Arc Pistol

Archivist's Excerpt from: Trinkets, Tech, & Tinkery: A Comprehensive Inventory of All Possible Equipment One Might Need When Circumnavigating the World, Inside & Out, Tabletop Edition, CVI 42.5

Stemming from the incredible technological prowess of the Grand Colonial Academy of Science comes the Arc Pistol, a weapon kept in secret and held back from Orphan's standard law enforcement, including the Constabulary itself. In the wake of what some called the "Lectral Revolution," defense mechanisms utilizing this new discovery needed to be produced, because ... because that's how funding works.

The gun is shaped something like a flintlock, with a curved grip and ivory inlay. It is known to the office of the Inspector General, but again, is not standard issue among the Constabulary. One must assume such a weapon is held in reserve for eventual emergencies or insurgencies, should such a nonsensical thing ever occur.

The pistol utilizes a focused-light array to emit an initial "thread" of ionized luminescence, down which would then discharge a hefty amperage of lectral energy into the target.

Rather than standard cartridges or ammunition, the Arc Pistol used a type of battery cartridge as its source of power.

Regardless of how this sort of weapon compares to a Colt .44 or, say, a M93 Lebel carbine, one would not enjoy being shot by it, that's for sure.