Our group contains 2 blade adepts (1 elf 1 troll) who both took no firearms skills and have throwing as their range attack.
The problem is that this leaves them no real non lethal options at range (and precious few in melee too, but that's another story)
The troll player has a way around this: throw small beanbags. Let's face it, at strength 10 a beanbag is going to pack some punch but probably won't be lethal.

I was thinking damage of strength - 1, armour + 5. Suggestions?

Do either of them have throwing mastery?
If so, then that takes care of the issue for you. Pick a substance that is inherently non-lethal (like a Paintball) and there you go.
And your damage code is already figured for you.

Where in all the world did you get the delusion that one of MY players would A) make things that easy for me and B) do something sensible like that?!?
They threw all their points into killing things with swords and axes respectively. Man are they screwed when the mission requires something to be taken alive... like say our first mission, which was written before I knew what characters they were running.

Heh... I feel your pain.

We have 3 out of 5 characters who've dumped everything into being insanely good at fighting with 1 or maybe 2 classes of weapons... and nothing else. I swear that the troll at the very least would have an easier time slaughtering a THR unit than cooking his own breakfast.

One of them (a self-styled 'ninja') has decent stealth skills... for the sole purpose of getting close enough to cut people up. Some days I've got to wonder if I'm reading from a different rule book...

Can't they take a blunted sword for those times when they want to take something alive. Maybe something like the sakabato. Allows the player to use his sword skill, but gives them a non-lethal option.

True...

How much would it hurt to be hit with a LARP sword wielded by a melee adept troll with strength 10?

A sword-turned-club would still deal physical damage (even knucks finally do that now). Their easiest option would probably be gas-grenades.

Yeah, that sucks. I think you are going to see more of that in SR5, too. The cutting back of Knowledge skills was just criminal, in my opinion.
And all those self-styled Ninja give the real Ninja a bad name. *sigh*

Flash-bangs.

Either that or let them throw Stun Batons at people for single target elimination.

~Umi

Yep, Flash-bangs, the Perfect area stun weapon of choice (Generally cheaper than most Toxin options, like neurostun)

Well if we go that route, why not just throw taser-darts (the wireless ones )?
(With a really good wireless-bonus: They don't need an attached wire. SCNR )

Well, if you are getting a Wireless bonus, it is quite obvious that they ARE NOT wired, neh?