Evocative Alternatives to +1 Weapons (pt 2: Sci-Fi)

This is a follow-up to my earlier post describing my riffs on the original, much lauded evocative alternatives to +1 swords by Gus L. In the first post, I described my attempts to write a character background that begin with not much more than one of those evocative alternatives, providing what I came up with for a bog-standard fantasy and western setting.

Below is my attempt to write the same for a Sci-Fi setting. I quite like the notion of a Bryson Armory manufacturing worker making off with a Smart Whip & a Bolt Driver on their way to repulse the Confederacy of Star's invasion, and I think my players might find it interesting as well!

SCI-FI

BRYSON ARMORY (aka space weapons expert) When the manufacturing planet of Aeris came under siege, Bryson Armory opened their stores to the populace. As a few hundred riveters repulsed several divisions of highly trained soldiers, it turned out weapons could make up for lack of training. Good thing no one really made you give yours back.

Melee (d6)

1 Bloodied Katana: folds to the size of a chocolate bar. On a nat 20, decapitation. 18-19, severs a limb. Can cut through the hardest steel, and loves blood. If you draw it without drawing blood, test wis DC 13 or keep using it until it draws blood.

2 ThunderSpear: Otherwise plain spear covered in runes. When thrown, deals d6 damage and returns to your hand unless the damage roll is 1. Range is Over There. When shaken, summons a thunderstorm.

3 Cold Iron Glaive: Unfinished ash shaft, heavy, almost dull head made of cold forged meteorite. Extraplanar entities hate it, and it hums in their presence. Crits on max damage, crit banishes extraplanar entities.

4 Glass Lance: Ornate white wood topped with a narrow glass point. Touch an opaque surface to make it transparent and vice versa. Ignores armor, but spear point shatters on a 1 on the damage dice. Repairs itself in 48 hours.

5 Smart Whip: Can wrap around people or objects. On a hit, spreads nanites that calcify organic tissue. On a nat 1 on the to-hit roll or the damage roll, nanites get on you.

6 Heat Sink: Barbed iron rod. On a hit, target saves or is hooked by the barbs. You can vent heat into the head at a rate of 100 degrees per round, but on a failed usage roll, the heat vents back into you.

Ranged (d6)

1 Bolt Driver: Fires an adamantine rod. When it hits, it launches nanowire anchors, pinning hit targets in place. Can be used to pull enemies towards you.

2 3D Printer of Justice: Can turn any raw material into bullets. Can also generate/print justifications for your actions; ID’s, costumes, body cam footage, drop guns, etc.

3 Mining Laser: Doesn’t reload, but overheats. Take a turn to let it cool down. Can also be used to mine through anything other than finished metal.

4 Railgun: Magnetically accelerates sabots of iron. They become electrically charged; can disable electronic equipment or be tuned to a lower speed to nonlethally disable opponents.

5 Singularity: Pull the trigger. Roll the dice. Don’t ask questions. Consequences may vary. 

6 Arc Caster: Tendrils of lightning leap to damage everyone within the cone of range. Can also be used to jumpstart depowered tech.