| From: | Douglas Berry <dberry@********.hooked.net> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: target modifiers (and Military Theory) |
| Date: | Tue, 23 Jan 1996 16:20:14 -0800 |
>>From out of the Shadows, Douglas Berry wispered:
>
>
>>From Real World experience, I can tell you that hitting a target in
combat
>>is *hard*. I once opened up at a range of three meters with a M-16A1 on
>>full auto. 20 rounds later my target fell with exactly *two* holes in
him.
>> Enforce every modifier you can think of.. it will make the PCs loook for
>>advantages like ambushes and booby-traps. Which is how it works in real
>>life.
>>
>I usually do. But when the sammies in question have gas-vents and
hellatious
>strength, couple with a smartlink to monitor how much ammo is expended,
they
>usually fire 8 rounds, which they can absorb recoilwise. Yes, I am using
the
>strenghth/recoil rules in FoF.
Okay, then.. here are some things I have seens happen to people:
Slipped in dog shit
Had a frog jump in front of the bullet
Mistakenly grabbed an empty clip to reload
Sneezed the night-vision goggles off.. into a pond
Used the rifle as a club, breaking the night vision scope
Had the bolt freeze into place
Got ambushed while urinating
Some of these were in training, some in real combat. The results ranged
from humorous to tragic. So the sammies are on top of the world with the
smartlinks? Anybody check the batteries lately? (Sudden image of the
Energizer Bunny strolling past three blind street sams). Jam the guns,
give them a runaway ( anasty event in which an autofire weapon won't stop
firing).
Play up the confusion of combat. If Fred the Samurai is hosing everything
that moves, and Bruce the Physical Adept states his intention to move up to
one of the opponents.. don't assume that Fred will make the I.D.
mistakes happen! Make Fred roll to see if he can think faster than his
wired reflexes can move the gun...
Note that in the above scenario if Bruce had yelled "I'm on your right!" or
they had a plan, Fred would be much less likely to turn poor Bruce into
well-ventilated meat. This is where Military Theory comes in. Street
Samurai are cybered-out, BFG toteing, killing machines. Mercanaries are
professional soldiers.
For example:
<The runners stopped as Half-Step brought up the map on his palm top. "I
want to make sure y'all got this down... so once more, where do we meet if
th' run goes tits up?" "The Nuke-It on NE 43rd" the team replied wearily,
having been through this before. "And iffn' the burger place is hot, or
y'all being chased?' "We all go to ground for at least a week before
meeting at Scoot's garage.. c'mon Half-Step, this is a pain!" the elven
decker complained. The Confederate deserter just smiled "Prior Planning
and Preperation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance, kept me alive so far">
If anybody is interested, I can post a list of Army manuels and books that
will give you at least a basic grasp of tactics.
--
Douglas E. Berry - dberry@******.net
Airborne Ranger 1984-1992, Grandson of a Ranger (1942-1945)
RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!!
