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Weapons

In a modern setting, typically more emphasis is placed on ranged combat than in a typical fantasy one. As such, firearms get more sophisticated rules than bows or crossbows, as they come in many more shapes and sizes. Unlike older weapons, less importance is placed on the weapon‚s mass but rather the recoil of the weapon‚s firing.

Firearms

Mass and Recoil: for most firearms, the determining factor in effort necessary to use the weapon is not the weight of the weapon, but its recoil. Both the weapon's mass and its recoil must be less than or equal to your character's light weapon limit for it to be a light weapon, standard limit for standard weapons, and heavy limit for heavy weapons. Note that this does not mean the two are added together. For example, Colonel Mauve has a light weapon limit of 1.5 (like most people). The sidearm (with mass of 1.05  and recoil of 1) is a light weapon, because both the recoil and mass are below 1.5. If a similar weapon had a mass of 1 and recoil of 3, it would be a standard weapon. The recoil is derived from the calibre of the ammunition fired. Firing a weapon on Auto or Burst increases the recoil.

The mass of all attachments and ammunition on or in a gun is added to its mass to determine effort.

Range Increment: You may fire at targets up to 3 full doublings of the range increment away. Each doubling imposes a -1/0 attack penalty from distance. So, a weapon (such as most pistols) with a range increment of 10m would have no penalty at targets 0-10m away, -1/0 at targets 11-20m away, -2/0 from 21-40m away, and finally -3/0 from 41-80m away (the maximum range).

Rate of Fire: A weapon may have multiple rates of fire. If this is the case, each attack made with the weapon may be with a different rate of fire. Higher rates of fire can increase the recoil, which may push the weapon into a higher effort category when this rate of fire is used. The following are the most common:

Single: The weapon must be manually cocked between attacks. This prevents you from using certain techniques, such as Double Tap, that require a semiautomatic rate of fire. Otherwise, the single rate of fire functions the same as semi.

Semi : The weapon cocks itself between firing. Certain techniques (such as Double Tap) require weapons with a semiautomatic rate of fire.

Auto :  Holding down the trigger of an Automatic weapon produces a steady stream of bullets that are difficult to control. Instead of attacking a single target, Auto weapons attack an area a scale 1 point larger than the weapon firing (2m across for a scale 0 weapon). However, firing on Auto doubles range penalties (-2 per increment instead of -1) and uses 5 bullets per attack. Firing on Auto doubles recoil. As with all area attacks, Autofire attacks usually cannot be defended against without special techniques, and scatter 1d6 squares (character or weapon‚s size, whichever is larger) per range increment when they miss.

Instead of targeting an area, you can fire all five bullets at the same enemy. This still doubles the range penalties, but grants +1 to hit. If you hit the target by 1 or more, you roll two damage dice (as if you had hit the target with two attacks) instead of one.

Firing a weapon on Auto rate of fire without the Automatic Firearms Proficiency Technique imposes a -1/-1 penalty to attacks that does not stack with improficiency with the base weapon.

Burst : Pulling the trigger of a Burst weapon fires a short burst of bullets. This uses three bullets per attack and multiples the recoil by 1.5 times. However, it gives +1 to attack, and if you beat the target's Target score by 1 or more, you roll two damage dice (as if you had hit him with two attacks) if the defender fails his defence roll.

Firing a weapon on Burst rate of fire without the Automatic Firearms Proficiency Technique imposes a -1/-1 penalty to attacks that does not stack with improficiency with the base weapon.

Auto X: This is very similar to the Auto rate of fire, but shoots much faster for a more devastating effect. The weapon multiplies it's recoil by 2 X , attacks a scale X area, and uses 5 times 2 X bullets per attack. In all other ways it functions like Auto. Auto 2 represents the rate of fire of a machine gun or some submachine guns. Auto 3 is usually reserved for stationary gun positions. A rotary Gatling-style gun is Auto 4.

Similar to Auto, you can fire all the bullets at one target instead of an area. For every point you beat the target's Target score by (to a maximum of X), roll an additional damage die. You get +X to attack when firing at just one target.

Firing a weapon on an Auto rate of fire without the Automatic Firearms Proficiency Technique imposes a -1/-1 penalty to attacks that does not stack with improficiency with the base weapon.

Rate of Fire

Ammo Per Attack

Recoil

Area

Attack Bonus

Max Hits

Range Penalties

Single

1

1x

+0/0

1

1x

Semi

1

1x

+0/0

1

1x

Burst

3

1.5x

+1/1

2

1x

Auto

5

2x

Scale +1*

+1/1*

2

2x

Auto 2

20

4x

Scale +2*

+2/2*

3

2x

Auto 3

40

8x

Scale +3*

+3/3*

4

2x

Auto 4

80

16x

Scale +4*

+4/4*

5

2x

*Auto weapons can fire either with the attack bonus listed and potential extra hits or at an area

Magazine: How much ammunition is held in the magazine, and the type of magazine. The reload times given below assume a weapon of scale 0 or smaller in the hands of a human. Weapons of scale 1 (.50 to 20mm) take 3s longer, scale 2 (23mm to 30mm) take 6s longer, scale 3 (75mm to 120mm) take 9 seconds longer, etc..

Box : It takes 3 seconds to reload a firearm with a pre-filled box magazine available. To manually load a box magazine, it takes 3 seconds per bullet. Box magazines typically come in 10 to 15 for handguns, and 20 or 30 for automatic rifles. Heavier drum magazines can hold 50 or 100 rounds.

Cylinder : It takes 3 seconds with a pre-loaded speed loader, or 3 seconds per bullet to manually load a revolver. Weapons with Cylindrical magazines never jam except after taking wounds.

Internal : It takes 3 seconds per bullet to reload a weapon with an Internal magazine. Weapons with internal magazines never jam except after taking wounds.

Linked : It takes 3 seconds to load a link into the gun, and 3 seconds to clip two links together. There is no maximum amount of ammunition that may be loaded this way.

Muzzle: Muzzle loading firearms are primitive. You have to individually pack in the powder, bullet, and wadding in a time-intensive process. Reloading a muzzle-loading weapon takes 30 seconds (five rounds). Muzzle-loading weapons that do not have the smoothbore modification take 42 seconds to reload due to the awkwardness caused by the tight-fitting bullet.

Damage: This is the damage dealt when a target is hit with the weapon. The damage is based off of the weapon‚s calibre, though sometimes modified by ammunition.

Calibre: The type of ammunition the gun use. Determines the recoil, damage, and range of the weapon. The number (in inches or millimetres) refers to the approximate circumference of the weapon‚s barrel, and therefore the round itself. In general, the larger the number, the more powerful the weapon; although this is not always the case. Pistols, for example, tend to have larger bullets, but are fired at a lower velocity than rifles, and so do less damage.

Superheavy Weapons: a character can use a weapon heavier than class Heavy with the use of a bipod, tripod, or other mount. It usually takes a 4SA to set up a weapon with a mount like this.

Perception DC: The DC to hear a gun firing is zero minus its damage bonus. For example, hearing a sidearm (1d6 + 8 damage) has a DC of -8. Firing on Burst or Auto drops the DC by -2, Auto 2 by -3, Auto 3 by -6, etc.

Custom Firearms

The easiest way to customize a weapon is to simply take one from the sample charts and add one or more modifications to it. Alternatively, you can design one from the ground up. This is slightly more complicated, although it allows for greater customization. First consult the chart on the following page, then add any modifications that you see fit. Total up the cost, mass, recoil, and other statistics, and you‚re done.

Weapon Scale: This is the weapon‚s scale. It is used for several purposes, such as determining the size of its blast radius with the Blast modification. It is not, however, necessarily the physical size of the weapon for determining toughness. To determine a weapon‚s scale for that purpose, take the finished weapon (with all modifications that increase mass) and find the value on the chart with the closest base mass. The weapon‚s physical scale is two less than the weapon scale on the chart for that weapon.

Range Increment: This is the base range increment of the weapon, before any modifications (such as Oversized or Accurized) come into effect.

Weapon Mass: This is the base mass of the weapon, before ammunition or modifications. Use the weapon‚s final mass or recoil, whichever is higher, to determine the effort necessary to wield the weapon.

Recoil: This is the weapon‚s base recoil before modifications (such as autofire, burst, or magnum). Use the weapon‚s final recoil or mass, whichever is higher, to determine effort necessary to wield the weapon. If the weapon has multiple rates of fire, it can have a different recoil (and therefore effort) depending on setting. For example, a strength 3 human could fire a carbine (mass: 2kg) on semi (recoil 3) as a standard weapon, but on auto (recoil 6) it would be a heavy weapon. However, an assault rifle has the same recoil, but has mass of 4kg, so would be a heavy weapon on either setting for a strength 3 human.

Examples: Here are listed one or more example calibres that fall into the listed class. While there is no difference in rules between, for example, a 9mm and a .45, the ammunition is not interchangeable between the two. So while a 9mm and a .45 pistol with the same modifications have exactly the same statistics for the purposes of this game, they use incompatible ammunition.

Base Cost: The base cost is equal to the calibre's base recoil x $100. Round the base cost to the first two significant figures. This is the cost for an unmodified weapon of this calibre with the single rate of fire and an internal magazine of 1 round. See weapon modifications, below, to improve this weapon.

Base Ammunition Cost: This is the cost for ten rounds of the weapon‚s ammunition with no modifications.

Base Ammunition Mass: This is the mass of ten rounds of the weapon‚s ammunition with no modifications. Add the mass of the weapon‚s ammunition to the weapon‚s mass to determine weapon effort.

Fire-Linked Weapons: Firearms can be linked together to fire more bullets in the same general direction. This multiplies the mass, recoil, and ammunition capacity by the number of weapons linked together. So, a twin-linked weapon has twice the magazine capacity, twice the mass, twice the recoil, etc.. For single-shot or semiautomatic weapons, the only advantage in this is increasing the number of times you can fire before all weapons must be reloaded. If three or more single or semiautomatic weapons are linked together, three can be fired at once to achieve the Burst rate of fire. If the weapons are automatic, every full doubling of weapons linked together increases the rate of autofire by 1. For example, if two assault rifles (Auto 1) are linked together, they can fire together at Auto 2. If four are linked together, they can fire at Auto 3, if eight are linked, they can fire at Auto 4, and so on.


Scale

Damage (1d6 +...)

Range Inc.

Weapon Mass

Recoil

Examples

Base Cost

Mass /10 Rounds

Cost /10 Rounds

-2

6

5m

0.5 kg

0.38

.22

$37.50

25g

$0.38

-1

7

10m

1kg

0.75

.32

$75

40g

$0.75

-1

8

10m

1kg

1

9mm, .45

$100

50g

$1

-1

9

10m

1kg

1.5

5.7

$150

75g

$1.50

0

10

20m

4kg

3

5.56, .357, .44, .50AE

$300

.1kg

$3

0

11

20m

4kg

4

7.62, 12ga

$400

.20kg

$4

0

12

20m

4kg

6

.444, 10 ga

$600

.30kg

$6

1

13

40m

16kg

12

.50 BMG

$1,200

.60kg

$12

1

14

40m

16kg

16

14.5mm

$1,600

0.80kg

$16

1

15

40m

16kg

24

20mm

$2,400

1kg

$24

2

16

80m

64kg

48

23mm

$4,800

2kg

$48

2

17

80m

64kg

64

25mm

$6,400

3kg

$64

2

18

80m

64kg

96

30mm

$9,600

4kg

$96

3

19

160m

250kg

192

75mm

$19,200

9kg

$192

3

20

160m

250kg

256

105mm

$25,600

12kg

$256

3

21

160m

250kg

384

120mm

$38,400

19kg

$384

4

22

320m

1t

768

155mm

$76,800

38kg

$768

4

23

320m

1t

1024

$10,000

51kg

$1024

4

24

320m

1t

1536

$15,000

76kg

$1536

5

25

640m

4t

3072

$30,000

153kg

$3072

5

26

640m

4t

4096

$41,000

204kg

$4096

5

27

640m

4t

6144

$61,000

307kg

$6144


Ammo Modifications

Name

Mass

Cost

Recoil

Armour Piercing 1

Neg.

+200%

Armour Piercing 2

Neg.

+900%

Flechette

Neg.

+1400%

Magnum

+50%

+200%

+50%

Blast

+25%

+900%

-2 damage, blast radius

Dragon

Neg.

+900%

Low-Powered

Neg.

+0%

Iron-Jacketed

Neg.

+25%

Silver-Jacketed

Neg.

+900%

Subsonic

Neg.

+900%

  1.   Armour Piercing decreases the damage of the weapon, but makes up for that with the ability to threaten more heavily armoured targets. Comes in two levels:
  2.   Increase the target's toughness by 1 for the purposes of this attack, but decrease the minimum toughness by 1 as well. This results in a weapon more likely to wound, but less likely to kill the target due to the relatively smaller wound it creates. Ex. Full metal Jacket, Heavy Metal Core. Abbreviated AP1
  3.   Increase the target's toughness by 2  for the purposes of this attack, but decrease the minimum toughness by 2 as well. Ex. Tungsten or Depleted Uranium Core. Abbreviated AP2.
  4.   Flechette: Flechette rounds are long, narrow darts made of an extremely heavy metal like Tungsten. Flechette rounds are always AP2. They can only be fired from smoothbore firearms and cannons. Flechettes add +50% of base to the weapon's range.
  5.   Magnum: Deals one die higher damage but increases the recoil and ammunition mass.
  6.   Expanding/Exploding Ammunition : deals more damage, but is less effective against tougher opponents. Comes in three levels:
  7.   Decrease the target's Toughness by 1 point for the purposes of this attack, but increase the minimum wound threshold by 1 as well. Ex. Hollow Point, Frangible. Abbreviated AP -1.
  8.   Decrease the target's Toughness by 2 point for the purposes of this attack, but increase the minimum wound threshold by 2 as well. Ex. High Explosive. Abbreviated AP -2.
  9.   Blast: The weapon has a blast area based on the calibre‚s scale. The blast area is a sphere with that is a scale 1 lower than the weapon. Deals -2 damage. When combined with Auto, it increases the Auto area of effect by one scale.
  10.   Shrapnel: Deals slashing damage
  11.   Concussive: Deals Bludgeoning damage
  12.   Gas: The round does not explode, but instead releases gas of some sort. The most commonly used are tear gas and smoke.
  13.   Heat: Deals Heat damage, and flammable objects are lit on fire.
  14.   Dragon Rounds: Essentially turns the weapon into a low-powered flamethrower. It is only available for shotguns or grenade launchers. The weapon shoots a line of fire of a scale equal to the weapon‚s scale +1, dealing the weapon's normal damage -4 in Heat damage. Flammable objects are also lit on fire.
  15.   Low-Powered: The projectile moves significantly slower than a normal bullet. This modification may not be combined with Shotgun. Low-powered weapons deal -2 damage, but this penalty does not stack with the one from Blast ammunition. Attacks made with Low-Powered ammunition require the Weapon Proficiency: Firearms (Grenade Launcher) technique to use without penalty.
  16.   Iron-Jacketed: Works the same as a regular bullet, except that it is slightly more expensive (+25% of base) and certain types of creatures (primarily Faeries) are vulnerable to Iron.  
  17.   Silver-Jacketed: Works the same as a regular bullet, except that bullets cost an additional +900% of base and certain types of creatures (primarily Werewolves) are vulnerable to Silver.
  18.   Subsonic Ammunition: Subsonic ammunition decreases the damage die of the gun by one die (typically to d4) but adds +5 to the DC to hear the sound of the gun firing. (normally a DC of -6). Not available for shotguns or low-powered ammunition, or magnum rounds.

Weapon Modifications

  1.   Accessory  Rail: Allows the attachment of scopes, flashlights, laser sights, and the like. The mass increase is negligible.
  2.   Accurized 1, 2, 3: increases range inc by +25% of base each time. Increases weight by +10% of base each time. Increase cost by +50% (Accuracy 1), +150% (Accuracy 2) or +300% (Accuracy 3)
  3.   Automatic : Replace Single rate of fire with Auto. Increase cost by +200% of base
  4.   Automatic 2: Replace Single rate of fire with Auto 3. Increase cost by +500% of base and weight by +100%
  5.   Automatic 3: Replace Single rate of fire with Auto 4. Increase cost by +2500% of base and weight by +200%
  6.   Bayonet Lug: Allows the attachment of bayonets and underslung weapons.
  7.   Box Magazine: This allows boxes of bullets to be added to the gun. The weapon can accept different sizes of boxes, but usually they are 10 or less (for handguns) or 30 or less (for rifles).
  8.   Breakable: The weapon can be broken down into two or more parts. Breaking or reassembling the weapon takes a full round. Typically, this is only used for extremely heavy weapons that require multiple people to carry.
  9.   Burst: The weapon gains the Burst rate of fire.
  10.   Compact: The weapon's base range decreases by 25% of base, and the weight decrease by 50%. Further, a weapon‚s scale is reduced by 1 for determining whether it is a pistol or longarm. This modification is incompatible with Oversized.
  11.   Crude: The weapon is either extremely primitive or simply poorly made. Increase the weight by +50% of base, and drop the range increment by 25% of base. If the weapon can be bought or sold at all, its value drops to 50%.

Name

Mass

Cost

Range

Other

Accessory Rail

Neg.

+$50

Accurized 1

+10%

+50%

+25%

Accurized 2

+20%

+150%

+50%

Accurized 3

+30%

+300%

+75%

Auto 1

+50%

Auto 1 Rate of Fire

Auto 2

+100%

+500%

Auto 2 Rate of Fire

Auto 3

+200%

+2500%

Auto 3 Rate of Fire

Bayonet Lug

+0.25 kg

+$25

Box Magazine

+50%

Burst

+50%

Burst Rate of Fire

Breakable

+100%

Crude

+50%

-50%

-25%

Compact

-50%

+50%

-25%

No range penalty with Underslung

Crude

+50%

-25%

-50%

Cyl. Magazine

+25%

Lightweight 1

-20%

+100%

Lightweight 2

-40%

+250%

Linked Magazine

+25%

Oversized

+50% base

+50%

+100%

Semi

+25%

Semi Rate of Fire

Shotgun

-50%

+1/0 to attack, d8 damage

Simple

+50%

-25%

-10%

Reroll Jam rolls

Smoothbore

-50%

No penalty with Flechette

Underslung

See text

Additional Weapon

Muzzle Brake

+25%

+25%

-25% recoil, -3 Perception to hear

  1.   Cylinder Magazine: cheap and reliable, a cylinder magazine has a built-in fixed ring into which bullets are loaded. The size of the magazine cannot be modified afterwards without completely redesigning large portions of the gun (Complex Engineering check). Adds +25% of the weapons base cost.
  2.   Lightweight 1, 2 : Decrease weight by 20% of base, increase cost by +100% of base for lightweight 1. Decrease weight by 40% and increase cost by +250% of base for lightweight 2. Don't stack.
  3.   Oversized: The weapon's base range increases by 50% (before other modifications), and the weight increases by +100%. Further, a weapon‚s scale is increased by one point for determining whether it is a pistol or longarm. This modification is incompatible with Compact.
  4.   Semiautomatic: Replace the Single rate of fire with Semi. Increase cost by +25% of base
  5.   Shotgun: -50% total range increment, +1/0 to attack bonus. The weapon deals 1 die higher of damage (typically d8s). Shotguns deal 1 less damage for every range increment out the target is.
  6.   Simple: The weapon uses simple, tried and true construction. Any Jam roll may be rerolled once, and the weapon costs 25% less of base.   However, the weapon weighs +50% of base and decreases the range increment by -10% of base.
  7.   Smoothbore: This weapon has no internal rifling. When firing any projectile other than a Flechette, the base range increment drops to 50% of its original, before any other modifications take place.
  8.   Underslung: The weapon may be attached to another with a suitable attachment point (typically a rail and/or bayonet lugs). The weight of this weapon is added to the weight of the base weapon to determine whether it is light, medium, heavy, or superheavy. When combined with the Compact modification, the range penalties are waived if the underslung is attached to another weapon. If used by itself, they are not.
  9.   Muzzle Brake : Muzzle brakes decrease the recoil of the gun but increase the noise and bulk. Weight increases by +25%, the perception DC to notice the gun firing decreases by -3 and recoil drops by 25%. Firearms with Muzzle Brakes may not take suppressors. Muzzle brakes do not function when firing on a higher rate of fire than semiautomatic.



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