Forged through a marriage of arcane science and forbidden artifice, the Arm Cannons of the Veiled Arsenal are a pair of cybernetic implants grafted directly into the bones and nerves of a willing host. These devices replace nothing outwardly, instead resting hidden beneath the skin until called upon.
Appearance
At first glance the bearer appears entirely normal. The arms show no obvious signs of modification beyond faint, hair thin lines of silvery script that sometimes shimmer beneath the skin when magic is active. These runic veins pulse softly with pale blue or violet light when the cannons awaken.
When activated, plates of arcane metal unfold from beneath the skin along the forearm with a smooth, fluid motion that feels more like muscle flexing than machinery. The flesh does not tear. Instead, the skin briefly parts along glowing seams of magic before sealing itself around the emerging structure.
The forearm reshapes into a sleek cylindrical cannon of polished mithral and black aethersteel. Thin rings of rotating runes circle the barrel, humming with restrained power. At the center of the barrel floats a sphere of condensed energy that shifts colour depending on the wielder's emotions. Cold blue for calm focus. Violent crimson for fury. White gold for divine or radiant energy.
When retracted, the metal plates slide silently back beneath the skin and vanish entirely, leaving the arm looking perfectly natural once more.
Weapon Properties
The Arm Cannons count as a +2 magical weapon.
Drawing forth the cannons requires a bonus action, during which the forearms transform into their cannon form. Retracting them also requires a bonus action.
When you damage a creature with an attack using the Arm Cannons, the target cannot regain hit points until the start of your next turn as destabilising energy disrupts their life force and magical regeneration.
Because the implants are fused directly into the user's skeletal structure and nervous system, the weapon cannot be removed by the user or any other creature by normal means, including surgery or magical healing. Only powerful magic such as Wish or divine intervention could separate the host from the device.
While inactive, the cannons are nearly impossible to detect during a search. They appear as normal flesh and bone to mundane inspection. Even magical detection often registers them as part of the bearer’s life force rather than a separate magical object.
Attunement
Attuning to the Arm Cannons requires a painful ritual lasting one hour during which the implants bond permanently with the wielder’s nervous system. Once attuned, the bearer can feel energy building within their arms like a second heartbeat.
Backstory
The Arm Cannons were first created by the secretive artificer order known as The Veiled Arsenal, a cabal of arcane engineers who believed weapons should become extensions of the body rather than tools carried in the hand.
Their greatest innovation was the Living Armament Program, in which elite agents were implanted with hidden weapons that could be summoned instantly in battle while remaining undetectable in civilised society.
The prototypes were designed for assassins and infiltrators tasked with eliminating powerful targets who relied on magical healing to survive combat. The cannons were tuned to emit destabilising energy that disrupted regenerative magic, ensuring that even creatures capable of rapid healing could be slain.
Legend claims the original designs were powered by fragments of a fallen star that crashed into the world centuries ago. The metal from this celestial stone possessed strange properties that allowed it to merge seamlessly with living flesh.
However, the Veiled Arsenal vanished after one of their agents attempted to overthrow a kingdom using implanted weapons like these. Their hidden workshops were destroyed, their knowledge scattered, and the surviving implants became rare relics.
Those who bear them now are living weapons, walking proof of a forgotten era when magic and machinery were fused into the body itself.
It’s up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldn’t have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Player’s Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.
This weapon has the following mastery property. To use this property, you must have a feature that lets you use it.
Slow. If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to it, you can reduce its Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. If the creature is hit more than once by weapons that have this property, the Speed reduction doesn’t exceed 10 feet.
Notes: Bonus: Ranged Weapon Attacks, Replace Damage Type: Fire, Damage: Fire, Range, Two-Handed, Ammunition (Firearms), Reload, Slow
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