Alternate Ranged Combat

Alternate Section 4.4:
Ranged Combat
Date: January 2004
By: Gordon A. Cooper

When ranged combat occurs as an unopposed action, the relative degree is based on the difference between the result and the difficulty level of the attack. Unlike melee combat, however, a relative degree of 0 is still a hit (since the difficulty level is the minimum result required to succeed). Thus, ties in melee combat favor the defender, whereas ties in ranged combat favor the attacker.

In general, ranged combat as an opposed action is only possible if the attacker is using thrown weapons that are being actively dodged or parried, or the defender has supernormal powers that enable him or her to dodge or parry high velocity projectiles (or perhaps even energy beams). As with melee combat, the attacker must not only win the opposed action, but must also equal or exceed the difficulty level, which is usually higher in ranged combat. As with melee combat, the relative degree in these circumstances is based on the difference between the attacker's result and the defender's result, not the attacker's result and the difficulty level. In most situations, the best defense for someone under fire is to take cover.

Ranged Combat Difficulty Levels

Range	Difficulty Level
Close	Poor
Short	Mediocre
Medium	Fair
Long	Good
Extreme	Great

Ranged Combat Difficulty Adjustments

The following circumstances adjust the difficulty level of a ranged attack and are cumulative at the GM's discretion:

Situation	Difficulty Adjustment
Very Large Target	-1
Very Small Target	+1
Target in Cover	+1
Target Ducking	+1
Target Evading	+1
Target Kneeling	+1
Target Prone or Supine	+2
Glare/Dust/Fog/Smoke	+2
Darkness	+3

A character may combine cover with ducking, kneeling, or lying prone (or supine). Ducking characters cannot use ranged weapons and some melee weapons, however, and kneeling characters may not move. Prone or supine characters may crawl, roll, or use an appropriate attack.

A character who is in cover derives the benefit from the increased difficulty level imposed on the attacker. In addition, if the character is hit, he may add the defensive factor of the cover to his own defensive damage factor.

A character may either evade or dodge, but not both. Evasion refers to maneuvers that are intended to make one more difficult to target in general and therefore adjusts the difficulty level of all ranged attacks. Dodging is resolved as an opposed action versus a specific attack.

Ranged Combat Modifiers

The following circumstances result in a -1 penalty to traits used in ranged
combat:

• Hurt
  
• Exhaustion
  
• Hunger/Dehydration
  
• Unstable Footing
  
• Recoil*
  

The following circumstances result in a -2 penalty to traits used in ranged combat:

• Very Hurt
  
• Unfavored Hand
  
• Wild Shot
  

The following circumstances result in a -3 penalty to traits used in ranged combat:

• Blind Shot
  

The following circumstances result in a +1 bonus to traits used in ranged combat:

• Careful Aim
  
• Scope*
  
• Laser Sight*
  
• Bipod, Tripod, Swivel Mount, or Rest*
  

* These modifiers typically apply to the use of firearms and similar weapons.

These modifiers can be cumulative to reflect other circumstances. For instance, a character firing two pistols would have a -2 penalty for attacks made with his unfavored hand unless he had the gift of Ambidexterity, or a -2 penalty for his favored hand and a -4 penalty for the other if he was firing wild shots.

The standard ranged attack is made with a readied weapon against a target that is within sight from the beginning of the round until the end of that round. There is no bonus or penalty for aiming in such an attack.

The wild shot penalty applies to any ranged attack that is made whilst the attacker is moving quickly (such as running, diving, or rolling), making a pop-up attack (i.e. appearing suddenly from cover, firing, and disappearing within a single round), attacking a target that is making a pop-up attack, attacking more than one target per round, or attacking a target that is moving rapidly from one cover to another within a single round. In short, it is the generic penalty for making a ranged attack when one lacks sufficient time to aim properly.

The blind shot penalty applies to any ranged attack that is made against a target that is not seen, but whose approximate location is known. This could include situations such as firing around a corner, firing in the direction of a sound, or firing behind one's back.

The careful aim bonus applies to any ranged attack in which the attacker takes a minimum amount of time to aim based on the target's range. At short range, the attacker must spend one entire round aiming before attacking; at medium range the attacker must aim for two rounds; at long range the attacker must aim for three rounds; and at extreme range the minimum is four rounds. The attack occurs on the round following the last round of aiming. If the attacker is distracted or interfered with during a round of aiming, the aim is spoiled and the attacker must begin again in order to gain the careful aim bonus.

Recoil

Some firearms have a Recoil trait. During each consecutive round the weapon is fired after the first, the character must make a Strength roll (difficulty level = Recoil of weapon) or incur the -1 penalty for that shot or burst. Only by firing every other round can one avoid the recoil penalty without rolling.

In the case of automatic continuous fire, once the Strength versus Recoil roll is failed, the character will incur a cumulative -1 penalty for each successive second of fire until he ceases fire for at least one round. Further failures cause penalties to start again at -1.

Ranged Attacks from Vehicles or Mounts

Characters who are skilled at using ranged weapons from a moving vehicle or mount can use the -1 penalty for unstable footing, whereas someone inexperienced in this kind of marksmanship would use the -2 penalty for wild shots.

Rates of Fire

Every ranged weapon has a rate of fire that determines how often it may be fired per round or interval of rounds. In most cases, each firing refers to one arrow, one bolt, one spear, one bullet, etc. In the case of automatic burst fire, each firing refers to one burst. In the case of automatic continuous fire, each firing refers to one second of continuous fire. Below are some suggested rates of fire.

Weapon	Rate of Fire
Spear	1/2
Javelin	1/2
Bow	1
Crossbow	1/6
Blowgun	1
Axe	1
Dagger or Knife	1
Dart	2
Shuriken	3
Muzzle-loader	1/12
Revolver, Single Action	2
Revolver, Double Action	3
Pistol, Automatic	3
Rifle or Carbine	1
Rifle, Repeating	3
Shotgun	1
Assault Rifle	3*
Submachine Gun	3**
Light Machine Gun	3**
Heavy Machine Gun	3**

* Single shots or bursts. ** Number represents seconds of continuous fire. For each second of continuous fire, a number of rounds is fired equal to the specific weapon's cyclic rate.

Automatic Burst Fire

Automatic weapons such as certain assault rifles that are set for burst fire will fire one burst of three rounds per squeeze of the trigger. One opponent may be targeted for each burst. The number of rounds that hit a target is 1dF+2, i.e. -1 = 1 round; 0 = 2 rounds; +1 = 3 rounds.

Automatic Continuous Fire

Automatic weapons that are set for continuous fire will fire a number of rounds for each second that the trigger is pulled equal to the specific weapon's cyclic rate, or a default of 10 rounds per second if simplicity is desired. The number of rounds that hit a target may be determined by rolling the type of die closest to the weapon's cyclic rate (or a default of 1d10), or by rolling 1dF, in which -1 = 1 round; 0 = half of the rounds (rounding fractions down); and +1 = the maximum number of rounds.

More than one target per second may be fired upon, but the wild shot penalty is incurred for each target. For each target fired upon, the maximum number of rounds that may hit is equal to the weapon's cyclic rate divided by the total number of targets. For example, if a soldier fires a machine gun with a cyclic rate of 10 at three targets in close proximity to one another, he will have a -2 wild shot penalty for each target individually, and the maximum number of rounds that may hit each target is three. For each target hit, the number of rounds would then be randomly generated by 1dF or another appropriate die roll.

Damage from Automatic Fire

Each round that hits a target causes damage equal to the relative degree of the attack plus the weapon's offensive damage factor. For example, a gangster points his Thompson submachine gun at a member of an opposing gang and holds the trigger down for two seconds. (He could have held it down for three seconds during the round, but he's running low on ammo.) He rolls to attack twice, once for each second that the trigger is held down. He fails the first roll, but he hits his target with the second roll with a relative degree of +2. Since the offensive damage factor of his weapon is +5, each bullet will have a damage number of 7. His weapon has a rate of fire of 13, so he may roll 1d12 or 1dF to determine the number of rounds that reach their target. He rolls a 0 on 1dF, which means half of the bullets (6) reach their target, each with a damage number of 7. For an unprotected person, this would mean six separate Incapacitating wounds. Such a victim will have a better chance of survival if a random hit location method is used for each bullet wound.

Opportunity Fire

Characters who declare that they are covering a specific area for opportunity fire, i.e. they are aiming their weapons and prepared to fire as soon as an enemy appears in the area covered, are exempt from the wild shot penalty. They may, however, be partially exposed to enemy attack.