Opening fire onboard spacecraft

[Carnifex]

Well, I'm starting a new d20 Modern campaign soon with any luck, set in the WH40K universe. Now, I'd like for there to be repercussions for opening fire with slug-throwing weapons onboard smaller spacecraft, like having a gunfight in the corridors of a merchant tradeship and seeing the bullets impact into pipes, spraying people with coolant or steam, or causing pressure loss as they punch a hole, that kinda thing. I was thinking some kind of table rolled when a character misses with such a weapon to see if there is any consequence - I was wondering if any such rules already exist anywhere...

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Babylon 5used energy weapons that bounced off of metal, to prevent that kind of problem. Of course, it could bounce off of metal and take off your friend's head...

Generally speaking, ordinary weapons shouldn't be strong enough to cause exterior breaches, but breaking a pipe could add concealment to the battlefield (or even do fire damage ... mweheheh).

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It depends how complicated you want it to have.

Easy rules I just made on the fly:
If someone misses, and the DM sees a fatal damage as possible, he may choose (randomly or predetermined) from the following list:

Steam goes of: Concealment (50%) near intented target (wall, floor), 10 feet radius. lasts 1d4 rounds (if self contained, or until line is disactivitaed)
Hot Steam: as above, plus it deals 1d6 points of fire/heat damage (reflex save DC 15 negates) in center square.
Cooling Steam: as above, but it deals 1d6 points of cold damage (reflex save DC 15 negates) in center square.
Hazardous liquids: as above, but it deals 1d6 points of acid damage (reflex save DC 15 negates) in center square.
You might want to adjust damage depending on threat - 1d6 points of damage can kill a first level ordinary, maybe it is unlikely to find many of this kind of pipelines. You could also allow continuing damage - liquids that stay in contact, people catching fire and so on. The Standard d20 rule catching on fire and putting it out might be a good guideline (Fullround Action + Reflex Save DC 15)

Gravitation system damaged: Room loses gravity (requires you to have zero-g gravity rules )

Other system damaged: Light controls, computer system and so on, as the situation on hand reasonably permits. (shoting within the computer room could be really dangerous for the ship - oops, that was life support control...)

Hull Breach: Pressure loss, room might become sealed off (doors shut), causes winds (see Weather Conditions) increasing every 1d4 rounds, airless after 5d4 rounds. (Adjust time as you see fit and seems reasonable. To calculate if there is a reasonable chance for a hull breach consider the damage dealt to the wall - hardness, hitpoints and so on.)

Bouncer: 20% chance that you hit a randomly determined target (reduce damage by 1 die, similar to skip shot. Maybe allow a Reflex Save DC 15 to negate, or use old attack roll against flatfooted AC)

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[iwatt]

Hull Breach: Pressure loss, room might become sealed off (doors shut), causes winds (see Weather Conditions) increasing every 1d4 rounds, airless after 5d4 rounds. (Adjust time as you see fit and seems reasonable. To calculate if there is a reasonable chance for a hull breach consider the damage dealt to the wall - hardness, hitpoints and so on.)

Mustrum Ridcully

How do you handle decompression? cause it isn't the lack of air that's gonna kill you. I'm just curious, not antagonistic. I've been considering this same problem for a possible Firefly type campaign.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

How do you handle decompression? cause it isn't the lack of air that's gonna kill you. I'm just curious, not antagonistic. I've been considering this same problem for a possible Firefly type campaign.

I have no rules for it.
Maybe just make it enviroment damage (1d6 per round?) or something like that. There is probably no real need to make it more complicated.

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[iwatt]

I have no rules for it.
Maybe just make it enviroment damage (1d6 per round?) or something like that. There is probably no real need to make it more complicated.

Mustrum Ridcully

Yeah, I'd guess that's the easisets way to go. Thanx

 

[Lord of the Ninth]

A Firefly setting eh? That sounds very intesting (t bad it's not still on the air...). It always bothered me that on Andromeda they would fire would have all these firefights inside the Mareu and it never caused any real damage. So I like the idea of having some rules for this. However, if depressurization is possible (and this is known by all combatants), then almost none of them would risk it, unless of course one was a robot, had a space suit, or could otherwise survive the vacuum of space (then it would be a very could strategy).

 

[nobodez]

"The Drow Female stands in the middle of the cargo hold, just finishing the last latch on her spacesuit. She looks up, then brings up her left hand, it's a double-barreled sawed off shotgun, and it's not pointed at you. It's pointed at the wall to her left, the wall that's a few millimeters of titanium and tungsten, reinforced to resist outside assaults, not inside ones. She speaks through the speaker on her suit, her slight russian accent quite apparent in her stress, 'One more step, and a pair of ten gauge slugs go through that wall. Unless, of course, you give me what I want.' "

Just think of the possibilities!