Laser Weaponry (Riddlemoore)

Laser Weaponry is a military technology in the world of Riddlemoore. Due to magic it has been present for at least 2000 years but is just seeing widespread use in the late 20th century and early 21st century in which the story is currently taking place.

Ancient Era and Mid Era
The history of laser weapons can be traced up to the Ancient Era when crystal refraction cannons would be manufactured by the order of powerful rulers and kings. These tended to be really expensive and required the use of the best wizards and minds of the time as well as the best and most rare of resources. The cannons would require a crew of specially trained individuals (often trained since childhood) for their use and maintenance. Such weapons saw limited use and were extremely dangerous to operate, no surviving examples survived due to their volatile nature.

Early-Industrial Era
It wasn't until the industrial era that the ancestors of modern hand held laser weapons came to be. These examples often needed a crew of 3 or more men to operate, one man to carry and operate the weapon, another to mantain it and a third one as support for the other two. such weapons were mannufactured in small numbers and often used by specialists as tactical pieces. The cons outweighted the pros but their main use in the battlefield was that of igniting enemy buildings and disabling artillery from a distance as well as taking down enemy aircraft due to the accuracy of the shot. These early laser weapons could be easily defeated by bad weather such as dust, fog and rain.

Atomic Era
In the atomic era the weapons became more compact, new battery technology and miniaturization made possible to have pistol sized weapons who were often called electri-beams or zappers these weapons were a mix between laser and electric discharge. Battlefield use was still not overly present but they were prefered by airship and naval crews as the shot could be tuned to not harm the hull or structure of the craft as well as not leaving cartridge casings and smoke around.

Post-Atomic Era
In the final decades of the 20th century laser weapons received their last and current development as they became mode dependant on electronics as well as magic assisted components that allowed them to be shot through bad weather by cutting it with a heated beam of light. This allowed for military and security forces to begin arming their personel with laser rifles and carbines as recharging a battery was easier on logistics than procuring bullets and regular ammunition. These weapons can have batteries in where the bullet magazine would've been but these are of limited use, in most situations users use auxiliar battery packs carried on the belt or back and connected through a chord.

It's also recommended for the user of these current weapons wear eye protection as the heated nature of the beam can cause eye damage overtime.