| From: | Gurth <gurth@******.NL> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Barrier Rating Rules part 1 |
| Date: | Mon, 7 Jul 1997 15:10:25 +0100 |
the Source part of the tables (listing which books the various attacks
types come from), because they won't fit on the line :(
------------------
THE ULTIMATE (?) SHADOWRUN BARRIER RULES INTERPRETATION<
by Damion Milliken <milko@***.edu.au> and Gurth <gurth@******.nl>, with
some input from Vince Pellerin
Throughout these rules, unless otherwise stated, roundings are to be made
down, and performed after all calculations have been completed. Thus, 9 -
5.5 + 2 would equal 5.5, rounding down to 5, NOT 9 - 5 + 2 = 6, rounding
down the 5.5.
BARRIER RATINGS
---------------
These rules replace the Barrier Rating rules found on page 98 of SRII. They
are actually extrapolated house rules that are based upon many hours of
research through, and deliberation on, the SRII rules.
There are two Effective Barrier Ratings. The first, the Damage Barrier
Rating is for damaging the barrier (AKA "Break Through"). The Penetration
Barrier Rating is used for penetrating the barrier (AKA "Firing Through").
Both of these Effective Barrier Ratings can be calculated from the base
Barrier Rating, and the type of attack, as per the table below.
AMMUNITION/ATTACK DAMAGE BARRIER PENETRATION BARRIER
RATING RATING
APDS ammo Barrier Rating x 3 (1) Barrier Rating / 2
Armor-Piercing Anti-
Vehicle Weapons Barrier Rating x 3 (1) Barrier Rating / 2
Blasts Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Blunt melee weapons Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Cannon rounds (2) Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating x 2
Combat spells Barrier Rating x 2 -- (3)
Damaging Manipulation
spells Barrier Rating Barrier Rating
Explosive ammo Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating x 2
Flechette ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating x 2
Gel (Stun) ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Needle ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating (4)
Regular ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Sharp melee weapons Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating x 2
Shot shotgun rounds Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating x 2
NET.SOURCEBOOKS
#000 Triplex ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating x 2
Acid ammo Barrier Rating (5) Barrier Rating x 2
AP Flechette ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
APFSDS shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 3 Barrier Rating / 2
API ammo Barrier Rating x 3 Barrier Rating / 2
Armor Piercing ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating - 2
Depleted Uranium ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Dual Purpose ammo Barrier Rating Barrier Rating
Duplex ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
EHI cannon ammo Barrier Rating Barrier Rating
Firepower ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Frag. Flechette ammo Barrier Rating Barrier Rating x 2
Flare shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 2 --
Flash shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 2 --
Gas shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Glaser ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating x 4
HE shotgun ammo Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating x 2
HEAP ammo Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating
HEAT shotgun ammo Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating
HEP ammo Barrier Rating / 2 Barrier Rating x 2
HESH ammo Barrier Rating Barrier Rating x 2
Hollow Point ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating + 2
Incendiary ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating + 2
LAPHE ammo Barrier Rating x 1.5 Barrier Rating
Multi-flechette ammo Barrier Rating x 3 Barrier Rating / 2 (6)
Ramjet ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Rubber Bullets Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Safety Rounds Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating (6)
Silver ammo Barrier Rating x 3 Barrier Rating x 2
Smoke shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Stinger shotgun ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Stundart ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Teflon coating Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
Tungsten ammo Barrier Rating x 2 Barrier Rating
NOTES
(1) This is a house rule to make APDS and armor-piercing weapons (such as
many anti-vehicle weapons) less damaging to barriers, due to their higher
armor piercing ability than regular rounds and weapons. The SRII rule is to
use the Barrier Rating x 2.
(2) SRII does not specifically say so, but these are treated here as
explosive rounds.
(3) Combat spells cannot hit someone on the other side of a barrier they
are attacking, unless they are an area of affect physical combat spell.
(4) Will not penetrate an unmodified Barrier Rating of 3 or higher.
(5) If the Power Level exceeds twice the Damage Barrier Rating, the
Barrier Rating goes down by 1 in addition to any normal reductions.
(6) Will not penetrate an unmodified Barrier Rating of 4 or higher.
The Damage Barrier Rating is calculated and then compared to the Power
Level of the attack. There are three possibilities, per the Barrier Effects
Table on page 98, SRII:
a) the Power Level is smaller than one-half the Damage Barrier Rating. In
this nothing happens except for some chips and scratches to the
barrier.
b) the Power Level is less than, or equal to, the Damage Barrier Rating.
The Barrier Rating (not the Damage Barrier Rating) is reduced by 1.
c) the Power Level is larger than the Damage Barrier Rating. Subtract the
Damage Barrier Rating from the Power Level, multiply by 2, divide by the
Barrier Rating, and round up. Reduce the Barrier Rating by this number,
and a hole is made, with a width in meters equal to one-half this number
(do not round).
Any spells that have particular effects are to be used as per their
individual descriptions, with the Barrier Rating referred to in the
description being equal to the actual Barrier Rating of the barrier, not
the Damage Barrier Rating as calculated above.
Example A1: Carmen aims her Ares Predator at BlackFire, who's behind an
armored glass wall (Barrier Rating 4). The Predator does 9M damage, and
Carmen has loaded it with regular rounds. From the table, the Damage
Barrier Rating against regular ammo is equal to the Barrier Rating x 2,
which makes it 8 in this case. The Power Level of 9 exceeds this, so the
Barrier Rating is reduced by 1 (to 3) and a 50 cm diameter hole is made in
the glass.
Example B1: Edward comes under fire from a security guard and ducks behind
a concrete wall. The wall has a Barrier Rating of 20, and the guard is
firing explosive ammo from his AK-97 assault rifle. The Damage Barrier
Rating is halved against explosive rounds, making it 10. The weapon's Power
Level is 9, which is less than the Damage Barrier Rating, but more than
one-half the Damage Barrier Rating, so the Barrier Rating is reduced by 1.
Example C1: Cindy casts a Force 6 Power Bolt spell at a locked door, which
has a Barrier Rating of 3. This is doubled to 6 for combat spells like
Power Bolt, making that the Power Level of the spell (i.e. its Force) is
equal to the Damage Barrier Rating: the spell reduces the Barrier Rating of
the door by 1, to 2.
Example D1: Foobar takes his Panther Assault Cannon and fires it at an
interior wall in an office. Notoriously flimsy, this has a Barrier Rating
of 2. Against assault cannon rounds, the Damage Barrier Rating is equal to
the Barrier Rating / 2, in this case making it 1. The Power Level of 18 is
surely more than the Damage Barrier Rating, which means it opens a hole in
the wall. The hole's size is .5 meters for every increment equal to half
the base Barrier Rating that the Damage Barrier Rating is exceeded; the
difference between the Power Level and one-half the Barrier Rating is 18 -
(2/2) = 18 - 1 = 17. 17 x .5 meters = 8.5 meters, so a hole with a
diameter of 8.5 meters is blown in the wall, and the Barrier Rating is also
reduced by 17. Since that would make it -15, the Barrier Rating drops to 0.
For burst attacks containing more than a single round, there are three
alternative methods of calculating the damage to the barrier, with method a
being recommended:
a) Simple, Shadowrun method: the Power Level of the attack, modified for
the burst, is compared to the Damage Barrier Rating to determine the loss
of Barrier Rating. The comparison is only made once.
b) Simple, SRII Errata method: compare the Power Level of the attack,
without modifying it for the burst, to the Damage Barrier Rating to
determine the loss of Barrier Rating. The comparison is only made once.
c) More realistic, but time consuming method: the calculation is performed
for each round in a burst, with reductions in the Barrier Rating of the
barrier being taken into account between each bullet.
PENETRATING THE BARRIER
If the attack was actually aimed at a target on the other side of the
barrier, then the Penetration Barrier Rating comes into play (in such a
case, this calculation is probably better off being carried out first). It
should be noted that both these effects are occurring simultaneously, and
that reductions to the Barrier Rating caused by the passage of a round do
not affect the Barrier Rating used to calculate the Penetration Barrier
Rating.
The Penetration Barrier Rating is subtracted from the Power Level of the
attack to determine the Effective Power Level of the attack. If the
Effective Power Level is zero or negative, then the round is stopped cold,
else targets on the other side of the barrier must resist an attack with a
Power Level equal to the Effective Power Level.
Example A2: Carmen's shot may now penetrate the armored glass. The
Penetration Barrier Rating against regular ammo is 4 (equal to the base
Barrier Rating), which is subtracted from the Power Level of the round. The
9M round is thereby reduced to 5M when it hits BlackFire. Keep in mind that
the reduction in Barrier Rating, that also resulted from the same shot,
doesn't apply just yet. If Carmen fires through the glass again, _that_
shot will face the reduced Barrier Rating of 3, however.
Example B2: With the explosive round from the guard's AK-97, the
Penetration Barrier Rating is equal to the Barrier Rating x 2, which makes
it 40 in this case. The Power Level is only 9, stopping the round dead in
the wall. Conclusion: explosive ammo is great for breaking down barriers,
but not for firing at targets on the other side.
Example C2: Cindy was casting a non-area of affect Combat spell, which
cannot hit anyone out of sight of the magician. Even if there is someone
on the other side of the door, he or she won't be hit.
Example D2: Like Cindy, Foobar aimed his cannon at the barrier, not at
someone behind it. However, for the sake of argument let's assume some
office worker happened to stand in direct line with Foobar's shot. The
Barrier Rating is doubled to find the Penetration Barrier Rating against
assault cannon rounds, so it becomes 4. The poor wageslave still faces 14D
damage from the cannon...
Resolving the affects of burst attacks on targets on the other side of
barriers will depend upon the method used above to determine the damage to
the barrier:
a) Simple, Shadowrun method: the Effective Power Level is merely equal to
the Power Level, modified for the burst, minus the Penetration Barrier
Rating.
b) Simple, SRII Errata method: the Effective Power Level is merely equal to
the Power Level, without modifying it for the burst, minus the Penetration
Barrier Rating. Burst modifiers are applied after calculation of the
Effective Power Level and determination of actualy penetration
c) More realistic, but time consuming method: when firing a burst at a
target on the other side of a barrier, it is possible that each round in
the burst will have a different Power Level after penetrating the barrier:
For example, an SMG (7M) firing at a target on the other side of a Barrier
Rating 7 barrier, using regular ammo:
Round 1: Stopped cold
Round 2: 1M
Round 3: 2M
Round 4: 3M
Round 5: 4M
Round 6: 5M
Round 7: 7M
Round 8: 7M
Round 9: 7M
For the purposes of calculating the final damage code, there are three
different options, the first being the recommended one:
1) Average the Power Levels of the penetrating rounds (rounding down) and
then apply the burst modifier to this. In the above example, the average
Power Level is (1+2+3+4+5+7+7+7)/8 = 4, and 8 rounds hit the target. Thus
the final damage code is 12D.
2) Take the highest Power Level and then apply the burst modifier to this.
In the above example, the highest Power Level is 7, and 8 rounds hit the
target. Thus the final damage code is 15D.
3) Take the lowest penetrating Power Level and then apply the burst
modifier to this. In the above example, the lowest Power Level is 1, and 8
rounds hit the target. Thus the final damage code is 9D.
--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Two words: therapy.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
