Guns in Psi-punk

Guns come in five main types in Psi-punk: Handguns, Automatics (Autos), Rifles, Sniper Rifles, and Shotguns. Because the combat system is designed to be simple and fun, we have reduced the level of realism to provide simple and universal weapon mechanics. There are various resources available to implement more realistic and deadly gun-play in your campaign, but they will not be detailed here.

The focus of Psi-punk is not on having the most realistic firefight mechanics, but rather to have a simplified system that supplements the bigger theme of the setting.

The guns detailed in this chapter all have the following traits associated with them at various levels depending on the weapon type.

Damage: the level added to the weapon’s Offensive Damage Factors.

Range: the gun’s Maximum Effective Range. See Table: Range Difficulty for an idea of what each level represents. Attempting to attack a character that is beyond the gun’s Range results in a failed attempt every time, regardless of your rolled result.

Rate of Fire (RoF): the weapon’s ability to fire multiple bullets in a single attack, as outlined on Table : Rate of Fire in Playing the Game. Weapons with more than one RoF listed have a selectable rate of fire, meaning they can change it each round.

Reload: the frequency at which a gun might need to be reloaded, listed by the number of blanks naturally rolled on 4dF (see Playing the Game). Multiple values indicate different reload requirements based on the gun’s Rate of Fire; for example, “4, 3, 2” would be the number of blanks required for Single, Burst, and Full Auto rates of fire, respectively.

Rank: the minimum required Rank skill a character must possess in order to be able to both purchase and carry one of these weapons legally. Characters with Reputation or Urban skills equal to the weapon’s Rank may be able to find and purchase such a weapon, but have no special permit to carry it in public. Permits may be purchased for weapons of Good Rank or lower at the cost of Good [8] Wealth; permits are not granted for weapons with Great or higher Rank levels.

Cost: the Wealth Value a character must spend to purchase the item. Remember that a character may still need to acquire permits or otherwise find someone to sell them these items if they have a Rank requirement higher than Fair. See Playing the Game for details on Wealth.

Gifts: any additional benefits a weapon might have; these may not apply to all weapons in a given category, and this is where the bulk of weapon customization comes from.

Faults: as Gifts but with negative, instead of positive, modifiers.

 

Handguns

Handguns are the standard side-arm for most people. Though gun control laws have relaxed over the years, it’s still illegal to shoot someone. Guns are purchased legally under the (often false) assumption that they will only be used in self-defense.

Small and Medium-sized handguns can be held in one hand. Characters possessing the Ambidextrous, Guns Akimbo, or some similar Gift may wield two of these weapons and attack with each one in a single round. Characters who do not possess an appropriate Gift may also wield two of these weapons but take a -2 penalty on each attack. Large handguns are too unwieldy and have too much kick to be used in this manner.

 

Shotguns

Shotgun ammo, or “shot,” spreads at range. The Damage assumes a target at its Maximum Effective

Range. Add +1 to its Damage at Fair Range and +2 at Mediocre Range.

Shotguns are illegal to carry in public and are not easily concealed. They impose a -3 penalty to any check made to attempt to conceal them unless they have the Sawed-Off Barrel Gift (see below). Only characters with a Police or Military Rank of Great or better may openly carry a shotgun.

Rifles

Rifles have long barrels which helps improve their Maximum Effective Range. It is legal to carry a rifle only with a permit or sufficient Rank.

Automatics

Dangerous and potent weapons, automatic firearms are illegal to carry in public without sufficient Police or Military Rank. Small submachine guns can be carried in one hand and fired twice in one round with the same caveats as Small and Medium handguns.

 

 

Table: Guns
Weapon	Damage	Range	Rate of Fire	Reload (# blanks)	Cost	Rank
Handguns
Sm. Handgun	Fair	Good	S	3	Fair [4]	–
Md. Handgun	Good	Good	S	3	Good [8]	–
Lg. Handgun	Great	Great	S	3	Great [16]	Good
Shotguns
Shotgun	Superb	Great	S	1	Great [16]	Great
Double-barreled	Superb	Great	S or 2 in one round	1	Superb [32]	Great
Elephant Gun		Great	S	1	Superb [32]	Superb
Rifles
Rifle	Good	Superb	S, B	3, 2	Great [16]	Good
High-powered Rifle	Great	Superb	S, B	3, 2	Great [16]	Great
Sniper Rifle	Superb		•   S	3	Superb [32]	Superb
Automatics
Sm. Submachine Gun	Good	Good	S, B, FA	4, 3, 2	Great [16]	Great
Lg. Submachine Gun	Great	Great	S, B, FA	4, 3, 2	Superb [32]	Great
Assault Rifle	Superb	Great	S, B, FA	4, 3, 2	Superb [32]	Superb

Gifts

Firearm Gifts include anything that can be attached to, improved upon, or modified from the original design. Gifts include everything from laser scopes and sound suppressors to improved clip sizes and even computer integration. Below are a few example Gifts, but by no means a definitive list. Each Gift has a Wealth Modifier, which increases the gun’s base cost by that amount.

Energy Weapon: This weapon fires intense beams of energy (lasers) instead of regular ballistic ammunition. Energy weapons deal more damage than their ballistic counterparts, granting them a +1 modifier on ODFs. Wealth Modifier: Great [+16]

Fingerprint Scanner: The weapon has been keyed to your individual fingerprints and will not fire when held by anyone else. On the up side, nobody else can use your weapon against you. On the down side, you can’t fire the weapon while wearing gloves. Also note: characters attempting to use the control animate power to make themselves appear like you do not have enough control (or the intimate knowledge of your fingerprints) to accurately mimic your prints and therefore cannot use your gun, even if they otherwise appear identical to you.

Optionally, you may add a second Gift to the weapon which forces it to explode in the hand of anyone attempting to fire it without your fingerprints. (Warning: Keep out of reach of children!) Weapons which explode in this manner deliver an unopposed attack with a +5 offensive damage factor against the user who pulled the trigger and anyone within Poor proximity of him. The weapon is permanently destroyed from the explosion. Wealth Modifier: Fair [+4] (Good [+8] with exploding trap option)

Increased Ammo Capacity: This attachment, as its name implies, improves the amount of ammunition the weapon can hold, thus reducing the frequency at which it must be reloaded. Weapons with increased ammo capacity increase the number of blanks required on a natural roll by 1, to a maximum of 4 blanks. Wealth Modifier: Great [+16] (includes cost of attachment and increased ammunition cost).

Laser Scope: This standard “red dot” laser scope improves the accuracy of the weapon by improving the user’s ability to target his enemy. When using a laser scope, the gun’s Range increases by one level. Wealth Modifier: Good [+8]

Ocular Integration: This attachment requires the user to have cybernetic eyes and plugs directly into your optical system. The integration allows the user to pinpoint his target with astonishing accuracy. When using a weapon with this Gift, the wielder gains a 1dF reroll. Wealth Modifier: Great [+16]

Sawed-Off Barrel: Any shotgun may possess this Gift, in which the barrel’s length is cut down to a minimal size. This makes the weapon easier to conceal (negating the -3 penalty) but also halves the weapon’s effective range. Wealth Modifier: Fair [+4]

Sound Suppressor: This weapon attachment reduces the volume of the gun’s blast. Notice

checks made to hear one of these weapons fire take a -2 penalty. Sound suppressors can be added to shotguns, but only if they are created using sonarkinesis (and thus are susceptible to antipsi effects). Wealth Modifier: Fair [+4]

Stabilizer: This add-on uses a variety of methods to correct for unsteady hands and light breathing, improving the weapon’s overall accuracy. When a user spends at least one round to aim his weapon, he gains a +1 bonus on ODFs in addition to any bonuses normally granted for taking time to aim a weapon. Wealth Modifier: Good [+8]