Question on the Edison Arc Truncheon and arc weapons more generally

[timt]

My group have not yet had the need of an arc truncheon but Scotland Yard is currently under the paint brush and so the possibility will arise soon.

I was musing on the mechanics of the weapon. It is an arc weapon and so, according to IHMN p26 (and ignoring the note that arc weapons aren't usable in close combat  :-D ),  takes a turn to recharge. However, all the arc weapons in the first book are distance weapons so it may be that it has different mechanics.

Qn 1. Does an arc truncheon take a turn to recharge?
Qn 2. More generally, assuming you do not have a nearby Arc Generator, what else can you do whilst you are using the hand-crank to recharge your weapon. Must you be motionless and not shoot or fight, as we are explicitly told for the Nock Gun, or can you get on with some other activities such as walking?

Questioningly yours
Tim

[Craig]

Fear not young padewan, IHMN master Charles is composing an answer to your conundrum...

[Craig]

Gentlemen,

I travelled down to the Diogenes Club and consulted with Sir Charles on this matter.

The English All Electric Truncheon is a club with a -1 Pluck penalty due to the belt-mounted batteries and capacitor the constable has connected to them. It DOES NOT ignore armour, does not need to be hand-cranked and can be used each and every turn.

The power required to simply earth a charge by physical contact is considerably less than that required to make an arc through the air.

The Edison Arc Truncheon is similar in most respects to the English All Electric Truncheon except that it DOES ignore all armour, except for a Faraday coat. It too can be used each and every turn for the reasons given above. It proves most useful when faced by well-armoured foes such as Akhenaton.

Neither are ranged weapons so they can be used in close combat and thus are not covered by the second paragraph of IHMN 5.2.2 Arc Weapons.

You will note in section 9.0 Backward Compatibility in SDRS that a Sergeant or Constable of Scotland Yard can take a Edison Arc Truncheon in place of the standard-issue English All Electric Truncheon.

It is from this we get that classic Constabulary epithet:
"Are you going to come quietly son, or flopping abaht like a fish?"

[Rich H]

Excellent news

[timt]

Thanks for the clarification, Craig. Most useful.

I can see the Inspector at the Yard checking on his opponents before issuing equipment:-

"Quick men, the alert has gone out, it's Akenaton and his mob on the rampage. Sergeant, issue the Arc truncheons! We can give that devil a damn good thrashing."
"Cancel that last order, Sergeant. News has just come in that it's not Akenaton but the Brick Lane Anarchists. How anyone can confuse the two is a mystery to me. Anyhow, we don't need the Eddies since the Brick Lane mob don't have any armour to talk of and the Eddies can't affect their walker"

(Looks like our good Inspector has been studying his errata sheet)

Regards
Tim