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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6095032" data-attributes="member: 4937">That is more or less how Ken Hood's rules work.&nbsp; Firearms get some additional descriptors.&nbsp; The 'Penetration' characteristic works like you describe.&nbsp; A flintlock pistol might have a penetration of 1, meaning that it reduces the armor bonus of the target by 1.&nbsp;&nbsp; Mundane armor is still relatively useful.&nbsp;&nbsp; A .50 caliber Barret sniper rifle has a penetration rating of 9, meaning that most mundane armor offers no protection at all.&nbsp;&nbsp; Additionally, firearms have an accuracy bonus which adds directly to 'to hit' and is generally between +0 and +3, reflecting their extreme ease of use because of their very flat trajectory compared to lower velocity missile weapons.&nbsp; Some primitive firearms balance negative accuracy with higher penetration, meaning that unarmed targets are actually harder to hit compared to standard missile weapons.&nbsp; They also get a 'recoil' number, which reflects the penalty you recieve for firing shots in rapid succession, something that becomes increasingly important once you get past muzzle loaders.&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, a high level fighter might be able to squeeze 12 shots out of a semiautomatic weapon assuming the clip was large enough, but if the weapon had high recoil the shots would become increasingly erratic.Ken Hood's rules are extemely well thought out.&nbsp; If you trace out the history of firearms using his rules, the effectiveness of the firearms relative to melee weapons almost exactingly reflects the actual historical move away from melee to firearms where melee is first the dominate arm of battle supported by firearms, then a partner in battle, and finally to the point where firearms are of such frightening lethality that they completely dominate over melee.&nbsp; There is this wonderful aspect where not only does it feel like the small scale tactical situation would play out write, but if you ported the weapons into a mass combat system that they'd fulfill their function relative to lances, pikes, bayonettes and the like from period to period.&nbsp; Moreover, you can take any historical firearm or any fantasy firearm you can imagine, and in a minute or so generate a complete balanced set of stats for it with almost no subjective determination or guessing.&nbsp; It also has rules covering shotguns, fully automatic weapons, and pretty much anything you'd desire.Seriously, I wouldn't run D20 with firearms using any other rules.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6095032, member: 4937"] That is more or less how Ken Hood's rules work. Firearms get some additional descriptors. The 'Penetration' characteristic works like you describe. A flintlock pistol might have a penetration of 1, meaning that it reduces the armor bonus of the target by 1. Mundane armor is still relatively useful. A .50 caliber Barret sniper rifle has a penetration rating of 9, meaning that most mundane armor offers no protection at all. Additionally, firearms have an accuracy bonus which adds directly to 'to hit' and is generally between +0 and +3, reflecting their extreme ease of use because of their very flat trajectory compared to lower velocity missile weapons. Some primitive firearms balance negative accuracy with higher penetration, meaning that unarmed targets are actually harder to hit compared to standard missile weapons. They also get a 'recoil' number, which reflects the penalty you recieve for firing shots in rapid succession, something that becomes increasingly important once you get past muzzle loaders. For example, a high level fighter might be able to squeeze 12 shots out of a semiautomatic weapon assuming the clip was large enough, but if the weapon had high recoil the shots would become increasingly erratic. Ken Hood's rules are extemely well thought out. If you trace out the history of firearms using his rules, the effectiveness of the firearms relative to melee weapons almost exactingly reflects the actual historical move away from melee to firearms where melee is first the dominate arm of battle supported by firearms, then a partner in battle, and finally to the point where firearms are of such frightening lethality that they completely dominate over melee. There is this wonderful aspect where not only does it feel like the small scale tactical situation would play out write, but if you ported the weapons into a mass combat system that they'd fulfill their function relative to lances, pikes, bayonettes and the like from period to period. Moreover, you can take any historical firearm or any fantasy firearm you can imagine, and in a minute or so generate a complete balanced set of stats for it with almost no subjective determination or guessing. It also has rules covering shotguns, fully automatic weapons, and pretty much anything you'd desire. Seriously, I wouldn't run D20 with firearms using any other rules. [/QUOTE]

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