Tensor rifle

Amberlandrax Armaments' tensor rifle was a weapon of Squib design that used tractor beam technology to generate damaging waves of tensor energy. The rifle fired an invisible yet noisy burst of compressed tractor beam waves; the constant barrage affected a biological target at the cellular level and eventually resulted in death. Variants of the tensor weapon used either power generators or standard power packs as an energy source. The device was small enough to fit in Squib hands, although it was difficult to aim and fire correctly without specialized skill.

The tensor rifle was available for sale in the galaxy during the time of both the Galactic Empire and the New Republic. Although retailers such as Galladinium Galactic Exports offered the weapon in their datalog, use of the tensor rifle was strictly regulated and even illegal in most jurisdictions. The weapon's rarity also curtailed its widespread adoption.

Description
Amberlandrax Armaments' tensor rifle drew upon Squib engineering and manufacturing to harness the species' mastery of tractor beam technology. The resulting rifle was part of a general class known as tensor weapons, which emitted quick pulses of compressed tractor beam waves to pummel a target with a constant barrage of cell-destroying tensor energy from a distance. Upon hitting a mark, the rifle's wielder was able to focus the beam on the adversary; the injury caused increased with time until the victim finally died. Nevertheless, Amberlandrax's rifle shot a beam that was invisible to the naked eye, a design that made it difficult to aim accurately. The weapon had a maximum range of 250 meters, but the unwieldy beam made rapid firing impossible. The gun created a din so loud that Squibs who owned the weapon learned to use it to get the attention of beings who might otherwise dismiss them.

The tensor rifle was small enough to be wielded by a single combatant, even one the size of a typical one-meter, 22-kilogram Squib. The weapon itself weighed 7.2 kilograms. Non-Squibs found the tensor rifle difficult to use without specialized training, but Squibs took to it naturally. At least two variants of the weapon were available: one drew energy from conventional power packs of the type used to power other energy weapons, and squeezed out 15 shots before recharge. Another model instead used a power generator for energy and provided 50 shots without power replacement.

History
Amberlandrax Armaments manufactured the Squib tensor rifle during the Galactic Civil War, as early as 0 ABY. The legality of the weapon varied from one area of the galaxy to another; the rifle was generally rare except among the Squibs, and its use often required a government-issued license, for which a fee had to be paid. Ownership or use of the weapon was completely illegal on many planets.

At some point before 3 ABY, Galladinium Galactic Exports nevertheless featured the tensor rifle in the fiftieth-anniversary issue of its Galactic Datalog of Fantastic Technology, albeit in a special edition of the publication distributed to those the company deemed its "preferred customers." As with all its merchandise, Galladinium accepted orders for the tensor rifle via subspace transceivers, payable by credit account, with extra fees for shipping and handling. The retailer provided a floor model of the tensor rifle for testing at its showroom in Hreas Port City, on the Basin continent of the planet Lenthalis, located in the Secossi system. The power-pack-ready tensor rifle was available for as little as undefined10,000, although Galladinium sold the higher-capacitiy, power-generator version for  undefined15,000. The weapon was still available in the galaxy after the transition from Galactic Empire to New Republic following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Behind the scenes
The tensor rifle was designed as part of a contest run by the Role Playing Game Association Network (RPGA) that allowed gamers to submit weapon and equipment designs to West End Games, publisher of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Although the entry did not win a prize in the competition, it was selected for publication in the 1995 sourcebook Galladinium's Fantastic Technology, compiled by Rick D. Stuart. The weapon was later adapted for Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars roleplaying system, where it was featured in the Arms & Equipment Guide in 2002 and The Unknown Regions in 2010. Both West End's and Wizards' game statistics represent the weapon as dealing damage comparable to a heavy blaster pistol, and both games require users to learn a unique skill to fire the weapon effectively.