[Vidnaut]

When I am getting chased by some Tamanous muscle through the worse parts of the Barrens I most certainly do not care about killing them or causing collateral damage.
Sure the monofilament setup is not nesessary and yes it is cruel, but hell so are most things that start with "I am going to use monowire!".

Another thought, is monowire really that hard to handle? The rules state that it can be strung using special gloves without giving a pricing for said gloves. Plus monowire gets mounted on fences and although very sharp there should be materials that can handle it (special ceramics maybe?).
That whole monowire sharpness deal seems to be highly debateable too. In some books its like somekind technomagic wunderwaffe that cuts right through to the earths core if you drop it, in others its like the japanese kitchen knife of piano wires.

That's MICROWIRE.  Monowire will slice apart rappelling gloves.  I'd actually recommend that over standard monowire for tripwire as it costs far less per meter, is nearly as unoticeable, easier to handle, and catches better so sensitivity doesn't need to be so high on the wire.  With microwire you can probably get away with pre-tying the microwire to a hard tab wrapped with rappelling glove fiber and using some spray adhesive to stick the tab to just about anything.  Better yet, get the adhesive pre-applied on the tab (and maybe the grenade as well) too with one of those "peel-and-stick" adhesive surfaces.  That way you can prep a grenade ahead of time for use as a trap to cut down on the extended demolitions skill test to convert the grenade into one (just need to extend the wire out and arm it without setting it off yourself).

[The other Bandit]

MICROWIRE!!!

You sir are amazing! Thats the stuff that allows you to carry hundrets of metres of rope in a smal package right?

Hm that gets me thinking... if you string that stuff along some sturdy posts at knee level... that should hurt a bit too right? It is pretty strong for its diametre isnt it? (Off the top of my head I think it could hold 100kg or somethin like that?)

Edit:                  How DO you handle Monowire? Was it explained somewhere, maybe one of the books focusing on security measures?

[Vidnaut]

How DO you handle Monowire? Was it explained somewhere, maybe one of the books focusing on security measures?

I'm thinking the handling of monowire is done through surfaces of superhard materials like carbon nanotubes (harder the better that you can shape appropriately) arranged in a threaded groove canal (like an inverted screw) to arrange the wires in a single line.  I do not think containers for monowire have more than a single stack since you'd need a larger superhard material layer each time you go for another stack as well as additional hardening to resist the increased pull to move a larger section of wire.  Most containment/distribution units also probably include secondary containment techniques like being immersed in an industrial chemical compound that forms a weak chemical bond to the monowire so as to form a buffer against what the monowire comes in contact with until one runs an electric charge through the wire that breaks down the bond and the compound decomposes, returning the wire to its original state.  The charge can either be administered after installation or attached to the containment unit to undo the bonding agent as it is withdrawn from it.

This is all just speculation though.

[Anarkitty]

MICROWIRE!!!

You sir are amazing! Thats the stuff that allows you to carry hundrets of metres of rope in a smal package right?

Hm that gets me thinking... if you string that stuff along some sturdy posts at knee level... that should hurt a bit too right? It is pretty strong for its diametre isnt it? (Off the top of my head I think it could hold 100kg or somethin like that?)

Edit:                  How DO you handle Monowire? Was it explained somewhere, maybe one of the books focusing on security measures?

Microwire will cut through your hands if there is tension on it, but not quite like monowire.
Same thing if it is strung as a trip wire.  Run into it hard enough and it might cut through the skin and hurt, but won't cause serious wounds.  It'll stop cutting when it reaches bone and then the victim will trip over it.

Monowire would cut if they just walked into it, and would likely go right through flesh and bone if they hit it at any speed, and they wouldn't fall down until their legs came apart under them.  It is much more expensive, not nearly as strong, and not nearly as useful though, because it is so much more dangerous to the user and if someone with enough armor walks into it it will just snap, where Microwire could still trip them.

[martinchaen]

For that matter... how the hell do you spool monowire back into the fingertip compartment, considering the wire would just slice through most spools?

[The other Bandit]

Uhm... good question!

There seem to be a few things that should be answered officialy about monowire   

Is it still wickedly expensive? That would help handwaving stuff like that to "You know they do it by highly advanced, super expensive materials, so it works!", just like you say "How do they do it? Magic!"

[martinchaen]

My answer: spiders. Tiny, mechanical spiders. Obviously...

[k_night]

aka nanites

[Michael Chandra]

Except that nanites are no longer reliable.

[k_night]

makes you think doesn't it 

[The other Bandit]

Teeny tiny little spider bots that creepy crawl everywhere and spin monofilament wires...  thanks for giving me something for my next nightmare   



P.S.: Love that idea!!!

[Vidnaut]

Uhm... good question!

There seem to be a few things that should be answered officialy about monowire   

Is it still wickedly expensive? That would help handwaving stuff like that to "You know they do it by highly advanced, super expensive materials, so it works!", just like you say "How do they do it? Magic!"

2/3rds of the cost of a monowhip are to do with the 2 meters of monowire (if one is to go by 4E Arsenal).

[The other Bandit]

So that leaves about 3K Nuyen for the handle plus spool and the counterweight... seems like thats some high tech stuff aswell then.

[Anarkitty]

For that matter... how the hell do you spool monowire back into the fingertip compartment, considering the wire would just slice through most spools?

Monowire will not cut certain ceramics.  The handle and spool are both made of high-density ceramic compounds.  Most likely the weight is too.

[Anarkitty]

Teeny tiny little spider bots that creepy crawl everywhere and spin monofilament wires...  thanks for giving me something for my next nightmare   



P.S.: Love that idea!!!

This gives me a great idea!  Get two microdrones, equip one with a monofilament whip, and the other with a grasping claw or magnet or something to grab the weight on the end of the whip.  They climb up either side of a door frame and just wait.
Good for traps, deterring pursuit, slowing down reinforcements, or just being a dick.