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Melee Weapons

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. The game statistics of improvised melee weapons can be found in Melee Combat (p. 184), while implant weapons are found in Cyber Implant Weapons (p. 458).

Blades Accuracy Reach Damage AP Avail Cost
Combat Knife 6 - (STR + 2)P -3 4 300
Forearm snap-blades 4 - (STR + 2)P -2 7R 200
Katana 7 1 (STR + 3)P -3 9R 1,000
Knife 5 - (STR + 1)P -1 - 10
Pole Arm 5 3 (STR + 3)P -2 6R 1,000
Survival Knife 5 - (STR + 2)P -1 - 100
Sword 6 1 (STR + 3)P -2 5R 500
Clubs Accuracy Reach Damage AP Avail Cost
Club 4 1 (STR + 3)P -4 12R 30
Extendable Baton 5 1 (STR + 2)P -3 4 300
Sap 5 - (STR + 2)P -2 7R 200
Staff 6 2 (STR + 3)P -3 9R 1,000
Stun Baton 4 1 9S(e) -5 6R 750
Telescoping Staff 4 2 (STR + 2)P - 4 350
Other Melee Accuracy Reach Damage AP Avail Cost
Knucks Physical - (STR + 1)P - 2R 100
Monofilament Whip 5(7) 2 12P -8 12F 10,000
Shock Gloves Physical - 8S(e) -5 6R 550

Blades

Use the Blades skill to wield these weapons.

Combat Axe

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

A long, KA-BAR-style fighting knife with a blacked-out blade and a chisel point for punching through armor.

Forearm snap-blades

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.

Wireless: Readying the forearm snap blades is a Free Action instead of a Simple Action.

Katana

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

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

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

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.

Wireless: The knife displays an ARO of local maps, your GPS position, and can be used to make commcalls.

Sword

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.

Clubs

Use the Clubs skill to inflict blunt force trauma with these weapons.

Club

The weapon they named the skill after. These stats represent a range of objects, including an axe handle, baseball bat, wrench, crowbar, a tire iron, and a two-by-four with a rusty nail in it. There is a price listed, but it’s not overly difficult to find one for free if you know where to look.

Extendable baton

This telescoping club can be collapsed, and it can be extended with a sharp flick of the wrist or a wireless signal. When retracted, it’s more easily concealed (Concealability Modifier 0 when retracted, +2 when extended).

Wireless: Readying the extendable baton is a Free Action instead of a Simple Action.

Sap

Also called a blackjack, this is a small, springy club, or a flat piece of iron in a flexible leather covering. It’s specially designed for concealment (Concealability Modifier –2).

Staff

This large, heavy stick is popular with magicians going for that traditional look. Available in composite, hardwood, high-carbon steel, and other materials.

Stun baton

A standard riot-control weapon, viewed as a tool and symbol of corporate-government oppressors but pragmatically useful to runners. It has ten charges and regains one charge per ten seconds when plugged in.

Wireless: The stun baton recharges by induction, regaining one charge per full hour of wireless-enabled time.

Telescoping staff

This is a metal and composite staff that can telescope down to a reasonable size, one that can be concealed about as easily as a stun baton or a sword. It can be extended and locked in place by whirling it at the correct speed and angle and twisting the grip, or via a wireless signal.

Wireless: Readying the telescoping staff is a Free Action instead of a Simple Action.

Other Melee Weapons

These weapons require skills other than Blades or Clubs to use.

Knucks

These may be traditional fist-load weapons like brass knuckles, or modern “Hardliner gloves” with a thin layer of densiplast located along the knuckles and the edge of the hand. Either way they substantially boost the impact of a punch, making it potentially deadly. Attacks with knucks use the Unarmed Combat skill.

Monofilament whip

Iconic. Terrifying. Deadly. Few weapons on the street are more feared. This monofilament line can cut through bone and armor like hot butter. The line extends out to two meters, and retracts into the weapon’s handle when not in use. The whip action, the weighted tip, and the deadly thread of the monofilament line itself make this weapon a potential danger to it’s wielder. On a glitch, you catch the weighted tip on something nearby and need to disentangle it before you make another proper attack with it. On a critical glitch, you hit yourself with the whip and take its base damage (resisted normally). A monofilament whip requires the Exotic Melee Weapon (Monofilament Whip) skill to use.

Wireless: The whip can be readied with a Free Action, rather than a Simple Action, and the whip’s built-in safety system retracts automatically instead of getting you entangled on a glitch. The Accuracy is also increased by 2.

Shock Gloves

These electrically insulated gloves have a wire mesh that discharges electric current with a punch or a simple touch. The gloves deal electricity damage (p. 170) and are good for ten charges before they need to be plugged in and recharged (at a rate of one charge per ten seconds). Attacks with shock gloves use the Unarmed Combat skill.

Wireless: The shock gloves recharge by induction, regaining one charge per full hour of wireless-enabled time.