Star Trek Federation Type II Phaser

**Name**: Type II Phaser
**Model**: Starfleet Type II Phaser
**Type**: Energy Weapon
**Scale**: character
**Length**: 25 cm
**Weight**: 0.6 kg
**Skill**: Blaster: Type II Phaser
**Ammo**: 1,000
**Range**: 5-20/50/100 m
**Damage**: Varies based on setting

**Game Notes**:

* Requires Command Level authorization for settings 11 through 16.

**Firing Modes**

* **Standard** mode is the one typically used. It does the weapon's basic damage.

* **Pulse** mode involves increasing the damage the weapon does by firing a series of rapid pulses of energy. You can simulate this by increasing the weapon's damage with extra power, or as a form of single-weapon multifire. Pulse phasers cannot use this rule; they are already optimized for this type of fire only (which is why they do much more damage than normal phasers of the same type).

* **Continuous** fire mode involves maintaining a beam for longer than normal, making it easier to hit the target. This provides +1D to roll when making an attack Test to hit the target. Pulse phasers cannot fire in continuous mode.

* **Wide Beam** mode allows a beam to affect a much broader area. Instead of a narrow beam, the beam widens by 10 meters for every 1D of damage sacrificed. In combat, for every 1D (1D = 3 pips) of damage sacrificed to widen the beam, the user receives a +1D bonus to hit the target. Out of combat, a sufficiently wide beam on low power settings has many uses as a tool.

 Pulse Beam
 Continuous Beam
 Wide-Beam

**Description**: A type-2 phaser was a typical hand-held directed-energy weapon used by Starfleet and United Federation of Planets personnel during the 23rd and 24th centuries. More powerful and generally larger in size than the type-1 phaser, type-2 phasers were kept aboard Starfleet and Federation starships, starbases, space stations and at planetary facilities.

The type-2 phaser is a required piece of equipment for most Starfleet away teams, and is the basic sidearm of Starfleet security teams and hazard teams. (TNG video game: Star Trek: Elite Force)

Often, concerns about diplomacy would be the only reason a landing party or away team would opt to not carry type-2 phasers, as smaller type-1 hand phasers are more easily concealed and give Starfleet personnel a less threatening appearance.

Specifications

A descendant of electromagnetic weapons, laser weapons and phase weapons of the 22nd century, the type-2 phaser started to supercede the laser pistol as a common Starfleet sidearm in the 23rd century, and was standard issue aboard Starfleet vessels by the 2260s.

Utilized primarily in defensive situations, the Phaser Type-2 had several applications, from use as a weapon to use as a cutting tool, explosive device, or energy source. Storing considerable energy, most phasers were distinguished by a roughly pistol or gun-type configuration, firing a focused energy discharge in the form of a beam or steady stream.

In the nearly two hundred years since their introduction to Starfleet personnel, several models and makes have been observed.

Type-2 Phasers can cause severe to deadly injuries or phaser burns.

The Type-2 Phaser, while not as powerful as other particle weapons, has the advantage of not requiring ammunition in order to fire. Instead, its internal energy cells slowly regenerate themselves.

Variations

One of the earliest incarnations of the type-2 phaser was a Sestra Weapons phaser pistol used in the 23rd century, coming into Starfleet use on reference stardate 2/06. The weapon consisted of a removable type-1 hand phaser mated to a pistol grip with a power pack. This weapon fell out of use after the late 2260s after the evolution of transtator II technology was discovered on reference stardate 2/09. (TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual)

In the 2270s, the Atalskes Phaser Corporation phaser IV model of type-2 phaser was introduced, again consisting of a (somewhat larger) hand phaser (known as the phaser III) mated to a pistol handle. These weapons were first issued on reference stardate 2/12 and were used well into the 24th century, despite other models being available. These weapons were used aboard many vessels, such as the Enterprise (from 2273 until 2285), Reliant, and the Enterprise-C.

In the 2280s, the phaser IIB was introduced, as part of the Sestra company's phaser B series, returning Starfleet to a shape similar to the 2260s type-2 phaser, with a smaller removable hand phaser, the phaser IB. These sturdy weapons were known to be traded as surplus outside of Starfleet many years after first being introduced, into the latter half of the 24th century.

By the late 2280s, another heavy-duty pistol variant of the type-2 phaser was introduced, with an adjustable emitter shield on top and a spring-like power pack ejection option.

In the 24th century, Starfleet began to use a variety of type-2 phasers that abandoned the familiar pistol grip, having an extension of the body of the weapon that resembled the grip of a hand phaser, with at least four distinct variations of this design used in the latter half of the century. In the early 2360s decade, the mark VI battle phaser was an example of this arrangement, commonly in use until around the year 2365. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual)

**Source**:

* Memory Alpha: Type 2 phaser
* Memory Beta: Type-2 phaser
* Star Trek DS9 Core Game Book (page 237)
* Star Trek TNG RPG Core Book (page 236)
* thedemonapostle