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Back in the 2nd, and I think 3rd edition, of 40K there was a fantastic weapon called a Conversion Beamer. This was a suitably overpowered heavy weapon that could literately transform matter it was targeted at into something different. In the first incarnation I saw I remember tables defining what the effects where. It was available to several races: Space Marines, Orks, Chaos and possibly the Eldar.

By the 3rd/4th edition I believe the weapon had been phased out.

Have there ever been any references to the weapon post 4th edition either in game rules, or within the background/stories of the 40K universe. I think I may have seen reference to it in a Horus Heresy novel but I couldn't say for sure.

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    It pops up here and there in the Horus Heresy era, though I think the idea is that the technology had been largely "lost" by M41, and is considered a rare "archaeotech" weapon used by only a lucky few. More info at the wiki: warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Conversion_Beamer
    – Vanguard3000
    Oct 10, 2018 at 15:22
  • If you're looking more for reasons why it was phased out of the game, the question may be better suited for the Role-playing Games StackExchange.
    – Vanguard3000
    Oct 10, 2018 at 15:23
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    Not looking for reasons it was phased out, looking for evidence if it is still included in the fluff/rules in more recent times.
    – Richard C
    Oct 10, 2018 at 15:43
  • I vaguely remember in Rogue Trader days there were also Conversion Shields, which if you hit them with a C-Beam would cause both to catastrophically detonate.
    – Paul
    Oct 10, 2018 at 23:21
  • It is still around. i.4pcdn.org/tg/1497845631335.png
    – Odin1806
    Oct 12, 2018 at 18:49

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TLDR

  • The conversion beamer is still available.
  • I can also verify it for at least two previous versions and the current 8th Edition rule set.

So I finally had the time to take a look at my books. The link I posted in comments from above is from 8th Edition, given the layout and power rating, though I am unsure what book it is from. Meanwhile, I have found examples of it in two of the previous edition Space Marine Codices as well... The two versions I found it in are the only other previous editions I have prior to 8th. It may have been available in the others as well.

In the fifth edition codex the conversion beamer is detailed under the Master of the Forge:

Conversion Beamer: Incredibly rare pre-Heresy artifacts, conversion beam projectors fire a beam that induces controlled subatomic reaction in the target, converting its mass into energy. The further away the target, the more deadly the blast, as the beam has time to grow in power...

In the sixth edition codex the description is in the section titled Armoury of the Space Marines and is basically the same with the first sentence about its rarity moved to the end; The stats are also the exact same between the two minus the indication that above 72" the shot always misses in sixth edition.

In the eigth edition codex the conversion beamer is not present in the codex, however I did find it in Space Marines Wargear section and under the profiles for Techmarine and Techmarine on Bike of Index: Imperium 1. The Index does not have a description, however the stats for the weapon match those in the image I posted perviously.

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