I was just thinking that a "whiney little preteen/early teen valley girl" persona would be exasperatingly funny for a firearm to have:

"So, like, I was talking to Greg's pistol the other day, and she said that he bought her a silencer! It's not fair! You never do anything nice for me!"

"Oh my God! Look at the butt on that girl by the bar. No, the one in the leather. She must be one of those goblin-rock guy's girlfriends. The only reason they hang out with her is that she looks like a total prostitute."

"Don't shoot that guard! He's like, really cute and stuff. Let's take him home! Please?"

Morrigana has a point.

Imagine, if you will, a Lone Star (Ruger) Thunderbolt, which starts delivering the opposition's rights when it's fired. *grin* (What rights you might ask, but that's not the point.)

Also I can see boot camp rifles all having drill sergeant personalities, so that the recruits don't mess up quiet as badly.

A smartgun system incorporates a camera (SR4 311), so you don't need a sensor package for your weapon personality to make comments on what's in front of you when using a smartgun.

Another use for weapon personalities is to convey political messages to the user. The weapon might remind you of the self defense laws and caution you to use the weapon with restraint, or it might exhort you to remember that it is your honor and your duty to defend the corporation from all who would threaten it, or it might tell you that that the halfers and the trogs and the daisy eaters are eyeing up your job and your girlfriend, and all the less-than-human must be cleansed from the Earth.

Nah, that would violate the Rifleman's Creed.

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will....

My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Relevant parts bolded for emphasis.


There is a good reason for this creed, of course. By anthropomorphizing the rifle and becoming emotionally attached to it, the rifleman is more likely to take good care of it, thus it is less likely to fail in combat. Furthermore, the riflemen are less likely to view their rifles as interchangeable, and this their aim less likely to be thrown off by a using rifle that was sighted and adjusted by someone else.

They're also less likely to pick up enemy rifles, which can potentially get one killed by friendly fire.