AvP: Plasma Pistol
Name: Plasma Pistol
Model: Yautja Plasma Pistol
Type: Directed energy weapon
Scale: character
Skill: blaster
Ammo: 20
Range: 1-24/60/120m
Damage: 5D
Description: The Plasma Pistol, also known as the Plasma Handgun, is a handheld version of the Yautja Plasmacaster. While purpose-built examples are known to exist, the weapon can also be assembled in the field from a normal Plasmacaster. Typically, the former are more powerful and versatile than the latter, which would presumably only be used in situations where the donor Plasmacaster has been damaged in some way and will therefore no longer function as intended.
The bolts fired by Plasma Pistols are for all intents and purposes identical to those launched by Plasmacasters. The major differences come in the operation of the weapon itself; being handheld, it lacks any form of automated target tracking and must be aimed manually. Coupled with the lack of an form of laser sight, this makes the weapon suitable at only short range. Some versions also fire their plasma bolts in an arc-like trajectory, further limiting their range.
Purpose-built examples tend to be more versatile, some featuring alternate fire modes capable of firing multiple plasma bolts simultaneously. Versions assembled in the field, meanwhile, tend to have several drawbacks as a result of their custom-built nature. For example, the Plasma Pistol used by Wolf in Gunnison, Colorado necessitated a brief recharge time after every shot, making it somewhat inappropriate for fast-paced, close-quarters combat.
During Wolf's hunt at Gunnison, Colorado, one of the Plasmacasters that he was using to clean up the Xenomorph infestation was damaged when he was attacked from above in the gun store where Dallas, Ricky, and the others were taking refuge. After a brief scuffle, and after blasting a Xenomorph out through the front window, the humans escaped while Wolf made adjustments to his Plasmacaster, and fashioned both of them into an extremely powerful (but slow to use) pistol-like weapon. The main body of one Plasmacaster set as the body for the pistol, and a handle fashioned likely from the mounting device of the other Plasmacaster.
In the hands of a hunter, it is a dangerous and effective tool for close, mid-range, and possibly even long-range combat, in the hands of a human (Dallas) it became a tool for survival, and aided substantially in their escape. It is unknown as to whether or not other Yautja have used Plasma Pistols, because it also seems that Wolf was the pioneer of the concept. Seemingly, since Wolf created such an advanced and devastating weapon in such a short amount of time, surely it is only another testament to his ultimate hunting skills as an Enforcer of the Yautja species. At the end of the film when the helicopter that Kelly piloted away from Gunnison crashes, the Plasma Pistol was confiscated by military soldiers, and it's entirely possible that the humans used this technology to advance their own over the hundreds of years leading up to the events in the Alien series.
Source:
- Xenopedia: Plasma Pistol
- thedemonapostle