Weaponry

While most sci-fi weaponry revolve around energy-based weapons with battery pack magazines.

Energy-based weaponry in the Hellecian Sector is powered by one's supply of Ichor. Meaning that every bolt of ionized plasma physically withdraws money from a Hellecian's bank account/blood stream.

On a macro level, cluster governments employ energy-based weapons in their militias/navies and simply subsidize a Hoplon's/Oarsman's Ichor used in the field.

On a micro level, most citizens either employ alternative projectile weapons (APWs) and/or bladed weapons to defend themselves without breaking the bank.

Only the wealthy possess Ichor-based weapons (IBWs) and Aspisoi Defensive Light Constructs (ADLCs). Even then, they just hire bodyguards and subsidize their Ichor like a private militia.

While firearms are vital to the war effort within a cluster's army. The number of Hoplons or shields in a military outfit is infinitely more important that an individual rifle.

In fact, the strength of a unit is measured in the number of shield-bearing Hoplonoi than individuals soldiers.

Without a squad's hoplonoi and their Aspisoi Defensive Light Constructs (ADLCs) to form a shield wall against energy and physical projectiles, a cluster's militia is virtually ineffective. 

This article will only focus on firearms and bladed weapons used in militias and colonies for self-defense.

  

Types of Weapons:

Ichor-Base Weapons (IBWs):

Universally praised as the best weaponry in the sector, IBWs are the standard armaments of the Patrokonoi-Hellecia and her cluster's Hoplon Militia Corps and Navies.

Their primary advantage is in its ammunition: Ichorized bolts of Cosmic Aurora.

These bolts of energy are nearly weightless, unaffected by gravity, resistant to Ichorized influence, and even capable of disrupting influence from beings such as fugitives of the Final Hegemony and/or other Hellecians. Ideal for hunting down rogue gods and fighting against other Hellecians.

Depending on the Ichor being used, these Ichorized Aurora Bolts will display different properties: 

• Archaenids/Delots: electrical damage, chained between nearby combatants.
• Ionites: poison damage, susceptible to mental attacks from other Ionites.
• Aeonites: fire damage, improved anti-personnel rounds capable of severing limbs and incinerating organic material. 
• Dodrians: crippling damage, high-impact bolts capable of shattering buildings. 

IBWs are light-weight, require no physical magazines of ammo to carry, and are highly adaptable to any firing situation.

These weapons can use Ichor to traditional Aurora bolts or as the power source for a Matter Accelerator attachment.

Weapons such as a Dodrini Battle Rifle can be converted to fire high-speed, high-velocity (HSHV) rounds of compressed matter using their Ichor supplies as a battery. Especially when a Hoplon's trying to conserve their Ichor when storming/defending an entrenched position.

The caliber or average diameter of a generated Aurora Bolt is directly determined by the size of the weapon's barrel.

However, it also directly increases the amount of heat generated and, most importantly, the amount of Ichor consumed with each shot. 

Their disadvantages are their Ichor consumption and generated heat.

IBWs need Ichor fed into them in order to operate. Once a Hellecian's Ichor is completely used up or literally melts from non-stop use/improper maintenance, the weapon is useless.

IBWs that consume the most Ichor have the largest Average Bolt Diameter (ABD), fastest firing rate, longest effective range, strongest stopping-power, etc).  

Examples of such IBWs are as follows (descending from highest to lowest ABD, firing rate, effective range & stopping power): 

• Dodrini Battle Rifles
• Star Lancers (Ichor-Propelled rocket launchers)
• Thesaclean "Malestrom" Machine Guns
• Macestidon Decimator Cannons 
• Delothian Mark V Automated Turrets
• Thermetoli Long Rifles
• Mycestinoi Cavalry Carbines
• Delothian Encrypted Particle Repeaters
• Atticanoi "Peacekeeper" Rifles
• Archanoi "Eclipse" Revolvers
• Ionetti Scatter-Ray Pistols

Alternative Projectile Weapons (APWs):

While Ichorized Aurora Bolts are superior, outskirt planets with weaker Ichor economies or colonists surrounded by "Barbarian" tribes use APWs to defend themselves.

Rather than using up their precious Ichor, APWs utilize improvised ammunition made from common materials found in their clusters. Operating more commonly like the traditional firearms we're use to on Earth. 

Their primary advantages are their Ichor-saving ammunition and construction.

While most firearms in the cluster are expensive, the IBW industry is regulated by the Professional Guilds of Aeonite Craftspeople. Because of this, prices for these top-shelf weapons are 15x more expensive than an APW.

On top of that, the industry regulating APW construction is less regulated. Allowing gunsmiths to design truly unique weapons, compared to the Guild-approved designs.

Similar to the tribal differences in Ichorized Aurora Bolts, these out-of-network gunsmiths design their clients' weapons and ammunition types to play to their owner's physiology:

• Archaenids: Steam-punk firearms; uses hydrogen-based physiology to shoot arc lightning or cryogenic ammunition powered using either highly-compressed air or hydrogen gas. 
• Ionites: Ray guns; uses hydrogen-based (enriched with phosphorus) physiology to fire radioactive rays, poisonous gas pellets, or sleeping agents powered using either enriched hydrogen cells or highly compressed hydrogen gas.
• Aeonites: Conventional Firearms; uses nitrogen-based physiology to create typical gunpowder shells either in a conventional firearm or implanted in their bodies as metallic studs (igniting nitrogen in extremity to shoot the shell like a concealed firearm).   
• Dodrians: Slag Spitter; while it's rare to see a Dodrians (also called Lanaxdrians) use an improvised weapon (given the Lanaxdrian Warrior States spend the most Ichor on their hoplonoi) a Dodrian sidearm would use their sulfur-based physiology to fire molten rock ammunition powered by fossilized biomass.

Not every APW in the sector is a firearm. The Rodrian Marmaro Sling is basically an elastic band used by hoplonoi to throw grenades while holding a shield.

Their primary disadvantages are their comparative effectiveness to IBWs, need to carry magazines of ammunition, and potential shoddy craftsmanship. 

While a Hellecian would spends significantly less Ichor on an APW. The quality of said firearm is questionably variable to the specific gunsmith and the person making said ammunition. Not to mention having all the drawbacks to having a convention firearm.

Examples of APWs are the following (based on quality & popularity within military :

• Thermetoli Ziphocaster (considered the primary sidearm of the Patrokonoi-Hellecia.
• Rodrian Marmaro Sling (grenade sling; used by nearly soldier in the sector)
• Calberian Slag Spitter
• Attican Arc Turbine
• Ionetti Poisoned Bone Ash Thrower
• Ionetti Depleted Uranium Hypnocaster

Bladed Weapons:

Even with the relatively cheap cost of an APW, firearms are either highly expensive or highly unreliable.

So most private citizens prefer to defend themselves with a knife or a concealed weapon to avoid individual cluster restrictions on personal firearms.

While rebel rousers would be crazy to attack a cluster government only with knives, spears & concealed quarter-swords. Many disaffected revolutionaries or disgruntled merchants would employ skilled assassins (like the Fulcrum Blade-Masters of Thessalis-Prmie) to kill their targets without drawing too much attention.

The quality of the blade and the material used would be fairly cheap to obtain, since most colonists or city dwellers would have the training or access to someone with training to make a simple blade.

The standard for concealed weaponry is the Fulcrum: a commonly used Aeonite tool found within blue and white collar professions that, with a little engineering know-how, can conceal weapons and gadgets considered DTOS-legal in self-defense.