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article by dextra@ambient.on.ca and hound@ambient.on.ca

Case found himself staring through a shop window. The place sold small bright objects to the sailors. Watches, flicknives, lighters, pocket VTRs, Sims Tim decks, weighted man- riki chains, and shuriken. The shuriken had always fascinated him, steel stars with knife-sharp points. Some were chromed, others black, others treated with a rainbow surface like oil on water. But the chrome stars held his gaze. They were mounted against scarlet ultra suede with nearly invisible loops of nylon fish line, their centers stamped with dragons or yin yang symbols. They caught the street's neon and twisted it, and it came to Case that these were the stars under which he voyaged, his destiny spelled out in a constellation of cheap chrome. - Neuromancer

Ever since Case first stared at those metal stars and then Johnny Silverhand stuffed his pockets full before that fateful run on Arasaka, Shuriken have been a core visual of the genre. No Street Samurai poseur can be found without at least a half-dozen scattered throughout his possessions. It's as much a badge of office as the MonoKatana is for the elite of their class. So here's a few new ones to spice up your night.

Juji-shuriken (3eb) The famous Ninja weapon; a cross- or star- shaped disk. (From Pacific Rim / CP2020) +0 WA, P Conceal, Common, D3 Damage (1/2 SP) Bo-shuriken (7eb) A shuriken in the shape of a pencil or nail. It is more difficult to throw than the Juji-shuriken, but it wounds more deeply (like getting hit with a nail-gun). (From Pacific Rim) -1 WA, P Conceal, Common, D6 Damage (1/2 SP) Mono-Juji (15eb) Juji-shuriken made of "Monomolecular Crystal" (a cheap version of the monocrystal used in the Mono-Two blades) Mono Shuriken of all types cannot be combined with most of the options listed later, and shatter on impact 1/3 of the time after rolling damage. +0 WA, P Conceal, Common, D6+D3 Damage (1/3 SP) Mono-Bo (35eb) Bo-shuriken made of "Monomolecular Crystal" (a cheap version of the monocrystal used in the Mono-Two blades) Mono Shuriken of all types cannot be combined with most of the options listed later, and shatter on impact 25% of the time after rolling damage. -1 WA, P Conceal, Common, 2D6 Damage (1/3 SP) Throwing Cards (120eb) Listen up you "Gambit Wannabes"! This set of "shuriken" is sold as a set of 5 cards, in either hearts or spades, packaged in a soft pseudo-leather carrying case. They are 5" tall by 3" wide and are generally ackward to throw for those accustomed to normal shuriken (do not use the strike / cast maneuver bonus for ninjitsu). +0 WA, P Conceal, Poor, D3+1 Damage (1/2 SP) Glass Shuriken (x3 Cost) Both Juji and Bo shuriken can be purchased made of glass (but then cannot have any other options included, and cannot be Monocrystal either). This makes them lighter and somewhat fragile (-1 WA) but also renders them invisible from both metal detectors and x-rays. Glass shurikens have the same chance of breaking on impact as Mono shuriken of the appropriate style. SlamDance Memory Plastic Shuriken (250eb) Only available as a Bo-shuriken, this is a classic Spawnblade manufactured in shuriken style. The shuriken is a matte black plastic and somewhat lighter than a standard 4" shuriken (thus the reduced damage). But if the shuriken deals 3 damage beyond the target's armour (this usually requires that the thrower have exceptional strength to increase the damage that high) it spreads into a razor-sharp 50o spatula - inside the oponent! This deals an additional D6+1 damage to the target. Once opened, the SpawnBlade can only be safely removed with a medtech roll of 20+, any other means of removal will cause another D6-1 damage. The only way to "undeploy" the shuriken is to heat it to 90oC. and then rap the side of the blade on a hard surface three or four times (each hit reduces the size of the blade down to the original shape). Memory "Rubber" Shuriken (200eb) Both Juji and Bo shuriken can be purchased made of another variety of memory plastic that allows them to be soft and flexible while a current is passing through them. The center of the shuriken is a battery pack which is good for abotu 2 weeks of steady use. While in use the shuriken appears to be a "training star" (rubber shuriken used when training in ninjitsu, also carried by a lot of poseurs who think shuriken look cool but are afraid of the pointy bits), but with a single squeeze of the centerpiece, the shuriken becomes a fully functional (albeit somewhat less than razor-sharp) throwing star. +0 WA, P Conceal, Poor, D2 Damage (1/2 SP) "Sphere" Payload Delivery Stars (+15eb) Both Juji and Bo shuriken can be purchased with a storage space inside them to contain any liquid payload as well as a delivery system to inject this payload on impact. Standard payloads include the various less-than-lethal chemical warfare agents and unfortunately includes biotoxins, nanotech agents, engineered virii and so on. The payload costs 50% of the normal cost of the chemical base price due to the small amount required for this direct delivery method. Tracer Shuriken (2x Cost) These shuriken include built-in "glow panels" along the main smooth surfaces so that they are clearly visible in low-light and no-light conditions. This is mostly a style consideration, as it provides little use in combat except for the knowledge of whether it hit or not. They are available in red, green, purple, yellow and blue. Shocker Shuriken (+100eb) The center of these Juji-shuriken contains a single charge capacitor linked to a conductor pack along the perimiter of the star. Once armed by depressing the button, the shuriken acts as a miniature taser on it's next impact. Persons struck on body armour (not penetrated) must make a stun save at +4, those struck on non-armoured locations or where the armour has been penetrated must make a stun save at +0, with an additional -2 per taser strike in the past 4 rounds. Tracker Shuriken (+50eb) This can be combined with any shuriken and doubles as a tracking device with a 2km "ping" range and a 1 year battery life once activated. The tracking monitor costs an additional 500eb. The real problem with these is getting them to "stick" and NOT have them removed by the target soon thereafter. This option cannot be combined with Mono-Shuriken.

There was a note on the black lacquer bar cabinet beside the door, a single sheet of stationery, folded once, weighted with the shuriken. - Neuromancer