Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: Inconnu on <03-26-12/1118:57>
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The way i see it, weapon foci do 2 things-
1.They deliver a jolt of magical force/amplify your strength upon hittinh
2.They guide your hand.
As such, a weapon focus gun, while not amplifying damage, would guide your hand, resulting in you getting a dice pool modifier, but not a +force damge.
Just thinking that this would make this a lot easier for all the cyber-less Magi (The "proper" plural for mages.)
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Would be a nice houserule, but it's more or less a skill-boosting foci, and there's nothing in SR like that.
Closest thing would be a Sustaining Focus with a skill or attribute boosting spell put into it.
Oddly, though, the opposite kinda does exist - there's technological gear in WAR that gives a spellscaster a bonus to hit with direct line-of-sight spells.
-k
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Indirect spells, Karma. It gives a bonus for things like Flamethrower or Lightning Ball, not for Stunbolt or Manaball.
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As far as I'm aware Weapon Foci only add their force to melee attack DPs. I haven't seen anywhere were they directly modify damage at all, they just help you hit the target to begin with.
I think the biggest issue here with a gun (and why it doesn't work at all) is that the gun doesn't actually hit the target at all (unless you're pistol whipping the target, but you can actually make a weapon foci gun it just only is useful for melee attacks with the gun. Note the gun, not attachments to the gun. I recommend a weapon foci bayonet if going this route to be honest). Instead the bullet that the gun fires is hitting the target, and that bullet is seriously deformed/destroyed after the shot (weapon foci don't gain any resistance to damage). In the end, this would leave us with effectively single use weapon foci that cost a ridiculous amount of money, must be bound with karma, and generally aren't worth it. That would be, of course, if the the weapon foci remained active when it left your touch, which they never have.
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Actually, all it is is a logical weapon focus. Melee increases dicepool and dv, but ranged would only increase dv if a. the bullet was enchanted, and b. it was touching you.
Wait what? ;)
In other words, magic bullets don't work.
However, the gun would be literally guiding your hand.Because it can't amplify your strength or release magical energy into your foe or whatev, it doesn't get the damge boost.
Ps-
um, guys? I'm talking about weapon foci that help you SHOOT THINGS
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um, guys? I'm talking about weapon foci that help you SHOOT THINGS
but there are NO Weapon Foci for shooting things
If You make a weapon Focus out of a Pistol You could use its Bonus to club someone on the Head but not to shoot him
Hough !
Medicineman
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1) Melee weapon foci don't increase die pool and dv. They increase die pool, that's it. I'm not sure if you guys have house ruled weapon foci at your table, or what, but all they do is add their Force to the character's die pool (and ignore Regeneration and ItnW, since they're magical).
2) No, ranged weapon foci aren't as logical as a melee weapon focus. It's come up (and has been coming up for over twenty years), and it just doesn't work like that. Foci only work if you maintain physical contact with them, weapon foci are specifically and clearly stated to only work in melee combat, and so the only sort of gun weapon focus would be one that helps you with Club attacks.
3) If you'd like to change all that and house rule it so you can have bitchin' weapon focus guns that give you bonus dice, that's fine, but be aware that -- once again -- what you're proposing will potentially throw the balance of power all out of wack. Part of why current weapon foci aren't a major balance is that, well, they do only work in melee. You can only use them at a target that's in close, you can only attack with them as a complex action, your opponent generally gets a larger defense pool to get out of the way -- all the things that make melee combat less dangerous than ranged combat applies to weapon foci, so that they don't tend to be earth-shatteringly powerful. If you let someone start blazing away with a ranged weapon foci, attacking multiple times in a turn, shooting at anything within range, and still raking in a ton of extra dice and ignoring things like Regeneration and ItnW, you've got a real balancing issue on your hands, now.
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....oO( a Die Pool.... is there also a ...Live Pool ? ;D )
with a Dance in a Pool
Medicineman
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Couldn't you just make a power focus in the form of a gun, and then tie that magic to adept magic where it give extra skill in shooting skill? The rounds aren't magical, but it is still a magic gun, usable in the hands of a bound adept.
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Couldn't you just make a power focus in the form of a gun, and then tie that magic to adept magic where it give extra skill in shooting skill? The rounds aren't magical, but it is still a magic gun, usable in the hands of a bound adept.
No. It just doesn't work that way. By the laws of magic in the Shadowrun universe, ranged weapon foci just don't work, period. You could have a gun weapon focus for bashin' heads in, but that's about it.
The closest you can get is to use the Attunement (item) metamagic, which can provide a little extra help on the attack roll...but it doesn't do so in the same was as a focus, and you specifically cannot attune a focus (which tells you their mojo is basically incompatible).
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Average street sam gets around 20 for shooting things at char gen, easy.
Yet somthing that will only add like 5 dice to a anemic dice pool is going to
throw the balance of power all out of wack.
Explanations? As far as i can tell, the BEST a magician can get is currently 15 dice(12 from base stats and skills, 3 from someone buffing them with improved agility.)
Adapts are only slightly better, and only with 6 magic/agi and 6 pistols, and using ALL their PP on improved AGI and improved ability (Insert firearm) 3.
So i say to you- Huh?
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It would increase the clubs skill since that's the only way you hit anything with the gun. Guns don't hit people when you're shooting (unless you're launching guns out of a potato cannon at people).
Explanations? As far as i can tell, the BEST a magician can get is currently 15 dice(12 from base stats and skills, 3 from someone buffing them with improved agility.)
Adapts are only slightly better, and only with 6 magic/agi and 6 pistols, and using ALL their PP on improved AGI and improved ability (Insert firearm) 3.
So i say to you- Huh?
Mages can still use Smartlink. Mages can still use ware. A mage can get just as high of shooting as a street sam when you get down to it (Muscle Toner 4 is less than 1 essence at basic grade). The only thing that hits them hard are IP boosting augs and that's what Improved Reflexes and a sustaining foci is for. The bottom line here is that a mage can do everything a street sam can do, plus magic, plus weapon foci (so a dedicated combat mage can end up with AGI 5(9), Blades at 6(7), Personalized Grip, and Weapon Focus 4 for 21 dice an lose one point of magic for the agility aug and Reflex Recorder). It probably isn't worth it for them, but they can do it.
Adepts are the balance point here. It's more powerful because they can also get Improved Ability. Losing one point of magic for 4 agi is a great deal compared to the .75 PP per level (1.5 each for the three over natrual max). So look at AGI 5(9), Blades at 6(9), Personalized Grip, and Weapon Focus 4 will end up at 23 dice. That's a lot of dice, but let's look a bit further. If you open it up to guns instead, toss a smartlink in there as well and it becomes 25, aim a few times and it become 28. This is all without min/maxing at all (I've gotten characters shooting in the low 30's without adding weapon foci into the equation).
This is all just by the dice, but there is not reason to make Adepts gain even higher DPs than they can now at shooting when they can already out shoot a Street Sam if geared for it. There is no reason to make magi be able to just toss nuyen into a pool to be able to shoot as well as a cyber sniper.
The real issue isn't the DP though. It's that Weapon Foci bypass immunities and the like,
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Average street sam gets around 20 for shooting things at char gen, easy.
Yet somthing that will only add like 5 dice to a anemic dice pool is going to
throw the balance of power all out of wack.
Explanations? As far as i can tell, the BEST a magician can get is currently 15 dice(12 from base stats and skills, 3 from someone buffing them with improved agility.)
Adapts are only slightly better, and only with 6 magic/agi and 6 pistols, and using ALL their PP on improved AGI and improved ability (Insert firearm) 3.
So i say to you- Huh?
I already offered some explanations above, and Crash_00 offered some more below. I'd also just like to point out that any mage can shoot a gun much better than any street samurai can cast Manabolt. Do they need spellcasting and also top-tier shooting ability, too? I'm as big a fan of characters who embrace that this is a classless system as anyone. I'm as big a fan of magical characters who are capable in the mundane world as anyone. But I don't think what we need are house rules to make them more capable...especially not when it means they'd be more capable than the hardcore street samurai.
Anything a street sammie can do to augment his pool of dice, a mage (or adept, for that matter) can also do. Muscle Toner? Reflex Recorders? These are things that'll add combat dice that are already pretty Essence-friendly, and if you throw enough money at them, they just get more Essence-friendly. And mages can take them just as easily as anyone else can, if they decide that 4-5 extra dice with a gun is worth 1 die with a spell. And, heck, anyone that wants it can get a smartlink program installed in some glasses or a pair of contacts, nowadays, there's 2 dice everyone should have.
Giving mages access to all of that is -- in my humble opinion -- pretty awesome. It introduces choices to the game, that let you design the character you want to play, but with a cost attached.
But giving mages access to all of that, and then also giving them magical gun-foci (which have been explicitly stated not to work that way, several times, over four editions now), so that they're just plain better at shooting than a dedicated street samurai? No. That's when you fly in the face of the canon universe and force balance issues to crop up -- just like when you introduce a .79 pistol or mini-grenade bullets that use Chunky Salsa inside your target.
So -- once again -- if you want to do that in your home game, knock yourself out. House rule to your heart's content, sling a hojillion dice, play the soundtrack to Saints Row in the background, and have a good time. Just be aware that what you're doing would seriously upset the balance of power in a canon game, and don't be surprised that people keep telling you so.
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huh?
How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Also, i think i already pointed out that they would not bypass immunities...
What weapon foci do in the first place is guid your hand. They also bypass immunities.
ALL THE RANGED WEAPON FOCUS DOES IS GUIDE YOUR HAND.
Literally. All. Oh, and it lets you down when a enemy mage decides to destroy it.
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All a melee weapon focus does is guide your hand, too.
It's been a hard rule since 1st edition came out in 1989 that foci cannot affect ranged non-magical attacks. Period. It's part of the setting, the same way that "no teleport magic" and "no resurrection spells" are.
However, here's a SR4-legal way to do it:
Buy an appropriate Sustaining Focus and cast Analyze Device, Increase Agility, or Enhance Aim into it. Boom, you now have bonus dice to operate that weapon. From the spell, not the foci.
Alternately, an Adept with an Infusion Focus (Improve Ability <weapon skill>) and the appropriate metamagic can get a dice boost, but again that's the adept ability doing it, not the focus.
Foci cannot directly affect non-magical ranged attacks, but spells and adept powers can.
-k
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Can you have a jacket power focus that can boost your shooting skill? Improved Ability (combat).
Let's assume he's elite rank 6 naturally in shooting a rifle. Improved Ability can only add 50% to that (so 3 ranks) and each of those cost 0.5 power, so that's 1.5 force focus. Maybe throw in Improved Physical Attribute (Agility) 2 ranks for another 1.5 power. So force 3 power focus and you get like 5 extra dice to attack with a gun.
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Can you have a jacket power focus that can boost your shooting skill? Improved Ability (combat).
Let's assume he's elite rank 6 naturally in shooting a rifle. Improved Ability can only add 50% to that (so 3 ranks) and each of those cost 0.5 power, so that's 1.5 force focus. Maybe throw in Improved Physical Attribute (Agility) 2 ranks for another 1.5 power. So force 3 power focus and you get like 5 extra dice to attack with a gun.
I'm not sure what you're trying to describe here. You can't use a focus to store an adept's Improved Ability powers. And, even if you could, what you're describing would be some sort of sustaining focus, not a power focus. And even if you could, it wouldn't apply to a mage.
huh?
How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Also, i think i already pointed out that they would not bypass immunities...
What weapon foci do in the first place is guid your hand. They also bypass immunities.
ALL THE RANGED WEAPON FOCUS DOES IS GUIDE YOUR HAND.
Literally. All. Oh, and it lets you down when a enemy mage decides to destroy it.
It's okay, buddy. Calm down. If you want to do it, do it. Like I've said, it's up to your GM, not a bunch of folks on the internet.
Just don't expect the rest of us to want it at our table, too. And, because this is a discussion board, we're discussing with you why we wouldn't allow it in our games. If that's not what you want, why do you post ideas and ask for input?
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Does a power focus allow an adept to use the force to improve his magic rating and thus use the improved points for adept powers? If yes, then he could scoop up some improved ability and attributes and get them in the form of a gun (or a belt buckle). If not, then that strategy doesn't work.
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I've explained to Inconnu that the foci are an extension of the mage, that the karma invested is a type of "soul-bonding" of the item to them, and when the item is not attached to/touching them (at minimum in their tightest aura layer), that it no longer is juiced up. He understands the problem of "no magic bullet" or that a knife weapon focus loses juice if thrown (throwing it would be dumb too...that's one expensive piece of hardware to be handing over to your enemies...).
I understand his inability to understand why a gun won't grant improved aim, but let's put it another way:
It's not a living focus. It isn't even an agent with a "pilot" rating. It can't "see" or "aim". Yes, it helps in melee combat. One could say it gives a random chance of increasing the damage (rather than it's improving your aim per se) against the opponent -- like it has an Oomph!™ behind it that is lacking in a normal 'dane weapon. Because the effect of adding dice is not only improved chance of hitting (tru that...) but in the long run improved chance of bashing the fragger's brains out (and isn't that why we care?).
But the focus is part of your own aura field, when it's juiced up. Leave it home and it's a piece of slag any joe can pick up and walk away with. It contains a portion of your own will that -- perhaps through the power of intention & belief that fuels every tradition & magic itself -- has somewhat improved aim and damage (face it, you get 1 extra success per 3 dice on average....so a power rating 6 focus will tend to give you 2 more successes... not exactly a vorpral sword going snick-snack or anything...not even a vorpral bunny.).
So, sure, enchant a gun. Especially if you're a gunslinger. It will be handy when someone underestimates your melee ability and you snick-snack your gun up their nose before pulling the trigger and braining them from the inside -- because it WILL increase the chance that you can shove the barrel up their nose. Pull that one off, the GM may spontaneously rule that you get a few increased aim bonuses before you pull the trigger in the next IP. Just remember to wipe their boogers off the gun when you're done.
But when you say to the gun "hey, help me aim" when you want to shoot the guy across the street, the gun goes "Huh?" because really that's about the limit of its intelligence rating. "Me bash. Me bash. Me slice. Me chop-chop." It doesn't even make it to the Barbarian Counting System (One, two, many, many-many, lots, run-away.).
And that is why a gun weapon-focus doesn't help you shoot anything.
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The way i see it, weapon foci do 2 things-
1.They deliver a jolt of magical force/amplify your strength upon hittinh
2.They guide your hand.
Sorry, no guiding, only adding power.
Weapon foci add magical power to an Awakened character’s melee attacks. [...] The character still relies on her Physical attributes and skills in combat.
Therefore not working with ranged weapons.
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Not to mention that if some mage ever did find out a focus formula that would work on a ranged weapon, a LOT of corps would be out to kill said mage and take the formula because they could make oh so much cred off that shyte.
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How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Min Maxing you can easily get a stat to 12 and a skill at 10. Adding in Smartlink and a 4 weapon focus that's 30 dice. That's before aiming to add another five (half the skill of 10) and specializing to get up to 37. If you're an elf, you can get Agility to 15 min/maxing which would put the total up to 40. Throw in a rating 4 TacNet which you can pull off on your own with lots of drones and suddenly you're rolling 44 dice to blow things away. I'd say that in the realm of min/maxing 28 is a long way from 40-44. (Difference of 4-5 hits there)
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Wasn't there something about getting bonus dice in force from the focus to the skill being used to wield the focus?
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Weapon Foci grant a number of dice to the skill being used equal to the force of the weapon foci. That is all they do other than allowing the damage of things affected normally by magic. Weapon Foci can only be melee weapons though.
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How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Here, for reference, is what I came up with after about 30 seconds of poking around with Chummer. Could probably use deltaware to scrape out a few more dice using a Pixie or a Shifter, but that'd be really cheesy.
Agility:
5 = Natural Softcap
6 = Elf
7 = SURGE: Metagenetic Improvement (Agility)
8 = Genetic Heritage: Genetic Optimization (Agility)
9 = Suprathyroid Gland
13 = Muscle Toner 4
Skill:
6 = Base
7 = Aptitude
10 = Improved Ability (Appropriate Gun) 3
Total Pool:
23 = Agil 13 + Skill 10
25 = Specialty
27 = Smartlink
32 = Take Aim x 5 (assuming Improved Ability counts towards the Aim limit, otherwise 30 = TA x 3)
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How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Here, for reference, is what I came up with after about 30 seconds of poking around with Chummer. Could probably use deltaware to scrape out a few more dice using a Pixie or a Shifter, but that'd be really cheesy.
Agility:
5 = Natural Softcap
6 = Elf
7 = SURGE: Metagenetic Improvement (Agility)
8 = Genetic Heritage: Genetic Optimization (Agility)
9 = Suprathyroid Gland
13 = Muscle Toner 4
Skill:
6 = Base
7 = Aptitude
10 = Improved Ability (Appropriate Gun) 3
Total Pool:
23 = Agil 13 + Skill 10
25 = Specialty
27 = Smartlink
32 = Take Aim x 5 (assuming Improved Ability counts towards the Aim limit, otherwise 30 = TA x 3)
Damn, and I thought my character Sidhe with 22 dice firing a pistol was accurate. (She doesn't have the genetech Agi boost, Aptitude nor is she an Adept--thus no Improved Ability).
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Damn, and I thought my character Sidhe with 22 dice firing a pistol was accurate. (She doesn't have the genetech Agi boost, Aptitude nor is she an Adept--thus no Improved Ability).
22's Good 'Nuff by almost any standard. This, is in the realm of purely theoretical cheese right here.
And, speaking of cheese... if you want to really dig into the cheddar you can use a Seal Shapeshifter (Initiate until you can get Improved Agility 5 to replace the 'ware) with the same setup for an extra 3 dice.
EDIT: Fixed reference to using Deltaware. Forgot Shifters can't use their implants while humanoid.
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Damn, and I thought my character Sidhe with 22 dice firing a pistol was accurate. (She doesn't have the genetech Agi boost, Aptitude nor is she an Adept--thus no Improved Ability).
22's Good 'Nuff by almost any standard. This, is in the realm of purely theoretical cheese right here.
And, speaking of cheese... if you want to really dig into the cheddar you can use a Seal Shapeshifter (Initiate until you can get Improved Agility 5 to replace the 'ware) with the same setup for an extra 3 dice.
EDIT: Fixed reference to using Deltaware. Forgot Shifters can't use their implants while humanoid.
She's in a PbP on here, so it may take a while, but I do plan on looking into buying Exceptional Attribute (Agility), Aptitude (Pistols) and the Genetic Optimization (Agility) at some point, though that would be rather gross, considering she's already a SURGEd Elf.
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How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Cos neither of those is even really maxed and there are lots of other thinks to do to boost shooting pool even more.
An example of actually min-maxed shooter is:
Best shooter in the world:
Surged elf adept with
Agility 15 (Metagenetic Improvement (Agility) + Exceptional Attribute (Agility)+ Genetic Optimization (Agility)+ Muscle Toner 4 + Suprathyroid Gland)
Gun skill (spec) 6
Improved Combat Ability (Gun skill) 3
Smartlink
Tacnet 4
15+8+3+2+4= 32
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Even if you're not planning on paying the price for the 32 dice, you can still get a respectable roll.
Agility 5 character + Weapon Skill 6 + Spec 2 + Muscle Toner 2 + Smartlink 2 is 17 dice which is enough to hit the vast majority of people even with called shots. And requires nothing fancy or any surcharges. During play, you can easily grab Muscle Toner 4, a Reflex Recorder, and join a TacNet for 24 dice.
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wait a second,,,, :o ,,,,If Kusari Gama can be a weapon focus then why not a wire guided rocket launcher or a taser that still has connective wires, technically it is is still touching your aura
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Well, personally, I thought that it improved your aim rather than just being you hitting harder. :-\
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wait a second,,,, :o ,,,,If Kusari Gama can be a weapon focus then why not a wire guided rocket launcher or a taser that still has connective wires, technically it is is still touching your aura
A kusari gama is a melee weapon. A chain weapon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusarigama
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wait a second,,,, :o ,,,,If Kusari Gama can be a weapon focus then why not a wire guided rocket launcher or a taser that still has connective wires, technically it is is still touching your aura
A kusari gama is a melee weapon. A chain weapon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusarigama
The point he was making us that technically its no different than a wired taser, just more primitive. Which is true. However, Magic and Astral space arent about real-world technicalities, but concepts. The popular image of a kusari-gama is as an exotic melee weapon, while we think of the others as ranged. Whether either concept is technically true is irrelevant
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I guess it's always been more of a force of will thing to me than just a it's still technically connected. You swing a melee weapon (even a whip or chain). You pull the trigger or let loose a string for ranged weapons. The only ranged weapons I ever really thought should work as weapon foci are throwing weapons, but that creates balance issues due to those pesky grenades.
I'll take 5 Weapon Focus 1 High Explosive grenades. Goodbye pesky spirits.
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Has anyone thought of a Bow for a weapon focus? I mean it seems a weapon focus is more for those more "ancient" type weapons. I'd defiantely allow someone to weapon focus a bow regardless of whether the rules support. I'd obviously have to house rule, i'm sort of weary like most to let guns be Weapon focus' though.
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How is having stat and skill at 9 not min-maxing?
Cos neither of those is even really maxed and there are lots of other thinks to do to boost shooting pool even more.
An example of actually min-maxed shooter is:
Best shooter in the world:
Surged elf adept with
Agility 15 (Metagenetic Improvement (Agility) + Exceptional Attribute (Agility)+ Genetic Optimization (Agility)+ Muscle Toner 4 + Suprathyroid Gland)
Gun skill (spec) 6
Improved Combat Ability (Gun skill) 3
Smartlink
Tacnet 4
15+8+3+2+4= 32
You forgot to add edge into that equation. Make it 6 or 7 edge on top of that then you have a shooter that can hit the weakspot of almost anythign he's shooting and kill it with one blow! (Points Super Rugar Warhawk.) Do you feel lucky punk? Well.... do ya?
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Hm, perhaps we could balance that some so these guys can't cry "Unbalanced" about it?
How about a "Zen" focus?
It allows you to invoke a trance that give +force to all martial artsy things for magic combat turns, for a complex action..
This can include hsing a staff, a katana, tonfa, or a bow.
This can not work on Stun batons, Stun Staves, etc.
Costs 15000*foce, and 4*force to bind.
How's THAT for a balanced ranged weapon focus?
I would describe the trance as, "You ARE the (Staff, katana, tonfa, bow)."
If the weapon is destroyed while in use, deal (force) damage in drain, treating it as a spell with force of the force of the focus.
Thoughts on this?
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I'll take 5 Weapon Focus 1 High Explosive grenades. Goodbye pesky spirits.
If you want to spend 10000Y and either 1 BP or 3 karma to pwn a spirit with a Rating 1 Focus High Explosive grenade, I'm not sure if I'm too worried. Reassembling the grenade after use isn't going to be easy.
If you just want a bonus to your rolls with a gun, why not get the attune item metamagic? If you grab one of the vintage weapons from Gun Heaven I'm sure you could easily argue it ought to be a Modern crafted, mechanical item and cost 6 karma. While it doesn't have a force rating, it scales naturally with your initiate rating which is arguably better.
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... I am a MAGE. >:(
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The cover of SR3s Shadowrun Companion has a woman in a sniper point, wielding a bow which appears to have some kind of magical arrow. This bothered one of my players, who then asked why they couldn't have a bow weapon focus. I mentioned that it might be some kind of stylistic mistake, but then recanted and decided it was a Spellcasting Focus being used to fire off a Manabolt. He liked it so much it became something he, well, aimed for. ;)
You know, if you're willing to sacrifice the idea of a bullet, just get a hand-crafted gun made as a Spellcasting Focus for Combat Spells. Now you have a "gun" that shoots "Variable Ammo" (Fireballs, Powerbolt/ball, "Wind, fire, all that kind of thing!")
Consider the technicals of it: you add dice to the accuracy and, thereby, the potential damage of the spell. One of my players has an antique flintlock Spellcasting Focus he likes to bandy about as his "Magic Gun."
"The magic word is 'Bang.'"
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... I am a MAGE. >:(
Oops. I was thinking mystic adept*. SR doesn't like it when you try to mix bang bang with pew pew. I suggest then making a vintage gun into a Detection Sustaining Focus. Then you can cast Analysis Device on it sustained by the focus. The OR ought to be 2 or 4 which is beatable. You can also use Enhance Aim instead though that only helps with range.
*-Though honestly why there are adept only metamagics, I'm not sure.
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Thoughts on this?
I think that maybe you should have made a Mystic Adept, since you seem desperately convinced that you need to be able to do things a Mystic Adept can do, instead of a full Magician. Talk to your GM and ask him if you can change your "Magician" Quality to "Mystic Adept," rework your character a little bit, and go to town.
Failing that, if you're hell-bent on boosting your combat skills through magic (and only through magic), look into Sustaining Foci for things like Enhanced Aim, Combat Sense, Deflection, Attune Item, and various attribute improvements.
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Weapon Foci grant a number of dice to the skill being used equal to the force of the weapon foci. That is all they do other than allowing the damage of things affected normally by magic. Weapon Foci can only be melee weapons though.
Where does it say that?
You can have pistol-weapon-foci.
But if you want to hurt a spirit with them, you need to pistol whip it.
Still gives +force dice for using it to shoot stuff though . .
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SR4A, pg. 199
When used in physical combat, weapon foci grant the character a dice pool modifier to melee attacks equal to their Force.
Emphasis mine. It only adds a modifier to melee attack rolls. Sure, you can put it on a pistol. It only helps when pistol-whipping things though because shooting is not a melee attack.
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Has anyone thought of a Bow for a weapon focus? I mean it seems a weapon focus is more for those more "ancient" type weapons. I'd defiantely allow someone to weapon focus a bow regardless of whether the rules support. I'd obviously have to house rule, i'm sort of weary like most to let guns be Weapon focus' though.
You know that a maximised "Trollbow" can do 10 or 11 K Damage with a Range of 600 Yards ?
One Gamebraker (I allways have to laugh when I think about ) is the Grapling Hand
You get Spurs as a Weapon Focus and Install them in a Grapling hand, than You have a "Melee Weaponfokus" with a range of 30 Yards/Meters
with a very far away Dance
Medicineman