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by [[Chris Harper]]

{| align="right" style="width:300px; border:thin black solid; margin:0 0 0 5px;"
|-
|[[File:Variable sword.jpg|150px|center]]
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|'''Variable Sword'''<br />
Type: Powered melee weapon<br />
Cost: 800 Cr (varies illegal on most worlds)<br />
Weight: 0.4 kg<br />
Damage: 6d10, 6d10 +1d10 per target in 10 meter wide area attack<br />
Structural Damage: 30<br />
Ammo: 20 SEU power clip<br />
Defense: Inertia<br />
Range: 2-30 meters<br />
Skill: Melee Weapons<br />
|}

<div style="border: thin solid black; background:#eeeeee; width: 50%;
padding: 0 5px; margin:0 0 0 5px;">
'''Authors Note:'''

From: Ringworld 1970, Author Larry Niven<br />
"I have a variable-sword," said Speaker-to-Animals. "I
urge calm." The kzin stood against a curved wall. In
one clawed fist he held something like an oversized
jump rope handle. Ten feet from the handle, held
expertly at the level of the kzin's eyes, was a small,
glowing red ball. The wire which joined ball to handle
was too thin to be visible, but Louis didn't doubt it was
there. Protected and made rigid by a Slaver stasis field,
the wire would cut through most materials including
the back of Louis's crash couch.
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In Star Frontiers Digitally Remastered optional rules Bill
Logan suggested the mono- katana. He cited that
many sci-fi books used weapons that utilize a monowire.
(A wire that is as thin as one molecule and very
strong.) It reminded me of the variable sword from
Larry Niven’s Ringworld. The only sword mentioned in
the book. I was instantly intrigued by this insidious
weapon. I have obtained permission by Larry Niven to
adapt the Variable Sword for use in Star Frontiers.

==History==
The most lethal melee weapon devised. Variable
swords are very rare and very illegal on most worlds.
No one is sure who invented them. They are
constructed secretly by private weapon makers.

Variable swords are easy to conceal, a match for all
types of armor. The blade is nearly invisible. These
qualities made the swords sought after by criminals
and assassins. They are also inherently dangerous to
their users. Many Frontier worlds have outlawed them.

Some say they were first
fabricated for use in zero- g ship
yards to cut apart derelict ships.
Some claim that Variable
Swords were improvised
weapons used during the
Second Sathar War. Both
theories maybe correct.

There are many designs off the
basic principle. The swords are
made by many different
designers in secret shops, and
then sold on the black market.

==Operation==
Variable swords use a mono-wire
kept rigid by an inertia screen. The
molecule thin mono-wire is capable of cutting through
most any material with the slightest tug, leaving a
clean polished surface. The weightless blade can be
extended to an unusually long range for a melee
weapon.

The Variable sword is basically a cylinder held in one
hand. A standard 20 SEU power clip is inserted into the
bottom of the cylinder. There are two buttons. One is
to rapidly extend the mono-wire and inertia screen.
One is to retract it. At the end of the wire is a glowing
red ball. This gives the wielder a point of reference and
also gives the inertia screen resistance to extend and
retract the wire.

When extended, the mono-wire is nearly invisible. Its
location is only betrayed by the infrequent shimmer of
the inertia screen. The screen is only slightly larger
than the wire so it is also difficult to discern. The wire
can quickly be extended up to 30 meters. Much like the
sonic sword the blade is nearly weightless and can be
swung as fast as the wielder can muster. Due to the
low resistance when cutting Variable swords can be
used to sweep through multiple targets.

The disadvantage of the Variable Swords is that it can
only by used to cut, not to stab or slash. (Useless if
trapped in a room.) The most troubling characteristic of
the variable sword is the potential for the inertia screen
to collapse, leaving the bare mono-wire to snake
around and threaten anyone within its reach.

==Game Play==
Players receive a +15 to hit like the sonic sword. The
sword does 6d10 damage to a single opponent or 6d10
plus 1d10 for each target within a 10 meter wide area.
(Similar to a burst from an automatic rifle.)

All opponents being attacked by the variable sword, up
to its 30 meter range that attempt to use a rifle take a
-30% per SF melee rules.

Each hit uses 2SEU of the 20 SEU clip. If the SEU clip is
depleted while the sword is in use, the inertia screen
will collapse. Any beings within range and within 360
degrees have a 20% chance of taking 2d10 damage as
the mono-wire recoils.

===Optional Damage Rule===
If a single target takes 30 points of damage in one turn
a random limb has been severed.

{| style="width:300px;"
|- style="color: white; background: navy; font-weight:bold;" align="center"
|d10|| Location
|-
|1-2|| Chest
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|3|| Abdomen
|-
|4|| Right arm
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|5|| Right hand
|-
|6|| Left arm
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|7|| Left hand
|-
|8|| Right leg
|- style="background:#eeeeee;"
|9|| Left leg
|-
|0|| Head
|-
|colspan="2"|* A roll of 1-3 typically spells a gruesome end to the
target.
|}

Optional [[Ablative Damage]] rules ([[Star_Frontiersman_Issue_8]])
Marking all location boxes in a single turn will result in
the location becoming severed. Excess damage
continues to a randomly rolled hit location.

''For example: Gorb the dralasite strikes Zeek‘s left arm. Gorb rolls 6d10 damage. He rolls 5 out of six above the number 5; therefore, Zeek takes 5 hits to his left arm. Oops he only has 4 boxes left, His arm is severed. There is one hit left, Gorb rolls 1d10 for a random hit location. He rolls a 2, so Zeek takes the remaining hit to his chest.''

Larry Niven is the author of Ringworld, the co-author of
The Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer, the
editor of the Man-Kzin War series, and has written or
co-authored over 50 books. He is a five-time winner of
the Hugo Award, along with a Nebula and numerous
others. http://www.larryniven.org/

Variable Sword - Revision history

Terl obar: Created page with ' Top:Star Frontiersman main page | Up: Star Frontiersman Issue 14 main index | Up: Equipment …'

Terl obar: Created page with '
Top:Star Frontiersman main page | Up: Star Frontiersman Issue 14 main index | Up: Equipment …'