the Bolo round fired from a shotgun, instead of using piano wire string microwire between the balls.
proposed ruling:
Bolo microwire
Damage: 8
Armor: -4
Cost: 80¥ (per 10)
Special: there is the chance of losing a limb, a Critical Success on the attack test will result in the loss of a limb if the target takes more boxes of damage than their natural body rating (Bone lacing and Bone density augmentation add their body dice to the body rating)
a Glitch on the resistance test always results in the loss of a limb.
{edit}: added a suggestion on rules for it.

I would claim that monowire just isn't strong enough for that kind of thing, and if you braided enough of it to be that strong it wouldn't be thin enough to treat as monowire, and you're back to piano wire.
But I'm a big stick-in-the-mud like that.

edit: Let me just add, I don't indend to come down on your idea, I'm just saying I wouldn't use it in my game. But since monowire (as it is described in SR) is highly imaginary, I'm sure some people will have better suggestions than me.

This is already being discussed here:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=16155

It's chain shot -- microwire or whatever strung between some objects fired from a gun, how is it different?

Chain shot was originally a bunch of chain fired from a cannon -- no weights at all.

I'm having a hard time visualizing two round things fired from a shotgun, with the two balls somehow seperating such that the line between them is exactly perpendicular to the line of fire but yet in such a manner that the balls aren't rotating in any way. Because if there is any rotation, then we're already discussing chain shot in that other thread. Perhaps you could draw me a diagram showing me how the balls seperate without any centrifugal or gyroscopic forces which would cause them to rotate about an axis.

So, your stance is that the rounds would rotate, but that there just isn't enough room between two close combatants for the rounds to really rotate well? How does the closeness of the combatants and whether the ammunition gets enough spin change the physical type of ammunition?

Where do I find this bolo round in SR4? How does its normal damage compare with a monowhip?

The important thing is how fast the shot would separate from each other. That would depend on the choke used in the shotgun. I'm sure there is website out there somewhere that talks about this subject in detail. If the two shot don't spread very far, then the wire won't be of much use. But I have seen such rounds on the market, but nothing about how effective they actually are.

Shadowrun has rules for how fast ammunition seperates when you adjust the choke of a shotgun, p144.

meh... I wouldn't bother with that kind of thing in my game. Even if someone wanted to make them, they'd be expensive, inaccurate, and not guaranteed to work. You're relying on the natural spread of a shotgun to make the thing work so it's as likely to wind up someplace other than where you aimed it, especially over longer ranges. But then I also consider a monowhip to be quite a technical device, rather than just sharp string with a weight on the end.

It would make more sense to me if you were suggesting a weapon round based on a bolas, that would entangle non-lethally, but even for that you still have stuff like stick'n'shock.

Incidentally in my copy of SR4 monowire is described on p252 and microwire on p329. While microwire does inflict damage if used incorrectly, it is stated that it can be safely handled with rapelling gloves, so I would rule that it is defeated by most impact armours.

I did find a lengthy article on shotguns on Wikipedia, which included a chart showing choke and how it affected shot grouping. It also lists some of the specialty ammunition. Going by what they say about Flechette ammo, it shouldn't have a bonus to armor penetration against soft armor. Are we allowed to post outside links on here?

I think this would make a better thrown weapon than an ammunition type. For the weights on the the bolo to be of enough weight for the bolo to properly wrap around the target and cut while doing so they need to be quite a bit bigger than what could be fit inside a shotgun. They would have to be a bit closer to shotput size to work in the way intended.

Does it have to be fired from a shotgun?

I think it would work better fired from something like a netgun (real ones, not the ones from Street Sam)
Basically, you have 2 projectiles that fire out and to the sides, with a line between them (net guns use 4 at the corners of the net).
It would be an exotic weapon, but intimidating, and using rope instead of microwire it would be useful for captures as well.
Range would suck, however.
(Anybody see Ted Nugent chasing contestants with a net gun from his helicopter? Man, good times...)

I really doubt you will ever find serious test results. People who make such novelty ammunition aren't big on testing them, in case people find out they're not half as scary as they're making them up to be, and others don't take them seriously enough to test them. There are apparently no shotgun flechette round terminal ballistics test results publically available, so finding some for bolo rounds is highly unlikely.

A bit of a threadjack, here, but, it's the new ammo thread, right? So anyone can post new ammo? Because, like, I figured stretching a thread out was better than starting a new one.

Drekky Ammo
(Cost: 2Y per 10 shots)

In the high-powered Shadowrun world, ballistic technology and armor tech wages a constant battle, where once deadly 'Cop Killer' bullets are a minor annoyance but high-end APDS can still tear through armored jackets like they weren't there. Standard Ammo is a high quality, up-to-date armor piercing round, but not everyone can afford two Nuyen bullets for simple target practice.

Enter Drekky Ammo.

Drekky Ammo is "Civillian Use" ammo, bought by the box for target shooting, loaded by lil' ol' ladies for their husband's 60 year old pistol, or scavenged up by street gangs who can't find anything else in their price range. While Drekky Ammo has plenty of problems with today's modern armor blends, it's just as effective on bare skin as any other bullet.

Drekky Ammo loads result in +0 Power, +3 AP ... that is to say, they *raise* the armor value of any armor worn by +3. Note that a target without armor does not receive a bonus.

Silver Bullets
(Cost: 100Y per 10 shots)

In a magic-filled Sixth World, many an old legend has proven to have validity, not the least of which is the power of a silver bullet. Several Metatypes have a silver allergic reaction, while others, such as shifters, are horribly so. Whereas a paranormal critter might shrug off your Fichetti Security 600, they won't be quite so cocky when your Ares IV slams some Lone Ranger™ brand bullets right between their eyes!

Silver Bullets are, well, Silver, and as such, can get past several critters' protections. They're softer than normal ammunition, however, as well as expensive, and aren't well-suited for shooting ordinary targets.

Silver Bullet loads result in +0 Power, +1 AP ... that is to say, they *raise* the armor value of any worn armor by +1. Note that a target without armor does not receive a bonus.

Nice! I like both of those.

Good idea about target ammo. I would allow .22 ammo in the game which was really cheap and the characters would use for practice. Even today is it possible to get adaptors for many pistols and rifles. Your price is probably about right for 2070, or you could make it even lower. Today, .22s can go for about $3 per 50 or about $300 per 5,000. .40 caliber can go for $22 per 50 or $220 per 500.

Silver bullets would have a place too. Another option is wooden slugs for shotgun rounds for use on vampires. Rather than the standard baton round, this would be sharpened on one end and would only work at close range. Something else to consider would be hollow "cargo" slugs. The slug could be filled with a liguid or solid material that would affect the target. Rounds sort of like this exist today, though they really don't have real use and I don't know how well they would work.

I'd have thought that light ammo for target shooting, such as the .22 stuff, would also have a lower damage code, in addition to not being available for all gun types or requiring special modification. Of course, not being intimately familliar with guns I couldn't say for certain. Maybe one of the resident weapons specialists could enlighten us?

I wouldn't see much demand for such ammunition off the target range. Gangers are going to want as big a bang for their buck as possible, while little old ladies thinking of home defence aren't going to need large quantities of ammunition, so can probably stretch to a box of regular rounds.

Silver ammo is a good idea, likely on the market in the 6th World, especially in places where paranormal critters might be a problem. I think you might have pitched the cost too high though the penetration modifier looks good.

Drekky Ammo + Streeline Special = Disposa-Gun for young gangbangers. You're 14, live at home, but wanna make a mark? Here ya go, kid, take this and go shoot so-n-so's lil' brother at school, show him we mean bidness. Do that and you're in.

Or the like.

As for silver bullets, modern day silver shelled rounds are about $5 each, while solid silver are in the $7-10 range. So, I figured 10 Nuyen a pop for a nice round number. (This ignores inflation and that conversion of 4 UCAS dollars to a single Nuyen, but, hey, the Chromed Accountant's over THAT way.)