The laser rifle has by far the longest range of any weapon of the tribal infantry arsenals and is accurate to a range of several kilometers. It is also known as a sniper rifle or longrifle. It works best when combined with an armor's built-in optiks for targeting across substantial distances.

I heard a ludicrous story about the Diamond Sword having invented this weapon-as if we haven't had laser rifles in the Empire for over a thousand years! The Diamond Sword originally produced the popular Artemis model of this weapon, but the weapon itself has a long history that predates the appearance of the tribes themselves. Still, the current exaggeration is consistent with the tribals' love of heroic myth. I don't think anyone actually believes the story, but they all speak of it as though it were fact. The truth is, the Diamond Sword made extremely effective use of snipers when they appeared in the wilderzone, so much so that the tribals probably invented this yarn to explain the sworders' prowess. And like so many other apocryphal parts of tribal history, folklore evolved into accepted facts. Our historians have quite the knot to untangle out here, to say nothing of intelligence services.

The longrifle requires a great deal of energy to use and will rapidly drain the normal energy cell of an armor. Consequently, only with the augmentation of an energy pack can a warrior fire this weapon and retain use of the armor jets.

Only tribals wearing light armor can use longrifles. The reasons are simple. First, the longrifle is a relatively delicate mechanism by tribal standards, easily disabled by powerful concussions. Heavy and medium armors typically lack sufficient mobility to avoid battlefield explosions to the degree required to keep a longrifle safely functional. Second, tribal armors have incorporated, over time, specific secondary powerfeed requirements for the longrifle that have been integrated into light armor design schemes, but not in the larger armor classes. Since the longrifle requires more immediate energy than any other tribal weapon, the need for a dedicated channel from the armor's energy pack is crucial. Finally, the designs of the medium and heavy armors do not typically permit the range of motion optimal for use of a longrifle. Still, I am told that every so often, some renegade tries to use a longrifle with a modified myrmidon armor. The amusing results of these attempts at innovation provide tribal warriors with grim jokes they are fond of telling to lighten the mood during dropship assault runs. The expression "like Artemis with a slug" means two things that just don't go together, something utterly ineffective or idiotic.

Continuing my anecdotal departure, Danli, I've heard this weapon is well-balanced and a pleasure to use. As with the blaster, the typical longrifle features extensive terawood use in its stock, though less ostentatious ornamentation. Tribal snipers are quite fond of their weapons and are fond of giving them names.

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