From: jtd@world.std.com (Jonathan T Drummey)
Subject: Modified Shadowrun Combat System - part 3: Combat Rules pt. 1
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 01:28:12 GMT

The following rules have been (and are still being)
developed over the past couple of years.  I like the
Shadowrun system enough to stay within its framework, so
here it is.  If you have any questions or comments please
email me at jtd@world.std.com.

jonathan

************************************************************
*******************


Shadowrun
Rules of Combat
v0.90

Once could say that Shadowrun combat is very nice to those
involved.  The point of these rules is to make it a little
more realistic and deadly, but hang on to the simplicity.
They're based on Friday Night Firefight from Cyberpunk and
Cyberpunk v.2.0.2.0., Guns, guns, guns, the Shadowrun combat
system (both basic and the Riggers Black Book) and some of
my own experiences.

Thanks to:
  Mary Kuhner for Jayhawk, the Initiative system and
assorted other oddities.
  Carl Rigney for sanity checks, aka the "Street Samurai
Escalation Guide."
  Tracker for testing assorted kludges.
  Wombat for help with the 3G spreadsheet, putting up with
more kludges
      than anyone else and for HumanetTM
  Slick, Blitz, Sam, Makita and Job for being most willing
test subjects and bug fodder.

Disclaimer:  In the following rules, male and female and the
associated pronouns and suchlike are used interchangeably.

Note:  These rules duplicate material from the Shadowrun
books so as to provide a complete combat system in one
place.

NET NOTE:  Portions of this system including the Melee
Combat, Vehicle Combat and Combat Preparation sections are
incomplete.  If you want more information on what I'm
planning send email.


THE BASICS


DICE
This combat system uses 6-sided dice, with the Shadowrun
Rule of 6 and Rule of 1.  It is advisable to have at least a
few dice of a different color.  These dice are used for
firearms misfires and dodging.


AUTOMATIC SUCCESSES
Any time automatic successes are referred to, either in
rules not mentioned here (for instance Physical Adept
autosuccesses) or in these rules themselves, treat the
automatic success as an automatic 6, to which the Rule of 6
applies if necessary.

     Note:  It only takes one point of Karma to buy an
     autosuccess.  A point of Karma can also be used to
     add 6 to a die.  So, spending 2 points can get you
     a 12 (with a reroll); two 6's (with a reroll for
     each); add 12 to a die (no reroll) or add 6 to
     each of two dice.
     

ROUNDING
Whenever rounding occurs, round down.  The only exception to
this rule is the calculation of Recoil.


SKILLS
The general skills (Firearms, Thrown Weapons, etc.) are
divided into their component Concentrations.  They are
gained at Archetype Creation at the rate of 2 per skill
point.

     As an example,  4 points would get a character
     Firearms 4 in vanilla SR but now could give the
     character Rifle 4, Axes 3 and SMG 1.
     
During play these skills are gained at the Concentration
rate, i.e. 1.5 Karma x Current Rating.


Skill Web
It is a +2 modifier to use a related Concentration (one from
the same General skill) based on a current Concentration.


TIME AND THE COMBAT TURN

For this combat system, turns of 3 seconds in length are
used, known as combat turns.  Each player states his
character's action(s) as they occur.  The GM takes care of
everyone else.  The exact ordering of the combat turn is as
follows.


Combat Turn Sequence Table
1.   All characters determine Initiative
     result.
     
2.   The character with the highest
     Initiative selects an action.
     
3.   Resolve that action.  If the action is
     conditional on another character's
     actions, wait until the condition
     occurs  If it does not happen by the
     waiting character's next action or the
     end of the turn, that action is
     wasted.
     
4.   The character with the next highest
     Initiative result selects an action.
     
5.   Resolve the action, as in step 3.
     
6.   Repeat until all characters have taken
     their actions.
     
7.   Start another combat turn.
     



INITIATIVE
At the beginning of each combat turn, each character
involved rolls Initiative.    It is this roll which
determines when the character gets to act in the turn.  Each
character rolls just one die.  The Rule of Six does apply,
but the die can only get rerolled a number of times equal to
the characters Intelligence/3, rounded down (minimum 1).
The Rule of One does not apply.  The die roll is then added
to the character's Reaction attribute and the result is the
character's Initiative score for that turn.

When two characters act on the same "phase", they are
considered to act simultaneously.  When two characters are
trying to do the same action (for instance, jump on a
grenade) roll an Opposed Quickness Test.  The winner gets to
go first in the phase.

Unmodified characters get to act on the phase equal to their
Initiative result.  In addition, they get to act at every
decrement of 7 below their result.

Modified characters get a bonus to their Initiative and use
a smaller decrement, according to the table below:


Initiative Decrement Table
                    Initia      
Modification   Ran   tive   Decremen
                k   Bonus      t
Unmodified      0     +0       7
Wired           1     +1       5
Reflexes
                2     +2       4
                3     +3       3
Boosted         1     +0       5
Reflexes
                2     +1       5
                3     +1       3
Vehicle         1     +1       7
Control Rig
                2     +2       7
                3     +3       7
Adept           1     +1       5
Reflexes
                2     +1       4
                3     +2       3
                4     +3       2
Increase        1     +1       5
Reaction
  Spell         2     +2       4
                3     +3       3
                4     +4       2
Combat Sense   NA    # of      NA
Spell               succ.       
Spirit and     NA    1/2       7
Elemental           bonus
bonuses
Synaptic        1     +0       5
Accelerator
                2     +0       5


     For example, Coyote has an Increase Reaction +2
     spell locked.  His Reaction is a 4.  He rolls a 5
     on his Initiative die, so his Initiative is an 11
     (4+2+5).  He goes on phases 11, 7 (11-4) and 3 (7-
     4).
     
The numbers are roughly calculated as follows:  +1D6 is a 5
decrement, +2D6 = 4,
+3D6=3, etc.  Most bonuses to Initiative are halved.


DICE POOLS

All Dice Pools are only renewed at the beginning of each
combat turn.


DODGE POOL
The Dodge Pool is a number of dice equal to the character's
Quickness.  It is used to reduce damage vs. firearms and
other ranged weapons, including explosives.  See the section
on Reducing Damage for more information on that.  The Dodge
Pool is renewed at the beginning of each turn.  However, on
any action, a character may declare she is Dodging.  This
immediately renews her Dodge Pool and allows the character
to use her Dodge Pool in Reducing Damage from Melee Combat
until her next action, but only if she is involved in melee
combat on the action she is Dodging.  Dodging may be
combined with other actions, but is always treated as the
first action when doing so.


DEFENSE POOL
The Defense Pool is a number of dice equal to the
character's skill in Armed Combat (or particular
specialization or concentration) when using a weapon, the
character's skill in Unarmed Combat (or particular skill)
when not using a weapon, or (Strength - 4) as a default when
the character has no Armed or Unarmed combat skills.  The
minimum Pool is 1.  It is used to counterrattack when a
character is being attacked by more than one opponent.


MOVEMENT

There are three types of movement in the combat turn:
Moving, Jogging, and Running.

A character may Move as a part of any action up to her
Quickness Attribute in meters.  This imposes a +1 to target
numbers during that action, +2 if the character is moving
over rough terrain.  Actions that typically don't require a
success test now do, using the Quickness Attribute once
again with a target number of 4.

Jogging characters can move up to twice their Quickness
Attribute in meters, have a +2 to target numbers, +4 if
moving over rough terrain, and have a target number of 5 for
actions that usually don't require a success test.

Running characters move at a speed up to their (Quickness +
Running(Speed) skill) x their Running Multiplier, determined
from the table below.  These characters are moving flat out
and cannot combine their movement with other actions.  The
character must have done some sort of movement in the
previous action, and in the next action must be moving as
well.  To come to a full stop in one action requires the
character to make an Unresisted Quickness Success Test vs.
Running speed in meters/5, rounded down, or fall down.


Running Table
Race        Multiplier
            
Dwarf       x3
            
Elf         x4
            
Human       x4
            
Ork         x4
            
Troll       x3
            



FIREARMS


NEW CHARACTERISTICS

Maximum Range
The range tables used in regular Shadowrun are replaced by
the concept of a maximum effective range for each weapon.
See the Base Target Numbers - Ranged Weapons table below for
more information.


Falloff Range
Some weapons make use of high-power ammunition, but don't
have the necessary barrel length to make full use of that
energy and so have a shorter range.  Other weapons use light
ammo in a long barrel, ending up with a weapon that has
better range than a weapon using a shorter barrel.  For each
multiple of the Falloff Range to the target, the damage is
staged down by one success.  See the section on Reducing
Damage for more details.


Ammo Size
The typical Shadowrun Heavy Pistol, Light Pistol, etc. types
are replaced by exact bore diameters, in millimeters or
gauges (for shotguns).  This is due to the redesign of most
weapons using the 3G system.  The biggest game effects come
into play when using somewhat specialized weapons - see the
Standard Weapon Stats Table below.


Action Type
In order to determine the Rate of Fire, the action (how the
weapon is reloaded) must be known.  Some weapons, such as
assault rifles, have multiple actions (semi-auto, burst,
etc.) built in.  See the Modes of Fire section and the
Standard Weapon Stats Table below.


Rate of Fire
The numbers presented under rate of fire vary in their
meaning, due to the different actions of different weapons.
In most cases, this is the maximum rate of fire per *turn*
of the weapon.


Reliability
Some weapons fire reliably, others don't.  See the
Reliability section for more details.


Recoil
This number is a multiplier to the base recoil determined by
the number of shots fired.  See the section on recoil below
for more details.


MODES OF FIRE
All weapons have safeties, and a good portion of weapons
have multiple modes of fire.  For ease, all weapons with
multiple modes are assumed to have a single fire selector,
with positions for "safe," "single-shot," "burst," etc.  To
change the mode of fire, one must take an action (+2 to
target numbers to change the mode of fire and shoot in the
same action).  Smartgun links allow the mode of fire to be
changed at will.


Single-shot
The majority of weapons fire in what is called "single-shot"
mode.  All weapons but those that have semi-automatic,
automatic and autoburst actions (or combinations of those
three) are capable of firing one shot per action.  The
maximum number of shots per turn is three.  The character
rolls skill normally.


Semi-auto
Weapons with semi-automatic actions (including many
automatic weapons) can fire two shots per action, while
those with reactive triggers can fire as many as four shots
per action.  In all cases, the maximum number of shots in a
turn is 3x the number of shots/action.  When the character
is only firing one shot per action, he rolls his skill
normally.  When firing more than one shot per action, the
character rolls all his skill dice for the first shot,
(skill-1) for the second shot, (skill-2) for the third shot,
and so on.  The minimum skill is 1.  Recoil is calculated as
the number of shots fired in the action divided by 2,
rounding up.  Firing the maximum number of shots per action
reduces the Reliability of the weapon by one step.

It is possible for the character to fire at up to two
targets, as long as they have a separation of 1 meter or
less.  In that case, the character splits his skill dice
between the two targets, and then proceeds normally if
firing more than one shot at either target.


Burst Fire
The burst (considered to be three rounds) gives an advantage
over single-shot fire because more slugs are thrown at the
target and an advantage over full auto because there isn't
as much of a chance for recoil to throw off the attacker's
aim.  Only one Success Test is required for each burst.  The
Power Level of the burst is +1 (+2 for Heavy Weapons) to the
Power Level of the base round.  The Wound Category is one
higher and the Staging remains the same.  Recoil for a burst
is 1, or 2 for Heavy Weapons.  Weapons can fire one burst
per action.

     For example, a submachine gun with a base damage
     of 5M3 would do damage for burst fire of 6S3 and
     have a Recoil Modifier of +1.
     

Full Auto
On the first action that the character is using autofire in
the turn, divide the number of actions the character has
left in the turn (including the current action) by the
maximum rate of fire for the weapon.  The result, rounded
down, is the maximum number of shots the character can fire
in that action.  The character chooses how many shots he
will make in the action up to that number with a minimum of
4 rounds fired.  Using the maximum rate of fire lowers the
Reliability of the weapon by one class.

     Optional Rule (I'm not using it):  A character who
     receives multiple actions may combine actions to
     gain a higher rate of fire.  The actions used are
     considered to be the current action, the next
     action, and so on.  Therefore, a character
     receiving two actions could fire at the maximum
     Rate of Fire on his first action, leaving him no
     further actions in the turn and only Dodge and
     Defense Pool to take care of what will be coming
     at him.
     
One Success Test resolves the damage from the autofire.  The
Power Level is equal to the Power Level of the base round
plus one-half of the number of rounds fired at a target,
rounded down.  The Wound Category is raised from the base
round's by one for every five bullets fired at a target.
The Staging remains the same.  (See below for more
information on what these numbers mean).

Autofire may be split up among targets, with one round per
meter expended in "walking" the fire between targets.
Smartgun links allow characters to walk the autofire past
friendly targets without hitting them.  Otherwise, the
friendly will be a potential target.  The character
allocates skill dice and rounds equally between the targets
and then rolls.

Recoil is equal to one-half the total number of rounds fired
in the action rounded up, one-third for weapons with a Rate
of Fire greater than or equal to 30, since weapons firing
that fast will get so many rounds out the firer won't be
affected as much by recoil.  For heavy weapons, the Recoil
is doubled.  Note that when firing at multiple targets,
Recoil is the same for all of them.  The Recoil modifier is
added to the target number, making the target harder to hit.

     For example, Roland is firing his AK-97 (assault
     rifle) at a not-so-friendly Halloweener.  The
     weapon's Rate of Fire (ROF) is 25 rounds per turn.
     This turn, Roland got 3 actions.  If he starts
     firing on his first action, he can fire as many as
     (30 rounds per turn / 3 actions this turn = 10) 10
     rounds per action .  He's running his first
     action, so he can't fire.
     
     So on the second action, Roland shoots.  Since he
     has two actions left this turn, counting this one,
     he can fire as many as (30/2 = 15) 15 rounds.  So
     as not to waste ammo, he'll fire only 10 rounds at
     the Halloweener.  The Power Level of the AK is
     (base 5 + 10 rounds fired/2 = 10) 10.  The Wound
     Category is base M + (10 rounds fired/5 = 2 Wound
     Categories) Deadly.  The Staging remains the same,
     so the Damage Code is now 10D3.  Ouch.  However,
     Recoil is going to be (10 rounds fired/2 = 5)
     equal to +5 to the target number.
     

Walking Fire
Another use for "walking" fire is to use the weapon's recoil
during autofire to drive the weapon's aiming point into the
target.  This is useful for weapons with lots of recoil and
a high rate of fire, such as machine guns.  To use walking
fire, the attacker must fire at the maximum ROF of the
weapon.  There are two types of walking fire - the slow walk
and the fast walk.  On a slow walk, the effects of autofire
on the Power Level, Wound Category and Recoil are halved.
On a fast walk, the effects are quartered.  Note that the
Reliability of the weapon is reduced by one level for
walking fire.

     Using the above example, Roland is again firing
     his AK-97 at a now very-unfriendly Halloweener.
     The weapon's ROF is 25 shots per turn, the Damage
     Code is 5M3.  On this turn, Roland waits until his
     last action to cut loose.  Using fast walking
     fire, the Power Level is 5 + (25 rounds fired/8 =
     3) 8; the Wound Category is M + (25 rounds
     fired/20 = 1) S; and the Staging remains the same
     for a Damage Code of 8S3.  The Recoil is (25
     rounds fired/8 = 3.125, round up to 4) +4.  Roland
     is probably just as well off firing regular
     autofire.
     

Supression Fire
aka throw lots of bullets downrange and pray.  This mode of
fire can be used by any weapon, but is most (one could say
only) effective with automatic weapons.  A character using
supressive fire declares a fire zone of a certain width in
meters and fires at his weapon's maximum ROF.  Characters
with the same line of sight can combine their efforts.
Anybody moving through the fire zone must make an Unresisted
Quickness Test with a target number of (the number of
bullets fired into the fire zone so far this turn)/(the
width of the fire zone)/3.  If the target does not get any
successes on the Test, he takes 1D6 bullets for every
multiple of 10 of the target number, damage is calculated
normally.  If different types of ammo are used in the same
fire zone, random ammo hits.  Dodge Pool works for all
bullets that hit.

     For instance, the most unlucky Ned the
     streetcleaner has the misfortune to be crossing an
     alley during a firefight.  A couple of street
     samurai have pumped 80 rounds into the 2m-wide
     fire zone between the dumpster and building by the
     end of the turn when Ned gets to move.  His target
     number is 80/2/3=16.  Almost needless to say, Ned
     fails and takes 1D6 rounds of machine pistol ammo.
     He might live if he's lucky.
     
The following table puts the modes of fire into perspective.


Modes of Fire Table - Light Weapons
        Requir                                       
        ed     # of    Rate   Power   Wound          
Mode    Weapon shots   of     Level   Categor Stagin Recoil
        Action per     Fire           y       g
               action
Single- All    1       3/turn Base    Base    Base   +0
shot    but
        SA, F,
        AB
Semi-   SA,    2       6/turn Base    Base    Base   rounds/
auto    some F                                       2
Auto    AB     2       NA     Base+1  Base+1  Base   1
burst
Full    F      1       4 to   Base+   Base+   Base   rounds/
auto                   max    (rounds (rounds        2 or
                       ROF    /2)     /5)            rounds/
                                                     3*
Slow    F      1       max    Base+   Base+   Base   rounds/
walk                   ROF    (rounds (rounds        4 or
                              /4)     /10)           rounds/
                                                     6*
Fast    F      1       max    Base+   Base+   Base   rounds/
walk                   ROF    (rounds (rounds        8 or
                              /8)     /20)           rounds/
                                                     12*
Supress any    max     max    Base    Base    Base   none
ion                    ROF


Action types - The letters are:  SA-all weapons capable of
semiautomatic fire; AB-fullauto and burst; F-fullauto
(including miniguns)

* for weapons with a max ROF of 30 rounds per turn or more.


RELIABILITY AND MISFIRES
When firing a ranged weapon, one die should be of another
color.  When a 1 is rolled on this die, there is a chance of
misfire.  Roll another die and look on the table below:


Weapon Reliability Table
Weapon       Misfire on roll of
Reliability  

Very         4 or less
Unreliable   

Unreliable   2 or less
             
Reliable     1 or less
             
Very         1 on this roll, then 3
Reliable     or less on a second
             roll
             


The misfire itself is typically a simple jam which takes
1D6/3 actions to clear.  Critical misfires are possible, and
GM's are encouraged to decrease the reliability of weapons
that aren't kept in good repair!


Standard Weapon Stats Table (Firearms)
Type      Ammo    Actio ROF    Dmg    Max     Fall  Notes
                  n                   Rng     off
Streetli  5mmP    SA    -      2L1    25m     50m   
ne
Wather    11mmP   BR    -      3M2    25m     200m  
PP
Light     6/9mmP  SA    -      3M2    150m    50m   
Pistol
Hvy       11mmP   SA    -      4M2    150m    200m  
Pistol
VHvy      12mmP   SA           6M2    150m    200m  
Pistol
Flechett  3mmF    SA    -      3M2AP  150m    200m  
e P
Shotgun   12ga    P     -      4S2    25m     25m   
P
Assault   7.62mm  SB    25>35  5M3    400m    200m  
Rifle     R
Lt.       8.14mm  B     -      5M3    400m    200m  
Sport R   R
Hvy.      7.7mmR  B     -      6M3    400m    200m  
Sport R
Sniper    12.7mm  B     -      6S2    400m    200m  
Rifle     R
Enfield   10ga    P     -      6M3    150m    25m   Hvy.
AS-7                                                SG
Def. T-   12ga    SA    -      5M3    150m    25m   Lt. SG
250
VShrt     12ga    SA    -      5M3    50m     10m   
Barrel
Machine   6mmP    SB    30>40  3M2    150m    50m   
P
Med SMG   10mmP   AB    30>40  4M2    150m    100m  
Hvy SMG   11mmP   AB    20>30  4/5M2  150m    200m  
LMG       7.62mm  AB    20-30  6S3    400m    200m  
          R
Minigun   7.62mm  M     50-    6S3    400m    200m  
          R             150

Standard Weapon Stats Table (Heavy Weapons)
Type      Ammo    Actio ROF    Damage  Max     Fall  Notes
                  n                    Rng     off
MMG       10mmR   F     15>25  8S4     800m    200m  
M         10mmR   M     40-    8S4     800m    200m  
Minigun                 100
HMG       12.7mm  F     10>20  12S4    800m    200m  
          R
H         12.7mm  M     30-80  12S4    800m    200m  
Minigun   R
Assault   20mmR   SA    -      10D4    400m    200m  
Cannon
Rotary    20mmR   AB    10     10D4    400m    200m  
Asslt
Cannon
Auto      40mmR         -      12(D+1  800m    1000  3/roun
cannon            Singl        )4              m     d
                  e-                                 Recoil
                  shot
Rotary    40mmR   AB    10     12(D+1  800m    1000  3/roun
AC                             )4              m     d
                                                     Recoil
Grenade   20mmG   SA    -      Var     400m    100m  
Launcher

Note on the Tables
Ammo types -  The format is #(mm or gauge)X, where X is: F-
pistol ammo; F-flechette; R-rifle; H-heavy; G-grenade.

Action types - The letters are:  B-bolt; BR-break; SA-
semiauto; P-pump; R-revolver; AB-fullauto; SB-
semiauto,fullauto, and burst; F-fullauto, M-minigun

ROF (Rate Of Fire) - When there is only a dash, check the
Single Shot section above.
Numbers separated by a dash ( - )indicate that the weapon
has a fully variable ROF.
Separation by a slash indicates  a singly variable ROF, i.e.
x ROF or y ROF.
Separation by a ( > )indicates that the different weapon
models in that particular type
   will have differing ROF's, typically ranging between the
two values.

Damage - Check the Ammunition Types section below for exact
effects.  The letters are:
AP - Armor Piercing.


AREA EFFECT WEAPONS


SHOTGUNS
The listed shotguns are firing ##00 buckshot, allowing an
area to be hit.  The density of this spray can be altered by
changing the choke of the shotgun.  Changing the choke takes
four actions.  For open choke, use the suggested Falloff
Ranges for the weapon.  The spread of the pattern is one
meter per range category (not counting Point Blank).  At
full (or closed) choke, the spray is tightly packed,
allowing the Falloff Range to be doubled and the spread to
be quartered (.25m per range category).  Sawed-off shotguns
(and shotgun pistols) allow an increase in Concealability,
but double the spread and halve the Falloff Range for either
choke setting.

Shotgun slugs use the same listed damage, but the Falloff
range is increased to 100m for standard shotguns and 50m for
sawed-off shotguns and shotgun pistols.


GRENADES
Normal grenades can be set for impact or timer (0 to 7
seconds) detonation.  Minigrenades always explode on impact.
Damage for grenades is as follows:

Type       Cnc  Dmg      Wt    Blast         Cost
                               Reduction     
                               
Std        6    4S2      .25   -1 per 1m     30Y
Offensive                                    

Std        6    4S2      .25   -1 per 2m     30Y
Defensive                                    

Std        6    3S2      .25   -1 per 2m     30Y
Concuss         Stun                         
                
Gas        5    NeuroSt  .5    6m radius     60Y
                un                           
                
Std Mini   8    as type  .1    as type       50Y
                                             
IPE        6    4S3      .25   -1 per 1m     50Y
Offensive                                    

IPE        6    4S3      .25   -1 per 2m     50Y
Defensive                                    

IPE        6    4S2      .25   -1 per 2 m    50Y
Concuss         Stun                         
                
IPE Mini   8    as type  .1    as type       80Y
                                             
AFR-7      6    4L3      .25   3L3 in 1m +   40Y
Flash                          spcl.         
                               


The Blast Reduction determines the decrease in Power Level
due to distance from blast.  Subtract 1 from Concealability
for aerodynamic versions.


MISSILES
Instead of adding the missile's Intelligence rating to the
user's skill, the number of successes on the roll to lock-on
are added.

Missles take one turn per range step to reach their targets.

Some missiles are designed to be targeted against vehicles
only, and therefore have a modifier to the target number
when trying to hit something else.  (They use only the
signature of the vehicle for lock-on.)  Currently, these
missles are the AVM, LR-SAM, and L-SAM.  Other missles will
be marked "vehicle" when described.  When targeting a non-
vehicle, these missles use a target number for lock-on of 6,
with size modifiers (see Target Size in the Target Modifiers
Table below)  to lock-on.  A positive size modifier is
doubled.  For instance, targeting an AVM at a ping-pong ball
has a target number of 6+(8*2) = 22 to lock-on.  Once lock-
on is obtained, the roll to hit proceeds normally.

************************************************************
******************

The Combat Procedure and other sections are in the next
posting.



jonathan drummey

jtd@world.std.com