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Message no. 1
From: Simon and Fiona sfuller@******.com.au
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 16:52:16 +1100
I finally have my hands on the third edition books, and have been rereading
a lot of old rules that aren't in the equipment section of the SR2 book, so
have been neglected for some time. I have a couple of questions for you
guys.

With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face so
that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down a
fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

I have the sneaking suspicion that the group I play with do know about these
rules, and ignore them because it makes them less powerful. Bastards.
Message no. 2
From: Augustus shadowrun@********.net
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 00:09:38 -0800
----- Original Message -----
From: Simon and Fiona <sfuller@******.com.au>


> With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face
so
> that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
> improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
> Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

The way I've always GMed is that the increased damage code represents the
shot hitting a more vulnerable part of the body.

Reasons I don't let the shot bypass armour:
-It just outright kills and offers a very slim chance of survival. An
SMG on burst fire does 10S damage before any staging (10D before any staging
after the power level is upped from the called shot).
10s are hard to roll... If an attacker rolls only 2 successes with a
base damage code of 10D, the defender will need 4 successes just to survive.
With 20 dice (A body 12 troll with 8 combat pool dice) the probability of
rolling 4 successes is only 8%... With 12 dice (A body 6 human with 6 combat
pool dice) the probability of rolling 4 successes is only 1.3%.

-My PCs weren't too cool on all that anyhow... but then I reminded them
that in any case, what goes around can come around... if they run around
blasting everybody in the face to autokill them, then on the same note I can
do the same thing to them.
Incidently, I've never done this to players... but just so they know...
that its something that can come up if they just start running amok and get
out of hand.

-I think the T# penalty of +4 for a called shot is too steep when it
comes to just getting a bump up in the damage level... but its
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too low if applied to get a +5 (armour jacket) bonus or
more to the power level.

> Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
> didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down
a
> fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
> workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

I did the knockdown rules for awhile... after awhile the group got the
whole thing pretty much streamlined so it went really smooth and fast.

BUT... I eventually stopped using them... why? A couple of reasons...
firstly, they didn't really add anything to the game... after alot of
firefights and such, hardly anybody (PC or NPC) ever got knocked down.

You only get knocked down if you roll 0 successes with your body against a
T# equal to œ the power level of the ranged attack, or equal to the full
power level of the melee attack. Otherwise you get knocked back a couple of
steps.

Right there, if you don't use miniatures or keep track of ranges to minute
detail, then that means absolutly nothing to you... remember, even if you
don't get enough successes for your wound level, 1 success means you are
still standing.

Yes, you can dig around for extremes to argue the point... assault cannons,
missiles, sniper rifles, etc... they all do enough damage that they probably
will knock the target over... but I really think that if you got hit by an
attack with a base damage code of 18D, you probably have alot more on your
mind than being knocked over.

So, I dunno... you might wanna just run with the rules for awhile and see if
they do anything for your game or not... depending on what kind of GM you
are (and what power level your game is currently at) it'll probably either
never come up, or come up all the time.

Augustus
Message no. 3
From: Mister Incognito misterincognito@*******.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 10:30:59 GMT
Simon and Fiona wrote:

>I finally have my hands on the third edition books, and have been
> >rereading a lot of old rules that aren't in the equipment section of >the
>SR2 book, so have been neglected for some time. I have a couple of
> >questions for you guys.
>
>With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the >face
>so that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you >already get
>an improved damage code, should the target also lose their >armour bonus?
>Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

Here's how our group does it. With a called shot you can *either* raise the
damage automatically or shoot at a specific body part without automatically
raising the damage. With the first option of just raising the damage level
we figured it represented shooting at vital areas. When aiming at a specific
body area to avoid amour, you don't automatically stage up the damage,
avoiding the armour is bonus enough.

We also reduced the TN for called shots to +2 as we figured it was too high.
If you just want to stage the damage up, your TN's +2. If your shooting for
a specific body area though, you have the +2TN and *THEN* add on an extra TN
relating to the size of the area your trying to hit.
So if you aim for the head, you get the first +2TN and then the additional
+4TN as well. If you aim for larger areas like the chest the second TN's
reduced, if you aim for something like a hand then the TN can really get
ridiculously high.

Well, that's my ¥0.02, hope it helps.
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Message no. 4
From: Damion Milliken dam01@***.edu.au
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 22:20:42 +1100 (EST)
Simon and Fiona writes:

> With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face so
> that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
> improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
> Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

I think that the wording on the called shot modifier is something like
"increase the damage code by one level, or another GM determined effect".
So that if characters take a called shot at someone's head, the GM
determined effect could be to ignore armour (except helmets). The damage
code would not neccessarily be increased (the OR in the middle indicates one
or the other).

The called shot modifier is too low in my opinion. With the graduated cover
rules from FoF (now in CC?), whereby characters can take 2, 4, or 6 points
of cover, the +4 called shot modifer looks mighty attractive if someone is
taking 6 points of cover... We had this problem for a while in my group,
until we sat down and figured that it'd be more difficult to hit a specific
spot on someone's, say head poking around a corner for a +6 cover mod, than
it may be to hit their head if you could see the rest of their body. The
reasoning being that at least in the second situation, you could determine
where their head was likely to be or move too, but not if you couldn't see
their body. So we ended up leaving the called shot modifier at +4 (+2 for
smartlink II) and adding it on top of cover modifiers.

Helmets, BTW, bring an interesting query of my own: they give +1/+2 armour,
but they are constructed of heavy duty hard armour materials. Should they
decrease the Power of called head shots by their rating (+1/+2), or by some
other values (say, they value of security armour)? I've heard conflicting
views on each side. Some say that the impact alone of being shot in the
head, helmet or no helmet, is enough to break a neck, while others say that
helmets pretty much bounce small arms fire right off. Anyone here been shot
in the head while wearing a helmet to tell us? <grin>

> Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
> didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down a
> fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
> workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

For us, if the target has a low Body (4 or less), then we roll for pretty
much any hit. Higher Bodied targets only need to roll for hits with a Power
of 10+, as the chances of them suffering knockback otherwise are pretty
low. Of course, if there are special circumstances, like characters
teetering on the edge of cliffs or such, we'll roll. Also, in melee combat
it makes a much bigger difference, as being prone is a good way to get kicked
to death, so we tend to roll in melee. Remember, the knockback rules only
apply if the target takes damage, so it doesn't actually increase the amount
of dice rolling all that much anyway. Most Body rolls in my games either
tend to result in a Deadly wound or no damage, so knockback doesn't really
matter too much.

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 5
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 12:26:21 +0100
According to Simon and Fiona, on Wed, 15 Nov 2000 the word on the street was...

> With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face so
> that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
> improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
> Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

I use a house rule that allows one of the two, but not both. If someone
specifies a body part they're aiming for, I apply the +4 modifier and
either increase the Damage Level or don't give the target armor, but not
both. For example, when a player says "I shoot him in the head" the targets
gets no armor, while "I shoot him in the heart" would give an increased
Damage Level.

> Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
> didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down a
> fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
> workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

It doesn't slow down combat by much, but it does slow it down. You could
ignore knockdown for Light wounds, and for Moderate ones if you don't want
characters to fall down as often, that would speed up play a bit.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Bartitis -- Kei-erg!
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

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Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 6
From: vocenoctum@****.com vocenoctum@****.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 13:20:58 -0500
On Wed, 15 Nov 2000 16:52:16 +1100 "Simon and Fiona"
<sfuller@******.com.au> writes:
> With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the
> face so
> that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already
> get an
> improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour
> bonus?
> Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?
>


Just a note, since it's come up before in my game (well, pre-game
really). The BTB definition of a called shot is;
"calling a shot means that the character is aiming at a vulnerable
portion of a target such as a persons head..."
with one of two effects, either the Damage Code is raised on level
or
on a vehicle sized target, a specific area is hit.

While house rules are common, it doesn't give you the chance to aim at a
specific area of a person. There is no "armor defeating" effect of it.
You don't "aim at the head" you just aim at a vulnerable area (if the GM
says one's open).
Granted, this doesn't allow (by the rules) shooting a gun from someone's
hand or whatever, but that's how it's expressed in the book.

Vocenoctum
<http://members.xoom.com/vocenoctum>;

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Message no. 7
From: Phil Smith phil_urbanhell@*******.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 18:31:13 GMT
>From: "Simon and Fiona" <sfuller@******.com.au>
>With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face so
>that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
>improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
>Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

I allow them to bypass armor and up the damage code becuase it makes sense.
If the PCs do it the NPCs will as well so its hardly game unbalancing.

>Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
>didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down a
>fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
>workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

They don't slow you down; compared to the strees rules from M&M they are an
easy way to resolve a situation. I don't roll for NPCs and just decide if
they fall or not; its way to much hassle. Players have time to roll to see
if they fall over.

>I have the sneaking suspicion that the group I play with do know about
>these
>rules, and ignore them because it makes them less powerful. Bastards.

We normally skip the knockdown rules because we forget but my players just
love calling shots.

Phil

Dying is an art like everything else.
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Message no. 8
From: Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 15:00:53 -0500 (EST)
On Wed, 15 Nov 2000, Simon and Fiona wrote:

> With called shots, the people I play with like to call shots to the face so
> that they can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since you already get an
> improved damage code, should the target also lose their armour bonus?
> Wouldn't that be what the upped damage code reflects?

As others have pointed out, called shots only allow you to up the
damage and call a specific part on *vehicle sized* targets by the book.
But "by the book" is so limiting, isn't it? :) Enter the
infamous house rules. My house rules allow the shooter to a) up the
damage code, b) ignore armor, c) allow a Stun weapon to do Physical damage
or vice versa (this happens most often in melee), or d) get some other
"game effect." "Game Effect" called-shots are things like shooting
someone in the leg so they fall down, or shooting the gun out of someone's
hand, or throwing a shuriken into their eyes so that they'll have
blindness penalties, or whatever. It's pretty freeform.
Also, called shots can be stacked. If you *really* want to pay a
+12 modifier, you can place your bullet directly through the gap between
the opponent's visor and helmet, thus avoiding all armor, upping the
damage code, and taking out his eye, you go right ahead. If you want to
pay +16, you could do it with a Gel round or a Taser dart, Rambo.
Also, it is of note that for melee combat, I use a called shot
modifier of +2 instead of +4. I figured that since visibility modifiers
were halved for melee, called shot mod should be too. It's easier to hit
someone in the head than it is to shoot them in the head.
Also, a note on called shots and cover; someone said that they
stack the mods. We felt that was a little too unfair. If a guy's lower
body is obscured, why should it be any harder to shoot him in the head,
after all? What we settled on that was quick and easy was the "half
modifier" rule. When making a called shot against a target in cover,
apply the cover modifier plus *half* the called shot modifier. The
reflects the fact that you can't necessarily tell how the target is
standing or how they can move, so you can't compensate for it. Works like
a charm and it's easy to rememeber.

> Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules, mainly because I think we
> didn't realise there were any. They look like they'd slow the combat down a
> fair bit if you have to roll every time someone gets hit. Are there any
> workable rules of thumb about this to streamline combat?

Keep in mind that you add Wound modifiers to knockdown rolls.
Once you start getting wounded, it's a hell of a lot easier to get knocked
down.
But other than that, it doesn't happen too often. Also, keep in
mind that if you remember to apply all the pertinent modifiers, you're
going to actually miss most of the time, so knockdown isn't so much of an
issue. Where it's important is in melee and when you're trying to
determine whether or not someone has been knocked back out of their cover
(which can have a disastrous effect if folks are still shooting at you).

Marc Renouf (ShadowRN GridSec - "Bad Cop" Division)

Other ShadowRN-related addresses and links:
Mark Imbriaco <mark@*********.com> List Owner
Adam Jury <adamj@*********.com> Assistant List Administrator
DVixen <dvixen@****.com> Keeper of the FAQs
Gurth <gurth@******.nl> GridSec Enforcer Division
David Buehrer <graht@******.net> GridSec "Nice Guy" Division
ShadowRN FAQ <http://hlair.dumpshock.com/faqindex.php3>;
Message no. 9
From: Aristotle antithesis@**********.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 15:18:27 -0500
> With called shots, the people I play with
> like to call shots to the face so that they
> can avoid any armour. I was wondering, since
> you already get an improved damage code,
> should the target also lose their armour
> bonus? Wouldn't that be what the upped damage
> code reflects?

I just give players the improved damage code. The best house rule I've
ever heard for bypassing armor is that the player can choose to bypass one
point of armor for every additional +1 they take to the TN. I don't use it
myself, but always thought it would fit with SR rules, and could make for
some very cinematic fights.


> Second, we have ignored the Knockdown rules,
> mainly because I think we didn't realise there
> were any. They look like they'd slow the combat
> down a fair bit if you have to roll every time
> someone gets hit. Are there any workable rules
> of thumb about this to streamline combat?

In my own game I only apply the knockdown rules for M wounds. I find that
it stays realistic without slowing the game down very much.


Thanks,
Travis "Aristotle" Heldibridle
Message no. 10
From: Damion Milliken dam01@***.edu.au
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:22:01 +1100 (EST)
Marc Renouf writes:

> Also, a note on called shots and cover; someone said that they
> stack the mods. We felt that was a little too unfair. If a guy's lower
> body is obscured, why should it be any harder to shoot him in the head,
> after all? What we settled on that was quick and easy was the "half
> modifier" rule. When making a called shot against a target in cover,
> apply the cover modifier plus *half* the called shot modifier. The
> reflects the fact that you can't necessarily tell how the target is
> standing or how they can move, so you can't compensate for it. Works like
> a charm and it's easy to rememeber.

You have so many good house rules, Marc! Why didn't FASA just look at your
website when designing SR 3? BTW, what _is_ your website?

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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M-- V- PS+ PE(-) Y+>++ PGP-@>++ t+ 5 X++>+++ R+(++) !tv(--) b+ DI+++@
D G+ e++>++++$ h(*) r++ y-(--)
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Message no. 11
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 10:56:20 +0100
According to vocenoctum@****.com, on Wed, 15 Nov 2000 the word on the street was...

> While house rules are common, it doesn't give you the chance to aim at a
> specific area of a person. There is no "armor defeating" effect of it.
> You don't "aim at the head" you just aim at a vulnerable area (if the GM
> says one's open).

But it's handy for the GM to interpret "I shoot at the head" as "I make a
Called Shot." Players more often say the former than the latter, in my
experience, not to mention it gets tiring and slows down the game if you
have to say "Do you mean that you make a Called Shot?" every time.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Bartitis -- Kei-erg!
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+@ UL P L+ E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
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Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 12
From: Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 14:09:33 -0500 (EST)
On Thu, 16 Nov 2000, Damion Milliken wrote:

> You have so many good house rules, Marc! Why didn't FASA just look at your
> website when designing SR 3? BTW, what _is_ your website?

I dunno. Maybe they did. :) I just wish they'd have fixed
autofire. It seems like such a no-brainer once they put the Open Test in
the basic rules (the originally appeared in Shadowbeat). But alas.
As for my website, I think the one you're looking for is:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jormung/shadowrun/rules.html

Keep in mind that my SR3 version isn't done yet. It'll be posted
"Real Soon Now," I promise. :) But some of the house rules are still the
same from SR2 to SR3.

Marc Renouf (ShadowRN GridSec - "Bad Cop" Division)

Other ShadowRN-related addresses and links:
Mark Imbriaco <mark@*********.com> List Owner
Adam Jury <adamj@*********.com> Assistant List Administrator
DVixen <dvixen@****.com> Keeper of the FAQs
Gurth <gurth@******.nl> GridSec Enforcer Division
David Buehrer <graht@******.net> GridSec "Nice Guy" Division
ShadowRN FAQ <http://hlair.dumpshock.com/faqindex.php3>;
Message no. 13
From: Sebastian Wiers m0ng005e@*****.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 17:26:40 -0600
Mark, I know you don't have the SR3 version up yet, but how do you handle SR
3's "dodge" roll? This is a "stock" SR3 problem, too; if you make a
called
shot, its doing 1 dmage level more, but the target needs many fewwer "dodge"
successes to avoid ALL the damage.

Does that make sense? Isn't there a good chance the called shot would hit
the target ins some non-called location?

-Sebastian
Message no. 14
From: Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 15:32:53 -0500 (EST)
On Thu, 16 Nov 2000, Sebastian Wiers wrote:

> Mark, I know you don't have the SR3 version up yet, but how do you handle SR
> 3's "dodge" roll? This is a "stock" SR3 problem, too; if you
make a called
> shot, its doing 1 dmage level more, but the target needs many fewwer
"dodge"
> successes to avoid ALL the damage.
>
> Does that make sense? Isn't there a good chance the called shot would hit
> the target ins some non-called location?

One of the things I've kicked around is a system I use for
shooting through cover. Namely, if you miss with the called shot penalty,
count how many successes would hit with *half* the penalty. That's the
number of successes you have with a normal hit. This quickly and
effectively solves the problem of missing with a called shot yet still
damaging your target, which I agree should be possible. This is a preview
of the pertinent sections from my revised house rules for SR3. Give a
look and tell me what you think.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

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 do 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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that's the basics. Hopefully, that answers the question in as
straightforward and clear a way as possible. Let me know what you think,
and if anybody ends up trying these rules out in play, I'd be happy to
get any playtest feedback.

Marc Renouf (ShadowRN GridSec - "Bad Cop" Division)

Other ShadowRN-related addresses and links:
Mark Imbriaco <mark@*********.com> List Owner
Adam Jury <adamj@*********.com> Assistant List Administrator
DVixen <dvixen@****.com> Keeper of the FAQs
Gurth <gurth@******.nl> GridSec Enforcer Division
David Buehrer <graht@******.net> GridSec "Nice Guy" Division
ShadowRN FAQ <http://hlair.dumpshock.com/faqindex.php3>;
Message no. 15
From: Patrick Goodman pgoodman13@************.com
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 14:27:16 -0600
From: vocenoctum@****.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 7:14 PM

> Just a note, since it's come up before in my game (well, pre-game
> really). The BTB definition of a called shot is;
> "calling a shot means that the character is aiming at a vulnerable
> portion of a target such as a persons head..."
> with one of two effects, either the Damage Code is raised on level
> or on a vehicle sized target, a specific area is hit.

MAN & MACHINE and CANNON COMPANION both offer alternate uses of the called
shot; I haven't seen this mentioned to this point, but I am admittedly way
behind in my list traffic of late.
Message no. 16
From: Damion Milliken dam01@***.edu.au
Subject: Rules clarifications
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 18:01:03 +1100 (EST)
Patrick Goodman writes:

> MAN & MACHINE and CANNON COMPANION both offer alternate uses of the called
> shot; I haven't seen this mentioned to this point, but I am admittedly way
> behind in my list traffic of late.

They do? Am I just being dopey and can't find them? Where are they?

Thanks!

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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