How to create ranged weapon foci, Ones that actually work, too Options

[nick012000]

1. Create a Force 1 ranged weapon focus (thowing knives or shuriken would be best, because you can easily regain them)
2. Bind a free spirit
3. Order the spirit into the focus.
4. Give the Spirit enough Karma to bind the focus
5. Order the spirit to bind the focus

So, you get a magically-active weapon focus that still works when you throw it. Sure, you won't get the benefit of the extra dice when you attack with it, but that's why it's only Force 1. A nice way to take out those pesky spirits from a safe distance, too.

[Chibu]

Sure, but, going around binding Free Spirits is also a quick way to get yourself geeked. You'd better make sure you have a good lawyer write up your binding contract for you, or you'll be sorry when the spirit hires someone to kill you.

Assuming your contract is infallible. There are plenty of Free Spiris out there who would kill you for enslaving another spirit. Many crazy mages as well (I cite my current character, Nightshade, if you dont' know abouthim, do a search and you'll probibly find something).

Also, If you're good enough to bind a free spirit (one that whatever you're attacking can't just banish anyway) Then, why are you scared about attacking another spitir head on? Yes, I'd love to have a ranged focus, as the character I play uses throwing knives (and playing cards) as his promary weapon. However, current shodowrun magic doesn't allow for it, even though there is Earthdawn precidence for it.


Other than that, yeah, that would work great ^-^. Pretty good idea actually, were it not for my character's view on spirits, I would probibly start making one tonight when we're playing >_<

[Liper]

Why not just get gel rounds filled with fab?

One aura smashing into another at 1000fps should have roughly the same effect as a regular round smashing into a regular person=p

But I guess you'd have issues of the fabs aura not having enough force of will behind to to overcome the spirits, so anchor some spells like say force 6 or higher into each bullet and fire em, hell just make a astral ward on each bullet that's force 6 but only takes up a .45 mill area =p

[spotlite]

FAB bullets... I suggested those on another thread and got shot down. Can't remember why now. I still like the idea.

[hyzmarca]

Because astral forms have no mass. Hitting an Astral Form with FAB bullets is equivilant to hiting a spirit with nothing. It would be more effetive to put the fab in an arasol spray and make sure it is strain III.

Binding a force 1 spirit energy 1 free spirit is trivial for any competent conjurer and simple for the incompetent and the mundane. The only difficulty is learning its true name.

Since a spirit that weak would quickly be disrupted or destroyed in combat having it inhabit a weapon focus is the best way to make it useful if it doesn't have hidden life or wealth. If it has one or both of these the best way to make it useful is to give you immortality and/or make you rich.

[nezumi]

That said, you COULD hypothetically (with some work) make a taser weapon focus. At chargen it would cost an arm and a leg, but if you're making it yourself it's a lot more managable pricewise. The tough part is crafting a 'difficult technological item'. But when you're done, you have a range of about 20-30 feet, I believe.

[spotlite]

That. Is. An. ASTONISHINGLY good idea. I insist this thread be purged before my players find it... ;)

[hyzmarca]

[toturi]

[spotlite]

[TheHappyAnarchis...]

What about the idea of putting Force 6 wards on the bullets. That sounds promising.
Tear a chunk out of the spirit.
What happens to a spirit if a ward is "raised" with it on both sides? Does it get damaged, cut to half force, or form two little spirits, what?

[Gerald Fitzgeral...]

Why not do the following:

Get a cyber hand and combine it with the "grapple gun" enhancement. That way your hand can shoot off of your body and go significantly farther than 20 or 30 feet.

Get Death Touch. Since you paid essence for the hand, you can put spells through it. And since your hand is launching across the room, you can use touch spells at range.

Learn a Free Spirits true name or something.

Force the free spirit to bond with YOU. It does some wacky thing where half of it's force is added to your attributes or something and plus you gain some of it's magic or whatever. Not sure about this one. But, basically, this would make you dual natured yourself, meaning you could use your ranged touch-only hand spells and kill a dragon instantly with no repercussions.

That right, I said drop a dragon instantly. Instantly in one hit that dragon will be dead BOOM. And then you get everything in his horse and there will be no repercussions, that's right, I said NO REPERCUSSIONS!

Or something.

[Chibu]

uh, except that the dragon can make you re-roll all of your successes. they're fun like that.

however, shat stops you from doing the 'grapple' thing with any other throwing weapon?


Just have a piece of fishing line (like, really strong fishing line) as part of the weapon and have it ties around your wrist or something. you now have a retrievable, throwable, weapon focus. that can be launched at a spirit or something.

But, the cord has to actually be a part of the weapon methinks, and not just tied on after.

[Foreigner]

Chibu:

How about using one of the more traditional martial arts-style weapons in that fashion?

The Japanese chain weapons come to mind:

The manrikigusari: Essentially a Japanese/Okinawan flail, it's a length of chain, weighted at both ends, designed for entangling an opponent;

and:

the kusarigama: also a length of chain (originally a length of braided women's hair), with a metal ring at one end, and a sickle-shaped blade at the other (unlike a sickle, however, there is no handle on this portion; rather, the straight part is a double-edged blade, and the sickle part is also sharp, although I'm not certain if it's sharp on both the inner and outer curves of the blade). The weapon is actually wielded by holding the chain--the intent is to catch an opponent's arm or weapon with the ring, and pull him-her close enough to be dealt with using the blade. (Or so I seem to remember. :) )

Another method that *might* work could be adapted from bowfishing (that's right, there *are* people who fish with a bow and arrow). Sometimes, the bow and arrow are linked by a spool of fishing line, to make recovery of the fish easier. A weapon focus made by connecting a spool of some form of fishing line (thin steel cable, perhaps, in the event that whatever you're "hunting" is on the strong side), joining the bow and arrow to one another. The Weapon Focus would thereby link the two as long as the wire remained intact.

Just a few suggestions. :)

--Foreigner

This post has been edited by Foreigner: Dec 2 2005, 06:34 PM

[hyzmarca]

[The Stainless St...]

Spirit Pact is described in MITS as only being available to magical threats (NPC's with Potency). At the time of the pact the threat receives a one-time boost to potency equal to half the Spirit's Spirit Energy, thereafter the two are linked, and any changes to the potency of the threat or the spirit energy of the Spirit changes the other at a one to one ratio.

In my current campaign I have a Threat and a Spirit who are very closely connected. They are bonded by BOTH Hidden Life and Sprit Pact, AND the threat channels the Spirit.

It may sound like overkill, but the group has four PC's with 15+ Karma Pools, and I have to bring it heavy to make them sweat.

[warrior_allanon]

actually there was a way in MITS, stacked focus with a detect enemy (1) and an anchored spell (5) giving you a force 6 expendable spell focus that when it hit your enemy or came within 1 meter of them would set off the spell

[Liper]

anchoring a ward to a round would net a resistance test each round per the force of the round as if a spirit was trying to go through a ward.

Wars on intrusion can damage a person (the aura even if bieng forced would be passing through the ward)

Anyone with a magic rating and ability to percieve the astral can create a ward.

Making say 200 astral wards on 200bullets while silly, would definatly kill a spirit due to rng. =p

[TheHappyAnarchis...]

Would it push the spirit back if the spirit failed to overcome the ward?

That would be a neat way of keeping a spirit off your butt.
Push it back and then when it hits something alive (or the wall if it is materialized) then it takes damage when trying to break the ward.

Could be most nasty.

[SpasticTeapot]

A great weapon for this is the fishing-bow.
A fishing-bow is a bow which, as the name suggets, is used for fishing. Attached to the bow is a long reel of fishing line, which is attached to the arrows. (The arrows are often not fletched, but have rather nasty barbed heads.) When the bow is fired, you impale the fish, and can reel it in. Alternately, you can just snip off the fishing line from where you are and reload.
They sell kits for these at my local archery range.

[hyzmarca]

[Gerald Fitzgeral...]

IIRC, weapon focus cost an astronomical amount of karma and :nuyen: depending on the reach. A +2 reach weapon is a lot. A +40 reach for a taser or fishing bow would be possible, but also the focus of any thief on the streets.

[toturi]

[Liper]

[hyzmarca]