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Gauss

2021-04-23T20:54:42Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:1D1C:243E:D29C:E31: /* Imperium */

{{topquote|Only my RAILGUN can shoot it.|fripSide (''[[Anime|A Certain Scientific Railgun]]'')}}
FIRST AND FOREMOST: It is pronounced such that it rhymes with "house".
[[Image:Railgun_explained.png|thumb|right|I'VE BROUGHT SCIENCE!]]
'''Gauss''' is the last name of [[wikipedia:Carl_Friedrich_Gauss|Carl Friedrich Gauss]], one of the greatest mathematicians in history. His work in calculus was (and is) invaluable to the study of electromagnetism, so he got a unit of magnetic field strength named after him. It is universally agreed that "Gauss" is a cool name, and so you can bet dollars to donuts that any sci-fi gizmo with any sort of vaguely electromagnetic theme will have the word "gauss" in it.

By the way, if an electromagnetic weapon doesn't have "gauss" in its name, it's a fair bet that it has the word "[[Tesla]]" in it, after another cool-sounding unit of magnetic field strength, itself named for [[wikipedia:Nikola_Tesla|Nikola Tesla]], a famed inventor and scientist who did cool stuff with electromagnetism.

"Realistic" gauss weapons come in two flavours: rail-guns and coil-guns. '''Rail-guns''' (which are often mistakenly called "Gauss guns" in poorly researched sci-fi for the simple fact that both are electric guns) work by having a really long pair (or pairs) of conductive rails within the barrel, with a positive pole on the receiver end of conductor A, a negative pole on the receiver end of conductor B, and an electrically conductive projectile. When the projectile is placed and the railgun switched on, electricity flows through conductor B towards the end of the barrel, passes through the projectile, and returns in the opposite direction through conductor A, creating two magnetic fields of identical polarity around them. This makes the projectile act like a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field, which means the projectile experiences a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorentz_force#Force_on_a_current-carrying_wire Lorentz force] that moves it forward, like an electric motor that is unwound into a straight line; this one is in theory cheap to manufacture and capable of reaching awesome velocities, at the cost of being energy-hungry, needing to be really long and causing a lot of stress on the materials. It's not to be confused with the [[Peasant Railgun]]. '''Coil-guns''' work by surrounding the barrel with a sequence of coil magnets that are switched on to pull (<strike>and then reverse current to push</strike> only pull because that's how magnetic response works in materials) the projectile. Since the projectile <strike>doesn't physically touch the mechanisms</strike> touches the barrel for ballistic reasons but isn't trying to spot weld itself to it, the gun lasts longer and there is better control over the speed, but the control mechanisms are very complicated and the overall weapon <strike>is weaker than a railgun of the same current draw</strike> has better theoretical efficiency but experiences high losses at higher muzzle velocities due to switching speed and timing issues. Of course, once you get into soft sci-fi, all bets are off; expect to see guns that shoot lightning.

When used as a name, "Gauss" is capitalized. When used as a unit or adjective, "gauss" is usually lowercase (though the abbreviation for the CGS unit is a capital "G").

== Real-Life ==
[[Image:Railgun.jpg|thumb|right|Who needs fiction when weapons this badass exist?]]
[[File:Navy railcannon.jpeg|thumb|right|Now capable of automatically loading rounds for letting out salvos.]]
[[File:Du8_uuovqaau-5p.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Ahhhh....looks like we are at the beginning stage of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium of]] [[China|Han.]]]]

The US Navy has successfully tested 32-megajoule railguns. The friction from the ammunition moving at these velocities turns the air inside the barrel into plasma instantly. They were planning to build a 64-megajoule gun to test fire, but they lost funding. This might have to do with how they had to build an entirely new railgun after every third shot; the rails wear out quickly due to the <strike>heat the projectile produces, and no known material is heat-resistant enough to withstand being worn out in this manner and also capable of conducting electricity to allow the mechanism to work in the first place</strike> ohmic heating combined with the mechanical effects of the projectile continually welding itself to the rails while the electromagnetic forces apply enough force to accelerate it anyway. You also need a really <strike>strong generator</strike> fast discharge power storage system to provide enough power to operate the weapon. In any event, nobody foresees <strike>those problems</strike> the rail destruction issue being solved anytime soon. Then again, the first flight occurred in 1903 and Sputnik was launched in 1957 (giving a difference of 54 years, well within a modern human's lifetime) so make of that what you will. '''Update:''' Recent reports have indicated that the rail destruction problems are getting better. They can now fire them about 400 times before having to replace them. Granted, the navy really wants a minimum of 1000 shots so they're still not at a level they want yet. But that's still an amazing efficiency upgrade.

On early February 2018, pictures showed that [[China]] became the first nation to mount a railgun on a naval warship. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy claims to have solved the power supply problem after extensive testing, and current intelligence reports suggest that Chinese warships could be equipped with railguns as early as 2025. The reports also note that the railgun is said to have a maximum range of 125 miles and fire shots that travel seven times faster than the speed of sound. Further sightings of Chinese warships equipped with railguns in 2019 have brought up the possibility that large scale field testing may begin within a year.

If you see a carpenter using an "electric nailgun," it's likely not actually a coilgun they're using, unless they have a "Solenoid-powered nailgun", which are single-stage coilguns.

== Rifts ==
In [[Rifts]], a "Gauss cannon" is just a synonym for "machinegun that does MDC damage." The artwork for railguns always shows them as ejecting casings and being round, with no rails in sight ... it's not like anything else in Rifts even tries to be rational, so just roll with it.

Alternate take: Gauss guns don't have rails and may look like guns with really beefy barrels (probably so if the electronics are armored. That doesn't explain the casings though. Actual railguns use a gunpowder charge or similar effect to get the projectile going since it will weld itself to the rails and stay there if it initially touches them at low speed or is already in contact when current is applied.

== Traveller ==
In [[Traveller]], Gauss weapons are slugthrowers that use 3-5.5mm (.11 to .21 calibre) slugs or flechette needles. They're the preferred rifle and sidearm for TL12 armies (Tech Level 10 in GURPS Traveller); at this tech level, the preferred heavy weapons will be laser or plasma. Until these non-chemical sidearms are in use, ship boarding parties in space prefer using sabres and melee for combat. The exception is zero-G environments, where recoil on any slugthrowers (gauss or not) are as much a hazard for the wielder as the target.

== Warhammer 40,000 ==
[[Image:Oldschool_Tau_Broadsides.gif|right|thumb|220px|The only thing that made the old Broadsides different from the normal battlesuits were the huge Twin-linked strength 10 AP 1 guns.]]
Being set in the [[grimdark]] ''future'', several [[Warhammer 40,000]] races use Gauss weapons.

=== Tau ===

The [[Tau]] use railguns as the primary heavy weapons on tanks and walkers.

Rail Weapons are considered some of the most potent and fearsome weaponry employed by the Tau Empire. Rail weapons are linear accelerators that use super-conductive electrodes to accelerate a solid-shot round to hypersonic speeds. The vast kinetic energy generated by the round on impact is capable of devastating damage on enemy vehicles.

Usually, Rail weapons are (obviously) very powerful and capable of extreme penetration (as in real life) as the acceleration is limited only by the amount of power that can be input and how much the weapon can handle without exploding or melting.

====Rail Rifle====
[[File:RailRifle6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Rail Rifle]]
Emboldened by the success of vehicle-mounted railguns, the Earth Caste built a [[Tau]]-portable railgun weapon, called the "rail rifle." It debuted in [[Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior]] as a prototype weapon; it soon got rules in [[Chapter Approved]], and by the next Tau Empire [[Codex]], it was a regular part of the Fire Caste's armory, used by [[Pathfinder Team|Pathfinders]] and drones as a sniper weapon. Incidentally, while it was in Chapter Approved, the Rail Rifle was subject to "Gets Hot!" like a Plasma Gun, but the Earth Caste improved the safety margins on it such that blowing up in the user's face is no longer a concern by the time of the 4th Edition codex. 6th edition further uplifted the rail rifle, turning it from Heavy to Rapid Fire and making it AP1, meaning it now could oneshot terminators and light vehicles, be fired on the move and even could be fired in full-auto.

It is mentioned in the fluff that once Rail Rifles are advanced enough to mass-produce and do not eat all the ammo and battery pack in a matter of seconds (and seeing their progress rate from overheating backpack-powered heavy weapon to magazine-fed rapid fire rifles in a matter of a few decades it's not a long time to wait for), Tau command have plans to use them as standard issue Fire Warrior guns instead of pulse rifles. Come 8th edition they are still used only by Pathfinder teams. At least until a new Tau Codex comes out. If GW did do this they would either likely nerf its range to match up with the [[Lasgun]] and [[Bolter]] and increase the price to the same as a [[Plasma Gun]], OR give it to an elite new Tau unit analogous to the space marine Sternguard since, logically, a new weapon would not be available in large enough numbers for the whole army as they just started mass production so best give it only to the elites. Otherwise it would pretty much break the game with Tau basic infantry being able to steamroll everything in their field of view even more than 3E Necrons could. One would think that this would be possible as the Tau now have [[awesome|Plasma Shotguns]] but they [[derp|remain one of the few races without a one man flamer]].

====Heavy Rail Rifle====
[[File:Heavy_Rail_Rifle.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Rail Rifle]]
A recent development wielded by next-generation Broadside battlesuits, it is less powerful than the Tau's primary railguns, though only moderately so (S8 versus S10). However, its reduced bulk allows it to be mounted in such a way as to more easily track fast moving targets, and thus it fulfills an anti-air role, where its slightly reduced strength is not a big liability as it is still plenty powerful enough to punch through most fliers with ease, and its double-barreled (twin-linked) setup [[derp|increases its odds of hitting a target rather than its odds of wounding or total wounds deal after wounding]]. That said, it's still a considerable threat even to AV13 vehicles, since with AP1 the first penetrating hit would likely be the last.

====Railgun====
[[File:RailgunHammerhead.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Railgun]]
The Railgun is the iconic [[Tau]] heavy weapon, mounted on [[Hammerhead Gunship]]s (and ''[[Battlesuit]]s'', in previous editions) to cause massive damage to enemy armor (72", S10, AP1). At its most basic form the railgun is a linear accelerator using standing wave acceleration along a number of cylindrical superconductive electrodes surrounding a barrel (duh).

A Broadside Battlesuit Team used to be able to carry up to 3 twin-linked railguns in one Heavy Support slot (nerfed to the S8 heavy rail rifle, see below, in their 6E codex), while the Hammerhead can only carry one, but the Hammerhead has enough ammunition capacity to also carry a S6 AP4 Large Blast submunition round for dealing with infantry blobs. (Squad of guardsmen a turn anyone?)

====Heavy Railgun====
[[File:Heavy_Railgun.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Railgun]]
Because the regular railgun wasn't enough for putting down the really big targets (like [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]]s), the Earth Caste developed the '''Heavy Railgun''' (110", SD, AP1) for their super-heavy vehicles. It was originally designed to blow up ''space ships'', as Tau never expected anyone to be stupid or crazy enough to build a big enough land-based vehicle to justify this weapon's use against it.

Then they encountered Ork gargants and Imperium titans, and figured out that most inhabitants of the Galaxy aren't sane or reasonable. The [[Manta]] mounts two of these, while the [[Tiger Shark AX-1-0]] mounts a twin-linked pair. Like the Hammerhead railgun, the heavy railgun can fire a pie-plate for destroying massed infantry formations, but the heavy railgun's submunitions are [[rape|S7 AP3 and the blast is 10" across.]]

====Heavy Rail Cannon Array====
[[File:HeavyRailCannonArray.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Rail Cannon Array]]
The latest advancement in bringing hyper magnetized death to the enemies of the Greater Good. The Heavy Rail Cannon Array is mounted on the KX-139 Ta'Unar Supremacy Armour, and is designed to take down Super-Heavy vehicles and Gargantuan creatures, alongside any infantry which may be attempting to close in on the suit.

The Heavy Rail Cannon itself possesses a longer range than the equally destructive Heavy Railgun topping out at 120", S:D AP1, Ordinance (1), Blast (3") however it has been designed to aim at the heaviest points of an enemy and strike those points with enough force that should it wound the enemies own mass is turned against itself (roll twice on the Destroyer Weapon Attack table and pick the higher result when firing against Super Heavies or Gargantuan Creatures), and is paired with the Cluster Shell system which is used to launch sub-munition shells at nearby enemies (36", S:6 AP4, Apoc Barrage (4), pinning), in such a way that both weapons may be fired against different targets at the same time.

====Starship Railgun====
[[File:TwinRailgun.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Starship Railgun]]
Exceptionally large and heavy Railguns mounted on the biggest [[Weeaboo]] vessels.

Starship Railguns are the primary weapons for the [[Kor'Vattra]]. Their ease of construction and maintenance of Railweapons among the Tau means that eventually, they were gonna supersize this and call it a day.

All/most Starship-level Railguns are twin-linked for twice the [[Dakka|shooty power.]]

Due to how common and ubiquitous these weapons are, these Railguns are analogous to the Imperial [[Macrocannon]]s, except, in a display of common sense, the Tau actually taught it was a good idea to mount them on a turret to fire anywhere, rather than restricting it to 17th century-level static broadsides. The primary advantage of this is that it allows Tau ships to basically fire anywhere, leaving no blind spots unlike the Imperial, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks or Chaos fleets. The downside of this is that because of the turret, they could not be compacted as much as Macrocannons, meaning that there are fewer Railguns per-ship than usual, ergo less [[Dakka]].

====Heavy Starship Railgun====
[[File:BFGHeavyRailgun.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Starship Railgun]]
Because of course the fish faces didn't stop at ''just'' a ship-sized Railgun. For when they want to punch through something neat and clean, the Heavy Starship Railgun is a much bigger and longer weapon than your typical Starship Railgun.

Owing to its longer barrel, the Heavy Starship Railgun are the largest version of Railweapon mounted on larger Tau spacecraft. Its size means that it can't be twin-linked, but it also means that it has a longer range and hits twice as hard. Only 3 Heavy Starship Railguns could be mounted on the largest of [[Tau Merchant Battleship]]s as they are the only ones with the power to use these things in numbers.

Like its smaller brethren, it is mounted on a turret which allows it to hit anywhere. Although considered their analogue of a [[Nova Cannon]], the Heavy Starship Railgun does not deal the same level of catastrophic explosion as its Imperial counterparts, rather, trading balls-out firepower with consistent shooting and accuracy.

{{40k-Tau-Weapons}}

=== Necrons ===
[[Image:Necron_meme.jpg|thumb|right|Truer words have never been said.]]
The backbone of the [[Necron]] force are nominally gauss weapons which produce a magnetic field with the strength of several thousand Teslas. And then point it at something they don't like. They do this by producing an incredible voltage across the body and focus of the gun (hence its electric nature. Doesn't explain the green though.) and then driving a current across it using two charge-rich microdimensions (think Rick Sanchez's spaceship's battery), one in the focus and one in the body. The focus limits the volume effected since it's bad form to destroy everything around you including allies, enemies, rocks, atoms, yourself etc. The process is not perfect however, since charge fluctuations in the microdimensions translates to a varying strength of field which expresses itself as a non-uniform level of destruction from one moment to another. One second it can melt a [[Land Raider]], the next it might just have enough for a butterfly. You know, if you found butterflies in the middle of a Necron battleline. The third edition codex described the effect as a "beam" that instantly "pulled" the target towards the gun, one layer of molecules at a time. This gave the effect of flaying the target and the more powerful the gun, the quicker this happened and the more layers of molecules that were flayed with each shot. The beams are capable of stripping away almost anything, even ceramite armor and starship hulls, with ease.

(Most sources don't bother with this fluff and just have Necron Gauss weapons fire distinctly un-Gauss disintegration rays in the form of green lightning)

In the Third Edition [[Codex]], Gauss weapons automatically wounded infantry and automatically caused glancing hits to vehicles on a to-hit roll of 6. This was devastatingly powerful at the time, as it meant that Necrons could chew through vehicles like no tomorrow, but was rather reduced in effectiveness in Fifth Edition, as most vehicles could no longer be destroyed through glancing hits alone, though with the introduction of Hull Points in Sixth Edition, Gauss weapons are once again a lot more dangerous to vehicles (three glancing hits -- which a full squad of 20 [[Necron Warrior]]s can easily supply -- is enough to wreck most regular vehicles and expose a super-heavy ). That said, Gauss weapons were reduced in effectiveness by the Fifth Edition Codex, which removed the auto-wound property (anti-infantry effectiveness was moved to their new "[[Tesla]]" weapons). However with the advent of the 7th edition codex Gauss weapons have regained their auto-wounding on 6's, which wasn't much of a buff since those weapons already did wound on a 6 in most cases, leaving that rule only being useful against Gargantuan Creatures.

The closest thing IRL to Necron Gauss weapons are Plasma Railguns. Which shoot Ionized Gas instead of a solid slug. But don't expect BL writers or Games Workshop to use Google in order to fix their inaccuracys.

====Gauss Flayer====
[[File:GaussFlayer.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Flayer]]
The trusty Gauss Flayer is the standard weapon (in fact, the only weapon(until the 9th edition that is)) wielded by [[Necron Warrior]]s. Gauss Flayers are rifle-like weapons used by Necron Armies. They consist of a metal stock, a transparent tube containing the unholy and unknown energy the weapon fires, and an axe-like bayonet underneath the muzzle.

The weapons fire green, lightning-like beams at the enemy, which strip the targets away molecule by molecule. It is, supposedly, [[HHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhnnnnnnngggggg-|extremely painful to be shot with a Gauss Flayer,]] and victims die as much from shock as the damage caused by the beams. The Gauss Flayer as pictured on the right, had the classic ''green rod'' look before it was superseded in 9th Edition by the more ornate type present in the other examples.

Its stats are equivalent to the [[bolter]], with the additional "Gauss" rule mentioned above. [[Ghost Ark]]s and [[Doomsday Ark]]s mount an array of five of these guns on each side, while the [[Canoptek Doomstalker]] has a single pair of them for self defense.

====Gauss Reaper====
[[File:Gauss_Reaper.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Reaper]]
A Gauss Flayer with two barrels that is differentiated from the Gauss Blaster by having the barrels be much shorter. The tradeoff is that it sacrifices range for increased hitting power. Despite its looks, it should <u>NOT</u> [[Pretend|be confused]] with the Gauss Blaster.

Introduced in 9th as a alternative weapon for Necron Warriors, it possesses an extra pip of strength and AP in exchange for being Assault 2 with a range of 12" (i.e. the same as the rapid fire mode of the Gauss Flayer). This makes it a better fit for deep striking groups of warriors intending to get dropped in the backside of the enemy to roast them with green fire. For your mainline warrior blobs, it's more of a debate as getting all of them in range from the middle of the field is a greater hassle, and significantly weaker fire is better than no fire. Thankfully, you can mix and match within the unit.

Until you consider the fact it has no cool axe head or proper beefy bayonet, which makes it objectively worse. At least it has 2 prongs.

====Gauss Blaster====
[[File:GaussBlasterColor.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Blaster]]
A Gauss Flayer given the [[Melta#Multi-Melta|Multi-Melta]] treatment, that is, get two of the same gun and then MacGyver all over it.

The Gauss Blaster is the standard weapon of [[Necron Immortal]]s; Gauss Blasters fire more powerful beams than Gauss Flayers, and are extremely potent against infantry and light vehicles alike. Despite its looks, it should <u>NOT</u> [[Pretend|be confused]] with the Gauss Reaper.

Necron Pariahs also make use of a form of in-built Gauss Blaster integrated into their Warscythes. Unfortunately, Pariahs [[Squats|no longer exists]] [[FAIL|thanks to this]] [[Matt Ward|loser,]] so the days of Warscythes-Gauss Blaster combo is a thing of long lost past.

It is basically a Gauss Flayer with slightly improved strength and armor-piercing capability (FOUR microdimensions, for when you need several universes to simultaneously hate the same thing). A unit of [[Tomb Blade]]s can also choose to take twin-linked pairs of them to specialize in vehicle-hunting.

====Gauss Cannon====
[[File:GaussCannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Cannon]]
The iconic weapon of [[Necron Destroyer]]s is their shoulder-mounted Gauss Cannon, however, both Catacomb Command Barges and Annihilation Barges are able to mount an underslung Gauss Cannon instead of their usual Tesla Cannon. In addition, Tesseract Arks can mount a pair as sponson guns, for extra MEQ-killing power.

Though it's only as strong and long-ranged as a Gauss Blaster, it is overall a larger version of the Gauss Blaster and has four barrels, providing it with an even higher rate of fire and because of its mounting on a heavier base, it has greater power over a greater distance. Also due to its mount it is able to be fired and redeployed very quickly. It has more shots and will tear through all but the toughest armor suits.

====Gauss Destructor====
[[File:Gauss_Destructor.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Destructor]]
A new weapon found in the [[Necron Destroyer#Lokhust Heavy Destroyer|Lokhust Heavy Destroyer]]. The Gauss Destructor seemed to largely replace the Gauss Cannon or Heavy Gauss Cannon as its spiritual successor. Unlike its predecessors, the Gauss Destructor is not shoulder-mounted, instead, it is held by ̶𝚝̶𝚠̶𝚘̶ three hands like any ̶𝚗̶𝚘̶𝚛̶𝚖̶𝚊̶𝚕̶ Genestealer heavy weapon.

On the tabletop in 9th Edition, the Gauss Destructor is the Lokhust Heavy Destroyer's primary anti-tank option. It is a 36" Heavy 1 weapon that is S10 and AP-4. This stats allow it to breach any hull of any vehicle, up to and including, superheavies. It also makes any unit that does not have a 2+Sv to take an instant wound, so there's that too. It deals 3D3 damage, so have fun throwing - on average - [[Awesome|4-6 wounds per shot.]]

====Heavy Gauss Cannon====
[[File:Heavy_Gauss_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Gauss Cannon]]
[[Necron Heavy Destroyer]]s get Heavy Gauss Cannons, and [[Triarch Stalker]]s [[Rape|can choose a twin-linked set of them as a primary weapon.]] They only get one shot, but it's as powerful as a [[lascannon]].

These Gauss Weapons have been known to hurt [[Tyranids|monstrous creatures that similar weapons have no hope of even scratching,]] and have also been documented tearing at the armour of even the most heavily armored of tanks and starship hulls with ease. The [[Imperium of Man]] is confounded by the nature of the energy used by these weapons, not only because the basic weaponry of the Necrons can cause great harm to even the most advanced vehicles deployed by the armed forces of the Imperium, but also because by all the physical principles known, these weapons should overheat and malfunction as a result of the tremendous energies they unleash, destroying the warrior who is firing them.

It is a larger version of the Gauss Cannon, although it only has one barrel and so a slow rate of fire. Though it has the greatest power and range, its reduced rate of fire makes it less effective against vast armies, but more effective against certain heavily armored targets, such as [[Land Raider|Land Raiders.]]

So when people meant that the Necrons can blow up your Land Raider with their most simple weapons, this is the gun they usually specify.

====Gauss Flux Arc====
[[File:Gauss_Flux_Arc.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Flux Arc]]
The Gauss Flux Arc is basically like the [[#Gauss flayer|Gauss Flayer]], but firing more shots at a time by simply opening one enormous microdimension. [[Monolith]]s mount one at each corner, Ghost Arks mount one at each side, and they are capable of choosing their targets independently. Gauss Flux Arcs come in the form of four automated turret projectors positioned around the vehicles hull.

Gauss Flux Arcs consist of linked batteries of three Gauss Flayers, which each feature a single barrel that leads to a transparent conduit containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires, and an axe-like bayonet underneath the muzzle ([[Stupid|even though the weapon is connected to a platform that would make the use of the bayonet pointless in the first place]]).

====Gauss Exterminator====
[[File:Gauss_Exterminator_2.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Exterminator]]
A Gauss Exterminator is a large Gauss Weapon mounted as the primary weapon on Necron [[Sentry Pylon|Sentry Pylons.]] Similar in power to a Heavy Gauss Cannon, a Gauss Exterminator possess a higher rate of fire and is able to engage targets at extreme ranges. Gauss Exterminators are also capable of using their sophisticated targeting systems to accurately track and fire upon aircraft at incomprehensibly long ranges.

Exterminators are far larger than the more common Gauss Flayers, Gauss Blasters and Gauss Cannons, and feature a single elongated barrel containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires.

In 9th Ed, Gauss Exterminators are good for flyers and ground support with two S12 shots. Although it lacks the +1 to-hit against non-FLY units, the Gauss Exterminator shoots twice - so it has a better chance of landing at least one shot, and can also land two (and has +1 to hit vs FLY).

<gallery>
Gauss_Exterminator.jpg
</gallery>

====Gauss Annihilator====
[[File:Gauss_Annhilator2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Annihilator]]
Basically an upscaled Gauss Exterminator, but instead of aircraft, it's everything.

A Gauss Annihilator is one of the largest known forms of Gauss weapons, with the only Gauss weapon similar in size to it being the Gauss Obliterator. Gauss Annihilators are only ever found mounted on devastating Necron [[Necron Pylon#Gauss Pylon|Gauss Pylons.]]

Like the smaller [[Sentry Pylon]], the shape of the both the weapon and machine itself is quite identifiable. A Gauss Annihilator consists of a single focusing crystal which leads to transparent tubes containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires. This is combined with several focusing arrays and a pair of particle emitters mounted on the Pylon's crescent shape to further empower the Gauss Annihilator beams.

Gauss Annihilators are supremely powerful weapons, capable of a relatively fast rate of fire that can penetrate even Titan armor with ease; let alone vaporize smaller tanks. With good reason, too: in fluff these things are [[awesome|ground-to-orbital weapons]] with enough hurt to cripple cruisers in a single hit. Gauss Annihilators can also be fired as a flux arc similar to the Gauss Flux Arcs mounted on a Monolith. However, a Pylon's version is stronger and can even destroy Space Marines with comparable ease in a larger radius; as Gauss beams lance out all around it.

====Gauss Obliterator====
[[File:Gauss_Obliterator.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Gauss Obliterator]]
The glowing crystal of doom.

A Gauss Obliterator is one of the largest known Gauss weapons, with the only Gauss weapon similar in size to it being the Gauss Annihilator. Gauss Obliterators are only found mounted on the [[Doomsday Monolith]] variant, where the weapon itself consists of a large focusing crystal leading to transparent conduits containing the unholy and unknown viridian energy the weapon fires.

Doomsday Monoliths can focus their awesome destructive energies into devastating beams which can be fired from its Gauss Obliterator; the beams themselves are capable of outright destroying infantry and vehicles alike. However, a Doomsday Monolith is inevitably accompanied by several lesser constructions, whose eldritch power it can siphon towards its own cataclysmic ends. [[Powergamer|This additional energy is drained from the power matricies of other Monoliths, and is discharged from the Gauss Obliterator in the form of additional blasts.]] This increases the weapon's rate of fire and all but ensures the doom of the enemy.

Unfortunately, despite receiving a model, the Gauss Obliterator along with the Doomsday Monolith have not [[Fail|received any rules]]. Nevertheless, one could estimate that thing monstrosity would be the equivalent of a [[Volcano Cannon]].

{{40k-Necron-Weapons}}

=== Eldar ===
Eldar in general do not make wide use of magnetic weaponry. Their Shuriken and Shard weaponry function similarly to magnetic weapons, but rather than using an electro-motive force they use miniaturized grav-generators similar to what keeps skimmer vehicles airborne (at least according to the 2nd Edition fluff on shuriken weapons which we have no reason to believe has changed.) Essentially, they make gravity inside the barrel point to the end of the barrel as "down" as though they were on a particularly heavy gravity well, and the rounds "fall" out through the end of the barrel with an intense acceleration, keeping their momentum once they align back with the normal gravity outside the gun.

=== Imperium ===
Strangely enough, heavy bolters use coilgun tech to further accelerate its bolts, so they can use much lighter ammo with less gunpowder (as real life gyrojets have shown, more "kick" is needed to make it viable at ranges below a dozen or more meters).

Also, the [[Nova Cannon|NOVA CANNON]] is sometimes described as fuckhuege railgun, though this is only one of a half dozen completely different explanations of how the NOVA CANNON actually works. (which is actually surprisingly fluffy, when you think about it.)
Macro Cannons, the Imperium's go-to for ship-to-ship broadsides each utilize a massive coil gun in the outer muzzle shroud to accelerate their shells even further.

Other possible Imperium Gauss weapons are [[Autogun#Accelerator_Autocannon|Accelerator Autocannon]] of the Sicaran Tank, the [[Accelerator_Cannon|Accelerator Cannon]] of the [[Fellblade|Fellblade]] and the Macro-Accelerator cannons on the [[Astraeus]]. If not they are gravity accelerated like Eldar [[Shuriken_Catapult|Shuriken Catapults.]]
Since all but the Astraeus are relics that even the most adept [[Techmarines]] and [[Tech_Priest|Tech Priests]] are too paranoid to mess with. Modifying these weapons for other platforms or using them like [[Havoc|Havocs]] armed with [[Autocannon|Autocannons]] are unlikely. With [[Cawl]] being the sole possible exception.

For the record the [[Galvanic Weapons]] used by the [[Skitarii]] and [[Secutarii]] are not coil-guns despite the fact that the term implies it uses electric currents. The chemical reactions would mean that they are [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrothermal-chemical_technology Electrothermal-chemical] weapons powered by a battery.

====Magnarail Lance====
[[File:Magnarail_Lance.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Magnarail Lance]]
Possibly the only known handheld Imperial rail gun. The Magnarail Lance is one of the primary weapons of the [[Tech-Priest Manipulus]], with the other one being the [[Sonic Weaponry#Transonic Cannon|Transonic Cannon.]] The Magnarail Lance is an odd-looking railgun in all honesty. Resembling more like a harmonic pitchfork, the weapon is externally conducted by two electromagnetic rails, that launches the projectile within the barrel.

On the tabletop, the Magnarail Lance is an 18" Heavy 1 S7 AP-3 weapon that deals d3 damage or a flat 3 damage if the bearer did not move. Can go up to 21" range if you use the Manipulus' bolster weapon rule.

In contrast to the Transonic Cannon which deals with hordes at close range, the Magnarail Lance is designed to terminate vehicles and heavy armor from longer ranges. However, by doing so, it limits the Manipulator's other weapons and equipment which are all at close range.
{{40k-Imperial-Weapons}}

== StarCraft ==
In [[StarCraft]], the main weapon of the Terran marines is a gauss weapon referred as the Gauss Impaler Rifle, and their design varies between the first and second games, where in the first they looked like pump action shotguns (big ones almost as tall as the user) while in SCII, they have a much more boxy shape. Despite being magnetically fired, the games still depict them as having muzzle flashes and for some reason using 8mm cartridge ammunition, despite the fact that gauss guns can do away with the cartridges by just directly launching the slugs, but StarCraft is hardly the only thing to ever inaccurately portray a gauss weapon. (Hand waved in one of the side manuals as the bullet being initially launched by gunpowder and is then accelerated through the gauss rails [sic], similar to 40k bolters with gyrojets. And they could probably hand wave the muzzle flash as a split-second of plasmized air, since the slug is traveling so fast).

Despite being one of the weakest military grade weapons, and that's an understatement given that Impaler rifles are almost at par with the laser and photon weapons commonly mounted on Terran and Protoss gunships, Impaler rifles still can pierce through about anything, and though the little holes a single Impaler leaves in enemy armor do not really bother giant humanoid battle robots, towering War of The Worlds-esque death automatons, and bone/chitin plated monsters the size of a small house, massed gauss fire could and would bring down pretty much anything just by turning it into oversized swiss cheese until it collapses under its own weight. That's why basically every Terran armed force in the galaxy worth a damn usually [[Tarpit|send marines in hundreds to drown their enemies in bodies and gauss fire]]. <s>How they're able to sustain those losses on a constant basis is anyone's guess</s> They just use [[Penal legion|brainwashed convicts]] drugged with steroids and adrenaline (which eventually kills them, if they somehow survive on battlefield, which they usually don't), and considering low life level anywhere outside core worlds (and even on some of core worlds), they have almost unending supply of criminals.

Although, how an infantry rifle could bring down a Terran Battlecruiser or a Protoss Carrier, which are essentially massive ships designed for large-scale ship-to-ship combat, through massed fire tends to make you wonder: What the hell?

== Battletech ==
In the [[Battletech]] universe, Gauss Rifles are some of the most powerful solid-based weapons. Packing the power native to Heavy Autocannons, which generally suck at range, and the range and negligible heat generation usually restricted to light autocannons, which are long-ranged and produce little heat but lack the sufficient punch to threaten heavily armored 'mechs. They're capable of smashing a [[MadCat]]'s cockpit off from long range with a single, well-placed shot.

The Gauss Rifle however, suffers from a few problems: they cycle rounds much slower than conventional autocannons, they have a limited ammunition count, and they're considerably heavier than most weapons. Also, while their ammunition is inert and won't explode from heat or critical hits, the weapons themselves are a bit unstable and will explode if they suffer critical hits (though for much less damage than most ammo explosions).

== External Links ==

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2QqOvFMG_A A video of a real-life railgun in action.] When you consider the fact that humanity is on the verge of (and certainly will) inventing a practical railgun in early ''M3'' (which we can power effectively for naval use),the main infantry weapon of the Imperium in M41 is a [[lasgun|shitty flashlight]] which, according to [[Dark Heresy]] has an effective range of 200-300 meters, the main tank armament is a 120mm smoothbore battle cannon, and the only undisputed rail weaponry the Imperium has are mainly found on its huge flying cathedrals, [[grimdark|humanity has fallen pretty far.]] Or [[humanity Fuck Yeah|GW didn't expect humanity to progress this fast.]]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YvV8y32f0 Thank you <s>Omnissiah</s> NAVSEC for this wondrous beauty.] Essentially the previous railgun, but now at a more advanced stage with a much easier and faster time to reload and fire.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Adeptus Mechanicus]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Eldar]]

[[Category: Craftworld Eldar]]

[[Category: Tau]]

[[Category: Necrons]]

[[Category: Weapons]]

[[Category: Warhammer Weapons]]

Japan

2021-04-23T20:30:19Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:1D1C:243E:D29C:E31: more like it caused you butthurt

[[image:Japan-2107x1406.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Beneath the mountain. Cherry trees are blossoming forth.
My soul is at peace.]]
{{topquote|Japan is not a place which can be controlled by foreigners, for the Japanese are neither so weak nor so stupid a race as to permit this, and the King of Spain neither had nor ever could have any power or jurisdiction here.| Alessandro Valignano}}
'''Nippon''' or '''Nihon''', known to foreigners as Wa, Yamatai, Jipon, Riben, Zipangu (plus a thousand spelling variants of that) and (most commonly nowadays) '''Japan''' is a country. It is a series of several thousand islands, the exact number of which depends both on the definition of "island" (minimum size) and if you ask them, or either the Russians or the Chinese. Despite the many islands, most of the population is centered on four main ones (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku). It is nominally an [[Empire]], but of the past thousand years an Emperor has held power beyond figurehead for less than 80 of them. [[Samurai]], [[Ninja]], [[Oni]], [[Tengu]], and [[Kitsune]] originate here. The most common religions (and those most likely to have analogs in a fantasy setting) are Shinto, various types of Buddhism and a Christian minority. Unlike many countries, the two major religions aren't entirely mutually exclusive, though no one would outright list their religion as "multiple". It is often said that the Japanese are born Shinto, marry Christian, and die Buddhist. Native systems include ''[[Maid RPG]]'', ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'', ''[[Queen's Blade]]'', and ''[[Zettai Reido]]'' as well as the CCGs ''[[Pokémon]]'', ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' and ''[[Fire Emblem|Fire Emblem Cipher]]''. The most popular game within the country however is, of all things, [[Call of Cthulhu]]. The manga [[Quick Start!!]] is also worth a mention.

== Japanese History ==

Japan's history geographically spans several million years and thousands nationally/culturally, but most fiction (even native stuff) and /tg/ only care about the following periods starting at the fairly late 1467. (with occasional rare forays into the Heian period).

*'''Heian Period''' (794-1185) - During this period, a distinctly Japanese culture started developing from the earlier Chinese Tang-influenced one. It is considered as somewhat of a high-point of Japan as culture and the imperial court were at their peak, though the shape of things to come could already be seen as the real power rested in the hands of the Fujiwara clan. Its end ushered the familiar fare of clans jockeying for the position of the shogun and thus true power in Japan.

*'''Sengoku Period''' (~1467-1603) - A succession crisis over who will become the next shogun, the man who really held power in Japan. Eventually devolves into everyone wanting the pie for himself. While this era lasted for almost 250 years, most only care about the last 40 (1560 onward) or so, when defacto unifier Oda Nobunaga began his rise to power and enough Europeans visited to document the happenings as a neutral enough third party. Everything before this is regarded as a bunch of stalemates for the most part. Gun spam was popular at the last part of this era, leading to the country having more guns per capita than anywhere else in the world at the time and the development of tactics that would last up till the introduction of the metallic cartridge. Near the end of the conflict one of the largest powers led an invasion of the Korean peninsula which ended in a stalemate and withdrawal (since these forces had more important things to do back home). Both sides are still butthurt about it to this day, especially thanks to the repeat during World War II.

*'''Edo Period''' (1603-1868) - After the reunification of the land a long period of peace ensued. A few decades into this however a brief Christian rebellion led to the expulsion of foreigners and began the sakoku ("closed state") dictate where minimal outside trade occurred. However, there was still some progress during the seclusion - agricultural tech got advanced and the population markedly increased, Japanese intellectuals like Motoori Norinaga began pondering what it meant to be truly Japanese (apparently it was haiku) and the trade with the Dutch at Nagasaki slowly introduced western learning and science to Japan. This seclusion would last till July 8th 1853 when an American fleet led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo to forcibly reopen trade. This set off a widespread division and panic in the government on what to do.

*'''Meiji Period''' (1868-1912) - In 1868-1869 the boy who would become known as Emperor Meiji took advantage of this panic to seize power back from the shogunate in a relatively short and bloodless war. Under his rule the country would refuse to bend over and become a colony like many primitive nations at the time had. It quickly modernized, abolished the caste system, replacing the samurai with a conscript army, and became a world power onto itself. The era is generally seen as a time when the western influences were at odds with Japanese traditions, many of which were perceived as backwards only to be glorified again a few decades later. In 1894-95 Japan would crush China in the Sino-Japanese war and establish itself as the dominant power in Asia. 1904-1905 they would crush Russia in a totally unexpected victory, something that ''really'' got them noticed. The era ended with Meiji's death in 1912.

*'''Taishō Period''' (1912-1926) - The rule of his son till 1926. Largely seen as a period of stability following the rapid change of the Meiji era. This period is also seen as a time when Japan was experimenting with democracy, seeing the rise of a number of political parties that would eventually be pushed to near-irrelevance once the army junta took sufficient hold on power. The country's entry into World War I is the main thing of note here. During the war the Japanese navy dominated the pacific. This showed the victory in the Russo-Japanese war wasn't a fluke scared the shit out of the rest of the world. Also, Einstein visited Japan in 1922 during his world tour and liked it (especially the [[weeaboo|women]]).

*'''Shōwa Period''' (1926-1989) - The rule of ''his'' son. Best known for the country's role in World War II. The politics became increasingly influenced by the military and the "evil customs" of the past (aka. Shinto, Samurai and Bushido) returned in a forceful but arguably corrupted manner. While this era would last up till the Emperor's death in 1989, the Emperor was reduced to a figurehead after the country's defeat in 1945 (and it's debatable if he was more than a puppet for the past several years before that). Thanks to the US needing a bulkhead against communist China and the industriousness of the people, Japan recovered quickly and sprang up to be the second most powerful economy on the planet before crony capitalism and financial speculation brought it all down in the 90s. Imperial Japan was actually worse than the [[Nazi]]s. As Japan went to extremes that even the fucking Nazi's found disturbing during WW2. Instead of owning up to Asian holocaust. They cover it up and teach the bare minimum about the war, than whine about being the only country to be nuked. [[Inquisition| While covering up the why]]. TLDR they were genocidal assholes who were planning to get a sweetheart deal by surrendering to the Soviets. They were more scared of an Communist invasion of their homeland than they were of nuclear bombs.

*'''Post-War Heisei and Reiwa periods''' (1989-20XX) - Beyond this Japan is just another first-world country for /tg/ purposes. The two most acute issues Japan is facing are the demographic decline and the threat of rising China. Very little non-native fiction has modern Japan as it's primary setting, though it is a stock foreign destination. Japan is however a relatively high priority country for games set in the "real world but..." to explain the differences from reality of. The exception is the [[Cyberpunk]] genre, where Japan dominates the world culturally and financially since at the time of the genre's origins it was believed that Japan would achieve ''economic'' conquest of the world in the future and despite the Lost Decade and other economic setbacks it remains as a tradition of the genre.

== Japanese Culture ==
Japan has, over the span of almost 2000 years, developed an unique blend of Chinese, Korean and (most recently) Western culture, mixed with their own stuff on top of THAT. There is no single defining characteristic that can describe it, but important elements are - honor, dedication to what one does, family/clan, industriousness and hierarchy. Some of these, such as emphasis on honor and family have been somewhat eroded by modern times, but others like loyalty to one's family/clan/corporation and deference to authority/hierarchy still endure.

One particularity of the Japanese culture is how its language was adapted to the social hierarchy. Japanese language has "politeness levels" - different ways of pronunciation and speaking reserved for those both above and below you on the social ladder. Though in itself complex, the levels can be roughly divided into 3 categories - how you'd speak to your junior/trainee/younger sibling, your equal/coworker/brother&sister and your superiors/bosses/parents&grandparents. At its core it's not that dissimilar form how you'd speak in English in a western setting (you wouldn't address your boss like you would your friend and vice-versa).

== Japanese Religion, Gods and Mythology ==
''see also: [[Mythology#Japanese_Mythology|Mythology]]''

Japanese people have always had a tendency to assimilate stuff from other cultures, most notably China and Korea. Their religion reflect this as they can be said to have "2+1" traditional religions - Shintoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Shintoism is the oldest and effectively the true native religion, being a blend of animism (meaning that all objects & creatures have a spiritual essence and worship is tied to specific places where said spirits reside) and nature/ancestor worship. Buddhism was introduced in 6th century from Korea and tended to blend with Shinto. Christianity is the youngest of the three, having been introduced by St. Francis Xavier in 16th century, it flourished for a time but a combination of distrust, European intrigues and peasant rebellions had the authorities ban it until the late 19th century.

== Japanese Magic ==
Japanese have their own traditional form of magic and it can be grouped in two broad categories.

The first one is ''Kotodama'' or "soul of language" and it is basically using the true-name type of magic to the extreme. Using specific sounds, it was believed that one could influence objects, environment, body and the soul itself.

The second comes in the form of Japanese witches. Unlike western ones which were said to derive their powers form the Devil, the Japanese breed gained their prowess form forming pacts with fox familiars. Once a fox was bribed (oftentimes promised a steady supply of food and shelter) it would confer to their witch/wizard many powers, usually related to trickery and subterfuge. A fox could turn invisible and used for spying, create illusions to trick their enemies and most feared of all - posses another human being and make them do their bidding. While lone foxes being aided were often benevolent, if one was employed by a human, they were almost always used for nefarious purposes.

== Self Defense Force ==
After World War II, Japan was hated and feared by the allied powers, and unlike West Germany it was not seen as a critical barrier to Soviet invasion. As such Japan was forced to adopt a constitution that prohibited an army, navy or air force and renounced the right to belligerency. As the Cold War heated up, NATO realized Japan ''was'' critical to preventing Communist dominance of the Pacific. Accordingly Japan was able to [[Rules Lawyer|exploit a loophole]] and create a "self defense force" that was an army in all but name. Said Self-Defense Force, as the name implies, has full authority to deal with domestic threats like terrorists and pirates threatening Japanese shipping, but any sort of offensive or overseas actions are more rigidly controlled and require the cooperation of the United States, per the bilateral security treaty.

While not the latest tech, the JSDF's equipment is absolutely modern and contains plenty of armored vehicles. Their main rifle is the Type 89, a pretty straightforward AR-18 variant that uses STANAG (M16) magazines. Unlike the British AR-18 variant, the Type 89 actually works since 1: They had the original AR-18 specs (Howa was previously subcontractor for manufacturing the AR-18) instead of a crude copy by people who never used a firearm before 2: It wasn't built by workers who knew they were going to be fired immediately afterwards. Improvements like free-floating and optics mounting are considered, but budgetary concerns prevent adoption. In December 2019 it was announced such an upgrade would finally be adopted after winning a trial, but if that will actually occur is unknown.

By the number, the Maritime Self Defense Force is at worst a match for the Russian Federation's pacific fleet, though would be heavily outnumbered if the Arctic fleet or Baltic fleet reinforced them (reinforcements from the black fleet however are unlikely). While it technically has no aircraft carriers, the JMSDF has four "helicopter destroyers" (two Izumo class, and two slightly older, shorter Hyuga class) that were quite clearly designed with a conversion or variant that carries fixed wing aircraft in mind. The obviously intended conversion of the Izumo class into proper aircraft carriers was announced in December of 2018 and caused more than a bit of butt-hurt in Korea. The rest of Japan's surface fleet consists mostly of destroyers in a variety of classes, most of which are derivatives of the USN's ''Arleigh Burke'' class, complete with the AEGIS system.

By the same post-war Constitution, Japan is expressly forbidden from having nuclear weapons, and their history with them makes the vast majority of the population OK with that. They do however have a large nuclear power industry and a space program, so there's no doubt they could easily make some and ICBMs to go with it if they wanted to, but they don't waste money on that when America already has got them covered.

==Japan Analogs in Fantasy==
* [[Nippon]] of [[Warhammer Fantasy]]
* The [[Tau Empire]] of [[Warhammer 40000]]
* Kozakura and Wa of [[Kara-Tur]]
* Jinin, The Forest of Spirits and Minkai of [[Golarion]]. Less direct analogs in the setting include Shokuro, Shenmen, and Chu Ye.
* [[Kamigawa]] of [[Magic the Gathering]]
* [[Rokugan]] from [[Legend of the Five Rings]], though while culturally Japanese it takes great influence from many other Asian cultures.

==Why living in Japan sucks==
Despite what [[Weeaboo]]s would have you believe, living in Japan stinks. Not only do they still treat minorities like shit, but their police force is also worse than any western nation you can name and are utterly corrupt. A 99%+ conviction rate is impossible without at least a quarter of that being false testimonies. In Japan everything is expensive and just about everyone is underpaid, as this is what happens when you fetishize a business culture and without a bunch of crappy books written as fetish fuel by some Russian whore.

Like Meat? Love Taco Bell or Hamburgers? Too bad, it costs way too much. Want to buy mecha models, figures or BluRay discs from your favorite anime? [[Rage|That too, is overpriced]]. Remember when we said that people are underpaid? Well, your favorite mango and animu artists are as well and are working themselves to death, for what barely counts as minimum wage. The idiots over 50 in the Diet and elsewhere than wonder why their birthrate is falling. The obvious answer is that if young people don't have money to own a home, they're not going to give a flying shit about making babies. Hell, the people who ''do'' want to start families oftentimes find that they can't do the nasty because they're still living with their parents and the walls are paper-thin (sometimes [[wikipedia:shoji|literally]]), so there's a whole industry of "love hotels" just so couples can actually find a place to do it.

Additionally they were never 'de-imperialised' the same way the Germans were 'denazified' following the WWII, which goes some way to explain why the Chinese and both Koreas still hold grudges from the second world war (despite the South Koreans and Japan sharing a <s>sugar daddy</s> powerful ally in the form of the United States), in a way that the Germany and Israel do not. If you have an older family member over the age of 50, they may still hold a grudge about this as well. Oddly enough, Taiwan does not care that as much since it would rather focus its hate against the mainland communists and many have good memories of the island's modernization under Japan.

And on top of all that is the fact that you are one of two nations that tend to get a front-row seat to the nuclear saber-rattling between the North Koreans and the Americans. Indeed, due to World War II grudges, those sabers are often rattled at you. Additionally having so many US bases means that if something ever does start between the US and China, you are going to have a front row seat to that "World War III push here to start button" even if you rather not. (Doesn't help that China holds grudges like a dwarf and while they may not want to attack their third largest trading partner, they won't shed any tears if they have to regardless of whether or not the U.S maintains a presence on your islands)

You don't have to live in Japan just because you love the country/culture, but if you absolutely must, be prepared for a lot of grueling language study (Japanese have 3 alphabets and roughly 3 "politeness levels" that you must learn to properly nativise). Also, you better have an income of about 4-5k $ per month if you hope to live in one of the bigger cities and at least 7-8k$ if you plan on having a family. One often tried way to get in is by becoming an English teacher but for that you need college-level education and special training, because if there is one thing even detractors of Japan must admit it is that they are DEAD serious about the quality of their education.

Overall: Japan has issues, not insurmountable ones nor one totally unique to it, but they are perhaps more exacerbated then most other developed nations and certainly not helped by the Geopolitics of the region.

[[Category: History]]