Recycled Weapons: The Chain Garrote

Recycled Weapons presents new and creative weapons made from scavenged parts for your post-apocalyptic Pathfinder campaign.

A favorite weapon in pre-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic settings is the chainsaw and its derived weapons the chainsword, chain axe, and chain chakram. But in a down and dirty post-apocalyptic world, functioning versions of such weapons are few and far between, and your survivors are going to have to make due with low tech options. But just because it's low tech doesn't mean it can't be messy and lethal. With that in mind, d-Infinity presents the chain garrote, another recycled weapon from the mutated mind behind the burn hammer.

Chain Garrote

Name	Classification	Cost	Dmg (S)	Dmg (M)	Critical	Range	Weight	Type	Special
Chain Garrote	Light Two-Handed Melee Weapon	N/A	see description	see description	x2	-	3 lbs.	P or S	see description

The chain garrote is a weapon made from the cutting chain of a chainsaw with the links between each segment expanded with sturdy links of scrap metal, giving the chain garrote almost as much flexibility as a standard length of chain. The primary function of a chain garrote is gruesome and bloody strangulation. As a result, you may attempt to initiate a grapple when armed with a chain garrote. If successful, your victim suffers a -2 penalty on all attempts to break free from this grapple because of the metal teeth digging into his neck. If you attempt to inflict damage as part of a grapple when armed with this weapon you inflict damage equal to your unarmed strike, and bleed damage equal to 1/2 your unarmed strike damage. Bleed damage inflicted by a chain garrote on subsequent rounds is cumulative.

The following special rules apply to the chain garrote:

• Creation: A character supplied with a length of scavenged cutting chain and and 1 lbs. of scrap metal can create a chain garrote with 1d4 hours of work and a DC 15 Craft (weapons) skill check. A roll exceeding the DC by 5 or more cuts the time required in half. A natural 1 on the Craft check destroys one of the construction materials (equal chance cutting chain or scrap metal).
• Degradation: When attacking or maintaining a grapple with a chain garrote, a natural 1 on the roll inflicts the broken condition on garrote and immediately releases the target from the grapple. The same happens if your target rolls a natural 20 when attempting to break the grapple. A chain garrote can be repaired like any other weapon.
• Improvisation: When used to make melee attacks rather than initiate grapples, treat the chain garrote as an improvised weapon. If so, the garrote is still broken on a natural 1.

Now it's time to strip that chainsaw for parts and arm your mutant assassins and neo-Thuggee cultists with a weapon as messy as it is deadly.