HellHound
ENnies winner and NOT Scrappy Doo
While statting up the PCs and NPCs for my Truane's Star Vice GenCon game, I originally gave the Tubs character a gyrojet rifle, but for the real feel of the character in the TV series, he needs a shotgun.
Of course, there are no shotguns in Star Frontiers.
So, I was building up rules for Frontier Scatterguns - how do these look?
Because scatterguns fire a cluster of small pieces of shot or flechettes, attacking with a scattergun is very similar to using a burst attack with an autoweapon. Each ‘shot’ from a scattergun contains 10 projectiles. A shot can be aimed at up to five adjacent characters in an area up to 5 meters wide, or at just one character. Only one die roll is needed to hit all the characters aimed at. Because of the number of projectiles fired, the shooter gains a +10 bonus on the hit chance. If the shot is aimed at one character it causes 2d10 points of damage. If it is aimed at more than one character, it causes 2d10 points of damage plus 1d10 for each additional target. These points are divided as evenly as possible among all the targets. Any leftover points of damage are lost.
EXAMPLE: Dai Hulad, the yazirian gangster, fires his scattergun at a group of four Star Law Vice officers charging toward him. All four are hit, so the player rolls 5d10 for damage (2d10 for the first target, +3d10 for three additional targets). The result is 29 points of damage. These are divided evenly among the officers, resulting in 7 points of damage to each. The extra point of damage is lost.
Assault Scatterguns are even more effective against groups – being able to fire up to five shots at a time, similar to the burst attack of an autoweapon. Each burst from an assault scattergun contains 5 shots, or 50 projectiles. A scattergun burst can be aimed at up to ten adjacent characters in an area up to twenty meters wide, or at just one character. Only one die roll is needed to hit all the characters aimed at. Because of the number of projectiles fired, the shooter gains a +20 bonus on the hit chance, and any benefits of soft cover are lost. If the burst is aimed at one character it causes 5d10 points of damage. If it is aimed at more than one character, it causes 5d10 points of damage plus 2d10 for every additional target. These points are divided as evenly as possible among all the targets. Any leftover points of damage are lost.
Scatterguns are projectile weapons, and use the Projectile Weapons skill and Skeinsuits and Inertia Screens protect against them as normal.
Of course, there are no shotguns in Star Frontiers.
So, I was building up rules for Frontier Scatterguns - how do these look?
Because scatterguns fire a cluster of small pieces of shot or flechettes, attacking with a scattergun is very similar to using a burst attack with an autoweapon. Each ‘shot’ from a scattergun contains 10 projectiles. A shot can be aimed at up to five adjacent characters in an area up to 5 meters wide, or at just one character. Only one die roll is needed to hit all the characters aimed at. Because of the number of projectiles fired, the shooter gains a +10 bonus on the hit chance. If the shot is aimed at one character it causes 2d10 points of damage. If it is aimed at more than one character, it causes 2d10 points of damage plus 1d10 for each additional target. These points are divided as evenly as possible among all the targets. Any leftover points of damage are lost.
EXAMPLE: Dai Hulad, the yazirian gangster, fires his scattergun at a group of four Star Law Vice officers charging toward him. All four are hit, so the player rolls 5d10 for damage (2d10 for the first target, +3d10 for three additional targets). The result is 29 points of damage. These are divided evenly among the officers, resulting in 7 points of damage to each. The extra point of damage is lost.
Assault Scatterguns are even more effective against groups – being able to fire up to five shots at a time, similar to the burst attack of an autoweapon. Each burst from an assault scattergun contains 5 shots, or 50 projectiles. A scattergun burst can be aimed at up to ten adjacent characters in an area up to twenty meters wide, or at just one character. Only one die roll is needed to hit all the characters aimed at. Because of the number of projectiles fired, the shooter gains a +20 bonus on the hit chance, and any benefits of soft cover are lost. If the burst is aimed at one character it causes 5d10 points of damage. If it is aimed at more than one character, it causes 5d10 points of damage plus 2d10 for every additional target. These points are divided as evenly as possible among all the targets. Any leftover points of damage are lost.
Scatterguns are projectile weapons, and use the Projectile Weapons skill and Skeinsuits and Inertia Screens protect against them as normal.