Most people consider the Barrens and other Z Zones as being places filled with stupid punks armed with light weapons terrorizing the even stupider and unarmed populace of SINless like bullies in a play ground. The fact is that the unarmed and the stupid die fast in the Barrens, and most of them wish they were rich enough to afford even the lightest of real guns. However through ingenuity and lots of spare time (no work and little entrainment) has lead to the creation and dissimulation of a new breed of makeshift weapons. Like their builders and wielders they are brutal, fast and not expected to last long. Contrary to the running gun battles on Trid or the long shoot outs between Shadowrunners and Security forces, Barrens fights tend to be very brief as each side expends what little munitions they have in the first few seconds of the fight. They are also very economical as the value of what is being fought over is very low, and it never makes sense to use more than you will get back in the attack. In a place where even a heavy pistol is a ticket to a better gang and a better life everything has a price and everyone is an economist.

However when the ignorant, stupid or arrogant wander into their nests very often the riches to be gained are worth the dozens of bullets, gallons of fuel and the lives of a few friends.

NOTE: Scavenge Time is an extended Intuition + either Survival or Hardware or Industrial Mechanic roll, which ever is higher. All weapons are considered F for legality. Due to the makeshift nature of the weapons 1s and 2s count towards glitches.

Melee Weapons:

Turkey Carver
Weapon Type: Melee
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 15 successes/ 1 hour
Damage: 4P AP: -1 Concealability Modifier: -2
The Turkey Carver is a weapon very much like its name sake; it is two blades made of metal scrap attached to two motors that slide the blades back and forth. The power cell is usually striped from a comlink or other small electronics device. This weapon is very popular with the denizens who don’t have the strength to effectively use a normal knife in combat. The other advantage of the moving blades is that they literally chew through armor and helps to make it a very effective against leather jackets and armored vests.

Angler (AKA Pocket Fisherman)
Weapon Type: Exotic Weapon (Mono-whip)
Scavenge Time: 15 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 25 successes/ 1 day
Damage: 6P AP: -2 Reach: +1 Concealability Modifier: -1
The Angler is usually referred to as the poor man’s monowhip. It consist of a reel of microwire 1-2 meters long still on its spool. The builder then adds a handle to the spool and attaches it to a rod in a manner similar to a very short fishing pole (about .25 meters) with guides made from scavenged micro-resistant material. The free end is then weighted down to act as a counter weight. The user then uses the reel to control the length of wire coming off of the end of the pole. Many users also wear a glove mode of micro-resistant material for better control of the line. A trained person wielding this weapon is a fearsome sight, but a poor user just looks like they are fishing. Either way it is one of the most feared weapons in the Barrens.


Cat’s Paw (AKA Cheese Cutter, Harp of Death)
Weapon Type: Melee
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 day
Damage: STR/2+2 AP: -3 Reach: +1 Concealability Modifier: +2 Note: On a Glitch the bow breaks and the wielder takes 8P damage from the wire wrapping around their arm.
The Cat’s Paw is a series of micro-wires stretched between two points of a bowed piece of metal or fiberglass (similar to a bow with a handle at one end where the bow string is micro-wire). Many variants use 3 strands of wire anchored to 3 points at one end and a single point just above the handle. While it is devastating in melee it is unstable and prone to breaking and ripping the wielders arm off.


Shock Stick
Weapon Type: Melee
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Hardware + Logic) 30 successes/ 1 day
Damage: 10S(e) AP: -Half Mode: SS RC: - Ammo: 10 Reach: 1 Concealability Modifier: +4
Note: Weighs 30kg for encumbrance values. When plugged in it recharges 1 shot per 10 minutes.
The Shock Stick is a tazer with the equivalent of a battery backpack. The pole is of some simple non-conductive material with two wires with contacts at the end. In the handle is bank of super capacitors that have been scrounged from other tazers or some industrial power equipment. The power source is usually a battery pack from a drone or electric scooter. It is a serious danger to both the wielder and the opponent as the battery pack is usually not very well waterproofed and can suddenly discharge when soaked with water (10S to the wielder).


Firearms:

Box Shooter
Weapon Type: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 30 minutes
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 5 successes/ 1 hour
Damage: Per Ammo built around AP: Per Ammo built around Mode: SS RC: - Ammo: 1 Range: Point Blank Only Concealability Modifier: -5
A box shooter is just an ammo round that has been modified to be fired with the push of a button or some other trigger. It is destroyed when used, but can sometimes pack a nasty surprise based on what is scrounged to build it.

Knuckle Duster
Weapon Type: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 hour
Damage: 9P AP: 0 Mode: SS RC: 2 Ammo: 1 Range: 2 meters Concealability Modifier: -1
Notes: Reloading Method is Break action and takes 5 complex actions to reload. Damage Value includes the fact it is always a Narrow Long Burst Per SR4A pg 154. Count as brass knuckle in unarmed combat.
A Knuckle Duster is a palm gun built to fire all 6 bullets at once at a close target. They are built to either cover the whole hand or as a set of oversized brass knuckles based on the builder’s preference. They are a breach weapon that requires it to be removed, opened, manually eject the spent shells and then reloaded and closed. This generally means the gun is fired only in the first round of combat before entering into hand to hand.


Barrens Blaster
Weapon Type: Automatic
Scavenge Time: 15 successes/ 1 day
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 hour
Damage: 15P AP: -1 Mode: SS RC: 5 Ammo: 1 Range: 5 meters Concealability Modifier: +4
Notes: Reloading Method is Break action. Each Complex action loads 2 bullets; capacity is 15 bullets. Damage Value includes the fact it is always a Narrow Long Burst Per SR4A pg 154.
The Barrens Blaster is an assault rifle sized home made gun with an extremely large front end and smaller back end weight down for balance. The gun actually has 15 “muzzles”, with a round in each one. When the trigger is pulled all 15 rounds go off in a spectacular fashion. However the range is very short due to the lack of rifling material available for use in the construction. It is also a breach opening weapon that takes a long time to reload. However with the staggering amount of killing power it unleashes very few targets are standing after the first shot.


Burner
Weapon Type: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 15 successes/ 1 hour
Damage: 5P(fire) AP: -Half Mode: SS RC: - Ammo: 1 Range: 2 meters Concealability Modifier: -1
Notes: Reloading Method is Break action. Takes 5 Complex actions to reload.
A Burner is a single shot flame thrower that is loaded with a flammable liquid. Most people keep spare bottles of fuel handy to refill the reservoir; however the propellant is compressed air that is stored by a pumping or bellows mechanism. However the Burner is a great intimidator as even a minor burn can prove fatal in an area with little to no medical care.

Forearm Launcher (AKA Super Slingshot)
Weapon Type: Thrown Weapon
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 hour for thrower. 2 successes/ 1 hour for 3 projectiles.
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 5 successes/ 1 hour for thrower. 2 successes/30 min for 3 projectiles.
Damage: 3P AP: 0 Mode: SS RC: 2 Ammo: 1 Concealability Modifier: -1 Range: 5 Meters
Notes: Reloading is a Complex Action.
A Forearm Launcher is a bolt thrower that is mounted against the forearm and powered by surgical tubing, industrial rubber bands or high tensile springs. They are generally used as a backup weapon as they keep your hands free for a more cumbersome weapon (like a Barrens Blaster or Burner). The projectiles range for knifes to bolts, but almost all are made of scrap metal or plastic. They are also used for when silence is required to keep from drawing unwanted attention.

Explosives:

Thermal Detonator
Weapon Type: Thrown Weapon
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Chemistry + Logic) 15 successes/ 30 minutes
Damage: 5P(f) AP: –2 for people/–10 for vehicles or barriers Blast: Does not have a blast radius
Notes: Once activated the grenade takes 1 combat rounds to get up to temperature and then burns uncontrollably for 5 combat turns. Apply damage each turn it is burning.
Thermal Detinators are, in essence, thermite in a can. The thermite is made by recipes handed down through a gang or family of the proper ratio of rust to shaved aluminum. Some still use manual fuses, but most people use scrounded catalyst sticks as igniters. Slow to get burning, once going the thermite goes for several seconds before burning itself out. Most builders coat the sides with some sort of glue or adhesive to make them stick so they can be tossed on car hoods or stuck to van walls. If they are used against a person it is generally an easy matter to knock them off and away.


EDITS:: Dropper APs across the board. Dropped reach on Angler. Dropped damage on Shock Stick glitch to 10S. Dropped damage on Forearm Launcher. Dropped damage on Cats Paw.

you make quality posts. keep up the good work.

Refrigerator
200 kg of non-functioning refrigerator lands on your head from >= 6 stories up. Target begins to cool to ambient temperature.

Picking at nits here:

First of all, I wouldn't use 5P(f) for Fire damage, as most sourcebooks use that to indicate flechettes. Use (Fire) or (i) for Incendiary or something.

I also don't think the Slingshot should have -2 AP. What the hell kind of armor penetration would you get from a makeshift weapon compared to a professional quality slingshot (or gun, for that matter)? Are you saying that they punch through armor better than an Assault Rifle? At most, they would be the equivalent of a Medium crossbow, which is 5P and no AP.

Also, the Assault Rifle with a hojillion barrels has -2 AP as well, when it should be -1 AP at most without special ammunition, especially since ARs have -1 AP and this gun has much decreased range.

Also, why does the Knuckle Duster get -Half AP? Surely, that's a typo? It doesn't do any element damage, and it's the equivalent of multiple hold out pistols, at best.

EDIT: I'd also list everything (in terms of format and editing) as the appropriate Extended Tests, to make things MUCH easier for potential GMs to use. I understand that editing and page count are limitations for SR4 Sourcebooks, but this shouldn't apply to posts on a forum or homebrew material. *cheesy grin* For example, I'd list the first Scavenge test as:
Extended Intuition + Survival (Threshold 5, Interval 1 week) test.

Standardizing the format really does help, in terms of ease of use. The way most people use homebrew stuff (or even canon SR stuff) is copying and pasting the relevant information to a sheet or a wiki or webpage. Often, the "special general rules" get lost in the copy and paste. As a hypothetical example, when the player refers to it (on a printed out character sheet or a computer screen), they will see things like "Threshold 10, 1 week" and think "Hrm, it's an extended test of some sort... but what test?" and then have to dig around from the original source which they hopefully have linked, wasting time during a game session to figure it out.

I'm also not sure I'd go with a 5/10/15/etc. scaling for the thresholds. Didn't they change the "standard" Thresholds to 6/12/18/24+?

Shouldn't Survival be a Willpower-linked test? It's one of only two (the other being Astral Combat), so you'd be shafting the one or two "Survival specialists" out there who got extra Willpower for better scrounging (honestly, I think allowing an Industrial Mechanic or Hardware test to substitute also dilutes the power of Scroungers, too... shouldn't people who take the skill be rewarded for it?).

Because you have plenty of forum space to write your ideas, maybe you should consider writing a brief blurb about WHY you set the various numbers. One of the reasons I've always liked the Blackjack SR stuff is because he always explained himself and the reasons behind what he was doing. The process would be of particular interest, especially to folks who may want to create things on their own, but need a bit of direction. It can also help solidify your own thinking process and organize it.

This is sheer awesomeness...

I love the idea of Scavenge tests. I agree with hahnsoo that there are a few tweaks needed for balance, but I will definitely use this stuff in the future.

Heck, at those heights, just drop a toilet on him.

People will think he got crushed to death by a fat guy.



-karma

Kitchen appliance doing the same damage than a vibro knive wielded by average person?

Monowire costs 1,000¥ per meter. If you happen to find it in a Z zone (yeah, right) - you sell it.

More Monowire?

30S discharge, at AP -half? A car bomb does 20P AP-5 to people inside, and so does Ringu to people breathing it.

Is this thing a gauss weapon, or why does it halve armor?
Those are usually simpler build, too, using two-to-three shotgun shells in tubes at the back of the hand, simple pushed against a pin when striking something.

And if you patch the ignition control of a Sakura Fubuki, you can fire a narrow long bust with 43P... not.

So it's a crossbow mounted on the back of your arm, more concealable than a pistol crossbow, has better DV and even more AP than a heavy crossbow?

Better AP against ceramic composite vehicle armor for homemade thermite than a current AV missile?

This would most likely be when the attackers weapon short circuits due to water damage. It would usually do 10S.

Still, 30S WILL kill the user regardless of being a hardy troll with protection.

I'd rather see that it functions like the monowhip, you take weapon damage (10S) to the attacker when they make a Glitch/Critical Glitch.

1) Replaced (f) with (Fire) to avoid confusion.

2) Yes I am saying that the make shift weapon punches through armor better than an assault rifle. It is designed to be extremely short range not becasue the it lacks power, but because they pushed the power u so much it is very easy for the projectile to go out of control.

3) The AP-2 for a Blaster is from having all the shots hit at once and not one at a time like a regular AR.

4) Knuckle Duster is AP-0. Copy and paste error.


I'll see about cleaning up the format when I get a chance. I'll try to write a better explanation of stuff when I get a chance.

30S is to the wielder on a critical glitch. It is powerful weapon and I wanted a big downside.

If it can deal 30S by accident - so it can by malice. You essentially introduced an off-the-charts booby-trap into the game.

An excellent throwing weapon - especially if it is preceeded by a water balloon.

1. Throw balloon against enemy
2. Throw makeshift tazer
3. BZZAAAP!

Never underestimate players to NOT turn a disadvantage into an advantage. In 3rd edition we had a mage with the Flaw "Blatant Magic" which basically gave every magic spell a visible effect.

It was great fun when detect enemies had large blinking arrows pointing down at the invisible enemies

err, who decided how the magic was blatant?

that sounds more like a oops from a GM then anything else...

Yup, we discussed it later and it's no bonus anymore - possibly a +20 point quality...

More likely that the magician lights up like a beacon, can be seen through walls, have a marching band playing behind him or a four foot dwarf hanging from a wheelchair at ten thousand feet...

...the latter might be a bit implausible but Bloom County made me do it...

Under the rules, AP isn't modified when you hit with more bullets. You get a DV adjustment, not an AP adjustment, which is more than enough of a bonus. Otherwise, you are double-dipping. You are literally saying "this is a narrow long burst", so you should treat it as such.

There's no way a slingshot will have -2 AP, if you are comparing it to an assault rifle (only -1 AP). The only reason that the Parashield weapons have -2 AP is because they are designed to deliver a dart that does no damage (aside from the contact/injection vector toxin within).

Also, 30S stun is too much. If a power source is designed to deal 10S electrical, it will deal 10S electrical to the user on a critical glitch. You can have the damage re-applied over multiple rounds, though, from continuous contact.

i like a lot of this-
and i think it is getting a bookmark.
Of course there are the issues others have mentioned, but
the idea is there, along with the scavenger test.

Theoretically, when it comes to the mono wire, couldn't an industrious young
punk take some wire cutters to the local corporate compounds top of the wall line, etc?
(in other words, i am okay with them scavenging mono wire, cost be damned, but perhaps a threshold modifier on the mono element weapons)

Sure, it could be dangerous, but gangers and punks do stupid shit, especially for
initiation and to prove they are top dogs.

That is where I assumed they would get the mono-wire from to be honest. Some of the concerns people have mentioned is why I tend to shy away from making weapons.

I'll crank down the AP and damage a bit per people's notes. Might have gotten a bit carried way.

I used the stats for the mono-chainsaw for the Carver. I'll tone the AP down a bit.

Monowire is used to protect a lot of places like razor wire and there is no market to really resell it. I'm looking at dropping the reach of the Angler and making it just use 1 meter.

People are complaining about the 30S. I'll tone it back down to 10S. However people who claim that it is something that their players will carry just to chuck it at people have to realize that the 30kg weight is the max encumbrance for a normal person and that someone walking around with a couple of car batteries looks stupid and draws attention.

The Shock Stick halves armor like all other tazers.

Not sure what a Sakura Fubuki is, but look up the Metal Storm system at some point.

Dropping the AP and dv on the bolt thrower.

As for the Detonator I was using the stats for a thermite bar that does 20. Basically it is a weaker version of that with some glue.

Again, at a grand a meter, it's not going to show up frequently - and there is, of course, always a market.

Sure, that's why I was talking about booby traps. 10S is the vehicle shock system, so that would be ok for fixed installations.

It's the the only metal storm weapon in SR4 - and the rules for bursts break a some point. I'm seriously considering a house rule to cap it, like that you can can double the base DV.

The Burning Bar has no AP at all, though - and can't be used as a weapon.

Hence the long scavenge times. Not like anything I write is RAW so feel free to chuck it. I tend to have a dencent about of monowire in my facilities games. I just like the mental image of the Angler and Cats Paw.


Toned it down to 10S.


To get the DV I took the 9P for a standard AR and just added the extra DV for a long narrow burst. Thought that was the least controversial thing I made.



Then what would you say is a fair AP value? Also if you read the text it is hard as hell to use a weapon against people. It is a cheap vehicle killer though.

I would like to introduce the nail bomb.

Weapon Type: Grenade
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 2 days
Remote scavenge time: 8 successes/ 2 days
Build Time: (Explosives + Logic) 5 Successes/ 1 hour
Remote detonator: (Hardware + Logic) 8 Successes/ 1 hour
Damage: 9P-11P(Flechette) AP: +2: Range: 2 meters Concealability Modifier: -2

Nail bombs are easy to scavenge and easy to make. They consist of a pipe filled with nails and explosives (Usually gunpowder, if high explosives are used upgrade damage to 11P), sealed at both ends with a metal cap. There are two methods of detonation: A fuse fed through one of the metal caps, or a remote detonator fixed to the cap which applies a spark directly into the pipe. Because of the incredibly volatile nature of this type of bomb, this job cannot be rushed and in any situation where the character is not handling the bomb with *extreme* caution, all tests regarding the bomb count 2s as glitches in addition to 1s.

perhaps you should try using microwire instead of monowire Brodda.

heck, even a barbed wire whip would be intimidating (hmmm... barbed-wire whip...) though probably not incredibly effective, make it simple razorwire or something instead of monowire. basically, monowire needs specialised and expensive tools to cut. not to mention handling it is going to be very difficult.

microwire at least we know has gloves that can be worn, and should be sufficient for the cat's paw. for the whip, i just don't see being able to get actual monowire. microwire maybe, but i don't think that would inflict significant damage from whipping someone (would work well if held taut as with the cat's paw). razorwire or barbed wire, though... i could *definitely* see that as a barrens weapon. not likely to be lethal if you can get medical treatment, but the infections would likely eventually be deadly if you got hit by one in the barrens.