Need Help With Firearm and Body Armor House Rules

[VirgilCaine]

Help with Working out House Rules [for more Realism]
I would like some help in working out these house rules I am developing. I hope to make my D20 Modern Games more realistic.

Section #1: Body Armor.

In addition to the armor bonus, Tactical and Concealable body armors turn ballistic damage from normal hitpoint damage to subdual damage.

"Concealable" body armor turns ballistic damage from any weapon that uses 2d6 into subdual damage. "Tactical" body armor turns ballistic damage from any weapon that uses 2d8 into subdual damage.

These provisions apply only to ballistic damage, not piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, fire, electricity, acid, sonic, cold, or force damage. Archaic or improvised armor does not provide these benefits.

Body armor does not require a license.

Section #2: Misc.

--A carbine chambered for a pistol round does the same damage as in a psitol, plus one (e.g. 2d8+1, 2d6+1, etc.).

-All handguns with a magazine size above 10 now instead have a default magazine size of 10 rounds. The larger magazine sizes are available to military and law enforcement personnel or are available with a purchase DC of 8.

-7.62 x 51mm and 7.62 x 39mm weapons deal 2d8+2 damage. .45 ACP weapons deal 2d6+1 damage.

-A semiautomatic ONLY version of an assault rifle or submachinegun can be bought at a purchase DC of 1 to 3 less
than the listed purchase DC.

Constructive criticism is welcome...

 

[tburdett]

Rifle plates will only take a few rounds before they become ineffective. Two rounds in the same location will defeat a rifle plate. I don't know if this level of detail is important for your game.

The numbers that you use reflect fairly accurately the stopping power of an undamaged rifle plate.

7.62 x 51mm and 7.62 x 39mm weapons deal 2d8+2 damage.

This does not seem to be correct. Are you confusing the (russian) 7.62 x 39mm with the (russian) 7.62 x 54mm? The latter round would be very similar to the 7.62 x 51mm (nato), but the former is significantly weaker.

A comparison between the rounds that you mentioned, the 7.62 x 51mm (nato) and the 7.62 x 39mm (russian), follows.

The muzzle velocity of these two rounds would be similar (a few hundred feet per second advantage for the x51mm at the muzzle, increasing to an advantage of about 500 fps for the x51mm at 500 yards).

The energy (in ft/lbs) at the muzzle is considerably different. The x51mm round has almost 75% more energy at the muzzle, and that advantage increases to about 100% at 100 yards. It gets worse the farther the bullet travels. At 500 yards the x51mm round holds an almost 3 to 1 advantage in retained energy.

This is primarily due to the difference in weight between the two rounds. The x51mm round usually weighs in at 180 grains versus the usual 125 grains of the x39mm round.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[Aaron2]

-7.62 x 51mm and 7.62 x 39mm weapons deal 2d8+2 damage.

This is minor but it really bugs me. Why use 2d8+2 instead of 2d10?


Aaron

 

[VirgilCaine]

This is minor but it really bugs me. Why use 2d8+2 instead of 2d10?
Aaron

I guess I got kind of wonky with those two. I should have put 7.62mm x 51mm (.308) at 2d10, not 2dd8+2. Doh!


As for the body armor stuff--I'm generalizing--soft body armor protects against pistols, hard body protects against "light" rifle rounds (7.62 x 39mm, 5.56mm, 5.45mm, etc.) but not against "real" rifle rounds--7.62 x 51mm, .444, etc.

What would be the "cutoff point" between 2d8 rifle damage and 2d10?
7mm? 8mm? .280?

Also, do any of the other misc. rules not make sense?