Chapter Eight: Weaponry
BrikPacifists may waste time with talk of the beauty of a Gothic cathedral or the
protective strength of castle walls, but true BrikWarriors are immune to these distractions. The reason to build really large
creations is because they need places to put the really big guns.
8.1: Weapon Size
As
with Structures and everything else of real importance, Weapons are
classified according to their Size in inches (7.1: Structure). At a Weapon Size (WSize) of one inch or less, a weapon is equivalent to what you might find
in the hands of a minifig. As the Size increases, so do a weapon's
stats – every statistic is listed relative to the number of inches of Weapon Size (or, for an Explosive, the number of construction elements in its Explosive Size).
| Weapons and Devices |
| Item |
Use |
Range |
Damage or Effect |
Notes |
 Weapon stats are listed relative to the weapon's inches of Weapon Size. |
| Close Combat Weapons |
| Melee Weapon |
+1 |
CC |
× Action die |
|
| Melee Shield |
×2 |
CC |
× Deflection on Parry |
Parry or Shove only;
can provide cover |
| Ranged Weapons |
| Gun |
+2 |
×4"+2" |
× |
|
| BlastGun |
+1 |
×2"+2" |
(× ) - (distance) |
1 Firing Arc
No Auto Penalty |
| MachineGun |
+2 |
×3"+2" |
× |
may require Reload |
| FlameThrower |
+1 |
×2"+2" |
× Fire |
|
| Explosive Weapons |
 Explosive Size is measured in construction bricks rather than inches. |
| Explosive |
* |
* |
× Exp |
* ranged stats determined by
Launcher or Cannon, if any |
| Rocket |
×2 |
×6" |
× Exp |
|
| Cannon |
+3 |
×4" |
(determined by Ammo) |
each shot requires Reload
max Ammo of |
| Launcher |
×2 |
×6" |
(determined by Payload) |
max Payload  of ½
max Payload of |
| Armor |
| Armor Plating |
|
|
 Deflection over area |
Half Speed
No alternate Movement |
Non-Explosive stats are relative to inches of Weapon Size, the natural basis for most Weapon stats.
Explosive stats are relative to elements of Explosive Size, the basis for Explosive Weapon stats. |
|
| Weapon Size Example: The Ripper Blade |
Example: Cobbling together war machines to defend their swamp and kin, Bayounix take standard weapons and (BAM!) kick them up a notch. Thanks to a discarded hacksaw and a wildly incorrect glasses prescription, a Bayounik man is inspired to forge a vicious Ripper Blade.
After selecting and measuring the appropriate Bayounikal element for the blade, the Human player may choose to make it anywhere from a Weapon Size 3" to a Weapon Size 5" Melee Weapon, according to how he or she fudges the measurement.
Splitting the difference, the player arbitrarily picks a Weapon Size of 4". Where a standard Hand Weapon has stats of Cost:2CP Use:2 Damage:1 Skill die, the Size 4" Melee Weapon now has stats four times more awesome. It costs 8CP (Weapon Size ×2), has a Use rating of 5 (Weapon Size +1), and does 4 Action dice of Damage (Weapon Size × Action dice). |
Explosive Size
 Explosives are measured on a smaller grain than other types of weapons. Explosive Size (XSize) is measured by the number of bricks (or roughly brick-sized elements) used to construct an individual Explosive, rather than by inches. This exception is made so that Explosives can be small enough to throw as hand grenades, or to load into Launchers or Cannons of matching Size.
When an Explosive is launched from a Launcher or Cannon, only the Weapon Size of the Launcher or Cannon is counted against the Creation's Power limit. If the Explosive is launched from the Creation directly (for instance as a dropped bomb or a fired rocket), the points of Explosive Size count against the Power limit as if they were inches of Weapon Size.
KnockBack
All targets affected by an Explosion receive an inch of KnockBack for every die of Explosion Damage they receive.
Non-Explosive weapons can also cause KnockBack if they strike targets smaller than themselves. A target is Knocked Back one inch for every inch of difference between the Weapon Size and the target's Effective Size, with the usual potential for being Disrupted as a result.
Bastard Weapons
For minifigs, Weapon Size 1" is treated as a Short (S) weapon, while Weapon Size 2" is treated as a Long (L) weapon. Medium (M) weapons fall somewhere in-between. These hand-and-a-half Bastard Weapons give minifigs some needed tactical variety in the Core Rules, and the new weapon types introduced in this chapter also have minifig Bastard versions.
| Minifig Bastard Guns |
| Weapon |
Hands |
Use |
Range |
Damage |
Notes |
Long-Ranged Weapon (M)
Bastard Gun |
 |
3 |
10" |
+1 |
|
ShotGun (M)
Bastard BlastGun |
|
3 |
6" |
+1 - (distance) |
1 Firing Arc, no Auto Penalty
 1" KnockBack to minifigs or smaller
(no Disruption) |
AutoGun (M)
Bastard MachineGun |
|
3 |
8" |
+1 |
may require Reload |
FlameGun (M)
Bastard FlameThrower |
|
2 |
5" |
+1 Fire |
|
Bazooka (M)
Bastard Cannon |
|
4 |
6" |
(determined
by Ammo) |
max Ammo XSize of 1
each shot requires Reload |
RailGun (M)
Bastard Launcher |
|
4 |
8" |
(determined
by Payload) |
Max Payload Size of 1"
max Payload XSize of 2 |
|
Hand-Held Weapons
When weapons are carried in a Creation's hands (or equivalent grabbers), rather than mounted directly to the Creation itself, they are subject to some of the same limitations as minifig weapons (Chapter 3: Minifig Weapons).
As with minifigs' weapons, the Weapon Size is compared to the Size of the Creation holding it. A Weapon up to the Creation's Size is Short (S) for that Creation. Up to one-and-a-half times its Size is a Bastard Weapon (M), and up to twice the Creation's Size is Long (L).
| Large Hand-Held Weapon Equivalents |
| Weapon Category |
Short (S)
1 × Creation Size"
|
Bastard (M)
1.5 × Creation Size" |
Long (L)
2 × Creation Size" |
| Close Combat Weapon |
 |
use as Hand Weapon |
/ |
use as Heavy Weapon
may be paired with Melee Shield |
|
use as Two-Handed Weapon
cannot throw weapon |
| Ranged Weapon |
/ |
use as Short-Ranged Weapon |
|
use as Long-Ranged Weapon |
Not Allowed |
|
Power Limits
 The weapons and devices a Creation can operate during a turn are limited by Weapon Size. A Creation has enough Power to activate and use as many inches of weapons and devices as twice its own current Effective Size. The Creation can be loaded with as many extra weapons as its player is willing to pay for, but on any single turn it can only use as many inches' worth of Weapons as fit within its inches of Power.
| Size zero Creations have zero Power. It's not enough for standard Weapons, but they sometimes have special attacks. |
Depending on how a Creation is moving, its Power may be limited even further. Flying Creations have Power inches limited to their own Effective Size (although they may return to the regular Power level of twice their Effective Size while on the ground).
| Power Limit Example: Scorpiosaurus Rex |
Example: With ratings slipping against sleeker, sexier velociraptor upstarts, Scorpiosaurus Rex is trying to regain popularity with a bionik makeover. He adds decorative steel plating to his one-inch Claw Blades, and upgrades his scorpion tail to a five-inch BioStinger.
The Scorpiosaurus Rex is a Size 3" Creature, giving him the Power to activate 6" of Weapons in a turn. He can either attack with the 5" stinger and one 1" claw (5"+1"=6"), or with his two 1" claws (1"+1"=2") in a turn. He can't attack with all three in the same turn, because their sizes added together (5"+1"+1"=7") is greater than his Power limit of 6".
If Scorpiosaurus Rex takes an inch of Size Damage, his Effective Size will be reduced to 2", bringing his Power limit to only 4" per turn. Because the stinger is larger than this limit by itself, he no longer has the strength to use it (unless he Diverts All Power), and is limited to using his two claws only on any normal turn. |
Gathering Power
A single weapon can be Too Big for its Creation to activate at all, either because the Creation's Effective Size has been reduced by Size Damage (7.2: Taking Damage) or because the player who originally built the weapon was too busy being awesome to care about Power limits.
The first option for firing a weapon that's Too Big is to Divert All Power. As a Full Round Action (4.2: Action), a Creation can "save up" its Power over multiple turns. The Creation can't move, activate any Weapons or devices, or take any other Action on a turn on which it's Diverting All Power (other than as part of its powering-up sequence - it would be completely appropriate for a Freud-Class Siege Tank to plant hydraulic support stabilizers and elevate the extending cannon into artillery mode, for example). On the following turn, the Creation may immediately add the extra Power it saved from the previous turn (or turns) to its regular Power supply in order to meet the Power requirement of a single weapon or device activation. Afterwards, the Creation returns to its regular Power limit.
| The .50 caliber machine gun on top of this M1 Jackson is mounted on an independent Small Turret and requires no Power from the tank as long as it's being operated manually. |
Photo: Valiant
from "Evening Maintenance"
Elements shown:
LEGO |
|
The second means of employing a Too Big weapon is to bring a team of friends to help out. This is most often seen when a group of minifigs use Teamwork to manually operate a weapon too large for any of them individually, like swinging a battering ram, throwing a boulder, or winding the crank on a catapult.
| Nobody actually keeps track of minifigs winding up catapults. But if they did, it would take one minifig per two inches of Weapon Size. |
Creations using Teamwork add their Effective Sizes together for the purpose of satisfying a weapon's Power requirement. If an Action Roll or throwing Range is required, the unit with the smallest Action die makes the roll, and the lowest-Ranged unit determines the Range.
| Depending on the type of power source required, Vehicles or magic-powered constructs can sometimes also use Teamwork to help power a weapon - but unless they're specially designed for it, this may require a What I Say Goes roll and some jury-rigging from a clever Mechanik with a set of jumper cables. |
For weapons that are so Too Big that neither technique is enough by itself, units can Divert All Power and use Teamwork at the same time.
In either case, the participating Creations should be able to provide the appropriate type of power - a medieval knight can't use muscle strength to help power a lightning cannon, any more than hooking that knight up to a car battery would help him swing a bigger sword (although the latter example is really worth testing, just to be sure).
The Heavy
Turrets
Minifigs and Vehicles abide by the agreement (an unspoken agreement, since most Vehicles can't speak) that minifig weapons are for minifigs, and Vehicle weapons are for Vehicles. There are occasional contrary-minded minifigs who refuse to play along, however, and insist on hauling around weapons that are too big for them.
For normal minifigs, this means hauling a portable Turret into position in the field, and trying to keep that position secure long enough to set up the Turret and weapon to lay down fire.
| Turrets |
| Turret Size |
Power |
Notes |
| Small Turret (S) |
+ 2" |
No Sprinting if carried;
Action to Set Up |
| Large Turret (M) |
+4" |
Half Speed if Carried;
Action to Set Up |
|
A Small Turret measures 1" in Size and can mount a Size 2" Weapon. A Large Turret measures 2" in Size and can mount a Size 4" Weapon. (Larger Turrets are occasionally seen, and are built as regular Creations of the appropriate Size.) For minifigs hauling Turrets and Weapons into position, remember that a single minifig can haul a 1" object at regular speed (although they can't Sprint), or a 2" object at Half Speed (7.3: Field Construction). It normally takes two or more minifigs to haul large weapons and Turrets around.
Once in place, a minifig must spend an Action to Set Up the Turret and its weapon. Once Set Up, the Turret is locked in place and the weapon may be fired normally starting on the following turn. If the Turret is moved or knocked over then it must be Set Up all over again before it can be fired.
Compensating
Compensating Specialty: can use Weapons 1" larger than normally allowed when standing still
Occasionally, a minifig arises with the physical might (or mechanical augmentations) to act as his own Turret, able to carry and fire Vehicle weapons by hand. While this ability may seem to be the purview of Heroes, the Heavy is usually supporting cast, using his extra firepower to show just how tough an enemy is before a Hero swoops in for the kill steal.
Thanks to the Heavy's ability for Compensating, a Heavy can use objects and weapons 1" larger than a normal minifig. This gives him the ability to lift, operate, and throw objects larger than his Size would suggest. Most Heavies use their Compensating ability to wield a Size 2" MachineGun, BlastGun, or other type of Ranged Weapon, but Compensating works on Melee Weapons as well. A Heavy can wield Heavy Weapons as if they were Hand Weapons, Two-Handed Weapons as if they were Heavy Weapons, and Size 3" or 4" Melee Weapons as if they were Two-Handed Weapons.
The disadvantage of Compensating is that the Heavy can't operate his oversized weapons unless he has both feet planted firmly to the ground. On any turn in which the Heavy runs, jumps, Bails, uses an Angry Inch, or engages in any other type of Movement, he can't use the Compensating bonus, although he may still take normal Actions like a regular minifig.
8.2: Basic Weapons
Close Combat Weapons
Melee Weapon: Use:+1 Range:CC Damage:× Action die
Melee Shield: Use:×2 Range:CC Effect:×Deflection on Parry, 2" KnockBack on Shove
(see 5.2: Close Combat)
The functions of Close Combat Weapons are easy to scale upwards with Size. Giant swords and the like are just like the minifig versions with larger numbers attached.
A Creation with a Close Combat weapon uses it to whack at targets
the same way a minifig does. However, Creations are not always able
to participate as fully in the back-and-forth attacks of formal Close
Combat. There are specific conditions under which a Creation's Close Combat abilities are limited.
- Mindless: Unlike independent Creatures, a Creation
being controlled by an operator lacks the reflexes
to Counter or Counterattack, unless it's a Vehicle controlled by a trained Pilot (9.4: The Pilot).
- Too Large: Large combatants lack the dexterity
to counter against opponents much smaller than themselves.
Creations can't Parry Close Combat attacks from opponents smaller than half their own Size, and their Shoves and Grabs aren't Automatic Hits. (Shoves and Grabs against small targets have a Use rating equal to the size of the Creation doing the Shoving or Grabbing.)
- Too Small: Creations can only Shove targets their own Size or smaller. In order to Shove targets larger than themselves, Creations have to team up, adding their Sizes together in a Combined Attack.
Shoves from larger Creations are Parried with a -2 Action penalty for every inch of Size difference.
- Unmoving: Creations without some kind of obvious leaping ability
cannot use an Angry Inch when making attacks.
Parrying
The Use ratings of Melee Weapons go up slowly as their Weapon Size increases. Melee Shields become unwieldy much more quickly, but the benefits can be great. A successful Parry with a Melee Shield adds layers of Deflection equal to the Shield's Weapon Size, potentially negating multiple dice of Damage all at once and rendering many attacks meaningless.
Parrying a Close Combat attack acts as an attack against the incoming weapon, and these can benefit from the standard Action bonus for large Target Size: +1 to the Action Roll for every 2" in the Weapon Size of the weapon being Parried (5.1:
Making Attacks).
As with minifig weapons, a Creations' hand-held weapons can be knocked away on a failed Parry. A critical failure when Parrying results in the Parrying weapon or object being knocked out of the defender's hands and directly away from the attacker for a number of inches equal to the attacker's Action Roll.
Ranged Weapons
Gun: Use:+2 Range:(×4)+2" Damage:×
(see 5.3: Ranged Combat)
To make a Ranged attack, a Creation must be able to point its weapon
at its target. Both the
firing angle and the weapon Range are measured from the end of the
weapon barrel.
Players can mount a Creation's weapons onto any type of turret, hinge,
or arm to cover a wider firing arc. This has no extra cost, but remember
that hinges, joints, and other moving attachment points are weak points Armored at one d10 lower than the rest of the Creation (7.1:
Structure).
Armor Plating
Armor Plating: Effect:Deflection over covered area Notes:No alternate forms of Movement; Half Speed; doesn't use Power
(see 3.3: Bodily Protection)
Sections of Armor Plating can be used to protect some or all of a Creation, granting a level of Deflection to whatever area it covers. This protection comes at a cost to the Creation's mobility - the added weight of even the smallest patch of Armor Plating makes many types of movement impossible, and the Creation is permanently at Half Speed for as long as the Armor Plating is attached.
Other than moving backwards, a Creation with Armor Plating cannot engage in alternate movement types that would normally reduce its Propulsion type to Half Speed (9.1: Standard Propulsion).
Attackers firing at an Armor Plated Creation should specify which part of the Creation they're attacking. Unless they specifically target an un-Armored section, their attack will Koincidentally hit any section of Armor Plating that is visible and within range, no matter how small or unlikely.
Armor Plating is not counted against a Creation's Power limit.
8.3: Automatic Weapons
Automatic weapons are a special kind of Ranged Weapon that can be fired in a Firing Arc, spraying a whole area with projectiles, or in a Burst, spraying a whole area's worth of projectiles at a single target. Larger Firing Arcs and Bursts have the potential to do much more damage, but quickly become much less accurate due to cumulative Action penalties known as an Auto Penalty.
Firing Arcs
Rather than mess around with clunky protractors and drafting tools, BrikWars measures angles the old-fashioned way: using Humans' fingers. To measure angles of Firing Arc, a player holds their hand out with palm flat to the table and fingers outstretched, with knuckles placed roughly over the attacking end of the weapon being fired. As long as the fingers are evenly spaced, players can measure Arc between whichever set of fingers they find most convenient.
Each space between fingers is one point of Arc.
There will be some variation between the fingers of different Humans. As with everything else in BrikWars, the players who are most flexible will have the advantage.
Arc Fire
When weapon fire sweeps over an area because of either continuous fire (in the case of MachineGuns and FlameThrowers) or blast spread (in the case of BlastGuns), it's handled as an Arc Fire attack.
Every target within the attacker's Firing Arc receives a single attack from the weapon, and missed shots are ignored. Larger targets suffer an extra attack for each point of the Firing Arc they span completely.
Because an Arc attack comes from filling an area with a field of projectiles, modifiers for cover and Target Size not only affect the Action Roll for the attack, but also apply to the Damage inflicted to each target. Large and small targets within the cone of fire catch larger or smaller portions of the Damage flying through the air. (For the purpose of determining the bonus for a large target, only consider the portion of the target within the Firing Arc.)
MachineGuns and FlameThrowers firing in an Arc receive an Attack Penalty known as an Auto Penalty. As the Damage is spread over a larger Firing Arc, there is less chance that any individual shot will hit its target. For each point of Firing Arc in the attack, the attacker receives a cumulative -1 Action penalty.
BlastGuns have a fixed Firing Arc of 1 and take no Auto Penalty from their Firing Arc.
| Arc Example: Your Mama |
Example: In order to save the world's dwindling supply of fried chicken and sausages, soldiers have been sent back from the future in an attempt to curb Your Mama's caloric intake. The flamethrower trooper prepares to open fire on her from a short distance away, spraying burning plasma across her frame with an Arc of 2.
When the troopers' player splays theit fingers to measure the Firing Arc, Your Mama is so wide that she spans the entire two Arcs between the first three fingers. The flamethrower trooper will attack her once because she's in his Firing Arc, and twice more for the two full points of Firing Arc that she spans, for three attacks total.
At four inches in Size, Your Mama is so large that the trooper also gets a +2 Target Size Bonus to the attack, canceling out the -2 Auto Penalty. For Arc attacks, Target Size modifiers affect Damage as well as the Action Roll, so he makes his three attacks with +2 Damage each. |
Unlike other Ranged attacks, missed shots in Arc Fire are not tracked (5.3: Ranged Combat). Action Rolls for Arc Fire aren't tracking individual shots, but rather whether or not any out of the whole group of shots happened to be fired in that specific direction, and so a missed shot in an Arc Fire attack means there was no projectile there in the first place.
BlastGuns
BlastGun: Use:+1 Range:(×2)+2" Damage:×-distance Notes: 1 Firing Arc, no Auto Penalty, 1" KnockBack to minifigs (no Disruption)
BlastGuns are the simplest of the automatic weapons, and are only automatic in the sense that they fire a large number of shots in a single blast. Buckshot, grapeshot, and flechette rounds are the most common examples, but Blast-type effects can also be seen in weapons like sonic cannons, chaff launchers, and exploding alien seed pods.
A BlastGun fires with a fixed Firing Arc of 1, and though its blast is powerful at short range, the shots disperse and do less Damage to targets further away. For every full inch between the target and the end of the BlastGun barrel, the Damage to that target is reduced by one, to the point that more distant victims might not take any Damage at all.
Minifg-sized or smaller targets that take any Damage from a ShotGun blast are automatcially Knocked Back one inch, but aren't Disrupted.
| BlastGun Example: ShotGun Wedding |
 |
| Elements shown:
LEGO |
Example: Old Man Grundy has had enough of Wooyang constantly impregnating his daughters! He's tracked down the notorious rake and hauled him in for an old-fashioned ShotGun quadruple wedding.
Grundy's itchy trigger finger means that Wooyang had better follow through; if the old man senses any hesitation he's likely to forget that his daughters and grandchildren (and the parson) are also in the Firing Arc.
Using spread fingers to check the ShotGun's automatic Firing Arc of 1, it seems that red-headed Chastity and her baby will be outside the edge of the blast zone if the ShotGun goes off, but everyone else has positioned themselves much less wisely.
Constance and her baby are within the first inch of range. Constance stands to take a full 1d8+1 Damage, while her baby takes 1d8 (-1 Damage due to small Target Size). Wooyang is an inch away, dropping the Damage to a still-deadly 1d8.
Virginia and her twins are two inches away, reducing the potential Damage even further to 1d8-1. Between Constance's baby and the baby in her own left hand, Virginia has 1/3 cover from babies, reducing her risk by another -1 to 1d8-2. The baby in her left hand is fully exposed, but is also at -1 to Damage due to small Target Size. The baby in her right hand is safely shielded from the ShotGun behind Wooyang's sharply-dressed frame.
Purity and her baby are are three inches away (for 1d8-2 potential Damage), and almost completely shielded behind Wooyang. With only tiny portions showing, they are each at -2 to Damage, for a relatively low total of 1d8-4 apiece.
The parson is four inches away (for 1d8-3 Damage) and is fully exposed, unless the players decide that his giant BrikThulhian Bible is substantial enough to count as partial cover.
With so much potential mayhem only a trigger-pull away, will Wooyang be able to resist giving Grundy the finger? |
MachineGuns and Reloading
MachineGun: Use:+2 Range:(×3)+2" Damage:×Notes: may require Reload
MachineGuns are the most versatile of automatic weapons, allowing for Arc Fire, single-shot Ranged attacks, or multi-shot Bursts, depending on the needs of the situation.
When a MachineGun is used for Arc Fire, the player chooses the size of the Arc he or she is going to attempt (setting the overall Auto Penalty), and, starting from one end and moving to the other, rolls a separate Action Roll for each target in order.
A MachineGun can also be used in Burst Fire, firing multiple shots at a single target. The player chooses the number of shots he or she is going to attempt, and this determines the overall Auto Penalty: a cumulative -1 for each intended shot in the Burst.
Unfortunately, while
Automatic Fire is good for increasing a MachineGun's damage output, it also has a tendency to burn through its ammunition (or to jam, overheat, or lock up in some other way, if ammo isn't an issue).
The more Automatic Fire a MachineGun uses, the higher the chances of hitting one of these mechanical limits. For every shot fired in an Arc or Burst Fire attack with a MachineGun, if the number on the Action Roll (before applying bonuses or penalties) is less than the Auto Penalty for that shot, the MachineGun fires that last round and then becomes Inoperative. The weapon can can still be moved around as normal and used as makeshift club, but it can no longer be fired until it's Reloaded.
| An Inoperative weapon can be indicated by pointing the barrel skyward when possible, or attaching a small brick as a temporary reminder. |
Fortunately, Reloading is easy - regardless of the Weapon Size, any minifig operating the weapon (whether directly or from a pilot or gunner's seat) can Reload it with a single Action, making it ready to use again on the following turn. MachineGuns never suffer from a lack of spare ammunition; additional Reloads are always mysteriously available, and minifigs know better than to ask questions about where they come from.
| A MachineGun can't be Reloaded and fired on the same turn, even by multiple minifigs using their Actions together. |
FlameThrowers
FlameThrower: Use:+1 Range:(×2)+2" Damage:× Fire
FlameThrowers and other fire-based attacks measure their Damage Ratings in d4s rather than d6es, to represent the special nature of Fire Damage. The dependence on d4s makes them relatively weak for direct Damage output, but this shortcoming is made up for by their advantages in the field of setting objects on Fire.
| If players choose to include Fire in their battle, they should make sure to have several d4s close at hand for Fire Damage rolls, a handful of markers to indicate active Fires (flame pieces are best, but red and yellow bricks or pips will work in a pinch). If they're really dedicated, they can also supply loose black and gray bits to scatter over already-burned areas. |
1d4 |
FlameThrowers are not the most precise or elegant weapons, and must always use a Firing Arc of at least 1. Like other area attacks, Target Size modifiers affect a FlameThrower attack's Damage as well as the accuracy of the Action Roll.
Catching On Fire
Whenever a target takes Damage from FlameThrowers or other Fire-based attacks, there's a chance that it will be set on Fire.
On larger Creations, Fires can become independent creations in their own right, turning into Field Hazards that blaze out of control (F.1: Hazard Dice).
On minifigs, Fires are much simpler: any minifig who takes at least one point of Fire Damage is on Fire. (A Critical Failure on a Fire Damage roll, or Damage that's reduced to zero by Damage penalties, has no effect.)
For minifigs, being on Fire is unusually distracting. For as long as a minifig continues to burn, he takes a -1d4 penalty to Action Rolls and Armor, and is limited to using one of his two Hands at most.
| Creatures who are made of Fire, like djinnis and lava monsters, do not suffer penalties from being on Fire. |
A minifig can put out his flames by being doused in water or spending an Action to stop, drop and roll around on the ground and Disrupt himself. Otherwise, if he's still burning at the end of his turn and has unused inches of Move remaining, it's mandatory that he uses up every last inch by running and thrashing around hysterically, making that funny sound burning people make when they're trying to hyperventilate and scream at the same time.
If a minifig is still on Fire at the beginning of his turn, he makes a Burning Roll on 1d4. On a 1, the Fire goes out, and the minifig may go on with his life.
On any other roll, the Fire continues burning. The minifig takes one point of Grinding Damage (7.2: Taking Damage), rendering one limb useless of the minifig's choice as if it were Amputated (10.2: The Medik), and the Fire spreads to up to one flammable object with a Weight class of 1 or less that the minifig is in direct contact with, potentially including other minifigs.
| The ground is treated as non-flammable by default, unless players want to spend a whole lot of time tracking out-of-control ground fires. |
| Fire Example: Burnination |
Example: This dragon-man (or maybe he's just a dragon) is on a quest to burninate the countryside, despite the stupid friggin' knights who are always trying to sword him. Luckily, the dragon's face is a Size 3" FlameThrower (Use:4 Range:8" Damage:3d4(Fire)), which makes his job a lot easier.
It's the first day of the Walking In and Out of Your Cottage Obliviously Festival, and brave peasants are performing their peasantly duty of pacing in and out of their doorways in single file. Sensing easy prey, the dragon decides to flamethrow in a line starting at the edge of the cottage's thatched roof and burning across all three peasants. With his fire breath's Range of 8", he can hit all four targets in a single Firing Arc, but the furthest peasant is 1" Out of Range.
The Flamethrower has a Use Rating of 4, with a -1 Auto Penalty for the single point of Firing Arc. Taking the targets in order, the cottage is first and easiest to hit. Although the cottage is a 6" Structure overall, the section within the Firing Arc is only 4", granting a +2 Action and Damage Bonus. With -1 from the Auto Penalty, the total Action bonus is +1. The dragon Critically Fails the Attack Roll, rolling a 1 and rendering the +1 bonus meaningless. He misses the thatched roof completely.
The two peasants are next. The dragon rolls a 4 for the first and a 5 for the second. Thanks to the -1 Auto Penalty, the first roll fails to meet the Flamethrower's Use requirement of 4. The second roll is a hit, and the dragon rolls a 2, 1, and 3 on the 3d4, enough to kill the peasant outright and set the corpse on Fire.
The final peasant is one inch Out of Range, adding a -1 Action penalty to the -1 Auto Penalty. Despite the -2 Penalty, The dragon rolls a lucky 6 for this final Action Roll and hits the peasant decisively. The dragon rolls 3, 1, and 2 on the 3d4 Damage Roll, plus a 2 on the extra Over the Top d4; these are reduced to 2, 0, 1, and 1 by the -1 Out of Range Penalty on each die. The total of 4 isn't enough to kill the peasant, but it does set him on Fire.
The burning third peasant flees into the safety of his home, where he immediately runs into a wall and sets the cottage on Fire. The unharmed first peasant, having completed his duty of Walking Out Obliviously, proceeds to Walk Back In to the now-burning cottage in similar fashion, where he also catches on Fire. The victory of the dragon (or maybe he's a dragon-man) is complete! |
8.4: Heavy Explosives
Explosions are the most exciting events in a minifig's life, and the options for delivering them are bountiful. Explosive Weapons can be dropped like bombs, thrown like grenades, fired as Ammo from Cannons, launched as Payloads from Launchers, fired off as Rockets, or strapped onto the fronts of speeding Vehicles for crashing into each other.
Unlike other weapons, an Explosive or Rocket is measured by its number of construction elements rather than inches of Weapon Size. This number is its Explosive Size (XSize), and is particularly important for determining its number of Explosion Damage dice.
 |
Explosion Damage is based around the intimidating d10. Players who expect to cause a lot of Explosions should make sure to bring a sufficient supply of d10s. |
When an Explosive or Rocket is dropped, thrown, or fired directly by a Creation, the XSize is also the amount of Power it takes to properly activate the weapon. When Explosives and Rockets are fired from Cannons or launched from Launchers, only the Power requirement of the Cannon or Launcher is used.
Trajectories
Where most Ranged Weapons fire some variation of imaginary "pew pew" sounds, flying Explosives are physical objects and are treated as such. Launchers and Cannons can fire projectiles in parabolic arcs rather than straight lines, and some Rockets can curve their flight path to track targets.
Explosive weapons can be fired over the tops of obstacles to strike targets behind them, and will often strike targets from above or at an angle rather than along the attacker's line of sight. To fire over the tops of obstacles, the attacker can aim at any spot directly above the target. On a successful Action Roll, the Payload hits that spot and then travels straight downward (downward inches of Movement or Range are always free). On an unsuccessful Action Roll, a Missed Shot with an Explosive has to come down somewhere, unlike regular Missed Shots which can fly off harmlessly into the sky and be ignored (5.3: Ranged Combat). This is particularly important for Launchers, whose high Use ratings make them notoriously inaccurate.
| Attacks fired over obstacles are subject to a possible -5 Attack Penalty if the attacker is firing at targets he can't see (5.1: Making Attacks), but this can be circumvented by using a Scout's Tracking ability (F.3: The Scout). |
Explosives and other physical objects used as projectiles have a maximum speed of 12" per turn. When a projectile is launched further than this distance (e.g., a long-distance Rocket, or a bomb from a large Launcher or Cannon), it can take a turn or more to arrive at its destination, giving potential targets a chance to scatter.
Whenever a phyical projectile is fired at a target more than twelve inches away, the attacking player doesn't immediately make the Action Roll. Instead, they place a marker at the intended target location (an "X" built from red bricks is traditional), and launches the projectile into the air, moving it 12" towards the target, and 12" again at the beginning of each of their turns. It's only when the projectile reaches its destination point that the player makes the Action Roll to find out whether it hit the target, or how badly it missed.
While early Rockets fire in straight lines, modern and higher-tech Rockets
have the ability to track their targets if they change position while the Rocket is in flight. Once during each turn of movement, a Rocket with tracking ability can turn up to 45 degrees in order to follow a moving target.
| Depending on the type of tracking system used by Rockets in a particular battle, players are encouraged to come up with inventive countermeasures to confuse them. Chaff, flares, holograms, and seductive decoy Rockets in sexy makeup can all be used to distract an incoming enemy Rocket. |
Premature Detonation
For all the hilarity that Explosive weapons bring when dropped into enemy ranks, they're even funnier when a minifig falls victim to his own ordnance's Premature Detonation.
Improvised and low-tech Explosive weapons are Unstable. A single point of damage is enough to set off gunpowder kegs, dynamite sticks, fireworks, angry soccer moms, and those red fuel barrels wisely left lying around everywhere by the inhabitants of first-person shooters.
Any time an Unstable Explosive weapon takes damage, it immediately goes off, doing its full Explosion Damage wherever it happens to be.
Higher-tech Explosive weapons are more difficult to set off accidentally. Grenades, plastic explosives, nuclear warheads, and internal combustion engines depend on specific priming mechanisms to trigger their Explosions.
Fortunately, minifig safety precautions are half-hearted at best, and Semi-Stable Explosives can be Detonated just as Prematurely with a little more damage.
Any time a Semi-Stable Explosive weapon takes more points of damage than its Explosive Size (XSize), it's activated, and will go off at the end of the current player's turn. Minifigs are free to use Response Actions to try to quickly dispose of the weapon or to encourage a nearby friend or well-wisher to jump on it and save them.
Semi-Stable Explosives are treated as Unstable once they're activated - armed missiles in flight, proximity mines, and falling bombs can be hit and Detonated Prematurely by shooters or extremely brave melee combatants with fast enough reflexes.
Critical Failures
If a unit attepts to use an Explosive but fails the Action Roll, the defending player treats it as a Missed Shot as usual, choosing any Koincidentally unlucky location within the appropriate distance for the shot to land.
If either the Action Roll or the Damage Roll is a Critical Failure, the defender has the additional option of declaring the Explosive a Dud. A Dud Explosive doesn't explode on impact, but remains armed and extremely Unstable, even if it was a Semi-Stable type of Explosive before being fired or thrown. Minifigs can use an Action to move the Dud carefully at Half Speed; otherwise, any damage or attempt to move the Dud will set it off.
Heavy Explosions
Explosive: Damage:× Exp Notes: Use and Range determined by Launcher
Rocket: Use:×2 Range:×6" Damage:× Exp
When a minifig's grenade goes off, it creates a blast of Explosion Damage (Exp) that affects all objects within two inches. With larger Explosions, this radius is multiplied, doing the heaviest Damage at the center and diminishing over distance.
When an Explosion occurs, the player rolls the number of d10s in the weapon's Damage rating, and leaves the dice on the table. All objects (or Components, for larger targets) within a two-inch radius of the blast center take this much damage, and any loose objects in this radius (including objects which only became loose after being destroyed by the Explosion) are Knocked Back one inch for every d10 in the Damage roll (including Over the Top d10s).
For a single-d10 Explosion, this is all that's required. For Explosions with multiple d10s, after handling Damage for all the objects within the first two inches, the player removes the highest d10 in the roll (including any Bonus Dice it may have earned), and counts the new total result on the dice that remain. All objects within the next two inches of radius take this new result in Damage, and loose objects are Knocked Back a number of inches according to the number of dice remaining. The player continues removing one d10 for every two inches and distributing damage and KnockBack accordingly, until no dice remain in the Explosion Damage.
| Players may wish to save handling all KnockBack effects for the end, in order to avoid accidentally damaging or Knocking Back the same object twice. |
Damage and KnockBack from more than one Explosion can stack, but the sizes of their radii do not. A hundred 2d10 Explosions in the same spot cause 200d10 worth of Damage in the first two inches, 100d10 in the next two, and none after that. They don't combine into a single massive explosion with a four hundred inch radius.
| Explosion Example: Wall Demolition |
Example: The Imperial Ministry of Truth uses spare blast walls to test missiles and improve the believability of their faked terrorist news stories. By popular acclaim, Privates Templin and Reale have been involuntarily volunteered to man the demonstration guard towers.
Once in position, the Ministry fires a Size 3" Missile at the wall, striking two inches underneath Private Reale's tower in a 3d10 Explosion. The missile rolls a 3, 6, and 7, for a total of 16 points of Damage within the first two inches. Removing the highest roll (the 7), the total is 9 Damage in the next two inches after that, and (removing the 6) 3 Damage in the outermost two inches.
The wall has 3d10 Armor, rolling a 15. This is less than the Explosion's innermost Damage of 16, so all wall components within two inches of the blast are destroyed, and tossed away three inches. The 15 is enough to exceed the 9 Damage for the next two inches away from the Explosion, so the rest of the wall survives.
The patch of ground beneath the wall is within the Explosion radius, and rolls an 8 on its Armor of 1d10. This is less than the 9 Explosion Damage at the four-inch radius, but more than the 3 Explosion Damage further out. All of the exposed ground within four inches of the blast is destroyed. (For added effect, players build up a blast crater rim at this radius and set the surrounding vegetation on fire.)
With the destruction of the wall underneath Private Reale's tower, it is no longer attached to the wall. Even though it survives the Explosion Damage, it is no longer "nailed down" and is Knocked Back two inches. Since the blast was directly underneath it, the tower is sent flying straight up into the air, with Private Reale still on top.
When Private Reale's tower falls out of the sky, the ground does 1d6 Collision Damage to the both of them. It rolls a 4. Thanks to the wall's earlier Armor Roll of 15, this isn't enough to harm the tower (even counting it as Cumulative Damage with the 9 Explosion Damage taken earlier). It precisely matches Private Reale's Armor of 4, so the players decide that even though the Collision Damage isn't enough to kill him, his pelvis and both legs are now shattered to orthopaedic confetti. The Ministry of Truth makes an immediate press release through its faux news channel about the deadly attack by terrorist insurgents. |
Explosive Variants
| James+burgundy's Pilots pose for a group photo with their Explosive ordnance: homing missiles, cluster bombs, and helicopter-mount weapons-grade concert speakers. |
Photo: james+burgundy
from "Army, new(ish)"
Elements shown:
LEGO |
|
A standard Explosive does its own XSize worth of Explosive Damage d10s. Depending on a minifig's tactical needs and desire for novelty, he might mix things up a little bit, swapping out the d10s for any combination of Alternate Damage Dice or Field Hazard effects. The Explosive's XSize and other stats remain the same.
| Explosive Variants |
| Type |
Die Replacement |
Effect |
| Alternate Damage Dice |
| Incendiary |
Fire |
Fire Damage |
| Armor Piercing |
Piercing |
Cancels one layer of Deflection |
| Concussion |
 Knockback |
1d6" Knockback,
opposed by POP |
| Explosive |
Exp |
1" KnockBack |
| Phased |
 Phased
(cost: 2 dice) |
Damage d12s are not
affected
by
Deflection |
| Field Hazards (Chapter F: Field Hazards) |
| Field Hazard |
Any Hazard Die |
4"  |
per Smoke |
| 2" |
per Exposure Damage die |
| 3" |
per other Hazard die |
Field shrinks 1" per turn |
|
Explosives with Alternate Damage Dice work like standard Explosives in most regards. When the Explosion goes off, the attacking player rolls all the dice and applies their full Damage and effects to everything within the first two inches. They remove the highest rolling dice as the Explosion radius increases, along with their associated Bonus Dice and secondary effects. In the case of a tie between different die types, the attacking player chooses which to remove first.
- Incendiary weapons replace d10s with Fire Damage d4s, or with one of the d4's corrosive variants like Acid or Poison (F.1: Hazard Dice).
- Armor Piercing weapons replace d10s with Armor Piercing d6es. For each Armor Piercing d6 that reaches a target, the attack ignores one layer of the target's Deflection.
- Concussion weapons replace d10s with d6es of Knockback. These dice do no Damage of their own, but cause 1d6" of Knockback as if the targets were struck in a Collision. Like a Collision, targets resist the KnockBack with their own Physical Opposition.
| Most Concussion weapons blow affected objects away from the blast point, but there are exceptions. The Immortal Empire's black hole grenades, for instance, famously implode and smash victims together. |
- Explosive weapons use the standard Explosive d10s. In addition to doing Damage, each Explosive d10 causes 1" of Knockback to any target that's not nailed down. This KnockBack is not resisted.
- Phased weapons replace two d10s with a single d12, reducing the number of Damage dice and the overall Explosion Radius as a result. Damage d12s are not affected by a target's Deflection, no matter how many layers of Deflection it has.
When an Explosive's Damage dice are replaced with Field Hazard effects, the Explosion creates a new Field Hazard centered at the point of impact (Chapter F: Field Hazards). The Field Size is determined by the type of Hazard: four inches for every die replaced with Smoke, two for every die replaced with an Exposure Damage die, and three for any any other Hazard die. These Field Hazards aren't permanent. At the beginning of each of the attacking player's turns, the Field Size shrinks by one inch.
If an Explosive weapon has both Damage dice and a Field Hazard, they're two separate effects. The Explosion Radius and the Field Size aren't added together.
Cannons
Cannon: Use:+3 Range:×4" Damage:determined by Ammo Notes: Requires Reload; can fire Explosive Ammo up to max of
A Cannon is a slow but powerful direct-fire Gun that fires Explosive rounds rather than generic damage dice. Pirate ship cannons, modern combat tank cannons, and starship neutron torpedo tubes are all examples of Cannons. A Cannon must be Reloaded after each shot, meaning that it can only fire every other turn.
Ammunition
|
 |
 |
| Valiant's tanks are packed with a versatile assortment of Ammo. The Champion II has a crew of three minifigs, with Reloading handled by a mechanized auto-loader. |
Photos: Valiant
from "Valiant's Armoured Fighting Vehicles Thread"
Elements shown:
LEGO |
|
Each time a Cannon fires, its chamber is emptied and it must be Reloaded before being fired again. As with MachineGuns, Reloading costs an Action, whether the Cannon is reloaded by hand or by automatic controls. A Cannon can't be fired and Reloaded on the same turn.
Unlike MachineGuns, Cannons require physical Ammo in order to Reload. Ammo is bought as a standard Explosive that's designed to fit into a Cannon, up to a maximum Explosive Size (XSize) equal to the Weapon Size of the Cannon. Ammo must be represented in physical brick and stored next to the Cannon's reloading area, wherever that may be.
Minifigs are too busy to keep track of remaining Ammo. Ammo is never used up - as long as there's at least one round of Ammo available for each Cannon, it can be Reloaded over and over again. Like any other Explosive left lying around, however, the physical rounds of Ammo can be stolen, destroyed, or applied to other purposes by wandering minifigs, leaving the Cannon with nothing to Reload with.
If a Cannon has more than one type of Ammo available,
players must declare which of the types they're using each time they Reload.
Payload Launchers
Launcher: Use:×2 Range:×6" Damage:(determined by Payload) Notes: Max Payload Size of ×½; max Explosive Payload of
The Launcher category covers any device designed to launch a Payload across a distance, from minifig-scale bazookas, mortars, and slingshots, to siege-scale catapults, mass drivers, and octopus-throwing giant squids. Launchers are ideally used to deliver Explosive Payloads, but boulders, plague-ridden corpses, and fully-loaded port-a-potties also have their special charm.
Unlike normal Ranged Weapons, for which ammunition is rarely an issue, a Launcher's Payload must always be represented in-game by one or more physical objects. All Launchers must have a designated area for loading their Payload (e.g., the basket of a catapult, the breech of a cannon, or the trolley of a railgun), and Payloads must be placed into or onto this location prior to Launch. Players may choose to construct their Launcher with an ammunition battery for auto-loading (such as a missile rack or ammunition drum), but most Launchers end up being loaded by minifigs carrying objects by hand. Less traditional Payloads are possible and fully encouraged; an appropriate Launcher might also be used to scramble spacefighters, deliver paratroopers, or fire political opponents into the sun. As long as it's properly loaded, a Launcher can fire once per turn.
A Launcher can fire a group of one or more Explosives with a combined XSize up to the Launcher's own Weapon Size, or a group of one or more regular objects up to one half the Launcher's own Weapon Size, rounded down (this means that a Size 1 Launcher is limited to either Size 1 Explosives or Size 0 objects like minifig equipment or Vermin). If Launching a group of objects, the operator makes a separate Action Roll for each one, as projectiles disperse while in flight.
Launched Melee Weapons do Damage as if they had hit the target in a Close Combat attack. Launched Explosives use their Explosion Damage ratings on impact. Other Payloads do Crash Damage with their full Momentum (9.5: Collisions), doing a d6 of Damage for each d10 in their Armor rating.
| Payload Example: Missile Racks |
Example: Finding the offensive power of LEGO set 7701 to be insufficient, Robot Monkey set about making some upgrades.
In addition to the retrofitted tactical nukes, railguns, miniguns, RPG launchers, and the "Apocalypse" uber-chaingun, this new and improved Uber-Titan also sports a pair of shoulder-mounted six-barrel missile racks. Each missile rack is a Size 3" Launcher loaded with six Size 1 Explosives.
With Weapon Sizes of 3", each Launcher can fire up to three of its Size 1 Explosives per turn, rolling Use:6 Action Rolls separately for each to see if they hit. |
Thrown Minifig Weapons
Minifig Throwing Arm: Weapon Size: 1/2" Use:object's Use Range:3" Damage:object's Damage Notes: Size 0" Payloads only
Often overlooked in favor of the majestic mechanical Launchers of military engineers, a pair of naturally-occurring Launchers can be found hanging off the shoulders of even the lowliest peasants. A minifig's arms are considered free Size ½" Launchers, capable of throwing Size 0" projectiles like grenades, hand weapons, and small animals.
Thrown objects have the same Use rating and do as much Damage as if they had been used in a Close Combat attack. Thrown Explosives cause their Explosion Damage on impact (which is technically also the same as when they're used in Close Combat, although there are drawbacks to using them in that capacity).
Creatures with larger arms can throw correspondingly larger objects, but these larger thrown objects still have effective Use and Damage ratings as if they were being used in Close Combat, unless the creature's arms were built specifically as Launchers.
Minifigs working together can combine their half-inches of strength - four minifigs can act as a Size 2" Launcher, for instance - but the Range of their throw never increases, remaining at 3". The Action Roll for the throw is made by whichever minifig in the group has the smallest Action die.
Because a minifig's three-inch throwing range is not a lot of distance, it's good to remember that attacks can be made Out of Range, taking -1 Action and Damage penalties for every inch beyond the attack's normal Range (5.1: Making Attacks).
8.5: Manning Guns
| Every soldier in Robot Monkey's Republic of Independent Nations dreams of being assigned to a helicopter door gunner position. Minifigs love miniguns. |
Photo: Robot Monkey
from "The Republic of Independent Nations"
Elements shown:
LEGO |
|
 Firing Weapons
In normal situations, firing a large weapon is just like firing a small one, except with bigger numbers attached. The attacker chooses a single target or Firing Arc and may fire any number of weapons at it of a single attack type (either Ranged, Arc Fire, or Close Combat), up to his Power limit (8.1: Weapon Size). The attacker uses his Action to make the attack, checks the Range to the target, makes an Action Roll with the usual Action modifiers, compares the result to the Use rating of the weapon, and, if it hits, rolls the Damage and applies the result accordingly (5.1: Making Attacks).
Controls
Controlling a minifig-scale weapon is a simple affair. A minifig has perfect control of a sword or pistol as soon as his hand's on the grip.
On larger weapons, like intercontinental ballistic missile silos, orbital laser satellite arrays, or Bagger 288s, the controls can be far removed from the business end of the weapon itself. While Controls might be mounted directly on a weapon, they're just as often found in an attached Gunner's seat, in the cockpit of the vehicle on which the weapon is mounted, or in a remote weapons control station within a nearby bunker.
| Except when there's a specific reason to the contrary, all modern or futuristic military vehicles include Controls for the weapons systems in the cockpit, even if there are separate Gunner's stations. |
In some cases, a single weapon may have Controls in several locations, leading to possible conflict if opposing forces gain access to different sets of Controls. While each player's forces can fire a given weapon only once per turn, any unit with access to one set of Controls can use an Action to Interfere with a unit attempting to operate the weapon from a different set of Controls, rolling his own Action and using the result as an Action penalty to the attacking unit's attack.
In the rare case that minifigs from allied teams find themselves at
the same set of Controls, they cannot each operate the Weapon on
their own turns – that would unfairly double the weapon's
abilities. Whether weapons, devices, or Propulsion systems (9.4: Piloting), a minifig can only Operate a system if none of his
allies used the same system on their previous turn. This special
limitation only applies to allies; when enemies commandeer a set of
Controls, they can make full and immediate use of them. This is justified by the fact
that it's much funnier to let hijackers have instant benefits than
to give the original owners any time to react.
A Mechanik (7.3: Field Construction) can jury-rig new Controls for a weapon, even if the weapon is still controlled by one or more opponents at another set of Controls elsewhere. The new Controls must be attached to the inner workings of either the weapon or the machinery it's mounted on, not to the outer plating. The Mechanik will have to crack the armor open before he can start messing with the innards.
The Gunner
Even without training, any minifig off the street who gains access to a mounted weapon's Controls can successfully operate it, although not necessarily very well. The Use requirements of mounted weapons go up very quickly as they increase in Size, making attacks much more difficult than with handheld weapons. Especially for very large weapons, it's best to have a trained Gunner or several at the controls.
Gunnery
Gunnery Specialty:  on Action Rolls with mounted weapons; allows Gunnery Support
The Gunner is a unit that specializes in the operation of mounted weapons. For any Action Roll related to the use of a weapon mounted on a Creation, Gunnery allows the Gunner to roll their Specialty rather than their Action d6.
Besides firing large weapons with greater skill than usual, Gunners are also trained to cooperate in teams to fire weapons more accurately and effectively. Any minifig with the Gunnery Specialty can spend his Action to provide Gunnery Support to another minifig operating a large weapon, granting a +1 Action bonus to the attack. This bonus is cumulative, adding additional +1 bonuses for every Supporting Gunner, but the number of minifigs in the firing team (the firing minifig plus the minifigs providing Gunnery Support) is limited to the number of inches in the Weapon Size, and each minifig must be able to access the weapon or a working set of Controls for it.
The exact nature of Gunnery Support depends on the weapon and the technology involved. The Gunners may be calculating trajectories, feeding ammunition belts, establishing target locks, or sacrificing captives to the gods of metal and mayhem.
As long as the weapon keeps firing at the exact same point, and neither the Weapon or the target move, there's no need to keep recalculating trajectories. The Action bonuses from Gunnery Support can be considered permanent until the Weapon moves or aims somewhere else. If it continues to pound that same target over several turns, the Gunners can learn from the previous turn's results and Home In on the target. For each new attack they can add new Gunnery Support bonuses to the bonuses from the previous turn, accumulating +1s until it becomes almost impossible to miss. The possibility of Critical Failure remains ever-present, however, and any Critical Failure cancels the Homing In bonus and requires the Gunners to start over.
|
|
