I liked the first one so much, I'm doing another one.

Assume that you are GMing a game. One of your players is playing a Shaman that is crafting a katana weapon focus. He or she glitches on an Enchanting + Magic roll during creation, not once but twice, and eventually completes the focus. The result of the glitches is your call: what is it?

Again, I can't think of anything to offer as a prize that anybody would want, so this is a challenge. Come up with your best and and post it. Alternatively (or additionally), if you see one you like, don't skimp on the praise.

What was the purpose of creation? Spirit fighting? What else does the character have? Any spirit banes? Any specific spirits they tend to summon and work with more often? What tradition?

Some arcane looking scars from enchanting accident, hair turned white, one cloudy eye,strange look to the weapon or penaties on its dice to pool to hit or its DV? Reserve last two for crit glitches.

Your call, unless you'd rather work with specifics that I make up.

Accidentally raising the background count of the area used for enchanting might be appropriate.

As a shaman, calling to the ancestors and animals to grant their power and wisdom to the focus might have one of them show up. "It took longer than I thought. A coyote kept running off with the sacred hide I had prepared!" You can even expand on this in the final product -- the wrapped handle of the sword might bear teeth marks from the disruptive nuisance.

There are also mundane accidents that might delay the magical. Knocking over a candle and burning a copy of one of the magical reference books comes to mind. Realizing that in the smoky lodge you used purple ritual sand instead of black and having to start over on one of your sand paintings might be another.

Lastly, and my personal favorite, is that like summoning magic spirits, enchanting tests that glitch might yield a "quirky" weapon focus. To me, this is less about the mechanics (though adding an "aspected enchantment" like effect might be appropriate) and more about style. "Hunts-With-Wolves, why is your new, mighty katana focus... neon pink?" "Because...it is a sign of power?" Or possibly "I... don't know how, but the fuzzy dice sprouted at the end of the ritual. I am afraid to remove them, as it might disrupt the focus and weaken it." Lastly, totem-specific can be a real wonder here. "Hides-and-Lives, I know you follow Rat's teachings. But why does your weapon focus have to smell like a rat?"

Actually, it is probably best to explain the quirky glitch as a matter of consequence for the mundane glitch ideas listed above.

It becomes either reach 0 and looks like something you would cut a steak with or becomes reach 2 and is -4 to conceal (really obvious to spot). hehehe. I like the steak knife option more.

Make it give +4 to anyone who assenses it, or somehow make it broadcast who made it and their aura lol.

You could make the blade have invisability on it so nobody including the mage can see it unless they look around astrally..

You could have some physical type illusion spell on it that makes the sword make some funny noise everytime it gets swung(physical means mechanical things can pick up the noise). Maybe something the guy said when he was screwing up like "...sooon of aaa biiitch!!!........." lol

How hard did the guy work for it? how long will it be before he gets to try and remake one ? lol. If he only has to have the sword for a short time, I would make the handle have a turn to goo spell "type" of spell on it. Whenever anyone holds the blade it feels squishy in there hands and recieves a -2 to use it.

It could have been possessed by some trickster spirit, who constantly messes with the mage and his friends. Negative modifiers to avoid detection/alarms and whatnot, stealth, conceal tests.

A weapon focus... I would say in the meat it is a katana like its suppose to be, but when the mage goes astral its a pair of nunchucks, a mace, or some other weapon skill lol.

I didn't do this one in shadowrun, but:

No matter who looks at the reflection in the blade, it's the creator's face that appears.

It took a long, long time before anyone noticed that (well, anyone with a life expectancy of more than a couple seconds,) and the plot-hooks and mayhem which ensued were wonderous to behold.

Chop a finger off, light wounds, easily healed, but you now have a permanent scar that cannot be removed or cosmetically altered, it's a magical scar!
or
Double bonding cost for first person bonding item.

I had an idea but now I HAVE to vote for Mr. Unpronounceable and his glitch. Very cool.
(reminded me of my Vampire games)


Cheers,

Max

as the manifestation f your mentor in the physical world scurries up to you in the last few seconds of the enchanting you sense his little ratty face is trying to tell you something important, something devestating but you cannot stop concentrating as you previously lost control of the magical energies earlier <holds up fingers> multiple times, you try to understand him nut the main focus of your attention rests upon your blade, it was the most esquisite blade made by the famous chinese swordsmith in the era of the empire when they tested out the craftsmanship by severing the heads of prisoners you can tell how many heads were severed with one blow by the markings on the handle yours has 9, the same number as the digits your mentor still has on his front paws a reminder of the sacrifice one makes for the greater good....
as the energies you channel begin to fade you realize you are done, the physical world comes into focus and your mentor fades from view, as you reach out and touch the naked blade for teh first time you marvel at its beauty. <roll perception please...> you hear someone whisper from behind you, in a long and strained breath as if they were weak from years of torture.... "Kill"


edit: I SOOOO wanna do this!
GM: alright you made it a couple glitches don't worry I'll be nice this time.
Player: sweet!
GM: fast forward you have your sword and the orc ganger has just challegned you to a duel
Player: I take a few steps so I am not near anyone and draw my massive katana weapon focus of DOOM!!!!
GM: as you swiftly and adeptly drawn your blade you realize it feels warmer than usual and you see the metal appears as if it were on fire the sparks from your metal scabbard must have ignited some left over residue, but before you can full take in the magnificence of your newfound glory, a sharp high pitched voice imminently near you proclaims "OI I'm a flamin swooooord!"

Fuzzy dice on a katana.

That's classic.

Viscous pacifist. If the sword is activated it must cause damage to a living being. If it does not cause damage before it is deactivated then it inflicts an amount of damage equal to the bonder's physical track upon the bonder (resist with willpower). It must not kill. If it does it also inflicts damage equal to the bonder's physical track upon the bonder.
(Disrupting spirits does not count as killing because they'll be back but destroying spirits does).

I love the face in the blade on. Potentially devastating in shadowrun, and very flavorful without being capricious or punishing.

+1 Mr. Unpronounceable

Have a spirit possess the blade. Only when the magician performs his first and most might stab, the sword comes away in his hand, and the person impaled with the sword, rather than falling to the ground dead, begins to laugh hysterically and runs away. So the magician and his pals have to track down this runaway possessed man spirit with a sword sticking out of his chest.

Maybe if the person glitches twice when creating a weapon focus they sure did make a sword! Too bad it was a bastard sword and not a katana (woopsie!)

The shaman concentrates on the final stroke to create a finely honed blade and steps back to view his masterpiece. He blinks a few times realizing what he has done "Awh crap!"

I'd make it pull an Akujiki from Shinobi, though that may be a tad harsh. It also makes it very similar to hyzmarca's idea, without the "not killing" part. The sword must feed on life force. The longer it goes unfed, the more in danger of it feeding on you.

My idea was simply that it does extra damage or less damage to a specific type of opponent (like it does more damage against Fire spirits or less damage against dual-natured critters). Since there were two glitches, it seems like there should be a slightly more interesting effect, too, so I'd probably throw in a visual or auditory component to the focus when activated. It glows slightly on the physical plane or when swung it sounds like a lightsaber, something like that

that's the Idea I went with its possessed by something either "gay" or wicked, the wicked version is subtle and manifests in whispers in the adepts mind, an urge here or there and eventuall I was thinking that there would be a time that the character just kills an innocent in plain view of the party for no reason, but I like that one have the properties subtley show up and become more and more powerful until it takes control of someone the player is fighting since the character is too powerful to be possessed...

...or of course the flaming sword is just annoying. flaming gay of course but he won't figure that out until it starts talking about bana peeling clad trolls in screaming "please mistress may I have another."