So, reading through things, and thinking on things, it occurs to me - it seems to be possible that you could dual wield monowhips. Obviously, this would be a crazy, nigh suicidal thing to do, but it's possible - and you could even be fairly reliable, assuming a high edge (which would be a requirement to do anything as stupid as twirl two monowires around your body.)

sounds catastrophic

that and a candidate for the 2071 darwin award = )

http://www.diabolotricks.com/

Of course, if you just give yourself a friendly spirit with Guard up and running, it wouldn't even be suicidal. Dual Wielding Melee weapons is a little bit on the pointless side, but I've seen worse ideas.

-Frank

Its not that stupid (melee weapons, not whips) to wield twin weapons, you just split your dice pool and attack with two different weapons.

It is completly useless, as there are no rules for two-weapon melee combat.

well, if you just use the rules for two-weapon ranged combat, it shouldn't turn out too different from what is likely to get published, IMO.

hmmm... might indeed be interesting for a mystic adept to go nuts with dual weapon foci whips

naturally, one point of magic goes towards conjuring, so that they can summon a spirit to guard for them... you don't want to be glitching with dual monowhips.

Didn't SR3 have an off hand weapon skill?

As stated in the Cannon Companion in SR3:

"When using two weapons in melee combat, the character rolls a number of dice equal to her primary weapon's skill rating plus half of the off-hand weapon's skill rating (rounded down). Only half of any bonus dice applied to the off-hand skill (from adept skills and so on) apply. Combat Pool dice are still limited by the rating of the primary weapon skill. Only the Reach bonus of the primary weapon counts. If the attack succeeds, use the base damage code of the primary weapon."

It sounds like in THAT edition that you don't get additional attacks, but instead it adds to the dice you roll in a single attack. Now this is assumed you take the off hand weapon skill. More than likely those without ambidexterity would get penalties as well. So what do I say regarding this? Either use the above rules in a sense of aiding an attack doing no more damage, or split dice pools without the off hand skill and half the off hand do half the damage.

Or use the same build I posted in the other thread, but replacing Automatics (Assault Rifles) with Exotic Melee Weapons (Monowhips). Sure, you'll lose 2 dice thanks to the loss of the specialization and another 2 from the lack of a smartlink, and you won't be able to take Ambidexterity, but 12 dice with the main hand, and 10 with the off hand is still respectable.

There are no official rules for two-handed melee in SR4 at the moment.

Split the dice pool, do the damage seperately for each pool. Sounds rather cut and dry to me, but who am I to say?

Then again, I'm still wondering why they took out counterattacks.

I'm betting counterattacks went away because someone with insanely high skill could lay out an entire room when it wasn't even their action.

Indeed. I'm not saying it shouldn't have a high penalty, but it should be possible. Perhaps on either glitch type on the part of the attacker or a critical success on the part of the defender. Perhaps even when on Full Defense. Makes it far more unpredictable, while still allowing the possibility.

Edit: Heres an idea. On a glitch, the attacker has left himself open. The defender uses his successes not only for staging down damage from the attacker, but also as the successes for a counter. The attacker gets to use only his reaction (or maybe only his appropriate close combat skill) to defend against the counter. On a critical glitch, the attacker receives the full brunt and gets no defense for the counter.
What do you think?

I could see a special option where characters on "full parry" could gain attacks on enemies that glitch on their own attacks (or when the defense roll gets 4+ net hits on the attack roll even). After all, "full parry" involves the use of an action and is otherwise inferior to other options of full defense in most circumstances.

What I didn't like in SR3 was how characters could reasonably expect to get extra attacks because their enemies were attempting to defend themselves. That was dumb. But if the character has to spend an action to get an attack in this way, it seems pretty balanced.

-Frank

On a related note my group and I came up with a wicked cool security measure this week...

Empty corridor, door on either side with fan systems at either end and near the middle. In the middle of the corridor is a sturdy metal pole with dozens of little rubber washers on it. Turns out each one is the anchor for a monowire all of which are now flapping crazily in the breeze created by the fans. Woe be to the group that doesn't have a mage with P spells or grenades!

Sounds like something you'd find in an evil mastermind's lair. Speaking of monowire and corridors, I'm reminded of a little device I came up with to discourage pursuit. It ended up being too expensive to play with monowire like this, but I still like the idea:

It's a small box containing a 5 meter reel of monowire, a small gas canister, and a small servo. You peel off the back of the box and stick the self-adhesive side to one wall. Press a button or signal by radio, and it uses the gas charge to fire a weighted, adhesive tip across to the other wall. The weight, naturally, is connected to the monowire line. A second or two after firing, the servo reels the line in until it hits resistance, pulling the wire taut. Voila, instant trip line (more like amputation line). If the box is small enough and painted the right color, it can be damn hard to see, especially when someone is running down the hall.

I figure 5 meters is enough to cross most halls, even if you angle the device to go from corner to corner. For maximum hilarity, kill the lights in the area first. To mess with their heads, set up a few 5 dummy boxes in doorways, etc. They'll be extra cautious after they run into a real one, and it may take some time to figure out it's not real.

My street sam's bunker entrance is (Luxury security in the Barrens has got to pay for something) in an alleyway. At the end of the alleyway is the blast door that leads to the bunker. At random intervals along the alleyway, there are very small holes in the walls. Out of these holes come monowire, attached to the other wall, that is normally loose and hangs along the ground. But, when the defense systems notice intruders, the monowire's pulled taut, and the place become a monowire-filled corridor of death.

I was thinking you could just put a copy of the koran, the bible, and a bum panhandling and no one will go near it.

Bwah-hah-HAH! My evil plan is coming to fruition! The meme has spread and taken root!

Wait, did I just type that out loud? Oops.

I always wanted to attach monowires to a helicopter drone's rotor. On the far ends of the monwire, tiny weights would be attached; the wire would be reeled up when not in use. When the control is activated, the wire extends, creating a giant circle of death for anything around it. (It would also be great for keeping away pesky other drones.)

I thought the blades naturally did that anyhow? =p

now my game is going to have a crazy duel monowhip crazy man. haha. he will scare the hell out of my players, but most likley kill himself before hurting anyone!

The night insects grow suddenly quiet; the team pauses. All at once, a man leaps from his hiding place in the ceiling above them, screaming a fearful charge. The team backs up in horror as the man's wildly flailing arms chop supports, pipes, and office furniture to shreds before them. Then, inexplicably, as the team stares in wonder, one of the tips catches on a filing cabinet. The sudden stop of whip 1 interferes with the motions of whip 2, which spins out of control... just as whip 1 comes loose. The man falls into six roughly equal sliced portions before the team.

The street sam is the first to recover his composure: "Hey... free monowhips!"

... and the cycle continues.

hahah