[CanRay]

True.  Though I find it a fault of human imagination that the trend didn't return as soon as the chainsaw was invented.

Until "Gears of War" came out.

[Simagal]

True.  Though I find it a fault of human imagination that the trend didn't return as soon as the chainsaw was invented.

I could not agree more.

[bigity]

Any gunsword or similar variants in SR is grounds for immediate random sniper headshot.


At least, that's how I feel on the subject.


However, taking two double-barrel shotguns and sticking them together ala Phantasm gets a big thumbs up!

Actually mounting a gun onto a sword was already done historically. I guess as firearm technology improved, though, they decided the sword was useless. Why bother with the sword when you can fire full auto on someone?

How about mounting a shotgun onto a spear?

Ah, a spear with a shotgun mounted on it, a la Kinkaid from the Harry Dresden series. It seemed to be most effective against hell hounds.

If we were playing a game that took place with such a weapon would be useful, obviously I wouldn't care.  Bayonets were for jabbing people after you shot your musket.  Swords in 2073 don't belong on the barrels of revolvers.

I'd still be ok with bayonets come to think of it.  And while a pitchfork shotgun would be a wonderful weapon to combat a zombie plague, I don't think it will intimidate a troll ganger that much.

[ARCimedes]

If we were playing a game that took place with such a weapon would be useful, obviously I wouldn't care.  Bayonets were for jabbing people after you shot your musket.  Swords in 2073 don't belong on the barrels of revolvers.

I'd still be ok with bayonets come to think of it.  And while a pitchfork shotgun would be a wonderful weapon to combat a zombie plague, I don't think it will intimidate a troll ganger that much.

I agree that a gunsword would be kind of pointless, so to speak. I can see a shotgun spear to stop the charge of the troll ganger and then hit him point blank with the shotgun....

[bigity]

I dunno, that crap is almost as bad as the shotgun/cross thing in that awful Tarenteno vampire movie.

[ARCimedes]

I dunno, that crap is almost as bad as the shotgun/cross thing in that awful Tarenteno vampire movie.

That was a Rodriguez movie, actually. And I believe it was supposed to be over the top and silly.

[bigity]

Yea but it wasn't.  It was awful (given that opinions are like arses).

Big Trouble in Little China was over the stop and silly, while remaining funny and enjoyable.

[Chrona]

I dunno, that crap is almost as bad as the shotgun/cross thing in that awful Tarenteno vampire movie.

From Dusk till Dawn is awesome and I will always love it. You're entitled to your opinion of course

[ARCimedes]

Yea but it wasn't.  It was awful (given that opinions are like arses).

Big Trouble in Little China was over the stop and silly, while remaining funny and enjoyable.

Though I don't think From Dusk Till Dawn was awful, Big Trouble in Little China rocked. I had a minor NPC in a Shadowrun game named David Lo Pan, who ran the Wing Kong Exchange shipping company. I am not sure if the party caught the reference and they never met him, so no ten foot tall roadblocks or basket cases in wheel chairs.

[bigity]

I dunno, that crap is almost as bad as the shotgun/cross thing in that awful Tarenteno vampire movie.

From Dusk till Dawn is awesome and I will always love it. You're entitled to your opinion of course

Different strokes and all.  The only parts I liked was Cheech's little spiel and Selma Hayek.  Rawr.

[Teyl_Iliar]

• Mercurial: This modification, only available for larger melee weapons (those with a reach of 1 or more), involves reforging the weapon with a narrow, hollow channel throughout its length, with a reservoir set in the handle. The reservoir is filled with a dense fluid (typically mercury); when the weapon is swung with enough force, the fluid inside rapidly shifts down the channel, imparting additional kinetic energy and increasing the weapon's Damage Value by an amount equal to the weapon's Reach (larger weapons benefit more). [And, yes, this is partly inspired by another RPG -- in SR, however, this sort of thing is entirely possible.]

   
First off I LOVE the mercurial mod you purpose. mostly because it's genus .

• Monowire Edge: Available only for bladed weapons, this modification attaches a length of low-grade monofilament to the weapon's edge, improving its AP value by –1.

Second, I completely agree with the Monowire edge. indeed I believe I've seen it in shadow run fiction. (which is why I've wondered why it wasn't in Arsenal or the core books as a modification).
   

• Spikes/Serrations: Sometimes, what matters most in hand-to-hand combat is dragging as much of your weapon as possible across the other guy. For those times, having extra surfaces specifically for snagging unprotected bits is the way to go. This modification gives blades a serrated edge, or adds spikes to the business end of a club. Taser-type clubs do not benefit from this modification, nor do blades with monowire. Serrations or spikes add +2 to the Damage Value, but worsen the AP value by +2.

I don't agree with this though. Just because it's serrated doesn't mean it should lose AP. I would say that if anything, the AP remains at base but instead Impact armor is 1.5x value against it. (in the interest of balance.), but adds the DV + 2. As for spikes it would make even less sense to raise the AP as those spikes would actually increase the AP. (focusing the kinetic energy of a blow into a spiked point should seriously increase the AP.)

But all of that is just my opinion anyway.  I'm glad this topic was finally made!

[Medicineman]

Mercurial Mod ....Hmmm
What If You Parry or Block with such a Weapon. It should be much more difficult because the Weight change tampers with parrying
So it should get at least -1 per Size Category
And I don't really think that + 100-200 Grams of Mercurial justify a +1 or even +2 to Damage
(ImO it was Silly with D&D its even sillyer with SR. The other Mods I like though )

with an unbalanced Dance
Medicineman

[LonePaladin]

Just because it's serrated doesn't mean it should lose AP. I would say that if anything, the AP remains at base but instead Impact armor is 1.5x value against it. (in the interest of balance.), but adds the DV + 2. As for spikes it would make even less sense to raise the AP as those spikes would actually increase the AP. (focusing the kinetic energy of a blow into a spiked point should seriously increase the AP.)

You're misinterpreting it, a little. See, the reason I made the AP get worse when you put spikes on something, or serrations, is because the actual damaging part is spread out over a wider area, meaning that armor would have more opportunities to get in the way. Also, it's a balancing thing, 'cause putting some spikes on a club isn't really that hard to do.

If the weapon were getting a single, large spike, then yeah, give it better AP. This mod isn't focusing into a point, like you said, it's dividing it between half a dozen or more. So, it hurts more, but armor tends to work better against it. Against some wageslave in his oh-so-trendy business suit? That guy's going to wish he hadn't gotten in the way.

Regarding mercurial weapons. In all honesty, I threw this one in because I was starting to get a little strapped for ideas on how you could alter a melee weapon. At least, in a way that hadn't already been done to death. Technically, the liquid inside doesn't have to be mercury, especially in a world with nanotech and high-end chemistry -- what matters is that the liquid is dense, and heavy, and won't get gummed up.

To reflect how shifting weight can affect kinetic energy, try this little experiment. Take a 1-liter soda bottle, and hit something yielding with it (like, say, a loaf of bread). Make a mental note of what the bottle does to it, then drink about 2/3rds of the contents. Take another swing at it, this time letting the remaining liquid swing out to the end of the bottle. Odds are it'll hit harder, even though it's lost some mass.

There are modern examples of this sort of experimentation, mainly in the manufacture of golf clubs and baseball bats. They've also tried things like having a loose ball bearing trapped in the shaft.

So, any ideas on other possible mods? Maybe some things calling on SR tech that I haven't thought of?

[Sid]

Linked, for your (reading) pleasure. I think it makes more sense when you don't take mercurial literally and consider the balancing fluid to be mercury. (personal preference is to ignore D&D, unless it has something that does not originate from somewhere else ... let me know when that happens)

In theory, it should be relatively easy to lift past the horizontal, as the balance of weight shifts to the hilt when the blade is highest. Missing could leave you open with blade down and weighted at the far end, though. Swinging it like a normal weapon of the same type would be unwieldly, to say the least.
Perhaps some penalties with the weapon that could be negated by taking a relevant Exotic Melee Weapon skill. The alternative of simply being very strong, in retrospect, seems a bit self-serving.

[LonePaladin]

If we did that, threw in some restrictions on use or penalties for missing, I'd want to make the benefits higher -- in most cases, it's only adding 1-2 to the DV, which isn't really much.