From:	The Deb Decker <RJR96326@****.UTULSA.EDU>
Subject:	Ammo
Date:	Tue, 5 Oct 1993 23:25:01 -0500

>I think we've been here before...
It's an update. I came across the original file and saw it didn't have
the corrections I made to it.

>Duh!
Be Nice :)

>>If you stage it to nothing using body dice, you take the external (4M)
>>explosion using body, remaining combat pool, and external bioware such as
>>dermal armor and orthoskin to. Impact armor protects.

>Wait a minute! Your saying that even if I reduce the damage to nothing that
>I still take damage. I feel that M-Word creeping up.

>And you resist the external explosion with body and remaining combat pool!
>What remaining combat pool! You just used it to resist the attack in the first
>place! And you just used your Body to reduce the damage to nothing, yet you
>have to roll again!

Not neccesarily. You still have to resist damage, but you get all of
your body dice to roll as well as remaining combat pool (not to exceed
body). Not everyone burns all their combat pool resisting damage. Few
CAN. For instance, Jaez's Combat pool is about 8 or 9; Her Body is
4. So she can roll 4 CP to resist the ballistic attack entirely;
4 more to resist ballistic damage; and all 8 to resist explosive
damage (target 4, average 4 successes, takes a Light).

So:
4 dice to completely dodge.
4 more to resist ballistic damage and take a 4M explosion.
8 dice to resist either the 4S or 4M explosion, depending
on where the bullet went.

>You can be killed by a bullet that never penetrates your armor.
True. But I needed a way to distinguish penetration vs non-penetration.
An alternative would be to replace "staged to nothing" with "staged
to
base damage".

I didn't design this as a new toy for players or to abuse them with. I designed
it to better reflect what an explosive round does. Thus the high availability
and cost. . .strictly enforced in my campaign. And I haven't had any problems
with it so far. Game Designer Excuse "Playability vs Reality". Mea Culpa.

>Put your GURPS High Tech away and come back to Shadowrun! If +1 Power is too
>little for an explosive round (actually I agree about that) why don't you just
>make it something like +1 Damage Level instead of making a overcomplicated and
>munchkin rules system?

Well, as you recall, I had some resistance to Shadowrun at first, so don't be
surprised if I prefer GURPS :). +1 wound level doesn't quite cut it; it's not
too different from the very legal Hollow Point Round, and doesn't reflect
how much more (IMO) devastating an explosive detonating in your kidney is
than an expanded piece of shrapnel; the former also induces shock reverberations
that can disrupt a lot of other body parts (or cyberware).


J Roberson