She has a vibroblade with easy breakdown, and a ceramic knife with easy breakdown also.

Go Stealthy weapons!

That device is still only as good as the database it's hooked up to, so if your custom breakdownable gun isn't in the database that scanner doesn't regonise it as a wepoan.

Any production weapon would be in it. Plus many others. Ever see the lists provide to LEO's of unconventional weapons? They would be in it too. Plus any hollow cylinder up to 25 mm internal diameter composed of a high strength metal, ceramic or plastic is worthy of inspection. Any nitrate (or several other similar explosive bases) is worth of further examination. Anything that is excessively strong for it's purpose Like this pen or solid plastic or ceramic items like this "letter opener" wold be worthy of further inspection.

The people doing security at important sites are not stupid or ignorant. Treating them like they are should result in bad things happening to PCs.

I play a mage, so the worst I have to worry about is some dangerous spirits going insane over the number of talismans and foci, which I try to encourage anyways.

As to my running companions, I've seen things as clever as containers in cyberware to hold broken down parts, a drone sent through a ventilation system with the guns strapped to it, and a troll who liked to claim he just got back from the gun range and who had a fake ID for every fraggin' corp security group in exisentence to make it more plausable (not to mention a hold out pistol concealed in the bottom of his boots, and enough metal studs and piercings to set off a MAD without a weapon).


You'll never guess where the handle goes...

Seriously though, even broken down, how the heck do you disguise a blade?

Psychophipps:

I know about the Toronto airport scanners. You see, they work EXACTLY LIKE the cyberware scanner is described to work, combined with a Chemsniffer for good measure. They are early generation cyberware scanners. And Hey, there are rules for those. There is no need to make up omniscient ruin-your-run scanners. Cyberware scanners are frankly bad enough.

Well, I do tend to force the non-linear method. To a fault? Perhaps.

First off, these items are "security only". They have all sorts of techno-doodads in them with potential nefarious uses so only fully licensed and correctly applied places can even buy them, let alone afford one. Secondly, "a lot cheaper" is relative. As a security device it's never going to be cheap enough for one to be in every mall entrance. Surefire still charged me $110 for my full-on street legal flashlight, as an example. There is no way that a constantly improved security-only item like this will be sold for under 1-2M (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) before street index (or higher since it's your game). These are the toys of the big boys. Third, "a lot smaller" is also a relative term. The size of a walk-through metal detector at airports seems about right for me. Add a Big Sign. Mean-Looking Guards around it. Obvious to any 'runner worth a damn that they can't just waltz through with their weapons and "hidden" gear. Maybe this job is a bit bigger than they thought? Maybe we need to be really sneaky? And lastly, drug smugglers (and terrorists) have been making nasty things look like not-so-nasty, or even non-nasty, things for decades as of right this moment. You think that a plastic-wrapped something that's been washed off or otherwise sanitized (not necessarily literally but you get the point) hasn't been done before? Why do you think that security at major airports run the swab on your bag instead of just opening your bag up? Residue from drugs in the area are a lot better clue than something you can plastic wrap and sanitze to fit your needs before shipment. You think that shipments of flower pots haven't had other types of pot under, inside, around, etc. them? You think that CorpSec, which is directly linked to public opinion vie news clips about break-ins which is directly linked to shareholder confidence which is directly linked to profits and continuing operations, isn't going to think that maybe, per chance, random potential here some dink is gonna try something similar and try to get some SOTA goodies?

Yeah, you think that I'm killing the game. I'm too harsh. A big ol' dragon-breath meanie-head stomping all over these boards and making your happy gaming existence a living hell of boorish platitudes and asinine detail mongering.

Well, guess what? My players are all old skool CP and SR gamers from 1st Ed. We eat most gamers for lunch at cons. We care that 99% of SR run issues shouldn't be fixed with a certified cred stick. And we're mature enough to hack that perhaps a bit of oh...realism of the down n' dirty persuasion isn't bad thing if the group is down with it. They, and I, would rather gut through the whole deal of finding a potential mole, finding out what we can do to make them our bitch, turning them via hook or crook, and getting the deed done without, or hopefully at least minimal, muss or fuss. Yeah, right... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

You play Splinter Cell. I play a whole Tom Clancy novel. Different strokes for different folks, yo?

And yes, I'm an overbearing, opinionated wankerâ„¢.

You think by placing an insurmountable machine, one that you have not even posted ratings for, but have suggested that it will detect practically anything - You're practicing non-linearity? You're the game-master equivalent of every game's invisible wall or endless ocean. Go on, put up a big sign.

And cut down on the condescension. I've been to airports and had my hands, clothes, pockets and bags wiped for testing. I play this game, and I don't care what you and other gamers do in the privacy of your own conventions, it doesn't make you any better a GM than I.

The machine is a gamemaster Mary-Sue. I couldn't put it better myself.

I'm actually curious. What kind of waves does this thing use? Electromagnetic? What would the Shielding modification from arsenal do to this thing? There would have to be something the wavelength can't get through.

Hell, we could stat this thing up. Make it challenging and balanced. I suppose it would just be a very expensive millimeter wave scanner, that ignores concealability bonuses that you get from hermetically sealing your clips. It makes a data search test against a threshold based on the rarity of the object/substance you're carrying?

Keep in mind that whichever company that makes the device isn't going to have every commercial weapon on file because rival corporations wouldn't let them just have the schematics for nothing.

They'd probably even hire runners to remove, change or just wreck the databases too. Because if the machines don't work right then whoever paid for them might decide to change to another brand of scanner.

So far, my group has confirmed that Unarmed Combat is an excellent concealed weapon. Especially in the hands of the Elf Bio-Ninja.

The "new weapons"part is moot for the most part as you could just send someone to the store or supplier to buy the weapon and bring it back for scanning. Add that most corporations are more than happy to help stop terrorists (read: Shadowrunners is it's handy to label them as such), have to send in their schematics to the BATF&E for approval, send in copies to the copywrite and/or patent offices to keep people from stealing your design, etc. and this example only works with custom guns or those still in early development. Now add that there are only so many ways to efficiently put a bullet/laser/paintball/gel pack/ferrous dart down a tube to make things scream and bleed, especially if you want to do it more than once before reloading, and it's even harder to get a weapon past these things.

The problem with this is that some places (schools, hospitals, government buildings) won't let you bring weapons in even with a permit. It's quite possible that additional locales (casinos, nightclubs, etc.) will impose similar restrictions, and by 2070, you can be sure that most corporate holdings require their own permits - if they allow them at all outside of their on-duty security forces. I don't see 2070 weapon laws becoming more permissive, but far more restrictive, and faking permits will be of limited value.