I Just Noticed Options

[Zen Shooter01]

That it's not very clear in the text of either SR4 or SM that a weapon focus is actually a melee weapon of some kind. The way it's written, it could sound like something that adds dice to tests with a weapon - not like a weapon that adds dice to tests made with it.

[Samaels Ghost]

We thought this too, but eventually ignored it because it made no sense.

[Casper]

But weapon foci have always been in the form of an actual melee weapon.

[Frag-o Delux]

Yes they have, but has everyone always played since before SR4?

[Samaels Ghost]

I didn't

[Synner]

Weapon foci are indeed meant to be melee weapons only. Technically you can have a weapon focus heavy pistol, but it's only going to help you out if you use it to pistolwhip someone in a melee. The quote is:

[LilithTaveril]

Well, if you go by one argument I had on here, then it doesn't matter what it was in the past editions, just what it is now.

That aside, go with precedence on this one. It was likely just an oversight.

[Ancient History]

Ah yes, and I can just see you trying to shiv the other magician with your nifty pen weapon focus in Astral Space.

[Zen Shooter01]

In the text, it sounds like, "If you have a knife and a rating 3 weapon focus, you get +3 dp with the knife," not, "if you have a knife weapon focus rating 3, you get +3 dp when attacking with the focus, which is a magic knife."

I believe this is just an instance of poor editing, not an intentional change.

[Critias]

[Clay Pigeon]

The karma cost to bond to a weapon focus depend on "Reach." I can only assume this means the reach of the focus, which implies the focus is a melee weapon. It's only natural to conclude that the focus gives its bonus when attacking with the focus.

Clay

[emo samurai]

[knasser]

Guns don't normally have a Reach listed, but I think we can assume that it is at least 50.

Force 1 Weapon Focus with Reach 50 = 53 karma for bonding.
Force 2 Weapon Focus with Reach 50 = 106 karma for bonding.
etc.

RAW is fine. If a player wants to pay the above for +1/+2 dice pool, they deserve a magic shooter. ;)

[HullBreach]

Unfortunately this seems to be part of a trend Im noticing in the 4th edition books. The writers appear to be making lots of little assumptions about prior knowledge on the part of the reader.

In some ways I sort of wish they'd publish a sort of "Story So Far" manual outlining everything thats happened up to the current year in the game.

[Synner]

[Zen Shooter01]

Yes, it's clearly specified that they add power to melee attacks. What is not clear is that they add power only to melee attacks made with the focus itself, which is required to be in the form of a melee weapon.

It sounds like a weapon focus could be a pendant you wear around your neck, which adds dice to the attacks you make with the bat in your hands.

[Samaels Ghost]

See that sentence right there is where this confusion breeds:

[Samaels Ghost]

The above seemed more hostile than I meant it to be. Sorry :D

[hobgoblin]

hmm, i feel like turning a shock glove into a weapons focus :P

[Samaels Ghost]

Or stun baton. It gets +1 reach, right?

[Zen Shooter01]

You can. Buy a stun baton, use it as mundane telesma, and enchant away. Street Magic, pg. 83. It does make the enchanting process more difficulty, but according to the canon, that difficulty is reflected neither in the Availability or Cost of the finished focus.

I personally would impose a 10% increase for every -1 dp the enchanter suffered.