Staser

Staser weapons were the standard armament of the Chancellory Guard on Gallifrey. The Guards were normally equipped with staser pistols, although staser rifles were also occasionally used.

Usage

Stasers had both lethal and non-lethal settings, and fired an unspecified type of directed energy. They were relatively harmless to inorganic matter but caused massive tissue disruption to living creatures. A posthumous effect could make unrecognisable the corpse. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)

It would seem a single staser shot could kill a Time Lord outright and ensure that regeneration could not take place.

Stasers were ineffective against Sontaran armour, (TV: The Invasion of Time) and against androids of Kraal manufacture. (AUDIO: The Oseidon Adventure)

Staster pistols apparently come in different versions. Those seen after the Sontaran invasion were significantly larger then those seen before. It is possible that as the older variety were ineffective against Sontaran armour, a newer, more powerful version was issued to the Chancellery Guard.

The stasers issued to Chancellery Guards and to security personnel were coloured red, However Castellan Spandrell and Chancellor Goth both used black pistols (though the staser the unnamed Castellan supposedly used was red).

Before his death, Andred showed his wife Leela how to operate a staser. (AUDIO: Extermination)

Instances of use

• A staser wielded by Commander Maxil was used to stun the Fifth Doctor. (TV: Arc of Infinity)
• The Un-named Castellan supposedly kept a small staser hidden on his person, and was shot dead by security personnel whilst using it to attempt an escape during Borusa's Death Zone gambit. (TV: The Five Doctors), however it is implied that he was murdered and the staser placed on the body.
• A Staser sniper rifle was used in the assassination of the Lord President by Goth. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)