Looking for ideas for Xenotech that a Freebooter and Ork Warboss would have collected over a number of years.

I thought of the usual suspects: Force Field, Teleport, multi image, Image projection

I suppose anything would work, as long as it's of suitable interest to the Deathwatch and its mission. However, what I would do would be to let the Ork keep it not as a tool or advantage, but simply as a neat trophy from previous battles, utterly failing to understand its workings or even its potential - and any effects of this item being purely accidental, both in any records that would lead the Deathwatch to investigate, as well as in the actual encounter, essentially coming as a surprise to everyone involved?

The example mek in MotX has a pet Tau shield drone.

How about a Necron gauss weapon that a mad Mek rigged to operate off of an alternate power source? That could potentially spin off into another mission after the Kill Team has 'dealt' with the Warboss: what the hell it this thing, and where did he get it?

Both good ideas. So passive artifacts that work without commands.

Gauss weapons just phase out, no?

I suppose anything would work, as long as it's of suitable interest to the Deathwatch and its mission. However, what I would do would be to let the Ork keep it not as a tool or advantage, but simply as a neat trophy from previous battles, utterly failing to understand its workings or even its potential - and any effects of this item being purely accidental, both in any records that would lead the Deathwatch to investigate, as well as in the actual encounter, essentially coming as a surprise to everyone involved?

It might be funny if this is what everyone assumes is the situation, that the warboss has just aquired a lot of xenos trophy's. Little do they realise that a combination of a savy Mek Boy, natural Ork love of tinkering and a long suffering Rogue Trader being kept as a slave mean that the Ork warboss is very well aware of what the items do. Of course because he is Blood Axe he is acting 'All stoopid like to surprize da humies!'

Gauss weapons just phase out, no?

Usually, but once in a while a Necron is too badly damaged to phase out, and remains on the battlefield after being 'killed'.

Gauss weapons just phase out, no?

Usually, but once in a while a Necron is too badly damaged to phase out, and remains on the battlefield after being 'killed'.

And no other power source can power gauss weapons, so it would be a useless trinket. If the Necron is well enough to still generate energy, he can still phase out, or heal, and then kill or phase out. IMO, Necron weapons are, for the most part, not worth plotting to be the hoarded loot of an endeavor. You'd no sooner be able to fire a venom cannon in your hands.

That said, with Orks, you never know.

And for the Imperium, it could be valuable just because it's Xenotech, and taking it apart could yield any number of insights.

I'm not even sure it would truly be a hopeless thing to try and power it up using alternate sources. How many forms of energy do exist that you absolutely cannot replicate? The exact power sources may differ, but in the end, the only thing that should matter is whether or not you manage to infuse the item with the power it needs ... not where it comes from. Similar with how you can use a potatoe to power a light bulb, even though you normally use solar, nuclear, etc ...

(though this could be a bit of a radical thing to do)

Come to think of it, weren't there player-usable Gauss weapons in Rogue Trader?

I don't know for sure, of course, but quantity of power, and flow rate would both matter. We are talking about a beam of energy that can disassemble molecules, but is compact enough that a big Schwarzenegger-bot can carry it around. If you made something big enough, it might be TOO big to be practical, and if the energy flows too fast, boom, and there goes your research material.

"Gauss" is a fun term in 40K, as what I've described it to in TT isn't what other people think of. RT might've been using something also called gauss, more like what the scientific term means, rather than "Necron weapon". I don't care to look through the books right now, so I'll just say I don't know.

Ah, I didn't necessarily mean for it to be carried around - more like lab conditions, just for research purposes. I can't see such weapons being issued to Imperial forces, anyways. Then again ... C'tan phase swords ...

And yeah, don't ask me how they came up with that term. I'm more used to the RL-inspired Battletech meaning , too.

I think it was a Necron Gauss rifle in RT, although I could be mistaken and simply misremember from having it seen elsewhere ... Best take that bit with a grain of salt.

If you look in the Black Crusade book 'Tome of Fate' there is a sidebar that deals with using Necron equipment. It is possible, but very difficult and dangerous. A few of their weapons have internal power supplies, the rest need a backpack power unit and gain Overheat. I imagine that a Master of the Forge could work something out to minimize those risks.

Am I missing something? EP anyone?

What is EP Bwrighnar?

What is EP Bwrighnar?

The Emperor Protects

I don´t wan to to spoil anything, for anyone.

Yeah, that's sketchy though and personally I wouldn't go for it.

Ah, I didn't necessarily mean for it to be carried around - more like lab conditions, just for research purposes. I can't see such weapons being issued to Imperial forces, anyways. Then again ... C'tan phase swords ...

And yeah, don't ask me how they came up with that term. I'm more used to the RL-inspired Battletech meaning , too.

I think it was a Necron Gauss rifle in RT, although I could be mistaken and simply misremember from having it seen elsewhere ... Best take that bit with a grain of salt.

Where did you see that? I have all the RT books - I think - and didn't see gauss weapons anywhere. They have Tau Pulse weapons for sure, and a bunch of Eldar / DE stuff (which is bad enough). But for Necron tech, I've only seen that in DW and BC. BC is positively dripping with the stuff. They even have the stats for the Tachyon Arrow there. (Damage = 1 fate point.)

Cheers,

- V.