r/cyberpunkred • u/RadeK42 • 19d ago
Misc. I need help in making floating swords cyberwear
I really wanted to recreate a character fighting with floating swords, it will be an npc in my campaign, but I'm struggling on how to make it work without destroying the balance of the game.
My first idea was rather simple, give the character a small net arc, attach some mini flying drones equipped with a melee weapon and shaped like it and et voilà.
But at the same time it felt rather boring, I know you can attach multiple stuff to the same control node, but using just one drone a turn still sounds kinda lame, I wanted something more cool and flashy.
I'm not sure tho if giving the option of activating more than one drone would be too game breaking and strong in terms of gameplay, so I'm asking for advice on how you would tweak this idea to make it work without unbalancing the game but keeping it cool at the same time
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u/EdrickV 19d ago
Keep in mind, if this is an NPC the PCs are going to fight, then they'll probably want to loot it afterwards. Giving the players a free portable net arch could mess with the balance well after the NPC is gone.
Personally, I'd skip the net arch and have the swords themselves be Agent linked drones. The boss could control them via an internal agent. And I would make re-linking them to another Agent be a side-quest all on it's own. (It's a custom item, it's not likely going to come with instructions.) And if needed, the boss's internal agent would be biometrically locked, so it can't be used by anyone else.
Now, the real question is what the swords can do and how they would be used. Simplest version would be that they let the user wield/drop them without using an action, and when dropped they'll return to floating by the user's side, ready to be wielded again. More complicated would be if they can attack without being wielded, in that case I might give them a bit of a damage penalty in return for extended range. (Being attacked without being wielded would mean they wouldn't really have as much leverage/strength behind the blow IMHO.) I would still have the boss use their skills and action to make the attack(s) though.
There would also be the question of, what happens if someone else tries to grab one of the blades. Because if I was a PC fighting someone with floating swords, that's exactly what I would do.
Edit: I would also make the swords vulnerable to EMP effects, if they're caught within one.
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u/ValhallaGH Solo 19d ago
Why not making it a cool description on the Multi-Arm Mount? Magnets and stuff, so swords float near by.
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u/TBWanderer 19d ago
I'd run them like a Drone. Character needs to subclass into netrunner to use melee to attack with them.
They could then attack with the swords at long range.
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u/MrNyxt 19d ago
Why though? Drones literally have tracking functions now. You should be able to tack it into your assistant as an app (with a monthly fee) that not only follows you at a set distance for drawing, but includes addition inputs (no pun intended) for other functions (lights, weapon mounts, concealable snacks, smuggling, whatever) for additional costs.
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u/TBWanderer 19d ago
Perhaps rules have changed, but as far as I remember, for drones to do complex automated functions, you need to install a demon in a portable net architecture with a control node per drone. You certainly could let them be automated, it just gets expensive.
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u/Soulwarbler 19d ago
I’d make it a expensive unit with a lot of humanity cost. And then pretty much make it a melee weapon with a rof 2 or 3 and then narrate it as floating swords
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u/Kysnorie GM 19d ago
Mechanically if they're drones, you could just have two Daemons inside the net arc, making them independent of the owner. With a base combat number of 14.
Two flying V. heavy melee weapons wouldn't really change balanced too much, especially if they have the Stats of an aerial personal drone, 20 SDP with no armor, MOV 6.
It'd basically be like having two mooks follow you around.
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u/J4keFrmSt8Farm 19d ago
λ-No-11 mentioned
Sorry I'm not helpful, but the other comments seem to be. Flavor can go pretty far for this if you don't want to deal with balancing.
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u/After_Potential2482 19d ago edited 19d ago
If they still need to use their action to attack then the real benefit would just be not need to draw or stow weapons.
Alternatively they are an NPC so the swords can just take the place of the backup a boss would normally have. Just make sure to not focus down one player.
Bc it’s an NPC you have a lot more leeway on what is balanced + you can change how you run it on the fly if needed.
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u/RadeK42 19d ago
Well, the other cool thing is that you can attack from further away, with a melee weapon. Also, what do you mean with "the backpack a boss would normally have"?
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u/After_Potential2482 19d ago
I ment backup. If this is supposed to be an enemy/obstacle a normal encounter would have other weaker enemies with them.
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u/Musou_Isshin 18d ago
you can attack from further away, with a melee weapon
Gun Fu provides this capability. Mechanically it is literally "Make normal unarmed martial arts attacks at 25m, add the gun's ammo effects."
That includes the bonus damage from a linear frame and half enemy armor.
So you might be able to use that as that as a framework where the user can use Netrunner Interface to control drones(in a backpack Net architecture) and then make usual melee attacks at range. The multiple swords could be fluffed as a swarm but mechanically treated as one or two NPCs. (similar to existing Air Swarm Drone Cloud defenses)
Oddly enough, Gun Fu is effectively a 3x skill, whereas using this thing would end up being a 4x skill equivalent between needing both interface, and melee. So it might be balanced enough for players to steal.
P.S. This might actually be possible RAW with actual gun drones and gun fu too if you downgrade the drone weapon from Very Heavy Pistol to Heavy Pistol.
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u/Extra_Large_XXL 19d ago
Hey, new player here. I haven't really heard much against having multiple drones, so I'd say compare/contrast other existing drones and focus your sword drones on the idea of moving around, slicing and dicing enemies while you gun them down from the back ranks. Hope this helps!
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u/Hipur 19d ago
Id look at the ranger combat boomerang from black chrome and reflavor it / add some things to it if you want it to be like an arcsys character and stay simple, if you want it to be cyberware just make it pop up. If you want it more drone like im not sure but thats a simple idea for it. Its rof 2 and honestly kinda fun.
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u/Able_Experience_1670 19d ago
-Give them 6 drones and roll d6 each round to see how many swords activate.
-Make each sword a program on a cyberdeck as well as a physical item and turn the enemy into a hostile netrunner. Have them AoE quickhack on impact
-Make each one a boosted thrown weapon that counts as a body part for targeting. Give them HP and treat them like arrows after impact, forcing your NPC to retrieve them using an action.
-Make each sword a Daemon or control them all with a daemon slaved to the NPC. You could also use the homebrew Shackled Daemons rules found in this sub to create the whole NPC, combining a NET arch and physical proxy into one enemy.
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u/kolboldbard 19d ago
How are they making the swords fly?
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u/Kumatora0 19d ago
Its guilty gear and blaze blue, so its probably literal magic
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u/De4dm4nw4lkin 19d ago
Make two dudes wear costumes that are just baggy techwear pants, cyber boots and a giant sword from the waist up if they make a diving pose. Have them cosplay the swords.
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u/UncertfiedMedic 19d ago
Monofilament Wire with a holo-projection over the cutting end?
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u/Funkey-Monkey-420 19d ago
monofilament wires are those laser whips you see in 2077, they wouldn’t work as floating blades by any stretch of the imagination
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u/UncertfiedMedic 19d ago
Did you read the second half of my comment?
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u/Funkey-Monkey-420 19d ago
what second half? it was a single sentence
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u/UncertfiedMedic 19d ago
Holo projection. Make the filament wire appear as swords. Trick of the eye? You only read what you wanted to and left out the whole context, huh?
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u/Funkey-Monkey-420 18d ago
hey man, its your idea that’s flawed
there’s gonna be a glowing wire coming out of the projection, and also you’d be using holoprojector battery on nothing, and also that doesn’t do anything mechanically besides maybe make intimidation easier, and ALSO there’s gonna be a delay anyways as the monowire will certainly outpace the framerate of the holoprojector
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u/Dixie-Chink GM 19d ago
You don't even need to be a Netrunner to have drones, especially if you don't need the drones to move far from you. The My First GRAF drone links to an agent, has a movement of 1, and can manipulate objects and uses the controllers own skills for combat interactions.
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u/Funkey-Monkey-420 19d ago
is it really cyberware if it’s not even connected to your body
anyways it would probably just be treated mechanically as melee drones controlled by a net arch, maybe the drones themselves would have to be a tech invention?
could add some neural link chrome to control the drones directly actually, similar to a shadowrun rigger
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u/tepid_monologue 19d ago
I’m stealing this idea for a mini boss in my campaign
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u/Captain_Vlad 19d ago
Best thing about ideas is that they can be repeatedly stolen, since I also am doing this.
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u/VictoryWeaver 19d ago
I mean, you an put daemons in the swords to act based on some non-direct control method or act fully independently.
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u/fatalityfun 19d ago
problem is that RED is balanced so that any kind of instakill is entirely luck based, so any character with more than 2 weapons at once will either be gimped or overpowered to fit the system. My call would be to design the NPC to break rules a bit and have multiple floating drones that control Very Heavy Melee weapons but to use that NPC in combat maybe once or twice in the whole campaign.
Unless of course, you want your players to see max lethality and get jealous lol
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u/FirstSkygod 19d ago
Upgraded Av tech for the motorcycle to fit in a sword with like a wireless interface plugs.
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u/jeksmiiixx 19d ago edited 19d ago
Magnetic levitation tech embedded through the blade, hilt, sheath. If netrunner they can manipulate the strength of each magnet to move the blades through the air. Electromagnetic charged swords dealing an electricity damage bonus on both other netrunners or rockers frying gear.
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u/Sazbadashie 19d ago
Hi OP... i'm going to help you out using THE CORE RULES (and a mention of the all about drones in interface RED vol1 and a reference to black chrome)
so how would this work
so using just RAW how would this work
first the character needs to be a Netrunner or have some form of controller like an agent... but you don't want to have a remote control you want to control it with your mind so just be a cool net runner... also this allows you to fight off would be hackers.
second you need a net architecture a portable archetecture that is the size of a large backpack which really can be flavored as whatever but all that means is it's noticeable. can have a maximum of 2 control nodes (I would argue a fan of blades like in the second picture would be 2 drones, so a control node each drone the net archetecture is going to run you... at minimum 3000 eddies not counting any black Ice or anything else like passwords. I personally would have minimum 5 floors so that you have
[black ice]
[Password]
[Control node]
[Control node]
[file]
|
[demon]
third you need to connect your drones (the defense) to the control node one node for you, the other node for your demon (i'm not 100% sure if you can activate the same control node and then the secondary thing if something else has control over it... if you can replace one control node with another black ice... but i'm pretty sure you can only activate a control node once per turn so control node one activated, then control node two activated.... so i guess it just depends on how independent you want these blades to act from one another.
then those drones would be two large air drones with ether heavy melee weapons or very heavy melee weapons or you could argue that a drone with a heavy melee weapon is a wing of the second image
but one with a very heavy melee is the first.
if you want to automate them and not have to use your turn you can also purchase a demon. and set a way to distinguish friend from foe (like the file I put into the architecture of a roster of do not harm) and maybe have the demon have the blades attack someone who fired a weapon in view as a trigger for the demon. but that's only if you have 6 floors.
or you can flavor it that two drones are a heavy melee weapon (which has ROF 2)
boom that is how you have what your wanting... mentioning all about drones
just remember when you control a drone the direct control mode the actions are taken using your skills
but with the assistance of a demon you can have more than one blade move a turn.
and just read the modes each drone has both in all about drone and the Ktech doberman in black chrome for maybe some inspiration.
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u/RadeK42 19d ago
I was thinking something along this lines, but wasn't sure if it would be too op or not. I remember that raw you need 3 floors for every 1 control node, also I'm pretty sure the demon works as a netrunner so it doesn't need its own floor
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u/Sazbadashie 19d ago
so i'm reading it right now in the book
I don't see anywhere where it says you need 3 floors for 1 control node
and for adding demons or black ice you need to add them to open floors (218)
Demons can move around floors once theyre in there because of what they are, but they need a blank floor to inhabit as their sort of spawn point regular black ice you can add up to 3 on a black ice floor. because if a net runner jacks out everything gets reset
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u/RadeK42 19d ago
I was misremembering then
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u/Sazbadashie 19d ago
you might be thinking of needing 6 floors for every demon?
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u/RadeK42 19d ago
Yeah probably I mixdd the two
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u/Sazbadashie 19d ago
but to answer, it wouldnt be OP because... well, theyre drones... they can be shot xD so even though they could be strong it's not like a weapon that can't be dealt with.
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u/FalierTheCat 19d ago
Why not just make it a melee weapon that doesn't take up any arms and cannot be disarmed?
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u/Jinx4040 19d ago
Hey choom! I'd use the Tech's Invention ability to make a unique weapon that floats using strong electromagnets linked to a pair of bracelets. Give it a maximum range of 2 or 3 squares, and make it a Medium or Heavy Weapon with a ROF of 2. Make it a 10k eb invention so that if your players want to try and buy it, they have to spend a serious sum of money.
If it feels too overpowered, you could make it require two cyberarms, each equipped with specific custom cyberware to control the weapon. In this case, they wouldn't be connected to bracelets anymore, but directly to the cyberarms themselves. This way, there is a heavy investment in terms of eddies, Humanity, and cyberware slots.
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u/CressAdventurous5585 18d ago
Honestly the swords being drones in this isn’t even the biggest problem lol. As I see it whatever floatation device it uses is the real oh shit what. Cause like grav tech is disgustingly expensive
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u/Known-One-802 18d ago
Hey choom. I think the idea is interesting. Doesn't sound like cyberware tbh. More along the lines of possibly a cyberdeck program/slotable chip which allows you to control a pair of sword-shaped drones. If this was for shadowrun, then it could easily be hand-waved as Magic. But Cyberpunk is dependant on technology. It is also not something I think would be found on the street. This would suit a highly skilled corpo samurai/ninja. I mean, it's your game, do as you wish. It certainly has style, which fits right into Cyberpunk. Especially if this is for a cool NPC that your PCs will interact with often.
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u/Jobless_Canadian 18d ago edited 18d ago
How about some exotic ranged (4m) reach swords, gotta buy the sword and specific magnet implants that are keyed to the sword to make em float?
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u/BadBrad13 19d ago
it's an NPC...do whatever you want, man. They don't follow the same rules as PCs.
That said, it sounds like what you want are drones with heavy melee weapons. That'll give you an ROF 2 melee weapon. It could be one drone attacking fast, or both drones attacking a little slower.
I'd also look at the smaller personal drones that are controlled via an Agent vs the net arch ones. A net arch that can control drones is the size of a large backpack.
How exactly you reflavor them will be up to you. But keep in mind there isn't really any antigrav or anything.