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Message no. 1
From: Grim Shear grim_shear@*******.com
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 17:00:26 CDT
Hey all...

My little brother is playing SR now and he wants his character to have a
scythe (ala The Grim Reaper... Death).

Now, I've warned him of how recognizable this would be and being
non-descript (blah, blah, blah...); and he still wants a scythe.

So... would it be essentially the same as a Polearm (Str+3)S, or would it be
different?

Thanks in advance.

Grim Shear
"Dammit! You don't want to be special in this job!"
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Message no. 2
From: Steve Collins einan@*********.net
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 00 20:13:58 -0500
On 6/19/00 5:00 pm, Grim Shear said:

>Hey all...
>
>My little brother is playing SR now and he wants his character to have a
>scythe (ala The Grim Reaper... Death).
>
>Now, I've warned him of how recognizable this would be and being
>non-descript (blah, blah, blah...); and he still wants a scythe.
>
>So... would it be essentially the same as a Polearm (Str+3)S, or would it be
>different?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Grim Shear
>"Dammit! You don't want to be special in this job!"
>________________________________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
>
>


Remind him of this. A Scythe is not a weapon, it is a farming tool.
Assuming he can find (very hard) or make (not so hard) one it will be
VERY unwieldy and difficult to employ as a weapon. Remember this is a
tool that had only one cutting edge on the INSIDE of a curved blade which
is at a 90 degree angle to the shaft of the weapon. That means in order
to get that cutting edge to face your enemy you MUST hold the shaft
vertically along your body and swing it in one direction only. Yes like a
good many other tools it is capable of being used as a weapon if
necessary but no sane individual would ever actually choose to use one in
place of a good Polearm. That is like saying that I would prefer to use a
screwdriver in place of a knife. Sure if a Screwdriver was all I had I
wouldn't hesitate to use it when necessary but if I'm going to be in a
Knife fight I would much prefer a nice 10" Bowie knife or something
similar. If he really insists he wants if for some stylistic reason then
I would give it stats like this.

(Str-1)S Damage Code
Reach of 0 (sorry the shaft may be 2M long but in order to use the blade
the shaft must be close to parallel with the attachers body)
-2 modifier to all Armed Combat Tests with it because it is an improvised
weapon
Weight 3 Kilos
Concealability 2

Steve
Message no. 3
From: Mike & Linda Frankl mlfrankl@***.com
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 21:18:53 -0400
Steve said:
> Remind him of this. A Scythe is not a weapon, it is a farming tool.
> Assuming he can find (very hard) or make (not so hard) one it will be
> VERY unwieldy and difficult to employ as a weapon. Remember this is a
> tool that had only one cutting edge on the INSIDE of a curved blade which
> is at a 90 degree angle to the shaft of the weapon.

Be careful using this tact as it digresses into minutia. The player will
then want to modify the scythe (double edged blade, etc.). And in some
cultures you might get an argument that it will not make a good weapon. Most
Okinawan based martial arts weapons were once farming tools too. In fact the
Kama is a miniature scythe and is a very deadly weapon. With some effort the
player could justify a proficiency (say investing skill points). I think
that you are better off telling him that the distinctiveness of such a
weapon could come back to haunt them. Most players tend to scoff at this,
until you mimic a poor old lady NPC saying, "and like the grim reaper
himself he cut that poor Lone Star officer up pretty bad". Then they realize
how it could hurt them. It is also viable to have fixers give the PC a hard
time about work saying that they are too high profile.

I had to deal with this once with a player who boasted a 2' blue mohawk. He
just couldn't understand how it could work against him (some people just
don't get it).

;)

Smilin' Jack
Franklin Isshinryu School of Karate
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/RallyRd/mlfrankl/fiskhome.htm
Message no. 4
From: Fanguad fanguad@****.rit.edu
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 22:51:56 -0400
> My little brother is playing SR now and he wants his character to have a
> scythe (ala The Grim Reaper... Death).
>
> Now, I've warned him of how recognizable this would be and being
> non-descript (blah, blah, blah...); and he still wants a scythe.
>
> So... would it be essentially the same as a Polearm (Str+3)S, or would it be
> different?

Well, my experience with the chainsaw-weilding character (about 6-
8 months ago) has taught me one thing about how to discourage
players from doing things like this: Get the other players on your
side. All you have to do then is to let them convince him. This
was very effective in deterring the player in question from that
particular weapon, although not necessarily from disgusting
weapons in general.

I like the idea of making him spend extra points for it (you won't be
able to find any teachers, or self-help books for it), and I do like
some of the modifiers - here is my version:

Scythe
*Distinctive Weapon - when used, treat the character as if he had
the disadvantage of the same name.

Usage: The scythe is definitely large and unweildy, but it is
essentially unique among weapons (everything similar is also
uncommon). I would give the scythe a +1 TN#, but since 99% of
people wouldn't know how to defend against it, I'd give them a +1
TN# as well. If fighting in cramped conditions (less than about
1.5m around), I'd impose an additional +1 TN# for the scythe
wielder. It would be completely unusable in spaces less than .5m
around the weilder. A reach of 0 seems reasonable, although in
certain situations a 1 or 2 might apply (i.e. VERY open spaces
such as fighting in the middle of a warehouse with no obstacles,
AND the character is only fighting one opponent).

Damage: (STR + 2) seems reasonable, the same damage as a
normal sword. If used properly, I imagine it could cause significant
damage, so I don't feel the character should be penalized in this
area.

Would I allow it?
Yes. The PC wouldn't like it though.
Also gleaned from my experience with the Chainsaw-luvin' PC:

Johnson: Is that a chainsaw?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre PC: Yep.
Johnson: Hmmm...
Johsnon: Excuse me, I left something out in the car. I'll be right
back.
<Johnson leaves>
<several minutes pass>
TCM PC: Man, I hope he doesn't take too long. I gotta get home
and sharpen my chainsaw.
<more time passes>
<more time passes>
<PC finally gets a clue>
TCM PC: Doh!

(Kudos to the author of that, who I can't remember the name of)

-- Fanguad

---------------------------------

"Tech Support, Greg speaking."
"QUICK! How do I change my wallpaper?"
"Well, it's pretty easy. I assume you want to change the
appearance of your desktop?"
"I need to get a picture off my background!"
"Oh, I see... Did someone accidentally set a porn picture
as their wallpaper, and their wife or mom is about
to show up?"
"PLEASE HURRY!"

-- Iliad, User Friendly
Message no. 5
From: Grim Shear grim_shear@*******.com
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 10:21:43 CDT
>I think that you are better off telling him that the distinctiveness of
>such a weapon could come back to haunt them. Most players tend to scoff at
>this, until you mimic a poor old lady NPC saying, "and like the grim reaper
>himself he cut that poor Lone Star officer up pretty bad". Then they
>realize how it could hurt them. It is also viable to have fixers give the
>PC a hard time about work saying that they are too high profile.


That's what I told him, but he really wants a scythe...

Oh well... What can I do.

Grim Shear
"Ah... the proclivities of youth."
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Message no. 6
From: Phil Smith phil_urbanhell@*******.com
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 17:54:06 GMT
>From: "Grim Shear" <grim_shear@*******.com>
>Hey all...
>
>My little brother is playing SR now and he wants his character to have a
>scythe (ala The Grim Reaper... Death).
>
>Now, I've warned him of how recognizable this would be and being
>non-descript (blah, blah, blah...); and he still wants a scythe.
>
>So... would it be essentially the same as a Polearm (Str+3)S, or would it
>be
>different?

Conceal: Snort!
Reach:2
Damage:(Str+1)S
Weight:7
Availability:6/48hrs
Cost:1000¥
SI:3

Will that do?

Phil

These are my principles; if you don't like them I have some others.
-Groucho Marx

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Message no. 7
From: Stephen Guilliot s.guilliot@**********.edu
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:04:55 -0500
From: Steve Collins <einan@*********.net>
>(Str-1)S Damage Code
>Reach of 0 (sorry the shaft may be 2M long but in order to use the blade
>the shaft must be close to parallel with the attachers body)
>-2 modifier to all Armed Combat Tests with it because it is an improvised
>weapon
>Weight 3 Kilos
>Concealability 2

Good call. I also want to add that, though the thought of a scythe might
seem cool to some people, Death only "uses" it for the symbolism (as in
harvesting lives), not because it's a good weapon or anything.

Steve.
Message no. 8
From: James Mick sinabian@********.net
Subject: Weapon Idea
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 14:17:17 -0400
Ianno...weight of 7? I've seen guns that weigh less. Combat shotguns I'm
talking about... A scythe (usually) is a long wooden handle with a blade
attached to the end. Unwieldy on the other hand? Oh you betcha. As for cost
and street index? And availability? "I think I'll just jander on down to the
local Shini-Walgreens"... It's a scythe. I don't see any way this could cost
1000¥ for a simplistic gardening implement. (Let alone a street index of 3?
If I were a runner trying to get rid of a scythe I would be getting rid of
it at bargain-basement prices...) These are just my thoughts... Like some of
the other posts mentioned, disdain of employers, contacts, and coworkers
should be more than enough deterrent to purchasing this weapon. And then if
they go ahead and get it anyway, well the penalties shouldn't be too hard to
make use of... There's no way to walk down mainstreet with one of these
without getting the attention of at least 1 LS cop who will most likely call
in lots of backup for a 5150!

>Weight:7
>Availability:6/48hrs
>Cost:1000¥
>SI:3

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