Pixie ninja adept. With monofilament whip as a weapon focus, and stealth. Didn't bother buying off uneducated.

RAZORWIRE – NINJA ADEPT

RACE: PIXIE (35 BP)

ATTRIBUTES (260 BP)
B2 A7 R7 (9) S1 C3 I6 L2 W7 M5 E6

Init/IP: 15/3

ACTIVE SKILLS (116 BP)
Dodge (Ranged Combat): 4 (+2)
Exotic Melee (Monofilament Whip): 6
Outdoors Skill Group: 1
Perception (Visual): 1 (+2)
Stealth Skill Group: 4
Unarmed Combat (Shock Gloves): 4 (+2)

QUALITIES (+30 BP)
Adept: 5
Mild Allergy (Iron): +10
Sensitive System: +15
Spirit Bane (Beast Spirits): +10

ADEPT POWERS (5 POWER POINTS)
Combat Sense 3
Enhanced Perception 2
Improved Infiltration 2
Improved Reflexes 2

GEAR & LIFESTYLE (35,000¥) (7+2 BP)
Second Skin Line (w/Ruthenium Polymer Coating); Weapon Focus – Monofilament Whip (Force 2 w/Personalised Grip); Shock Glove; Middle Lifestyle (1 Month); 700¥ to spend.

I'm always amused of the concept of people weapons focusing a monfilament whip, not something I'd allow but I get that it's rules legal. Also no fake sin?

Pixies aren't eligible for a SIN in the UCAS as far as I'm aware. Maybe one of my team mates could have an exotic pet license.

That's right. You might consider a fake French SIN (or a criminal SIN from the Tir), but it's use would be highly limited.

BTW, no Assensing or Astral Combat?
It's not as necessary as for Dual Natured characters, but i'd consider at least the former if you are running around with an activated focus all the time.
If only just to avoid bumping into wards with your monowhip and setting off an alarm.
It's not possible to default and it seems odd that he has never bothered using his Astral Sight.
You wouldn't have to free up many points for it, either.
INT6 and Enhanced Perception would already give you 8 dice, so a skill of 1 should be enough to cover this.

And why exactly would you be running around with your weapon focus activated all the time?
I generally only activate it when it is necessary...

Keep the Faith

Is Tomothy coming up with dumb (or at the least unlikely) pixie concepts kind of a running joke around here? Can we keep all these confined to a single thread instead of having multiple pixie character threads for the same person?

Situations where you have both wards you should not set off and the need for an activated weapon focus at the same time aren't that uncommon for shadowrunners.
Better to relocate 4 points to Assensing than calling down a surveilance mage on your ass.

BTW, i've been podering a concept like this as well after i got my copy of RC.
Monowhips' only use lies in providing a melee weapon for characters who don't invest in STR, so from a number-crunchy viewpoint, it's a logical choice for a killerpixie.

In Arsenal, I seem to recall that Dwarfs take a penalty for using Reach 2 melee weapons. It stands to reason that pixies would have even greater issues using such weapons.

I dunno if that would apply to Dwarves anyway; I feel like it's intended to be a penalty based on how heavy such a weapon is. But, good point.
SR has mostly avoided a D&D-style weapon size mechanic, because it's a PITA, but a pixie with an SMG raises its own problems, no?

There are no Dwarves in SR, only Dwarfs.

It's English, both are fine, and have been for 200 years.

Does that mean that you have Orcs in your SR too?

I'm with Yerameyahu. "Dwarves" is fine. So are "orc" and "orcs," for that matter.

Psh, HappyDaze, that's not really comparable. Also, your face!

Why wouldn't you allow a monowhip focus?

My guess would be because of it manufacture process... Extremely High Tech weapons do not do well with Enchanting (They are very difficult to enchant due to their technology level)...

Keep the Faith

This is when you integrate orichalcum and exotic reagents into the focus formula to lower the TN again.
It's not hard to enchant a monowhip or vibroblade weapon focus if you are willing to shell out some extra .

And of course, it's technological properties won't help you in astral space.
Your monowhip has the stats of a normal whip weapon focus there, your chainsaw is a club or something like that and your vibronodachi is just a normal nodachi.

Perhaps, except that that they Completely ignore ITNW (on the physical anyways), and bypass regeneration for those creatures that have it, while the mundane ones do not...

But yeah, you can solve most problems with a judicious application of excessive funds...

Keep the faith

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as with a weapon focus taser... but so long as the lines still connect the darts to the firing module in your hand, I guess that's legal too.

I can't tell if you're kidding.

Of course I absolutely perhaps might be kidding and/or serious.

Don't forget the joy of a disposable weapon focus in the form of a wire-guided missle! Just have to have the wire stay connected and you can... still miss terribly because of the scatter.

In case you're not... Tasers are technically ranged weapons aren't they? And even if not, most of their damage still comes from the electric battery, which you can't make magical or turn into a focus.

Oh, you can certainly enchant the taser - battery and all - it's just harder than if you were to enchant a hand-made wood and stone warclub. Regardless of the fact that the the taser is a ranged weapon, there is still a direct connection between the weapon and the weilder - which is what the weapon focus requires. I'd say the lead wires are likely more substantially connected back to the wielder than the business end of a monowhip would be.

BTW, I've seen a commlink that was enchanted to be a sustaining focus too.

An enchanted weapon focus taser would be a very expensive, very small magic club (in terms of being a magic weapon). It'd still work as a mundane taser, but I'd never allow the combination implied above.

Of course you can enchant the taser.
And it would, in theory, be able to deliver some kind of focus effect through the wire, as it stays in contact with the caster in it's entirity.

But a weapon focus grants bonus dice to meele tests.

I'm also eager for the advent of the harpoon focus (time to get back at those pesky meistersingers!), but it would need an entirely different kind of focus formula to boost your Exotic Ranged Weapon tests.
I'm certain that several corps are working on this (my suspects would include Ares, SK, the Azzies, MCT and Wuxing or one of these corps' subsidiaries), maybe one should go look in their research facilities.
The issue of research into ranged weapon foci has been discussed in rulebooks since first edition, someone should finally be close to a marketable product after 20 years, right?

Until then, just play a high-grade adept with Attunement or just slap a smartlink on your gun like the rest of us.

Unless, of course, it is the Unattainable Holy Grail of Spell Research... I believe that Dunklezhan's will has a clause for the first person that could develop such a focus...

One day maybe, but not yet...

Keep the Faith

So you lose the bonus dice on the Taser - that's no big deal. You still cut completely through INW - rather than "-half" as is normal for (e) damage - and it shuts down Regeneration too. You can also have fully astral spirits shouting "Don't tase me, bro!" as long as you have astral perception to target them.

Why should the electric damage of a taser apply to ItNW, even if you have made a focus out of it? As far as I'm concerned, a weapon focused taser doesn't affect a spirit any differently than a normal one. You don't get the extra shock glove damage if you turn that into a weapon focus do you?

Depending on the exact weapon and what you're trying to put into it, you may have some problems with the technological bits themselves - if you're only doing 'cosmetic' modification to the casing there's no problem, but if you hva to replace some parts with radicals, finding in equivalent to say the high-stregth ceramic reel where the wire rests when not in use might result in an unreliable - and possibly nunfunctional - weapon.

Crossposting from the cyberware foci thread..

While it is indeed possible with extreme amounts of cash and compatible physiology/high-class implants to have an in-built foci, I think it is stretching the "hard sci-fi" atmosphere of the rules to deliver touchspells with ranged implants like a grapple hand. The same applies to taser guns in my view. You might be able to, but it's too silly and I'd disallow it on fluff grounds

Since the only thing that having a spell be touch does is save you on drain it's really kind of a moot point in most instances.

How can the pixie use any advanced technology like monofilament whips and shock gloves if it still has Uneducated? I know the quality says nothing about it, simply making certain skills more expensive, but the fluff seems like it implies that the character would have no idea what any of these weapons are.

What technological understanding is required to operate a monofilament whip?

I'm not sure, but it doesn't feel right to me. There's probably no reason whatsoever against it, but I just don't get it. Maybe it wouldn't know where to get one?

Still doesn't fit the model and ideology of the weapon focus. If you take a magic sword and lightly tap the flat of the blade on someone's bare skin whilst focusing your every thought on the arm falling off, would you expect the arm to fall off? I don't think you should. Weapon foci aren't just about maintaining a physical link between you and the target - you still need a vehicle for the damaging aspect which in the case of a sword is the slashing or stabbing motion. With that in mind, a taser weapon focus is no good beyond an improvised club as once the darts are in flight you are not in control of them and the spiritual link is broken. This is more fluff than crunch, but necessary to maintain the integrity of the setting IMO. Now if the taser were to inflict damage by ripping chunks out of the target when you pull mightily hard on the wires after the hooks sink then bonus dice are coming your way, but delivering the elecrtric current more effectively at a distance is not something enchantment of the taser can help you with.

Regarding the ranged focus argument, it's simply an old taboo carried over from previous editions.
An artifact from the early days of the game.
All long-lasting RPG lines have those.
And typical examples for this are rules that stem from a fear of powergaming while totally missing the things that really allow you to cheese out.
Remember that number crunching is never about the obvious things, but about hidden synergies.

Spells like Enhance Aim do just the same thing as a gun focus.
In fact, they do it better, because Enhance Aim is not restricted to a single weapon, would work with other weapons than some lame-ass taser or a harpoon and is even able to support dual-wielding (actually better than anything else in the game, since it's the only thing that adds a pool bonus immune to splitting instead of increasing the skill itself).
Adepts have also been able to magically enhance their shooting skills ever since SR1 came out.
They can attune their weapons (including ranged ones), they can use adept centering to remove ranged combat penalties.
If that's too much initiation for you, just summon a possessing Guardian spirit with Heavy Weapons as an optional power and get maxed out Agility and a superhuman skill level for shooting your railgun at the expense of simply investing in the most useful skill mages have anyway.
Won't get you the same advantages a a guns akimbo mystad, but is a lot easier to pull off (once more, the obvious cheese is not the best cheese).

What's even more important is how contrived the whole reasoning behind "no ranged focus please" is.
Think about it, once you have fired the bullet, your part of shooting someone is done with.
You do not direct the flight path of a bullet to hit someone, you aim before firing to do this.
If you have to connect to a target via touch before you hit them, you better restrict weapon foci to things that help you with grappling.
Otherwise, good luck with swinging that sword before it hits, your focus shouldn't do a thing there, as there's no touch connection to your opponent yet.
This leaves out the fact that simple line of sight always has worked fine for magic, BTW.

Ranged foci where not disallowed because they make no sense.
Someone wanted to disallow them and made up a poorly thought out reasoning for it.

What's this stuff about connections? You hit the bad guy, then ouchies.

If a nodachi's sharpness prevents it from being reduced to club type damage than I should think a monowhip would keep its damage code. Basically, the only thing highly technological about a monowhip is the materials and manufacturing process. It still does its damage through plain ol' physics and being sharp.

Unfortunately, Spells like Enhance Aim do not let you bypass ITNW, which a Weapon Focus does...
Adept Enhanced Shooting Skills do not bypass ITNW, Which a Weapon Focus does...
Adept Attuned Weapons DO NOT BYPASS ITNW, A WEAPON FOCUS DOES...

Beginning to see a pattern here...

The reason that ranged weapon foci are not allowed is because there is no longer a link between the Wielder and the target, which is what is required for the weapon focus to provide its benefits... That is the rationale, and it is not stupid at all...

Weapon Foci are meant to be wielded by hand, not as ranged weapons... it is the fact that the weapon is in contact with a Living Aura while it is wielded that allows it to bypass the ITNW of a spirit (which is honestly one of the biggest uses of a weapon focus), but it also benefits with the dice pool bonus, because the dice pool bonus does not rely upon the target to be active, it relies upon the wielder to have contact with the focus to receive the benefit...

I like that there are not ranged weapon foci in the game...

And your supposition that LOS works for magic is correct, AFTER you have established a mystic link between the target and the attacker, at which point the magic does damage (or whatever)...

Just sayin'

Keep the Faith

Of course, as TJ likes to point out, the connection is the important part - and a taser has a connection to it's business end every bit as substantial as a monofilament whip does.

If you want lower tech, go with a harpoon with a cord.

However, there is only a single tazer (if I remember correctly) that is connected by leads... the rest are tazer darts...
Actually, after reviewing my SR4A (Both weapons use Darts) and Arsenal (no mention of wires on those either), it seems that Tazers all use Capacitor Darts except the Melee Versions... Unless I just completely missed something...

And even if they used wires, I would not allow any tazer (Ranged weapon, remember) to be useable as a weapon focus, unless you are using it to club someone rather than shoot them (melee hardening for the win)

Keep the Faith

This still leaves harpoons.

Though i'd say that existing focus formulas are merely designed to increase the wielder's melee DP.
But i see absolutely no reason why it should be impossible to design a harpoon-based ranged weapon focus.
If it wasn't a harpoon-like weapon, i'd disallow ITNW, of course.
No connection to the user anymore, it stops being a focus.
But what i was getting at is that the focus would be in contact with the user during aiming and firing.
ITNW is the only effect that applies to the weapon itself instead of just making the user a better fighter.

Maybe the issue is while it needs to keep a 'connection' that 'connection' fades over range, as in as soon as it leaves the immediate vicinity of the user, the 'connection' fades and becomes less powerful. Kind of like a dwindling signal strength. More prominent and powerful the closer it is.

My 0.02 nuyen.

Magic doesn't have to make sense in the physical world. It just has to stay true to its own internal logic. That internal logic states that weapon foci don't work with ranged weapons; theories suggest that it's due to a lack of a physical connection, but it's just theory. Since there are no taser, harpoon, or similar weapon foci in the game... guess what. There aren't taser, harpoon, or other ranged weapon foci in the game. You can waste your time and energy enchanting one, no problem. But it's not going to do a damn thing for you -- including bypassing immunity to normal weapons -- unless you're wielding them as a melee weapon.

It has nothing to do with how technological they are, that just makes them a bit harder to enchant to begin with (and that can be circumnavigated through a few techniques anyway). Monofilament whips, monofilament swords, vibroswords, and etc. are all valid and acceptable weapon foci and work just fine on the astral plane.

Indeed...

But I still think that the first individual (or Corporation) to figure out Ranged Foci will benefit heavily from Dunkelzhan's Will...
Just wish that I could find the Line Entry for that, though it would probably help if I went out and got the PDF, would definitely make it easier to look it up...

Keep the Faith

Well, strictly from an aesthetic view:

Energy attacks not being affected by Immunity to Normal Weapons has classically been explained as raw elemental power overcoming the immunity.

Tasers don't work by 'overpowering' anything. They operate by inducing a specific pulsed electrical pattern to lock up the muscles.

Spirits don't have muscles.

My games, you don't get to invoke the elemental damage clause unless the attack is based on pumping raw elemental power through the target. So tasers don't count, but a water cannon does. Ramming an electrical power main into the spirit would work, but sticking wood splinters into it would have limited effect.



-karma

Just curious, but why exactly would a power main be any different than the Tazer or SnS rounds (Can't believe I just said that)? They both do the exact same thing, just on different scales of effect... the 50,000 - 80,000 watts of electricity at the miniscule amperage that a Tazer puts out is still pretty damn impressive... the 50,000 - 80,000 watts (for arguments sake) that the Power Main puts out has significantly more amperage, but it is still effectively just electricity, just as the Tazer is... they do the same thing...

Keep the Faith

Scale matters.

No. That's simply the effect the electrical current has on a human being. Tasers don't use some special, super magical form of electricity that only has one particular effect and only on humans. Why this ridiculous argument keeps coming up, I'll never know.