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Examples of firearm combat
Example #1 :
Sir Cedric Melville, Earl of Banff and experienced big-game hunter, spots a
sinister-looking silhouette while
exploring the deep forests of New England at dawn. Noting that the creature looks like
something-that-should-not-be,
our hero decides to add it to his trophy collection back home in the castle.
He sneaks a little closer, hides behind a tree and carefully takes aim with his .600
Holland & Holland Nitro
Express elephant gun...
His Rifle skill is 70%. The gun adds +5%, resulting in a Base Hit Chance of 75%.
Range is 90 meters (medium) -> 37%.
The creature is humanoid, but about 10 feet tall, so the Keeper rules that hit chances are
doubled -> 75%
Light in the forest is dim -> 37%
He aims for one full turn (x2), but tries to hit the chest of his target (/2) -> 37%,
which is the final hit chance.
The player rolls a 05, which results in an Impale hit in the chest. The monster loses 7D6
hit points in the chest and,
additionally, suffers hits equal to his chest hit capacity (say, 12 in this case). Keeper
rolls 24 hits, subtracting
1 for the creature's armor (4 point armor, the .600 has ARM x 1/4), making a total of 35
hits and a nice trophy to
hang on the wall.
Example #2 :
Frank Turner, expert mob hitman, has learned that Don Vito has 'put a contract' on an
obscure scholar of medieval
history in Arkham, Ma. He wonders why the mafia wants such a man dead, but it's not his
job to question the
decisions of his godfather, anyway. Surprisingly, Prof. Cartwright is already waiting for
him when Frank arrives
in the university. And he is not alone. As soon as he enters the office through a side
door, weapon drawn, the
shooting begins...
Frank has a DEX of 14. Adding the DEX bonus of +6 for his Colt Government and
subtracting 1 for the silencer he
uses, his final DEX is 19. The professor has DEX 9 and carries a .25 Beretta M1919. His
final DEX is 17.
He is accompanied by Prof. Smith (Archaeology, DEX 15, .38 Colt Detective, DEX +8, final
DEX 23) and
Prof. Hagan (African cultures and languages, 67 years of age, DEX 4, 12g double-barreled
shotgun, DEX +1,
final DEX 5).
Frank and Cartwright decide on Rapid Fire because distance is low so hit chances are
doubled and it seems
essential for Frank to hit as many targets in the first turn as he can, while Cartwright
(skill 25%) with his
small-caliber pistol could shoot 3 times at (25+0) x 2=50% or 6 times at (25-5) x 2=40%,
which is much
more effective.
Order of attack is : Prof. Smith (23), Frank (19), Prof. Cartwright (17), Smith again
(23/2=11.5), Cartwright
again (17 x 2/3=11.3), then Frank again (19/2=9), Cartwright again (17 x 1/3=5.6), Prof.
Hagan (5), finally
Hagan again (5/2=2).
Range is Close Range (<5m, chances x 2) for all combatants, nobody is moving fast.
Smith has a handgun skill of 30%, his revolver is already cocked (+0), so his final HC
is 60%. He fires his first
shot, rolling 89 and missing.
Frank has a skill of 60%. He decides to use Rapid Fire, so he can fire 4 times this round.
His first two shots are at
(60-20 ) x 2 =80% and he rolls 82 and 43, hitting Smith. Keeper rolls 14 on 1D20 for hit
location, meaning a hit in the
chest. 2D6+4 give 14 hits. Smith has a hit capacity of only 12 in the chest, so he has to
succeed in a CON roll or
drop unconcious. His player rolls a 94 and Smith falls.
Now it's Cartwright's (skill 25%) turn to fire. He fires Rapidly (at only -5, because of
the small caliber), hit chance
is (25-5) x 2 =40%. Normal ROF is 1+1+1, but in Rapid Fire this is doubled, meaning he can
fire two shots at every
instance he can act in the turn. He rolls 23 and 60, hitting the hitman once.The keeper
rolls 2 hits (1D6) in the left arm,
which does noth bother Frank too much.
Smith is unconscious now. If he wasn't, his second shot would have to be
double-action-fired at (30-5)=50%.
Cartwright now misses with his first shot, while the second roll is 00. His gun jams. Bad
luck for him, because
now the mobster fires again twice, shooting at Cartwright's head (80% /2), rolling 18 and
77. Keeper rolls 8 hits;
Cartwright (capacity 6 in the head) is unconscious, but not dead yet.
Finally, the linguist Hagan get his chance. The elderly professor chose a shotgun because
his eyesight began to fade lately. His skill is only 5%, Base% is +20%, final chance
(20+5) x 2=50%. He rolls a 99 and the cruel keeper states that Smith (standing opposite of
Hagan) is hit. Another 13 hits in the left leg for this poor academic.
His second shot follows immediately. He rolls 47, hitting and killing Frank with 16 hits
in the head. Breathing deeply,
he wipes the sweat off his forehead, trembling badly, and wonders how to explain the event
to the police later.
This example shows the advantages and disadvantages of some common weapons in close
combat situations, (keep in
mind that by far the most gunfights in a role-playing-game occur at close quarters) :
- Small-caliber pistols and revolvers are well suited for Rapid Fire, but most often, you
will have to riddle your target with bullet holes before incapacitating
him
- Large-caliber handguns like a .45 automatic are useful because of their high damage but
take some skill to fire rapidly
and can be difficult to conceal
- Of course shotguns belong into every investigator's arsenal, but are unwieldy (low DEX
bonus) and tend to ruin
valuable books and porcelain if you shoot them inside your house.
Examples for Automatic Fire combat.
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