Some questions from a new player

[Uthred]

Hi,

Just picked up the big gold book a while ago and quite enjoying it. But one or two things have come up in play and I was hoping to get some clarification for them:

1) Can you use the Aim spot rule in conjunction with Autofire?

2) The rules for autofire seem to differentiate between burst and autofire, but no weapon is listed as autofire, only burst, does this mean any weapon listed as burst is also capable of autofire?

3) If a character with 50% in rifles is using an assault rifle and chooses to shoot 10 bullets, they get +50% to their role? Is this correct?

4) Do negative and positive modifiers effect the threshold for a special/critical success or is that based entirely on the "raw" rating?

Thanks in advance

[pansophy]

Well, have fun with BRP! Don't forget to have a look at the Errata (link in my footer).

I'll try to answer some of your questions:

1) Can you use the Aim spot rule in conjunction with Autofire?

Yes, nothing in the rules is saying different. Although, the GM may rule otherwise depending on circumstances. I personally would allow a "Burst" fired, but not "Full Auto". A "Burst" would add +15%, aiming for 10DEX would add 20% of the shooters skill (e.g. Firearms Skill at 75% divided by 100, multiplied by 20 is 15%). So the character with a skill of 75% would add 30% to his roll, resulting in a 105% chance. This seems unnecessary, but if the target has cover (making the roll Difficult), 105% divided by 2 would be 53%. And usually in a firefight everybody takes cover.

This process seems a bit high on math, so I usually calculate the values upfront (Single fire, Burst and Auto Fire), as well as Aiming for 5 and 10 DEX ranks and write them on the character sheet.

2) The rules for autofire seem to differentiate between burst and autofire, but no weapon is listed as autofire, only burst, does this mean any weapon listed as burst is also capable of autofire?

Yes. The Weapon table actually only lists the amount of bullets that can be fires during a combat round. Some weapons can be fired on different settings, e.g. the Machine Gun. It can fire 1 or 3 bullets, or bursts. A burst can be anything between 1 and the full load of the magazine. Since the rules for Autofire limit the amount for the bonus you receive (up to your skill rating), this is the natural limitation of bullets you want to fire (e.g. a character with a Skill of 49% would not want to fire more than 49 divided by 5 = 9 bullets, giving him a total of 49%+(9*5)=94% chance.

So, what is the difference between 1 and 3 attacks or a burst? The difference is in single fire mode the character makes three attack rolls (using the volley fire rules, but make sure you read the Errata first. Basically Volley fire allows you to make more than one attack with a ranged weapon, paced by 5DEX, but all of them will be "Difficult") which can be made against three different targets. A Burst, though, gives the character a) one shot and a skill increase or, if fired at an area, a chance to hit multiple enemies without the need of using the Volley Fire rules.

So, that is the difference between having a Submachine Gun (being able to fire 2 shots or a burst) or having a Medium Pistol (being able to fire up to 2 shots).

3) If a character with 50% in rifles is using an assault rifle and chooses to shoot 10 bullets, they get +50% to their role? Is this correct?

Correct. And if he choses to fire 11 bullets, he will still only get +50%. Sometimes it is good to shoot a lot more bullets at a target, even if you do not get a higher bonus. More bullets fired increase the chance of killing something, as more bullets might hit the target.

4) Do negative and positive modifiers effect the threshold for a special/critical success or is that based entirely on the "raw" rating?

If you have a skill at 50% and circumstances add 20% to that (for a total of 70%), specials and critical's are based on the new rating (70%).

Have the "Skill Results Table" (p.172) at hand. Be aware, this table is "simplified". It rounds up all skills first, before calculating Specials and Criticals. It does the job most times and I personally prefer it. the "real" table is a bit different. You can get it here:

Complete Skill Results Table

Hope this answers your questions. Firearms do have the most rules in BRP and although they are all linked, there is no good example how they work together. I hope I was able to provide an example that covers most of the circumstances.

Edited April 3, 2013 by pansophy

[Uthred]

That was an awesome answer, really cleared things up for me, thanks

[pansophy]

Ah, small mistake. Autofire adds +5% per additional bullet AFTER the first one. I will update the examples and explanations later ...

[Ltfrostaa]

Ltfrostaa [Edit]

1 Hour Ago at 20:07

How is Fanning a gun works??? Its -1 to Dexia rank and -20% but what happens when u shoot multiple Time??? -20 each at difficult? Please help? Had trouble figuring out what s the utility to The skill Two firearms fighting style, what the différence about this and the 2 weapon fighting in BRP main book?

[Gollum]

Ltfrostaa [Edit]

1 Hour Ago at 20:07

How is Fanning a gun works??? Its -1 to Dexia rank and -20% but what happens when u shoot multiple Time??? -20 each at difficult? Please help? Had trouble figuring out what s the utility to The skill Two firearms fighting style, what the différence about this and the 2 weapon fighting in BRP main book?

You'll find an answer to this question in the other thread where you also asked it. Don't hesitate to start a new thread when you want to ask something which is not really the subject of an existing thread... But it takes some times, of course, and it is not always easy with some smartphones.

So welcome on board, Ltfrostaa!