[OFFICIAL] FMA range thoughts....

Now that everyone has had a few days to digest the FMA test draft stuff,
I
want to start throwing out a few other ideas that we've had as
alternatives
to some of the draft rules, to see what people think of them.

The first one is to do with ranges of weapons; the draft version posted
to
the list last week has each weapon given fixed ranges for close, medium
and
long, which is both "traditional" in game terms and is simple to use and
remember. However, this means that an untrained figure has the same
maximum
range with a given weapon as an elite (albeit with a reduced chance of
actually hitting).
Now, an alternative method, and one closer to what we used in Stargunt
II,
is to relate range bands of weapons to the firer's quality rating - so
each
figure has a "basic range band" equal to his/her quality die type - eg:
6"
for a green, 10" for  veteran etc. Different types of weapon then use
MULTIPLIERS on this basic range band to represent differing inherent
accuracies - eg: pistols and machine-pistols might use 0.5 (pretty
inaccurate at anything over point-blank), assault rifles 1, heavier or
more
accurate weapons 2 or even 3.
So, the range band for a given weapon/user combination is the weapon's
modifier x the firer's basic band - so for a veteran with a pistol it
would
be 0.5 x 10 = 5", for an elite with an assault rifle 1 x 12 = 12", etc.
CLOSE RANGE is then up to 1 x the effective range band, MEDIUM is 2 x,
and
LONG would be 3 x (or maybe 4 x - it might be sensible to say that each
band is twice the previous one?)

Examples:  1)  Regular trooper with typical assault rifle:  Base RB =
8",
weapon multiplier 1, so actual range bands are close 8", medium 16",
long
24" (or maybe 32"?).
2) Elite trooper with machine pistol: Base RB = 12", weapon multiplier
0.5,
so actual range bands are close 6", medium 12", long 18" (or maybe
24"?).
3) Veteran trooper with sniper rifle: Base RB = 10", weapon multiplier
2,
so actual range bands are close 20", medium 40", long 60" (or maybe
80"?).

On top of this, we could say that an AIMED shot (which would entail
using 2
actions for the shot - the first action to aim, then the second to fire)
would DOUBLE the weapon multiplier - thus in example (1) above, the reg
could fire his rifle out to 48" (or 64" if using the 4x for  long range)
if
he spent both actions over the one shot, assuming he had a clear LOS
over
that distance!

Pros of this concept: more realism due to better troops being able to
hit
at greater ranges; it has a good "feel" to it, I think. Commonality of
ideas with SGII.
Cons: a bit more complex than original method; may give some odd results
at
the extremes of the variables range (eg: an untrained with a pistol gets
ranges of 2/4/6' if snapshooting, and still only 4/8/12" if he aims,
whereas an elite with same gun gets 6/12/18" for snap and 12/24/36" if
aimed - but is this REALLY unreasonable, in the light of  real-life
examples quoted on the list?)

So, opinions anyone? This is the sort of rule where we are going to have
to
go for an either/or decision, rather than allowing the option of both -
it
is too fundamental to the core system. Does this feel better than the
fixed-range version, and is the extra complication worth it?

Over to you guys......

Jon (GZG)