Grognard's Grimoire: Eldritch Weapons

My apologies for being a day late with this. I've got several projects on the go at the moment and, between that and the realities of daily life -- it's back-to-school week in the Maliszewski household -- I've been more distracted than usual. So, without further ado, here is the promised post describing a few unusual weapons of the Eld of Areon.

Arium Weapons: The mineral known as arium is unique to the world of Areon and, when subjected to alchemical processes, is a generator of arcane energy. Focusing and directing that energy is one of the greatest inventions of the Eld, whose entire civilization has depended on arium in various forms for millennia. Arium weapons are difficult to construct and maintain, which is why they have never been widely used, even in Eldritch military forces. Possessing an arium weapon is generally a mark of prestige or long service, though some elite forces have in the past been equipped entirely with these weapons. Now, as Eldritch civilization grows ever more decadent and introspective, arium weapons are becoming ever more rare.

All arium weapons use energy crystals to power them. The energy drain per shot differs depending on the type of weapon, as noted below. All arium weapons may be fired single shot or in a burst. Burst fire doubles the energy drain in exchange for an increased chance of damage (roll the damage dice twice and take the highest).

Arium Pistol: Usable with a single hand, the arium pistol deals 1d6 damage per hit (1 charge per shot) and has a range of 10/20/30.
Arium Rifle: Requiring two hands, the arium pistol deals 1d10 damage per hit (3 charges per shot) and has a range of 25/50/100.

Energy Crystal: The standard energy crystal has 24 charges, although many crystals recovered from ancient ruins may have considerably fewer.

Valtinaa: The Eld are largely beyond emotions as most other races reckon such things. They abide by no codes of honor or objective standards of morality, etiquette, or even simple politeness. Each Eld is thus almost a world unto himself and the only reason one can speak of such a thing as Eldritch "society" or "culture" is because the strongest of their kind regular impose their ways on the weakest, who must abide by them or face certain death. Of course, death remains a possibility even if one does abide by them, given the Eldritch penchant for blood sports to alleviate their ennui, if only briefly.

Incorrectly called "dueling blades" by some, the valtinaa are a pair balanced blades made of sharpened and alchemically treated arium crystal. Used by trained gladiators, wielding both effectively requires Dexterity 13+. In the hands of a skilled weaponmaster, the valtinaa grant either a +1 to hit or increased probability of greater damage (roll 2d8, pick the highest of the two rolls). A normal hit does 1d8 points of damage in total, not per weapon.