Ranged Combat

Instead of using Combat pool to dodge, a character with an athletics specialization in gymnastics or acrobatics may roll that specialization alone instead. No Combat Pool may be added to this role. This reflects a character using acrobatic flips, leaps, and rolls and relying solely upon his skill to avoid gunfire instead of upon his combat instincts. Using gymnastics or acrobatics to dodge will also allow a character to effectively move at a running rate while reducing penalty to his own target numbers to +2. The character's opponents still receive a +2 modifier to a running target. This reflects the fact that the character is in control of his movements through his skill, and thus can concentrate more on aiming while dodging than a character simply trying to get away from the gunfire.

Two Weapons & Ambidexterity

Instead of a restriction to what weapons you can or cannot use, I am introducing a sliding scale dependent upon a character's strength. This accounts for the artifically (whether cyber, bio or magic) enhanced nature of metahumans in the Shadowrun universe. The stronger you are, the less penalty there is for using a second weapon, although you will always have some penalty in using another weapon. The following table outlines the base penalty for the type of weapon, and the corresponding strength requirements that must be met to avoid additional penalties for using two weapons of the same type (i.e. paired pistols, paired SMGs).

A +4 penalty for firing a weapon in your off hand applies.  The edge Ambidexterity or the equivalent skill eliminates this penalty.  For every point of strength below the requirement add an additional +1 modifier.  If your Strength is less than half the required Strength you cannot fire both weapons in that mode, you'll simply hurt yourself.  If you really want to attempt it all standard penalties apply and you take a light stun wound for every two points of uncompensated recoil.  This is figured during every phase where you fire both weapons.

Example 1 (strength - two pistols)
Gabby (Str. 3) is using two SA pistols at the same time.  She has the Strength necessary to do this and suffers no additional penalties beyond a +1 per weapon, and a +4 to one weapon for firing with her off hand.

Example 2 (strength - two SMGs)
Later in the battle she draws two submachine guns to try and even the odds.  Unfortunately for Gabby, these SMG's don't offer SA.  Since her strength is lower than the required amount for BF or FA she suffers an additional penalty to each weapons target number.  She suffers a +4 penalty instead of the normal +3 penalty, in addition to all other modifiers.

Reloading a firearm is slightly more difficult when using two weapons so it takes both weapons complex action to reload one of them.  This time is the same whether or not the character has a smartgun installed.  The physical acts of putting your gun down, putting in the clip, and picking up the gun again are what eat up the time.

Installing a second smart-link system in the other hand allows a character to apply the -2 modifier even while using a second weapon. The second smartgun link superimposes a targeting crosshair in a different color than the other smartgun link. With a little practice the use of the two crosshairs (one paired to each hand) becomes as natural as a single crosshair paired to the dominant hand.

Ranged Weapon Maneuvers

The manuever system for martial arts introduced in the Cannon Companion adds a lot of detail and flavor to normal martial arts. So why not add that detail to gunfights? In the spirit of John Woo I present to you my own take on Ranged Weapon Maneuvers.

Each of these following maneuvers may be taken in the same way as martial arts manevuers. For every 2 points of a ranged weapon skill, one maneuver may be taken that applies to that specific ranged weapon skill. This applies only to the base ranged-weapon skill, not specializations. For example, a character with Pistols 5 can know up to 2 Pistol Maneuvers, such as Deliberate Aimed Snapshot and Hammer. Each Maneuver must be purchased at a cost of 2 Karma each.

During game play, characters can only learn maneuvers from an instructor who knows the martial arts discipline at a skill rating higher than the character and must know the maneuver. See p. 245 in SR3 and pp. 49-50 of the SRComp for rules for instructors and learning skills.

Each maneuver is directly linked to the Ranged Weapons skill with which it was learned. Characters cannot default ot maneuvers. For example, a character who learned the Hammer maneuver with his pistols skill cannot use it with a rifle.

Use of a maneuver must be declaired before the dice roll and modify the existing roll. They do not require a separate roll.

Martial Arts

In addition to picking maneuvers a-la-carte for your character I present a singular martial art based around the pistol as an extension of the body. At creation, the character receives the standard maneuver every 2 levels. In addition they may purchase additional maneuvers at the cost of 4 karma apiece up to half the martial arts rating (such that the total number of maneuvers equals to skill rating as opposed to half for those picking up maneuvers independently)

Statistische Handfeuerwaffe (Gun-Katas) The Gun Katas are based upon the premise that the positions and actions of antagonists in any combat situation can be statistically predicted and teaches the user to integrate this mathematical calculation with a martial art form to create a deadly fire-arm combat style. The different movements and positions of the Gun Katas are designed to give the student the best lethal cover fire while keeping the defendant clear of the statistically typical trajectories of return fire in any situation. Mere rote-mastery increases the user's efficiency by up to 200%. However, pairing with the Adept powers of Pistol Mastery & Bullet Evasion (aka Side Step) enables an individual to truly master this martial art - making a Master of the Gun Katas an individual not to be underestimated or taken lightly. Weapons: Hold-Out Pistols, Light Pistols, Heavy Pistols Advantages: Allows melee combat firing of pistols against opponents within reach. Reach equals Reaction/3 rounding down + Math SPU + Pistol Mastery. Disadvantages: Known only to Grammeton Monks, must use specially customized pistols, mus supress emotion either via centering or drugs. Maneuvers: Disorient, Evasion, Melee Training, Multistrike, Whirling, Drop Shot, Shot on the Run. Notes: The Gun Katas allow melee combat with a pistol against multiple opponents, with the character pulling the trigger as he punches at opponents with the pistol. Make an opposed melee combat test. Successes stage up the base damage of the pistol. No successes mean the opponent has forced the pistol's barrel out of line with his body. A bullet is fired regardless of success. Depending on the total number of success on both combatants, the GM may rule that multiple bullets are fired and wasted on a draw or failure. A botch indicates that the pistol is out of bullets or jammed. The adept may also use the pistol as a blunt weapon, inflicting (STR+1)M Stun damage with it. Firing the pistol at targets beyond melee range is still conducted via the character's Pistol skill. Recoil applies for each melee combat roll the user makes. If the opponents are only armed with guns, they make opposed melee combat rolls when attacked by the adept with the weapon in hand, which means that if they do not have melee combat training or an appropriate melee combat skill & weapon they suffer the +2 TN penalty for defaulting. When the martial artist is attacked by opponents making ranged attacks, apply firing into melee rules to the opponents. The martial artist makes a normal melee roll applying penalties and if she achieves more successes on her melee roll than the attacker does with their ranged attack, they inflict damage with their pistol, with successes staging up the damage as normal. A Math SPU makes this martial art particularly dangerous, by allowing the character to subconsciously calculate trajectories and evaluate stances. Increase the Reach of the character by the rating of the Math SPU. Any opponents within the Reach of the character may be dealt with in melee combat with the pistols. Likewise, the Pistol Mastery Adept power also increases the Reach of the user by its level. The Reach of the Pistols when using Melee Combat Training is zero, and Weapon Mastery applies to the use of the pistols as a club, not Pistol Mastery.

Projectile Weapons

Projectile weapons fall under the ranged category, but are handled slightly differently for my games. Using a projectile weapon requires a great deal more skill and technique than using a normal firearm. As a result, each projectile weapon has a set of maneuvers that have developed exclusively for it over the course of hundreds of years of use in different countries. These following Projectile Martial Arts replace the skills listed in the main Shadowrun book and follow the same layout as for the other martial arts.

Archery
Techniques of archery in both the West, East and Middle East have merged through globalization and inter-style teaching into a single martial art.
Weapons: Longbow, Shortbow, Composite Longbow, Composite Shortbow, Compound Bows, Smart Bows, Yumi, & Daikyu
Advantages: +1 die against opponents unfamiliar with fighting archers.
Disadvantages: -1 die in tightly enclosed spaces or any area where full movement is restricted. Base damage reduced to Light for all weapons.
Maneuvers: Far Shot, Multiple Shot, Mounted Archery, Prone Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run

Far Shot
The character has learned how to gain the most distance out of their bow. The range increments are increased as if the character's strength is his actual strength + 1.

Multiple Shot
As a simple action, the archer loads up two arrows on his bowstring and fires both at a target or targets less than 30 feet apart with a TN penalty of +4. This maneuver may be taken multiple times, each time adding one additional arrow, but the TN penalty also goes up each time by +2

Mounted Archery
The TN penalty for shooting from the back of a critter or from a moving vehicle is halved.

Prone Shot
The archer may fire a bow with a Strength minimum rating up to 1.5 x his strength by firing from a prone position and using his feet to brace the bow while both arms pull back on the string. This takes a complex action to ready the weapon and a simple action to fire it, and the archer may have to spend another complex action to retrive the bow and ready it unless he is using a special footbow with loops for his feet.

Rapid Shot
A character may ready and fire a bow with a single simple action. This allows him to fire the bow twice in a single combat pass

Shot on the Run
The TN penalty for shooting while moving at a run is halved.

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