Note: I posted this a long time ago on DS. I have updated them to be usable in 5th Ed.
Z-Zone Weapons
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 playground. The fact is that the unarmed and the stupid die fast in the Barrens, and most of dwellers 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 entertainment) has led to the creation and dissemination. 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, whichever is higher.
All weapons are considered F for legality. Due to the makeshift nature of the weapons 1s and 2s count towards glitches.
All items on this list are throwbacks and have no wireless connections (they don’t even have a data port.)
Melee Weapons:
Turkey Carver
Relevant Skill: Blades
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 15 successes/ 1 hour
Accuracy: 6 Damage: 6P AP: -3 Reach: - 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)
Relevant Skill: Exotic Weapon (Mono-whip)
Scavenge Time: 15 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 25 successes/ 1 day
Accuracy: 3 Damage: 7P AP: -2 Reach: +2 Concealability Modifier: -1
The Angler is usually referred to as the poor man’s monowhip. It consists 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)
Relevant Skill: Blades
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Industrial Mechanic + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 day
Accuracy: 4 Damage: STR+2 AP: -2 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
Relevant Skill: Clubs
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Hardware + Logic) 30 successes/ 1 day
Accuracy: 3 Damage: 10S(e) AP: -5 Mode: SS 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
Relevant Skill: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 30 minutes
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 5 successes/ 1 hour
Accuracy: 2 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
Relevant Skill: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 10 successes/ 1 day
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 hour
Accuracy: 7 Damage: 9P AP: 0 Mode: SS RC: 2 Ammo: 1 Range: 1 meter 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. 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
Relevant Skill: Automatic
Scavenge Time: 15 successes/ 1 day
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 10 successes/ 1 hour
Accuracy: 3 Damage: 15P AP: -1 Mode: SS RC: 5 Ammo: 1 Range: 5 meters Concealability Modifier: +3
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.
The Barrens Blaster is an assault rifle sized homemade 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
Relevant Skill: Pistol
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Armorer + Logic) 15 successes/ 1 hour
Accuracy: 3 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. The propellant is compressed air that is stored by a pumping or bellows mechanism. 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)
Relevant Skill: 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.
Accuracy: 4 Damage: 3P AP: 0 Mode: SS RC: 2 Ammo: 1(m) Concealability Modifier: -1 Range: 5 Meters
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. There is no trigger to launch the bolt. To fire the weapon the user slams their arm outwards in the trowing motion with a sudden stop that triggers the release.
Explosives:
Thermal Detonator
Relevant Skill: Thrown Weapon
Scavenge Time: 5 successes/ 1 week
Build Time: (Chemistry + Logic) 15 successes/ 30 minutes
Damage: 5P(Fire) 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 Detonators 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 scrounged 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.