Aethershot Rifle

The sky-faring duardin of the Kharadron Overlords trust their fortunes to ingenuity and firepower in equal measure, and few weapons embody that creed as neatly as the Aethershot Rifle. A compact twin-barrelled longarm, it draws upon the same aether-gold that lifts the Kharadron ironclads into the clouds, using a measured charge of the miraculous gas to hurl its rounds with far greater force than mere blackpowder could achieve.

Carried by the Arkanaut Company marines and their Company Commanders, the rifle is prized for its reliability across the strange skies of the Mortal Realms. Its aether-driven mechanism functions where black powder would fail, in the thin airs of the highest altitudes and the choking vapours of poisoned realms alike. A disciplined firing line of Arkanauts can pour out a withering hail of shot, each marine working the twin barrels in swift succession to keep the volleys unbroken.

To a Kharadron admiral, the Aethershot Rifle is also a matter of ledgers and law. Every round expended is a cost weighed against the profit of the venture, and the Code demands that no shot be wasted on a foe that offers no return. Yet when the sky-ports are threatened or a rich prize hangs in the balance, the duardin loose their aethershot without restraint, and the crack of a hundred rifles rolls across the clouds like a fusillade of thunder.