Modern Weapons Optional Rules

[Desert Rat]

For those who like simple and easy rules, well this may not be for you. For my players, we have a tendency to prefer to add a slight bit more complexity for a more realistic approach.

What you will find, and some players will not like it, is that a characters capability with a weapon system is not on par with the weapons actual capability, as it should be. What I mean by this is that a pistol may have a Maximum Effective Range of 50 meters, but there is no way a character could get a To Strike roll at anything less than a Natural 20.

ATTACKS PER MELEE: Being quick with ones hands and feet is not an accurate representation of ones Gun Fu ability. The number of attacks per melee with a modern weapon is two (2) attacks plus the characters weapon proficiency bonus. If a character has no weapon proficiency, they have two (2) attacks per melee.

WEAPON PROFICIENCY STACKING: In a modification to the rules, weapon proficiencies may be stacked in order to better represent a characters background and focused education with specific weapon systems. No matter how you stack it, a mercenary is going to be more proficient with military weapons then a gizmoteer. The modern weapons range table will balance the high weapon proficiency bonuses.

OPTICS: The question on has always been, how does an unmagnified EO Tech Holographic Sight different then a Leopold 3.5x to 10x (x means magnification power). Consider a character shooting iron sights versus one with a 14x scope. Can one effective engage a human target at 1500 meters without a scope? The house rule that we have come up with is that a character receives an additional +1 per magnification power. Thus a 4x ACOG sight is a +3 and a 10x Leopold rifle scope is +9.

Magnification is great for long distances, but not so for short distances. Shooters need a field of view that allows quick reactions to threats. At close ranges, there is limited to no field of view which requires the shooter to come on and off the optics ultimately impacting reaction times. The penalty is as follows, a magnified optic cannot be used effectively at distances under the magnification power multiplied by 5 meters. For example, a 4x ACOG cannot be used to engage targets at under 20 meters.

LASER SIGHTS: Laser sights produce a narrow beam of light which is projected onto the target and is generally representative of the Point Of Impact of the round. I say generally because a beam of light is straight and the trajectory of a bullet is in an arc do to the effects of gravity, coriallis effect, etc… But this is not a physics or ballistics lesson. Needless to say, Laser Sights offer a +1 bonus to strike.

Some would say that the bonus should be higher, but a laser sight is not a homing device. A shooter is still required to perform the necessary marksmanship fundamentals. Fact is, most shooters who depend upon their lives based upon the way of the gun do not use laser sights. For game purposes, they can be cool and sometimes that is all that matters.

As with all bonuses, there is a penalty. Laser sights project a small dot onto the target, a dot which is not visible with the naked eye at more than 25 meters.

MATCH GRADE AMMUNITION: Commercial match grade ammunition is constructed to more stringent tolerances then that of regular ammunition. Bullets are usually within a grain or two, powder is far more consistent, etc… This leads to better consistency which is a key aspect in accuracy. Match Grade Ammunition increase the Maximum Effective Range by 25%.

HAND-LOADED AMMUNITION: Probably constructed hand-loaded ammunition can be the most accurate ammunition available. Almost every professional rifle shooter loads his or her own ammunition. Hand loaded ammunition can ONLY be constructed by a character with the Weapons Construction Skill Program. Hand-loaded ammunition increases the Maximum Effective Range by 35%.

COVER MODIFIERS:
Slightly Obscured -2 to Strike
Partially Obscured -4 to Strike
Mostly Obscured -6 to Strike
Barely Visible -8 to Strike

CALLED SHOTS:
Leg -2 to Strike
Arm -4 to Strike
Head (+/- 8") -4 to Strike
Hand/Foot (+/- 4") -8 to Strike
Bulls Eye -10 to Strike

ADDITIONAL MODIFIERS:
Aimed Shot +3 to Strike
Burst +1 to Strike

DOUBLE TAP / CONTROLLED PAIRS: The double tap and controlled pair is a commonly practiced skill amongst professionals. It differs from the burst in that the shooter reacquires an additional sight picture in rapid successive shots. When shooting double taps / controlled pairs, the character shoots two rounds per melee action requiring two strike rolls. Each successful strike rolls damage in accordance with the weapons damage rating.

So, let’s look at a character, Mitch Riley, attempting an 800 meter shot with an M24 Sniper Weapon System that has an 800 meter Maximum Effective Range. Mitch uses commercial match grade ammunition which increases the Maximum Effective Range by 25% or 200 meters, to 1000 meters.

The first thing we do is look up the To Strike on the Modern Combat Range Table. 800 meters on the 1000 meter Maximum Effective Range yields a To Strike of 24. The following bonuses are applied:
Weapon Proficiency +1 to Strike
Sniper +2 to Strike
Aiming +3 to Strike
10x Scope +9 to Strike

Mitch needs a To Strike roll of 9 or better to hit his target at 800 meters.

[Mantisking]

For those who like simple and easy rules, well this may not be for you. For my players, we have a tendency to prefer to add a slight bit more complexity for a more realistic approach. A table, a little math and a few seconds can add some challenge to the game. This information is based upon weapon and ballistic data and many years as well as multiple schools with the government ranging from sniper schools to pistol courses taught by nationally ranked IPDA champions. Some of the basis of this data is derived from military averages such as a sniper should be able to hit an 800 meter target 50% of the time. The basics start with the Modern Combat Range Tables. Across the top is the minimum To Strike roll. Down the left side is the Maximum Effective Range of the weapon.
Modern Weapons Range Table 5m to 100m
Modern Weapons Range Table 125m to 1500m

So what does the number in the table actually represent? The percentage chance of hitting? Also, you really should label the table on the wiki.

What you will find, and some players will not like it, is that a characters capability with a weapon system is not on par with the weapons actual capability, as it should be. What I mean by this is that a pistol may have a Maximum Effective Range of 50 meters, but there is no way a character could get a To Strike roll at anything less than a Natural 20.

Makes sense, there are some shots you have no chance of making.

ATTACKS PER MELEE: Being quick with ones hands and feet is not an accurate representation of ones Gun Fu ability. The number of attacks per melee with a modern weapon is two (2) attacks plus the characters weapon proficiency bonus. If a character has no weapon proficiency, they have two (2) attacks per melee.

I'd also add a hard cap, unless the character wants to make every attack Wild.

WEAPON PROFICIENCY STACKING: In a modification to the rules, weapon proficiencies may be stacked in order to better represent a characters background and focused education with specific weapon systems. No matter how you stack it, a mercenary is going to be more proficient with military weapons then a gizmoteer. The modern weapons range table will balance the high weapon proficiency bonuses.

I think this is being a little picky. In a game with full on realism? Sure. In any other game I'd skip it.

OPTICS: The question on has always been, how does an unmagnified EO Tech Holographic Sight different then a Leopold 3.5x to 10x (x means magnification power). Consider a character shooting iron sights versus one with a 14x scope. Can one effective engage a human target at 1500 meters without a scope? The house rule that we have come up with is that a character receives an additional +1 per magnification power. Thus a 4x ACOG sight is a +3 and a 10x Leopold rifle scope is +9.

Eh. Unless your "To Hit" table goes up to 40 or so, I'd cut the bonuses down to +1 for every 2X.

Magnification is great for long distances, but not so for short distances. Shooters need a field of view that allows quick reactions to threats. At close ranges, there is limited to no field of view which requires the shooter to come on and off the optics ultimately impacting reaction times. The penalty is as follows, a magnified optic cannot be used effectively at distances under the magnification power multiplied by 5 meters. For example, a 4x ACOG cannot be used to engage targets at under 20 meters.

Makes sense.

LASER SIGHTS: Laser sights produce a narrow beam of light which is projected onto the target and is generally representative of the Point Of Impact of the round. I say generally because a beam of light is straight and the trajectory of a bullet is in an arc do to the effects of gravity, coriallis effect, etc… But this is not a physics or ballistics lesson. Needless to say, Laser Sights offer a +1 bonus to strike.

Some would say that the bonus should be higher, but a laser sight is not a homing device. A shooter is still required to perform the necessary marksmanship fundamentals. Fact is, most shooters who depend upon their lives based upon the way of the gun do not use laser sights. For game purposes, they can be cool and sometimes that is all that matters.

As with all bonuses, there is a penalty. Laser sights project a small dot onto the target, a dot which is not visible with the naked eye at more than 25 meters.

Makes sense.

MATCH GRADE AMMUNITION: Commercial match grade ammunition is constructed to more stringent tolerances then that of regular ammunition. Bullets are usually within a grain or two, powder is far more consistent, etc… This leads to better consistency which is a key aspect in accuracy. Match Grade Ammunition increase the Maximum Effective Range by 25%.

Makes sense. Also "within a grain or two" of what? I know what you meant there, but you should add a bit more to explain for the non-firearms nuts.

HAND-LOADED AMMUNITION: Probably constructed hand-loaded ammunition can be the most accurate ammunition available. Almost every professional rifle shooter loads his or her own ammunition. Hand loaded ammunition can ONLY be constructed by a character with the Weapons Construction Skill Program. Hand-loaded ammunition increases the Maximum Effective Range by 35%.

Or you could just make up a "Reloading" skill.

COVER MODIFIERS:
Slightly Obscured -2 to Strike
Partially Obscured -4 to Strike
Mostly Obscured -6 to Strike
Barely Visible -8 to Strike

CALLED SHOTS:
Leg -2 to Strike
Arm -4 to Strike
Head (+/- 8") -4 to Strike
Hand/Foot (+/- 4") -8 to Strike
Bulls Eye -10 to Strike

ADDITIONAL MODIFIERS:
Aimed Shot +3 to Strike
Burst +1 to Strike

I've never been a fan of the bonus for Burst fire. You're bonus should be the extra bullets, but with the trade off of extra recoil. Also, Shouldn't Aimed attacks cost more than on Melee Attack?

DOUBLE TAP / CONTROLLED PAIRS: The double tap and controlled pair is a commonly practiced skill amongst professionals. It differs from the burst in that the shooter reacquires an additional sight picture in rapid successive shots. When shooting double taps / controlled pairs, the character shoots two rounds per melee action requiring two strike rolls. Each successful strike rolls damage in accordance with the weapons damage rating.

Makes sense.

So, let’s look at a character, Mitch Riley, attempting an 800 meter shot with an M24 Sniper Weapon System that has an 800 meter Maximum Effective Range. Mitch uses commercial match grade ammunition which increases the Maximum Effective Range by 25% or 200 meters, to 1000 meters.

The first thing we do is look up the To Strike on the Modern Combat Range Table. 800 meters on the 1000 meter Maximum Effective Range yields a To Strike of 24. The following bonuses are applied:
Weapon Proficiency +1 to Strike
Sniper +2 to Strike
Aiming +3 to Strike
10x Scope +9 to Strike

Mitch needs a To Strike roll of 9 or better to hit his target at 800 meters.

Nice example.

[Desert Rat]

So what does the number in the table actually represent? The percentage chance of hitting? Also, you really should label the table on the wiki.

Obviously my thought processes was not portrayed properly. I will have to edit the table. Essentially, the individual numbers represent the maximum distance in meters for that particular To Strike number.

I think this is being a little picky. In a game with full on realism? Sure. In any other game I'd skip it.

It is by no means meant to be a 'rule', rather an example.

Eh. Unless your "To Hit" table goes up to 40 or so, I'd cut the bonuses down to +1 for every 2X.

The table does go up to 40. Because of the size, I had to split it into two tables. The higher To Strikes are located below.

Makes sense. Also "within a grain or two" of what? I know what you meant there, but you should add a bit more to explain for the non-firearms nuts.

I considered that, but left it out as to not add too much information. If it would be beneficial, I will explain it in more detail.

I've never been a fan of the bonus for Burst fire. You're bonus should be the extra bullets, but with the trade off of extra recoil. Also, Shouldn't Aimed attacks cost more than on Melee Attack?

I have always been of the opinion that anyone with a Weapon Proficiency, who is not aiming is making a wild shoot. But hey, it was in the core rule book.