The Way of the Gun. Ranged weapons: Missiles, bullets and blasts part 1 0f 2

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and trying to figure out how to keep it simple. This is what I've come up with and more or less how we've been playing.

Note- this system is designed to work with the alternate hit point rules. One of the assumptions of those rules is that hit points represent fortitude, stamina, luck and skill- not physical integrity.

A hit with a melee weapon does not cause actual physical damage (except for flesh wounds and minor bruises), but rather erodes those qualities mentioned above. When hit points reach 0 or when a critical hit is scored, it is then that actual physical damage occurs.

Ranged weapons are different. It's easier to kill people with them. You can do it from a long way off. You can do it with a single shot which they have no real chance to parry or dodge. This is perhaps an over simplification, but this game is all about over simplification.

Therefore, a hit with a ranged weapon is an automatic roll on the proper wound table for medium sized and smaller creatures.

Missile weapons (Bow, Crossbow, Spear, Sling, whatever).
Act as normal in regards to AC.


Against a Firearms and Energy Weapons everyone has a 9* [Ascending AC 10] armor class at close range. Long range results in a negative modifier of 2.

Rate of fire varies from weapon to weapon. Most firearms have a rate of fire of 2. Some energy weapons have higher or lower rates, depending on their nature. A hit with a firearm or a energy weapon results in a roll on the proper wound table (post forthcoming).

Modifiers:

Negative:
-2,-4, 20, and no.
Any complication, such as a moving target, or partial cover or whatever results in -2 modifier an additional complication results in a further -2. If there are three complications, (e.g. the target is crouched down running behind a low wall in the fog) the target can only be hit with natural 20. Certain circumstances will result in a situation where the target can not be hit, such as full cover.

Positive:
Certain devices or special weapons may come with magical or technological enhancements (e.g. scopes or blessings) which grant them a bonus. This bonus varies from weapon to weapon. For reasons I will go explore in a later post their are no magically enhanced firearms on the Metal Earth.


Next: Wound Tables.