Underpowered Guns in d20 Modern (rant, long)
- Thread starter blaskowicz
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Emiricol
Registered User
I'd grant armors tech levels (similar to what D20 Future does). Archaic, Modern, Advanced and Futuristic. Weapons from one tech level firing at a person wearing armor from a lower tech level make a simple ranged touch attack, and the AC is deducted from damage (or half AC, if you want something grittier).
I suggest this not because it's realistic, but because it is simple, the tech levels are intuitive enough to remember, and the system doesn't require a lot of mid-battle mathematics added to the process.
I suggest this not because it's realistic, but because it is simple, the tech levels are intuitive enough to remember, and the system doesn't require a lot of mid-battle mathematics added to the process.
zen_hydra
First Post
A Browning .50 cal round should punch right through the knights breastplate and the knight, and come out the backside leaving a fist size hole. At that range, no one should survive being shot by a .50 cal machine gun. You can play it off as being cinematic, but in my opinion, that is right up there with diving on a grenade and walking away from it (due to high hit points and a high fort save).
Aaron2
Explorer
zen_hydra said:
You making the assumption that all hits are bullets in the middle of the chest. That's a pretty big assumption. I could say something like "no one should be able to survive having a dagger stabbed through their eye into their brain. Therefore, daggers should do 4d12 points of damage."
Aaron
(Psi)SeveredHead
Adventurer
I think there are a few problems with this example:
As has already been mentioned, archaic armor isn't going to protect you from gunfire. Even if the rules say they do
Shooting at a man with a horse, using autofire, means the horse either dies or runs away. So now the knight, who really should take Tough levels for Intimidate and Ride as class skills) is trying to get his mount under control again.
The M2HB is a lot more powerful in real life, putting out way more bullets, etc etc. The knight would die. Then again, if you make weapons overpowered, PCs and NPCs gravitate towards such weapons. The game would no longer be about characters, but who has the biggest weapons.
Laser weapons - Burst Fire should work differently for them, at least in terms of flavor text. I guess keeping the laser dot on roughly the same place on a moving target is hard to do (-4 to hit) but does more damage (+2 dice of damage)... the pulse rifle is silly, IMO. Firing multiple "bursts" from a laser weapon is simply not as strong as firing a continuous beam.
As has already been mentioned, archaic armor isn't going to protect you from gunfire. Even if the rules say they do
Shooting at a man with a horse, using autofire, means the horse either dies or runs away. So now the knight, who really should take Tough levels for Intimidate and Ride as class skills) is trying to get his mount under control again.
The M2HB is a lot more powerful in real life, putting out way more bullets, etc etc. The knight would die. Then again, if you make weapons overpowered, PCs and NPCs gravitate towards such weapons. The game would no longer be about characters, but who has the biggest weapons.
Laser weapons - Burst Fire should work differently for them, at least in terms of flavor text. I guess keeping the laser dot on roughly the same place on a moving target is hard to do (-4 to hit) but does more damage (+2 dice of damage)... the pulse rifle is silly, IMO. Firing multiple "bursts" from a laser weapon is simply not as strong as firing a continuous beam.
Pagan priest
First Post
Aaron2 said:
I've searched book, errata, and FAQ, to no avail. I'd sware that I saw that rule someplace, but I can't find it, so maybe it was a house rule suggested somewhere.
Wouldn't it be really fast and easy to implement a "Defense adjustment" equal to twice the difference in PLs from the attacking weapon and the armor?
I.E.- PL 7 weapon attacking PL 3 armor (the armor would receive a -8 modifier to defense, or up to maximum armor defense modifier). So, if the armor only provided a +5 defense, then it would provide no bonus, however, if the armor provided a +9 defense, it would only provide a +1. Also, if it was a PL 7 armor being attacked by a PL 3 weapon, then the armor would provide an additional +8 defense.
I.E.- PL 7 weapon attacking PL 3 armor (the armor would receive a -8 modifier to defense, or up to maximum armor defense modifier). So, if the armor only provided a +5 defense, then it would provide no bonus, however, if the armor provided a +9 defense, it would only provide a +1. Also, if it was a PL 7 armor being attacked by a PL 3 weapon, then the armor would provide an additional +8 defense.
Pagan priest
First Post
RPGRealms said:
Well, that would explain why, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find it in the d20Modern book...
When you're talking about a .50, where you hit them is immaterial. Unless it's a digit. You hit them in the arm, their torso's shredded. Their leg; they have no legs. There's really no middle ground with that bullet. And medieval armor is not going to ablate the round. Not one iota. I've fired a .50 into a BMP at 500 meters, and you know what you can see? Light. Through the holes. Straight through. It's an anti-materiel weapon. (Technically, it's illegal to fire at troops by the Geneva convention..but that's beside the point). It was designed to punch through lightly armored vehicles and aircraft. A knight in armor at practically any range is dead, dead, dead with a trained soldier behind the weapon. And if it's vehicle mounted with a fire control system, then he's even more dead, faster and at greater ranges. I had a tank commander that could hit a troop target at 500m with one shot every darn time (within the 1 minute engagement time).Aaron2 said:
But, like others have said. This is a cinematic game. If you want to play d20 Realistic with any weapon, then your heroes won't last long...at least not all of them.
Anyway...
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