[Morg]

wait a second,,,, ,,,,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

[Inconnu]

Well, personally, I thought that it improved your aim rather than just being you hitting harder.

[All4BigGuns]

wait a second,,,, ,,,,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

[ArkangelWinter]

wait a second,,,, ,,,,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

[Crash_00]

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.

[Zilfer]

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.

[Zilfer]

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?

[Inconnu]

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?

[Tsuzua]

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.

[Inconnu]

... I am a MAGE.

[Red]

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.'"

[Tsuzua]

... 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.

[Critias]

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.

[Stahlseele]

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 . .

[Crash_00]

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.