Bay 12 Games Forum

Company Name: Massgraves Incorporated
Market Share: $660
Cash: $73 (-$17 Weapon Manufacture, -$3 ammo manufacture)
Weapon Designs:
B1 Holocaust, Heavy Machine Gun ($36/shipment, 15x120mm, Spring 1922)
B2 Holocaust, Heavy Machine Gun ($36/shipment, 15x120mm, Spring 1923)
A1 Locust, Rifle (#17/shipment, 5x20mm, Spring 1925)

Production Line #1: A1 Locust
Ammo Press #1: 5x20mm

Warehouse: 1 Occassio Company Charter – Massgraves Incorporated.
x1 15x120mm Ammo
x9 5x20mm Ammo [10 to contract]
x1 B2 Holocaust
x9 A1 Locust [10 to contract]

Despite the rather…unorthodox name, the A1 is a relatively standard large-caliber water-cooled machine gun.  None of the users would describe the box-and-cylinder shape as “elegant”, but it would not be out of place in the trenches of the Great War.  Recoil and muzzle flash are enormous as it fires 15mm rounds, which could place the A1 vaguely in the realm of “autocannon”.  The built-on water tanks and cooling system are absolutely required for use as the gun will quickly seize without them, or worse – begin to cook off.

If one word could be used to describe this weapon, it would be “heavy”.  It’s largely immobile due to the cooling system and size, and can not be used in places where fresh water is not largely available.  Thermal buildup requires lots of water to be cycled through during use.  Impure water (such as sea water or hard water) can cause blockages that take extensive periods of maintenance to clean out of the copper piping.  Accuracy is an afterthought, with most rounds landing “vaguely in the vicinity” of the target.  Range is impressive however, though with recoil, flash, and accuracy trying to hit anything that far is a distant dream.  Maintenance and cleaning is a chore, and many parts can become jammed as the gun cools and fouling works its way inside.  Testers describe the weapon as “vehemently unfriendly” to operate in nearly all aspects, though the stopping power is incredible to see in action.  The A1 is definitely a weapon you’d prefer to see as a bystander, rather than from either end.

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The switch from welds to bolts is easy enough.  Slightly more difficult is breaking the weapon down into modular parts and forming the external case to more closely follow the internals - a process which requires additional stamping and tooling.  As a result the Holocaust now looks much more appealing to potential customers and can be more easily serviced.

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The muzzle is lengthened and some simple ladder sights (purchased whole-sale and bolted to the water jacket) are added.  The A3 gets a hefty increase in range, accuracy, visibility, and weight.  It's still not a marksman weapon, but it can reliably get rounds in the same zipcode as the target now.  The increase in material increases price slightly.

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Large portions of the case and water jacket aren't load bearing, and can safely be made out of aluminum plate.  It's not quite as durable, but we've managed to cut a few good pounds off the design.  Aluminum is, sadly, more expensive (about seven times more than that of steel), and the price of the B1 is slightly higher as a result.

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The rifling is made tighter, giving more for the ammunition to grip.  The tighter spiral virtually eliminates wobble in flight.

Sending lead downrange like a swarm, the Locust can spray bullets like a plague from God.  Reaching rates of fire as high as 1,200 rounds per minute, the 30 round drum will empty in - literally - less than 2 seconds with its open-bolt blowback action.  The stopping power on this gun isn't much at only 5mm, but the volume of fire makes up for it (though accuracy isn't even considered).  The A1 Locust features easy-swap components, meaning parts can be detached and replaced with minimal amounts of effort.  This allows the weapon to be disassembled, packaged, and reassembled quickly, but it also represents points of failure as the join between the barrel and action isn't always perfect.

In terms of reliability, the Locust none.  Internal components wear out rapidly with frequent use, and the barrel will warp visibly as it heats.  The stamped components will flex and deform with mistreatment, in some cases making new magazines impossible to insert.  The drum magazine is a chore to reload, bulky, and heavy - which is especially bad since the Locust goes through ammo so quickly.  Swapping components is basically a necessity, and armorers despise this weapon for the amount of work that goes into keeping them functional.  Without a foregrip, users will hold the magazine to steady the weapon.  This can unintentionally twist the magazine, resulting in failure-to-feed.  Range isn't great, assuming you can hit your target.  The weapon is extremely prone to keyhole effects, and targets as close as 25m away have been found unscathed during test firings (though the ceiling above had taken a fair amount of punishment).

This gun will never be accurate or pretty.  It will, however, spray a LOT of bullets downrange.