Artifact · Experimental Repeater Firearm (weapon)Its story
A heavy, shoulder-braced iron firearm whose barrel is a miniature cannon, banded in brass and scored with measuring marks. Beneath it sits a sealed pressure cylinder, a hand-cranked flywheel, and a narrow magazine holding six thumb-length steel bolts. Each bolt has a tapered, rune-etched point and a hollow rear socket that locks onto the weapon's magnetic accelerator. When fired, the mechanism gives a sharp metallic clack, then hurls the bolt with a thundercrack and a brief blue-white flash. The weapon is plainly Imperial engineering, but its impossible force suggests a secret borrowed from far older machines.
Lore
Known as the Thunderbolt of Nuln, this weapon is said to contain a sliver of the force that drives an Empire railgun, miniaturised into a hand-held marvel. Engineers argue over whether it is ingenious mechanics, illicit Dwarf craft, or a relic of a forgotten age. Its appearance on a battlefield is often enough to draw the attention of Imperial authorities, rival engineers, and anyone who wants the secret of its construction.
History
Kessler built the first prototype after studying a damaged Dwarf device recovered from a collapsed mine. He intended to arm Imperial engineers with a weapon capable of punching through a Chaos warrior's plate. The prototype vanished during a raid on his workshop, resurfacing decades later in the hands of a roadwarden captain who used it to stop a marauding Ogre. Its subsequent owners have included a Nuln artillery officer, a notorious witch hunter, and at least one grave robber who mistook its pressure gauges for valuable jewelry.