A little beside the point, but my understanding is that the Boeing 747 is about as likely to get to the moon as the space shuttle is (which is to say, not at all).

AFAIK, FCU does not apply to canon weaponry. Assume that you can mount anything you want on the listed mount points (under, top, barrel) that are available. Also assume that you can get any weapon you want with an internal smartlink.

Anything else, you have to negotiate with the GM.

My understanding is that you do. The rangefinder device you mount on top is what does the actual range finding. The cyberware part is a chip that uses the information from the rangefinder to air-time the grenade and does distance corrections for placing the smartlink dot. Or at least that's how I envision it working.

(strictly speaking, if *all* you want is the air-timing, you can use the rangefinder + grenade link without the cyberware part, but the cyberware part also reduces the penalties for long range firing.)

I don't see anything wrong with that. Of course, your GM is the final arbiter. Consider getting a white-noise maker and thermal dampening installed also to make it harder for non-visual sensors to see you.

Don't forget to put appropriate elemental defenses into that armor -- you've got 20+ points to play with, and you're far more effective if you can simply ignore incendiary and electrical weaponry -- remember, since the suit is hardened, you can very easily be immune to everyone's favorite taser, for example.

If you're considering long-range work, consider using a weapon with an extended range laser sight and a vision enhancer (scope, or the mag that can be installed in your suit) -- TN 3 at all ranges is nice.

If you have thermographic vision, consider regular use of non-thermal smoke grenades, especially if the thermographic vision is natural. Thermographic cuts through regular smoke, giving you a strong advantage. You don't even need to launch these, just put them in a bandolier and pull the pin when you need them. Instant concealment. Flash-paks are good too.

If you anticipate melee combat, using your rifle as a club (with the Clubs skill) can be highly effective, as you will generally be holding the rifle already -- rifles double as a (STR)M Stun with +1 reach, which is not bad. (This is obviously best in defensive situations when someone is jumping you.) If you have high willpower, also remember that you can use the willpower attack, and the reach of your rifle counts. Clubs can also be highly concealable (in the case of the extendable baton) and can be made from almost anything -- a highly underrated skill, imo.

As you seem to be talking about big-time money items, don't forget you can dikote that milspec armor for an additional 1/1 of armor.

I'm extremely fond of a browning ultra-power or a morresey alta for low profile work. Starting at a 6 concealability, add a concealable holster (+2) and if possible, a trenchcoat (+50%), and they can be all but impossible to find without a MAD or a strip search.

Have you looked at the BattleTac stuff? In Cannon Companion, it is *explicitly* mentioned that you can have it installed into your armor suit.

Great Dragon ATGM launcher? (normally I wouldn't suggest, but since you have that milspec armor...)

A pimped out ride?

Exactly my point. You shouldn't expect an inferior product to provide superior performance.

Maybe I misunderstood you, but my impression was that you were saying that giving astronauts a 747 will decrease their likelihood of getting to the moon compared to a space shuttle. In fact, my understanding is that the space shuttle is wholly incapable of going to the moon; as such, swapping out the shuttle for a 747 makes no difference in whether or not a given set of astronauts can get to the moon.

I've been wondering about this myself...

Originally the rangefinder was a cybereye mod, which could be used with the rangefinder grenade link in combination with a smartlink, or you could instead use the rangefinder accessory and grenade link for your grenade launcher.

Now that the rangefinder is a smartlink mod, and no longer an eye mod, would it still perform the same function, or do you need to combine it with the rangefinder accessory?

My personal opinion is that either rangefinder would be sufficient, and having both is not necessary.

Man & Machine, pg. 32, says:

I interpret this as saying you can see the range to any target your smartlinked weapon is pointing at, which also indicates that it is a stand-alone system, and does not require the rangefinder accessory.

Yet Cannon Companion, pg. 33, does add some confusion to the issue:

This could mean that the rangefinder accessory is required in combination with the smartlink modification, but the text from Man & Machine doesn't seem to support that. It could also mean that a smartlink is necessary to use the rangefinder at all, even with the grenade link.

It seems to me that the rangefinder accessory is simply an option for those unwilling to spend the extra essence on the smartlink modification. The ambiguous description in Cannon Companion does leave a lot of room for interpretation, however.

As one last note, I much prefer the original cybereye modification to the current smartlink mod or firearm accessory version. I'd much rather be able to gauge the distance to an object without having to point a weapon at it...

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*I just found this in the Shadowrun Errata:

Cannon Companion Errata

That sure throws another wrench into the works...

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**Well, so much for my theory...

Man & Machine Errata


Vaevictis, you are indeed correct.