Power Weapons
From Warhammer 40k
Power weapons are rare and greatly coveted personal close combat weapon on the battlefields of the forty first millennium. Few members of the Adeptus Mechanicus retain the knowledge necessary to make these deadly weapons, and those that are in existence are often hundreds or thousands of years old. Only the most powerful and influential members of the Imperium possess a power weapon as a result. Inquisitors and high level commisars or imperial guard officers tend to possess them, as do members of various noble families with clout and riches. The Space Marines make use of many of the power weapons in existence, as is their right.
Power weapons generally exude a hazy bluish field of energy that wraps around the damaging physical part of a weapon, be it a sword's blade or hammer's head. These weapons may be constructed to appear as a primitive, simple weapon, with the power field generator concealed within the hilt or haft of the weapon. Once the power field is switched on, however, the obvious humming sound given off and the blue light gives the secret away. There are special variants of these "traditional" types of power weapon, such as inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn's power sword, which had no actual metal blade, just a hilt that projected a blade of pure energy. Another such variant is the Eviscerator, an enormous chain sword that emits a weak power field.
The most notably effective use of a power weapon is the Chainfist, which is a combination of a Powerfist and a Chainsword which usually protrudes from the back of the hand, just above the knuckles. This weapon is capable of cutting through even the toughest of armor on battle tanks. Chainfists are so massive and encumbering (limiting their effectiveness against enemy troops), not to mention energy-inefficient, that they are normally only ever seen on Space Marines equipped with Terminator Armor.
The most powerful close combat weapon is the powerfist mounted on a Dreadnought. It is more powerful than its infantry equivalent since the dreadnought is unencumbered by its weight and is able to strike quickly, while it is also just as effective as the chainfist against heavily armoured vehicles. The Space Wolves Venerable Dreadnought Bjorn the Fell-Handed has a lightning claw instead of the powerfist usually found on other Dreadnoughts, but current game rules treat the lightening claw as the same as the powerfist.
