Firearms

Firearm Rules

When you attack with a firearm, you use the Firearms skill.

Damage Type

Unless otherwise noted, all firearms do Ballistic Damage.

Rate of Fire

Rate of fire covers how quickly a firearm reloads itself.

Single: A weapon with the single shot rate requires the user to manually operate the action (the mechanism that feeds and cocks the weapon) between each shot.) Bolt-action rifles are examples of firearms with single shot rates of fire. A weapon with a Single shot rate can only fire one one shot per attack, even if the user has a feat or other ability that normally allow more than one shot per attack. After the attack, you have to spend 1 action to operate the action and prepare for your next shot.

Semiautomatic (S):  Most firearms have the semiautomatic rate of fire. These firearms feed and cock themselves with each shot. A semiautomatic weapon fires one shot per attack (effectively acting as a single shot weapon), but some feats allow characters armed with semiautomatic weapons to fire shots in rapid successions, getting in more than one shot per attack. 

Automatic (A): Automatic weapons fire a burst or stream of shots with a single squeeze of the trigger. Only weapons with the automatic rate of fire can be set on autofire or be used with feats that take advantage of automatic fire.

Reloading a Firearm

Reloading a firearm with a fresh clip takes a single action. It is assumed that heroes are using aids like a speed loader for revolvers. Reloading a firearm provokes an attack of opportunity.

Unless otherwise noted, a full clip of ammo has a Purchase DC of 5 and a Bulk of L.

Weapon Type

Firearms can be divided into several broad categories for the purposes of feats such as Weapon Specialization. These include the following:

• Flamethrower

• Grenade Launcher

• Heavy Machine Gun

• Machine Pistol

• Pistol

• Revolver

• Rifle

• Rocket Launcher

• Shotgun

• SMG

Firearm Categories

Handgun

A handgun is a personal firearm that can be used one-handed without penalty. This includes all pistols and some submachine guns. All handguns require the Personal Firearms Proficiency feat. Using a handgun without this feat imposes a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

Revolvers: relatively simple firearms that store several rounds (usually six) in a revolving cylinder. As the trigger is pulled, the cylinder revolves to bring the next bullet in line with the barrel.

Pistols: also known as autoloaders, pistols feature removable box magazines, and some models hold quite a lot of ammunition. They work by using the energy of a shot fired to throw back a slide, eject the shots shell casing, and scoop the next round into the chamber. They are more complex than revolvers, but nevertheless have become increasingly popular in the modern age.

Machine Pistols: Machine pistols are automatic weapons small enough to be fired with one hand. Some are autoloader pistols modified to fire a burst of bullets in a single pull of the trigger, while others are modified submachine guns, cut down in size and weight to allow one-handed use.

Nail Gun: An aftermarket-modified nail gun functions much like a heavy pistols. Nail guns deal piercing damage instead of ballistic damage.

Due to firing nails and not bullets, it is possible to pin an opponent's appendage or clothing to a surface with a nail  gun. You can make a called shot at a -5 penalty to attempt to hit a target's foot, hand, or loose clothing. If you hit and deal damage, the victim is pinned to the surface and suffers the Immobilized condition. You can only pin targets of size 5 or smaller with a nail gun.

Longarm

A longarm is a firearm that requires two hands to be fired without penalty (excepting the light SMG). This group includes hunting and sniping rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, and most submachine guns. All longarms require the Longarm Proficiency feat. Using a longarm without this feat imposes a -4 penalty on attack rolls.  Longarms are not well suited to close combat. A character takes a -4 penalty on the attack roll when firing at an adjacent target.

Rifle: the basic longarm is the rifle, a group that includes both hunting rifles and sniper rifles. Most rifles are autoloaders, and they function internally in a manner very similar to autoloader pistols. Some models are operated manually, however, with the user having to work a bolt or lever between each shot. Assault rifles are rifles designed for military use and feature automatic as well as semiautomatic fire.

Shotgun: shotguns are large-bore weapons that primarily fire shells full of small projectiles. They tend to be powerful, but only at short range. As such, they are often used for both hunting and defense.

Submachine Guns (SMG): Submachine guns are relatively compact longarms that generally fire pistol ammunition. They can fire on automatic. SMGs see use in law enforcement and criminal enterprises due to their greater ease of use over assault riffles. Though they carry less of a punch than riffles, they function well in close-quarters urban combat.

Heavy Weapons

The weapons covered in this section fall under the Heavy Firearms Proficiency feat. Someone who wields a heavy weapon without the appropriate proficiency takes a -4 penalty on all attack rolls with the weapon.

Flamethrower:  A flamethrower consists of a pressurized backpack containing fuel, connected to a tube with a nozzle. It shoots a 5-foot-wide, line of flame that deals 3d6 points of fire damage to all creatures and objects in its path. 

A flamethrower's backpack has hardness 5 and 5 hit points. When worn, the backpack has a Defense equal to 9 + the wearer's Defence. A backpack reduced to 0 hit points ruptures and explodes, dealing 6d6 points of fire damage to the wearer (no save allowed) and 3d6 points of splash damage to creatures and objects in melee (Dodge save, DC 15, for half damage).

Any creature or flammable object that takes damage from a flamethrower catches on fire, taking 1d6 persistent fire damage each subsequent round until the flames are extinguished. 

Heavy Machine Gun: Heavy machine guns fire heavy calibre bullets at an incredibly high rate of fire. All heavy machine guns are fully automatic weapons, usually used to provide covering fire on a battlefield or to attack a large formation of enemy combatants. Today, most machine guns are turret-mounted.

Rocket Launcher: Rocket launchers are typically anti-tank and anti-bunker weapons, used to pierce through enemy defences. Rockets explode like a grenade, dealing their damage to all creatures in Close range of the explosion. 

Rocket launchers have a minimum range of 1 Range. If fired against a target in Close range, the rocket does not have time to arm and does not explode on impact, dealing only 2d6 bludgeoning damage to the target struck.

Grenade Launcher: Grenade launchers fire explosive grenades. Attacking with a grenade launcher is identical to attacking with an explosive device. The difference between using a launcher and throwing the weapon comes down to the distance the grenade can be launched.

Ammunition

There is a variety of ammunition you can use to enhance your weapons or change how they function. The purchase DC for these is for one clip. Each additional clip purchased in the same week increases the purchase DC by 1.

A default clip of ammo has a Purchase DC of 5 and a Bulk of L.

Armor Piercing

Firearm Type: Any

Purchase DC: 8

Benefit: Armor piercing rounds reduce the effectiveness of armor. When firing armor piercing rounds at an opponent, reduce their Armor Defence by 2. When firing at an object, reduce the object's Hardness by 2.

Beanbag

Firearm Type: Shotgun or Grenade Launcher

Purchase DC: 7

Benefit: Used by riot police and other law enforcement organizations for crowd control. Damage done by a weapon loaded with a beanbag round becomes Nonlethal.

Birdshot

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 4

Benefit: Light shotgun ammunition designed to take down smaller targets. When firing  with birdshot, your shotgun gains the Blast weapon trait, but its damage is reduced to 1d8.

Blessed

Firearm Type: Any

Purchase DC: 9

Blessed ammunition bypasses the damage resistance of creatures with an affiliation to the forces of the Abyss. In addition, on a critical hit, increase the critical modifier by one step.

Breaching Round

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 9

Benefit: Shotgun shells designed specifically for door breaching. Shotguns loaded with this ammunition gain the Blast weapons trait, ignores all object hardness, and their range is reduced to melee.

Buckshot

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 9

Benefit: Shotgun ammunition designed to hit all targets in a small area. When firing  with birdshot, your shotgun gains the Blast weapon trait, but its damage is reduced to 2d6.

Capacitive Shot

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 9

Benefit: This shotgun ammunition is made of magnetically charged capacitance rounds that shock the target. When firing a capacitive shot, the shotgun deals nonlethal electric damage, and the target must succeed at a DC 15 Endurance check or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.

Capacitive shot ignores the hardness of electronic objects.

Corrosive Shot

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 9

Benefit: This shotgun ammunition is filled with highly reactive chemicals that begin corroding their target on impact. When firing corrosive shot, the shotgun deals acid damage instead of ballistic damage and ignores the hardness of objects.

Dragon's Breath

Firearm Type: Shotgun

Purchase DC: 7

Benefit: This shotgun ammunition is filled with magnesium and other reactive metals. When firing a dragon's breath round, the shotgun gains the Burst weapon trait, and deals fire damage.

High Explosive 

Firearm Type: Shotgun or Grenade Launcher

Purchase DC: 11

Benefit: Highly volatile and difficult to come by, High Explosive ammunition deals 1 extra die of damage as appropriate for the weapon.

Rubber

Firearm Type: Any

Purchase DC: 7

Benefit:. Damage done by a weapon loaded with a rubber round becomes Nonlethal.

Silvered

Firearm Type: Any

Purchase DC: 11

Benefit: Silvered ammunition is useful for dealing with spirits, shapeshifters, and other supernatural creatures. Silvered ammunition deals lethal damage to regular targets and bypasses the damage reduction of any creature that is vulnerable to silver. 

Subsonic

Firearm Type: Pistols or Sniper Riffles

Purchase DC: 11

Benefit: Assassins and snipers use subsonic ammunition; it is rarely found outside those circles. Its primary use is to reduce the noise of a shot, making it more difficult to spot the shooter after the gun is fired. Subsonic ammunition reduces damage dealt by -2 per dice, but the DC for Awareness checks to hear the gunshot is increased by +10. 

Tracer

Firearm Type: Any Automatic

Purchase DC: 6

Benefit: These phosphorous-coated rounds aid the shooter of an automatic weapon in leading bullets to a target, but makes them easier to spot in turn. Tracer ammunition provides a +1 bonus to attack rolls made with a weapon when fired on autofire only. Opponents gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Awareness checks when trying to find someone firing tracer ammunition.

Tranquilizer

Firearm Type: Pistols, Hunting Rifles, or Sniper Rifles

Purchase DC: 12

Benefit: This ammunition is actually a large dart with a reservoir that is used to deliver a tranquilizer or poison to the target.

Ultraviolet (UV)

Firearm Type: Any

Purchase DC: 10

Ultraviolet ammunition releases an intense burst of UV light on impact, dealing an additional 2d6 points of damage to creatures that take damage from sunlight or bright light (such as vampires and horrors).

White Phosphorous

Firearm Type: Shotguns or grenade launchers

Purchase DC: 10

Benefit: White phosphorous-tipped rounds can inflict terrible burns on a target. Targets struck by a Willie P Shot takes 1d6 persistent fire damage.