Melee weapons are for ending the lives of people conveniently within arm’s reach (see Melee Combat, p. 184). Some runners swear by them, especially those who prefer to kill silently or are afraid of hackers bricking their guns. The damage value of most melee weapons is based on the wielder’s Strength, modified by the weapon.
Combat Axe
|
|
| 4
|
2
|
(STR+5)P
|
-4
|
12R
|
4,000¥
|
Core
|
A two-handed tungsten-alloy monster, available single- or double-bladed. A hardened thrusting point can be concealed, spring-loaded, in the handle. While it may seem barbaric or primitive, the physical augmentations of 2075 can make an old-school weapon like a combat axe even deadlier than a firearm in the right hands. So go ahead, go medieval.
Combat Knife
|
|
| 6
|
–
|
(STR+2)P
|
-3
|
4
|
300¥
|
Core
|
A long, KA-BAR-style fighting knife with a blacked-out blade and a chisel point for punching through armor.
Forearm Snap-Blades
|
|
| 4
|
–
|
(STR+2)P
|
-2
|
7R
|
200¥
|
Core
|
- Wireless
- Readying the forearm snap blades is a Free Action instead of a Simple Action.
These are essentially like spurs, only they’re external—painless to install or remove. A forearm sheath conceals three blades that can be extended or retracted via wireless link or muscle movement commands.
Katana
|
|
| 7
|
1
|
(STR+3)P
|
-3
|
9R
|
1,000¥
|
Core
|
The legendary two-handed sword of the samurai. The katana has become synonymous not just with street samurai, but with shadowrunners in general, at least in the trids; they’ve got everyone packing a katana, from the decker to the mage. But being a silly cliché doesn’t make this blade any less dangerous, or less helpful in a fight.
Knife
|
|
| 5
|
–
|
(STR+1)P
|
-1
|
–
|
10¥
|
Core
|
Your basic, all-purpose street cutter. It comes in a bewildering array of styles, colors, and flavors, but the statistics don’t vary from one to the next. Ordinary knives are used by the poor, the desperate, or the cautious as backup weapons.
Pole Arm
|
|
| 5
|
3
|
(STR+3)P
|
-2
|
6R
|
1,000¥
|
Core
|
This is, at its very essence, a blade on the end of a very long stick. It usually features an axe-head, glaive, spear point, or similar maiming implement. It’s not easy to handle and it’s just about impossible to conceal, but it’s popular both with trolls and with melee combatants looking to safely keep said large trolls at more than arm’s length.
Survival Knife
|
|
| 5
|
–
|
(STR+2)P
|
-1
|
–
|
100¥
|
Core
|
- Wireless
- The knife displays an ARO of local maps, your GPS position, and can be used to make commcalls.
A fine quality blade—smooth on one edge, serrated on the other—with several accessories, including a GPS monitor, mini-multitool, micro-lighter, and a hidden compartment in the handle. The sides of the steel are coated with a non-toxic chemical that blacks out the blade when inert to prevent unwanted reflection, but can be activated to provide two hours of phosphorescent light. All knives can cut flesh, but a survival knife is better at cutting rope and wood, or otherwise being used as a tool. The survival knife is the kind of gadget that no professional should be without.
Sword
|
|
| 6
|
1
|
(STR+3)P
|
-2
|
5R
|
500¥
|
Core
|
It’s sharp, it’s heavy, and it will fragging cut you wide open. Available in a wide variety of styles (wakizashi, seax, scimitar, jian, machete, and so on and so forth), this one-handed blade is not as formidable as a katana but is substantially easier to hide.
Highland Forge Claymore
|
|
| 5
|
2
|
(STR+5)P
|
-5
|
14R
|
4,500¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
- Complex Action
- Ready Weapon with Standard Scabbard
Quality killing in the classic Scottish fashion. An ideal accessory for your Heritage Line clothing or for the troll who thinks a regular sword makes a better toothpick. The Highland Forge Claymore comes with a classic leather scabbard to add that authentic look. The blade is custom-forged with a proprietary technique even the masters of Damascus would be unable to match.
- The classic leather scabbard can’t be drawn off the back of anyone smaller than a troll. The blade is just too long to clear the scabbard. Get a quickdraw sheath if you aren’t a troll.
- While the Highland Forge model claymore disses the samurai, the same megacorp that produces it also produces the Nippon Steel Nodachi, a samurai-style extra long blade.
Horizon-Flynn Rapier
|
|
| 7
|
1
|
(STR+2)P
|
-3
|
9R
|
500¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
Not every street samurai studies the art of kenjutsu. Some prefer the more elegant Fiore dei Liberi and thus choose the rapier over the common katana. Horizon and world-renowned bladesmith Dante Flynn have joined forces to create the ultimate tool for slipping past a flawed defense and finding a home in the heart of an enemy. The Horizon-Flynn blade is a slender composite designed for strength, flexibility, and stability for maximum armor penetration.
- The fact that Horizon has joined up with anyone to create a killing tool seems strange. It actually makes me feel like maybe they are just another mega and not something far more diabolical.
- Very likely the intent of this partnership. Horizon plays so nice in so many areas, having a branded killing tool seems to ground them with the rest of the evil megacorps. Also gets people to talk about something besides killing technomancers and backing the losers of the Azt-Am War.
Victorinox Memory Sword
|
|
| 5
|
1
|
(STR+2)P
|
-2
|
14R
|
1,500¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
- Complex Action
- To Harden or become flexible
- Simple Action
- To ready or draw
- Conceal Weapons Grip
- -4 Concealability to detect.
- Change the shape of the blade
- Software+Logic[Mental](8,1 minute)
Is it a belt, or is it a deadly weapon? A strange question, but one you must ask yourself when it comes to the Memory Blade. Victorinox uses their SmartSteel technology to provide a flexible material that can be commanded to stiffen and form a blade. They currently have two “self-defense” designs available for special order. The Belt, a sword length design worn around the waist, and the Bracelet, a design aimed at lady execs who want a little extra protection. Mostly found on executives with too much money, they often find their way into the shadow market after extraction ops.
- With a good decker you can modify the basic shape if you don’t want a bracelet or belt. It takes a little bit of skill, but a few Matrix jockey’s have uploaded pre-programmed codes to various sites to reshape them as anklets, bandoliers, connected rings, armbands, even one that turns the sword blade into a full shoe. You need two of the shoes if you want it to look right, but damn is that creative.
Victorinox Memory Dagger
|
|
| 5
|
–
|
(STR+1)P
|
-2
|
14R
|
1,250¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
- Complex Action
- To Harden or become flexible
- Simple Action
- To ready or draw
- Conceal Weapons Grip
- -4 Concealability to detect.
- Change the shape of the blade
- Software+Logic[Mental](8,1 minute)
Ares "One" Monosword
|
|
| 5
|
1
|
(STR+3)P
|
-3
|
8R
|
900¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
“There can be only One” is Ares latest slogan for this classic. This tool of the modernized street samurai features a monofilament line along the edge that provides unmatched penetration potential.
Cougar Fine Blades
Cougar Fine Shortblade
|
|
| 7
|
–
|
(STR+2)P
|
-1
|
5R
|
350¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
Cougar Fine Longblade
|
|
| 7
|
–
|
(STR+3)P
|
-1
|
7R
|
600¥
|
SR5:R&G
|
Finely crafted but also expensive, the Fineblade line of Cougar products are usually only found in the hands of professionals where they belong. They come in two designs, a long blade, currently crafted in the fashion of a gladius; and a short blade, currently fashioned after the Bowie knife. Previous years’ designs have run the gamut since the introduction of the original Fineblade back in the ‘50s.
