Guns

This is the ability to use a hand-
held chemical-propellant or mass-
driver projectile weapon. Roll against
Guns skill to hit your target.
Make an IQ-based skill roll to take
immediate action (e.g., eject a dud
round), should your weapon fail.
You must specialize by weapon
type. The available specialties vary by
TL, but include one or more of:
Grenade Launcher (GL): Any large-
bore, low-powered small arm that
fires a bursting projectile. Includes
under-barrel grenade launchers, flare
pistols, and ultra-tech “tanglers.”
Gyroc: Any kind of small arm that
fires miniature rockets.
Light Anti-Armor Weapon (LAW):
All forms of rocket launchers and
recoilless rifles.
Light Machine Gun (LMG): Any
machine gun fired from the hip or a
bipod.
Musket: Any kind of smoothbore
long arm (usually, but not always, a
black powder weapon) that fires a
solid projectile.
Pistol: All kinds of handguns,
including derringers, pepperboxes,
revolvers, and automatics, but not
machine pistols.
Rifle: Any kind of rifled long arm –
assault rifle, hunting rifle, sniper rifle,
etc. – that fires a solid projectile.
Shotgun: Any kind of smoothbore
long arm that fires multiple projectiles
(flechettes, shot, etc.).
Submachine Gun (SMG): All short,
fully automatic weapons that fire pis-
tol-caliber ammunition, including
machine pistols.
Most of these specialties default to
one another at -2, but defaults involv-
ing GL, Gyroc, or LAW are at -4 in
either direction. The weapons covered
by each specialty vary by TL. For
example, Guns (Rifle) covers muzzle-
loaders at TL4, lever actions at TL5,
and self-loaders at TL6+. In particular,
ammunition varies with TL, from
black powder and loose shot at TL4, to
smokeless powder cartridges at TL6,
to power cells and metallic slivers for
TL9+ electromagnetic guns.
Familiarity is crucial here! Guns
(Rifle)
covers
both
bolt-action
12.7mm sniper rifles and 5.56mm
assault rifles, but going from one to
the other gives you -2 for weapon type
(12.7mm to 5.56mm), -2 for action
(bolt-action to self-loader), and -2 for
grip (bipod to hand-held), for a total of
-6 to skill until you familiarize yourself
with all the differences.
Modifiers: All applicable ranged
combat modifiers; -2 for an unfamiliar
action (e.g., an automatic when you’re
used to a revolver) or grip (e.g., a
shoulder-fired antitank weapon when
you’re used to a bipod), or for an unfa-
miliar weapon of a known type (e.g., a
5.56mm rifle when you are used to a
7.62mm rifle); -4 or more for a
weapon in bad repair.