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Weapons Foci, Do they need to be weapons?

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Dashifen

Mar 24 2006, 11:55 PM

Post #1

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QUOTE ("SR4 p. 191 under Weapon Foci")

Weapon foci add magical power to an Awakened character’s melee attacks.

In physical combat, weapon foci add their Force in dice to the character’s dice pool for melee attacks. The character still relies on her Physical attributes and skills in combat; the weapon focus merely makes him more effective. This also applies to astrally perceiving characters fighting an opponent on the astral plane. Weapon foci are effective against astral forms and continue to add their Force in dice against such enemies.

An astrally projecting character takes her weapon focus with him to the astral plane. Making an attack with a weapon focus in astral space relies on the character’s Willpower + Astral Combat dice pool (see Astral Combat, p. 184), but this dice pool is increased by the Force of the weapon focus. The damage of the weapon is the same on the astral plane as it is in the physical world.

No where does it say that the Weapon Focus needs to be a weapon in those paragraphs that I can tell, only that when in combat, the force of the Focus is added to the dice pool for an attack. In the explanatory text from p. 190-191 under Foci in the book it only says that the "physical representation of a focus can vary."

The cost in Karma to bond a Weapon Focus is (3 + Weapon Reach) x Force, but if you're, say, a Bear shaman your weapon focus could be the bear claws (not the pastries :D) you wear about your neck. These would have reach of 0, as they're not weapons (okay, so they are if they're still attached to the bear) thus the karma to bond this focus would be simply 3 x Force.

Thoughts? Did I miss something pertinent in the rules?

Posts in this topic

Dashifen Weapons Foci Mar 24 2006, 11:55 PM

Dashifen Damn ... meant to write this in the above post. A... Mar 24 2006, 11:56 PM

Thanee If you wanted to write something in the above post... Mar 25 2006, 12:13 AM

Azralon Yeah, it's a weapon focus, implying pretty str... Mar 25 2006, 12:19 AM

Dashifen QUOTE (Thanee) If you wanted to write something in... Mar 25 2006, 12:20 AM

mfb well, i dunno. a spell focus isn't a spell, an... Mar 25 2006, 12:20 AM

Dashifen That was actually my counter argument as well. I ... Mar 25 2006, 12:22 AM

mfb come to think, the quoted text doesn't limit u... Mar 25 2006, 12:25 AM

Dashifen True, but you wouldn't get the reach benefits ... Mar 25 2006, 12:27 AM

Kanada Ten Were I to allow a weapon focus to be separate from... Mar 25 2006, 12:34 AM

mfb me too. but i really like the idea of a guy who we... Mar 25 2006, 12:36 AM

Kanada Ten QUOTE (mfb) me too. but i really like the idea of ... Mar 25 2006, 12:38 AM

Thanee Not yet. Bye Thanee Mar 25 2006, 12:40 AM

Glyph Mystic adept with killing hands and critical strik... Mar 25 2006, 03:53 AM

Dranem As in SR3, when they had to elaborate that a focus... Mar 25 2006, 07:16 AM

Jhaiisiin My group has always played as the weapon focus bei... Mar 25 2006, 08:03 AM

Cain Yeah, but then things get weird when you start thi... Mar 25 2006, 09:26 AM

Jhaiisiin I'd figure because you're using a hand tha... Mar 25 2006, 08:12 PM

GrinderTheTroll QUOTE (Dashifen) QUOTE ("SR4 p. 191 under Wea... Mar 25 2006, 10:23 PM

Thanee QUOTE (Cain @ Mar 25 2006, 10:26 AM) And sinc... Mar 25 2006, 10:40 PM

Cain QUOTE Of course, the GM is perfectly free to simpl... Mar 26 2006, 08:21 AM

Dissonance Academic, in the sense that you could write a doct... Mar 26 2006, 08:49 AM

Thanee QUOTE (Cain @ Mar 26 2006, 09:21 AM) [Edit: J... Mar 26 2006, 09:24 AM

The Jopp Hmm, weapon foci, shock frills... Mar 27 2006, 11:25 AM

Kyoto Kid Weapon focus Louisville Slugger talk about a co... Mar 28 2006, 03:35 AM

Edward I believe its not the claymore that should be the ... Mar 28 2006, 04:08 AM

Shrike30 Personally, I'd allow something like the ... Mar 28 2006, 06:29 PM

neko128 QUOTE (Shrike30) Personally, I'd allow somethi... Mar 28 2006, 06:38 PM

Butterblume QUOTE (Shrike30)Personally, I'd allow somethin... Mar 28 2006, 06:40 PM

Waltermandias I think that the inclusion of reach factoring into... Mar 28 2006, 10:08 PM

James McMurray My take: "Weapon" focus is a pretty sel... Mar 29 2006, 01:05 AM

Azralon QUOTE (James McMurray @ Mar 28 2006, 09:05 PM... Mar 29 2006, 03:05 PM

Cain QUOTE The rule specifically states: 1) You hit pe... Mar 29 2006, 06:40 PM

James McMurray Pg. 192 QUOTE Making an attack with a weapon focus... Mar 29 2006, 08:03 PM

Cain Let's put your quote in context, shall we? I... Mar 29 2006, 10:57 PM

James McMurray IT shows how hitting someone in astral space diffe... Mar 29 2006, 11:30 PM

Azralon QUOTE (James McMurray) But then again, it's pr... Mar 30 2006, 04:47 PM

NightHaunter The rules as written imply both arguments at the s... Mar 31 2006, 10:43 AM

Shrike30 The way I've decided to handle the whole ... Mar 31 2006, 07:35 PM

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