Thanks to Doug Ross for inspiring these.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT REAL WEAPONS, PROBABLY NOT RELATED TO REAL WEAPONS, AND THE STATISTICS ARE PROVIDED FOR USE WITH THE GURPS ROLEPLAYING GAME (AS AN AID TO PLAYERS AND GM'S) AND NOT REAL LIFE. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT USE OR EVEN ENDORSE THE USE OF REAL FIREARMS AS THEY CAN BE USED TO KILL PEOPLE. EVEN IF USED FOR "HOME DEFENCE". Got that? THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. Cheers.
"2nd Lieutenant Morgan Jones stared down the sights of his trusty sniper rifle. His target was patrolling on the fortress wall, his rifle hung loosely over his shoulder. The man was sloppily dressed, and showed all the signs of a rebel."
"Jones activated his HUD display and targeting information began to scroll down the side of his visor, projected by a small camera mounted inside his helmet. Wind speed, ambient heat sources, background magnetic resonance, the works… What Jones really cared about was the small crosshair at the centre of his display."
"A secondary zoom kicked in, and the scene tracked forward until the man's head was large on the display. Jones manoeuvred his rifle and the upper portion of the mans head came into view. Jones breathed out, and pulled the trigger."
"There was a loud ‘crack’, and the man slumped to the ground, missing a large chunk of his skull."
"Jones to Squad Alpha. Defences have been neutralised, OK for attack…"
One of the greatest advantages a gun has over a sword is that a gun can eliminate a target at a greater range than the sword (Indiana Jones proved this). Sniper rifles are the ultimate example of man portable long-range firepower. This section displays some ‘specialist’ weapons that we had recently had shipped here, and are appropriate only for military personnel…
All rifles do NOT feature any kind of sights aside from ‘iron sights’. Sighting systems are covered further on in the document.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 7-62 MK I | Crit | Cr | 7d | 12 | 11 | 780 | 4100 | 1 | 10 | 5 | -2 | 11 | 660 | -6 | 0 |
Statistics: 7.62mm, conventional rifled, long barrel, manual repeater, WPS 0.055lbs, CPS £0.11, shoulder stock
Takeout Industries were set up early in 2002 as a specialist weapons manufacturer supplying the worlds armed forces with long-range weaponry designed to neutralise key enemies in a single shot. This weapon represents the ‘light’ version of their rifles, and is easily man-portable. A 5 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.4lbs and costs £1.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 7-62 MK I-2 | Ver | Cr | 7d | 11 | 11 | 780 | 4100 | 1 | 6 | 10 | -3 | 11 | 1320 | -5 | 0 |
Statistics: 7.62mm, conventional rifled, long barrel, manual repeater, caseless, WPS 0.028lbs, CPS £0.11, shoulder stock
Later in the century, Takeout Industries redesigned the rifle using higher quality lighter parts, and used caseless ammunition. The result was a significantly lighter weapon, but this resulted in heavier recoil and an increased cost. A 10 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.4lbs and costs £2.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 7-62 MK II | Crit | Cr | 9d | 13 | 12 | 1200 | 5400 | 1 | 16 | 5 | -2 | 12 | 975 | NA | 0 |
Statistics: 7.62mm, conventional rifled, extremely long barrel, manual repeater, WPS 0.066lbs, CPS £0.132, shoulder stock, bullpup
This weapon was one of Takeout Industries finest products, a lightweight small calibre weapon that had penetrating power of almost twice that of the average assault rifle. This weapon was responsible for more terrorist leader assassinations than any other for its time. Its ‘bullpup’ (breach and action are located behind the trigger) design created a shorter and more controllable weapon. A 5 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.5lbs and costs £1.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 7-62 MK II-2 | Ver | Cr | 9d | 11 | 12 | 1200 | 5400 | 1 | 10 | 10 | -3 | 13 | 1950 | -5 | 0 |
Statistics: 7.62mm, conventional rifled, extremely long barrel, manual repeater, caseless, WPS 0.033lbs, CPS £0.132, shoulder stock, bullpup
Takeout Industries took the same approach to their MK II as the MK I; in the advent of caseless ammunition and improved materials, they redesigned their rifle to produce an optimised version. A 10 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.5lbs and costs £2.
Takeout Industries provide two TL7 sights. The first is a 10x LLTV (Low-Light TeleVision) sight, that provides night-time operation. The sight weighs 4lbs, costs £800, and adds +5 to Acc for aimed shots.
Errata! This Acc bonus is woefully wrong. The real bonus should be +3. If you're happy using the older bonus then go ahead, but its horribly innaccurate.
The second sight is a plain 25x telescopic sight with adjustable magnification. Although it does not help during night operations, its usefulness is justified for daytime duties. The sight weighs 5lbs, costs £200 and gives +10 to Acc for aimed shots.
Errata! This Acc bonus too, is wrong. The real bonus should be +4. Once again, you can use the older bonus if you like.
Takeout Industries also developed a set of sights for use with their newest generation of sniper rifles. The first sight combines a HUD Sight and Visor, linked by a pair of micro-communicators (range 10 yards), augmented by a 5 mile Passive Electromagnetic Sensor Array (PESA). The PESA is a single unit radiation scanner and passive radar, giving it LLTV and thermograph utility. Unfortunately, the system is extremely expensive and not as effective as first hoped. The system weighs 4.5lbs, costs £17050, and gives -2 SS, and +2 Acc when firing aimed shots.
The second sight was a plain 50x LLTV built using TL8 technology, combined with the HUD Sight / Visor / Communicator combo as detailed above. The system weighs 5.5lbs, costs £3550, and gives -2 SS, and a massive +25 (!) to Acc when firing aimed shots.
Errata! Like the others, this Acc bonus is horrifically incorrect. The real bonus should be +5. I really don't recommend using this Acc bonus at all.
A couple of notes... sights give a bonus for every doubling of power of magnification - 2x = +1 and so on. Also, total Acc bonus cannot exceed the shooters skill.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 12-5 MK I LRGR | Ver | Cr | 15d+ | 17 | 13/14 | 1600 | 6400 | 3~ | 27 | 10/B | -1 | 11 | 21000 | NA | -1 |
Statistics: 12.5mm, electromag, extremely long barrel, extra low power, manual repeater, WPS 0.049lbs, CPS £0.39, Power 18.375kW per shot, shoulder stock with bipod
EM (Electromagnetic) Technologies are a company that perform R&D into all things electromagnetic. They have provided useful data and technology on antigrav systems, fusion reactor shields and nuclear effects. However, they work to a tight budget, and weapons research is one way that they improve their collective salaries… As a result, EM Technologies has a subsection devoted purely to weapons research, and a special budget from the military to continue doing so…
The EMT 12-5 MK I Long-Range Gauss Rifle is their first attempt at creating a large calibre man portable weapon. The gun was supposed to be .50 calibre, but somewhere along the line a technician screwed up, and entered the wrong code, resulting in an odd calibre weapon. This has not significantly impacted performance, although the original .50 calibre design had fractionally more penetrating power than the current design. The rifle includes a bipod, which gives a further +1 to Acc when it is used (reflected in the stats as Acc 13/14). A 10 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.7lbs and costs £35. This includes the cost and weight of a ‘B’ cell, which powers the weapon for two magazines worth of fire.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 12-5 MK II LRGR | Ver | Cr | 15d+ | 14 | 13/14 | 1600 | 6400 | 3~ | 16.5 | 10/B | -1 | 10 | 10500 | NA | -1 |
Statistics: 12.5mm, electromag, extremely long barrel, extra low power, manual repeater, WPS 0.049lbs, CPS £0.39, Power 18.375kW per shot, shoulder stock with bipod
EM Technologies produced a new version of their successful rifle using advanced materials, resulting in a lightweight weapon that was more viable to provide supporting fire. A 10 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.7lbs and costs £35. This includes the cost and weight of a ‘B’ cell, which powers the weapon for three magazines worth of fire.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 12-5 MK III LRGR | Ver | Cr | 15d+ | 12 | 13/14 | 1600 | 6400 | 3~ | 11 | 10/B | -2 | 10 | 5250 | -6 | 0 |
Statistics: 12.5mm, electromag, extremely long barrel, extra low power, manual repeater, WPS 0.049lbs, CPS £0.39, Power 18.375kW per shot, shoulder stock with bipod
Long after EM Technologies had shut down, BOBTech (Basic Ordinance Builders) bought the rights to their research and discovered this little gem. With a little tweaking to the design, and with the addition of TL10 materials, BOBTech created a sniper rifle that weighed little more than a basic X-Ray Laser Rifle, and could pack a mighty punch, especially when loaded with APS or HEAT rounds… A 10 shot magazine for the rifle weighs 0.7lbs and costs £35. This includes the cost and weight of a ‘B’ cell, which powers the weapon for four magazines worth of fire.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 20-0 MK I MPR | Ver | Cr | 6dx3++ | 14 | 13 | 1300 | 5600 | 3~ | 18 | 10/B | -2 | 13 | 8100 | NA | -1 |
Statistics: 20mm, electromag, long barrel, extra low power, manual repeater, WPS 0.15lbs, CPS £1.2, Power 37.5kW per shot, shoulder stock
EM Technologies second stab at the long-range gauss weapons market produced this beast of a weapon. The railgun created was fully capable of destroying light vehicles and battlesuits, let alone armoured troopers! A 10 shot magazine for the railgun weighs 2.1lbs, and costs £35. This cost includes the cost of a ‘B’ cell, which provides enough power to fire one magazine.
The weapon is usually loaded with APFSDSDU (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot Depleted Uranium) rounds, which have a dramatic effect on performance, as indicated in the stats below. A 15 shot clip of APFSDSDU rounds costs £175 (including ‘B’ cell cost) and weighs 2.1lbs.
Note that using APFSDSDU rounds would usually halve damage upon penetration, but because of the weapons calibre, damage is normal.
| Weapon | Malf | Type | Dam | SS | Acc | 1/2D | Max | RoF | Wt | Shots | Rcl | ST | Cost | Hld | LC |
| 20-0 MK I MPR | Ver | Cr | 6dx6(3) | 14 | 14 | 1950 | 8400 | 3~ | 18 | 15/B | -2 | 13 | 8100 | NA | -1 |
This concludes our trip into the realm of the sniper weapon. If you have any comments or criticisms feel free to email me.
