Shard Tech

Since long before the Wasting shard has been used as a source of power. A self-renewing source of energy that draws from it's link to the Above, each shard is a small sliver of the greater astral expanse, sent plummeting to the land below.

Shard Singing

Astricator
(Astral Extricator) Astricator are weapons that use Shards to draw pure Astral energy from the Astrium. The Astral energy manifests as a burning sort of Aetherplasm. Using various compression and conversions, Artificers are fully capable of shaping the resulting globule of energy to fit specific types of application.

Unmodified, most Astricator weapons are incapable of producing enough concentrated energy to cause true lasting harm. Second degree burns and severe muscle cramps are common in areas hit directly. They are more commonly utilized as stun weapons and regulations on the Artificing of deadly Astricator weapons are savagely enforced.

To make an Astricator truly deadly requires either an incredibly fine and powerful shard or a conversion of the Aetherplasm into a more deadly form.

Artificers can shape the lattice array within a shard to manipulate the quantum makeup of the discharge. A weapon can produce any number of primal materials. Fire is the most common and aside from being the easiest conversion to accomplish is also one of the most dangerous. Conversions to Ice and Electricity is also fairly easy to accomplish though Electric Astricators have a tendency towards wild inaccuracy and are rarely used.

There have been rare instances where unusual Astricator weapons have been found. Spitters that caused swift and sudden decay. Lancers that unravel it's target on a molecular level. Spatterguns that discharge a highly corrosive acid.

Spitter
The Spitter uses tightly focused bits of Aetherplasm for a reliably accurate discharge. Most spitters can be fired more rapidly than other Astricator weapons due to the relatively smaller amount of energy drawn from the Astrium.

Spitters can be made into pistols and rifle variants.

Spatter
Spatter guns discharge a high amount of Aetherplasm to create a wide spread of unfocused destruction. Useful only at close range, most Spatter guns are Artificed to produce Aetherplasm that does not linger, limiting the splash effect common with Spitters.

Spatter guns are most effective as rifles.

Lobber
Lobbers fling large, highly compressed discharges of Aetherplasm that often splash explosively on impact, dealing damage in a radius around the impact zone.

Lancer
Lancers compress Aetherplasm into a fine pinprick beam that can be used as a grounding point for a sudden and vicious discharge of energy. Like a bolt of lightening, the Lancer strikes its target with an explosive arc of energy.

Bolter
Bolters use electromagnetism to fling magnetic projectiles at high velocity. Using Shardsung coils wrapped tightly around the barrel, the Bolter is capable of pushing a bolt out of the muzzle of the weapon at incredible speed.

Shardlock
Shardlock pistols & rifles are dangerous weapons of an archaic design. Fired by striking cold iron to shard, the pent up energy of the shard is discharged all at once in a single burning shot of Aetherplasm. Limited only by the purity and size of shard within the pan, The most powerful of these weapons are known to burn clean through unsung steel and fatigue even the most potently imbued shard-sung material.

They are limited, however, by their long recharge times. The striking of sung iron to the shard causes severe fatigue as well as total depletion rendering the shard unsafe for further discharges for as long as 12 hours.

They have passed almost entirely out of common use. They are now primarily weapons of shardhunters and criminals.