Sure, it is always in the mix. As for the PiMo Chainsword... Definitly crazy and useless... so definatly a PiMo. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Please tell me it is not getting increased accuracy becasue of Wireless Bonuses. If so, yes, it is truly insane. *shakes head*

Carrying around oversized melee weapons in a setting where guns are prevalent is unprofessional IMO. You're more recognizable, flashy and less effective than a gunman with similar training/ware/powers, since those weapons are as concealable as most large firearms.

Barring special settings such as Japan where swords are common and guns are outlawed, of course.



What else would be the reason? On a side note, you get immunity to normal glitches, so the bonus is quite nice.

d00d katannas are the best my character is a elven asassin and she dualwields the monofilament katana with dikote and vibro so when she makes a called shot to the head its +4 damage ignores all armor. katanas are the best they can even cut bullets in half so instead of dodge melee roll to cut what ppl are shooting at me and if I get a bunch cut thru there guns and swords and stuff. katannas can cut thru tank armor to its so awesome. the japanese in wwii used katanas against sherman tanks and the cut through the backs and killed all the ppl. its tru look it up. if you do a melee roll and stage up the damage a bunch you can cut through walls. why door when you can make a door?? lol losers.

Wow... not just Pink Mohawk.. NEON Pink with trailing LED Mohawk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/notworthy.gif)

Alright, who let 90's kid onto the site?

That's not right, around 1300 is when the Katana started showing up. Note that they were used in the roughly 100 year war in Japan (Sengenko period) from the mid 1400's to the early 1600's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katana

Well...does it help if I tell you it also gets the "deployed as free instead of simple action" bonus? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Beautiful. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) I just put on Rock you like a Hurricane in the background.

I had to think of this when I read that.

Not really, no. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Why worry about the damage code of your blade? As long as it gets through armour at all they'll have to soak 15S from the narcoject you coated it with.

Pink Mohawk is FABULOUS for one-shots.

For any sort of extended game, I prefer more Black Trenchcoat gaming.

I believe you're looking for langseax.

Long Sex? Wierd...

He is looking for long sex? Who isn't?

Oh wait... nevermind

Doh.. ninjaed by TJ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

No no, going by pronounciation he wants Long Sax.

See, the way I look at Vibroswords, they're pretty serviceable weapons if you need to be quiet (kill the power and there's no noise), and better weapons when you don't get to be quiet, which is the exact time that you need the more serious weapon anyways.

Unless you're taking issue with concealability - but Mirrorshades doesn't preclude an armament that you can't afford to be caught with; when the consequences of being seen are already pretty serious, you may as well pack the best damn backup plan you can carry.



It also diminishes the penalty for glitches (the whip retracts instead of the standard effect), implying that there's some sort of wireless-dependent controller/predictor on new generation monowhips that make the function better with less risk to the user.

Actually, the wireless bonus on the monowhip is one of the few I really like.

You're assuming all Shadowrunners are the same, though.

Yeah, some runners are just mercenaries out to make money by Shooting People In The Face™. For them, being as effective as possible for as little effort and risk as possible is the bottom line. But there are others who have different motivations. Some runners are looking for something, or for someone. Some are out for revenge, while others are out for redemption. Some will do a good deed just because it can be done, and others will gladly slit your throat for kicks.

Does a katana make sense for Joe Ex-Army, who doesn't know anything other than driving trucks and shooting people and who has to somehow make a living despite being unemployable? Not remotely. Does it make sense for Social Adept Steve to carry around a two foot long piece of sharpened steel? Nah, his tongue and wit are plenty sharp enough already. Does Decker Dave get any benefit from wielding an ancient style two-handed warsword? Feck no, he doesn't need such a neo-primitive tool to hack! Even most Street "Samurai" are really more Gunbunnies who can take a few hits and keep trucking.

So who is a katana suited for? Well, to be honest, not a whole lot of people. But at least a few.

Naturally you have your gangers and street punks who are gonna want to look awesome like the samurai in the action trideo flicks - most of them just end up looking stupid, but some of them actually kind of pull the look off. You're also gonna have people who just carry them as a fashion statement, or as a status symbol, or because they sell them and want to passively advertise their small business when people ask about them, or whatever. You'll come across six foot tall "American Ninjas" dressed like Chuck Norris. You're also going to have more serious adepts and martial artists who have chosen to train in kenjutsu, maybe having started out in a local kendo class as a kid or something. (Considering that fencing is really big in the corporate world, I imagine kendo must be as well, especially with the Japanocorps.) And you're even gonna have professional swordsmen for hire, ranging from bounty hunters to shadowrunners to Renraku Red Samurai.


Do remember that most everyone is armed in 2075. People wear guns openly. They have to have licenses for them, sure, but a heavy pistol in a hip holster is probably almost as common an accessory as a commlink. Surely there are people walking around openly wearing swords as well, as people did in pre-modern times. Who's gonna mess with the really big guy who carries around a machete, right? With a katana, it's much the same thing - do you really want to try your luck finding out if this guy is just a poser or actually a pro? And a katana is nicer looking than a machete - it has a certain class and style to it that would make it appealing as part of a fashionable outfit in addition to being an intimidating self defense tool.

So walking down the street with a katana at your side or over you shoulder? I don't think anyone's gonna bat an eye. Seattle may technically be UCAS, but it's a giant melting pot of cultures. You can see salarymen in neo-Japanese business suits walking down the same street as leather clad bikers and punks, heavily robed hermetic magicians, Knight Errant officers in full body armor, NAN shamans in body paint and eagle plumes, Hip Hop wannabes in tracksuits and headphones, Buddhist monks in their signature red and orange dyes, Muslim women in burqas and hijabs, mohawked Goblin Rock BTL-brains with wires trailing from their skulls, neo-fashionistas in the absolute latest bright and garish designs, neighborhood kids in blue jeans and t-shirts, geisha girls in traditional kimonos, ultra-goths literally dripping with black mascara, neo-anarchists in cargo jeans and face wraps, the occasional fox tailed changeling or wayward spirit of air, troll bouncers in muscle-accentuating jackets, street cart vendors in colorful outfits and aprons, et cetera, et cetera. A katana is barely gonna register.

~Umi

I always hated the whole black trenchcoat all the time deal, personally that's not what I love about Shadowrun.

On to swords, we always carried things like that (and LMGs, and LAWS.. etc) into situations where discovery was FUBAR anway so it doesn't matter what you're packing, security is gonna get ornery when they find you.

Everything else it was more about concealable weapons and less mohawk. But if you lose the mohawk, you lose the Shadowrun, to me. Probably why I never cared for 4th edition.

As for 2075 swords, if your samurai gets his smartgun bricked, and his other smartgun bricked and you only brought one spare mag for the non smartgun, might be a good idea to have a non-wireless blade to have for backup.

** aside, as someone who regularliy carries a concealed firearm, I cringe when I read/see people carrying 2-3 different heavy pistols daily. Oh their aching back. And the discomfort. Then again, same goes for an armored trenchcoat, FFBA, and clothing in the summer... yikes.

That is a great description of how Shadowrun looks in my eyes. I feel that some of the more recent books have gotten away from that awesome melting pot of awesomeness. I recall a picture in the ... 3rd ... edition book with a scene just like what you described, and everyone was openly armed. That's what I always thought of areas that aren't AAA downtown and such.

I find the idea that the Buddhist monks would be openly armed to be a little bit strange...

I always see it as being a transitional thing, out in the barrens, walking with a shotty over the shoulder and super warhawk on your hip was just an accessorized style, Walking in the water front park in down town a nice Hamerlie in a concealed holster is less likely to get you geeked.

There's this little-known, pretty obscure group of warrior monks - maybe you've heard of them - the Shaolin? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

~Umi