Shadowreality
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Game Mechanics & Getting Shot
Here are some ideas of how mechanics work in the game:
Two thugs, no cover, guns in hand, standing their ground and
shooting at each other
In a case like this, the first person to go will almost certainly
win.
Two skilled Mafia thugs (Attributes and Skills at 4, 6 combat
dice), Al and Bud, square off in the middle of an alley.
Assume there are no penalties or bonuses for smartlinks, etc.
Al gets the drop on Bud and tries to take him down fast. He shoots
Bud twice with his Savalette Guardian, the heavy pistol pounding
out two large slugs. The Savalette's recoil compensation keeps
the gun on target for both shots (no recoil penalty). Al puts
four combat dice into the first shot and two in the second, getting
4 successes and 3 successes, respectively. He is firing a Heavy
Pistol with a damage code of 9M, let's call his results 9M (+4)
and 9M (+3), respectively. On average, Bud's Dodging with his
6 combat dice would generate 3 successes, Bud will be definitely
be shot at least once and would possibly end up getting shot twice.
Let's look at some outcomes and and assume in some of them that
he is wearing some of the best ballistic protection available,
an Armor Jacket (5/3):
- Dodge the second shot completely, shot once @ 9M (+4) - Bud
scores 2 successes on his body test, reducing Al's attack to
9M (+2), staging it up to a Serious wound. Bud marks off 6 boxes
from his physical wounds and starts looking for good cover.
- Dodge both, shot twice @ 9M (+3) & 9M (+1) or 9M (+2)
& 9M (+2) - Bud can only generate two successes with his
Body test, so no matter what he does, he will suffer a 9M (+1)
& 9M (-1) or two 9M results, both of which result in two
Moderate wounds. Bud marks off 6 boxes from his physical wounds
and starts looking for good cover.
- No armor, dodge the second shot completely, shot once @ 9M
(+4) - With no armor, he is not likely to succeed at all and
the damage will stage up to a Deadly wound. Bud marks off ten
boxes and falls unconscious, wishing he had remembered to put
on the armored jacket.
- No armor, hit twice @ 9M (+3) & 9M (+1) or 9M (+2) &
9M (+2) - This is a little trickier, because of the fact that
Al needs two full successes to stage up a wound to Deadly, and
Bud does not expect to stage any damage down, it is best if
his dodge dice result in a 9M (+3) & 9M (+1) result, which
would give him a Serious and Medium wound, leaving him with
a single box of physical damage left to take, but conscious
and able to dive for cover. If he instead ends up suffering
the two 9M (+2) attacks, which he is likely not to reduce at
all, then he will suffer two Serious wounds, putting him at
two boxes below Deadly, and 12 Combat turns away from bleeding
to death, assuming Al does not deliver a coup de grace.
- The Moral: Wear armor! Do not catch bullets!
Partial Cover: Your Friend
You know how people duck behind cover and avoid getting shot?
It's a good idea! In the example above, with our two thug friends,
Al would probably not have even hit Bud once. A prolonged gun
battle with luck and/or some aiming would ensue and maybe Bud's
buddies would show up to bail him out.
Are guns dangerous enough in this game system?
Generally, any PC or NPC that enters a gun fight is more than
capable of killing people with said gun; however, some people
feel that reality demands that if a complete idiot picks up a
gun and points it at someone, they have a good chance of killing
them. I would think that would only be true if said idiot pointed
the gun at a vital location (called shot) and the other person
was not trying to avoid being shot. If you give said idiot at
least a 2 in Quickness and accept that they are aiming for the
heart or head, then yes, there is a chance that they will do 9D
damage with a heavy pistol. However, a light pistol would not
do the same. Obviously, a coup-de-grace or execution does not
apply, the system is to be used for opponents in a combat situation,
not captive targets. One final thing to consider is that a gun
is actually ridiculously easy to use and many "idiots"
would probably still have a skill of 1 or 2 in it, allowing them
to toss Combat dice into the roll and have low enough target numbers
to have a good chance of killing someone, even if they did try
and dodge. If said idiot gets a hold of a submachinegun, it gets
even worse for the poor schmuck that is his target.
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What The Numbers Mean -
Attributes and Skills
(a paraphrase of pp 98-99 of SR3)
| 1 |
Incompetent, handicapped
Using this skill can be dangerous; you are likely to hurt
or embarrass yourself, or make an incorrect conclusion if
tested. As an Attribute, this is a handicap and you would
certainly be described by this lacking.
Example: A beat cop's skill at Psychology. A sickly person's
Body, a young child's Strength.
Active, introduced - you are simply mimicking the
action.
Knowledge, scream sheet - you know so little it's
dangerous.
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| 2 |
Not competent, not strong, etc.
You are not dangerous anymore, but you would not rely on
this ability too heavily. As an attribute, your lacking
in this would probably only be used to describe you if it
was a handicap in your field, e.g. a Strength 2 boxer.
Examples: A beat cop's skill at Corporate Etiquette. A sedentary
person's physical attributes. Mr. Johnson's physical attributes.
A beat cop's Charisma.
Active, practiced - you still have to think about
what you are doing
Knowledge, interested - read a few magazines or a
book, maybe watched a documentary
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| 3 |
Average
The minimum competence to expect to get paid for using
the skill. As an Attribute, you would probably not be described
by this attribute nor would you be described a lack of this.
This level is appropriate for an attribute that is helpful
to have for your vocation, but not essential.
Example: A beat cop's skill at Car or Unarmed Combat. A
mechanic's Strength.
Active, proficient - You're average.
Knowledge, dedicated - You actively pursue the topic
and stay current.
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| 4 |
Skilled, capable, kinda strong, pretty quick.
A skill that is not just useful, but often used. You are
skilled enough to have some job security. As an Attribute,
People would probably describe you by this.
Example: A beat cop's skill at City Law; a detective's skill
at Psychology and his service pistol. Mr. Johnson's Charisma
Active, skilled - You have the basics mastered and
you look for better ways to do the skill.
Knowledge, well-rounded - You know the topic and
are now seeing relations to others.
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| 5 |
Professional, strong, quick, etc.
This skill is essential and heavily used. This is when
employers begin to pursue you for employment. A noticeably
strong attribute. People would almost certainly use this
attribute to describe you.
Example: a beat cop's skill with his service pistol (specialization)
and Police Procedure. A Fixer's Charisma.
Active, professional - It is ingrained, you no longer
worry about failure.
Knowledge, educated - A well-deserved bachelor's
degree or an average master's.
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| 6 |
Very good, very strong, very quick.
You just do it; you know pretty much everything you need
to know. You are sought out for your skill. An Attribute
that is crucial to your vocation and you have been pushed
to develop it. You are defined by this Attribute, at least.
Example: A Magician detective's Sorcery or Intelligence.
Active, innate - You no longer think about using
the skill.
Knowledge, mastered - You know the topic from the
basic to the advanced and you know focus on applications
outside the field and future advances.
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Seattle Thumbnails (A work in progress...)
- Downtown
- Gangs
- Bloody Screamers - Orks and trolls; turf - Ravenna
area near Green Lake; nemesis of Troll Killers; ties
to Ork Underground and smuggling.
- The Disassemblers (paint or tattoo faces like white
skulls; wear white-skull badge) - Mostly orks &
trolls; turf - south Seattle; some humans and dwarves;
organleggers.
- The First Nations (raven flying over a howling coyote)
- Amerindians only; turf - docks north of arcology;
led by Salish elf, Blood-of-the-Buffalo; backed by Yakuza;
foot soldiers serving Shotozumi-rengo against Choson
Ring in Everett.
- The Halloweeners (orange & black; flaming jack-o-lantern)
- Psycho; very anti-corp; truf - Downtown Seattle; racially
diverse.
- Troll Killers - Humans only; turf - toward Lake Washington,
near Wolf Bay; primarily concerned with committine violence
against Metas.
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