Re: Out of Ammo and Shotguns

now, i'm not an SG guy, and not much of a DSer, so my FMA use is
minimal,
but here's my say anyway.

On Wed, 14 Jul 1999, Thomas Barclay wrote:

> ** Here's another cut:
> If you get double ones, you are 'out of ammo'. This may be remedied by
> a 1 action reload, or by a zero action "emergency load" which can be
> botched. In this case, roll a reaction test to reload. If the unit
> succeeds, they reload and it doesn't consume an action. If they fail,
> they kill off an action, and still have to reload (consuming their
> second action if they want to do it then). This would allow high
> quality troops to reload "on the fly" while lower quality troops
> frequently hesitated, fumbled with the mag, etc. Thoughts?

i think this is probably my favourite.

however, i don't see why a failed quick reload should forfeit an action.
in realism terms, if the quick load is pulling a lever, ramming in a mag
and pulling another lever, then a failed attempt ("oops! that's not a
mag,
that's my radio!") should take no longer. in game terms, i'm guessing
it's
to dissuade people from always trying a quick reload, knowing that if it
fails they can always just spend one action later - Tom B's way, a
failed
quick reload essentially takes two actions. i would say that the
possibility of jamming the gun on a botched quick reload would be
enough.

> ** Having said that, if you combined my above idea with Adrian's and
> said
> 
> "During Fire Combat, anytime a fire action results in a roll of 1 on
> both the quality and the firepower dice of the firer, something has
> happened. An "Out of Action" chit is placed by the weapon bearer
> representing either a temporary stoppage, a jam, or merely an
> unexpected out of ammo result.
> 
> There are two ways to remove the Out-of-Action chit. One is an
> Immediate Action response. This involves trying to rapidly clear the
> jam or reload the weapon. This could result in more serious problems,
> or it could get the user back locked and cocked asap. To try this,
> before his next action, the figure rolls a reaction test +1 (+1 extra
> level of difficulty if suppressed). If the figure suceeds,  the jam or
> stoppage is cleared, the weapon reloaded, or whatever, and the player
> may take his next action unhindered. If the figure fails, his next
> action is forefeit and he must spend an action subsequently to reload
> or clear the jam. If the figure spends an action to Ready Weapon
> (instead of an immediate action response or as a result of a blown
> IA), the figure rolls a reaction test +0 (+1 extra level if suppresed)
> to clear the weapon because he is taking his time. Failure here means
> further actions must be spent trying to unjam the weapon until it
> succeeds or a catastrophe results.
> 
> Catastrophe results from rolling a 1 on either of the above reaction
> tests (the Immediate Action or the Ready Weapon action), it turns out
> that the stoppage or jam is serious and the weapon is out of action
> until a weapon tech gets a chance to fix it. It will no longer fire."

i think this is a bit harsh - requiring a test every time you roll snake
eyes is going too far. and as for a botch on the reload breaking the gun
altogether, that's just cruel.

my suggestion (as if we need another) would be:

- double 1 -> empty!
- quick reload
-- no action
-- take a test
-- botch jams the gun
- slow reload
-- one action
-- no test
- unjam
-- one action
-- test needed
-- botch breaks the gun?
-- gun is unloaded once unjammed?

there is the question of modifiers for the checks. i would put a quick
load at +0 or +1, and an unjam at +1. however, i would say that for
every
failed unjam attempt, the modifier goes up by one - the soldier is
getting
more and more wound up, or has accidentally made the problem worse, or
the
problem is turning out to be more and more serious. this is a bit harsh,
but it's dramatic.

tom