These stories first appeared in Hunt's Book of Weapons, an in-game collection of found documents curated by an unknown researcher. They are replicated here in their original format. This means that many of the stories are not presented chronologically, or in one grouping, and it is left to the reader to put together the puzzle pieces and determine to what extent they contain fact, fiction, or fable.
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Fire Bomb
FIRE BOMB. (See also, HELLFIRE, INCENDIARY DEVICES) Though
simply constructed, the fire bomb can do lasting damage by igniting flammable
objects or detonating other incendiary devices. A fire bomb is built by filling
a breakable glass bottle with a flammable substance such as alcohol or oil.
This mixture is ignited via a burning cloth wick held in place with a stopper
and thrown at the target. The wick is usually soaked in kerosene. Because of
its relatively simple construction, which can easily be improvised in the
field, fire bombs have been put to many purposes. The army has put them to use
on several documented occasions, though they are far more common among criminal
elements.
Liquid Fire Bomb
LIQUID FIRE BOMB. (See also: FIRE BOMB, INCENDIARY DEVICES)
The liquid fire bomb makes two key deviations from the normal fire bomb.
Firstly, the liquid propellant used for developing conflagrations consists of
particularly flammable petrol. The intention behind this is to ensure that it
burns regardless of the material it lands on, particularly water. The petrol,
being lighter than water, stays on the surface. Possessing a particularly low
boiling point, the flame is guaranteed to persist in this environment. The
second key deviation is a structural change. Steel (or some other weighty
metal) balls are inserted into the bottle, so that when the bottle is thrown,
these retain the bottle's initial velocity even after it has stopped,
guaranteeing that it shatters. If the bottle lands in water or against another
material which cushions the shock, the balls ensure the reliability of the
weapon, shattering the glass and allowing the liquid to spray.
Hellfire Bomb
HELLFIRE BOMB. (See also: FIREBOMB, INCENDIARY DEVICES) The simple construction of a fire bomb, a glass container separating flammable liquid and a fuse, made it an easy device to improvise and adapt. There always existed a desire to produce a more devastating explosion. Widespread oil drilling in the U.S. through the late nineteenth century supplied vast amounts of crude oil. Refinement processes were developed which could distill increasingly explosive liquids. When re-purposed as weapons, these sated that desire, producing larger explosions, though generally at the expense of burn time. While the exact chemical formulations were never recorded, these were broadly referred to as hellfire bombs.
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