SM COMSYS Ranged Weapons

Ranged Weapons
Weapons are classed in several factors: Aim counts, especially with a system that emphasizes targeting center-mass. Using the special rules, non-torso hits can occur. If they do, and if the campaign is going there, then the damage that might be survivable to a center-mass hit may not be survivable to a head shot. Likewise, hits on other extremities will have particular effects.
 * Damage base, average. This varies based on weapon caliber, barrel length, cartridge size and beyond. There can be a wide variance, even within the same caliber, based on the ammunition type.
 * Damage type, average. This is the Piercing (penetration) and Blunt (stopping power) of the projectile assuming "average" ammunition. The definition of "average" is covered below.
 * Damage special. Armor-piercing, incendiary, explosive and possibly other exotic properties, depending on the campaign.
 * Size Average. Can vary considerably even within a size class.

Countering damage, armor mitigates or negates the transfer of energy that causes damage. Note that a transfer of energy will still occur, but the effect have a different outcome. Check the armor rules to determine how to handle armor's damage mitigation.

What is a "ranged" weapon?
Ranged weapons count as anything that leaves the hand of the wielder. This goes beyond contemporary firearms, and could be bow and arrow, throwing knives, crossbow and bolt, thrown hatchets, javelins and spears, slingshots and stone bullets, or harsh language. This list focuses on current and historical weapons.

More exotic weapons, such as lasers, phasers, blasters, wands of fireballs and rods of lightning bolts, hail from Science Fiction or Fantasy realms. Those are going to vary depending on the context of the campaign (High Magic vs Low Magic, etc), and weapon lists will be provided for those environments per scenario.

How does a bullet do anything other than piercing damage?
Physics.

The projectile, usually a bullet in contemporary campaigns, travels at extreme velocity in comparison to a body "at rest" (in a relative frame of reference). The shape and design of the bullet becomes a major factor in how much damage is done to a target. So much so that there is a whole science dedicated to the study of terminal ballistics. Flatter geometry transfers the energy over a wider space, creating a type of shock wave in the target. This change is often measured as "stopping power." Usually, bullets that have greater penetration have less stopping power. A hand weapon, such as a sword or axe, will create a "wound channel" where the physical element of the weapon displaces the physical continuity of the target and disrupts the ongoing, internal physiological processes. The wound channel of a projectile can be much larger than a hand weapon would deliver, plus flatter ammunition can deliver a shock wave that presses back the soft tissue, which may or may not bounce back into place. Even if it bounces right back, the disruption of the shock causes massive systemic damage.

For a view of the damage that projectile weapons can cause, check the wiki article on ballistic gelatin. Don't worry, there's no gore (the photo above comes from that page), but there's enough science to get the idea of why being shot can do so much more damage then being stabbed.

Ranged Weapon Statistics
There is one major assumption in the table below: base ammunition. This is what a weapon will deliver when using normal, simple, firing-range type projectiles. For a bow, that means normal arrows (where the ballistics are tailored more for the flight dynamics than the damage done to a target). For a firearm, it means jacketed ball ammunition. It's generally cheaper and often more reliable when cycling through thousands of rounds.

The following table is a base guideline based on broad averages. Campaigns may include more complex weapon listings, including specific makes and models based on availability (era and location), the scenario genre and so on.

Refs can use the averages here to recreate their own specific weapons when creating a campaign. The Feet-Per-Second (FPS) metrics is highly granular data and should not make it into the game. It is provided here so Refs and curious players can see the physics behind the damage of average ammunition per weapon type and adjust accordingly to their own campaign.

Right of Way

 * Check Personal (HTH) Combat guidelines
 * Return to Ranged (projectile) Combat
 * Return to Combat System overview
 * Return to System Mechanics