Power Weapons

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**theocd**

Hi,

Is it just me or do the powers and realities of the power weapons change from writer to writer. I have read in books that Power Swords can cut through tanks yet can be parried by other power weapons and in some cases normal close combat weapons without anything happening. So, what is the true power of a power sword, because surely a power sword to power sword parry would just shred both weapons?

Thoughts and ideas please,

The OC-D

**Great Unclean One**

Well, I think the power of the sword probably does depend on the author but also some power weapons could probably have varying levels of 'power' in them. Also I would have thought the way they are built would give a higher standard of blade, in other words, in a power on power sword parry the strongest swinger's or the person with the best made sword would win. As even power swords can have varying degrees of strength and finess.

**Nurglitch**

Remember also that the "Power Weapons" game effect covers a multitude of different stuff, from ultra-hard/sharp blades, to shock-fields, to psychic energy.

**Exarch_Nektel**

to monstrous claws that just hit hard enough to ignore armor.

**cody.d.**

And thats before you even think about Phase swords, how can they pass through armour but cut flesh?

**Gwar!**

cody.d. wrote:And thats before you even think about Phase swords, how can they pass through armour but cut flesh?

Because they are designed to. Hence, the armour is useless (no Saves) but still kills things (wounds)

**theocd**

Yeah, but Power Swords are designed to cut through anything so how come in some scenarios they don't?
You haven't explained how (because there isn't a how

) you merely explained that they do.

The OC-D

**Shinigami**

Think how much energy it would take to cut through everything. Using the juice all the time would make the sword stop pretty soon, so I reckon they just use it powered down for the duelling, so it can be parried, and just turn it on for the kill stab. Saves energy that way, so more kills per battery.

**cadbren**

Having finally read Eisenhorn, he has a lightsaber for a power sword, so there's another variation. Two power swords can parry each other because the electrical? fields around each sword repell each other. I suppose if one is uber stronger than the other it would tear through the field of the weaker weapon and destroy the blade, if any.

**theocd**

@Shinigami Very true, but what powers them. It's hardly AAA. (Maybe it's those weird square batteries you can only find in petrol station shops?)

@cadbren Firstly, Eisenhorn is a wicked book. Secondly, I kind of see what you are saying about the field strength can be varied weapon to weapon as Shock Mauls use the same principle but are only used to incapacitate.

Hmmmmm......????

The OC-D

**dpredator666**

the thing about power weapon bothers me is, it is cut throught thick armor. however it comes to wound, it still depends on S/T value. does it sound weird to you?

**Nurglitch**

Not any weirder than the realism represented by the S/T/W mechanics. If you think of the game mechanics as an animatronic skeleton over which the background is draped like a cheap special effect, then you really stop worrying about stuff like the incoherency of the effects of science-fiction weapons. Basically a power weapon does whatever the author wants it to do, and usually that's whatever it would be cool to do.

**Orkeosaurus**

If I recall, the power weapon's field weakens the molecular bonds around it, thus turning whatever's being sliced/bashed/stabbed into a weaker material.

I have no idea how this field interacts with other fields, although it seems that power weapons can be used to parry each other.

**Railguns**

Artistic license really. Thats all it is. But the most interesting way I've read it explained was that power fields are fields of energy that sheathe the business end of a weapon that disrupts the intermolecular bonds in solid matter(as unbelievable as that sounds) so that there isn't any resistance to the force of the user's strike. The sheer strength of the user still matters once it hits the fleshy target and probably overloads when forced into large slabs of tank armor. It would be like the entire killing edge of an english longsword had the penetrating power of the war pick.

**Emperors Faithful**

I think power swords are "powered" differently.
Some are electrically discharged while other vibrate extremely quickly.

Mabye a fight between power weapons would be like a fight between chainswords.
Or mabye just normal combat weapons.

**logan007**

Emperors Faithful wrote:I think power swords are "powered" differently.
Some are electrically discharged while other vibrate extremely quickly.

Imagine dying to one and having to tell the emperor you were offed by a "vibrator"...

**orkylooter**

what about power Klaws

**Emperors Faithful**

lol! Power Fist! Being "Felt up/Groped" by a vibrator!

**DragQueenMarine**

EmperorsFaithful wrote
lol! Power Fist! Being "Felt up/Groped" by a vibrator!

No armor in the world can protect a wang if it is felt up by one of those

**cody.d.**

Klaws are just hydraulic crushing weapons, although they may have electrified variants wouldn't that be cool.

**halo3uber**

Yeah, the Klaws work the same in principle, trashing whatever it hits.