[Leevizer]

I'd like to hear other people's opinions on this subject. The stats are awesome and your own strength doesn't change the damage you deal, making it a pretty good melee weapon for nearly anyone. It is illegal but available at chargen and somewhat easily concealable whilst not in use. The misfire does seem to be a bad thing, but are glitches really that common or bad, and you can use Edge to counter glitches, right?

So, why would I choose any other weapon over a monofilament whip? I think that only trolls get to deal more damage with any other weapon and even they won't have as much armour penetration in melee?

I was thinking of building my human street samurai with one obvious cyberarm with Strength 8 meaning a 10 P hitting cyberblade and 10 P fists with aluminum bone lacing but without the penetration. But having a fingertip compartment with a monofilament whip just seems to be better in most situations. Obviously having the unarmed combat skill would be good if she would ever be unarmed, but seeing as the weapon would be inside her arm I doubt it'd be a problem? And she is highly illegal as it is so adding a whip wouldn't hurt that much.

So please give me your thoughts on the matter!

EDIT: And her main focus isn't melee, but I'm thinking that some melee would be good to have.

[Namikaze]

The only problem that I see with it is that it requires the Exotic Melee Weapon: Monofilament Whip skill to use.  Otherwise, this thing is awesome indeed.

[Sendaz]

Always thought the wireless bonus for this was wrong.


It should be, Wireless Bonus:  Now you just have a handle. 

[ImaginalDisc]

Yet another mono-filament whip thread!

It's fine, though.

The main problem is that the rules basically instruct your GM to make glitches as much of a problem for you as your enemies. This weapon is also forbidden, so it's likely to get you into trouble if found.

[Bewilderbeast]

Pros:
-Very good damage/AP
-A melee weapon that doesn't rely on Strength at all, good for a high Agility/low Strength character
-Concealable: monofilament whip + fingertip compartment is a classic

Cons:
-Requires the Exotic Weapon skill, which can be a major drain on skill points at creation.
-Illegal, so not appropriate for all situations.
-So dang deadly that you might attract undue attention, in the same way that busting out a grenade launcher in a knife fight would.
-Glitches will MESS. YOU. UP. (I'm considering making a monofilament whip character with only 1 Edge named "Tempts Fate")
-Other runners will snicker behind your back for embracing the cliche.

It's an iconic weapon, it's supposed to be good, and if you build a character around it the monowhip is definitely scary. But it's not as deadly as an assault rifle, not as pragmatic as a pistol, and a jacked-up troll adept or ork street samurai or what-have-you can probably do more damage with a combat knife. It's a good weapon, but by no means the end-all.

[Namikaze]

-Glitches will MESS. YOU. UP. (I'm considering making a monofilament whip character with only 1 Edge named "Tempts Fate")

Take the Bad Luck negative quality, and you'll be really tempting fate.

[Tecumseh]

Monofilament whips are awesome for killing and terrorizing. Their intimidation factor is off the charts. The downsides, from the standpoint of gameplay mechanics, are:

1) Use of the Exotic Melee Weapon (Monofilament Whip) skill. This means that you can't use the same skill for any other weapon, like you can for Blades and Clubs.
2) Cannot take a specialization on an Exotic Melee Weapon skill, so there are two dice you will never have.
3) No non-lethal option, unless you manage to subdue the opponent through abject fear.

And some fluff reasons:

4) You might put yourself on top of the "geek the [target] first" list.
5) None of your friends or loved ones will ever get closer than 2 meters for the rest of your life.

[JackVII]

-Glitches will MESS. YOU. UP. (I'm considering making a monofilament whip character with only 1 Edge named "Tempts Fate")

Take the Bad Luck negative quality, and you'll be really tempting fate.

Also R4 Gremlins.

I'd just be interested to see how long the character would survive.

[Xenon]

SR5 Machine Spirit using Gremlins is kinda interesting as well
(but that only work if your mono-whip is wireless ON i guess)

[Mithlas]

Don't forget that it's a whip - if you're ever in enclosed spaces, you can't effectively use it and are more likely to cut off your own fingers and toes than hit the enemy. It's fine when you're outdoors away from the trees and streetlamps...but it's not a good CQC weapon because of needing to be able to maneuver to keep from slicing yourself up while also having momentum so you can quickly snap it at an enemy. I would also imagine a character using a monowhip would quickly gain notoriety, which would hamper the jobs (s)he would be offered.

[ImaginalDisc]

Don't forget that it's a whip - if you're ever in enclosed spaces, you can't effectively use it and are more likely to cut off your own fingers and toes than hit the enemy. It's fine when you're outdoors away from the trees and streetlamps...but it's not a good CQC weapon because of needing to be able to maneuver to keep from slicing yourself up while also having momentum so you can quickly snap it at an enemy. I would also imagine a character using a monowhip would quickly gain notoriety, which would hamper the jobs (s)he would be offered.

I have allowed it to be used a garrote in close quarters with no reach, rather than  its normal reach, and a 3 die circumstantial penalty.

[Csjarrat]

I don't take high rankings in any melee skill for the same reason I wouldn't take one of these;
To use it effectively as a weapon, you have to be very close to someone. That person in this world is likely to have a gun and won't particularly want to let you hit him, preferring to shoot you as you move into melee range instead.
To that end, I'd rather be better with guns and take a stun batons or something as a melee option if shit hits the fan. Stun or physical doesn't really matter when you just need someone out of the fight, and a stun baton isn't going to slice through my leg on a super glitch

[Novocrane]

I could see issues with confined spaces and (non-computer-aided) monofilament wires flying around, when directed by full arm motions. Fingertip compartments, wireless bonuses, and retractable wires lend themselves to a different style of fighting, though.


From the image, it looks more like the monofilament isn't the full length of the whip, which afaik is an interesting change.

On the topic of range, an almost invisible fingertip weapon you can flick at someone that cuts like a hot knife through butter makes for a great surprise and assassination tool. If they hadn't clarified TMs and chargen essence loss, I'd put money on saying that Data Trails would make the lucky human TM monowhip user a viable option.

[firebug]

That picture goes against the size that's implied in the books though.  Since apparently the entire thing can fit inside a fingertip compartment.  Plus a few other descriptions of it.  Meh, no big deal.

Can you use a monofilament whip to parry?  I'm not entirely clear on the rules for that.  If you can't, that'd be another downside to using the weapon.

[ImaginalDisc]

Can you use a monofilament whip to parry?  I'm not entirely clear on the rules for that.  If you can't, that'd be another downside to using the weapon.

The rules don't forbid it. I admit it seems silly, but the weapon has such serious limitations already I wouldn't quibble.