War....War Never Changes

One of the articles I'm working on for the first issue of The Jewel Throne is "War...War Never Changes," being a selection of Wasteland and Fallout inspired equipment, with a focus on firearms; a project I'm working on in preparation for running some Gamma World games.

My goals are twofold: as most of the players in our group are familiar with the Fallout series, this provides a certain "resonance" for the gameplay; secondly to provide a wider selection of firearms than that provided in Mutant Future including more lethal varieties. With Gamma World and Mutant Future PCs having significantly more hit points than beginning PCs, as well as the creatures in both games having, on average, more hit points than D&D monsters, I'm interested in gun having more "oomph" to them. With your average beginning Mutant Future Human PC having 47-48 hit points, it's going to take a fair amount of d12 damage assault fire rounds to take him down.

Anyways, here's some early drafts of some of the fictional firearms I'm working on for this article:

22-3 STRIKER
Effective Range: 400'
Maximum Range: 800'
Damage Inflicted: 3d6
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: .223
Capacity: 5 round integral magazine
Experience Point Value: 850
Based on a modified rifle design, the 22-3 Striker is a bolt-action pistol designed for hunting large game. Due to the weight and recoil a Physical Strength of 12 or higher is required to effectively use this weapon.

AK-57
Effective Range: 450'
Maximum Range: 900'
Damage Inflicted: 2d8
Shots per Round: 2
Ammunition Type: 7.62 mm
Capacity: 30 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 1300
The last descendant of the AK-47, featuring an integral folding stock, the AK-57 was manufactured by China but saw distribution throughout the globe. Thousands were smuggled into North America, many by fifth columnists.

M2049A1
Effective Range: 150'
Maximum Range: 300'
Damage Inflicted: 1d12
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: 10 mm
Capacity: 12 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 250
A durable, heavy frame autoloader resistant to harsh conditions, the M2049 was the standard US military sidearm as well as being used extensively by federal agents. A more reliable revolver variant, the M2050, holds 7 rounds in a side-loading cylinder.

M2039-ACR
Effective Range: 600'
Maximum Range: 1200'
Damage Inflicted: 2d8
Shots per Round: 2
Ammunition Type: 5.56 mm
Capacity: 40 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 1500
A descendant of the M16 featuring a gas-vent system and a integral optical sights, the M2039-ACR was the chief weapon of US marines.

VP41
Effective Range: 150'
Maximum Range: 300'
Damage Inflicted: 1d10
Shots per Round: 1
Ammunition Type: 9mm
Capacity: 18 round magazine
Experience Point Value: 150
A reliable West German pistol that was popular with survivalists due to it's high ammunition capacity.

 Also, here's a first draft of the first Jewel Throne cover:

OD&D/AD&D Fighter Houserule - Gun Them Down!

Gun Them Down Houserule
When playing a D&D variant, clone, or simulacrum, that has allowances for fighters making multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less opponents; and are playing in a campaign where guns are somewhat 'normal-ish'; and the fighter is using an automatic, semi-automatic, or bolt, lever, pump action or equivalent firearm or energy weapon; and the fighter is not currently engaged in melee; allow the fighter to use their multiple attacks against multiple 1 HD and/or less foes with missile attacks with the aforementioned gun, limited by the ammunition capacity of said gun.

I'd probably let a high level fighter with a good dexterity score use two pistols with this houserule.

A Simple System for Firearms and Rayguns versus Armor Class

This is the kind of sidearm I imagine Earth Man explorers packing for Planet Algol.

Often in discussions about firearms and futuristic weaponry in Dungeons & Dragons, the "armor question" often comes up. How does armor class interact with these weapons?

The system I use is based off of the laser weapon vs. armor class values in 1st. edition Gamma World, and an inaccurate interpretation of the armor class vs. firearm rules in the sixguns and sorcery section of the 1st. edition Dungeon Masters Guide. It's a one-size-fits-all solution that I find elegant and workable.

When calculating attacks with firearms or laser weapons, the benefits of armor class are effectively halved, discounting magical protection but including dexterity modifiers (it's hard to dodge a beam of photons or a bullet, but nimble characters are probably somewhat better at not getting shot).

You can either use this as a weapon vs. armor type modifier like the system in the Players Handbook, or just use an alternate Armor Class value against these attacks, as in the below table. This can be further modified by giving exceptional weapons modifiers to attack and damage rolls similar to those of magic weapons, such as a pair of +3 sixshooters forged from the blade of Excalibur. For simple firearms such as muskets and blunderbusses I would not use these modifiers. Weapons such as death rays, lightning emitters, disintegrators, etc. I would either roll attacks vs. AC 10 or involve the target making an appropriate saving throw instead of using any attack rolls.

Armor Class	Attack Modifier or	Adjusted Armor Class value
10	0	10
9	+1	10
8	+1	9
7	+2	9
6	+2	8
5	+3	8
4	+3	7
3	+4	7
2	+4	6
1	+5	6
0	+5	5
-1	+6	5
-2	+6	4
-3	+7	4
-4	+7	3
-5	+8	3
-6	+8	2
-7	+9	2
-8	+9	1
-9	+10	1
-10	+10	0