cutting down on the maintenance for the mechanized pulleys to almost nothing.
The pulleys pull back the bowstring as the trigger of the weapon is pulled, it is then the bolt is placed in the chamber. The mechanism loads an extra bolt for each second the trigger is held, for up to five bolts in the chamber at the same time, and the bowstring is released when the trigger is released. The projectile is then launched by the bowstring between the magnetic railing, which latches onto the metal, ferrous core of the bolt, required for ammunition in this weapon, and greatly accelerates the projectile, propelling it faster than the speed of sound by the time the bolt leaves the magnetic field. Firing multiple bolts makes the weapon highly effective in close proximity, especially against lightly armored targets, however due to the vibrations the bolts spread apart in flight rather than sticking together in a tight packed group, making such method inaccurate over longer range. When the projectile propels past the bow-limbs, it is enveloped in a field of plasma, giving it a green glow and explosive property upon contact. Although the weapon contains sound dampening system contained within the magnetic railing system, to counter-attack effects of the sonic boom created by the projectile breaking the sound barrier in order for the weapon to not break itself, the electronic sound of its systems charging and the plasma enveloping the projectile still persists, making it unable to fire silently unless the enveloping systems are turned off. The bowstring and the pulley system acts then as a loading and priming mechanism for the bolts, with the magazine of quarrels located beneath the gun chamber and the energy pack located in the stock, allowing for less work to be needed from the magnetic systems, which in turn means less wait-time for the electro-magnet chamber to charge up, and higher fire-rate than that of SR-1, a shattergun rifle the Guild of Hammers makes with comparable properties, at the cost of shorter magnetic railing than in the rifle and less acceleration generated by its propulsion systems.
Due to the envelopment in plasma the bolts can ricochet off of solid hard surfaces they cannot penetrate, for example walls or armor thick enough, this can happen multiple times provided they have enough velocity. It's a neat little property useful for trick-shots.
The weapon is built with a second, smaller, barrel, housed below the magnetic railing, within it there are stabilization mechanisms that keep the weapon steady as the bolt, or multiple bolts, fly through it and the bowstring is reset, it also tries to minimize the knock-back from the projectile breaking the sound barrier although it does so with limited success. The weapon will not break the user's shoulder or arm with the knock-back but it does make it difficult to keep it steady for a second shot if the user doesn't have proper strength to operate it. Stronger beings are able to resist this kinetic force and keep the gun steady in between shots, allowing them to fire more often without the need to aim again. Although the gun fires faster than the shattergun sniper rifle, it still is an only semi-automatic gun, therefore it can fire only as fast as the user pulls and releases its trigger, making its rate of fire much lower than that of a standard blaster gun. The weapon does come with an attachment slot for a tri-pod, so that it could be mounted over barricades or other steady surfaces and aimed with less recoil, but those are used mainly with the heavy variant which works even better at anti-armor duties.
As with all shatterguns, this weapon is susceptible to ionic or EMP damage which can shut off its electronic systems and disable its electro-magnets. Unlike the shatterguns, however, this weapon is not rendered completely useless then as its mechanical pulley systems works without any electronics, therefore without its electric systems it is simply reduced into just a mundane, albeit well-made, crossbow.
The biggest drawback, besides the weight and the recoil really cutting down on the number of people who could effectively use it, is just how rare these weapons can be outside of Kashyyyk. Because of this it can be extremely difficult to find a tutor who knows how to properly aim and utilize a weapon like that to its full potential, although a Wookiee would most likely wield it as naturally as any other bowcaster they were introduced to since childhood.
All in all, this bowcasters updated with shattergun technology is a potent semi-automatic rifle, able to deal both energy and physical damage, as well as cause small explosions, at the cost of being heavy, dealing with recoil issues, and not many people outside of Wookiees knowing how to really appreciate such a weapon. Although already it shows potential as an anti-infantry and anti-armor weapon, it will really begin to shine when more specialized ammunition is developed for it to deal with a variety of scenarios, instead of just regular durasteel-forged quarrels.
Primary Source: Canon Bowcasters
