Pistols

The primary design goal of a pistol-type weapon is compactness.

Typically, a pistol will have a blunt discharge mechanism controlled with a grip suitable for one-hand usage. The bluntness of the mechanism is important for transportation properties - such as ease of carrying and concealment.

To determine if a character may use a weapon one-handed, you must compare the force the weapon applies when discharged with the force that the character can apply.

• If the force of the weapon is less than half the force the character can apply, then they may use the pistol one-handed.
• If the weapon's recoil is more than half, but less then the total force of the character, then they must use the pistol two-handed.
• If the weapon's recoil is more than the force of the character, then they cannot use the pistol normally. They MIGHT be able to brace themselves against a support to use it, but they would have to take some damage (at the ref's discretion).

Pistols have the problem of often being size-specific in what users are permissible.

The actual dimension of a pistol depends both on what kind of weapon it is (photonic, plasma, projectile), and who the intended user is. A simple light blaster can have it's mechanism fit inside a volume of only 100 mL, but a grip intended for use by a Groten will require at least 1L. Though this is an extreme example, a light blaster used by a Groten really will have a handle 10 times as large as the weapon mechanism.

Different sized pistols have general characteristics. Most average-sized pistols have adjustable grips to allow for a range of user sizes, as well as allowing for two-handed use for weaker users. Extremely powerful, heavy pistols only have larger grips, understanding that only large and strong beings can use them one-handed and allowing medium-sized beings with adequate strength to use them two-handed. Very small and light pistols usually only have proportional grips so that they can be kept easily concealed - with larger grips requiring a specific modification.