How would you design a system so that modern(ish) guns are
>lethal
>fast shooting
>makes manual operated firearms differ from semi-auto
>makes full power cartridge not the always answer
>handles location damage
>handles suppressive fire
>fast and fun
?
I was thinking
>each character has 3 actions per 6 second turn that can be used to do whatever
>manual firearms need to use one of those actions to operate the firearm if they don't have a specific bonus that negates it (call it "Mad Minute")
>each firearm has a "recoil" value that is added as an attack penalty for future attacks this turn
>it's not strictly "recoil" but all things that disrupt sight picture (so manually operated firearms have a high one) and various things can reduce the penalty and even make it negative (the ability to lead followup shots with something low recoil)
>if a firearm's minimum strength is not met, recoil value increases
As for lethality and location damage
>each character has a relatively low damage threshold and if they suffer damage above it they suffer wounds that decrease performance (ala Saga Edition)
>if a wound is generated a random roll determines where on the body it is, with a bias towards torso, and what kind of penalties are suffered (the default assumption is that a character aims at whatever is convenient in the firefight)
>double (ect.) the threshold inflicts multiple wounds
>aimed shots lets you trade a to-hit penalty for lowering the effective threshold of a target and lets you skip the random roll for determining which body part was damaged
>enough wounds to torso or head is instant death
For suppressive fire,Post too long. Click here to view the full text.