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Spot Rules for Firearms
Automatic Weapons, Bursts
Fully automatic weapons, such as Thompson submachine guns, may fire a burst (multiple shots) on the shooter’s DEX rank. For each shot fired in a burst, raise the attacker’s chance to hit by 5 percentiles. No matter how many shots are fired, the shooter’s chance cannot more than double.
Roll D100 once for all the shots fired against a single target. If the attack roll is a success, roll an appropriate die to determine the number of hits: thus if eight shots are fired, roll 1D8 to determine the number of hits. Per target, only the first bullet impales if an impaling hit is rolled. Some keepers ask that bursts occur only in quantities easy to roll, such as 6s, 8s, 10s, and so on.
- If multiple targets are spread across a field of fire, the shooter’s chance to h t does not change: the opportunity exists to h t each target at normal chance, and each target is rolled for separately. The shooter allots how many bullets head toward each target.
- If a single target or multiple targets are w thin a narrow cone of fire, such as a group coming down a hallway or tunnel, increase the shooter’s chance to hit, but never more than double the chance to hit.
In either situation, the keeper’s description should include the information necessary to allow a player to choose the best tactic.
Big Targets
Big things are easier to hit. For monsters of SIZ 30 or more, every 10 SIZ above SIZ 30 adds 5 percentiles to an attacker’s base chance to hit w th bullet, thrown object, or shotgun round. Point-blank and extended range modifiers apply.
Choosing a Shotgun
Commonly, shotguns come with multiple single-shot barrels, with one barrel fed by pump action, and with one barrel fed by semi-automatic action. In the 1890s, most shotguns are double-barreled, and in the present day nearly all are pump-action or semi-automatic.
A double-barreled shotgun may fire both barrels simultaneously at DEX in one round, one barrel at DEX and at half DEX in the same round, or one barrel each in different rounds. Depending on gauge, a pump-action fires once or twice in a round. Any semi-automatic fires once or twice in a round.
Extended Range
A character may fire at up to double a weapon’s base range at half-normal chance to hit. He or she may fire at up to triple the weapon’s base range at one quarter of normal chance to hit, quadruple at one eighth chance to hit, and so on. At such extreme ranges, damage done may be lessened as the bullet slows.
Loaded Revolvers
When revolvers were common, a common safety practice was to leave empty the chamber under the hammer, on the theory that if five bullets did not stop some malefactor, the sixth was unlikely to do so. A fully loaded revolver may sometimes go off accidentally. Resolve the s tuation w th a Luck roll.
Malfunction Numbers, Jams
If a firearm skill roll is equal to or higher than the weapon’s malfunction number (mal on the Weapons Table), the weapon cannot fire.
- If the weapon is a revolver, bolt-action rifle, or double-barreled shotgun, the problem is a dud round.
- If the weapon is automatic, semi-automatic, pump-action, or lever-action, then the malfunction is a jam.
Fixing a jam takes 1D6 combat rounds plus a successful Mechanical Repair roll or a skill roll for the jammed firearm. The owner can keep trying until succeeding, or until ruining the gun on a D100 result of 96-00.
Point-Blank Fire
Point-blank is that distance equal to or less than the shooter’s DEX in feet. The shooter’s chance to h t is doubled at point-blank range. The damage done is
unchanged.
Precision Aim, Laser & Telescopic Sights
The shooter braces the weapon or takes other care in bringing the weapon to bear, shooting just once in a round at half normal DEX rank. The effect is to double the point-blank and base ranges for the firearm.
Reloading Firearms
Allow one combat round to load two shells into any handgun, rifle, or shotgun. Allow one round to exchange a clip. Allow two rounds to change a machine gun belt.
In a round, it is possible to put one round in a chamber and get off that shot at half DEX rank.
Two Handguns
One person can hold and fire two handguns during a combat round. Use the unaimed shots rule below.
Unaimed Shots
The shots-per-round entries for firearms assume that a shooter has an earnest desire to hit a target, and thus aims with care. As a general guide, unaimed fire allows twice the number of attacks per round listed for the weapon on the Weapons Table. Reduce the shooter’s chance to hit to one fifth of normal. If there is more than one target, determine randomly who gets hit. Impales occur
normally. But given laser sight aid and training, and Handgun 60% and above, increase the chance to h t to normal.
