How do I make a Ring Blade? (or, More Absurd and Cinematic Weapons)

[kirbwarrior]

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Eiserne_Drossel

This weapon is pretty silly, it's basically a metal hula hoop that's sharpened on the outside. Not only can it be wielded by gyrating your body, but careful movement can bring it to your arm and wrist to extend reach and 'chainsaw' it on an enemy.

I looked in Martial Arts assuming it would be in the silly weapons (like sword-chucks) but sadly I didn't find anything. Does anyone have any idea of what the numbers of this thing would be? For simplicity I'm building it as just a broadsword with a cutting edge for thrust attacks and using Rapid Strike for the 'chainsaw' effect, but that's simplistic and I was wondering what all the weapon might actually work like.

Thank you ahead of time.

[The Colonel]

If it helps, there was a Punjabi missile weapon called the Chakram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram
which is similar at least in design. I have no idea how effective such things are in real life, but the fact that they are not especially widespread either indicates that they aren't that much use or have a poor return on effort.

Don't recall if there are GURPS stats for a chakram, but if there are, start there.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

I looked in Martial Arts assuming it would be in the silly weapons (like sword-chucks) but sadly I didn't find anything. Does anyone have any idea of what the numbers of this thing would be? For simplicity I'm building it as just a broadsword with a cutting edge for thrust attacks and using Rapid Strike for the 'chainsaw' effect, but that's simplistic and I was wondering what all the weapon might actually work like.

As a silly cinematic weapon, it's statistics are determined by rule of cool.

Realistically it's considerably less effective than a broadsword, because the force behind a blow is just driven by the kinetic energy of the spinning hoop - your muscles and body weight aren't driving it at all at the moment of impact. Or for that matter doing anything to keep it from bouncing away from the target, which probably prevents that "chainsaw" move from working at all. As soon as it bit into a target at all, the stationary point moves from the point of contact with your body to the point of contact with the target, which probably isn't so bad for the hula hoop, it can't bounce very far without again being caught on your torso, but if you are spinning it around a limb, it's going to go off a long way in an indeterminate direction, many of which will involve the blade hitting *you*.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Don't recall if there are GURPS stats for a chakram, but if there are, start there.

There are stats for chakram in Low-Tech.

[Gumby Bush]

Take the Chakram, use the rules under "Other Giant Weapons?" from Fantasy Tech 2 p.8

[Fred Brackin]

[QUOTE=The Colonel;2339499 I have no idea how effective such things are in real life, but the fact that they are not especially widespread either indicates that they aren't that much use or have a poor return on effort.

[/QUOTE]

I think the main issue may be difficulty of manufacture. It's the sort of thing that requires good steel and then multiple steps to make.

I'm not sure what tL LT assigned it but I don't thnk it was known historically until late TL4 or even early TL5.

[AlexanderHowl]

TL2, and chakrum were first mentioned as weapons in India in the 2nd century BC.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Anders

There are stats for chakram in Low-Tech.

The chakram is realistically a thrown weapon, which is a nice thing to remember with this, I think she would 'boomerang' it at enemies.

Originally Posted by malloyd

As a silly cinematic weapon, it's statistics are determined by rule of cool.

True, but I don't really have much of a starting point for it. What I do know is that it's a melee weapon that can only do cutting damage and (likely) requires a new skill to use, meaning there's room for it to be fairly strong and still balanced with other weapons.

Originally Posted by malloyd

Realistically it's considerably less effective than a broadsword, because the force behind a blow is just driven by the kinetic energy of the spinning hoop - your muscles and body weight aren't driving it at all at the moment of impact. Or for that matter doing anything to keep it from bouncing away from the target, which probably prevents that "chainsaw" move from working at all. As soon as it bit into a target at all, the stationary point moves from the point of contact with your body to the point of contact with the target, which probably isn't so bad for the hula hoop, it can't bounce very far without again being caught on your torso, but if you are spinning it around a limb, it's going to go off a long way in an indeterminate direction, many of which will involve the blade hitting *you*.

I think the idea behind how it's justified in use is that you basically are turning yourself/your arm into a flail with this. But yeah, realistically this weapon wouldn't work for precisely what you said, namely 'you'll kill yourself before your enemy'.

[Varyon]

I'd eyeball it as thr cut, with reduced Rapid Strike penalties (probably -4 per additional attack, reduced to -2 with WM/TbaM) as the primary "Cool Ethnic" adjustment. Additionally, a Perk would allow it to be used with Dancing... or maybe it would only be usable with Dancing, at a -4 penalty that can be bought off with an Exotic Weapons Training Perk. It counts as a fencing-type weapon for purposes of Parries (and also suffers a penalty for encumbrance).

For weight, it's roughly a chakram scaled for use by a character with SM+2, which would make it between 4x as heavy (if it's the same width as a normal chakram) and 8x as heavy (if all 3 dimensions are proportional). That's between 6 lb and 12 lb, implying MinST of 10 to 14. I'd probably give it Reach C,1. Setting the lighter as thr cut implies the heavier one would be thr+1 cut. Minimum cost would be around $33/lb (so $200-$400), the same as the chakram, but higher is likely appropriate. So, in the end:

TL  Weapon	Damage		Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST
2^  Bladed Hoop	thr cut		C,1	0F	$200	6	10
2^  Bladed Hoop	thr+1 cut	C,1	0F	$400	12	14
Notes:  Weapon uses Dancing at -4.  Rapid Strike penalties are reduced to -4.
  Weapon can be used “hands-free” at Reach C while standing or crouching.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'd eyeball it as thr cut, with reduced Rapid Strike penalties (probably -4 per additional attack, reduced to -2 with WM/TbaM) as the primary "Cool Ethnic" adjustment. Additionally, a Perk would allow it to be used with Dancing... or maybe it would only be usable with Dancing, at a -4 penalty that can be bought off with an Exotic Weapons Training Perk. It counts as a fencing-type weapon for purposes of Parries (and also suffers a penalty for encumbrance).

For weight, it's roughly a chakram scaled for use by a character with SM+2, which would make it between 4x as heavy (if it's the same width as a normal chakram) and 8x as heavy (if all 3 dimensions are proportional). That's between 6 lb and 12 lb, implying MinST of 10 to 14. I'd probably give it Reach C,1. Setting the lighter as thr cut implies the heavier one would be thr+1 cut. Minimum cost would be around $33/lb (so $200-$400), the same as the chakram, but higher is likely appropriate. So, in the end:

TL  Weapon	Damage		Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST
2^  Bladed Hoop	thr cut		C,1	0F	$200	6	10
2^  Bladed Hoop	thr+1 cut	C,1	0F	$400	12	14
Notes:  Weapon uses Dancing at -4.  Rapid Strike penalties are reduced to -4.
  Weapon can be used “hands-free” at Reach C while standing or crouching.

I love all of it, especially the Dancing requirement. Wow, this weapon is cool.