Weapons

## Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons fall into three general groups: handguns, longarms, and other ranged weapons such as crossbows.

When using a ranged weapon, the wielder applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the attack roll.

Handguns and longarms are personal firearms. A personal firearm is any firearm designed to be carried and used by a single person.

## Understanding the Table

**Damage:** The damage the weapon deals on a successful hit.

**Critical:** The threat range for a critical hit. If the threat is confirmed, a weapon deals double damage on a critical hit (roll damage twice, as if hitting the target two times).

**Damage Type:** Ranged weapon damage is classified according to type: ballistic (all firearms), energy (of a specific type), piercing (some simple ranged weapons), or slashing (a whip). Some creatures or characters may be resistant or immune to some forms of damage.

**Range Increment:** Any attack at less than this distance is not penalized for range. However, each full range increment causes a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll. Ranged weapons have a maximum range of ten range increments, except for thrown weapons, which have a maximum range of five range increments.

**Rate of Fire:** Some ranged weapons have a rate of fire of 1, which simply means they can be employed once per round and then must be reloaded or replaced.

* Single Shot: A weapon with the single shot rate of fire requires the user to manually operate the action (the mechanism that feeds and cocks the weapons) between each shot. A weapon with the single shot rate of fire can fire only one shot per attack, even if the user has a feat or other abilities that normally allow more than one shot per attack.
* 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.

**Magazine:** The weapon's magazine capacity and type are given in this column. The amount of ammunition a weapon carries, and hence how many shots it can fire before needing to be reloaded, is determined by its magazine capacity. How the firearm is reloaded depends upon its magazine type. The number in this entry is the magazine's capacity in shots; the word that follows the number indicates the magazine type: box, cylinder, or internal. A fourth type, linked, has an unlimited capacity; for this reason the entry does not also have a number. Weapons with a dash in this column have no magazines; they are generally thrown weapons, or weapons (such as bows) that are loaded as part of the firing process.

* Box: A box magazine is any type of magazine that can be removed and reloaded separately from the weapon.
* Cylinder: A revolver keeps its ammunition in a cylinder, which is part of the weapon and serves as the firing chamber for each round as well. Unlike box magazines, cylinders can't be removed, and they must be reloaded by hand. However, most revolvers can be used with a speed loader. Using a speed loader is much like inserting a box magazine into a weapon. Without a speed loader, a firearm with a cylinder magazine must be loaded by hand.
* Internal: Some weapons keep their ammunition in an internal space, which must be loaded by hand. This is the case with most shotguns, as well as some rifles.
* Linked: Some machine guns use linked ammunition. The bullets are chained together with small metal clips, forming a belt. Typically, a belt holds 50 bullets; any number of belts can be clipped together. In military units, as the gunner fires, an assistant clips new ammunition belts together, keeping the weapon fed.

### Reloading Firearms

Reloading a firearm with an already filled box magazine or speed loader is a move action. Refilling a box magazine or a speed loader, or reloading a revolver without a speed loader or any weapon with an internal magazine, is a full-round action.

Loading a belt of linked ammunition is a full-round action. Linking two belts together is a move action.