D6 FIREARMS v1.3.2
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DISCLAIMER
Some of you out there may not agree with these rules, especially if you love your guns, your knowledge of guns and telling everyone how much you know about guns, how to kill people, et al. If you have a disagreement with the rules presented here, then all I can say is...DEAL WITH IT! These rules are not made to satisfy everyone, but it's worked pretty well so far, and if you really think you need to tell the world how much you know about guns and how the system doesn't work for guns, then either find another RPG or make your own.
On to the good stuff...
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CONTENTS
-Part I: What's It About?
-Part II: What's New
-Part III: How Firearms Work
-Part IV: Autofire Rules
-Part V: Firearms Skill (And Specializations)
-Part VI: Ammunition
-Part VII: Weapon Types
-Part VIII: Modifying Firearms
-Part IX: Other Weapons And Uses
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PART I: WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
This article is an attempt to make firearms more feasible in the West End Games D6 Star Wars RPG system, most notably to give workable rules for automatic weapons fire, but also showing other possible alternate rules to be used for firearms that may have other uses when used by someone with an idea in mind. The contents of this article are meant to be used with the Star Wars RPG Revised rulebook, as it makes use of many of the revisions found in that book. If this book is not available, much of the material can be found elsewhere, such as Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters or Pirates & Privateers...hopefully.
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PART II: WHAT"S NEW
It has been over a year, I think, since I wrote up the first D6 Firearms article, and perhaps a year since the 1.2 revision I attempted to follow up on it. This revision is after much thought since then, weighing this and that, and seeing what works, also with some handy play-testing in a campaign where we tried combining Stargate with Battlestar Galactica.
1.3: There are three big changes worth mentioning right off the bat. First, the Autofire rules have options as to how powerful they are, according to what the GM and players desire. It comes down to "do you want extra damage for shooting more bullets?", or, "do I want everyone to think I'm John Woo on crack?". The original Autofire rules allowed whole dice to be added to damage if one rolled high enough with their firearms skill. Even though this gave a dice penalty to Dodge of the same bonus to damage, their usually wasn't anything left to challenge my players after they were done shooting. This with the Strafing they could do made them kind of Godlike. This option is still listed as a High Damage variant, but the main rule for Autofire is now a bonus in pips instead of dice. It still depends on what player and GMs prefer, but the pips bonus is a great balance between "a little extra" and "not too powerful".
Second, the previous version listed examples of firearms with specific types, like calibers, models and such. That was a mistake on my part, as the D6 system really isn't meant for such detail, and people with firearms expertise just don't seem to like that if it doesn't fit their viewpoint on the subject. So, the examples will be as general as possible to give people an idea of what would fit where and being easy to adapt as they see fit.
Third, along with the examples, I had made a list of modifications for altering and enhancing the functions of firearms. These went hand-in-hand with the examples as they were too detailed, and again I tried to do too much. After pooring through my Star Wars D6 Revised rulebook, I skimmed through the Technical section of skills and saw the tables for modifying things like weapon damage, range, shields, speed, etc. These tables are absolutely perfect for modifying firearms of any kind and fit the system more perfectly than the list i came up with in the past, being generalized and granting what people would want in the game rules without being too detailed, stringent or overbearing.
1.3.1: After posting v1.3, I had some more thoughts, and decided to add some extras on using the firearms skill. There is also a specialization for Autofire and how it would work. These are, like everything else in this article, optional and up to the GM and their players.
1.3.2: Well, after realizing that the article was MISSING from the site, i went back to find a copy, and decided to add some more stuff as I was thinking about it. I'm adding some more 'Parts' as listed above to help flesh out firearms, like if someone wanted to add it wholly as it's own stand-alone set of rules, or a complete alternate to stuff such as blasters, such as if they wish to do a more modern setting like in the present on Earth, or something similar.
I noticed a typo in Step #1 of the Autofire rules and took care of it.
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PART III: HOW FIREARMS WORK
Firearms, in game terms and for the most part, work just like blasters. You point them at something, make your attack roll to hit, and if you hit you then roll to damage the target. While the technical details of firearms might separate them from blasters in very dramatic ways, one can always keep it simple by remembering this simple truth. It's just a game, and games require a game mechanic to function, and, to use an old favorite quote, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". And if GMs and players wish, they can forgoe this entire article and simply use firearms instead of blasters and go by the same rules as they are presented in the D6 rulebooks.
Or, you can read the rest of this article and gets some rules that would expand on how those rules work, and hopefully make firearms more effective in your games, which is exactly why I wrote this article.
Firearms don't work like blasters, nor do they really fit the rules for using blasters as given in Star Wars D6. At least, they don't to me, and I am hoping you agree (you're still reading this, after all, lol!). While many firearms are as simple as pointing and shooting a single ammo round, much like blasters, many of them are not this simple. Many of them have the ability to unload much of their ammunition to deal massive amounts of damage to a target. Or to several targets! Or to just make a loud noise to draw attention so someone else can get away or make a sneak attack. All of these reasons, and more are why I made this article.
So, while the standard rules work well enough, things do eventually become old and, while not 'broken', could definitely use a touch-up or some well-deserved maintenance, much like any good blaster OR firearm. The extra rules here could be used for either if allowed by a creative GM.
This is what I meant by "How Firearms Work" in this part. Firearms do work very differently when one gets technical about their functions, and there are many good sites on the internet to find out more about them. This was meant to explain the game mechanic behind them, that they really are not so different from blasters at all, but taking the basic rules and adding on to hem for things like Autofire, as presented below...
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PART IV: AUTOFIRE RULES
About firearms and autofire: If a weapon has an 'autofire' (or "automatic fire") function, it is capable of firing bullets continuously as long as the person using them holds down the trigger, until it runs out of ammunition and a replacement magazine/clip is needed. Most handguns will not have this function, though a rare few do (called machine pistols), and other models can be modified to do so; Sub-machineguns, assault rifles and carbines usually have autofire, though exceptions probably have a burst option instead that fires a preset number of bullets (usually three) with every trigger pull; and machine guns always have autofire and are usually treated as heavy weapons that are bulkier, carry more ammunition and are usually harder to aim without a pod and assuming a good position. Sniper rifles (or, rifles that aren't actually 'asault rifles') usually do not have autofire, though there are a few exceptions with certain models, and others could possibly be modified to do so.
FIRE SELECTOR:
Also of note, it takes an action to draw a weapon when combat is engaged. Selecting a fire type on a firearm that has such options could be either an action like drawing a weapon, or a free action since most fire selectors are right by the thumb or trigger finger near the grip of the weapon
AUTOFIRE RULES:
-Step #1 (Full Auto): When the gunner makes an attack, compare the resulting roll with both the Range Difficulty and the Difficulty Chart. Starting with the Range's Difficulty Level (which is usually Easy for short, Moderate for medium and Difficult for long; but some weapons may be easier or harder), every Difficulty Level achieved past that needed to hit a target adds +1 pips to the Damage Dice rolled (see charts below).
-Step #2 (Ammo Depletion): Next, for every added Autofire damage pip achieved, roll the same amount in D6 dice for 'Ammo Depletion'. Add up the result, and subtract the number from the weapon's magazine clip.
-Step #3 (Trade-off): The price of Autofire is that one must stand as steady as possible to focus the weapon's bullet spray at the intended target(s), giving up mobility to cause more damage. For every extra Autofire damage pip, the character is minus this same amount of pips to Dodge, Parry, or otherwise skill rolls to defend themselves from attacks for the rest of the round (but not to resist actual damage from those attacks).
IMPORTANT NOTE! If a character uses Autofire, they DO NOT have to take the full amount of added Autofire damage pips, as they may be shooting on the run. They can cut it short to conserve ammunition and keep some mobility to defend themselves.
SHORT RANGE
Difficulty Chart/Bonus Autofire Pips/Defense Modifiers (Dodge, Parry, etc.):
Very Easy 1-5 / 0 / 0
Easy 6-10 / 0 / 0
Moderate 11-15 / +1 / -1
Difficult 16-20 / +2 / -2
Very Difficult 21-30 / +3 / -3
Heroic 31+ / +4 / -4
+5 extra / +1 / -1
MEDIUM RANGE
Difficulty Chart/Bonus Autofire Pips/Defense Modifiers (Dodge, Parry, etc.):
Very Easy 1-5 / 0 / 0
Easy 6-10 / 0 / 0
Moderate 11-15 / 0 / 0
Difficult 16-20 / +1 / -1
Very Difficult 21-30 / +2 / -2
Heroic 31+ / +3 / -3
every +5 extra / +1 / -1
LONG RANGE
Difficulty Chart/Bonus Autofire Pips/Defense Modifiers (Dodge, Parry, etc.):
Very Easy 1-5 / 0 / 0
Easy 6-10 / 0 / 0
Moderate 11-15 / 0 / 0
Difficult 16-20 / 0 / 0
Very Difficult 21-30 / +1 / -1
Heroic 31+ / +2 / -2
every +5 extra / +1 / -1
Optional Autofire Uses/Notes:
-Strafing Fire (Engage Multiple Targets, optional at GM's discretion): One of the most notable uses of automatic weapons fire is the ability to unload massive amounts of ammo into several targets at once. For every adjacent space to a chosen target (like squares on a grid map of either 5ft. or 2m) fired upon, -1 from the bonus autofire pips per extra space/target (Ammo Depletion stays the same), and roll damage against the targets (at the very least, they recieve the weapon's full normal damage plus whatever might be left of the autofire bonus, if any). For simplicity, the shooter can roll one damage roll for all targets while they make their dodge or resistance rolls against the attack. However, some players or GMs may want individual rolls made per target. This gives players an advantage against targets using traditional blaster weaponry from Star Wars D6 RPG, even at the -1D damage for firearms in theStar Wars D6 system. However, against enemies also using firearms, these factors balance out nicely and there is no -1D unless using high-tech armors like those from Star Wars D6.
NOTE: Strafing Fire is only available to firearms that have the autofire function on their fire selectors, though some firearms with the burst function could do so in the right hands (increase Difficulty by one level for Strafing Fire with Burst instead of autofire; can only strafe as many targets as there are bullets in the Burst).
-Covering Fire: Use the same rules as above for autofire, but instead of adding the extra autofire pips to damage, add it instead to an Intimidation skill roll against the intended targets. The target's make a Willpower skill roll against this Intimidation roll. If they fail, check the Character Damage chart. A result of 'Stunned' means they act this way, having -1D to actions for the next combat round. A result of 'Wounded' means they are 'Pinned' as they try to take cover from the enemy weapon's fire, and IMMEDIATELY make a Dodge roll to do so (because they are highly intimidated by the covering fire, and don't want to get shot!). Otherwise, aside from rolling the weapon's skill for achieving extra autofire pips for Intimidation, the attack roll is used to hit as normal, but dealing the weapon's NORMAL damage before autofire is added. In which, Covering Fire could still injure or kill the target(s).
-Vehicle Weapons: No matter what scale of the weapon being fired, if it has autofire capability, then these rules will always apply; they have the same bonus autofire pips, same Ammo Depletion, and of course, the same minus in pips for defensive actions. The down side of this is that if a character is both driving AND shooting a vehicle and its weaponry, then this is potentially very dangerous (since in some cases, they may have to dodge and shoot). However, most combat worthy vehicles will have space for both a pilot/driver AND a gunner, or perhaps several gunners for several weapons. In these cases, defense will almost always rely upon the driver/pilot, not the gunners.
-Burst Fire: Many weapons have Burst Fire option instead of Automatic Fire. The reasons are usually to conserve ammunition, as well as maintain accuracy with the weapon. If a firearm has Burst Fire instead of Automatic Fire, then it releases a 'burst' of bullets preset to a certain number (usually three bullets) which counts as it's Ammo Depletion, and deals +2 pips of extra damage. This is also the weapon's bonus to Strafing and Cover Fire when used, but it will be treated as one Difficulty Level higher for using these options.
-Autofire Variant...HIGH DAMAGE: The above stated rules are made for balance. The previous versions of the Autofire rules gave a bonus of dice, not pips, while also penalizing defense in dice as well, and did not grant the bonus damage based on the Range's Difficulty Level. If GMs and players want more damage, then there are two easy options to do so.
The first is if they want a little more damage but still maintaining some balance to the game. In this case, simply remove the part about the Range Difficulty Level, and instead grant bonus damage pips by rolling past Very Easy Difficulty. These bonus pips will really kick some butt with those who have higher firearms skills.
Difficulty Chart/Bonus Autofire Pips/Defense Modifiers (Dodge, Parry, etc.):
Very Easy 1-5 / 0 / 0
Easy 6-10 / +1 / -1
Moderate 11-15 / +2 / -2
Difficult 16-20 / +3 / -3
Very Difficult 21-30 / +4 / -4
Heroic 31+ / +5 / -5
Every +5 extra / +1 / -1
The second option is to change the bonus/penalty of autofire from pips to dice, as the older rules used to state. This allows gunners to deliver massive damage to targets, and in the right hands can easily take down any light vehicles, and even the heavier vehicles will have trouble from automatic weapons fire. The charts for this version are the same as those above for Autofire ranges (short, medium and long), but every bonus or penalty is a "D" instead of a pip.
GMs can switch from dice to pips but maintain the Range Difficulty Level adjustment from the normal rules above. This will maintain a little balance and hopefully keep the bonus damage dice manageable in the game. This way, the players and NPCs don't get their bonus damage dice unless they roll past the Range Difficulty Levels required for short, medium and long ranges. This is still fitting for how automatic weapons fire tends to work.
If the GM/players wish, they can remove this final safeguard and allow bonus damage dice starting by simply rolling higher than Very Easy Difficulty. This will effectively make the players near unbeatable as they lay waste to anyone or anything that gets in their way, so long as they have the initiative in the combat round and nothing appears that could use this same type of weapons fire against them. The chart for this variant is the same as the first variant given above, only the bonus and penalty given is a "D" instead of pips. And may God or the Force have mercy on whatever the hell you're shooting at!!!
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PART V: FIREARMS SKILL (AND SPECIALIZATIONS)
All firearms in most WEG D6 setups seem to rely on the Firearms skill (or at least they do in Star Wars D6). With this, specializations work like any other combat-related skill, but specializing in a particular type of weapon (pistols, rifles, assault rifles, etc).
Also, when specializing in a close combat type of skill, such as Brawling, one can specialize in a kind of move or maneuver, or a fighting style, which grants the specialization bonus in making that particular move or fighting with that specific style.
Here, we take a little from both of these ideas for a new kind of specialization for Firearms...Autofire! By specializing in Autofire for the Firearms skill, the character can make a roll to hit using autofire on their firearm as normal, getting a bonus in their damage from autofire, but the roll to hit would be the normal skill while autofire would rely on the extra dice from a specialization.
The extra dice from Autofire, if rolled together, should be designated separately some how to make sure the difference is seen clearly. The dice for the normal skill roll determine if the attack hits or not, while the Autofire specialization dice add to how much damage is dished out, as well as how much ammo depletion is rolled for.
At first glance, specializing in a particular kind of firearm as well as autofire may seem pointless, as the two together would cost the same as raising the skill normally. This is not true, and here lies a way to make this specialization option "broken" if it is allowed. The training in a specialized firearm along with autofire WOULD cost the same as raising the base skill normally, except the benefits are that with that specific firearm, you will always cause much more damage than with any other, while your ability with other firearms will stay lower as far as being able to hit, but the character will still get better damage for having the specialization in autofire in the first place. The character just needs to hold on to that specific firearm and be able to maintain ammunition for it, which could run out quick if they are slinging bullets everywhere!
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PART VI: AMMUNITION
All firearms use ammunition which comes in different sizes, shapes and construction methods, all depending on how it will be applied in the field. An entire round of ammunition is a Bullet, but even this incorporates different pieces, such as the slug (the part that is launched from the gun), the propellant (the combustible material that launches the slug), the charge (the igniter for the propellant), and the casing (what holds all of these together as a bullet). Bullets and their components can be constructed in different methods to deal more damage or have more accuracy, or even the opposite if desired.
Ammunition works the same way as it does in Star Wars D6, as a projectile weapon has only so many shots before it reaches empty and needs a reload. In the case of firearms and autofire, these weapons may run out of ammo more quickly, but may also win the fight by sheer attrition by laying waste to the opposition with sheer firepower (Or one would hope). As stated above, autofire rules have Ammo Depletion listed as part of the rules: for ever bonus pip (or dice if using High Damage), the ammo for the firearm's magazine clip is depleted by 1D rounds of ammunition.
In the previous version of these rules, I had tried to list various ammunition types for the kinds of firearms that would come into use. However, since they come in so many types, models and variations, with the same to be said of the ammunition used for them, this can give a person a headache. So, I've discarded it for the sake of simplicity and keeping with the feel of the rules for Star Wars D6 (the revised book). There isn't any real need for it except for theatrics and the role-playing aspect of a game, in which there are plenty of sources online or elsewhere to find such information.
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PART VII: WEAPON TYPES
In the previous rules, I tried listing examples of firearms according to range and damage and giving a type or model as an example. But many of those didn't really fit, and what i felt worked wasn't really the same for someone else's viewpoint. This time, I felt that being so detailed wasn't needed (though a couple of examples may be given if needed). Here I will give some examples in types of firearms, but no models will be listed. Instead, GMs and players should apply what is here as they feel, since people may feel differently, or may have no experience or knowledge with firearms whatsoever. in the case of the latter, they could simply take a listed firearm type here and give it an entirely different name (especially if using these rules in Star Wars D6 or some other non-Earth type setting).
Each type of firearm listed below will give examples of damage and range, and other details will be noted as needed. The range will be compared to types of blasters from Star Wars D6, out of simplicity and to give an idea of how their different effective ranges would work when compared to each other. However, if they feel these should be longer or shorter, GMs and players can modify these details as they see fit.
PISTOLS/HANDGUNS
These are meant more for personal defense and are designed to be used one-handed with no penalty. Handguns cover many different types...
-Revolvers: Some requiring two actions to use, one to pull back the hammer, another to fire the weapon, though others do not. All revolvers have a rotating chamber in their mid-section that holds their ammunition, which is usually limited to about six rounds, though some can have either five or seven, and many of these do more damage than common semiautomatic clip-fed pistols).
-Semiautomatics: Requires only one action to fire, as it is built to automatically load a new round in after every shot fired, unless it jams. These are usually clip-fed, which allows them to hold more ammunition than a revolver, though the bullets may be smaller or lighter and may not have as much damage).
-Machine Pistols: Handguns capable of automatic fire, usually highly illegal and easy to hide. They have the similar build of other semiautomatic pistols but have been designed or modified to have automatic fire. These firearms also usually have a longer clip to hold more ammunition).
Handguns are the smallest of firearms and are the easiest to hide from sight, and even the higher caliber types that can cause massive damage in a single shot are easier to hide than an SMG or assault rifle. The damages given below are similar to the various blaster pistols listed throughout Star Wars D6 as with range and damage. Below, the term "Super-Light" and "Super-Heavy" may seem a bit cheesey, but it fits the bill to describe the differences in these handguns.
NOTE: Unless stated otherwise, all handguns are legal to all civilians in the USA and many countries around the world.
Super-Light Pistols: These would be like Hold-Out Blasters in range and damage, being the smallest of firearms, used for their ease to hide and to get close to someone before delivering a killing shot not restricted by armor or other defenses. A likely example would be a Deringer.
Light Pistols: These are similar to Sporting blasters in range and damage, and are the most common kinds of firearms used by civilians due to their price, having more damage than the super-lights, but being cheaper than the medium pistols used by many standard civilian law enforcement agencies, and still being small enough to hide easily.
Medium Pistols: These would be the equivalent to the standard types of blaster pistols used in Star Wars D6, which would also be many of the common models used by civil law enforcement groups (Police, etc.) in the USA and across the world before upgrading to more powerful handguns.
Heavy Pistols: These would be similar to heavy blaster pistols in Star Wars D6, such as Han Solo's personal blaster pistol and others. This would represent handguns acquired by people who want more stopping power and do not feel that weaker or smaller pistols are enough for the job. Their ranges are similar to other heavy blaster pistols, but many of them may have much better range due to design and the function of bullets of higher caliber with the proper propellant to launch them from the firearm. Their damage ranges between 5D and 6D, with the Dirty harry Special being among their number.
Super-Heavy Pistols: These types of handguns represent the most powerful personal firearms available in the world. I made this class to represent something like a Smith&Wesson 500 revolver, which has a full .50-caliber slug per shot, with five shots in its revolving chamber, and also has many variants and modifications available to alter its range, accuracy and effectiveness, as well as a few types of modular add-ons when modified properly, and even a silencer. Range is somewhat similar to the other handguns (perhaps a little better), with damage around 7D! In Star Wars D6, this type of damage will kill almost any human and stop almost anything else cold in its tracks if it doesn't drop dead, even hurting a young Rancor if it hits it just right!
SUB-MACHINE GUNS (SMGs)
These usually fire the same kinds of ammunition as either Handguns or Assault Rifles, but are capable of automatic fire and usually have less effective range than the Assault Rifles. They are primarily meant for close quarters combat, such as inside corridors in buildings or bunkers, or dense terrain like thick forests, and sometimes also for defensive purposes not intended for front-line combat such as rear echelon stations. Usually illegal to the public unless specifically sold without the autofire capability. They're a bit bigger than Handguns but more compact than most Assault Rifles and can usually still be hidden easily when necessary.
-Light SMG: These usually fire ammunition used in lighter handguns and have a similar range and damage, but have the autofire capability. Damage is usually around 4D, with the FN P90 being a good example of how these would work, being small, light and compact, light on damage but able to hose an area down with lots of bullets.
-SMG: Other SMGs besides the light versions would have the same effective range as the light SMG and lighter Handguns, but use a larger sized ammunition round for damage like those found in assault rifles and have a damage around 5D but with the autofire ability.
-Heavy SMG: Heavy SMGs don't really exist. Once you get past light and normal SMGs, you have carbines, assault rifles and the heavier automatic machine guns.
CARBINES
The carbine is listed here as a good place to explain its difference between it, an SMG and an assault rifle. The carbines are versions of popular assault rifles that have been stripped down and simplified as much as possible to make the weapon more compact but retaining its effective range and damage. This might also make it easier to hide than assault rifles, which usually prove too clunky to hide without proper cover. So, in short, carbines have the best features of assault rifles (range and damage) and SMGs (compact and useful in tight spaces). A good example is the M-4 Carbine itself, which was a cut-down version of the M-16 assault rifle, retaining all the features the M-16 was known for, but making it more reliable and easier to wield and repair, having the range to work as an assault rifle, the ability to be modified for sharp-shooting, but also being compact enough to use in close, tight spaces, a good mix between an assault rifle and an SMG.
ASSAULT RIFLES
These are meant usually as standard military-grade assault weapons, capable of either burst fire or automatic fire, and can engage target's at decent ranges in open combat on various kinds of battles. There are models sold to the public, but usually only if the Burst/Automatic fire capability is removed. Assault rifles are always Difficult to hide in most circumstances without having places to stow it like hidden compartments or special cases. Because of the large size of most assault rifles, they have good range, and are the equal to normal blaster rifles in Star Wars D6, with damage being usually around 5D, or even 6D for heavier models built to use larger kinds of ammunition.
MACHINE GUNS
These are almost always built for the sole purpose of automatic weapons fire, to engage multiple targets in troop support rolls of squads or other units they are usually attached to. They usually carry greater amounts of ammo than assault rifles to sustain constant autofire, and can be built (or modified) for various roles in combat, even having models designed and built at different scales for, such as Character, Speeder, Walker, or even Starfighter or Capital, and for use with different ammunition types from those used in assault rifles and SMGs to much highers kinds, depending upon the make and model. Machine Guns are also one of those large items that prove impossible to hide on one's person and will probably always require a place to stow it to keep it out of sight.
-Light Machine Gun: These are pretty much the same as an assault rifle as far as range and damage, as they will use the same kinds of ammunition that assault rifles use, which makes ammo distribution much easier in military organizations. The main function of these weapons is to be able to bring constant automatic weapons fire to bear upon an enemy, as they are built to carry MUCH more ammo than a normal assault rifle, and their design may allow greater range. Damage is usually around 5D or 6D, like most assault rifles. An example would be the M249 LMG (once called a Squad Automatic Weapon, or SAW), as it uses the same 5.56mm rounds as other standard firearms, such as most M-16s and their variants like the M-4 Carbine. Their equal in Star Wars D6 would be something like a Light Repeating Blaster, at least in comparative range.
-Heavy Machine Guns: These weapons are the kinds that finally leave behind personal firearms for the heavy ammunition types capable of rending most vehicles to slag very quickly. These weapons will either use heavier ammunition types or a faster rate of fire to dish out major damage upon designated targets...or both! Their equal in Star Wars D6 would be models of Heavy Repeating Blasters like the E-Web or others, with similar ranges, and their damages could be anywhere around 7D or 8D, still with Autofire! These weapons are usually vehicle mounted, though some have been known to be carried by strong individuals (Predator the movie). A good example of these heavy machine guns would be the various models of miniguns or Vulcan anti-aircraft guns mounted in helicopters and fighter jets.
SNIPER RIFLES
These types of firearms actually cover many various kinds, from simple hunting rifles meant to take out small game animals, others for large game animals that could easily kill a person, those that are stronger and meant for the purpose of killing at greater ranges with more power, and even rifles that have been made for taking out heavily armored vehicles. All of these have the sole purpose of delivering damage from range to allow the shooter to remain unnoticed by their target until they get the shot off. These kinds of rifles are built for different purposes, from many kinds of hunting rifles, to those used by the military for sniping targets from range, whether it be a person, a vehicle or a bunker. While many kinds of carbines, SMGs and assault rifles can be modified for sharp-shooting purposes, sniper rifles are actually designed from the get-go to take advantage of these factors and have better range than these other weapons. Many versions of sniper rifles exist in Star Wars D6, usually having better range, but common damage. Rifles such as these are usually either semiautomatic or bolt action, though a few models exist that are capable of autofire. Sniper rifles are built in many models for engaging different types of targets, from other characters (Character Scale) to the anti-material kind used against hard targets such as vehicles and even tanks (Speeder/Auto Scale, Walker Scale). They can be very difficult to hide, depending on the type they are. Common hunting rifles are somewhat long but thin; sniper rifles can be longer and a little bulkier, depending on the model and what equipment has been added on; and then anti-material rifles are very long and clunky, also very heavy, and would be harder to hide than even most machine guns!
-Hunting Rifles: These kinds of rifles are either bolt action (cheap) or semiautomatic (not so cheap), and have damage like any of the pistols mentioned above, except the super-heavy pistol, and will have at least double the range because of having a longer barrel, maybe three times the range. this covers any kind of hunting rifle used for small or large game.
-Sniper Rifle: These would be the rifles designed for military purposes, though some models may be used for hunting purposes as well. These will have damage similar to assault rifles between 4D to 6D, but probably three times the range, or more, to make them more effective than hunting rifles.
-Anti-Material Sniper Rifle: This will cover what would be considered Heavy Sniper Rifles. These are meant for penetrating heavy armor of different kinds, such as fortified positions, bunkers, fuel tanks, armored vehicles, buildings and more. They will have range like sniper rifles, maybe more due to the type of ammunition rounds they usually use, with damage starting at 7D, 8D being quite common, and a 9D version not being too far out of the imagination!
SHOTGUNS
Also sometimes known as riot guns or scatter guns, these are weapons meant to deal massive amounts of damage at close range, but are usually not as effective at longer ranges. However a GM would want to handle these weapons, their range is somewhat similar to handguns, doing their normal damage at short range, less damage at medium range, and even less at long range, sometimes just causing a bruise at this range for some versions, such as a classic sawed-off shotgun). The normal rounds for shotguns are large shells that fire buckshot, which is many small metal pellets packed into the front of the shell, with the charge and propellant behind it, much like a slug would be in other bullets. The buckshot, instead of being a solid slug, is packed tightly together in the shells, and when fired, they shred a target at high speeds to deal their damage. But after leaving the barrel they scatter apart the further they travel, and become less tightly packed and lose velocity, dealing less damage as they go. There are many models of shotgun produced, with many ways to modify them as one desires, many of these being illegal. Ranges for shot guns should usually be similar to lighter handguns, with damage starting around 6D and going up from there for different models. The more powerful the damage, the better their range should be. Something like an elephant gun may have a damage around 8D or 9D.
Shotguns also have been known to use variations on their ammunition for different effects, such as a solid slug that fits their large barrels to do heavier damage than most other personal firearms (at least 7D), and a Dragon's Breath shell that shoots flame like a flame thrower. While these might be single use for some models of shotgun, they give the weapon a versatility that many other firearms do not share.
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PART VIII: MODIFYING FIREARMS
In the last version of these rules, I listed a bunch of items and stuff like in the other sections above, and it felt like too much clutter, some people disagreed, and it still didn't feel right with me as time passed and I gave it more thought. However, since looking through my revised Star Wars D6 rulebook, I found the perfect answer to all of this! In the skills chapter, under the Technical section, it mentions a few examples of repairs skills, telling that there can be a repair skill for anything, then shows general charts to be used for modifying things. The charts listed included shield strength, weapon damage, range, vehicle speed and hyperdrive multiplier, and stated that these charts could be used for almost anything else out there.
And it is true, they can be, which makes them perfect for modifying firearms, eliminating any real need for specifically listed mod items and leaving the mods up to skill rolls and having tools on hand. Items could still be acquired to enhance the firearm, like a scope, a silencer, larger ammo magazine clips, that extra little flashlight on the side, nightvision scopes, infrared or something. Modifications could be done to enhance these items after they have been gained, even being switched out and used with a different weapon since they are separate objects.
When wanting to modify a firearm, simply refer to these charts in the revised Star Wars D6 rulebook (the one with the Millenium Falcon on the cover) and take a look. There are already charts for weapon damage and range, and if someone wanted to increase the firearm's accuracy, they could simply apply one of these or the shields chart to apply a bonus to shooting. This could be seen as making the weapon more stable than it was before, giving it the free-floating barrel, etc. The possibilities are limited by imagination and a roll of the dice, and left to these simple charts, the players and GMs have all the variety they will ever need, while being very simple at the same time.
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PART IX: OTHER WEAPONS AND USES
These rules were made with a special interest in making firearms more believable where automatic fire is concerned, as well as make them more useful in the WEG Star Wars D6 RPG system (and/or other related games using similar rules). However, that doesn't mean they have to be limited to JUST firearms. Star Wars always made heavy use of blasters and other energy-based weaponry and other types. Most, if not all, of these rules could easily be applied to blasters as well. I encourage those who come across these rules to have fun with them and apply them in any way they see fit for their games. ENJOY!
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