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Hey, are there any rules for minimum ranges on weapons? What I am referring to is the minimum effective range you can target someone at with out beginning to take penalties to strike (usually relative to the length of the weapon).

Take this an example. The standard issue rifle of the US military is the M-16, however Air Force Security are usually issued the M-4 because the length of the barrel is shorter than that of the M-16, making it easier to carry in humvee's and other vehicles, and better for firing at targets at closer ranges.

dragonfett wrote:Hey, are there any rules for minimum ranges on weapons? What I am referring to is the minimum effective range you can target someone at with out beginning to take penalties to strike (usually relative to the length of the weapon).

Take this an example. The standard issue rifle of the US military is the M-16, however Air Force Security are usually issued the M-4 because the length of the barrel is shorter than that of the M-16, making it easier to carry in humvee's and other vehicles, and better for firing at targets at closer ranges.

Nope, no rules. According to the rules you can use a rocket launcher in melee combat with no penalties whatsoever.

in your examples, it's not so much you have minimum effective ranges, it's more about reaction time. short barrels being easier to swing round to meet a target if suddenly presented with one.

honestly, in a situation where such an issue rears its head, just use a perception roll or a P.P. check to see if the character was able to react quick enough to line up and take the shot.

frankly, the only weapons that need a "minimum range" are things like Mortars, which can only do indirect fire.

What about designing variants of weapons for more close quarter combat? Let's say we take the C-12 and reduce the barrel length by 25%, which in theory would reduce the maximum range about 25% (you could rule that it reduces at a non-linear rate if you wanted).

dragonfett wrote:What about designing variants of weapons for more close quarter combat? Let's say we take the C-12 and reduce the barrel length by 25%, which in theory would reduce the maximum range about 25% (you could rule that it reduces at a non-linear rate if you wanted).

Would a laser rifle really NEED a barrel at all?

Killer Cyborg wrote:

dragonfett wrote:What about designing variants of weapons for more close quarter combat? Let's say we take the C-12 and reduce the barrel length by 25%, which in theory would reduce the maximum range about 25% (you could rule that it reduces at a non-linear rate if you wanted).

Would a laser rifle really NEED a barrel at all?

A great deal, sinse presumably the barrel is where the magnifying lenses that give it it's heat are. Cutting the barrel length by 25% wouldn't reduce the range, it would cripple it's damage, horribly.