Editing Setting:Nutopia/Fluff (section)

===Specifics===
Eclipse Phase, as a system, is fairly fluff and crunch light with regards to its various weapons. Ultimately there's nothing wrong with that, both it and Nutopia exist in a framework that allows a grand and amazing adventure to unfold with minimal combat. Indeed, these are worlds in which the deadliest threats cannot be navigated with force of arms, but rather must be conquered with an agile mind and force of will.

On the other hand, for those of us who like a more granular experience with their gear, and those like myself with a general technolust for the tools of destruction devised by mankind, this system can be found wanting. The section below is devoted to defining some of the specific technologies and upgrades available to a beweaponed Delver 25 ACE, and providing a few specific examples of equipment they might come across in their journeys.

====Ammunition====
Weapons designers realized as early as the late twentieth century that conventional chemical propellant firearms were reaching the apex of their development. Outside of various small improvements in cartridge design, niche calibers and novel ignition methods the firearm as we know it had essentially begun to reach the edges of what the concept was capable of. The advent of railgun technology allowed for by room temp super conductors and super-dense batteries proved to be the next great leap in design, but the technology was expensive to produce, and while offering more power than any traditional weapon, was wanting in a few other key areas.

This lead to a focus on the development, both for rail and conventional platforms, of more exotic varieties of ammunition capable of filling a variety of roles. 

For Railguns there are three primary varieties of ammunition: Standard darts or flechettes made of some dense material delivered singly or in bundles, the dual purpose SLAM round and TGR "Tiger" guided munitions.

SLAMs (Solenoid Launched Attack Munitions) can be used against both armored and soft targets, and were designed with the intent of allowing operators to seamlessly engage a variety of threats without the need for changing magazines or internal feeds. While the exact method and mechanism varies somewhat depending on the scale of the weapon, the basic idea is that a small charge within the projectile can, with the press of a button, turn an armor piercing projectile into an anti-personnel one. In large diameter weapons this is done with an airbust, the round exploding in front of or above the target and creating deadly high velocity fragmentation effect. Smaller bore railguns typically use the charge to either split open flanges on the round just before impact, causing the dart to bloom like a flower just prior to striking the target, greatly increasing surface area and by extension the damage caused, or simply use it to blow up the round on its way through the target. A round is told which terminal effect to use at the gun, although the method by which detonation is triggered varies.

TGRs (Terminal Guidance Rounds) are the most expensive variety of railgun ammunition. Typically only fired from the largest guns, these rounds use fins and micro thrusters to allow a round to do limited course correction as it nears a marked target. This really only comes into play when a railgun is being used to fire rounds on a ballistic trajectory, and even then the extreme velocity of its projectiles makes such corrections difficult.

Conventional firearms have a great deal more variety. Old classics like jacketed hollow points and armor piercing rounds are still the order of the day, with incendiary and explosive effects becoming quite common as well. Compressed tungsten frangibles are the most common anti-personnel round for those who can afford the cost and don't like to risk collateral damage associated with explosive options, and the absence of legal strictures has allowed the bundled flechette concept to make a comeback, allowing a mixture of accuracy, ability to defeat armor and gruesome terminal ballistics.

An interesting development in conventional rounds are bullets coated with a liquid "metallic glass". Originally designed for high wear tool manufacturing, the material is capable of storing immense elastic energy. A bullet coated with it, if it penetrates a target or strikes any hard surface, will immediately ricochet. The erratic nature of the round and the fact that for maximum effect the projectile must be spherical greatly limit its utility, but it has found a home as an enhancement to traditional pellet loads for shotguns and can be used to augment fragmentation weapons of all kinds as well.

Coilguns, a technology related in concept to Railguns, have found a niche as an excellent way of "soft launching" large loads from relatively short barrels. Pioneered first as mortars and artillery pieces, coilgun technology can be found now in man portable anti-tank missiles and even some advanced grenade launchers. They can heft everything from simple explosive projectiles to canisters of ball bearings or flechettes. Due to the comparatively lower velocity compared to railguns, coilguns get a much greater effect from TGRs, and outright missiles are quite common as well.

====Point the Loud End at the Bad Man and Squeeze the Go Away Switch====
A selection of some of the weapons one might find while wandering the wastes. These are simply some of the most common or notable; feel free to fill in a weapon that more befits your tastes.

'''AR2 Modular Assault Rifle''' 
Armacor's update to the venerable AR platform, this design incorporates many of the cutting edge advancements in firearms technology that were pioneered in the years leading to the Fall. Common the world over, the rifle benefits from its modular nature and the plethora of after-market modifications available to tweak it further; a cornucopia of scopes, suppressors, underbarrel attachments and various methods of personalization exist. As such, the rifle can be configured to fit almost any mission profile given the proper parts, ranging from submachine guns and assault rifles to carbines and battle rifles. In its most basic configuration (AR2-A) the rifle is a bullpup pattern weapon, feeding from a magazine of forty intermediate calibre caseless rounds. This great versatility has its drawbacks however; the rifle performs admirably within a close range of its intended purpose, making an excellent carbine or assault rifle - but the further the platform is pushed, the greater the gap in capability compared to dedicated systems. While strictly speaking an AR2 might become a Designated Marksman Rifle or even a Light Machine Gun in a pinch given time and a conversion kit, savvy operators are advised to look elsewhere if alternatives are available. 
''Variants include: AR2-A Assault Rifle, AR2-B Battle Rifle, AR2-C Carbine, AR2-CS Carbine with Integral Suppressor, AR2-D Designated Marksman Rifle, AR2-L Light Machine Gun, AR2-S Submachine Gun''

40 rounds. 6.8mm Caseless. The futuristic version of a M16.

'''PAAW General Purpose Machine Gun'''
The PAAW, standing for Power Armor Automatic Weapon, was an early collaboration in design between Weimuller and Armacor that produced one of those weapons that simply "got it right". This hugely dependable system is at its core a belt fed, closed bolt, short recoil operated air cooled machine gun in the style of the legendary Browning M2. While the weapon can be found on tripods or pintle mounts, its true home and intended purpose is in the hands of a power armored soldier. The advent of weight distributing stability rigs and the sheer carrying capacity afforded by combat power armor made arming such troops with standard assault rifles seem like a waste to commanders. A new weapon was needed, and the PAAW was tailored to fit this exact niche. It fires high powered telescoping cased rounds from either left or right feed cans. Unlike many weapons of its class it fires not only in automatic, but in single and three round burst as well, owing to its intended use as a primary weapon for PA troops. It is commonly fitted with a stacked munition under barrel grenade launcher when used in this role, further multiplying the truly epic amount of fire a PA squad can produce. Dependable, relatively common and hitting like an angry bull, the PAAW is a favorite of Delver crews able to keep it fed and happy. 
''Variants Include: PAAW M1 GPMG, PAAW M1 DMV Accurized Marksman Variant, PAAW M1A2 Shortened Paratrooper Variant''

100 round box or 200 round twin-belt. 8mm Telescoping Case. M60 and M2's kid.

'''Mavor Shotgun'''
Semi-automatic shotgun that loads from 3 magazine tubes. It incorporates a vectored recoil system and muzzle brake. 
24 rounds. 10 gauge Shotshell. A Kel-Tec KSG with more ammunition.

'''Sturmbock Breaching Pistol'''
Large frame caseless submachine gun with an under barrel magazine fed shotgun, meant as a specialist weapon combining a primary firearm and an entry device. Typically used with a shoulder stock and vertical foregrip, but can actually be used as the name implies, although at penalties if the user is not of sufficient strength.
''Variants include: SBPk Carbine Variant, SBPs Suppressed Variant''

30 rounds. 10mm Caseless.
3 rounds. 10 gauge Shotshell.

'''LSG-9 "Nadel-Gewehr" Long Gun'''
Highly customizable conventional sniper’s weapon with everything one might expect from a top of the line marksman’s instrument. Free floating precision forged barrel, drop in bolt assemblies in a modular receiver, fully adjustable stock and bipod/monopod and a locking optic rail. Entire weapon can be broken down and stored in a large briefcase. Can be configured for anti-personnel or anti-materiel roles. Anti-personnel variant uses an integral suppressor and fires miniaturized SLAM darts from a detachable box. Anti-materiel version fires hypersonic saboted flechettes that create a distinctive “ripple-bang” as they pass, uses a muzzle brake and a hydraulic recoil dampener.

APvar: 10 rounds. 6mm SLAM darts.
AMvar: 3 rounds. 12.5mm saboted flechettes (13mm bore diameter).

'''Arm50 Machine Pistol'''
Extremely compact machine pistol intended as a vehicle crewman’s weapon or for discrete deployment amongst personal security details or plainclothes operations. Primarily polymer construction, telescoping bolt design that feeds from a top mounted magazine. Substitutes accuracy and stopping power for immediate high volume of fire and compact size. Uses compensator and delayed recoil impulse for manageable recoil impulse during burst fire even with such a short overall length. Silencers can be fitted over compensation vents if sound and flash are a concern.

50 rounds. 5.6mm Caseless.