As we all know there's always someone in the group entertaining the idea of grabbing a mono-filament chainsaw and going to town on everything in their paths. Lets face it, it's not really that different from the melee adept who's got a thing for katanas, and they're arguably the coolest if least versatile cyberhand available. In other words, they're groovy.

In spite of all this the rules for using chainsaws as a weapon in 5th are either obscure or simply non-existent. Reading the description gives us a base damage rating of 8P and requiring an exotic weapon skill, but that still leaves us with the question of Accuracy, Reach, and Armour Penetration.

If I had to houserule it I'd go with something along the lines of 3 acc (It's unwieldy), 1 reach (Same as a sword), -4/-8 ap (First against people, second against drones and vehicles. It is designed to destroy stuff and breach barriers after all, and squidgy people would give it less consistent resistance which makes things harder.)

Thoughts and suggestions?

I'd also say if the wielding character stops and says "gibe me some sugar!" He gets +2 acc

Um It gives the exact stats on page 448

Accuracy 3
Reach 1
Damage 8P - doubled against barriers to 16P
Armor penetration -6 - against everything

Well now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

Gotta say I am impressed at how close my guess was. Any word on when we get stats for chainsaw hands? Those things are going to eat essence like there's no tomorrow but will be SO worth it!

Edit: Huh. I'm not at all sure how I could have missed that, particularly as I was looking at that exact page when I wrote the OP. I'm calling it a critical glitch on my reading comprehension check.

The other Half is glorious Violence in all it's incarnations.

Is it bad I just imagined a Horizon action-Comedy-horror sim where a character has a cyber arm with a mono chainsaw attachment and a shotgun who hunts down shedim?

Have to ask Bull, I think he had a guest appearance in that one.

In an SR4a.5 campaign I'm running the team rigger has one of those. He has a modular obvious lower cyber arm, and one of the attachments has the monofilament chainsaw built into it, taking the entire capacity of the lower arm and hand, and is retractable like a cyber spur. Can't remember right off hand how much nuyen he paid for it. Maybe double the normal chainsaw cost.

interesting. on a scale of 1 to 10 how awesome is it?

He's only used it twice thus far, and once to cleave a ghoul diagonally. A little hard to gauge right now.

So, now we're just waiting for the cyberware book so we can plug it into a modular cyberarm or six, right?

Chainsaw Goro?

AS long as it is not a Chainsaw Winky.

Actually its 25% red lasers and 25% blue lasers.

I far prefer the "Light Clear" variety. It is my favorite color after all...

Now that's sorted, I want to design a gun that shoots rabid polar bears with jetpacks at people. Why? Science!

Rabid Polar Bears with Jetpacks... Can they have frickin' Laser Beams on their heads too?
I'd buy that for a Dollar...

That works. I was going for multi-barreled flamethrowers implanted in their mouths, but laser beams work too.

So... when can we have the Plushies?

Soon, my friend... Soon...

Oh... waiting for the Errata I bet...

'Fraid so.

*cough* Panther Cannon II *cough*

and of course the inevitable spin-off Chuck Shot

Granted not as heavy duty as your design...

Send over a prototype when you need some field testing..

Remember hearing from one of the Murder Inc. killers from New York in the 70s talking about the one, and only, time they tried a chainsaw on someone. First off, it throws blood and bits of the body everywhere. Second, a chainsaw is a specially designed tool with a specific medium for use in mind. Flesh was not the medium of intent so you quickly get a ton of flesh chunks jammed into the teeth of the saw which quickly means that...Third, you're basically smacking people with a loud, unbalanced, whirling flesh sprayer as a blunt impact weapon for the three or so seconds of fun you get before it jams up tight. Similar stories abound when other criminals have tried other purpose-designed cutting power tools (circular saws, etc) are involved. They whir a bit, they cut a bit, they spray viscera all over the place, and promptly jam up tight until you fish the gook out of them. The one exception, since I know some wiseass will mention it, is a band saw (common in butchers shops) since the force of the blade rotating in the drum tends to fling the vicera free of the blade, but that meat is also drained of blood and typically refrigerated which makes it easier to cut.

no can do. Customs has a thing about rabid fire-breathing flying polar bears.
Can't think why.

Maybe if you mark them on the custom form as plushies.

This is why we can't have nice things. Stupid logic.