Re: [GZG] FMAS: Combining Movement with Shooting
From: Tom B <kaladorn@g...>
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 2010 16:16:52 -0400
Subject: Re: [GZG] FMAS: Combining Movement with Shooting
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suppression to wounds:
I think it should remain as constant as feasible. My logic goes
something
like this:
Suppressive fire isn't suppressive just because it is there. It is
suppressive because it is close enough that you know it could easily hit
you
if you were a bit more unlucky or exposed. It should be kicking up dirt
at
your feet, sizzling past your head, etc. You can't just shoot in the air
wildly and have effective suppressive fire generally. It has to be aimed
at
the target.
Realistically, if it can be effective suppressive fire, it can be
effective
fire. To me, game mechanics that only allow one or the other are a bit
silly. Stargate RPG has a silly bifurcation between suppressive fire,
covering fire, and effective fire - the first applies penalties to
actions
of a single enemy figure (can't cause a wound), the second provides
penalties to actions of any enemy figure attacking a single friendly
figure
(can't cause a wound), and the third can hit people but causes no
suppressive effects.
When you shoot, you generally intend to kill the enemy. Suppression is
just
the result of near misses.
Now, that's not 100% true because you do have a notion of suppressive
fire
with high-rate small arms and support weapons, but that is still based
upon
presenting a hazard to an enemy by putting rounds where they could hit
him.
The only difference between this and normal fire is that you are firing
more
rounds with less attention to accuracy than normal. To be effective
though,
your higher rate of fire still has to put rounds into his immediate
vicinity. Pictures of US Marines firing M-16s over their heads into the
jungle in vietnam basically translated to wasting ammunition most of the
time.
So, I think maintaining the ability to hit and damage a target a fair
percentage of the time (considering the full realm of outcomes from
fire) is
a reasonable thing.
But it isn't a big thing, I just think that's how I do it. I like QD
shifts
for a lot of things - anything that directly affects the character
himself -
wounds, drugs, fatigue, and movement could be one of those things.
The reality is you can have a fun game any way you slice it. Play with
the
numbers until you get outcomes you enjoy.
T.