From: pmwg1641@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Peter M. White)
Subject: SR:  Alternative dodge rule.
Summary: Improved dodge rules for SR.
Keywords: shadowrun
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 17:59:31 GMT


	Sleepman's goons are closing in.  You desperately launch down
	an unfamiliar alleyway, hoping it leads to safety.  Drek!
	You almost run smack into him.  Choirboy, a 300 kilo tower
	of muscle, smiles grimly and fingers his panther assault
	cannon.  Never wanted to tangle with this wired troll!  If
	he's faster to clip one off, you know it's all over....

What is wrong with this picture?  Why do PCs carry assault rifles, but
rarely SMGs?  What is a light pistol for, except New Year's Eve?
All weapons serve well in the appropiate situation.  Certainly
some are easier to conceal that others.  But that does not mean the
highest caliber is always the best choice, even if subtley is not
your style.

An assault cannon is simply NOT the correct weapon for close up
firefights.  If one asks the local NRA activist about his favorite
weapon for home defense, he'll name some large caliber handgun.
Not a hunting rifle or shotgun, although they would clearly pack
more punch.  Why?  Most shots in defense of home are fired at ranges
of 2-5 meters.  (Yes, one can reach out and shake that burglar's
hand, often enough.)  In this situation, the gun's weight and
especially the barrel length will significantly affect how quickly one
can react to a threat in an unknown direction.  One gun advocate, who
apparently has helped train many FBI agents, claims that a single man
armed with a pistol can potentially take out an entire rifle squad
with surprise.  They will never aim a clean shot before they are all
cut down.  Maybe.  The point:  how cumbersome a weapon is is an important
factor for its close quarter effectiveness.  How should the rules
reflect this?  One possibility is to assign Reaction penalties.  Light
gun = fast draw/aim.  Heavy gun = slow draw/aim.  The difficulty
is how to compare the speed of aiming with any bizarre activity
other than fighting a character may choose to do during combat.
I believe the above effects should be best included in the dodge rules.
Unfortunately, SR uses weapon power level as the target for
dodging.  Ridiculous.  There is simply no basis for asserting
that a light pistol is easy to dodge; if anything, it would be
nearly impossible.  And it can not possibly get any easier than
evading our friendly troll's cannon blast.

Consider what each weapon is actually best suited for:

	heavy weapons		vehicles, massed troops
	assault rifles		long range fire combat
	SMGs			bringing abundant firepower up close
				and friendly, also medium ranges
	heavy pistols		short ranges
	light pistols		short ranges, easier to use than
				heavy pistols

Taking the above into account, new dodge target number based on
weapon type:

	heavy weapons			2
	assault rifles			3
	SMGs				4
	heavy pistols			5
	light pistols			6

These target numbers are for Short ranges.  For each range category
above short, shift one step towards target # 5.  Alternatively, just
make it 5 for non-Short ranges.

For melee combat, I suggest target number 4/5/6 for weapons of
reach +2/+1/0, respectively.  It keeps the power consistently
out of the dodge.

Sure, it may be tough hitting high quickness PCs with those machine
guns, but they are not weapons I like use effectively against PCs
anyhow: carefully developed characters too easily evaporate under
that kind of firepower.  Now, it is great for the intimidation
without the GM needing to hold anything back.  Watch them carefully
reserve their dodge pools until the MGs are taken down.  SMGs
really are, and should be, the weapon of choice inside of most 
buildings, where the added range of assault rifles do not generally
compensate for those additional dodge successes the important
opposition will easily muster.  Dodging becomes a key defensive
ability.  Standard SR dodges were basically useless:  I never saw
a bullet actually miss and rarely was damage reduced.

Also, I recommend allowing the dodge to affect all autofire
bullets simultaneously, instead of one at a time.  In the campaign
I have played in, however, pools were refreshed only at the beginning
of each turn, not at each action.  Big difference.  The purpose
of not having each action refresh the pool is to curb the power
of mages, who now use their magic pool carefully, and to remove the
defensive advantage of very high reactions in addition to the obvious
offensive advantages such characters enjoy.

Just my humble suggestions.  Some tweaking may be in order to fit
a particular campaigm will probably be in order.

My gaming circle has been very pleased with the changes.  Your
opinions/comments are most welcome.

Coming soon:  A NEW WAY TO ROLL DICE.


pmwg1641@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu

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		"Guards!  I'll draw their fire."
					-Scapegoat,_Marshall Law_

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