So I'm starting up SR5 (first time in Shadowrun), and one of my players is playing a Street Samurai. This player wants to focus on melee for himself, but has asked for a shoulder-mounted turret.
And I have decided to grant that request. Mainly because it sounds awesome.
This is what I have come up with. If anybody has suggestions, feel free to give them. This is my first time designing anything for SR, so let me know if I'm missing something.
He asked for it to operate independent of himself, as an auto-turret. So I'm using the drone rules to build it.
I started with the stats of a basic drone with a single weapon mount, the GM-Nissan Doberman. This will give it its base cost (5000), and its Body, Pilot, and Sensor stats. It loses the movement speed, but gains the advantage of not being its own target in a fight.
He will be able to fit any pistol, SMG, shotgun, or assault rifle onto the turret. Concealability will range from Hard (pistol) to Impossible (assault rifle). It will, however, be removable if he needs to hide it. (The mount will still be implanted, but the gun and the arm holding it can be taken off, making it not-quite-flush with his own skin.)
It will need autosofts to operate, just like a drone. So it needs Clearsight and Targetting. With a Pilot of 3, and thus Device Rating of 3, it can handle those 2 autosofts. It will be commanded (as a drone, issue commands, then let the dog brain work) by virtue of having a direct cybernetic attachment to it. Remote control will be possible using Gunnery + Logic, but only when using an AR overlay through a commlink. This is the Wireless bonus. Manual control is not possible.
Because it is mounted on him, it needs some special rules.
- It can be targetted by matrix attacks, and bricked. It can be turned against him, like a drone. If it is, it can be shut off as a simple action, but it will never miss on attacks vs him.
- While not its own target, it will take a certain fraction of the damage the character takes (1/3? 1/2? Not sure on this one). It will need to be repaired occasionally, with the Cybertech skill.
- Recoil penalties will apply as though he was firing the weapon himself. He will use his Strength as recoil compensation, plus any built into the gun. When recoil accrues, the penalty will affect melee attacks made in the same action phase as well.
I may recommend using a shotgun as the mounted weapon, in SS mode, to avoid any recoil problems.
Thoughts?