Heavy Tension Quadrepetal Crossbow

A very primitive crossbow-like weapon. These were developed primarily by Suons before they reached space, both on Tebburus and on Mauray. On the latter planet, they are still in very common use. The Quadrepetal Crossbow is similar in principle to a regular crossbow -except with 4 arms rather than 2, and 2 strings, both being of a high tension material. Due to clever suon ingenuiiity, they could utilize various kinds of ammunition such as an armour piercing dart capable of penetrating the thick skulls of Tebburus megafauna and Dragons. This however required the user to be very accurate, enough so to hit the brain of the target. Many can fire a similar kind of round that has lower armour penetrating but splinters into many fragments within the body of the target.
Although these can fire bolts at immense velocities when on maximum tension, it does have low tension capability with a higher fire rate. To reach maximum tension, a hand crank is used on the side that stores potential energy within gears.

Manufacturing process

As people must have their crossbows be reliable - as their own lives often depend on it - a great amount of care is taken in the construction of these weapons. These tasks are reserved for skilled craftsmen that provide a population with them.  High precision wood chipping tools are used to form the frame and bolts. It can take days to manufacture a single weapon, and minutes per splintering crossbow ammunition. Full armour piercing is easier to make because it has fewer intricate parts inside. The string is made from a large amount of woven strings of a high tensile strength fabric. As this is the single most heavy - used part of the weapon, great care is taken to ensure the correct twist density and to make sure it is clean. To aid in this process, the specialist will often make very long lengths of the material and cut bits off as needed.

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

Rarity

Everyone needs one when exploring out in the wild. Despite the intricate nature of the weapons and the skills required to make them, there are a large amount of specialists. Also, suons grow slowly. Most suons should have one.

Raw materials & Components

Wood and thick, high tension string