Work In Progress War Gaster

[Gristle]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To provide a frontline weapon for the Myka that matches their typical motifs.
• Image Source: http://www.dday-overlord.com/en/material/weaponry/m2-flamethrower/
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: Chemical Weapons

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Myka
• Affiliation: The Bryn'adul-Xaelesh Protectorate and any Myka character.
• Market Status: (Closed-Market)
• Model: Worker
• Modularity: Ammunition Catalysts may be switched out with relative ease. Barrels are designed to be replaceable in the field if too corroded. Sights and other typical firearm attachments may be added to a War Gaster.
• Production: Mass-Produced
• Material: Myka Resin, Treated Tubing

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Chemical Weapon
• Size: Large
• Weight: Average
• Ammunition Type: Ammunition Catalysts
• Ammunition Capacity: Average (30 Shots)
• Effective Range: Long Range
• Rate of Fire: Average
• Damage Output: Dependent on Ammunition Catalyst, but generally Average
• Recoil: Average

SPECIAL FEATURES

• The War Gaster utilizes "ammunition catalyst" tanks to affect the chemical composition of Myka biological byproducts such as acid, poison, etc. These ammunition catalysts allow for additional effects from the aforementioned byproducts and allow for a greater amount of use since they dilute the amount of chemicals that the individual Myka must produce in the field.
• Like many common firearms, the War Gaster is held and aimed in the hands. The holding and mixing tanks are worn either across the chest and are held in place with straps. Tubes run from the holding tanks to the Myka's mouth and gaster to collect needed byproducts.
• The catalysts are slotted into the setup in the position of the mixing tank. During combat, this tank may be changed out as easily as someone might change out the magazine of a firearm.
• While War Gasters may be used by other species and their contents are often effective against Myka, they cannot be readily reloaded without access to Myka byproducts, which limits their effectiveness as a primary weapon outside of the Myka themselves.
• The projectile of the War Gaster is effectively a ball of goo traveling at high speeds. Upon striking a target, these tend to explode, splashing the target with the chemical load.

STRENGTHS

• Chemical Rifle - The War Gaster serves as a primary infantry weapon for the Myka and can hit targets effectively within a range of 400 meters. Its maximum range is around 500 meters, but it loses roughly a percent of its chemical strength for every meter beyond 400.
• Ammunition Versatility - Rather than designing a dozen different small-arms weapons to deal with varying situations, the War Gaster is meant to provide a significant amount of versatility in its ammunition so that its users may deal with any problem.
• Myka Made - Made from Myka resin, the War Gaster is a disgusting squelching tool in the hands of non-Myka and with such a strong odor that it may cause discomfort or vomiting. Furthermore, its reliance on Myka byproducts to function means that its usage is inherently limited by non-Myka unless they can secure these byproducts for themselves.

WEAKNESSES

• Self-Reliant - As the War Gaster relies on Myka byproducts to function, the Myka must be able to produce these in ample supply. If they are wounded, mutilated, or otherwise unable to generate natural acids they may find their source of ammunition is cut as a result. Realistically, they can also generate only so much of these materials during a conflict before they must rest their bodies and rejuvenate these substances.
• Large Target - While not enormous, the entirety of the War Gaster setup is bigger than what might be found in a typical infantry weapon, especially with its chest tanks and other accoutrement. This makes it an easier target than something like a typical blaster or slugthrower.
• Goo Ball - The larger projectiles of the War Gaster are probably easier for Force Sensitives to grasp and redirect with telekinesis than blaster bolts or slugthrower rounds - though still more difficult than an equally sized physical projectile.

DESCRIPTION
As a territorial species, the Myka often found themselves at war with one another for planetary bodies and habitats. While many of these conflicts would be resolved at close range, it became increasingly apparent that there were advantages to striking an enemy from further away before they could draw closer.

The first War Gasters were developed millennia ago, and their modern iterations are not very different from those ancient versions except for small refinements in technique and manufacturing. Principally, the War Gaster was originally designed solely to maximize the range of the Myka's natural gaster acids beyond what could be achieved by nature. Later developments in chemical synthesis and alteration meant that the mouth acids of the Myka could be used for aggression and warfare instead of simply food and organic material transformation.

The modern War Gaster is equipped with two "holding tanks" that link to the Myka's gaster and mouth respectively, and which serve primarily to build a small reservoir of these two natural byproducts. The central tank may be exchanged with relative ease and serves as both a mixing and a catalyst tank. Certain mixing tanks will automatically take one or the other byproducts and transform them with chemical catalysts into either more effective or varied chemical compositions. These are then fired from the War Gaster at high speed in condensed liquid projectiles.

War Gasters are almost without fail constructed using the resin that the Myka utilize in so many of their constructions, though they often utilize treated plastic tubes to assist in collecting gaster and mouth acids.

While all Myka (minus Nanitics) can utilize War Gasters, they are especially used among the Worker caste - since these make up the bulk of the fighting force for a colony - and the War-Forms who so regularly see combat. The occasional Major may also be given a War Gaster to make use of the hyper-corrosive ammunition that they can carry with them. While this distribution of the War Gaster is fairly widespread throughout the Myka, it is effectively cultural, and the exact castes or individuals that use it regularly could vary from colony to colony.

Ammunitions

• Nerve (Average Damage) - Derived from gaster acids, this standard ammunition heightens the natural toxicities of Myka gaster acid and causes extremely painful 2nd and 3rd-degree chemical burns. Nerve ammunition may cause temporary or permanent blindness, or seriously debilitate other senses if it is exposed to them.
• Corrosive (Average Damage) - Derived from mouth acids, this standard ammunition heightens the natural acidity and corrosiveness of Myka mouth acid and allows it to burn through both organic and inorganic materials. It will slowly begin to eat through materials even as strong as durasteel, and is known for the distinctive orange smoke it produces while consuming a target.
• Hyper-Corrosive (Very High Damage) - Derived from the mouth acids of Myka Majors - and thus limited almost exclusively to them - this substance heightens the natural acidities and corrosiveness of the already extremely potent Major mouth acids. It will extremely rapidly chew through anything as weak as durasteel, and is able to eat through even extremely strong metals if given time. It is very malodorous and produces a smell like rotting fish and can cause enormous damage to an afflicted body.
• Constructive - (Low Damage) - Derived from mouth acids, this ammunition is rarely used against opponents, though it can cause burns if left on bare skin. Instead, it is used to melt organic materials into resinous sludge for ease of construction. The sludge hardens within roughly five minutes and effectively becomes resin. This ammunition is more often found in the hands of hive builders and engineers than warriors.
• Amniogenetic - (Low Damage) - Derived from a mixture of mouth and gaster acids as well as chemicals harvested from Myka pupae, this substance is utilized to trigger localized regeneration in a Myka. It does this by melting and converting tissues, hemolymph, and exoskeleton in the afflicted area back into the amniotic fluids found in Myka pupae. These areas then harden into cystic growths and begin the process of healing the Myka. They can stabilize wounds within minutes, though full healing of an area may require between one and seven days depending on the scale of the wound.

Amniogenetic substances are not strictly "damaging" in the traditional combat sense unless an individual does nothing to remove the substance after several minutes. Nevertheless, they cause severe genetic damage in afflicted areas and can lead to debilitating effects and cancerous growth under the skin.