Homebrew Theater: Dual-Wielding Actions

Today’s going to be a bit different from previous weeks, as our Homebrew Theater will be custom actions.

No new gear or shotguns shells as we’ve been doing.

I wanted to expand the options for ranged dual-wielding. These actions effectively turn two guns into one gun with a higher fire rate. Both guns must be firing in the same mode for these actions. If a character doesn’t have ambidexterity, the -2 penalty for using the off-hand applies. If both guns have active smartlink systems and are wireless-active, you may apply the bonus to limit/dice pool. The same applies for laser sights. All actions can be combined with the Multiple Attacks Free action and split as usual.

Note: I remember reading in SR5 saying you don’t get smartlink/laser sight bonuses when firing two weapons at once. I’ve been unable to verify this. Check with your GM, though, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable house rule to let the bonuses apply here.

Rather than trying to track two targets at once this is sighting one target with two weapons. A task smartlink should improve.

If a character chooses to wield two different weapons, use the worse values for limits, damage, and AP.

Dual Shot: Single Shot, Complex Action

You fire one shot from each gun in your hands at the same target simultaneously. As with regular single shot, this takes no recoil penalty. The target of a Dual Shot takes a -1 penalty on defense.

Dual Semi-auto Burst: SA, Compex Action

You fire a 3 round burst with each gun at the same target. This turns your SA pistols the effectiveness of a long burst with the same penalties. You fire six shots for up to -6 recoil and -5 to your target’s defense test.

Dual Burst Fire burst: BF, Simple Action

You fire a 3 round burst with each gun at the same target. This lets you get the firepower of a Long Burst in a shorter amount of time. You fire six shots for up to -6 recoil and -5 to your target’s defense test.

Dual Long Burst: BF, Complex Action

This shot is two Burst-fire shots coming from both of your guns at one target. You fire 12 total shots and the target takes a -11 to the target’s defense test.

Dual Full Auto: FA, Complex Action

This is balls to the wall shooting for only the most expert shooters. 20 bullets total at one target racking up a -19 penalty to the target’s defense and a -20 recoil penalty to dice pool. A shooter attempting dual full Auto must have at least 1 die to actually aim with, or else they suffer the effects of a critical glitch.

A quick table

Homebrew Theater: Vamp Shells

Ever since the stunning revelation that renowned vampire expert Martin De Vries was, himself, a vampire a new wave of animosity against the victims of the MHVV (Metahuman Vampiric Virus) as swept the world.

Some clever vampire hunters have capitalized on this and formed a small corporation to manufacture anti-vampirics equipment. Lifeshield Arms manufactures a full array of weapons and products for both the casual and serious vampire hunter alike.

One of their first offerings was a specialized shotgun round designed to weaken/harm a variety of infected.

• Vamp Shells
  • Damage Modifier: -1
  • AP: +4
  • Avail: 7R
  • Cost: 160nu

Vamp shells use flechette rules. Rather than traditional buckshot, Vamp shells are filled with a mix of pellets of treated-hardwood, silver, aconite, horseradish and iron. The resulting mix isn’t as potent as regular flechette shells, but triggers all known vampire vulnerabilities and allergies other than sunlight and pollution.

Some of each pellet type are designed to vaporize on fire, creating an invisible cloud of particulate matter highly toxic to vampirics. MHVV creatures with non-sun allergies take the appropriate penalty after being hit with a Vamp shell, even if they soak all the damage, unless they have chemical sealed armor. Vampiric allergies are strong enough mere chemical protection isn’t enough.

An infected can wash themselves clean if they have sufficient water by taking a a combat turn to rinse themselves off. Or they can immerse themselves, which cleans them instantly.

Vamp Shells trigger infected allergies and vulnerabilities (+3DV and regeneration doesn’t heal the damage. Pg 401-402 SR5).

For easy reference here is a list of Infected types with how these shells impact them:

• Bandersnatch: No dice. Maybe try an elephant gun?
• Banshee: Raise the DV to +2 and no regeneration.
• Dzoo-Noo-Qua: No dice. Bag of Grenades?
• Fomoraig: No Dice.
• Ghoul: No Dice
• Gobin: Triggers the vulnerability, DV +2/no regen
• Loup-Garou: They take an allergy penalty of -2
• Nosferatu: No dice.
• Vampires: Take their allergy penalty
• Wendigo: Take their allergy penalty

Note: I run assuming the snarky comment from somewhere in SR4 about how science has accepted that humans are metahumans and therefore HMHVV is simply the MHVV. I can’t find the source for it, but I laughed hard enough I know it was there somewhere.

Homebrew Theater: Disposable Guns

Some days you just need a piece, even if it’s not a good one.

Produced ultra-cheap with desktop nanoforges, Disposable pistols aren’t reliable or fancy. They can’t accept accessories and the test to add a modification has the threshold raised by 4.

All guns come preloaded with regular, caseless rounds. Gel rounds are available for an extra 30nu. All disposable guns are made with as few metal parts and as small profiles as possible, they get a -1 to concealability including versus MAD scanners.

• Disposable Hold Out
  • Accuracy: 3
  • Damage: 6P
  • AP: 0
  • Mode: SS
  • Ammo: 5
  • Avail: 3F
  • Cost: 70nu

• Disposable Light Pistol
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 6P
  • AP: 0
  • Mode: SA
  • Ammo: 12
  • Avail: 4F
  • Cost: 100nu

• Disposable Heavy Pistol
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 7P
  • AP: 0
  • Mode: SA
  • Ammo: 10
  • Avail: 4F
  • Cost: 140nu

• Disposable Machine Pistol
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 7P
  • AP: 0
  • Mode: BF
  • Ammo: 20
  • Avail: 4F
  • Cost: 160nu

• Disposable SMG
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 7P
  • AP: 0
  • Mode: BF/FA
  • Ammo: 23
  • Avail: 5F
  • Cost: 200nu

• Disposable Assault Rifle
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 9P
  • AP: -2
  • Mode: BF/FA
  • Ammo: 33
  • Avail: 6F
  • Cost: 320nu

• Disposable Sniper Rifle
  • Accuracy: 5
  • Damage: 12P
  • AP: -2
  • Mode: SS
  • Ammo: 2
  • Avail: 12F
  • Cost: 1000nu

• Disposable Double-Barrel, Sawed-Off Shotgun
  • Accuracy: 4
  • Damage: 12P
  • AP: -1
  • Mode: SS/SA
  • Ammo: 2
  • Avail: 6F
  • Cost: 200nu

There are smartlinked versions of each of these, but they’re much harder to find. Since the main people looking for cheap, disposable weapons are criminals, few jurisdictions allow them legally and many consider them proof of the intention to commit a crime.

Some clever vendors have worked in a special treat: They’ve rigged up their nanoforge machines to inject thermite into key areas which combust with a wireless signal, reducing the weapon to useless slag. This modification costs 50nu for all pistols, 100 for SMGs and shotguns, and 150 for Assault rifles and sniper rifles. It raises their availability by 5.

Note: The idea for these comes from a pdf called Shadow Gear 2057 compiled in, near as I can tell, 1996. It lists Disposable pistols (Hold-out, light, heavy). I figured Shadowrun’s robust underworld wouldn’t stop there with all the fancy new tech between 2057 and 2075.

Homebrew Theater: Dragon’s Breath Shells

Some days shooting a guy just isn’t enough. But flamethrowers are so illegal and so hard to concealed-carry.

Isn’t there a better way to light a man on fire for the rest of his life?

The fine folks at Cavalier Arms were thinking just of you.

Initially released as “Big D’s Temper Shells,” to commemorate the untimely passing of President Dunkelzahn by enabling ordinary citizens to know the joys of roasting their enemies alive. Naturally, the pesky anti-gun lobby pushed for them to be taken off the market based on some misguided notion that no one needed to set someone on fire from 30ft away.

Rejoyce, home-defence lovers, because after considerable lobbying Cavalier Arms has returned freedom to the UCAS!

Dragon’s Breath Shells

• Damage Modifier: +3
• AP modifier: -6
• Availability: 16R
• Cost: 300 nu/10 shells

Special Rules: Dragon’s Breath Shells’ AP replaces the AP of the shotgun they’re used for, the way Stick-n-shock rounds do.

DBS use both shotgun choke rules and taser ranges. Anything hit/damaged by Dragon’s Breath Rounds must make an Armor + Fire Resistance – 6 AP test with the threshold of the net hits of the attack. If they fail, they’re on fire as per SR5 pg 171.

In addition, every time you fire them, roll 1d6. On the roll of a 1, the barrel which fired said shell is now warped and cannot be fired again without causing an unfortunate backblast.

This may be fixed with a Armorer Shop, and a Armorer + Logic [mental] (12, 1 day) test.

Conversion notes:

Big D’s Temper Shells are from the second Shadowrun book I ever bought, the Cannon Companion. I’ve increased the DV modification to account for how armor has changed, given a guess as to a up to date build/repair time, and jacked up the price to enjoy inflation. The initial AP of “Half Impact armor” translates around -6 anyway. Plus, SR5 specifies non-magical fire attacks half said AP.

This is one of my favorite pieces of SR gear. SR4 and SR5 both disappointed me by not bringing it back. It’s about making an impression.

Just the tip:

The best reason to use a break-action shotgun is to have a pair of these loaded up. That way, if the barrel warps, you’re not out much more fire than you were going to have before reloading anyway. Slap a sling on it and carry it under your coat.

Homebrew Theater: Combat Virtuoso (Combat Skill)

Our first Homebrew content is a simple adept power geared towards adepts who are sick of low-accuracy weapons taking their jobs and their women.

Combat Virtuoso (Combat Skill)

Cost: .75 PP

Pick any combat skill where a weapon’s accuracy comes into play (Any other than throwing weapons or unarmed combat). For any weapon using said skill, the adept uses her physical limit as a limit instead of the weapon’s accuracy.

Combat Virtuosos are known for taking seemingly clumsy weapons and wielding them with uncanny skill, as if their awkward bulk was a strength instead of a weakness.

Virtuoso is not compatible with anything else which changes a weapon’s accuracy such as a laser sight, smart link, or the enhanced accuracy power. You may still use Improved Potential to raise your physical limit. A wireless-linked Laser sight or smartlink may still provide its usual dice pool modifier.