Components of a Sword

"Present yourself, boy." Said boy was perhaps too old to be still a boy, but he certainly did not measure up as a man. As a worker either given his saunter, but he presented himself before the moon renewed itself. "Take this to Linten to have it melted down."
The boy gave the blade a squinting examination. "Why? It's shaming nobody as it is."
The armorer regretted saying a single word more than he needed, but it was done, and now his nature rebelled against the impulse to cuff him, which came after all from mere general dislike. Also, his assessment was correct; possibly he could be turned to use. "It is in fine condition considering the dozens of criminals it has slain in the executioner's hands. Close to a hundred overall."
"Oh, it's that? 'A hundred deaths of men and the demon inside the sword awakens.' But that isn't a warning for a normal sword like this, surely. When a master brings forth a special works, then worry."
"How can a sword be forged and not have a demon in it? Take it thither."
The boy looked the blade over again with more respect, more inspiration. "Even this? It seems a shame not to try, if we have one this close. All right, fine, don't strain your hand by raising it. Observe my dispatch."
There are times when an explanation is not better for being fuller. There are people who are not improved for being more informed.
Finis

Ruins of the Good Old Lost Age

Your fantasy characters found something which informs the audience this is a post-apocalyptic story! You hack! But what is it? Unearth your random number generator, a technology soon to be lost in the flames, and find out.

1. Television set
2. Gas station
3. Gun
4. Office building
5. Modern doctor's office
6. Gun (futuristic)
7. Library
8. Lincoln Memorial ~~~Bonus chance! Pick twelve countries from an atlas and roll again, then look up twelve landmarks and roll a third time.~~~
9. Amazon warehouse
10. Tank
11. Scuba gear
12. Fancy modern bow

The twelfth would be the most impressive to your characters, but that doesn't mean they should get it. Life's funny that way.

The Future of War

Nobody will be able to go to war because all the equipment will be downloading updates, forever.

Weapon Parity

Want to add dignity and fame to the humble spear? Start spelling it "spwear." Now people will have to dwell on it, really think about it.

The History of Fables

Once upon a time, people made up fables. Later, Microsoft released a game called that, so we all agreed not to put anything on the internet which would complicate searches about getting the best weapons and which property to buy first. The end.

Ranking of Weapons Appropriate for Your Science Fiction Main Character

1. Mech
2. Spaceship
3. Spaceship (fighter)
4. Psionic powers

That is all.

Ranking of Weapons Appropriate for Your Fantasy Main Character

1. Sword
2. Bow
3. Comically Large Hammer
4. Dagger
5. Polearm
6. Ax
7. Razor-Sharp Hoop
8. Normally Sized Hammer
9. Whip
10. Spear

Secret twist ending: Now roll for which one your character gets.

The Union of Past and Present

There's no reason mummies couldn't use guns. Just saying.

Those Who Forget

"Gentlemen! Between Mackenzie Extraplanetary Engineering's Love Cannon and Ad Astra Design's Friendship Accelerator, we're falling behind in a race we didn't know was being run. Good, clean business, the kind that made our Pan-Oort Services Consolidated what it is today, is no longer enough. Innovation is what we require, not just to stay even, but to stay ahead. Imitation won't do us any good, since all of us worked so hard to build this company that we lost our wives and friends."
The men around the table nodded and shed a few tears.
"There is, as you know, a power stronger than love. History. Just as we look through our old earnings reports when there's a dip today, all mankind finds strength in its past. That's why our engineers have developed the History Driver."
The men around the table applauded as the viewscreens showed the History Driver along with the crews working it, the sprawling exoplanet docks where several competitors repaired their cargo freighters, and the closest office of the excise people. The Driver began to fire projectiles across hundreds of millions of miles of space which tore through the hostile facilities at a constant rate as the crews loaded shell after shell.
"What are we using as ammunition?"
"Futurists frozen in the hope their brains would be thawed out, time capsules filled by bored students, books expounding grand theories based on little or no evidence that tell us more about their own era than the ones they hope to explain, transcripts of court cases that give insight into the laws and economic realities of past generations, paintings by the ancient masters, pottery made with techniques no longer understood, and that kind of thing."
"It sounds like people might want keep some of those things around."
"Yes. More than our own products. That's why we have to get rid of them."
The men around the table applauded again.
Finis

Addendum

Don't you dare talk to me about plumbatae. Not if you value your smile and hope.

Some Notes on Mecha Knights: Nightmare

Terrible title. They aren't even knights.
Word on the street is that common practice is to put the levels developed later first, because the developers improve as they go. It feels as if that did not happen here. The levels become more interesting and intricate starting around the halfway point.
Story: None. Dialogue: Ahahahahaha!
I didn't use every weapon type, shameful as it is to admit, but at the very least none of them that I tried seemed ideal for every mission. Hurray! The normal rifles seemed strictly worse than the plasma versions unless I missed something, which there is a good chance I did.
More color would have been nice in the environments and enemies. You can paint your mech though, which helps.
You sure do kill a lot of stuff. The weapons feel powerful, even if the healthbars don't always agree.
Overall, it's pretty good. I give it my mechiest rating: 4/Answer.

Then the Spinoff

A crossover series about people who had cursed weapons at some point. Some stories would be sad, some happy, some bittersweet. Most would end up being comedic. It's hard to take the premise seriously for that long.

Some Examples

Demon Cruiser Sundrinker
Dorset the Unmissing Rifle
Chaotic Frame

Human Inadequacy

There you are, trying to give your characters distinct weapons, only to realize there aren't really that many. What's worse, most of them are different terms for some metal tied to a stick. What to do?
Invent a time machine and confiscate all the boring weapons, of course. Until then, the best we can do is curse them in different ways. That one has a demon in it and that one will betray you when you need it the most. You get the idea.
Some people think guns and spaceships can't be cursed, but they're the ones who will get it the worst.