Can you get hardliner gloves or normal gloves as a weapon focus that would add dice to a character's unarmed combat? What other items would you let a character take as a weapon focus for unarmed combat?

Namer18

Yes, Hardliner Gloves can be made into Weapon Foci, as can pretty much any melee weapon you choose to name.

Personally I'd draw the line at Shock Gloves and Stun Batons though.

Hardliner gloves, 'tiger claws', shivs, brass knuckles... anything like that.

Oh, shock gloves are fine. You just have to remember to re-charge 'em between runs.

Shock Glove Weapon Foci? No. Plain and simple. Firstly, IIRC, Orichalcum doesn't conduct electricity too well, so, there goes the idea of electricity being ran through them to power the shock. Second, then you could (possibly) stage it to doing D Physical from a freaking shock! Uh-uh, no way.

Anything that is based primarily on your Strength is OK, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't see any reason that shock gloves couldn't be made into weapon foci. Orichalcum isn't required (I know the corebook says it is, but, IMAO, MitS enchanting rules have priority, and they don't require it), and even if it were, there's nothing that says the entire thing has to be made of it.

They'd be a bitch and a half to enchant, though. Weapon foci start out with a TN of 6, then you have to add in the OR of the telesma (the shock gloves, in this case), which is probably 8, and add the Force of the focus, and you're not going to be getting the handmade or virgin telesma bonuses... so a Force 6 shock glove weapon focus would have a base TN of 20 to enchant. Orichalcum might not be actually required, but using mass quantities of it, and alchemical radicals, to bring that TN down is highly recommended... and that should be reflected in the price. If a PC were trying to buy one, I'd make it much more expensive than a regular weapon focus (and they're not cheap to begin with)...

Orichalcum doesn't conduct electricity? It seems like an alloy of gold, copper, mercury and silver would conduct damn well.

Eh, might, but some alloys don't contain their parents properties too well. I'd suggest between Sodium and Chlorine, but that isn't an alloy, if I remember my Chemistry days right... Frag if I remember anything from that now. But, I vaguely remember reading that it isn't a conductable material. Don't remember where or what, but it's sticking out for some odd reason.

there's nothing that says the orichalcum has to be the conductor, anyway. you could attach a plate of it to the inner lining on the back of each hand, if you want. and, like Campbell says, MitS should probably take precedence.

I wouldn't be too quick to assert anything about orichalcum's physical properties based on chemistry. Chemistry says it's not even possible to make the stuff...

I don't recall MitS specifically stating that Orichalcum is not required for Weapon Foci enchantment.

But there are very specific rules for when it is used, rules that are apparently at odds with Orichalcum being in all weapon foci.

~J

*shrug* doesn't matter. either way, the orichalcum doesn't have to be the conductor.

I wanna see a roll of quarters as a weapon focus. Or a 4 1/2 inch long piece of 3/4 inch steel pipe. The steel pipe would be really cool, especially for a ganger adept who doesn't necessarily have access to the drek-hot toys the big boys use.

I played a mage that used a sap as a weapon focus mostly for fighting spirits. He didn't like to kill them, just knock 'em out.

Alright! It's time for the Radiant Lead Pipe of Beating. Got some new ideas for a gang mage...

Can't believe everybody got so hung up on shock gloves. The pipe was way cool, but what about cestus? Ya know those big ol' wicked-horny gloves that senator ahnold wore in conan the librarian? During the pit fight near the beginning. Gauntlets from hell. Yeah that'd be sweet.

Consider also the Reach "-1" weapon foci: horns or teeth. You can get a Rating 4 for under 400,000 at character creation, and they are cheaper to bond.

...Teeth weapon foci?
*Runs away screaming in horror*

~J

Trust me, when you're looking at a vamp up close and pesonal, lots of foci teeth or not becomes almost moot.

-Siege

How about a plate on the head for head-butting? That would work too, I betcha. Plus, you could use a different colored die to represent the weapon focus, and if THAT die rolled a success, you could say "ooh, look, I head-butted him!"

How about a Geas to your “Killing Hands” skill so they only work with a “Bite” attack? Add a “Teeth” weapon foci to that. Still, there are SEVERAL problems attached. What happens when you need to go to the dentist and he insists that he must drill into your 400.000,00 foci?

Brush and floss regularly.

~J

and brush your teeh three times a day. Lord Cthulhu commands it, seeds of man!

Do people get dental work on false teeth?

The only possible need for such dental work on foci teeth would require enchanting part of your mouth (which would make drilling seem pleasant).

Since unarmed combat is supposed to involve punchs and kicks would you allow someone to have boots that were a weapon focus that gave a bonus to unarmed combat?


Namer18

For extra cool factor, you could make them (instead of alligator, or snake skin) dragon skin boots!

Orichalum-toed boots. tee hee

Okay, I'd allow it. All you need is something to 'weaponify' a natural body attack.

Hmm I think that all metals conduct pretty well actually. Its part of being a metal. The whole electron sea thing. So unless you mix two metals and get something that isn't a metal (who knows maybe that is possible somehow) it should conduct electricity and heat pretty well, be somewhat bendy (at some temperature), shiney (presuming you prevent the surface from oxidizing or whatever in which case you are not seeing the surface of the metal).

Of course then there is the whole magic thing, so whatever.

Um, guys? Even if Orichalcum is required, one unit is about an ounce of metal. There's no reason to think that any weapon focus is primarly made of the stuff; probably it's just part of the decoration.

Nowhere does it suggest that weapon foci need X units of orichalcum; and even if they did, you'd need an awful lot of the stuff to forge a knife or sword.

The reason I was asking was based on the rules for enchanting your own focus. You spend much less karma per a point of power in a weapon focus by having several low power foci compared to one high level foci. Enchanting 5 level 1 weapon foci can be done for 5 karma relatively easily. While making one level 5 weapon focus at a bonding cost of 5 karma would be relatively difficult. Also, if a character does not have the money or karma for a high level foci he can get a low level foci and then another low level foci when he has the resources for it. Otherwise he has to sit on the money or karma he has until he has the full amount for the high level focus. There are disadvantages for getting the sets of low level foci, mainly they aren't as good at going through wards.