If you wish to use the examples from Firestorm, which as you pointed out are made from orbital crystal, and wish to reverse them to use steel, then the damage woulf be 1d6+3 for the wakizashi, 2d6 for the katana... (The versions listed in FS:SW are 2d6+3 and 3d6 respectively).
And yeah, I would still say that you have to use fencing, after all, the FS:SW was released 3 years after pac-rim as you said, so if those swords were eligible surely it would say so in the long description for them given. This is also backed up by the fact that the example Arasaka Troops listed (both standard and Special Ops), both have fencing listed as one of their higher skills. Heck, even the Arasaka super bad ass ninja girl has fencing.
(Wierd that none of the Arasaka personel actually know Arasaka-Te, which is supposed to be standard training for all Arasaka personel, and was presented in Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads in 94, a few months before Pac-Rim)
Of course since Pac rim makes mention of Spiked as well as bladed weapons, eligible for mono upgrade, one would be led to believe the author really had no clue what they were talking about, especially since it lists sai as an example, instead relying on marvel comics to inform them. In reality, typically sai are not really spiked so much as slightly pointed... they are defensive weapons used for disarming foes, the whole stabbing thing comes from Frank Miller making them the prime weapon of Elektra and having zero clue about what they actually look like or how they are used besides seeing them in ads of the back of kung fu magazines. While it is possible, with a pretty hefty amoung of force, to stab someone with sai, it would be more effective to simply bludgeon your opponent with one. And trying to use mono crystal anything, to parry anything else, is just a good way to turn a couple hundred bucks into pretty glass shards....
The Arasaka blades aren't
monocrystal., nor does it say that they're "orbital" crystal either, just that they were forged in orbit.
Based upon their descriptions and damages compared to the Mono-Two, or even standard mono-knives and monokatana from the core rule book, The Arasaka Blades are definitely
not Monoblades. The Mono-Two is specifically stated to be made from Orbital Crystal reenforced
Monomolecular crystal. It's the monomolecular crystal which gives the Mono-Two the added die of damage per blade (as well as the inherent fragility), not "Orbital Crystal", whatever that is, exactly. The Orbital crystal simply makes the mono-crystal "less fragile" than it otherwise would be. The Araska blades, however, are
not monoblades. It should also be noted that the Arasaka troops are not
Shinobi, they're just soldiers and officers. Thus, they wouldn't be trained in Ninjutsu in the first place. IF you compare the katana from the Arasaka Daiso and the Mono-Two (or standard monokatana from the core rules) set, the Arasaka Katana is 3D6 whereas the Monokatana set is 4D6. Thus, the Arasaka blade is exactly the same damage as a steel Katana would be if you simply "reverse engineered" a steel katana from a Monokatana using the
About Monoblades rule in the PAC. Likewise, the Wakizashi is 2D6 +3, which is very close to the damage as the tanto sized monoknife from the core rules (2D6). reverse the mono-knife, to steel and you get a damage of only 1D6, (the damage in the Core rules for a standard knife). the Arasaka wakizashi's damage (2D6+3) is also only one point higher than a standard steel sword from the core rules (2D6+2). That suggests that the specific "orbital crystal" (not to be confused with Monocrystal) used in the construction of the Arasaka Daisho is a special type of
steel as opposed to "orbital glass". So the Arasaka weapons are certainly not monoblades. These are
metal, albeit perhaps some "special alloy" cooked up by Arasaka in orbit, but metal none the less.
As for the Sai, while I agree, why would you want to make one out of Monocrystal, when it is primarily a parrying weapon is beyond mew, referring to it as "spiked" is pretty accurate. A "spike" does not necessarily need to be sharply pointed to be a "spike". It just has to be tapered with even a "rounded" point. A railroad spike or tent spike aren't super sharply pointed.. In fact, they're no more pointed than a Sai, probably less so. So, yes, I would call a Sai a "spiked" weapon. Of cource, the PAC only uses the Sai as an example, not as the
only "spiked" weapon available for Monoblading.
Also, The Firestorm sourcebooks are using the standard Martial Arts from the Core rules, not the expanded ones from the PAC. Arasaka's vaunted Covert Operations Team Leader, from Firestorm: Stormfront, Haruko Kanawa, for example, doesn't even have Ninjutsu. She has Aikido. The same with Kagekaze, an actual Shinobi with Combat Sense: Nindo (PAC) +9 , does not have Ninjutsu as his Martial Art skill. He too has Aikido, which does not have any MA weapons associated with it, and does not get the Strike Bonus for MA weapons. In fact, none of the characters in the Firestorm sourcebooks have any PAC specific Martial Arts. They're all from the core rule book. That's why none of the character get MA Weapons Strike bonuses. It's because none of them have Martial Arts which get MA Weapons' Strike bonuses. In fact, other than Morgan Blackhand, who has Tae Kwan Do, pretty much everyone in Stormfront[/i[]who has a Martial Arts skill, has Aikido.
Back to the PAC though. Using the About Monoblades rule, you can take a bladed Martial Arts weapon, such as the Kusarigama (2D6*-blade/3D6-weighted chain) and make it into a monobladed kusariama (3D6#-blade/3D6-weighted chain) and still get the MA Strike and Damage bonus for Ninjutsu in place of Melee, since the original weapon is an MA weapon. Therefore, as far as far as the PAC is concerned, based upon the About Monobladesp rule, a Kusarigama and monoblade kusarigama are the same in regards to their use with Ninjutsu. Both get to use Ninjutsu and get the MA Strike Bonus and damage bonus. Thus, it stands to reason, (and this is backed up by reality), you should also be able to take a mono-weapon listed, reverse the process to get the "standard steel" version of that weapon, and still get the MA Strike bonus.
Both the Mono-Two's Monokatana, and the Power Sword are monobladed versions of the traditional Katana. And both et the MA bonus for Ninjutsu. If you reverse engineer a standard katana from either of those weapons, you end up with the same weapon as in Firestorm Shockwave, a traditional Katana, and, therefore, should also still get the use of Ninjutsu and its strike and damage bonuses with that weapon. The same with a Wakizashi. This is especially true since the use of the Daisho was taught in real Ninjutsu, given that Kenjutsu is one of the component parts of Ninjutsu.
Another thin of note under the rules on Key Attacks on page 138 of the PAC, It specifically states that Skills which get the Strike Key Attack include Martial Arts, Fencing, or Melee, and skills that get the "Cast" attack include Martial Arts, Archery, and Athletics. This suggests that Fencing masters should bet at least an additional +1 bonus to attacks and their specific Fencing skill added to their damage. This is supported a bit on page 145 under Martial Arts Weapons where it says, "Even if you don't know Kendo (Japanese fencing), you can still slash with a katana." and a little further down, "Martial Artists know how to draw the maximum ability from their weapons (although the vids tend to exaggerate). If you have not learned Martial Arts, it means you must rely on the inherent destructive power of the weapon. This is perfectly normal."
Now, this passage suggests that Kendo Masters "should" get bonuses to attack and damage from their skill in their chosen weapon. It is "claiming" that Kendo is a Martial Art. The same with a "Melee master" . However, this is complicated by the next passage Styles of Martial Arts Weapons, also on Page 145. This passage states that unless the weapon and style match up, you don't add the bonuses to attack and damage, and thus usually use Melee instead (or whatever the "default" skill is), which adds IP to that skill not your Martial Art, The example they give is Maria "Stormy Terror" Chung, an expert in Choi Li Fut, Tae Kwan Do, and Aikido, who acquires a Kuusarigama. It state that she can't get any bonuses using the Kusarigama because she lacks Ninjutsu. This section suggests that only the actual "Martial Arts" listed in the charts get any bonuses. Thus, it get a bit muddy.
Onto the clothing issue, Page 23 of the PAC in the section Style House Japan by Tonoike "Mi-chan" Mitsuhiro dscribes an Eji of Japan "Kataginu Suit , but describes them as bolero jackets with old "samurai wings". Though, once again, there are no stats or "prices" for this, and a Bolero jacket looks nothing like a kataginu, given that the bolero jacket usually has sleeves (though some have very short sleeves or none)and is typically very short (stopping well above the waist) whereas a kataginu is a sleeveless surcoat that tucks into the waist of the hakama. However, this does suggest that a Kataginu "could be made simply using a "Vest" from Chrome book 4 as the starting point, a "Shirt" or "Tunic" from the list as the start of the kimono, and "Pants" for Hakama. What do you guys think? Have I been over-thinking things?
It should be noted that the Pandemonium Urbanwear over at Datafortress 2020 lists a Chainmail Hakama, which I presume is one of Wisdom000's creations. Correct me if I'm wrong here Wisdom. If you did write that up, what did you use as the starting point, and how did you go about "creating" that outfit?
