Biological Weapons

Biological weapons can be a variety of elements, from chemical weapons, to viruses, to bacteria. In the world of Battletech, Bioweapons are categorized with 5 "tiers" of effect. Lower level classes usually being irritants such as tear gas, and higher level classes being true Weapons of Mass Destruction, capable of destroying entire star systems. All of these weapons, including tear gas are supposed to be banned under the Ares Conventions. This has not stopped them from being used especially "lower tier" weapons. Tear gas for example can't be used against an opposing army according to the Ares Conventions, but is still used frequently, and even more so by local militia and police forces of various worlds. However, due to the indiscriminate nature of these types of weapon, higher class weapons are almost never used due to the adverse long term effects of the classes.

Class I[edit]

Class I bioweapons are "legal" weapons, intended to subdue or knock out targets. The effect of this type of weapon is immediate, usually short term, and often not lethal. While technically illegal under the Ares Conventions, they are commonly used by police forces, and in some cases, certain knockout gases used by spies.

Class II[edit]

Class II bioweapons are more dangerous versions of short term damaging weapons intended to incapacitate, but can easily kill targets if left untreated. This type of weapon is used to subdue targets when it's not neccesarily important for the victims to survive the attack. This class usually causes severe internal damage or significant chemical burning to the outside of the target. This type of weapon is similar to a gas like Chlorine or Mustard Gas.

Class III[edit]

Class III bioweapons are exceptionally dangerous fast acting weapons, usually nerve agents. Well-known twentieth-century examples include Sarin and VX chemical agents, Class IIIs almost always kill on contact and survivors usually have lasting permanent disabilities.

Class IV[edit]

Class IV weapons are typically engineered, slow acting bioweapons, usually designed to get into the water or food supply of a target, where it will affect the populace. These are usually poisons which won't show major effects until at least a day after infection. During this period, victims are still likely to be highly infectious when near other people. However, if left untreated, these weapons can be lethal to any victim who comes into contact with the toxins.

Class V[edit]

Class V weapons are similar to class IV weapons, except that infection almost always means death. This type of weapon is also used as an "area denial" type of weapon, as they are typically engineered to have extremely long lifespans. They are designed to poison everything they come into contact with, which will prevent habitation of the affected area for extremely long periods of time. This type of contagion is also highly infectious, and will typically travel person to person rapidly, unless proper precautions are taken to stop or minimize contamination. The bioweapon known as the Curse of Galedon is a prominent example of this class of weapon.

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