Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Jane VR)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Thu Oct 18 19:00:00 2001
A player wants to make a collapsible polearm, with a handle that either
unfolds, and the blade like a steel fan. Any comments?

Jane

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
Message no. 2
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Jason Lantrip)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Thu Oct 18 19:20:00 2001
I dunno how sturdy it would be...

Maybe something akin to a collapsible staff, with a length of monowire that
uncoils when you flick it all the way open?

Something like a tonfa, but the short handle splits when you extend it and
the monowire runs between those pieces? It's still fragile, but...

| |
|=== into ---> |------
| | +
| | +
| | +
|------
|
|
|

Or something like that. Sorry for any formatting errors that might appear
after I hit 'send'...

--J

-----Original Message-----
From: Jane VR [SMTP:kadjari@*******.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 4:57 PM
To: shadowrn@*********.com
Subject: Collapsible polearm

A player wants to make a collapsible polearm, with a handle that either
unfolds, and the blade like a steel fan. Any comments?

Jane
Message no. 3
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Rand Ratinac)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Thu Oct 18 22:05:01 2001
> A player wants to make a collapsible polearm, with a
handle that either unfolds, and the blade like a steel
fan. Any comments?
> Jane

Jane, you might want to take a look at the telescoping
staff and baton in the Cannon Companion and take your
cue from how those work. I'd be inclined to lower the
power rather dramatically with this "fan blade", but
unless someone who knows more than me says it simply
wouldn't work, I'd figure out SOME way for it to be
done...

Doesn't necessarily mean I'd make it easy for him to
GET, though. ;)

====Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow, aka Doc'booner, aka Doc' Vader)

.sig Sauer

If you SMELL what the DOC' is COOKING!!!

____________________________________________________________
Nokia Game is on again.
Go to http://uk.yahoo.com/nokiagame/ and join the new
all media adventure before November 3rd.
Message no. 4
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Fri Oct 19 03:45:02 2001
Jane writes:

> A player wants to make a collapsible polearm, with a handle that either
> unfolds, and the blade like a steel fan. Any comments?

It's more than likely possible, sure. But it'd have to be carefully
designed. A device with so many movable parts that have to somehow interlock
and be able to be used in melee combat will be prone to stress fractures at
every opportunity. If it wasn't produced in a very precise machine/casting
shop with a very well mechanically thought out design, it'd be likely to
break after half a dozen hits. Also, to do it properly may well require some
funky advanced materials, which would dramatically increase the cost. "What,
you say you've an tungsten oxide dispersion strengthened grain refined
titanium tool steel ribbed yttria stabilised zirconia jointed folding fan
polearm? Does it suck your trouser dragon too?" <Sorry, Bob The Dragon
references keep coming to mind... Blame you-know-who ;-)>

In game terms, I'd make him design and fabricate it himself. He'd need,
perhaps, Mechanical Engineering as a suitable knowledge skill for design,
and then probably Pole-Arms B/R as an active skill to build it. He'd need a
normal tool workshop. I'd set the TNs at the "difficult" range of about 8.
I'd probbaly roll an open ended D6 to see how many "flaws" were in his
design. Then I'd roll another open ended D6 to see how many "flaws" were in
his crafting. Successes at each of the tests would remove one "flaw" per
success. Somewhere in the rules it reccomends base times for building melee
weapons - they're something like 20-60 days if I remember. I'd probably
split this in half and have half be the design time and half the building
time. Successes could be allocated to remove "flaws", or decrease the time.
Note that the player wouldn't know how many "flaws" there were, and so would
have to guess and juggle to get the best result in the time he had. When the
thing was used, I'd probably roll and add 2D6, and if the number was less
than or equal to the summed design and build "flaws", then the thing would
have a failure of some sort.

I used a similar system when one of my players wanted to be MacGuyver (sp?)
and build a shoulder fired rocket launcher with an electronics toolkit, a
vehicle tool kit, a fire extinguisher, some plastic explosives, and a few
other odds and ends. In the end, the thing failed dismally and detonated
right next to the head of the firer... It was very funny, fortunately, as
the firer was the over brash Troll with a helmet on (lucky for him) who was
about to screw up a whole run by blowing up the APC out the front of a corp
compound. The run still got screwed up, but everyone said "I told you so" to
the Troll as they scattered. And his Street Name was born: Ground Zero.

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.12
GE d- s++:-- a25 C++ US++>+++ P+ L+>++ E- W+ N++ o@ K- w+(--) O-@ M--
V- PS+ PE- Y+ PGP-@>++ t+ 5 X+>+++ R++ !tv(--) b+ DI+++@ D G+
e++>++++$ h- r++>+++ y->+++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 5
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Rand Ratinac)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Fri Oct 19 04:00:01 2001
<snipt!(TM)>
> It's more than likely possible, sure. But it'd have
to be carefully designed. A device with so many
movable parts that have to somehow interlock and be
able to be used in melee combat will be prone to
stress fractures at every opportunity. If it wasn't
produced in a very precise machine/casting shop with a
very well mechanically thought out design, it'd be
likely to break after half a dozen hits. Also, to do
it properly may well require some funky advanced
materials, which would dramatically increase the cost.
"What, you say you've an tungsten oxide dispersion
strengthened grain refined titanium tool steel ribbed
yttria stabilised zirconia jointed folding fan
polearm? Does it suck your trouser dragon too?"
<Sorry, Bob The Dragon references keep coming to
mind... Blame you-know-who ;-)>
<snipt!(TM)>
> Damion Milliken

We've GOTTA get the man his own TV show!

;)

====Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow, aka Doc'booner, aka Doc' Vader)

.sig Sauer

If you SMELL what the DOC' is COOKING!!!

____________________________________________________________
Nokia Game is on again.
Go to http://uk.yahoo.com/nokiagame/ and join the new
all media adventure before November 3rd.
Message no. 6
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Jonathan Choy)
Subject: Collapsible polearm
Date: Sun Oct 21 13:20:05 2001
On Thursday 18 October 2001 18:56, you wrote:
> A player wants to make a collapsible polearm, with a handle that either
> unfolds, and the blade like a steel fan. Any comments?
>
> Jane
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

See if you can find someone near you with a Gall's catalog. There is a
police/security accessory for a 4+ D cell maglite that makes it double as a
foot collapsible polearm/super-baton.

Tetsujin no Oni
who knows why the cops hold the Maglite on their shoulder, thumb away from
the light end... (demonstrates a punch-rap and asks if you'd like a closer
inspection)

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Collapsible polearm, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!