| From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Marc Renouf) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Cover and Called Shot House Rules |
| Date: | Mon Apr 23 14:20:01 2001 |
> My group didn't like these rules because of the internal inconsistency
> whereby in certain conditions successfully dodging could actually _increase_
> the damage you took, rather than decrease it.
Yeah, but in play I've only rarely seen this happen, especially
when the target numbers are so often jacked so high due to the conditions.
> Where are you Cover/Called Shot rules? I just searched through the logs for
> the version you posted a while back, but they must have had an obscure
> subject. I had a question or two regarding them that my group brought up
> while discussing implimenting them.
They're on the same page, but I have a new version of them (for my
SR3 house rules). For your convenience, I have included them here.
Please try them out, because I haven't been able to thoroughly playtest
them to my satisfaction. Any feedback is more than welcome.
I've included 4 sections: Firing through Cover, Cover vs.
Concealment, Called Shots, and Called Shots w/ Cover. Enjoy!
Cover (firing through)
Yet another oversight, the current Shadowrun rules don't take
quality of cover into account. Whether you're hiding behind four feet of
concrete or a rice-paper shoji panel, it's still just +4 to hit (assuming
half cover). My rule is this: if you don't have any successes that hit
with the cover modifier, count how many successes you'd have gotten with
half the modifier. This is the number of successes that hit "through
cover." Damage is staged as normal, but the target gets the benefit of the
barrier rating of the cover when resisting damage.
Obviously, if the barrier rating exceeds the power level, the
target is safe. Otherwise, even a "miss" by SR3 rules could result in the
target taking damage under these new rules. The purpose of this change is
to force people to be aware of what they're hiding behind. It can make
fire-fights in favored urban environments like restaurants and bars a lot
more dangerous as there's not a lot that's good to get cover behind.
Two caveats, here, though. The "half cover modifier" penalty
reflects the fact that the shooter may not be able to see the entirety of
the target's body, and as a result may be shooting at a location he or she
is simply guessing the target is in. However, if the shooter is using
blind fire, he or she may actually have no idea where the target is. As
such, when using blind fire, even hitting with the +8 is through cover (as
per standard rules), and anything else is a miss. Similarly, if the target
is taking cover behind something transparent (such as a pane of armored
glass), there is no question where or how they are standing, sitting, or
squatting. In this case, count any successes that hit without the cover
modifier as a hit through cover.
Cover vs. Concealment
Consider the following: Shadowrun pretty much assumes that fire
combat will happen in the "firefight" type setting, with opponents blazing
away at each other in a rapid, chaotic fashion. The penalty to the target
number for shooter's cover reflects the ducking, turning, and moving into
and out of cover, and the awkward way you have to stand to get off the
shot while still staying protected. Imagine standing partially covered
behind a corner. You aren't going to just stand there motionless and hope
that your opponent can't hit you. You are going to move, dodge, weave,
etc. In those times you are moving, you may briefly lose sight of your
opponent. When you pop out again, you need to quickly "reacquire" your
target, adding to the difficulty (and thus the target number) of the shot,
and hence the penalty associated with firing from cover (as described in
Fields of Fire, p. 78).
But there are going to be instances when your "cover" shouldn't
really count against you due to your positioning or what you're hiding
behind.
The concept to think about is "cover" versus "concealment."
"Cover" assumes that there is some object or obstacle between you and your
opponent that obscures lines-of-sight. Such obstacles also tend to
restrict your movement. For instance, popping out of a window is not a
comfortable way to fire a weapon. Similarly, firing from a firing port
restricts the movement of your gun, often forcing you to fire while
standing or holding your weapon in uncomfortable or awkward positions.
While lying down behind an obstacle, it is extremely difficult to change
your direction of fire by more than a few degrees in either direction.
"Concealment" refers to something that makes you harder to see,
but does not impede your movement or make your shot difficult. Something
like hiding in a bush, or wearing the camouflage clothing (see Fields of
Fire, p. 77). If someone is shooting at you, pretty much your whole body
is open and without and appreciable cover (leaves or tall grass are good
examples as they don't stop bullets). Concealment works just like cover
for the purposes of making you harder to see (i.e. penalties to the
observer's Perception Test run from +1 for minimally obscured targets to
+8 for completely obscured targets). However, concealment doesn't have
associated penalties for shooting from it like cover does, so it's better
(in an accuracy sense) to fire from concealment rather than cover, as it
doesn't restrict your movement. Unfortunately, once you're spotted,
concealment does you exactly zero good. It offers no protection, and thus
does not incur a penalty to a shooter's target number to hit the concealed
character. But if you can't be spotted, you are less likely to be shot at
in the first place (see Stealth rules below).
Again, it should be pointed out that cover is generally also
considered concealment as it generally blocks line-of-sight (unless you
are "hiding" behind transparent bulletproof glass, which would provide
cover but no concealment). Thus, someone behind cover may be harder to
spot (for the purposes of Perception tests) than someone standing out in
the open.
Also, you can have the best of both worlds. You can take
"covering concealment," like lying down behind a fallen tree that is
covered with dense ferns. You get the standard cover penalty, but you also
get the bonus of being harder to see (apply the cover mod or the
concealment mod, whichever is higher, to the observer's target number for
Perception tests). So if Bart the Sniper wants to take two levels of cover
behind this log, and the ferns are four levels of concealment, Bart
applies a +1 modifier to his target numbers to shoot (half his cover, per
the rules in Fields of Fire, p. 78), observers have a +4 target number to
see him (the level of concealment, which is the higher of the two), and
once he is spotted, his opponents have a +2 to their target numbers to hit
him (the level of Bart's cover).
Note, however, that if this is a particularly mushy fallen log
(as they sometimes are), then Bart may be hit through cover (see rules for
firing through cover above).
Called Shots
Per the standard 3rd Edition Shadowrun (SR3, p. 114), a "called
shot" can either result in an increase in the damage code or targeting of
a specific external system on a vehicle-sized target. Like the rest of the
Shadowrun system, this is a bit of an abstraction, but one that seems to
work fairly well. These rules keep the existing mechanics in place.
However, I've expanded the options. As such, I allow not two but five
options to the player calling the shot. The player can either:
a) Increase the damage category by one level (as per standard rules).
b) Target a specific external system on a vehicle-sized target (as per
standard rules).
c) Avoid armor (as per old SR2 mechanics for called shots - i.e. the
target gets no armor to reduce the power level of the attack
before the Body Resistance test).
d) Cause a Stun weapon (such as a club or unarmed blow) to do Physical
damage (as per Fields of Fire, p. 83).
e) Get some other game effect.
Option e) doesn't increase damage, up the damage code, or
anything else, but can oftentimes end in a result that is important for
the player. For instance, a called shot to the eyes with a shuriken may
produce no significant life-threatening "damage" per se, but it will
deprive the opponent of his sight, giving him a +8 modifier for all his
subsequent combat tests.
Furthermore, simply calling a shot and failing to get the
desired result does not mean that the shooter misses entirely. As such, I
use a mechanic identical to that outlined in the firing through cover
section above. Namely, if you fail to hit with the full called shot
penalty, count the number of successes that hit with half the modifier.
The result is the number of successes the shooter has, but the shot is
treated as normal firing. The reason for this is simple - the basic shot
assumes that the shooter is aiming for the center of mass of the target.
If the shot deviates by say, 20 cm in any direction, chances are good that
the target is still hit. If the shooter is attempting to target a head or
leg or what have you (whatever is appropriate for their desired option),
the same deviation may be a miss. Or it may not. Hence, using this rule,
the shot will still hit, although it won't yield the desired called shot
effect, and there will be fewer successes than if the shooter had simply
shot at the target normally (as the target number will be higher). Still,
it's better than a clean miss, and more realistic.
Similarly, note that called shots can be used in melee combat.
In hand-to-hand combat, called shots work exactly as outlined in the
Cannon Companion (p. xxxx) with one important difference: the target
number penalty is only a +2 as opposed to a +4. This stems from the fact
that visibility modifiers are halved at melee range, and it's much easier
to grab someone by the head than it is to shoot them in the head. All five
of the above options are still available in melee combat. As such, players
may wish to sweep opponents or knock them prone, either of which would be
a "game effect" called shot. As another example, taking a weapon from
someone in hand-to-hand combat would be a "game effect" called shot.
Slipping your stiletto through the gap in your opponent's flak jacket is a
called shot to avoid armor. Kind GM's may wish to have certain game
effects (such as a sweep, throw, or disarm) succeed even if the opponent
resists all the damage of the attack (i.e. the attack succeeds but the
opponent stages all of the damage down on the Body Resistance test). The
inclusion of this reasonable rule allows a whole new range of options
available to players who like flashy techniques and daring situations.
Finally, nowhere is it stated or implied that only a single type
of called shot can be made at one time. You want to avoid armor and up the
damage code when you shoot your opponent? So long as you stack the
penalties (for a total of +8 in ranged combat), go for it. You want to
throw your opponent in such a way that he lands hard (game effect and up
the damage code)? Stack the modifiers (for a total of +4 in melee combat)
and you can make the guy land in a painful heap.
The above mechanics work for stacking called shots as well. Say
for instance that Pistol Pete wants to shoot his target and make him hurt.
Unfortunately, his target is in heavy security armor and Pete came ill
prepared, loading only Gel rounds in his Ares Predator (whoops). As such,
Pete decides that he'll make a called shot to do physical damage, as well
as a called shot to avoid armor. At short range, in optimum conditions,
Pete would need 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 to pull off this shot, which would result
in the target resisting 7M Physical damage with no armor. Say Pete rolls
and gets a 1,1,2,3,3,3,5,5,7,9, and 10. So close. By SR canon, this is a
complete miss. Sucks to be Pete. But wait! Using the above rule, Pete
would hit with one full called shot penalty and half the other (4 + 4 + 2
= 10) - which is still a hit. So Pete hits his target, but only gets the
benefit of one of his called shot options. I leave which is applied up to
the shooter. Pete decides that it's better to avoid his opponent's armor,
and so settles for 7M Stun with no armor. Had Pete not rolled the 10, his
highest would have been a 9, which would still be a hit, but without
either of the called shots taking effect (4 + 2 + 2 = 8). As such, his
target would resist 7M damage with the full benefit of his heavy security
armor. In other words, his target would laugh. Had his highest been a 7,
Pete's shot would have been a clean miss.
Called Shots Against Targets in Cover
Often times, called shots can be (as far as pure game mechanics
goes) somewhat silly. For instance, if you take a called shot at someone
who has 6 points of cover, you are still aiming for an exposed/vulnerable
portion of their body. Do you pay just the +4 modifier? Do you stack them
for +10? After all, if someone's head is sticking out over a wall, it
shouldn't be too much harder to hit than if you were shooting at his head
when he was standing out in the open. Yet even if the point you're aiming
for is exposed, you may not be able to discern how your opponent is
standing, where their balance is, or how they're likely to move. As such,
compensating for it or "leading" your target point correctly may be more
difficult than it would be if your target were in the open.
Because of this, the way I handle these situations is very
similar to the house rule for firing through cover described above. To
reflect the fact that you may not be able to accurately gauge where your
target is because of blocked line of sight, add half the called shot
modifier to the full cover modifier. So calling a shot against an opponent
who is only 50% exposed would be subject to a +4 (partial cover) + 2 (half
called shot) = +6 modifier.
Note that since smartlink II is better at placing shots than the
original smartlinks, called shots are easier. Shots using smartlink II
have only a +2 modifier, so halving this becomes only a +1 when making
called shots against opponents in cover.
One caveat here, though. Since I allow the stacking of called
shots, it's important to penalize every called shot after the first with
the full +4 penalty. This reflects the fact that finding a single exposed
target that is going to give all of the effects you want will be very
difficult. It also protects against a statistical oddity whereby making a
whole mess of called shots at once is actually easier against targets in
cover than it is against targets in the open. Hey, if you want to be
Rambo, pay the modifiers.
Note the concepts outlined in the section on firing through
cover as well as called shots can work hand-in-hand. That is, you make a
called shot against a target in cover. If you miss with the called shot
modifier (which is halved against targets in cover a described above),
halve the modifier again. Thus, you still hit the target normally. If you
fall shy of that mark but would have hit with half the cover modifier,
your shot still hits normally, but the target gets the Barrier Rating of
his or her cover as hardened armor for the purposes of the Body Resistance
test.
For example, Pistol Pete is shooting at a target who has 6
points of cover. He decides to make a called shot to increase the damage
code. Firing his trusty Ares Predator (which he has remembered to load
with hard ammunition this time) in ideal conditions, his target number is
a 4 + 6 (cover) + 2 (half the called shot modifier) = 12. If he manages to
roll a 12, his target is hit and must resist 9S damage (before staging for
any additional successes Pete might have). If he rolls an 11, he still
hits, but the target need only resist 9M, as Pete didn't have a high
enough result to make his called shot. If he rolls an 8 or higher, he
still hits his target, but the damage code is 9M and the target gets the
Barrier Rating of the cover as hardened armor when resisting the attack.
If he rolls a 7 or less, he misses completely.
Though slightly more complicated than the straight-up SR3 rules
for called shots and cover, these house rules can be used in conjunction
to allow for a lot more realism in combat situations. This kind of detail
is tremendously useful in a number of situations that one might find in
Shadowrun, such as when your target's "cover" is a hostage. Having the
capability of calling a shot against a target in cover and knowing
precisely when that "cover" is hit can make for some very realistic and
interesting encounters. It also gives both the players and the GM more
options in a firefight at the cost of very little added complexity.
Hope you find this useful.
Marc Renouf (ShadowRN GridSec - "Bad Cop" Division)
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