Exhibition Shooter

I was watching a documentary yesterday that dealt with sharpshooters. It covered Exhibition Shooters as well. One of the gents pulled off the following:

Six shots with a double action revolver on target in under a second.

Fifteen shots, five targets, three shots per target in under three seconds. I believe it was a Glock.

Another shooter hit a thrown aspirin tablet with a .22 rifle. A third shooter threw seven clay targets into the air and hit each (separately) with a shotgun.

Can this level of shooting be emulated in D20 Modern? Or is it beyond the realm of game mechanics?

Perhaps it ought to be a use of Perform(exhibition shooter) skill?

I'm with Plane Sailing on this one. It is probably best to make this a non-combat skill. Let's face it, exhibition shooting is quite different from combat shooting.

If you really want to have some effect on combat shooting allow a +1 on attack rolls for every 5 ranks in Perform(Exhibition Shooter) when using the same weapon used in exhibitions, due to familiarity with the weapon.

Maybe a feat that increases the chance to do a critical when not threatened or in combat (yet).

Another option might be to create a Talent Tree (Sharpshooter) for the Fast Hero character class with rising degrees of accuracy leading to the ability to perform greater and more usefull tricks.

Or maybe these guys and gals are all mutated psychic super soldiers, and are using their mind powers to manipulate the bullets and their targets

As others have said, the BAB and other modifiers in d20 Modern are basically assuming that one is in combat, and thus not only aiming and shooting, but also maintaining awareness of opponents and trying not to get shot/stabbed/kicked/etc.

For exhibition shooting--were I to do something like this in my campaign--I think I would give the targets some really low Defence (I mean, they aren't moving or anything). Maybe base Defence of 5. The difficulty to hit comes in the size of the target and the distance from the shooter. At least, that's how I see it.

I'm basing that on personal experience, which may be a mistake. The first time I ever shot a pistol in my life (CZ85, in case anyone is interested) I hit the target (10 or 15 metres away, I believe) 11 out of 12 times, and hit in the bullseye twice (the bullseye was about 3 inches across). I took my time and no one was shooting back at me. In d20 Modern terms, I was taking a -4 modifier to my attack rolls because I wasn't proficient, but I still hit 11 out of 12 times. That's got to be a low defence.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Modern Profession skill does not have a "sub-category" like regular d20, so the character wouldn't have Profession (exhibition shooter). I would still allow the character to add his or her ranks in Profession as an attack modifier. Further, I'd allow the character to add his or her reputation modifier as a bonus as well, just to help mimic that "deadshot" feel.

I'd allow the shooter to Take 10 on the attack rolls in a non-stressful, non-combat situation. If it's an exhibition shooter shooting at an exhibition or otherwise showing off, then cool. If it's an exhibition shooter who has to shoot all the widgets or his friends get killed by the evil mastermind, that's another story.

Shooters with the higher attack rolls will naturally be able to do the crazier kinds of stuff.

FraserRonald said:

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Modern Profession skill does not have a "sub-category" like regular d20, so the character wouldn't have Profession (exhibition shooter).

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That's why I went for a Perform() subcategory instead. In d20 Modern Profession is just used for wealth checks, IIRC.

I hate to burn skill points on something like this, so I'd do it as a feat. Call it something like "Trick Shot" and give a +4 with ranged weapons when trying to do something other than inflict direct damage.

Nice character concept. I've always liked the idea of a super-skilled shooter who refuses to take a life and instead just does trick shots (and the occasional kneecap).

Plane Sailing said:

That's why I went for a Perform() subcategory instead. In d20 Modern Profession is just used for wealth checks, IIRC.

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I actually don't think I would create a new skill for something that is essentially character background. That's why I would use Profession, as it has another purpose and does not require a player to spend skill points on a skill that has no real mechanical in-game application.

But everyone's mileage varies.

I'd do it as a feat too, except I'd probably allow it to double your BAB rather than provide a flat bonus, but only in non-combat, tournament-type situations.

Pete