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Autofire


Al.

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One of the rules which seems to split opinion in BRP is the autofire rule.

Inspired by the rule I saw in a game of SLA

Calculate chance to hit as usual(+5% per extra shot but no more than double skill)

Then roll

If roll is less than modified skill but more than skill - one shot hits

If less than skill - then half burst hits (or roll as per RAW

If less than special for skill (not modified skill) all shots in burst hit

Rule Zero: Don't be on fire

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I adapted some ideas from GDW RPG's and the Stargate d20. Basically you have full auto area fire (which fills a "volume" with shots and requires fear checks / will power rolls for those in the volume not to dive for cover and if they stay exposed they risk getting hit by random shots) and then controlled burst fire in either wide bursts (makes it easier to hit a target by spraying shots at an area, but unlikely to land multiple shots) and narrow bursts (harder to hit the target but more likely to land multiple shots). There was a write up on the web at one point - I may republish them in Uncounted Worlds at some point.

Not sure it's particularly realistic as a system but I've found it a playable system for a variety of BRP games...

Nick

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The system we distilled over the years as our preferred mix of realism and playability was relatively simple. Firing at a single target, you used the RoF or rounds-per-burst (e.g 10 or 3, respectively) as a dice to roll for the number of rounds that hit with a successful attack - that would be a D10 or a D3. Only the first hit could critical or special. Each hit was resolved as a separate attack, except with super-rapid-fire bursts which would all hit the same location (each hit still had to overcome armour, though).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Only the first hit could critical or special. Each hit was resolved as a separate attack, except with super-rapid-fire bursts which would all hit the same location (each hit still had to overcome armour, though).
Right, and this is the issue I've been dealing with over the last week or so -- a vehicle-mounted minigun, which fires 33 rounds per attack (all autofire, no "controlled" bursts). My feeling was, on a successful hit, to roll 3d10+3 for the number of hits, then roll 2d6+4 once as the standardised damage for all hits in that attack.

!i!

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I just use the % rolled on the dice as the number of shots that hit. EG: If a burst is 5 rounds and you roll 45% then 2 rounds (45% of 5 rounded down) hit.

I think this is the most straightforward. Gives better gunners/riflemen a better chance at scoring more hits, as well as using various bonuses (such as computer targeting) to get better results, and applying a spray fire rule (usually a negative modifier) to reduce the number of hits but allow for more individual targets.

Ian

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Aiki's idea is perfect, but it would require some calculation, however. 23% of 7 is a calculation many players will not be willing to make during play.

BRP Mecha will use a standard burst of 10 rounds, and the number of rounds that hit is 10% of the actual die roll (1 hit for 1-10, 2 hits for 11-20, etc.). There will probably be some variation for special successes, but we will choose the actual one after playtest. Most mechas use autofire weapons, but the actual rate of fire of weapons is rarely described, and they hardly ever shoot at multiple targets.

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I agree that Aiki's method is precise, but time-consuming. It also loses some traction at the lower ROF values - what if you have a weapon with an ROF of 2 - you need to roll '00' to hit with both rounds? Maybe we need to be rounding up, so that values from 01 to whatever qualify to hit with one round without resorting to "no fewer than one" rulings?

Doing so gives us these sorts of scenarios:

I'm a strong marksman (100% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have a 50% chance of hitting you with both rounds (roll 51-00)

I'm an above average marksman (60% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have a 1 in 10 change of hitting you with both (roll 51-60) - one sixth of the time when I do manage to hit.

I'm a novice marksman (30% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have literally no chance to hit you with that second round - I'm a poor enough shot that I need an ROF of 4 to have a shot at hitting with a second bullet, and even that only happens on 26-30

Realistic? Anyone?

If so, we can solve the complexity issue with cheat sheets. Figure out the likely numbers of rounds that will be fired from the weapons in your game and create a cross-reference for the impacted player. Guy with an AF7 weapon would need to know where his breakpoints were (15 to hit with 2, 29 to hit with 3, 43 to hit with 4, 58 for 5, 72 for 6 and 86 to hit with all 7)

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I agree that Aiki's method is precise, but time-consuming. It also loses some traction at the lower ROF values - what if you have a weapon with an ROF of 2 - you need to roll '00' to hit with both rounds? Maybe we need to be rounding up, so that values from 01 to whatever qualify to hit with one round without resorting to "no fewer than one" rulings?

Doing so gives us these sorts of scenarios:

I'm a strong marksman (100% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have a 50% chance of hitting you with both rounds (roll 51-00)

I'm an above average marksman (60% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have a 1 in 10 change of hitting you with both (roll 51-60) - one sixth of the time when I do manage to hit.

I'm a novice marksman (30% with pistols) and my ROF is 2. I have literally no chance to hit you with that second round - I'm a poor enough shot that I need an ROF of 4 to have a shot at hitting with a second bullet, and even that only happens on 26-30

Realistic? Anyone?

If so, we can solve the complexity issue with cheat sheets. Figure out the likely numbers of rounds that will be fired from the weapons in your game and create a cross-reference for the impacted player. Guy with an AF7 weapon would need to know where his breakpoints were (15 to hit with 2, 29 to hit with 3, 43 to hit with 4, 58 for 5, 72 for 6 and 86 to hit with all 7)

Or, instead of rounding up, you could simply rule that a successful roll has to generate at least one hit (which makes sense, since a successful roll "hits"), and the subsequent application of AikiGhost's houserule is the number of additional projectiles that hit (rounded normally).

So, with a ROF of two, a successful roll of 49 or less indicates a single strike (automatically one hits with a successful roll), and 50 and higher indicates both hit. This also allows critical hits and specials to not become overly devastating unless you have a high ROF and a very skilled shooters.

Ian

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Or, instead of rounding up, you could simply rule that a successful roll has to generate at least one hit (which makes sense, since a successful roll "hits"), and the subsequent application of AikiGhost's houserule is the number of additional projectiles that hit (rounded normally).

So, with a ROF of two, a successful roll of 49 or less indicates a single strike (automatically one hits with a successful roll), and 50 and higher indicates both hit. This also allows critical hits and specials to not become overly devastating unless you have a high ROF and a very skilled shooters.

As I believe we'd both get the same results, I heartily concur. Think I'll adopt this ruling for the next game I run that it's relevant for.

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