Specifically for GURPS Metro, but I plan to make it useful for all games for people who find the standard character sheets to be lacking. In my experience with the system, I've met very few people who didn't have problems with the default sheets, or even some of the attempts by other people available online.
So, I'm taking a crack at it. It's going to be built in a spreadsheet, and offered as both spreadsheet with a lot of auto-calculating and a .pdf. I'd like some feedback from other people familiar with GURPS for further ideas. This is for 4e, specifically, although adding a slot for Passive Defense out of 3e wouldn't be too hard.
What I've got so far;
ST, Lifting ST, Striking ST, Current HP/ Max HP
DX, Arm DX, Hand DX (these are questionable, thinking I may leave them out because if I include them, I'll need to include arm ST and such)
IQ, Will, Per, Current Morale/Max Morale
HT, Current FP/Max FP, Current magic FP/Max magic FP
Other resource pools (temporary HP, resources for characters with a separate thing than HP/FP, etc)
Advantages and disadvantages, with all the stuff for point cost, level, and a brief note for how it works or reference to sheet that has it. An extra section somewhere will be provided for descriptions of things too long to fit in one line for easy reference.
Quirks, perks, and habits
Quirks and Perks are pretty standard, other than including room for notes. Habits is something that I'm adding, and functions as an extra 10 slots of minor quirks (primarily likes/dislikes). 5 are to be chosen at character generation, with a further 5 to be determined in play (example, a character is relaxing at the bar and decides to try shooting some darts. A few lucky rolls, and the player decides he takes a liking to the game of darts, and all things being equal, will play darts for relaxation over other bar games, and it goes on the list for ease of remembering in a game that may not meet for a while between sessions).
Skills, with a spot for name, skill difficulty, level, points spent, and maybe a brief notes section similar to advantages and disadvantages for skills that have special applications or rules. Techniques are listed slightly indented below the base skill they function on.
And here's where things go really different. The biggest problem I've had with GURPS is the equipment.
Character portrait, hit locations, and items carried. rather than a list, there's room for a fairly large character portrait, with a series of boxes connected to each of the body parts. Each box has that body part's stats if different from the rest, slots for individual wounds, current/max HP, and a slot for armor worn and all relevant information to that. Locations within the greater hit locations use approximately the rules from Low Tech, (example; a hit to the arm, roll 1d6. 1-2 is forearm, 3 is elbow, 4-5 is upper arm, and 6 is shoulder. The size of a given hit location determines the odds of an attack striking that round hitting other equipment carried there). Equipment such as backpacks take up the entire back slot, and include a checkbox for whether they are presently being carried or not. Holsters, slung weapons, and so on have their stats listed elsewhere, but for inventory purposes list weight, and checkboxes for if they are presently slung/holstered. The weapon stats themselves include slung/holstered, in hand, and off character. All equipment listings will have room for listing DR/HP for campaigns of the sort where it's relevant.
A second section for equipment is provided, for listing things like houses and vehicles, equipment stored in them. Depending on space, room for a tiny diagram may be provided, should it become important to know layouts/setups. My handy dandy reference to all the commonly desired-but-not-remembered rules will be included as an extra page or two, and include a few things off the GM screen, tables from the back of the book, and other such things
Showing posts with label GURPS Metro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GURPS Metro. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
GURPS Metro: Vehicles
One of the party members bought a railcart, so I had to work out stats, might as well start the post here for tracking a few standard vehicles. Metro Vehicles tend to be built of scavenged parts, such as from reclaimed subway trains. Transportation was touched on in Life in the Metro, but here I'll go into depth.
The Rails
Small outposts exist throughout the rail system. Some are simple standalone outposts, heavily reinforced to protect their few occupants, others the starting point for frontier stations. Either way, they are the manual control posts for the connections between the rail routes, and they're vital to the function of what's left of the rail system. Many larger rail routes almost never change from their standard settings, but these switching stations allow for smaller, faster traffic to get by, or to switch onto smaller routes, access tunnels, and other such things. Most rail traffic uses small radio to call in their route if they need tracks switched, because they can do so without needing to stop.
The Powertrain
Human power is common, either by pedal or handcar lever. However, the same recirculating steam engines used before the calamity can be salvaged or occasionally built new. Regardless of how you get them, the value is about the same. Very small has 50HP, Small has 100 HP, Medium ones 200HP, and large ones 300HP. Also used to make power generators, etc. All are developed using the portable steam generator as a base and scaled some, along with stats from other recirculating steam engines both present and historical.
Very Small Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (4 hours per gallon of fuel) $250, 50 lbs
Small Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (3 hours per gallon of fuel) $500, 100 lbs
Medium Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (2 hours per gallon of fuel) $1000, 200 lbs
Large Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (1 hour per gallon of fuel) $1750, $350 lbs
Armored Train
A compact version of the armored trains used between WWI and WWII of our world, they are the only real safe way to travel. Found on major routes, they're slow and cramped. Passengers sit on benches along the center of the train, facing outwards. Sloped armored walls leave just enough room for passengers to sit, with room for one moderate sized suitcase or similar below the seat, and a small pack in their lap. A small view port runs all the way around the train between the wall armor and the roof, covered with chain link fencing and often having a small steel slab to seal it in case of determined attack (Passengers are encouraged to return fire in case of attack). There's always at least one rotating turret, usually armed with a Heavy SMG or some manner of high capacity shotgun, and
the vehicle often has spikes and such to further discourage wildlife. Usually main routes that will be patrolled by armored trains are pretty safe even for those on foot, by virtue of large amounts of armed and armored traffic, but occasional wildlife attacks aren't unheard of. Bandit attacks are usually halfhearted, for posturing purposes, as a successful attack is likely to draw the ire of a large number of people. Most armored trains have 1-2 doors per side, with a spot at the end for the driver, and the engine at the back. Trains are generally about 5 yards long, and can fit up to 20 people. Tickets are about $10/mile traveled, and gets you about 250 lbs total of stuff. Armor is 1/2" thick sloped mild steel plating on the sides (18 sq yards total), 1/4" plating on top (4 sq yds). Large vehicle engine.
Driving (Locomotive)
TL ST/HP Hnd/SR HT Move LWt. Load SM Occ. DR Range Cost Locations
6+1 50 -2/6 11 1/8 6.5 2.5 +4 1+1 42 200 $35k 8W
Drasine
A drasine is a powered vehicle, often a car with the regular wheels switched for rail-riding wheels. Armored drasines are used by Militias and the Reclaimer's Guild to keep the tracks clear and usable. Semi-common on major lines, but they'll often make a run every so often through smaller or less used lines to clear out bandit or wildlife infestations that may have cropped up. Generally made from a pickup truck or similar with a lot of armor bolted to it. Switch the wheels back to normal and it's usable without rails, although they tend to be slow due to sheer mass. Armor can be any thickness, with medium being a light armored drasine, heavy being standard, and very heavy being a railtank. Roof armor is usually but not necessarily thinner, and on occasion may be completely open/unarmored. The listed Drasine is unarmored. Powered by a medium or large engine.
Driving (Railcart)
TL ST/HP Hnd/SR HT Move LWt. Load SM Occ. DR Range Cost Locations
6+1 55 0/4 11f 3/50 2.2 .85 +3 2 5 500 20k G4W
Railbikes and pedalcarts
One of the go-to means of conveyance for those who need to get around on their own. Traveling merchants, package runners, and railtaxis all use them. They're usually built of one or two TL6 bicycles with wheels switched for rail compatibility, but are often equipped with a small or very small engine depending on size and cargo load. Usually lightly armored, if at all. They tend to be much faster, and use speed and operator knowledge of the rails stay out of trouble. They usually have more gears than a typical TL6 bicycle to allow higher top speeds. Cargo version trades top speed for weight. Generally relatively light, between 100 and 300 lbs unloaded, and easily moved from rail to rail if needed. The bicycle parts give Enhanced Ground Move 1, .5 for cargo, and stack per seat (A pedalcart with two seats can have Enhanced Move 1.5 with two riders, or Enhanced Move 1 for a cargo variant. Use average of the Moves of the riders). Capacity is 400 for a regular single railbike, 600 for a cargo variant. Weight is 75 per bike for regular, 100 for cargo. In the order of single, single cargo, double, double cargo, in the form of acceleration/top speed; With a very small engine, speeds are 4/25, 3/20, 2/15, and 1/10; With a small engine, those climb to 6/40, 5/35, 4/30, and 3/25. Most railbikes and pedalcarts can be converted to work on the surface with a wheel swap. HnD/SR is +1/3. Locations varies based on specific cart setup, typically Exposed (E) or Open Cabin (O), with 3-4 wheels.
Vehicle Modifications
Mild Steel Armor Plating, per 10 sq feet (~1 yd)
Light (1/8" thick) DR7, HP30 55 lb/10 sq feet
Medium (1/4" thick) DR14, HP38 102 lb/10 sq feet
Heavy (1/2" thick) DR 28, HP47 205 lb/10 sq feet
Very Heavy (1" thick) DR 56, HP60 410 lb/10 sq feet
Angled Plate x1.5 DR, x1.5 Area/Weight, 1/2 internal space.
Headlights, bells, whistles, etc are added as anything purchased separately, and simply mounted to the vehicle. A pup tent can be mounted to the vehicle to give it a soft-top.
The Rails
Small outposts exist throughout the rail system. Some are simple standalone outposts, heavily reinforced to protect their few occupants, others the starting point for frontier stations. Either way, they are the manual control posts for the connections between the rail routes, and they're vital to the function of what's left of the rail system. Many larger rail routes almost never change from their standard settings, but these switching stations allow for smaller, faster traffic to get by, or to switch onto smaller routes, access tunnels, and other such things. Most rail traffic uses small radio to call in their route if they need tracks switched, because they can do so without needing to stop.
The Powertrain
Human power is common, either by pedal or handcar lever. However, the same recirculating steam engines used before the calamity can be salvaged or occasionally built new. Regardless of how you get them, the value is about the same. Very small has 50HP, Small has 100 HP, Medium ones 200HP, and large ones 300HP. Also used to make power generators, etc. All are developed using the portable steam generator as a base and scaled some, along with stats from other recirculating steam engines both present and historical.
Very Small Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (4 hours per gallon of fuel) $250, 50 lbs
Small Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (3 hours per gallon of fuel) $500, 100 lbs
Medium Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (2 hours per gallon of fuel) $1000, 200 lbs
Large Vehicle Steam Engine (TL 6+1) (1 hour per gallon of fuel) $1750, $350 lbs
Armored Train
A compact version of the armored trains used between WWI and WWII of our world, they are the only real safe way to travel. Found on major routes, they're slow and cramped. Passengers sit on benches along the center of the train, facing outwards. Sloped armored walls leave just enough room for passengers to sit, with room for one moderate sized suitcase or similar below the seat, and a small pack in their lap. A small view port runs all the way around the train between the wall armor and the roof, covered with chain link fencing and often having a small steel slab to seal it in case of determined attack (Passengers are encouraged to return fire in case of attack). There's always at least one rotating turret, usually armed with a Heavy SMG or some manner of high capacity shotgun, and
the vehicle often has spikes and such to further discourage wildlife. Usually main routes that will be patrolled by armored trains are pretty safe even for those on foot, by virtue of large amounts of armed and armored traffic, but occasional wildlife attacks aren't unheard of. Bandit attacks are usually halfhearted, for posturing purposes, as a successful attack is likely to draw the ire of a large number of people. Most armored trains have 1-2 doors per side, with a spot at the end for the driver, and the engine at the back. Trains are generally about 5 yards long, and can fit up to 20 people. Tickets are about $10/mile traveled, and gets you about 250 lbs total of stuff. Armor is 1/2" thick sloped mild steel plating on the sides (18 sq yards total), 1/4" plating on top (4 sq yds). Large vehicle engine.
Driving (Locomotive)
TL ST/HP Hnd/SR HT Move LWt. Load SM Occ. DR Range Cost Locations
6+1 50 -2/6 11 1/8 6.5 2.5 +4 1+1 42 200 $35k 8W
Drasine
A drasine is a powered vehicle, often a car with the regular wheels switched for rail-riding wheels. Armored drasines are used by Militias and the Reclaimer's Guild to keep the tracks clear and usable. Semi-common on major lines, but they'll often make a run every so often through smaller or less used lines to clear out bandit or wildlife infestations that may have cropped up. Generally made from a pickup truck or similar with a lot of armor bolted to it. Switch the wheels back to normal and it's usable without rails, although they tend to be slow due to sheer mass. Armor can be any thickness, with medium being a light armored drasine, heavy being standard, and very heavy being a railtank. Roof armor is usually but not necessarily thinner, and on occasion may be completely open/unarmored. The listed Drasine is unarmored. Powered by a medium or large engine.
Driving (Railcart)
TL ST/HP Hnd/SR HT Move LWt. Load SM Occ. DR Range Cost Locations
6+1 55 0/4 11f 3/50 2.2 .85 +3 2 5 500 20k G4W
Railbikes and pedalcarts
One of the go-to means of conveyance for those who need to get around on their own. Traveling merchants, package runners, and railtaxis all use them. They're usually built of one or two TL6 bicycles with wheels switched for rail compatibility, but are often equipped with a small or very small engine depending on size and cargo load. Usually lightly armored, if at all. They tend to be much faster, and use speed and operator knowledge of the rails stay out of trouble. They usually have more gears than a typical TL6 bicycle to allow higher top speeds. Cargo version trades top speed for weight. Generally relatively light, between 100 and 300 lbs unloaded, and easily moved from rail to rail if needed. The bicycle parts give Enhanced Ground Move 1, .5 for cargo, and stack per seat (A pedalcart with two seats can have Enhanced Move 1.5 with two riders, or Enhanced Move 1 for a cargo variant. Use average of the Moves of the riders). Capacity is 400 for a regular single railbike, 600 for a cargo variant. Weight is 75 per bike for regular, 100 for cargo. In the order of single, single cargo, double, double cargo, in the form of acceleration/top speed; With a very small engine, speeds are 4/25, 3/20, 2/15, and 1/10; With a small engine, those climb to 6/40, 5/35, 4/30, and 3/25. Most railbikes and pedalcarts can be converted to work on the surface with a wheel swap. HnD/SR is +1/3. Locations varies based on specific cart setup, typically Exposed (E) or Open Cabin (O), with 3-4 wheels.
Vehicle Modifications
Mild Steel Armor Plating, per 10 sq feet (~1 yd)
Light (1/8" thick) DR7, HP30 55 lb/10 sq feet
Medium (1/4" thick) DR14, HP38 102 lb/10 sq feet
Heavy (1/2" thick) DR 28, HP47 205 lb/10 sq feet
Very Heavy (1" thick) DR 56, HP60 410 lb/10 sq feet
Angled Plate x1.5 DR, x1.5 Area/Weight, 1/2 internal space.
Headlights, bells, whistles, etc are added as anything purchased separately, and simply mounted to the vehicle. A pup tent can be mounted to the vehicle to give it a soft-top.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Metro Medicine
Medical care was remarkably advanced before the Calamity. Even after, much of the knowledge has been maintained, and the major losses in medical ability are due to problems with the manufacture of things like antibiotics, availability of clean rooms, and specialty tools that cannot be produced in the Metros.
First aid remains at TL8, due to the more accelerated medical advancement gained thanks to things like magic and alchemy. Surgery and diagnosis, however, is much harder with limited magic and next to no specialized equipment. X-rays are still available, but they're very low tech, and give a much higher radiation dose per use. Sterile environments are hard to come by, blood is somewhat hard to store (usually in enough demand that those with no skills can get a decent income supplement by selling blood).
Hospitals are more or less a thing of the past, although there's generally an infirmary. Quarantine,
either for even magically incurable diseases or in the absense of magical or psychic healing being
available, is generally managed by way of a specialized bunk bed, stretched just enough to make room for a chamberpot, and big enough to allow just a little movement. Surgery is still fairly reasonable, due to the retained knowledge from before the Calamity, and wide variety of opportunities for the budding sawbones to practice. Occasionally there are still books and something approaching a formal education, but if you want a dyed in the wool doctor, you're going to need to track down one of the longer lived races.
Anyone with magery almost always learns a few basic healing spells. Even without magery, it's not uncommon for those determined to help people to learn a healing charm (1 point perk Charm, spells is at -5 for low mana area, rolls to learn the spell are also at -5 without magery). Similarly, psychic healing (and many psychic power applications) are equally in demand. Any level of magic or psychic healing can earn a living basically anywhere in the Metros (how good of one depends on abilities and variety of them).
Thankfully, a great many drugs are still available, being derived from various plants, animals, and fungi, and possibly alchemically derived or enhanced (alchemic techniques used in conjunction with regular chemistry is often referred to as mana-reactive chemistry. Quite powerful even in low mana areas, it allows the production of chemicals that otherwise require substantially greater access to specialized equipment, extreme purity ingredients, or other such components. In game effect is TL+1, with TL+2 available at extra cost for production of chemistry based things. Requires a roll of Alchemy and a roll of Chemistry)
Several specialty drugs have either been invented or gained far more widespread use in the dangerous confines of the Metros. Most are used with disposable injectors or applied via slap patches (ie, combined with DMSO, turning them into a contact agent).
Stabilizer: Stabilizer is technically two drugs in one; a single dose of a painkiller, and an alchemically derived healing concoction worth 1 point. It's used for its ability to stop all bleeding, including vital wounds that would otherwise require surgery. The painkiller is there as a courtesy to the injured, because if you need the stabilizer, you're probably hurting. $25
Fitemor: A combination of a painkiller, stimulant, and mild psychoactive, Fitemor is a workaround for lack of widespread magical healing. It's used in situations where having a fighter fall unconscious is essentially a death sentence. Early or improvised doses are unreliable, but those deliberately and
professionally prepared balance most of the downsides between the drugs, at least until they wear off. When used, it grants High Pain Threshhold, Unfazeable, +1d temporary FP, Doesn't Sleep, Overconfidence (12) (15 if experienced), and some effects of Berserk (Does not fall unconscious, no loss of move, +4 on rolls to not die). When taking it, the user makes HT-8 roll to resist, and if that fails a will roll (will+2 if experienced with the drug) to resist going into a modified berserk (usual effects of All Out Attacks, but you may make a will+3 roll to function normally for purposes of reloading, etc, still performed in an all-out fashion). The drug lasts for (60-HT minutes), and if the user is still alive at that time, loses double the FP gained by taking it and takes 2d6 of damage (a successful HT roll halves damage). There are some times when a man must walk off a battlefield with two broken legs. Further doses prolong the effect, but damage stacks multiplicatively. $25
Gofast: Gofast is an alchemical drug (based partially on alchemic Speed, Magic p. 214). Created from a psychostimulant, a regular stimulant, and a shot of adrenaline being alchemically modified, it gives +1 Basic Speed and +1 move. A second dose stacks, and additionally grants Combat Reflexes. Third dose stacks, and grants Enhanced Time Perception. A fourth dose can be taken, stacks, and grants Altered Time Rate 1. Lasts for (10-HT) minutes, minimum 1 minute. Possessing the advantages granted steps you further along the path with less doses taken. Gofast burns 1 FP per dose in effect per 30 seconds, and deals 1 HP of damage per 10 seconds of double speed used when it induces Altered Time Rate in a being not designed to perform at that level. Addictive as per regular stimulants, sometimes blended with regular stims to provide sufficient energy to make use of the boost. $35
ROIDZ: A combination of psychoactives, adrenaline, and alchemic magic. Triggers Berserk (with a successful Will-2 roll per turn, you may act normally) and +4 ST. Addictive, if you use it too often (and somehow survive). A second dose will give a further +2 to ST and -3 to Will to resist berserk, and a third will grant another +1, and -4 to will vs berserk. Lasts 30-HT/2 minutes. $15
Last Hurrah: This drug will kill you. There are essentially no exceptions. But you will sing the most beautiful of swan songs. It is a tailored combination of Fitemor, 4x doses of GoFast, and 3x doses of
ROIDZ. The combination of drugs grants Unkillable 1 (only die at -10X HP, no rolls to resist death), DR2, and Numb, in addition to the usual effects. The user makes a roll every HT minutes starting at 2X HT, at -1 per roll until failure. On failure, the user dies immediately of severe chemical overload. Should the user somehow flush the drugs from their system before it kills them, they are likely to suffer severe consequences even from the brief exposure. $225
Purge: Copious amounts of poisons, toxins, and drugs can wind up in your system in the Metros. Sometimes you need them out of said system as fast as possible, whether it's a wild party crashed by some murderous wildlife, or having to take some combat drugs to stay alive, but the fix might just kill you if you don't flush it from your system. A single dose of Purge gives a flat +2 to HT rolls vs. damn near any chemical or similar that can induce them. A second dose is likely to cause an upset stomach (roll vs. unmodified HT or begin Retching), but will deal with a single dose of each chemical in the system, and gives +5 to HT rolls vs. the rest. Three doses of Purge and you will most likely begin venting from all available ends (Roll vs. HT-5), but it will flush any and all things from your system in 3D6+6 seconds from when it kicks in. In any dosage, it takes 15 minutes if ingested, or about 30 seconds if injected or slap-patched. $40
Regen: Despite all the problems in the Metros, a few good things have come of it. Not long after the Calamity, one of the various weeds (now known as Healroot) was found to, when properly prepared, boost natural healing. It's brewed into a tea, which is distilled, aged, and then re-brewed with some fresh plant. Ready-to-brew single packets can be purchased. Using it gives +1 to HT for most purposes, and the effects of Very Rapid Healing for 24 hours, and Rapid healing that lasts for 48. Roll vs. HT when you take it, on a failure you become drowsy and lethargic. Prolonged regular use can make the +1 HT permanent, but your system becomes dependent on it to heal, -2 to HT without it. Treat as a -1 point addiction. $5/dose
Recreational drugs
The Metro tends to be somewhat lacking in subtlety of law enforcement. Minor crimes will get you beaten, flogged, or just ostracized, while major crimes get you punted out the door without equipment or maybe just a round to the back of the head. People who aren't trying to at least do SOMETHING useful aren't really put up with, but so long as you aren't committing crimes to fund the habit and aren't being a burden, you can smoke, snort, or shoot up with damn near anything you like and can find.
Most regular drugs that do not require large amounts of land to produce, or some analogue thereof, can still be found in varying quantities.
Shrooms: Some of the other drugs are made from these. Different shrooms can have different effects,
although it's unreliable. Roll a d6 to see what you get if you don't have relevant skills to make the identification and are purchasing from an unreliable source or foraging for them yourself. (1-2 gets hallucinogens, 3-4 gets stims, and 5-6 gets you the equivalent of sleeping pills).
Painkillers: Painkillers have been available since the 1800s, and are quite prevalent in the Metros thanks to the variety of ways to get hurt.
Animal derived drugs: Even trippier than before the Calamity.
First aid remains at TL8, due to the more accelerated medical advancement gained thanks to things like magic and alchemy. Surgery and diagnosis, however, is much harder with limited magic and next to no specialized equipment. X-rays are still available, but they're very low tech, and give a much higher radiation dose per use. Sterile environments are hard to come by, blood is somewhat hard to store (usually in enough demand that those with no skills can get a decent income supplement by selling blood).
Hospitals are more or less a thing of the past, although there's generally an infirmary. Quarantine,
either for even magically incurable diseases or in the absense of magical or psychic healing being
available, is generally managed by way of a specialized bunk bed, stretched just enough to make room for a chamberpot, and big enough to allow just a little movement. Surgery is still fairly reasonable, due to the retained knowledge from before the Calamity, and wide variety of opportunities for the budding sawbones to practice. Occasionally there are still books and something approaching a formal education, but if you want a dyed in the wool doctor, you're going to need to track down one of the longer lived races.
Anyone with magery almost always learns a few basic healing spells. Even without magery, it's not uncommon for those determined to help people to learn a healing charm (1 point perk Charm, spells is at -5 for low mana area, rolls to learn the spell are also at -5 without magery). Similarly, psychic healing (and many psychic power applications) are equally in demand. Any level of magic or psychic healing can earn a living basically anywhere in the Metros (how good of one depends on abilities and variety of them).
Thankfully, a great many drugs are still available, being derived from various plants, animals, and fungi, and possibly alchemically derived or enhanced (alchemic techniques used in conjunction with regular chemistry is often referred to as mana-reactive chemistry. Quite powerful even in low mana areas, it allows the production of chemicals that otherwise require substantially greater access to specialized equipment, extreme purity ingredients, or other such components. In game effect is TL+1, with TL+2 available at extra cost for production of chemistry based things. Requires a roll of Alchemy and a roll of Chemistry)
Several specialty drugs have either been invented or gained far more widespread use in the dangerous confines of the Metros. Most are used with disposable injectors or applied via slap patches (ie, combined with DMSO, turning them into a contact agent).
Stabilizer: Stabilizer is technically two drugs in one; a single dose of a painkiller, and an alchemically derived healing concoction worth 1 point. It's used for its ability to stop all bleeding, including vital wounds that would otherwise require surgery. The painkiller is there as a courtesy to the injured, because if you need the stabilizer, you're probably hurting. $25
Fitemor: A combination of a painkiller, stimulant, and mild psychoactive, Fitemor is a workaround for lack of widespread magical healing. It's used in situations where having a fighter fall unconscious is essentially a death sentence. Early or improvised doses are unreliable, but those deliberately and
professionally prepared balance most of the downsides between the drugs, at least until they wear off. When used, it grants High Pain Threshhold, Unfazeable, +1d temporary FP, Doesn't Sleep, Overconfidence (12) (15 if experienced), and some effects of Berserk (Does not fall unconscious, no loss of move, +4 on rolls to not die). When taking it, the user makes HT-8 roll to resist, and if that fails a will roll (will+2 if experienced with the drug) to resist going into a modified berserk (usual effects of All Out Attacks, but you may make a will+3 roll to function normally for purposes of reloading, etc, still performed in an all-out fashion). The drug lasts for (60-HT minutes), and if the user is still alive at that time, loses double the FP gained by taking it and takes 2d6 of damage (a successful HT roll halves damage). There are some times when a man must walk off a battlefield with two broken legs. Further doses prolong the effect, but damage stacks multiplicatively. $25
Gofast: Gofast is an alchemical drug (based partially on alchemic Speed, Magic p. 214). Created from a psychostimulant, a regular stimulant, and a shot of adrenaline being alchemically modified, it gives +1 Basic Speed and +1 move. A second dose stacks, and additionally grants Combat Reflexes. Third dose stacks, and grants Enhanced Time Perception. A fourth dose can be taken, stacks, and grants Altered Time Rate 1. Lasts for (10-HT) minutes, minimum 1 minute. Possessing the advantages granted steps you further along the path with less doses taken. Gofast burns 1 FP per dose in effect per 30 seconds, and deals 1 HP of damage per 10 seconds of double speed used when it induces Altered Time Rate in a being not designed to perform at that level. Addictive as per regular stimulants, sometimes blended with regular stims to provide sufficient energy to make use of the boost. $35
ROIDZ: A combination of psychoactives, adrenaline, and alchemic magic. Triggers Berserk (with a successful Will-2 roll per turn, you may act normally) and +4 ST. Addictive, if you use it too often (and somehow survive). A second dose will give a further +2 to ST and -3 to Will to resist berserk, and a third will grant another +1, and -4 to will vs berserk. Lasts 30-HT/2 minutes. $15
Last Hurrah: This drug will kill you. There are essentially no exceptions. But you will sing the most beautiful of swan songs. It is a tailored combination of Fitemor, 4x doses of GoFast, and 3x doses of
ROIDZ. The combination of drugs grants Unkillable 1 (only die at -10X HP, no rolls to resist death), DR2, and Numb, in addition to the usual effects. The user makes a roll every HT minutes starting at 2X HT, at -1 per roll until failure. On failure, the user dies immediately of severe chemical overload. Should the user somehow flush the drugs from their system before it kills them, they are likely to suffer severe consequences even from the brief exposure. $225
Purge: Copious amounts of poisons, toxins, and drugs can wind up in your system in the Metros. Sometimes you need them out of said system as fast as possible, whether it's a wild party crashed by some murderous wildlife, or having to take some combat drugs to stay alive, but the fix might just kill you if you don't flush it from your system. A single dose of Purge gives a flat +2 to HT rolls vs. damn near any chemical or similar that can induce them. A second dose is likely to cause an upset stomach (roll vs. unmodified HT or begin Retching), but will deal with a single dose of each chemical in the system, and gives +5 to HT rolls vs. the rest. Three doses of Purge and you will most likely begin venting from all available ends (Roll vs. HT-5), but it will flush any and all things from your system in 3D6+6 seconds from when it kicks in. In any dosage, it takes 15 minutes if ingested, or about 30 seconds if injected or slap-patched. $40
Regen: Despite all the problems in the Metros, a few good things have come of it. Not long after the Calamity, one of the various weeds (now known as Healroot) was found to, when properly prepared, boost natural healing. It's brewed into a tea, which is distilled, aged, and then re-brewed with some fresh plant. Ready-to-brew single packets can be purchased. Using it gives +1 to HT for most purposes, and the effects of Very Rapid Healing for 24 hours, and Rapid healing that lasts for 48. Roll vs. HT when you take it, on a failure you become drowsy and lethargic. Prolonged regular use can make the +1 HT permanent, but your system becomes dependent on it to heal, -2 to HT without it. Treat as a -1 point addiction. $5/dose
Recreational drugs
The Metro tends to be somewhat lacking in subtlety of law enforcement. Minor crimes will get you beaten, flogged, or just ostracized, while major crimes get you punted out the door without equipment or maybe just a round to the back of the head. People who aren't trying to at least do SOMETHING useful aren't really put up with, but so long as you aren't committing crimes to fund the habit and aren't being a burden, you can smoke, snort, or shoot up with damn near anything you like and can find.
Most regular drugs that do not require large amounts of land to produce, or some analogue thereof, can still be found in varying quantities.
Shrooms: Some of the other drugs are made from these. Different shrooms can have different effects,
although it's unreliable. Roll a d6 to see what you get if you don't have relevant skills to make the identification and are purchasing from an unreliable source or foraging for them yourself. (1-2 gets hallucinogens, 3-4 gets stims, and 5-6 gets you the equivalent of sleeping pills).
Painkillers: Painkillers have been available since the 1800s, and are quite prevalent in the Metros thanks to the variety of ways to get hurt.
Animal derived drugs: Even trippier than before the Calamity.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
GURPS Metro; Almost Done
Only Metro Medicine (nearly done, requires double checking for balance purposes), the custom character sheet, and a GURPS cheat sheet (which will be made available for all gurps players/gms, because seriously, so necessary), and GURPS Metro is ready to play. I'll need a while longer to collect everything into something publishable to be a real worldbook, and need to do some splatbook art, but now that I'm halfway in practice drawing is enjoyable and moderately fast (and doesn't delay actually playing the game).
I don't actually have an adventure planned for the party built as of yet. Usually I have some fantastic setpiece event planned for the party to introduce them to the setting and start them on an adventure. Been working so hard to get the setting built that I haven't put thought into that (the ones I DID have were assuming a substantially different party makeup than I have. Was thinking "Capable but inexperienced young adults pulling an emergency guard duty", wound up with "A murderborg, a traveling trader, a mutant gunsmith, a young sniper trying to live up to the reputation of the man who trained him, a minor magical being masquerading as a child, and a con man down on his luck" which is more capable, more varied, and slightly harder to compose a setpiece event. Same one will work, it just doesn't grow as naturally into a proper story, although I can always get things started and give some freedom and see what develops from there).
I don't actually have an adventure planned for the party built as of yet. Usually I have some fantastic setpiece event planned for the party to introduce them to the setting and start them on an adventure. Been working so hard to get the setting built that I haven't put thought into that (the ones I DID have were assuming a substantially different party makeup than I have. Was thinking "Capable but inexperienced young adults pulling an emergency guard duty", wound up with "A murderborg, a traveling trader, a mutant gunsmith, a young sniper trying to live up to the reputation of the man who trained him, a minor magical being masquerading as a child, and a con man down on his luck" which is more capable, more varied, and slightly harder to compose a setpiece event. Same one will work, it just doesn't grow as naturally into a proper story, although I can always get things started and give some freedom and see what develops from there).
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Life in the Metro
There are a few things everything needs to live. Food and shelter are high up the list.
Shelter
The metros have a surprising amount of space in them, for those unaccustomed to subway systems. Even the smallest station is 2-3 tracks wide, with a platform the length of the train, and wide enough to safely accomodate the flow of traffic. The largest of stations include the bottom level of malls, large buildings (libraries, theaters, etc), or rival large airports in scope and scale. Still, while there's more room than one might expect, quarters are cramped at best. An entire complex for the fabulously wealthy of the Metro is still likely smaller than the bathroom of the ultra rich before the calamity.
Stations always have a few basic features, and can be grouped into several archetypes. Stations always have at least one lower level with tracks, with at least one track going either direction, and often a third "express" track. There will always be at least -a basic platform to service these tracks, and this area is typically the full length of a subway train. Above this, there's a floor with turnstiles, ticket booth, maps, and perhaps a vendor or two, which is generally but not necessarily smaller than the platform below it. Stations of substantial size may have a multiple platform levels to accomodate large volumes of traffic. From there, the stations gradually increase in size. More space on lower platforms, more rails, and the upper levels may have a few small shops built into them. From there, you get into the larger stations. Large stations fall into intermodal stations, malls, and those built into the sublevels of things like large hotels, major arenas, libraries, and other large public buildings. Intermodal stations and other stations with large, above ground parking structures or other such buildings that may serve as usable (or potentially reclaimable, for the daring stalker) space. All medium large to large stations will at least have several built in shops and kiosks, which are generally repurposed.
Regardless of size, most city-stations will wind up with a fairly standard setup. Entrances and exits, both to the tunnels and to the surface, will be closed off with gates or doors. Most surface exits will often be sealed semi-permantenly save a few well placed, defendable gates. Exits into the rail system will be possible to open and close to permit traffic of various sorts, both on foot and by various carts made by recycling the old trains. Housing typically is built from scraps and material taken from the trains. Most houses are about the same size, and generally are shared by multiple inhabitants. Bunk beds and lofts are exceptionally common, even for those wealthy enough to afford a whole room to themselves. On average, a room is around 6-8' wide by 10-12' long, although height varies slightly. Smaller and larger rooms are sometimes found, but total space per person remains roughly consistant. Bathrooms are handle dormatory/barracks style, with shared communal spaces. Water availability varies by location, with camp showers or sponge baths being the norm. Food is also generally stored communally, with a reclaimed walk in fridge/freezer if possible, with standard metal lockers mounted inside for rental. Rooms are generally stacked at least 2 high, and up to 3 or 4 where ceiling height, materials, and builder capability allow.
Dead broke level living is squatting in a tunnel. There's shelter from the elements, and the outer tunnels near citystation are generally somewhat secure, but there's nothing resembling any amenities.
Poor level gets you an emergency bunk from the initial rush to the Metros, small enough to make Naval bunks feel incredibly spacious. You might even have a footlocker.
Struggling level gets you 1/4 of a room, generally managed by way of bunk beds, bunked lofts if the room is tall enough, or two bunked beds large enough for two. You'll generally have a footlocker and/or small dresser, and a camp stove. Usually a bench or couch, or several small (possibly folding) chairs.
Average is two to a room. Either a single set of bunks, a bed for two, or two lofts. There may be a designated kitchen area, with a freestanding kitchen assembly, and possibly even a small icebox.
Wealthy is a whole room to yourself. Lofts are still favored, but you have a LOT of room compared to most.
Very wealthy is two rooms. Setups vary, but by virtue of the design of the Metros, you generally have to either get one atop the other, or two in a row. These rooms may or may not be connected directly.
Filthy Rich and beyond are largely unavailable. Examples might be an eccentric billionaire who built a sprawling subterranean farm for no apparent reason, and now is the sole provider of high quality fruits, a savvy survivalist who saved up the skills and supplies needed to get ahead, or someone who found a tremendous stash of pre-calamity supplies and information, or even someplace that could be converted into an entire new town.
Most towns will have the usual variety of a market/bazaar, pub, some manner of town hall to handle management duties, and an area set aside for work. Those that have skylights and the like will usually have some manner of hanging garden.
Some stations are new, having been excavated to make more space, a building basement tunneled into, sealed, and reclaimed, a discovered cave, or whathaveyou. Lacking the solid concrete, these tend to have more of a frontier town kind of feel, and are less safe from attack, with more acceptance of the carriage of major arms for defense as a result. There's a great deal more freedom, often more space, and a chance at fortunes, enough for many to brave the risks.
Food
Thanks to the farming habits of several primarily subterranean races, food is slightly easier than one might expect living underground. Deep Taters, developed by several races, are similar to potatoes, but instead grow their extremely durable roots deep, hanging the tubers much in the manner of fruit on a tree, and form the staple of most diets. A number of edible mushrooms have similarly been introduced and bred. Various forms of aquatic life flourish in cavern pools that sometimes connect to the Metro system, either accidentally or deliberately made and stocked. However mutated, much of the meat of post cataclysm animals remains edible. Various types of farms exist, using light collecting skylights or upper levels of Metro stations with durable windows, along with some above ground growing and harvesting (old parking structures and some chain link fencing make a good enclosure for raising livestock and window gardens). In some places, grow lights are used, generally powered by manually cranked/pedaled generators unless good power generation is available.
Trade
Apocalypse or not, life goes on, and with it trade. Barter is common, but with the difficulties of travel and time since the fall, a new currency has been developed to make trade a bit easier. Ammunition and medicine are common barter goods that are readily transported, along with luxuries such as drugs and alcohol (high quality alcohol and things like cigarettes or equivalent). Currency is handled by the Trader's Guild, and tends to be very durable and quiet (coins have leather wraps to keep them from making noise, etc.) Money is minted at the main hall of the Merchant's Guild, or occasionally by representatives in larger stations that are determined to have their own currencies.
The Surface
In the years since the Calamity, a lot has changed on the surface. Cities crumble, wildlife mutates and moves back into the abandoned sprawl. Access to the surface runs the gamut, from irradiated mutated hellscape, to "A bit rough on the lungs without a gas mask after a while". Most stations with sufficient manpower and material will move to secure a stronghold on the surface around the station exit to permit safer travel to the surface. A few surface routes have been cleared and mostly secured, between stations that are nearby but lacking in subterrainean connections (collapsed tunnels, no connecting lines, etc). These surface paths tend to be traveled only by well armed groups, although those wishing to explore often do so from these approximately safe paths. Running into other people on the surface can be tense, but most bandits stick to the tunnels.
Occupations
When the calamity happened, the cities basically went underground, and the people took their trades with them. Some jobs that were no longer useful or possible went away, and others flourished. Farming is a fairly common occupation, as is working the manual generators needed to power grow-lights for places without access to surface sunlight. In areas with relatively safe surfaces, some semi-domesticated wildlife and various hearty crops can be cultivated. Leatherworking is common, to make up for the loss of access to many traditional space-intensive crop-based fabrics, or their specialty material intensive synthetic counterparts (although finding and/or repairing pre-calamity textiles for use is lucrative). Entertainment is important to keep morale up, and all manner of musicians, storytellers, and the like can be found. Travel is still something of an ordeal, so mail carriers, deliverypeople, traders, and anyone else who travels between stations outside of the main line tend to be brave and handy with a firearm. Most jobs related to copious regulatory compliance disappeared in the Calamity, although a few stations have decided that red tape is the key to survival.
Hobbies
Space is limited, but downtime is fairly plentiful. Reading, music, and art are all popular. Bars, pubs, and the like often will have darts, or the more common Metro equivalent of Knives (dart rules, played with throwing knives. In larger stations they'll generally be Tiny Throwing Knives ($15, -1 damage version of small throwing knife) or smaller Shuriken. Frontier stations will generally have a bit more space, and a more casual attitude towards weaponry and allow the use of Small or even Large throwing knives, or larger shuriken. Various martial arts are commonly taught and practiced, and enjoyed as spectator sports. There are several races a year performed by those who have their own carts specialized for speed (often various merchants and delivery people who have their own racecarts and know the rails), and generally attended by anyone in the stations they pass through and everyone who can travel safely to get there (safety in numbers, number of travelling spectators makes it a safer trip).
Luxuries
Luxury makes life a little more bearable when you can barely even see the sun, and feeling the breeze on your face means you are likely to breathe in a big dose of toxic crap. Alcohol is a favorite, having existed for about as long as sapient races have. In the Metro, it's usually derived from deep taters and other such crops as a distilled beverage. Alcohol is taken neat, with mixers and beverages such as beer or wine being luxuries, due to the ingredients required and space taken to store a single drink. Beverages such as Apple Pie Moonshine are greatly enjoyed, and quite lucrative, offering variety and flavor in a very strong package. Tobacco or equivalent is available, with suitable stand-ins found among plants and mushrooms. Music is common, most often played live, although recovered or new production players with pre-calamity songs are greatly prized. Recovered projectors, movies, televisions, etc. are worth a fortune, and someone able to recover one with a stash of old shows or movies able to set up a small theater quite easily.
Medicine
Medicine and medical care are a great part of modern life, and will be discussed in Metro Medicine, along with a variety of drugs and treatments.
Travel
Getting around in the Metros is something of a process. Everything in a given Metro is within easy walking distance, but getting from one to another can be a challenge. Main lines will tend to have an armored train with several cars, and ample guns and gun ports, along with a fair bit of storage. The main car is generally powered, with additional power available from a handcar lever. In addition, anyone with compact railcars (small enough to be removed from the tracks easily) may use the rails, as well as pedestrians along access paths. Main railways tend to be reasonably safe by virtue of quantity of travelers. Travel on smaller rails is a bit trickier. There might be a railbus drasine that runs a regular route, but it's nowhere near as large or well defended as the main rail's armored train(s). The smallest routes are likely to completely lack anything resembling a regular transport system. If you want to ride the rails, you have to own or hire a railcar, and find some people looking to travel to provide extra guns.
Usually delivery people will have some manner of railcar, often HEAVILY customized. Some have little to no armor, and are basically a luge designed to simply go too fast for trouble to catch, others are tiny tanks that trundle along, and anywhere in between.
Foot traffic is the old standby to get around, slow but fairly reliable. Bicycles (both regular and converted for rail compatibility) are also fairly common, particularly where they could be salvaged off the surface (they're also one of the only fairly available ways to get around on the surface at speed).
Offroad trucks and stuff exist, but they're generally old and patched together, because the manufacturing capability to build new full sized engines is mostly gone, so engines require a LOT of manual labor to produce by hand.
Wildlife
All manner of critters could be found in and around the Wastelands even before the Calamity, with rampant mutations and wider availability of horrific toxins, chemicals, and such only permitting greater variety of natural armaments. Prey animals tend to be large and powerful, and/or have powerful natural weaponry such as innate flamethrowers, sonic attacks, or launchable spines. Predators are even larger and more powerful to compensate, hunt in packs, or both. That said, a number of species split, some maintaining their present size and lifestyle, other developing into new species. A few examples are below.
Diggers: a broad category of mutated omnivores derived from ground dwelling species. Rats, moles, voles, etc. They wound up semi-upright, with even larger claws and teeth. Dangerous in large groups, some of them can be quite tame if raised by humans to be so. A lot of factors determine if they're a threat or not, but it's typically pretty apparent which you're dealing with. They tend to hang out in tunnels, basements, and low areas on the surface.
Firepigs: Somewhere between a wild boar, a goat, and a flamethrower, they've got big horns, big tusks, and often bad attitudes. One of the newer domesticated animals. Smaller breeds make fairly good pets, larger ones are generally raised around the edges of a station, or on the surface. Trained to fight and armored, they'll go tusk to tusk with anything in the Metros and hold their own pretty darn well. They produce both milk and fuel, and aid in the disposal of garbage. They generally aren't raised for slaughter due to their other uses, although wild ones are hunted on occasionally. They have no particular preference of habitat. Mostly preferring vegetation, they're still omnivores and will scavenge carcasses or eat the corpses of predators they successfully slay.
MurderBirds: Basically velociraptors with beaks. Big, mean pack hunters, with dangerous temperments and mean streaks a mile wide. Resilient and wily, they cause problems when they move in. A few breeds have learned to co-exist with the sapient races, but most are too ornery and have to be put down to ensure anything like safety. They prefer the surface, and can kind of glide if they find a high place to launch from. Tastes like a 200 lb turkey.
Shelter
The metros have a surprising amount of space in them, for those unaccustomed to subway systems. Even the smallest station is 2-3 tracks wide, with a platform the length of the train, and wide enough to safely accomodate the flow of traffic. The largest of stations include the bottom level of malls, large buildings (libraries, theaters, etc), or rival large airports in scope and scale. Still, while there's more room than one might expect, quarters are cramped at best. An entire complex for the fabulously wealthy of the Metro is still likely smaller than the bathroom of the ultra rich before the calamity.
Stations always have a few basic features, and can be grouped into several archetypes. Stations always have at least one lower level with tracks, with at least one track going either direction, and often a third "express" track. There will always be at least -a basic platform to service these tracks, and this area is typically the full length of a subway train. Above this, there's a floor with turnstiles, ticket booth, maps, and perhaps a vendor or two, which is generally but not necessarily smaller than the platform below it. Stations of substantial size may have a multiple platform levels to accomodate large volumes of traffic. From there, the stations gradually increase in size. More space on lower platforms, more rails, and the upper levels may have a few small shops built into them. From there, you get into the larger stations. Large stations fall into intermodal stations, malls, and those built into the sublevels of things like large hotels, major arenas, libraries, and other large public buildings. Intermodal stations and other stations with large, above ground parking structures or other such buildings that may serve as usable (or potentially reclaimable, for the daring stalker) space. All medium large to large stations will at least have several built in shops and kiosks, which are generally repurposed.
Regardless of size, most city-stations will wind up with a fairly standard setup. Entrances and exits, both to the tunnels and to the surface, will be closed off with gates or doors. Most surface exits will often be sealed semi-permantenly save a few well placed, defendable gates. Exits into the rail system will be possible to open and close to permit traffic of various sorts, both on foot and by various carts made by recycling the old trains. Housing typically is built from scraps and material taken from the trains. Most houses are about the same size, and generally are shared by multiple inhabitants. Bunk beds and lofts are exceptionally common, even for those wealthy enough to afford a whole room to themselves. On average, a room is around 6-8' wide by 10-12' long, although height varies slightly. Smaller and larger rooms are sometimes found, but total space per person remains roughly consistant. Bathrooms are handle dormatory/barracks style, with shared communal spaces. Water availability varies by location, with camp showers or sponge baths being the norm. Food is also generally stored communally, with a reclaimed walk in fridge/freezer if possible, with standard metal lockers mounted inside for rental. Rooms are generally stacked at least 2 high, and up to 3 or 4 where ceiling height, materials, and builder capability allow.
Dead broke level living is squatting in a tunnel. There's shelter from the elements, and the outer tunnels near citystation are generally somewhat secure, but there's nothing resembling any amenities.
Poor level gets you an emergency bunk from the initial rush to the Metros, small enough to make Naval bunks feel incredibly spacious. You might even have a footlocker.
Struggling level gets you 1/4 of a room, generally managed by way of bunk beds, bunked lofts if the room is tall enough, or two bunked beds large enough for two. You'll generally have a footlocker and/or small dresser, and a camp stove. Usually a bench or couch, or several small (possibly folding) chairs.
Average is two to a room. Either a single set of bunks, a bed for two, or two lofts. There may be a designated kitchen area, with a freestanding kitchen assembly, and possibly even a small icebox.
Wealthy is a whole room to yourself. Lofts are still favored, but you have a LOT of room compared to most.
Very wealthy is two rooms. Setups vary, but by virtue of the design of the Metros, you generally have to either get one atop the other, or two in a row. These rooms may or may not be connected directly.
Filthy Rich and beyond are largely unavailable. Examples might be an eccentric billionaire who built a sprawling subterranean farm for no apparent reason, and now is the sole provider of high quality fruits, a savvy survivalist who saved up the skills and supplies needed to get ahead, or someone who found a tremendous stash of pre-calamity supplies and information, or even someplace that could be converted into an entire new town.
Most towns will have the usual variety of a market/bazaar, pub, some manner of town hall to handle management duties, and an area set aside for work. Those that have skylights and the like will usually have some manner of hanging garden.
Some stations are new, having been excavated to make more space, a building basement tunneled into, sealed, and reclaimed, a discovered cave, or whathaveyou. Lacking the solid concrete, these tend to have more of a frontier town kind of feel, and are less safe from attack, with more acceptance of the carriage of major arms for defense as a result. There's a great deal more freedom, often more space, and a chance at fortunes, enough for many to brave the risks.
Food
Thanks to the farming habits of several primarily subterranean races, food is slightly easier than one might expect living underground. Deep Taters, developed by several races, are similar to potatoes, but instead grow their extremely durable roots deep, hanging the tubers much in the manner of fruit on a tree, and form the staple of most diets. A number of edible mushrooms have similarly been introduced and bred. Various forms of aquatic life flourish in cavern pools that sometimes connect to the Metro system, either accidentally or deliberately made and stocked. However mutated, much of the meat of post cataclysm animals remains edible. Various types of farms exist, using light collecting skylights or upper levels of Metro stations with durable windows, along with some above ground growing and harvesting (old parking structures and some chain link fencing make a good enclosure for raising livestock and window gardens). In some places, grow lights are used, generally powered by manually cranked/pedaled generators unless good power generation is available.
Trade
Apocalypse or not, life goes on, and with it trade. Barter is common, but with the difficulties of travel and time since the fall, a new currency has been developed to make trade a bit easier. Ammunition and medicine are common barter goods that are readily transported, along with luxuries such as drugs and alcohol (high quality alcohol and things like cigarettes or equivalent). Currency is handled by the Trader's Guild, and tends to be very durable and quiet (coins have leather wraps to keep them from making noise, etc.) Money is minted at the main hall of the Merchant's Guild, or occasionally by representatives in larger stations that are determined to have their own currencies.
The Surface
In the years since the Calamity, a lot has changed on the surface. Cities crumble, wildlife mutates and moves back into the abandoned sprawl. Access to the surface runs the gamut, from irradiated mutated hellscape, to "A bit rough on the lungs without a gas mask after a while". Most stations with sufficient manpower and material will move to secure a stronghold on the surface around the station exit to permit safer travel to the surface. A few surface routes have been cleared and mostly secured, between stations that are nearby but lacking in subterrainean connections (collapsed tunnels, no connecting lines, etc). These surface paths tend to be traveled only by well armed groups, although those wishing to explore often do so from these approximately safe paths. Running into other people on the surface can be tense, but most bandits stick to the tunnels.
Occupations
When the calamity happened, the cities basically went underground, and the people took their trades with them. Some jobs that were no longer useful or possible went away, and others flourished. Farming is a fairly common occupation, as is working the manual generators needed to power grow-lights for places without access to surface sunlight. In areas with relatively safe surfaces, some semi-domesticated wildlife and various hearty crops can be cultivated. Leatherworking is common, to make up for the loss of access to many traditional space-intensive crop-based fabrics, or their specialty material intensive synthetic counterparts (although finding and/or repairing pre-calamity textiles for use is lucrative). Entertainment is important to keep morale up, and all manner of musicians, storytellers, and the like can be found. Travel is still something of an ordeal, so mail carriers, deliverypeople, traders, and anyone else who travels between stations outside of the main line tend to be brave and handy with a firearm. Most jobs related to copious regulatory compliance disappeared in the Calamity, although a few stations have decided that red tape is the key to survival.
Hobbies
Space is limited, but downtime is fairly plentiful. Reading, music, and art are all popular. Bars, pubs, and the like often will have darts, or the more common Metro equivalent of Knives (dart rules, played with throwing knives. In larger stations they'll generally be Tiny Throwing Knives ($15, -1 damage version of small throwing knife) or smaller Shuriken. Frontier stations will generally have a bit more space, and a more casual attitude towards weaponry and allow the use of Small or even Large throwing knives, or larger shuriken. Various martial arts are commonly taught and practiced, and enjoyed as spectator sports. There are several races a year performed by those who have their own carts specialized for speed (often various merchants and delivery people who have their own racecarts and know the rails), and generally attended by anyone in the stations they pass through and everyone who can travel safely to get there (safety in numbers, number of travelling spectators makes it a safer trip).
Luxuries
Luxury makes life a little more bearable when you can barely even see the sun, and feeling the breeze on your face means you are likely to breathe in a big dose of toxic crap. Alcohol is a favorite, having existed for about as long as sapient races have. In the Metro, it's usually derived from deep taters and other such crops as a distilled beverage. Alcohol is taken neat, with mixers and beverages such as beer or wine being luxuries, due to the ingredients required and space taken to store a single drink. Beverages such as Apple Pie Moonshine are greatly enjoyed, and quite lucrative, offering variety and flavor in a very strong package. Tobacco or equivalent is available, with suitable stand-ins found among plants and mushrooms. Music is common, most often played live, although recovered or new production players with pre-calamity songs are greatly prized. Recovered projectors, movies, televisions, etc. are worth a fortune, and someone able to recover one with a stash of old shows or movies able to set up a small theater quite easily.
Medicine
Medicine and medical care are a great part of modern life, and will be discussed in Metro Medicine, along with a variety of drugs and treatments.
Travel
Getting around in the Metros is something of a process. Everything in a given Metro is within easy walking distance, but getting from one to another can be a challenge. Main lines will tend to have an armored train with several cars, and ample guns and gun ports, along with a fair bit of storage. The main car is generally powered, with additional power available from a handcar lever. In addition, anyone with compact railcars (small enough to be removed from the tracks easily) may use the rails, as well as pedestrians along access paths. Main railways tend to be reasonably safe by virtue of quantity of travelers. Travel on smaller rails is a bit trickier. There might be a railbus drasine that runs a regular route, but it's nowhere near as large or well defended as the main rail's armored train(s). The smallest routes are likely to completely lack anything resembling a regular transport system. If you want to ride the rails, you have to own or hire a railcar, and find some people looking to travel to provide extra guns.
Usually delivery people will have some manner of railcar, often HEAVILY customized. Some have little to no armor, and are basically a luge designed to simply go too fast for trouble to catch, others are tiny tanks that trundle along, and anywhere in between.
Foot traffic is the old standby to get around, slow but fairly reliable. Bicycles (both regular and converted for rail compatibility) are also fairly common, particularly where they could be salvaged off the surface (they're also one of the only fairly available ways to get around on the surface at speed).
Offroad trucks and stuff exist, but they're generally old and patched together, because the manufacturing capability to build new full sized engines is mostly gone, so engines require a LOT of manual labor to produce by hand.
Wildlife
All manner of critters could be found in and around the Wastelands even before the Calamity, with rampant mutations and wider availability of horrific toxins, chemicals, and such only permitting greater variety of natural armaments. Prey animals tend to be large and powerful, and/or have powerful natural weaponry such as innate flamethrowers, sonic attacks, or launchable spines. Predators are even larger and more powerful to compensate, hunt in packs, or both. That said, a number of species split, some maintaining their present size and lifestyle, other developing into new species. A few examples are below.
Diggers: a broad category of mutated omnivores derived from ground dwelling species. Rats, moles, voles, etc. They wound up semi-upright, with even larger claws and teeth. Dangerous in large groups, some of them can be quite tame if raised by humans to be so. A lot of factors determine if they're a threat or not, but it's typically pretty apparent which you're dealing with. They tend to hang out in tunnels, basements, and low areas on the surface.
Firepigs: Somewhere between a wild boar, a goat, and a flamethrower, they've got big horns, big tusks, and often bad attitudes. One of the newer domesticated animals. Smaller breeds make fairly good pets, larger ones are generally raised around the edges of a station, or on the surface. Trained to fight and armored, they'll go tusk to tusk with anything in the Metros and hold their own pretty darn well. They produce both milk and fuel, and aid in the disposal of garbage. They generally aren't raised for slaughter due to their other uses, although wild ones are hunted on occasionally. They have no particular preference of habitat. Mostly preferring vegetation, they're still omnivores and will scavenge carcasses or eat the corpses of predators they successfully slay.
MurderBirds: Basically velociraptors with beaks. Big, mean pack hunters, with dangerous temperments and mean streaks a mile wide. Resilient and wily, they cause problems when they move in. A few breeds have learned to co-exist with the sapient races, but most are too ornery and have to be put down to ensure anything like safety. They prefer the surface, and can kind of glide if they find a high place to launch from. Tastes like a 200 lb turkey.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
GM Cherry
Killing your first PC is one of those things I've seen around as a GM Milestone, the First Time of game mastering. It's something that in all the games, I've never actually done.
Part of this is completely unintentional. Those who have played in my campaigns are aware that because I am open and honest with my rolls, my games are essentially easy mode. I have shit for luck.
"Alright, player is out, standing in the open, there's a flying guard that everyone failed their checks to spot, if he can make the basic vision check, all the stealth goes out the *CRIT FAIL* ....... You continue on your way, no alarms or other signals of being seen to be heard or seen."
"Yes, player got forced from cover by an explosion, can't even dodge because laying down in the middle of the street, and now for machine gun of *CRIT FAIL* ............. a whole lot of whiff."
And so on. The only reliable thing in my campaigns tends to be that the opposition will fail hilariously badly at the most convenient possible times, and it's right there in the dice for all to see, not GM fiat.
However, I'm enough of a GM and player to be able to build around this. I can build situations dangerous and deadly enough to get past... but I often haven't wanted to. Much of my GMing has, to this point, involved a lot of newer players, and players new to GURPS. If I kill their character, it may be a month before they manage to build a new one, no matter how much browbeating and assistance I use to help speed them along.
GURPS Metro may finally change that, because I don't plan to pull my punches. I will try to keep things realistic and as fair as they can realistically be, but I'm expecting my players to learn, adapt, and improvise. They may not all survive the experience.
Part of this is completely unintentional. Those who have played in my campaigns are aware that because I am open and honest with my rolls, my games are essentially easy mode. I have shit for luck.
"Alright, player is out, standing in the open, there's a flying guard that everyone failed their checks to spot, if he can make the basic vision check, all the stealth goes out the *CRIT FAIL* ....... You continue on your way, no alarms or other signals of being seen to be heard or seen."
"Yes, player got forced from cover by an explosion, can't even dodge because laying down in the middle of the street, and now for machine gun of *CRIT FAIL* ............. a whole lot of whiff."
And so on. The only reliable thing in my campaigns tends to be that the opposition will fail hilariously badly at the most convenient possible times, and it's right there in the dice for all to see, not GM fiat.
However, I'm enough of a GM and player to be able to build around this. I can build situations dangerous and deadly enough to get past... but I often haven't wanted to. Much of my GMing has, to this point, involved a lot of newer players, and players new to GURPS. If I kill their character, it may be a month before they manage to build a new one, no matter how much browbeating and assistance I use to help speed them along.
GURPS Metro may finally change that, because I don't plan to pull my punches. I will try to keep things realistic and as fair as they can realistically be, but I'm expecting my players to learn, adapt, and improvise. They may not all survive the experience.
Friday, October 24, 2014
GM Resource: Subway Systems
Subway systems and similar are a great setting for a good deal of things, be it a frantic brawl, a stealthy escape, a shady investigation, or even just some realism, worldbuilding, and a means to get the PCs around town without anyone having bothered to buy a car.
The problem is, a great many places do not have anything remotely resembling a subway system, with the closest parallel being a city bus and/or taxis, if that. Whether the metro system is a mere occasional background for the campaign or the main setting, it's hard to make it convincingly as a GM if you have no experience with it.
I've been doing some research, and have enlisted the aid of friends who happen to LIVE in cities with very extensive metro systems, or close enough to have visited. I'll be sharing this resource and the fruits of my research for others who desire mass transport in their city, be it for a team of hard boiled detectives or explorers visiting a spaceport.
I'm going to try to make this a recurring thing, when I find topics for which information is not readily handy to the casual GM who wants realism without having to write a research paper.
"ok, so.. I'm not sure about the differences between Russian metro and NY subway, but I'll tell you what I know about the subway in regards to size.
Yes, the station does have to be as long as the train. Other than that, there's a huge range in size. The minimum would be something that's three tracks + two sidewalks wide. This accommodates trains going in both directions, a middle track for trains to skip stations (express or in case of construction), plus a standing platform on each side. The other floor would be for the turnstiles and booth, if there is a booth (there's always a booth on at least one "side" of the station, at one entrance. The station almost always has multiple entrances at the front and back of the train). An underground train may have the first floor at ground level or below ground level, with the train itself one floor below. An above ground train may have the first floor at ground level, or just have an open staircase from the street leading up to the first floor, with the train one floor above.
That's the minimum. One or two train lines may stop at a station like this, and there will be no other amenities. The next size up would have two to six lines, typically one to three local and one to three express, in any combination. This layout would be similar to the first, but almost always underground. It would basically have the following layout: local track - platform - express track - middle track - local track other direction - platform - middle track other direction. This layout may have a small news/candy stand in the middle or the platforms.
As it gets bigger from there, it also gets more complex, with trains on multiple layers, trains that are multiple city blocks from each other being connected through underground tunnels, etc.
Some stations have small shops such as small florists or accessory shops. Some stations are in the lowermost level of malls or department stores. Other stations house malls. The difference being whether you need to walk through a turnstile or not to get into the shop(s). The largest stations essentially look like airports, with food courts and somewhat larger stores inside, such as GameStops. Stores, except for the aforementioned news stands, are always on different levels from the actual train platform."
The problem is, a great many places do not have anything remotely resembling a subway system, with the closest parallel being a city bus and/or taxis, if that. Whether the metro system is a mere occasional background for the campaign or the main setting, it's hard to make it convincingly as a GM if you have no experience with it.
I've been doing some research, and have enlisted the aid of friends who happen to LIVE in cities with very extensive metro systems, or close enough to have visited. I'll be sharing this resource and the fruits of my research for others who desire mass transport in their city, be it for a team of hard boiled detectives or explorers visiting a spaceport.
I'm going to try to make this a recurring thing, when I find topics for which information is not readily handy to the casual GM who wants realism without having to write a research paper.
"ok, so.. I'm not sure about the differences between Russian metro and NY subway, but I'll tell you what I know about the subway in regards to size.
Yes, the station does have to be as long as the train. Other than that, there's a huge range in size. The minimum would be something that's three tracks + two sidewalks wide. This accommodates trains going in both directions, a middle track for trains to skip stations (express or in case of construction), plus a standing platform on each side. The other floor would be for the turnstiles and booth, if there is a booth (there's always a booth on at least one "side" of the station, at one entrance. The station almost always has multiple entrances at the front and back of the train). An underground train may have the first floor at ground level or below ground level, with the train itself one floor below. An above ground train may have the first floor at ground level, or just have an open staircase from the street leading up to the first floor, with the train one floor above.
That's the minimum. One or two train lines may stop at a station like this, and there will be no other amenities. The next size up would have two to six lines, typically one to three local and one to three express, in any combination. This layout would be similar to the first, but almost always underground. It would basically have the following layout: local track - platform - express track - middle track - local track other direction - platform - middle track other direction. This layout may have a small news/candy stand in the middle or the platforms.
As it gets bigger from there, it also gets more complex, with trains on multiple layers, trains that are multiple city blocks from each other being connected through underground tunnels, etc.
Some stations have small shops such as small florists or accessory shops. Some stations are in the lowermost level of malls or department stores. Other stations house malls. The difference being whether you need to walk through a turnstile or not to get into the shop(s). The largest stations essentially look like airports, with food courts and somewhat larger stores inside, such as GameStops. Stores, except for the aforementioned news stands, are always on different levels from the actual train platform."
Saturday, October 18, 2014
City design
I always work with weird settings, subterranean, arcology, etc.
I need to figure out how these actually WORK. In this case, it's metro stations (something I've been in all of once or twice in my life. I know I used the metro when I visited London way back when, and I think I may have used the NYC subway). I've seen a few more while watching things like Top Gear and approximations of them in video games. They're a fairly straightforward, utilitarian structure (generally), but it still helps to know a bit more about them before I start building a world around them.
Time for research!
I need to figure out how these actually WORK. In this case, it's metro stations (something I've been in all of once or twice in my life. I know I used the metro when I visited London way back when, and I think I may have used the NYC subway). I've seen a few more while watching things like Top Gear and approximations of them in video games. They're a fairly straightforward, utilitarian structure (generally), but it still helps to know a bit more about them before I start building a world around them.
Time for research!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
GURPS Metro: Weapons
NOTE: This will be updated further, and have an addendum. Guns are modified to be generic, with subcategories to be provided later. Everything is modified from guns out of High Tech, with minor corrections where needed and increased weight to reflect production restrictions. Please note any inconsistencies, errors, or things requiring clarification in the comments. Formatting issues will be fixed after posting.
This is the second of two main equipment posts, detailing the weapons designed and built for use by the denizens of the Metros.
The simplest of all weapons are the old fashioned ones. A sturdy knife, a hefty hatchet, a menacing machete, most metro dwellers carry a bit of sharp steel, though blunt weapons abound. Blades are simple to produce from salvaged steel, and good quality TL7 metals (fine quality for no price change) are fairly readily made with a bit of extra effort put into the mix and treatment of the steel (1.5x list price). Given the number of flesh eating mutants and confined spaces, weapons suited for very close quarters are favored (includes reach C). Any weapon listed in Low Tech is available, and all high tech melee weapons.
As brass knuckles, but change damage type to Cutting. Retains the ability to inflict knockback.
Any weapon including a striking handguard (cutlass, trench knife, etc) may be purchased with spikes added to it at cost. Weapons without a guard may have one added if it is feasible for close(er) combat. A variant of knuckles to be added to shoes/boots (spiked or regular) is available at usual cost, but cannot be used in the hand. +$5 to add to something already possessing a handguard.
Shotgun Club/Haft: $100
Rather than using the typical solid haft or club, a simple single-shot mechanism may be used as the basis of axes, hammers, and other such similar weapons, for a low weight alternative to a full shotgun. Treat as Baton or Light Club based on size/thickness of tubing used if not using a striking head, and add .5lb to a weapon so modified for the firing mechanism. ST 11, Shots 1(5), rcl 1/10 (first is shot, second is slugs). Takes 12g shotgun shells, RoF 1x9.
Combination Weapons: Varies
In the close confines of the Metro tunnels, and the wide variety of wildlife that likes to get up close and personal, a common tactic is to combine melee and ranged weapons, or occasionally different classes of ranged weapons. When two weapons are combined, use the weapon with the largest bulk's stat for the purposes of determining fast-draw skill (if applicable) and total unit bulk.
The staple of combat by sapient races, however, is the gun. The means and knowledge to produce low quality smokeless powder remains available, and handloading in the metros is the primary source of ammunition. Weaponry was in limited supply around much of the world that was consumed in the Calamity, most weaponry having moved towards the war front or been lost in the fall. Due to production limitations, weapons tend to be simple, ugly, and utilitarian. Even the finest of Metro-built guns are beautiful only to those who admire the pure utilitarian aesthetic.Most weapons fire pistol caliber cartridges, in the form of equivalents of 7.62 Tokarev, 9x19 Parabellum, and .45 ACP+P. 7.62 Tokarev has superior penetration against armor, but limited effectiveness against flesh. 9x19 performs moderately well against most targets. .45 ACP has difficulty penetrating armor, but does excellent damage to flesh. Longer barrels are used for more power, and shorter barrels where small size is desirable. Where large amounts of power are needed, .60 Fatboy serves as the Metro's magnum caliber. .60 Fatboy is actually a slightly shortened 20 gauge slug with a heavy case, and weapons that shoot it are often available with little modification as shotguns. Shotguns are available in 12 and 20 gauge, with 20 gauge prefered mostly by smaller races, for very compact shotguns, or those who desire the power of a shotgun but need larger ammuntion stores.
Because of the difficulty in producing them, intermediate and full power rifles (7.62x39 and 7.62x54R) are rare, and tend to be incredibly simple designs, often of single shot or bolt action design. A semi and full auto design has been developed, but ammunition is far more expensive, and so is typically only used specialists expecting to need substantially more firepower.
Weapons listed here already include all price modifications resulting from Metro production. 9x19 has a slight price reduction to represent the economy of scale, as the primary round produced and used. All weapons have a cheap, average, and fine variant, for .6X cost, 1X, and 2X list price respectively. Cheap guns have -1 to malf, average has 0, and fine has +1. A cheap gun may be turned into an average gun later at cost, or with a full day's work and .2x the gun's base value in material with 4 Armoury (small arms) rolls, by adjusting the fit of parts, adding lubrication, etc. An average gun may be converted to a fine gun at cost if someone else is doing the work, or with two days work and .6x the gun's base value in parts. A few guns are available in Very Cheap configurations, which cannot be upgraded. Cost for Very Cheap quality is .2X, -2 to malf. A * in the Malf category indicates a gun is susceptible to the flaws from ammo.
New manufacture ammunition using subpar parts is at .9 damage, range, and ST, -1 acc, and -1 malf for autoloading guns.
Bolt: The part of a repeating firearm that moves to push the cartridge into the chamber. Open bolt guns fire by releasing the bolt, which pushes a round into the chamber an immediately fires it. Cheaper and simpler, but give -2 to HT rolls to resist fouling. Closed bolt guns are protected from getting stuff in them, but retain more heat. In the event of a LOT of firing, there's the chance to cook off rounds. Open bolt guns do not have hammers/strikers.
Action: How the gun works. A single action gun requires the hammer or striker be cocked between each shot. On a revolver, this means reaching up to pull it back, on an automatic it will be cocked as the bolt travels back to grab the next round. Double action uses a longer, heavier trigger puller to cock the hammer prior to the shot, but give a -1 to ACC on aimed shots.
Stack: Single stack vs. double stack. Single stack puts each round in a magazine directly atop the next. Slim and easy to make, but lower capacity. Double stack is wider, and staggers the rounds, but can be very finicky at lower qualities.
Handguns
The staple of the Metros, most people will own at least a small handgun. Life's rough, and even the concrete of the subterranean cities can't keep out all of the terrors that roam the world. Revolvers are still around, adding a simple C-clip or moon clips if compatible to permit the use of rimless rounds, or being of simpler gate loading designs. Revolvers tend to be larger and heavier, to withstand the added pressure of +P rounds, often with longer barrels to milk as much power from the round as possible. Most different designs are available in all of the available calibers, so particular stats will be listed, damage dependent upon caliber and barrel length (if applicable). A caliber available only to revolvers with a solid frame and other such durable, reinforced weapons is the .60 Fatboy, an enormously heavy round that does massive damage. pistols that are capable of full auto are listed at their full auto rate, but are commonly available in semi-automatic, or may have a selector switch for both if of higher quality. Most Metro pistols can accept a stock of some kind, often detachable (possibly usable as a holster) but are listed without one. Guns that can be made as machine pistols are listed with full auto fire rates, purchased or set to semi-auto they have RoF 3.
SMGs
The standard repeating combat arm of the Metro dweller is the humble submachinegun. Simple to produce, most designs are hardly more complicated than a spring, a weight, and a few tubes. Using the prevalent handgun ammunition and often a slightly longer barrel, they make up for their low power per shot compared with many old world guns by volume of fire. Most different designs are available in all of the available calibers, so particular stats will be listed, damage dependent upon caliber and barrel length.
For .45 ACP, multiply RoF by .75 and add 1 to ST, and 7.62 Tok multiply RoF by 1.25 and subtract 1 from ST. All SMGs assume a fixed stock is included.
4.5" 9x19 barrel is standard. Reduce bulk penalty by 1 for 2.5" barrels if combined with a shortened grip/magazine, increase by 1 for 8" barrels, and 2 for 13" barrels
Barrel Lengths: 7.62x25 9x19 11.43x23 15.25 Fatboy
2.5" 2d+2 pi- 2d pi 1d+3 pi+ 3d-2 pi++
4.5" 3d-2 pi- 2d+1 pi 2d-1 pi+ 3d-1 pi++
8" 3d-1 pi- 2d+2 pi 2d pi+ 3d pi++
13" 3d pi- 3d-1 pi 2d+1 pi+ 3d+1 pi++
Cost Per Shot $0.4 $.5 $1 $2
Weight Per Shot .024 .026 .047 .08
Handguns
Guns (Pistol)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP Malf
Derringer 0 .5 1 1(20) 6 -1 2 $200 4 10/3 16
Double Derringer 0 .7 1 2(20) 6 -1 2 $280 4 10/3 16
Gate Loader 1 3.5 3 6(5i) 10 -2 2 $700 8 12/6 17
Bottom Break 1 2.5 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $580 4 10/5 17
Top Break 1 3 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $1100 4 10/6 16
Swing Out 1 3 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $1200 6 11/6 17
Small Blowback 1 2 18 SMag 9 -2 2 $500 4 10/5 17*
Small Blowback+ 1 2.5 18 Mag 9 -2 2 $750 6 11/5 17*
Recoil Operated 1 3 14 8+1 9 -2 2 $1000 4 10/6 17*
Recoil Operated+ 1 2.5 14 15+1 9 -2 2 $1400 6 11/5 17*
Derringer: The simplest, cheapest gun, available with one or two barrels. The cheap single barrel is a screw on affair, with an external single action hammer. An average quality single barrel gains a break open mechanism. Fine receives a self-cocking trigger. The double derringer is of higher quality by necessity. Cheap double has a break open mechanism, but no ejectors and exposed hammers. You must manually switch the hammer mechanism from one barrel to the other. Average double has a self-switching trigger. Fine quality double gains an ejector and a self cocking mechanism with internal hammers. May use any length barrel
Gate Loader: Built like an old fashioned single action, it has a solid frame and a simple loading gate. Very Cheap ones are unsafe, single action only, and do not have an integral shell ejector mechanism, simply a spot to store a stick. Cheap gate loaders allow you to fill all chambers safely with a halfway position, but must be manually reset to this position after shooting happens, gain double action trigger, and gain an attached swing-out ejection rod. Fine revolvers have a fixed ejection rod, gain a hammer stop safety. Gate loaders are strong enough to withstand the use of magnum rounds. May use any length barrel
Bottom Break: An exceptionally simple, if awkward, revolver that permits all rounds to be loaded or ejected simultaneously. Cheap quality does not include an ejector, and is single action. Average quality adds a hand-pressed ejector. Fine quality upgrades the ejector to an auto-eject and double action. Cannot be used with full power ammunition, gains -1 malf permanently if so used, and will explode on a roll of 15 or worse. May use any length barrel
Top Break: An improved break open revolver, it is more comfortable to use and more sturdily built. They can use full power rounds at no penalty, and follow the same upgrade path as the Bottom Break (above). May use any length barrel.
Swing Out: Swing out revolvers are nearly as sturdy as the gate loader, but all rounds may be loaded or unloaded simultaneously. Slightly slower to reload than the bottom break, its main advantage is being strong enough for use with magnum rounds. May use any length barrel.
Small Blowback: The simplest self loading handgun available, the small blowback pistol is simply a very heavy slide, a fixed barrel, and a trigger mechanism. Cannot be used with full power ammunition without being reinforced (2x weight, +1 bulk). May use any length barrel if the slide is weighted for it.
Small Blowback+: As per small blowback, but of superior quality. A standard sized small blowback pistol may be used with full power ammunition in moderation, and uses a double stack magazine
Recoil Operated: The simplest recoil operated gun, it uses a tilting barrel locking mechanism and a moderately weighted slide. Ammunition counts are low due to single stack detachable magazines, or use clip-fed fixed magazines. Moving the fixed magazine in front of the trigger guard (C96 style) gives +1 bulk, +1 ST, a fixed barrel, and permits the use of any length barrel.
Recoil Operated+: Operates as the recoil operated, but is lighter and takes larger magazines. Forward magazine guns may now use detachable box magazines.
Guns (Pistol or SMG)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HP/HT Malf
Large Blowback 1 5 15 30 10 -3 2 $700 4 10/7 16*
Large Blowback+ 1 5 25 30 8 -2 2 $900 6 11/7 17*
Rotating Barrel 1 4 15 30 8 -2 2 $1200 6 11/6 17*
Certain guns can be set up to work as a semi-automatic pistol or a full auto machine pistol. Fired semi-auto they use Pistol, and full auto uses SMG. They are listed without stocks, but lend themselves to being mounted with lightweight folding stocks (increase bulk and acc by 1 and multiply ST by .8, round up).
Large Blowback: Using a fixed receiver and a traditional heavy internal bolt, if it fires from an open bolt it's an SMG and a pistol from a closed bolt. The magazine goes in front of the trigger guard, and the top of the gun hangs back over the hand. May only use 5" and shorter barrels. With a snub barrel, bulk drops to -3.
Large Blowback+: Utilizing a harder-to-manufacture telescopic bolt, the gun is smaller for the same capability. May put the magazine in the grip and have the back of the receiver hang back over the hand, or use a magazine in front of the trigger guard with no overhang at the back.
Rotating Barrel: Using a simple locking mechanism based on a rotating barrel with locking lugs on the bolt, a lot of size and weight can be dropped. Gives a superbly compact machine pistol. Bolt and barrel must be designed for compatibility.
Submachine Guns
Guns (SMG)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HP/HT Malf
Blowback 2 9 9 mag 8 -4 2 $500 4 10/8 16*
Improved Blowback 2 8 11 mag 9 -3 2 $900 4 10/7 17*
Heavy Blowback 2 10 6 mag 10 -5 2 $700 6 11/9 17*
Heavy Blowback+ 2 9 6 mag 10 -4 2 $1100 6 11/9 17*
Blowback: The simplest SMG. A few tubes and some springs, the main downside is the sheer size of the bolt, and the fact that being incredibly hard to screw up, most are poorly cobbled together.
Blowback+: Switching to a telescoping bolt from the traditional requires substantially more effort to produce, but results in a much smaller gun. High quality regular blowback guns may be purchased for .75x list price, having the same overall stats as the blowback, but with +1 across the board to malf.
Heavy Blowback: This SMG, rather than changing the operating system, is an attempt to replicate the effect of a SAW or LMG in a pistol caliber chambering. Heavy SMGs may be used with the SMG or LMG skill, but to take advantage of the extra capabilities (quick swap barrels, bipod, adjustable rate limiters) requires the use of the LMG skill. A Heavy SMG is a much higher quality blowback SMG, as above, with quick swap barrels (usually longer), a bipod, a reinforced magazine catch to better hold weight of drum magazines, a 3 point tactical sling, and a higher quality stock. Barrels are often ported. Typically equipped with drum magazines.
Heavy Blowback+: As Heavy Blowback, but using a telescoping bolt for a smaller overall size.
Just like pistol caliber guns, most of the patterns available are available in 12g or 20g. 21" barrel is standard. Because of a quirk of shotgun shells, damage doesn't change based on barrel length, only handiness. 21" (trench length) barrels are standard, but 12" (-1 lb, -1 bulk, -3 shots on pump guns, +2 on rolls to see/hear firer) and 30" barrels (+1 bulk, +1 lbs, +3 shots on pump guns) are available. 20 gauge mag or belt fed guns have either 1.2x capacity for the same size, or are .8x size for the same capacity. 20g shotguns tend to be lighter and recoil slightly less, reduce ST by 2
Buckshot Slugs
S dmg weight cost S dmg weight cost
12g 9 1d+1 .18 $1.0 1 5dpi++ .18 $4.0
20g 7 1d .08 $0.8 1 4dpi++ .08 $3.2
Shotguns
Guns (Shotgun)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Slam Tube 0 4lb 1xS 1(5i) 10 -4 1/5 $100 8 12/6
Double Barrel 2 7lb 2xS 2(4i) 10 -5 1/5 $500 4 10/7
Pump 2 8lb 3xS 7+1(2i) 10 -5 1/5 $800 4 10/8
Lever 2 8lb 2xS 7+1(2i) 10 -5 1/5 TBD 4 10/8
Revolver 2 12lb 3xS 12(3i) 11 -5 1/5 $800 4 10/9
Pump+: 2 9lb 3xS 28+1(2i) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/8
Box Fed Pump 2 9lb 3xS mag(3) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/8
Revolver+ 2 11lb 3xS 12(2i) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/9
Belt Fed 2 20lb 3xS 50(5) 13 -6 1/5 $2000 8 12/10
Slam Tube: The simplest shotgun possible, it's merely a chunk of tubing with an inner diameter the size of a shotshell as a barrel, and another tube that fits over it with a nail in the back. Pull the barrel out, stick a shotshell in it, slide them back together, and slam them together to fire. Cheap is literally just a tube in a tube, average adds a few grips, and a rudimentary "trigger" that holds the barrel in place when it isn't pulled. Fine quality adds a guide peg, a separate loading cut in the receiver tube, and a simple ejector, allowing the gun to be fired in much the same manner as a single-loaded pump shotgun.
Double Barrel: The eponymous double barrel break open shotgun. For cheap, you get a good solid action, no ejectors, and exposed hammers. Good quality yields a hand ejector. Fine quality reworks the mechanism to add auto ejection and moves to a hammerless design.
Pump: Your basic pump shotgun. Cheap quality only has one action arm to operate the bolt, and an exposed hammer. Good quality gets you a second action arm for a smoother pump. Semi auto variants available at 1.5X cost, +.5lb, and -1 to Malf. Can be used one handed, and may exceed RoF 3 with Fast Firing.
Lever Action: In progress
Revolver: Essentially a giant gate loading revolver. Heavy, but can retain a large storage capacity regardless of the length of the barrel. Very cheap ones require the barrel be manually rotated and have a single action trigger. Cheap ones add a short pump mechanism for easier loading, with external hammers, good quality moves to internal hammers and has the option of a spring drive (semi-auto fire) with a -1 to malf, and fine adds a spring loaded cylinder at no penalty.
Pump+: Using a variation of the standard tubular magazine, rounds are stored at approximately 90 degrees to the barrel, similar to a P90 magazine. Gives up to 4X ammo capacity with no increase in bulk penalty. Upgrade path is identical to regular pump, and semi-auto is available.
Box Fed Pump: Using a detachable box magazine to feed from, magazine capacity is no longer restricted by barrel length, and reload speed is substantially improved. Upgrade path otherwise similar to that of the standard pump. Large capacity magazines increase bulk
Revolver+: Modeled after an enormous top break revolver, the improved revolving shotgun allows all rounds to be ejected and loaded simultaneously. Cheap has no ejector, good adds a hand eject, and fine upgrades to self-ejecting. Other upgrades follow the same path as the standard revolver shotgun.
Belt Fed: Some situations call for a veritable storm of lead, and a true storm of lead calls for a belt fed shotgun. Cheap ones are pump action and finicky, with -1 to malf. Good quality remains pump, but sorts out reliability issues. Fine quality is semi or full automatic.
Rifle ammunition comes in a few varieties, but the guns are similar enough to be listed generically, with modifications based on caliber. The equivalent calibers would be 5.45x39, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54R. All are sturdy, heavily tapered rounds that feed and extract well in roughly made and maintained weapons. In these calibers, they may only be purchased at good quality or better. Rifle style guns can also be purchased in pistol calibers, at half price, and are available in the usual quality grades. In rifle calibers, 16" is treated as standard. Add +.1 to the weight of a loaded 7.62x54R per 10 rounds, and subtract .1 per 10 for 5.45x39. Bullet damage and price is listed with cheap ammo followed by expensive.
Barrel Length 5.45x39 7.62x39 7.62x54R
8" (3d+2)4d-1 (4d)4d+1 (3d+2)4d
12" (4d)4d+1 (4d)5d-1 (4d-2)5d
16" (4d)4d+2 (5d-1)5d+1 (5d+1)6d
20" (5d-1)5d+1 (5d+1)6d (6d-1)7d-2
24" (5d+1)5d+3 (6d)6d+2 (6d+1)7d
Cost $0.8/$2 $1.2/$3 $1.6/$4
Weight .023 .036 .05
Rifles
Guns (Rifle)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Single Shot 3 9 1 1(3) 10 -5 4 $800 6 11/8
Bolt Action 4 10 1 5(3i) 10 -5 4 $1400 4 10/9
Lever Action 3 8 2 5+1(2i) 9 -5 3 $1200 4 10/8
Rotating Barrel 2 11 10 Mags+1 10 -5 3 $1000 6 11/9*
Locking Bolt 3 11 10 Mags+1 10 -5 3 $1500 4 10/9*
Single Shot: Using a variety of similar methods, single shot rifles permit one round to be loaded into the breech of the gun. Very cheap is little more than a tube with a nail held roughly in place to use as a firing pin. Cheap quality ones use slow, clunky methods to lock and lack ejectors, with exposed hammers. Good quality adds a simple ejector to free the spent casing but requires the casing then be removed manually. Fine quality ejects the cartridge entirely from the gun simply by opening the action to reload.
Bolt Action: Your standard bolt action. Cheap ones typically have fixed magazines and bolts that don't permit the use of a scope (if you can find such a thing). Good quality generally involves a turned down bolt handle compatible with optics if available. Fine quality permits the use of detachable box magazines.
Lever Action: Tough and fast, the lever action was a huge boost in firepower in its day, and retains the ability to provide rapid accurate shots even in an age of automatics.
Rotating Barrel: Using a rotating barrel recoil locking mechanism, what it lacks in accuracy it gains in simplicity. Essentially a modified Improved Blowback system, it's the simplest self-loading rifle design to make. It uses the same upgrade path as the Improved Blowback, and may be either built to fire from a closed or an open bolt.
Locking Bolt: Your standard piston driven recoil operated repeating rifle. Cheap ones have fixed magazines, good ones can take detachable box magazines, and fine quality ones include a last shot hold-open for faster reloads.
Pneumatic Weapons
Guns (Air Gun)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Compressed Air Rifle 1 9 1 10 -6 2 $900 4 10/8
Compressed Air Pistol 1 4 1 8 -3 2 $750 4 10/6
Compressed Air Rifle: Patterned after early repeating air guns, it has a tank that can be pressurized to a high degree, and used to fire multiple shots. The tank on an air rifle is larger, and made better use of with the long barrel. Ammo is substantially cheaper, using only the bullet without a cartridge or powder. Depending on the settings, with ammo of sufficient quality to withstand doing so, it may be fired at much higher velocities than normal if sufficient air and barrel length are available to drive the shot. Substantially quieter than a standard firearm.
Compressed Air Pistol: Using a small air tank, or a rifle tank and a carefully made air hose, pneumatic pistols offer a more compact version of the Air Rifle.
Grenades:
Fragmentation: 2d[2d+1] cr ex $20
High Explosive: 4d cr ex $20
Shaped Charge: 4d(10) cr ex. Armor divisor and full damage only apply to object actually hit, no armor divisor and 1/2D to surrounding area.
Smoke/gas: Produces an 7 yard radius cloud lasting 20 seconds. 1d+1(.5) cr dkb if hit directly. Smoke and/or gas may be inert or harmful as desired (poison, teargas, etc). $40
Stun: HT-3 Aff, see stun grenade. $30
Fire: 1d 2yd area burn, 1dx5 secs. $30
Weight-per-shot: .35 lb
Launchers
Guns (grenade launcher)
Weapon Damage Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Spud Gun 5d imp 80/300 5lb 1 1(20) 8 -5 2 $50 8 12/9
Pneumatic Cannon 5d+2 imp 90/400 8lb 1 1(5) 8 -5 2 $100 4 10/7
Repeating Air Cannon 5d+2 imp 90/400 15lb 3 10(3) 11 -6 2 $400 4 10/9
Single Shot Grenade 50/500 7lb 1 1(3) 8 -4 2 $750 4 10/7
Revolver Grenade 50/500 15lb 3 6(3i) 10 -5 2 $1000 4 10/9
Pump Grenade 50/500 10lb 3 4(3i) 10 -4 2 $1000 4 10/8
Revolver + Grenade 50/500 14lb 3 6(3i) 10 -5 2 $1500 4 10/9
Pump + Grenade 50/500 10lb 3 5(3) 10 -4 2 $1500 4 10/8
Belt Fed Pump Grenade 50/500 25lb 3 20(4) 12 -6 2 $2000 6 11/10
Spud Gun: A simple affair, little more than a pipe sealed at one end with a hole into which propellant and a flame may be placed to fire anything stuffed down the barrel. A cheap spud gun is extremely unreliable, but essentially just a pipe. A good quality spud gun adds grips and aiming equipment, with a trigger to work the ignition source. If not fired promptly, fuels will usually settle out of the air, requiring the chamber to be primed to fire once more. A fine quality spud gun attaches the fuel source to the gun, and adds a breechloading mechanism, permitting the gun to be primed and fired as required.
Pneumatic Cannon: A versatile, dangerous weapon. Typically single shot, they can fire anything that will fit more or less snugly into the barrel. The simplest is a bit of pipe and a pump to pressurize it, and must be completely repressurized after every shot, and muzzle loaded. Good quality cannons may use detachable air rifle tanks, expending the entire tank in a single shot, and have a breech loading mechanism of some manner. Fine quality cannons are more air efficient, typically using specially made large tanks that can power multiple shots, using a simple bolt and a gravity hopper.
Repeating Pnuematic Cannon: Purpose built for repeating fire, the repeating cannon incorporates a mechanism to load from a magazine or belt, and has a tank configuring permitting a full load of projectiles to be fired. Power can be adjusted to improve efficiency, to ensure that a full load may be fired when using larger feeding devices, at the cost of range and impact power if using direct hit rounds.
Single Shot: Following the popular pattern of the break open derringer or other breechloading mechanism, it fires the Metro custom grenade shells.
Pump: Essentially a scaled up pump shotgun.
Revolver: Essentially a scaled up revolver shotgun. A larger cylinder is available, doubling capacity, but adds +4 lbs and a further -1 bulk.
Revolver +: A scaled up improved revolver shotgun. Larger cylinder is available as per standard revolver grenade launcher.
Pump +: A scaled up box fed pump shotgun.
Belt Fed Pump: A modified pump grenade launcher built to feed from a grenade belt.
Sprayables DMG Special
Fuel 2d brn Ignites area and flammables
Acid 1d-1 cor Eats through armor
Poison Varies Varies by poison
Electrogoo 1d-1 br Stuns on hit; Make HT -(1/2 dmg) roll to remain conscious
Freezegoo 1d-1 Bonus damage for targets with cold vulnerability;
Liquid Projectors
Liquid Projector (Sprayer)
Weapon Damage Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Cost DR HT/HP
Chem Pump Special 8 8/3 JET 8 6 -4 $75 4 10/8
Large Chem Pump Special 12 36/30 JET 10 9 -6 $120 4 10/12
Hand Pump Special 6 4/1 JET 5 4 -3 $50 4 10/6
Heavy Sprayer Special 20 50 JET 20 14 -8 $600 6 11/14
Chem Pump: A self contained unit, the chem pump permits just about any liquid to be thrown from the muzzle, with range varying on the weight and viscosity of the liquid. Fuel is common, but various poisons, electric slimes, and supercooled compounds are also routinely sprayed. A cheap sprayer has a fixed air tank that must be manually pressurized, though fuel canisters are quick swap. Leaks happen. Any ignition sources are essentially a long-necked lighter that must be worked manually before a shot. Good quality chem pumps integrate the lighter into the device for ease of use, and allow air tanks to be swapped as easily as fuel tanks. Fine quality Chem Pumps have an improved feed system that allows the use of fuel canisters with an attached air tank, and now feature an integrated self-lighting pilot light. All versions tend to look like a mad scientist's super soaker.
Large Chem Pump: Backpack version of the standard chem pump, it's overall larger and can be adjusted to higher pressures and larger sprays for greater range. Quality is per Chem Pump, cheap quality requires the backpack be either removed or operated by someone else to engage/disengage fuel flow, good quality allows it to be done by the wearer without removing it, and fine quality reduces odds of springing leaks.
Hand Pump: A miniaturized, handheld chem pump. Can provide identical performance to a full on chem pump, but with much smaller ammunition capacity, or at a lighter setting for ammo conservation.
Heavy Sprayer: A scaled up Chem Pump, usually the fuel and air are piped in by hoses from sizeable tanks. A sufficiently powerful wielder may carry it into battle, but it is usually mounted to a gun emplacement or a vehicle.
Grenades: DMG Cost Special
Fragmentation: 4d[2d] cr ex $30 Explosion/fragmentation rules on B414. [2d] is fragmentation, makes attack at skill 15 vs all targets within 10 yards, modified by range, position, and size. Roll randomly to see where it hits, if that location is behind cover, cover takes the hit.
Assault: 5d cr ex $30
Molotov: 1d-1 brn 1 yd area $5 3d direct hit+1d/sec after, 2dx5 sec burn time, unsealed DR protects at 1/5th
Fire: 1d+1 brn 2 yd area $30 1dx5 seconds of burn from fuel over area
Stun: HT-5 Aff, 10yd $30 Hearing+Vision affliction; Stuns. Roll HT-5 each turn to unstun.
Smoke/Gas: 10yd cloud, 30 secs $40 Can be smoke, or add chemicals.
Magazines:
The feeding devices for most modern firearms. If you run out of loaded magazines, you have problems, so always bring spares. Magazines are a key point of autoloading guns, so after one or two good designs were figured out, all further guns were just made to accept them. They're often available in different capacities. Cheap single stack mags have -1 malf, cheap double stack mags get -2 malf. Pistol mags come in angled and straight varieties. Drums give -1 bulk and -1 malf, and -2 malf further at cheap quality.
Revolver Speedloader: $15, .3lb.
Revolver Moon Clips: $5, negligible weight
Pistol Magazines
Single Stack
Capacity 5 8 16 30
Cost: $32 $37.5 $50 $300
Weight(E/F): .1/.2 .2/.4 .3/.6 1.7/2.4
HT/HP: 10/1 10/2 10/2 9/5
Special Drum
Pistol/SMG Magazines
Double Stack
Capacity 10 15 30 50 100
Cost: $35 $40 $45 $412.5 $450
Weight(E/F): .2/.4 .3/.6 .7/1.4 3.75/5 6.5/9
HT/HP: 10/2 10/2 10/3 9/6 9/8
Special: Drum Drum
Shotgun Magazines:
Capacity: 5 10 20
Cost: $52.5 $60 $412.5
Weight(E/F): .3/1.2 .6/2.4 3.5/7
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 9/6
Special: Single Stack Drum
Rifle Magazines:
Capacity: 10 20 30 75
Cost: $45 $45 $45 $400
Weight(E/F): .35/.7 .5/1 .75/1.5 2/5
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 10/3 9/5
Special Drum
Grenade Launcher Magazines:
Capacity: 4 8 16
Cost: $78 $90 $500
Weight(E/F): .45/1.85 .9/3.7 5/10.5
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 10/6
Storm Variant: Essentially, bolting two guns together and linking them. Ammo capacity and fire rate are doubled. Generally speaking a storm weapon is ordered as such, rather than made after the fact, although two identical guns can be combined in such a manner if desired. Can only be done to repeating firearms, whose magazines do not go through the grip. Cost is 2X, weight is 1.75X, recoil is 1.5x, fire rate is 2x. Reloads either take double time, or require coupled magazines to reload both at once. On firearms using a gas operation system, recoil may be kept steady by having the barrels alternate in an over/under configuration.
Stocks: Folding or add-on stocks cost $100. Firing a gun meant to have a stock one handed with the stock folded gives -1 acc, +1 bulk, and multiply ST by 1.2. Guns intended for use one handed do this in reverse, +1 acc and -1 bulk, multiply ST by .8. Cost is $100, weight is .75 lb.
Magazine Coupler: Clamp magazines together for a faster reload. $20, .3 lb
Suppressors: In the cramped tunnels, gunfire becomes even more deafening, and tends to attract unwanted attention. It's not uncommon to see suppressors worth many times the value of the gun to which they are attached, even by races who's subterranean development lead to protected hearing. Use Homebuilt Suppressor (High Tech 158) with normal equipment price modifications.
Compensators, Brakes, and Muzzle Ports: Using an add-on to the end of the barrel or holes carefully drilled just before the muzzle, Propellants from fired bullets are diverted to suppress recoil and assist in keeping control of the weapon. +1 skill on turns firing 3 rounds or more, -1 required ST, +2 to rolls to see/hear the gun being fired, -2 to rolls to resist being dazzled. Incompatible with suppressors and flash hiders. $100
Bipods: A pair of legs, fixed, rotating, or adjustable, attached to the gun. Allows the gun to be braced by setting it on just about anything handy. A gun fired from a bipod is much easier to use, making it possible for individuals who otherwise might not be able to use or control the gun to make use of it.
Night Sights: Several varieties of glowing mushrooms grow in and around the Metros, from which a variety of glowing elements of varying powers can be made. One of these is a paint that works not unlike tritium. Improved Visibility Sights (High Tech 156), negates -1 of darkness penalties and permits aiming in low light.
Red Dot/Reflex Sights: More glowshroom tech, these sights are just clunkier versions of the pre-Calamity ones. Negate -3 in darkness penalties, and give +1 to shots with the where the gun is held as to make the dot visible. Difficult to use with a gas mask on.
This is the second of two main equipment posts, detailing the weapons designed and built for use by the denizens of the Metros.
The simplest of all weapons are the old fashioned ones. A sturdy knife, a hefty hatchet, a menacing machete, most metro dwellers carry a bit of sharp steel, though blunt weapons abound. Blades are simple to produce from salvaged steel, and good quality TL7 metals (fine quality for no price change) are fairly readily made with a bit of extra effort put into the mix and treatment of the steel (1.5x list price). Given the number of flesh eating mutants and confined spaces, weapons suited for very close quarters are favored (includes reach C). Any weapon listed in Low Tech is available, and all high tech melee weapons.
Custom Melee Weapons
Spiked Knuckles $15:As brass knuckles, but change damage type to Cutting. Retains the ability to inflict knockback.
Any weapon including a striking handguard (cutlass, trench knife, etc) may be purchased with spikes added to it at cost. Weapons without a guard may have one added if it is feasible for close(er) combat. A variant of knuckles to be added to shoes/boots (spiked or regular) is available at usual cost, but cannot be used in the hand. +$5 to add to something already possessing a handguard.
Shotgun Club/Haft: $100
Rather than using the typical solid haft or club, a simple single-shot mechanism may be used as the basis of axes, hammers, and other such similar weapons, for a low weight alternative to a full shotgun. Treat as Baton or Light Club based on size/thickness of tubing used if not using a striking head, and add .5lb to a weapon so modified for the firing mechanism. ST 11, Shots 1(5), rcl 1/10 (first is shot, second is slugs). Takes 12g shotgun shells, RoF 1x9.
Combination Weapons: Varies
In the close confines of the Metro tunnels, and the wide variety of wildlife that likes to get up close and personal, a common tactic is to combine melee and ranged weapons, or occasionally different classes of ranged weapons. When two weapons are combined, use the weapon with the largest bulk's stat for the purposes of determining fast-draw skill (if applicable) and total unit bulk.
The staple of combat by sapient races, however, is the gun. The means and knowledge to produce low quality smokeless powder remains available, and handloading in the metros is the primary source of ammunition. Weaponry was in limited supply around much of the world that was consumed in the Calamity, most weaponry having moved towards the war front or been lost in the fall. Due to production limitations, weapons tend to be simple, ugly, and utilitarian. Even the finest of Metro-built guns are beautiful only to those who admire the pure utilitarian aesthetic.Most weapons fire pistol caliber cartridges, in the form of equivalents of 7.62 Tokarev, 9x19 Parabellum, and .45 ACP+P. 7.62 Tokarev has superior penetration against armor, but limited effectiveness against flesh. 9x19 performs moderately well against most targets. .45 ACP has difficulty penetrating armor, but does excellent damage to flesh. Longer barrels are used for more power, and shorter barrels where small size is desirable. Where large amounts of power are needed, .60 Fatboy serves as the Metro's magnum caliber. .60 Fatboy is actually a slightly shortened 20 gauge slug with a heavy case, and weapons that shoot it are often available with little modification as shotguns. Shotguns are available in 12 and 20 gauge, with 20 gauge prefered mostly by smaller races, for very compact shotguns, or those who desire the power of a shotgun but need larger ammuntion stores.
Because of the difficulty in producing them, intermediate and full power rifles (7.62x39 and 7.62x54R) are rare, and tend to be incredibly simple designs, often of single shot or bolt action design. A semi and full auto design has been developed, but ammunition is far more expensive, and so is typically only used specialists expecting to need substantially more firepower.
Weapons listed here already include all price modifications resulting from Metro production. 9x19 has a slight price reduction to represent the economy of scale, as the primary round produced and used. All weapons have a cheap, average, and fine variant, for .6X cost, 1X, and 2X list price respectively. Cheap guns have -1 to malf, average has 0, and fine has +1. A cheap gun may be turned into an average gun later at cost, or with a full day's work and .2x the gun's base value in material with 4 Armoury (small arms) rolls, by adjusting the fit of parts, adding lubrication, etc. An average gun may be converted to a fine gun at cost if someone else is doing the work, or with two days work and .6x the gun's base value in parts. A few guns are available in Very Cheap configurations, which cannot be upgraded. Cost for Very Cheap quality is .2X, -2 to malf. A * in the Malf category indicates a gun is susceptible to the flaws from ammo.
New manufacture ammunition using subpar parts is at .9 damage, range, and ST, -1 acc, and -1 malf for autoloading guns.
Terminology: See also High Tech 78 for details on guns, handling, etc.
Hammer: The hammer is the part that strikes the firing pin to fire a gun. An exposed hammer gives -1 to fast draw, and causes the gun to get stuck on a critical failure. Some guns have a striker instead, but it's functionally the same, although strikers are always internal.Bolt: The part of a repeating firearm that moves to push the cartridge into the chamber. Open bolt guns fire by releasing the bolt, which pushes a round into the chamber an immediately fires it. Cheaper and simpler, but give -2 to HT rolls to resist fouling. Closed bolt guns are protected from getting stuff in them, but retain more heat. In the event of a LOT of firing, there's the chance to cook off rounds. Open bolt guns do not have hammers/strikers.
Action: How the gun works. A single action gun requires the hammer or striker be cocked between each shot. On a revolver, this means reaching up to pull it back, on an automatic it will be cocked as the bolt travels back to grab the next round. Double action uses a longer, heavier trigger puller to cock the hammer prior to the shot, but give a -1 to ACC on aimed shots.
Stack: Single stack vs. double stack. Single stack puts each round in a magazine directly atop the next. Slim and easy to make, but lower capacity. Double stack is wider, and staggers the rounds, but can be very finicky at lower qualities.
Handguns
The staple of the Metros, most people will own at least a small handgun. Life's rough, and even the concrete of the subterranean cities can't keep out all of the terrors that roam the world. Revolvers are still around, adding a simple C-clip or moon clips if compatible to permit the use of rimless rounds, or being of simpler gate loading designs. Revolvers tend to be larger and heavier, to withstand the added pressure of +P rounds, often with longer barrels to milk as much power from the round as possible. Most different designs are available in all of the available calibers, so particular stats will be listed, damage dependent upon caliber and barrel length (if applicable). A caliber available only to revolvers with a solid frame and other such durable, reinforced weapons is the .60 Fatboy, an enormously heavy round that does massive damage. pistols that are capable of full auto are listed at their full auto rate, but are commonly available in semi-automatic, or may have a selector switch for both if of higher quality. Most Metro pistols can accept a stock of some kind, often detachable (possibly usable as a holster) but are listed without one. Guns that can be made as machine pistols are listed with full auto fire rates, purchased or set to semi-auto they have RoF 3.
SMGs
The standard repeating combat arm of the Metro dweller is the humble submachinegun. Simple to produce, most designs are hardly more complicated than a spring, a weight, and a few tubes. Using the prevalent handgun ammunition and often a slightly longer barrel, they make up for their low power per shot compared with many old world guns by volume of fire. Most different designs are available in all of the available calibers, so particular stats will be listed, damage dependent upon caliber and barrel length.
For .45 ACP, multiply RoF by .75 and add 1 to ST, and 7.62 Tok multiply RoF by 1.25 and subtract 1 from ST. All SMGs assume a fixed stock is included.
4.5" 9x19 barrel is standard. Reduce bulk penalty by 1 for 2.5" barrels if combined with a shortened grip/magazine, increase by 1 for 8" barrels, and 2 for 13" barrels
Barrel Lengths: 7.62x25 9x19 11.43x23 15.25 Fatboy
2.5" 2d+2 pi- 2d pi 1d+3 pi+ 3d-2 pi++
4.5" 3d-2 pi- 2d+1 pi 2d-1 pi+ 3d-1 pi++
8" 3d-1 pi- 2d+2 pi 2d pi+ 3d pi++
13" 3d pi- 3d-1 pi 2d+1 pi+ 3d+1 pi++
Cost Per Shot $0.4 $.5 $1 $2
Weight Per Shot .024 .026 .047 .08
Handguns
Guns (Pistol)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP Malf
Derringer 0 .5 1 1(20) 6 -1 2 $200 4 10/3 16
Double Derringer 0 .7 1 2(20) 6 -1 2 $280 4 10/3 16
Gate Loader 1 3.5 3 6(5i) 10 -2 2 $700 8 12/6 17
Bottom Break 1 2.5 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $580 4 10/5 17
Top Break 1 3 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $1100 4 10/6 16
Swing Out 1 3 3 6(3i) 10 -2 2 $1200 6 11/6 17
Small Blowback 1 2 18 SMag 9 -2 2 $500 4 10/5 17*
Small Blowback+ 1 2.5 18 Mag 9 -2 2 $750 6 11/5 17*
Recoil Operated 1 3 14 8+1 9 -2 2 $1000 4 10/6 17*
Recoil Operated+ 1 2.5 14 15+1 9 -2 2 $1400 6 11/5 17*
Derringer: The simplest, cheapest gun, available with one or two barrels. The cheap single barrel is a screw on affair, with an external single action hammer. An average quality single barrel gains a break open mechanism. Fine receives a self-cocking trigger. The double derringer is of higher quality by necessity. Cheap double has a break open mechanism, but no ejectors and exposed hammers. You must manually switch the hammer mechanism from one barrel to the other. Average double has a self-switching trigger. Fine quality double gains an ejector and a self cocking mechanism with internal hammers. May use any length barrel
Gate Loader: Built like an old fashioned single action, it has a solid frame and a simple loading gate. Very Cheap ones are unsafe, single action only, and do not have an integral shell ejector mechanism, simply a spot to store a stick. Cheap gate loaders allow you to fill all chambers safely with a halfway position, but must be manually reset to this position after shooting happens, gain double action trigger, and gain an attached swing-out ejection rod. Fine revolvers have a fixed ejection rod, gain a hammer stop safety. Gate loaders are strong enough to withstand the use of magnum rounds. May use any length barrel
Bottom Break: An exceptionally simple, if awkward, revolver that permits all rounds to be loaded or ejected simultaneously. Cheap quality does not include an ejector, and is single action. Average quality adds a hand-pressed ejector. Fine quality upgrades the ejector to an auto-eject and double action. Cannot be used with full power ammunition, gains -1 malf permanently if so used, and will explode on a roll of 15 or worse. May use any length barrel
Top Break: An improved break open revolver, it is more comfortable to use and more sturdily built. They can use full power rounds at no penalty, and follow the same upgrade path as the Bottom Break (above). May use any length barrel.
Swing Out: Swing out revolvers are nearly as sturdy as the gate loader, but all rounds may be loaded or unloaded simultaneously. Slightly slower to reload than the bottom break, its main advantage is being strong enough for use with magnum rounds. May use any length barrel.
Small Blowback: The simplest self loading handgun available, the small blowback pistol is simply a very heavy slide, a fixed barrel, and a trigger mechanism. Cannot be used with full power ammunition without being reinforced (2x weight, +1 bulk). May use any length barrel if the slide is weighted for it.
Small Blowback+: As per small blowback, but of superior quality. A standard sized small blowback pistol may be used with full power ammunition in moderation, and uses a double stack magazine
Recoil Operated: The simplest recoil operated gun, it uses a tilting barrel locking mechanism and a moderately weighted slide. Ammunition counts are low due to single stack detachable magazines, or use clip-fed fixed magazines. Moving the fixed magazine in front of the trigger guard (C96 style) gives +1 bulk, +1 ST, a fixed barrel, and permits the use of any length barrel.
Recoil Operated+: Operates as the recoil operated, but is lighter and takes larger magazines. Forward magazine guns may now use detachable box magazines.
Guns (Pistol or SMG)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HP/HT Malf
Large Blowback 1 5 15 30 10 -3 2 $700 4 10/7 16*
Large Blowback+ 1 5 25 30 8 -2 2 $900 6 11/7 17*
Rotating Barrel 1 4 15 30 8 -2 2 $1200 6 11/6 17*
Certain guns can be set up to work as a semi-automatic pistol or a full auto machine pistol. Fired semi-auto they use Pistol, and full auto uses SMG. They are listed without stocks, but lend themselves to being mounted with lightweight folding stocks (increase bulk and acc by 1 and multiply ST by .8, round up).
Large Blowback: Using a fixed receiver and a traditional heavy internal bolt, if it fires from an open bolt it's an SMG and a pistol from a closed bolt. The magazine goes in front of the trigger guard, and the top of the gun hangs back over the hand. May only use 5" and shorter barrels. With a snub barrel, bulk drops to -3.
Large Blowback+: Utilizing a harder-to-manufacture telescopic bolt, the gun is smaller for the same capability. May put the magazine in the grip and have the back of the receiver hang back over the hand, or use a magazine in front of the trigger guard with no overhang at the back.
Rotating Barrel: Using a simple locking mechanism based on a rotating barrel with locking lugs on the bolt, a lot of size and weight can be dropped. Gives a superbly compact machine pistol. Bolt and barrel must be designed for compatibility.
Submachine Guns
Guns (SMG)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HP/HT Malf
Blowback 2 9 9 mag 8 -4 2 $500 4 10/8 16*
Improved Blowback 2 8 11 mag 9 -3 2 $900 4 10/7 17*
Heavy Blowback 2 10 6 mag 10 -5 2 $700 6 11/9 17*
Heavy Blowback+ 2 9 6 mag 10 -4 2 $1100 6 11/9 17*
Blowback: The simplest SMG. A few tubes and some springs, the main downside is the sheer size of the bolt, and the fact that being incredibly hard to screw up, most are poorly cobbled together.
Blowback+: Switching to a telescoping bolt from the traditional requires substantially more effort to produce, but results in a much smaller gun. High quality regular blowback guns may be purchased for .75x list price, having the same overall stats as the blowback, but with +1 across the board to malf.
Heavy Blowback: This SMG, rather than changing the operating system, is an attempt to replicate the effect of a SAW or LMG in a pistol caliber chambering. Heavy SMGs may be used with the SMG or LMG skill, but to take advantage of the extra capabilities (quick swap barrels, bipod, adjustable rate limiters) requires the use of the LMG skill. A Heavy SMG is a much higher quality blowback SMG, as above, with quick swap barrels (usually longer), a bipod, a reinforced magazine catch to better hold weight of drum magazines, a 3 point tactical sling, and a higher quality stock. Barrels are often ported. Typically equipped with drum magazines.
Heavy Blowback+: As Heavy Blowback, but using a telescoping bolt for a smaller overall size.
Shotguns
Shotguns have long held the honor of CQB weapon supreme, only falling in effectiveness as capable body armor became widespread. In the cramped confines of the Metros, the shotgun's ease of manufacture and use make it a popular alternative to the SMG. Ammunition is large and heavy, but a repeating shotgun can put far superior amounts of lead into the air than all but the fastest of any other guns. Shotgun loads are versatile, further securing their place in the Metros.Just like pistol caliber guns, most of the patterns available are available in 12g or 20g. 21" barrel is standard. Because of a quirk of shotgun shells, damage doesn't change based on barrel length, only handiness. 21" (trench length) barrels are standard, but 12" (-1 lb, -1 bulk, -3 shots on pump guns, +2 on rolls to see/hear firer) and 30" barrels (+1 bulk, +1 lbs, +3 shots on pump guns) are available. 20 gauge mag or belt fed guns have either 1.2x capacity for the same size, or are .8x size for the same capacity. 20g shotguns tend to be lighter and recoil slightly less, reduce ST by 2
Buckshot Slugs
S dmg weight cost S dmg weight cost
12g 9 1d+1 .18 $1.0 1 5dpi++ .18 $4.0
20g 7 1d .08 $0.8 1 4dpi++ .08 $3.2
Shotguns
Guns (Shotgun)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Slam Tube 0 4lb 1xS 1(5i) 10 -4 1/5 $100 8 12/6
Double Barrel 2 7lb 2xS 2(4i) 10 -5 1/5 $500 4 10/7
Pump 2 8lb 3xS 7+1(2i) 10 -5 1/5 $800 4 10/8
Lever 2 8lb 2xS 7+1(2i) 10 -5 1/5 TBD 4 10/8
Revolver 2 12lb 3xS 12(3i) 11 -5 1/5 $800 4 10/9
Pump+: 2 9lb 3xS 28+1(2i) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/8
Box Fed Pump 2 9lb 3xS mag(3) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/8
Revolver+ 2 11lb 3xS 12(2i) 11 -5 1/5 $1000 4 10/9
Belt Fed 2 20lb 3xS 50(5) 13 -6 1/5 $2000 8 12/10
Slam Tube: The simplest shotgun possible, it's merely a chunk of tubing with an inner diameter the size of a shotshell as a barrel, and another tube that fits over it with a nail in the back. Pull the barrel out, stick a shotshell in it, slide them back together, and slam them together to fire. Cheap is literally just a tube in a tube, average adds a few grips, and a rudimentary "trigger" that holds the barrel in place when it isn't pulled. Fine quality adds a guide peg, a separate loading cut in the receiver tube, and a simple ejector, allowing the gun to be fired in much the same manner as a single-loaded pump shotgun.
Double Barrel: The eponymous double barrel break open shotgun. For cheap, you get a good solid action, no ejectors, and exposed hammers. Good quality yields a hand ejector. Fine quality reworks the mechanism to add auto ejection and moves to a hammerless design.
Pump: Your basic pump shotgun. Cheap quality only has one action arm to operate the bolt, and an exposed hammer. Good quality gets you a second action arm for a smoother pump. Semi auto variants available at 1.5X cost, +.5lb, and -1 to Malf. Can be used one handed, and may exceed RoF 3 with Fast Firing.
Lever Action: In progress
Revolver: Essentially a giant gate loading revolver. Heavy, but can retain a large storage capacity regardless of the length of the barrel. Very cheap ones require the barrel be manually rotated and have a single action trigger. Cheap ones add a short pump mechanism for easier loading, with external hammers, good quality moves to internal hammers and has the option of a spring drive (semi-auto fire) with a -1 to malf, and fine adds a spring loaded cylinder at no penalty.
Pump+: Using a variation of the standard tubular magazine, rounds are stored at approximately 90 degrees to the barrel, similar to a P90 magazine. Gives up to 4X ammo capacity with no increase in bulk penalty. Upgrade path is identical to regular pump, and semi-auto is available.
Box Fed Pump: Using a detachable box magazine to feed from, magazine capacity is no longer restricted by barrel length, and reload speed is substantially improved. Upgrade path otherwise similar to that of the standard pump. Large capacity magazines increase bulk
Revolver+: Modeled after an enormous top break revolver, the improved revolving shotgun allows all rounds to be ejected and loaded simultaneously. Cheap has no ejector, good adds a hand eject, and fine upgrades to self-ejecting. Other upgrades follow the same path as the standard revolver shotgun.
Belt Fed: Some situations call for a veritable storm of lead, and a true storm of lead calls for a belt fed shotgun. Cheap ones are pump action and finicky, with -1 to malf. Good quality remains pump, but sorts out reliability issues. Fine quality is semi or full automatic.
Rifles
The standard pre-calamity arm, the humble rifle equipped everyone from the trained fighting man to the sharpshooting hunter. Post calamity, because of the increased need for material components compared with pistol ammunition, rifle rounds are rarely used except by those who need long range and precision. Even chambered in pistol calibers, the long barrels, quality stocks, and rare optics provide superior accuracy and power. Very little armor in the Metro can hold up to a full power rifle round.Rifle ammunition comes in a few varieties, but the guns are similar enough to be listed generically, with modifications based on caliber. The equivalent calibers would be 5.45x39, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54R. All are sturdy, heavily tapered rounds that feed and extract well in roughly made and maintained weapons. In these calibers, they may only be purchased at good quality or better. Rifle style guns can also be purchased in pistol calibers, at half price, and are available in the usual quality grades. In rifle calibers, 16" is treated as standard. Add +.1 to the weight of a loaded 7.62x54R per 10 rounds, and subtract .1 per 10 for 5.45x39. Bullet damage and price is listed with cheap ammo followed by expensive.
Barrel Length 5.45x39 7.62x39 7.62x54R
8" (3d+2)4d-1 (4d)4d+1 (3d+2)4d
12" (4d)4d+1 (4d)5d-1 (4d-2)5d
16" (4d)4d+2 (5d-1)5d+1 (5d+1)6d
20" (5d-1)5d+1 (5d+1)6d (6d-1)7d-2
24" (5d+1)5d+3 (6d)6d+2 (6d+1)7d
Cost $0.8/$2 $1.2/$3 $1.6/$4
Weight .023 .036 .05
Rifles
Guns (Rifle)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Single Shot 3 9 1 1(3) 10 -5 4 $800 6 11/8
Bolt Action 4 10 1 5(3i) 10 -5 4 $1400 4 10/9
Lever Action 3 8 2 5+1(2i) 9 -5 3 $1200 4 10/8
Rotating Barrel 2 11 10 Mags+1 10 -5 3 $1000 6 11/9*
Locking Bolt 3 11 10 Mags+1 10 -5 3 $1500 4 10/9*
Single Shot: Using a variety of similar methods, single shot rifles permit one round to be loaded into the breech of the gun. Very cheap is little more than a tube with a nail held roughly in place to use as a firing pin. Cheap quality ones use slow, clunky methods to lock and lack ejectors, with exposed hammers. Good quality adds a simple ejector to free the spent casing but requires the casing then be removed manually. Fine quality ejects the cartridge entirely from the gun simply by opening the action to reload.
Bolt Action: Your standard bolt action. Cheap ones typically have fixed magazines and bolts that don't permit the use of a scope (if you can find such a thing). Good quality generally involves a turned down bolt handle compatible with optics if available. Fine quality permits the use of detachable box magazines.
Lever Action: Tough and fast, the lever action was a huge boost in firepower in its day, and retains the ability to provide rapid accurate shots even in an age of automatics.
Rotating Barrel: Using a rotating barrel recoil locking mechanism, what it lacks in accuracy it gains in simplicity. Essentially a modified Improved Blowback system, it's the simplest self-loading rifle design to make. It uses the same upgrade path as the Improved Blowback, and may be either built to fire from a closed or an open bolt.
Locking Bolt: Your standard piston driven recoil operated repeating rifle. Cheap ones have fixed magazines, good ones can take detachable box magazines, and fine quality ones include a last shot hold-open for faster reloads.
Pneumatic Weapons
Pneumatic weapons have been around as long as compressed gasses were available to provide the power. With the difficulty in procuring ammo, pneumatic weapons permit the use of anything properly sized, be it simply purchasing a bag of loose bullets, paying only for the moderately well available lead, or happening upon some perfectly sized ball bearings while exploring. The methods used to get and maintain pressure vary, but are typically a hand pump for use in the field, or occasionally a steam generator. Damage and range are per caliber, using available pistol bullets , and generally do damage as per a barrel of one size smaller. Gas efficiency can be traded for more power for barrel length. The main advantages of pneumatic weapons is cheaper ammo, quieter shots, no muzzle flash, and the ability to use longer barrels.Pneumatic Weapons
Guns (Air Gun)
Weapon Acc Weight RoF ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Compressed Air Rifle 1 9 1 10 -6 2 $900 4 10/8
Compressed Air Pistol 1 4 1 8 -3 2 $750 4 10/6
Compressed Air Rifle: Patterned after early repeating air guns, it has a tank that can be pressurized to a high degree, and used to fire multiple shots. The tank on an air rifle is larger, and made better use of with the long barrel. Ammo is substantially cheaper, using only the bullet without a cartridge or powder. Depending on the settings, with ammo of sufficient quality to withstand doing so, it may be fired at much higher velocities than normal if sufficient air and barrel length are available to drive the shot. Substantially quieter than a standard firearm.
Compressed Air Pistol: Using a small air tank, or a rifle tank and a carefully made air hose, pneumatic pistols offer a more compact version of the Air Rifle.
Launchers
Most heavy weapons are generally overkill for the post calamity world, but a few big guns remain, chief among them the grenade launcher. The grenades built in the Metros tend to look like enormous shotgun shells, and the guns that fire them are indeed often scaled up shotguns. They're typically smaller than pre-calamity rounds, and usually designed to avoid causing damage to the tunnels that are now home. Cavern Crackers exist, but their use is frowned upon except in the direst of circumstances. The simplest launchers don't use self contained grenades, instead firing only the warheads using other means, and can be used to fire anything that will fit properly into the barrel. Wasteland grenades are 30mm fragmentation. The use of more powerful grenades that could damage the tunnels is frowned upon, but numerous loadings are available. Launchers that do not fire the standard grenades can purchase a variant with only the warhead, similar to pneumatic guns and standard ammo, but are listed assuming they're firing impact darts as a low energy cannon.Grenades:
Fragmentation: 2d[2d+1] cr ex $20
High Explosive: 4d cr ex $20
Shaped Charge: 4d(10) cr ex. Armor divisor and full damage only apply to object actually hit, no armor divisor and 1/2D to surrounding area.
Smoke/gas: Produces an 7 yard radius cloud lasting 20 seconds. 1d+1(.5) cr dkb if hit directly. Smoke and/or gas may be inert or harmful as desired (poison, teargas, etc). $40
Stun: HT-3 Aff, see stun grenade. $30
Fire: 1d 2yd area burn, 1dx5 secs. $30
Weight-per-shot: .35 lb
Launchers
Guns (grenade launcher)
Weapon Damage Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Cost DR HT/HP
Spud Gun 5d imp 80/300 5lb 1 1(20) 8 -5 2 $50 8 12/9
Pneumatic Cannon 5d+2 imp 90/400 8lb 1 1(5) 8 -5 2 $100 4 10/7
Repeating Air Cannon 5d+2 imp 90/400 15lb 3 10(3) 11 -6 2 $400 4 10/9
Single Shot Grenade 50/500 7lb 1 1(3) 8 -4 2 $750 4 10/7
Revolver Grenade 50/500 15lb 3 6(3i) 10 -5 2 $1000 4 10/9
Pump Grenade 50/500 10lb 3 4(3i) 10 -4 2 $1000 4 10/8
Revolver + Grenade 50/500 14lb 3 6(3i) 10 -5 2 $1500 4 10/9
Pump + Grenade 50/500 10lb 3 5(3) 10 -4 2 $1500 4 10/8
Belt Fed Pump Grenade 50/500 25lb 3 20(4) 12 -6 2 $2000 6 11/10
Spud Gun: A simple affair, little more than a pipe sealed at one end with a hole into which propellant and a flame may be placed to fire anything stuffed down the barrel. A cheap spud gun is extremely unreliable, but essentially just a pipe. A good quality spud gun adds grips and aiming equipment, with a trigger to work the ignition source. If not fired promptly, fuels will usually settle out of the air, requiring the chamber to be primed to fire once more. A fine quality spud gun attaches the fuel source to the gun, and adds a breechloading mechanism, permitting the gun to be primed and fired as required.
Pneumatic Cannon: A versatile, dangerous weapon. Typically single shot, they can fire anything that will fit more or less snugly into the barrel. The simplest is a bit of pipe and a pump to pressurize it, and must be completely repressurized after every shot, and muzzle loaded. Good quality cannons may use detachable air rifle tanks, expending the entire tank in a single shot, and have a breech loading mechanism of some manner. Fine quality cannons are more air efficient, typically using specially made large tanks that can power multiple shots, using a simple bolt and a gravity hopper.
Repeating Pnuematic Cannon: Purpose built for repeating fire, the repeating cannon incorporates a mechanism to load from a magazine or belt, and has a tank configuring permitting a full load of projectiles to be fired. Power can be adjusted to improve efficiency, to ensure that a full load may be fired when using larger feeding devices, at the cost of range and impact power if using direct hit rounds.
Single Shot: Following the popular pattern of the break open derringer or other breechloading mechanism, it fires the Metro custom grenade shells.
Pump: Essentially a scaled up pump shotgun.
Revolver: Essentially a scaled up revolver shotgun. A larger cylinder is available, doubling capacity, but adds +4 lbs and a further -1 bulk.
Revolver +: A scaled up improved revolver shotgun. Larger cylinder is available as per standard revolver grenade launcher.
Pump +: A scaled up box fed pump shotgun.
Belt Fed Pump: A modified pump grenade launcher built to feed from a grenade belt.
Liquid Projectors:
With the wide variety of dangerous liquids in the post-calamity world, it wasn't long before someone decided to squirt some of them at their enemies. Flamethrowers were among the first, but anything from liquids that release toxic fumes to electrogoop can be used. Liquid projectors are routinely used near entrances to the Metros, for dealing with swarms of aggressive wildlife that may attempt to rush the gates, or mounted to a variety of vehicles. Man portable versions are used to root out nests that are dangerously near to the Metros.Sprayables DMG Special
Fuel 2d brn Ignites area and flammables
Acid 1d-1 cor Eats through armor
Poison Varies Varies by poison
Electrogoo 1d-1 br Stuns on hit; Make HT -(1/2 dmg) roll to remain conscious
Freezegoo 1d-1 Bonus damage for targets with cold vulnerability;
Liquid Projectors
Liquid Projector (Sprayer)
Weapon Damage Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Cost DR HT/HP
Chem Pump Special 8 8/3 JET 8 6 -4 $75 4 10/8
Large Chem Pump Special 12 36/30 JET 10 9 -6 $120 4 10/12
Hand Pump Special 6 4/1 JET 5 4 -3 $50 4 10/6
Heavy Sprayer Special 20 50 JET 20 14 -8 $600 6 11/14
Chem Pump: A self contained unit, the chem pump permits just about any liquid to be thrown from the muzzle, with range varying on the weight and viscosity of the liquid. Fuel is common, but various poisons, electric slimes, and supercooled compounds are also routinely sprayed. A cheap sprayer has a fixed air tank that must be manually pressurized, though fuel canisters are quick swap. Leaks happen. Any ignition sources are essentially a long-necked lighter that must be worked manually before a shot. Good quality chem pumps integrate the lighter into the device for ease of use, and allow air tanks to be swapped as easily as fuel tanks. Fine quality Chem Pumps have an improved feed system that allows the use of fuel canisters with an attached air tank, and now feature an integrated self-lighting pilot light. All versions tend to look like a mad scientist's super soaker.
Large Chem Pump: Backpack version of the standard chem pump, it's overall larger and can be adjusted to higher pressures and larger sprays for greater range. Quality is per Chem Pump, cheap quality requires the backpack be either removed or operated by someone else to engage/disengage fuel flow, good quality allows it to be done by the wearer without removing it, and fine quality reduces odds of springing leaks.
Hand Pump: A miniaturized, handheld chem pump. Can provide identical performance to a full on chem pump, but with much smaller ammunition capacity, or at a lighter setting for ammo conservation.
Heavy Sprayer: A scaled up Chem Pump, usually the fuel and air are piped in by hoses from sizeable tanks. A sufficiently powerful wielder may carry it into battle, but it is usually mounted to a gun emplacement or a vehicle.
Grenades: DMG Cost Special
Fragmentation: 4d[2d] cr ex $30 Explosion/fragmentation rules on B414. [2d] is fragmentation, makes attack at skill 15 vs all targets within 10 yards, modified by range, position, and size. Roll randomly to see where it hits, if that location is behind cover, cover takes the hit.
Assault: 5d cr ex $30
Molotov: 1d-1 brn 1 yd area $5 3d direct hit+1d/sec after, 2dx5 sec burn time, unsealed DR protects at 1/5th
Fire: 1d+1 brn 2 yd area $30 1dx5 seconds of burn from fuel over area
Stun: HT-5 Aff, 10yd $30 Hearing+Vision affliction; Stuns. Roll HT-5 each turn to unstun.
Smoke/Gas: 10yd cloud, 30 secs $40 Can be smoke, or add chemicals.
Magazines:
The feeding devices for most modern firearms. If you run out of loaded magazines, you have problems, so always bring spares. Magazines are a key point of autoloading guns, so after one or two good designs were figured out, all further guns were just made to accept them. They're often available in different capacities. Cheap single stack mags have -1 malf, cheap double stack mags get -2 malf. Pistol mags come in angled and straight varieties. Drums give -1 bulk and -1 malf, and -2 malf further at cheap quality.
Revolver Speedloader: $15, .3lb.
Revolver Moon Clips: $5, negligible weight
Pistol Magazines
Single Stack
Capacity 5 8 16 30
Cost: $32 $37.5 $50 $300
Weight(E/F): .1/.2 .2/.4 .3/.6 1.7/2.4
HT/HP: 10/1 10/2 10/2 9/5
Special Drum
Pistol/SMG Magazines
Double Stack
Capacity 10 15 30 50 100
Cost: $35 $40 $45 $412.5 $450
Weight(E/F): .2/.4 .3/.6 .7/1.4 3.75/5 6.5/9
HT/HP: 10/2 10/2 10/3 9/6 9/8
Special: Drum Drum
Shotgun Magazines:
Capacity: 5 10 20
Cost: $52.5 $60 $412.5
Weight(E/F): .3/1.2 .6/2.4 3.5/7
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 9/6
Special: Single Stack Drum
Rifle Magazines:
Capacity: 10 20 30 75
Cost: $45 $45 $45 $400
Weight(E/F): .35/.7 .5/1 .75/1.5 2/5
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 10/3 9/5
Special Drum
Grenade Launcher Magazines:
Capacity: 4 8 16
Cost: $78 $90 $500
Weight(E/F): .45/1.85 .9/3.7 5/10.5
HT/HP: 10/2 10/3 10/6
Gun Modifications
See GURPS High Tech (P. 153) for more.Storm Variant: Essentially, bolting two guns together and linking them. Ammo capacity and fire rate are doubled. Generally speaking a storm weapon is ordered as such, rather than made after the fact, although two identical guns can be combined in such a manner if desired. Can only be done to repeating firearms, whose magazines do not go through the grip. Cost is 2X, weight is 1.75X, recoil is 1.5x, fire rate is 2x. Reloads either take double time, or require coupled magazines to reload both at once. On firearms using a gas operation system, recoil may be kept steady by having the barrels alternate in an over/under configuration.
Stocks: Folding or add-on stocks cost $100. Firing a gun meant to have a stock one handed with the stock folded gives -1 acc, +1 bulk, and multiply ST by 1.2. Guns intended for use one handed do this in reverse, +1 acc and -1 bulk, multiply ST by .8. Cost is $100, weight is .75 lb.
Magazine Coupler: Clamp magazines together for a faster reload. $20, .3 lb
Suppressors: In the cramped tunnels, gunfire becomes even more deafening, and tends to attract unwanted attention. It's not uncommon to see suppressors worth many times the value of the gun to which they are attached, even by races who's subterranean development lead to protected hearing. Use Homebuilt Suppressor (High Tech 158) with normal equipment price modifications.
Compensators, Brakes, and Muzzle Ports: Using an add-on to the end of the barrel or holes carefully drilled just before the muzzle, Propellants from fired bullets are diverted to suppress recoil and assist in keeping control of the weapon. +1 skill on turns firing 3 rounds or more, -1 required ST, +2 to rolls to see/hear the gun being fired, -2 to rolls to resist being dazzled. Incompatible with suppressors and flash hiders. $100
Bipods: A pair of legs, fixed, rotating, or adjustable, attached to the gun. Allows the gun to be braced by setting it on just about anything handy. A gun fired from a bipod is much easier to use, making it possible for individuals who otherwise might not be able to use or control the gun to make use of it.
Night Sights: Several varieties of glowing mushrooms grow in and around the Metros, from which a variety of glowing elements of varying powers can be made. One of these is a paint that works not unlike tritium. Improved Visibility Sights (High Tech 156), negates -1 of darkness penalties and permits aiming in low light.
Red Dot/Reflex Sights: More glowshroom tech, these sights are just clunkier versions of the pre-Calamity ones. Negate -3 in darkness penalties, and give +1 to shots with the where the gun is held as to make the dot visible. Difficult to use with a gas mask on.
Aiming Light: A lower tech version of a weapon laser, it's a flashlight with a very tightly focused beam. Gives +1 to aim the weapon from any position, but targets that are not substantially distracted gain +1 dodge. $75, .5lb, 20 yd range.
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