Ranged Combat and info

In ranged combat, your weapon may modify your dice pool or difficulty (due to rate of fire, a targeting scope, etc. check the weapon’s statistics for details.

Ranged Combat Maneuvers Table

Maneuver	Traits	Accuracy	Difficulty	Damage
Automatic Fire	Dex + Firearms	+10	+2	Special
Multiple Shots	Dex + Firearms	Special	Normal	Weapon
Strafing	Dex + Firearms	+10	+2	Special
3-Round Burst	Dex + Firearms	+2	+1	Weapon
Two Weapons	Dex + Firearms	Normal	+1/off-hand	Weapon

Cover

Characters can get to cover, which makes it harder for them to get hit in a firefight. However, depending on the cover, it is harder to return fire. If the target does the same, the bonuses/penalties are cumulative.

Cover Type	Difficulty To Be Hit	Difficulty To Return Fire
Light (Lying prone, behind streetlight)	+1	normal
Good (Behind car)	+2	+1
Superior (Around a corner)	+3	+2

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• Aiming:

For every turn spent aiming, a character adds one die to their attack dice pool up to their Perception rating. Characters must have at least one dot in firearms to aim. A scope or laser sight +2 dice to the attack pool in addition to those added by aiming at the first turn spent aiming. Attackers may do nothing but aim. It isn't possible to aim at a target moving faster than a walk unless the character is using a laser sight. These bonuses only count for the first shot made after aiming.

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• Automatic Fire:

The character adds 10 dice to the attack roll. Attackers cannot make use of the Targeting rule while also using automatic fire. The character’s ammo clip must be at least half full. After the automatic fire action is spent, the attacker’s clip is empty and an action must be spent to reload the weapon. If the attack is successful, the character adds the extra successes beyond the first to the weapon’s basic damage.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: +2
Accuracy: +10 Damage: Special (Lethal)

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• Cover:

Cover increases an attacker’s difficulty to hit a target (and often the target’s ability to fire back). Difficulty penalties for hitting a target under various types of cover are listed below. A character who fires back from behind cover is also at something of a disadvantage to hit, as he exposes himself and ducks back under protection. Firearms attacks made by a defender who is under cover are at one lower difficulty than listed below. (If a listed difficulty is +1, then the defender suffers no penalty to make attacks from under that cover.) If your character hides behind a wall, attackers’ Firearms rolls have a +2 difficulty. Your character’s attacks staged from behind that wall are at +1 difficulty. Note that difficulties for combatants who are both under cover are cumulative. If one combatant is prone and one is behind a wall, attacks staged by the prone character are at +2 difficulty, while attacks staged by the character behind the wall are also at +2 difficulty. Cover Type Difficulty Increase Light (lying prone) +1 Good (behind wall) +2 Superior (only head exposed) +3

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• Multiple Shots:

A character can make multiple shots equal to their Firearms rating. See the multiple actions rule for more details about the effect on dice pools.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: Normal
Accuracy: Special Damage: Per Weapon Type (Lethal)

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• Range:

The ranges listed in the Equipment section of this wiki are the standard short ranges of the weapons and is a base Difficulty of 6. A weapon’s maximum range is double its short range and is Difficulty 8. A target within two meters is within point-blank range and a successful attack is at Difficulty 4.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: Normal Damage: Per Weapon Type (Lethal)

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• Reloading:

Reloading takes one full turn. The character may reload while doing something else as a part of a multiple action at the ST's discretion. This only counts for guns with clips and revolvers with speed loaders. If you have no speed loader for your character's revolver, reloading it will take a full turn and your character's complete concentration. Filling an empty clip takes a full turn as well and a Dex + Firearms roll diff 6.

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• Strafing:

Your character fires across an area rather than a specific target in full-automatic mode which adds 10 dice and empties the clip. The attacker needs a clip which is more than half full. The attacker can cover a maximum of three yards with a strafe. Then one attack roll is made and the extra successes are divided evenly amongst the targets in the affected area. These assigned successes are added to your damage dice pool for that specific weapon. If there is only one target in the affected area, only half the successes scored on the strafe will be counted in the damage dice pool. If your character rolls fewer successes than there are targets, you or the ST will assign one success per target until all successes have been allocated. Dodge actions vs. strafing are at + 1 difficulty.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: +2
Accuracy: +10 Damage: Special

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• Three-Round Bursts:

Your character fires three shots with a single trigger action at a single target, which confers a + 2 dice bonus to your character’s attack roll. Only weapons with the burst fire special ability can be used with this maneuver.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: +1
Accuracy: +2 Damage: Per Weapon Type (Lethal)

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• Thrown Weapons:

Thrown weapons are exactly that. The range from spears to knives to shuriken, etc. These weapons are designed to be thrown. If a weapon is not designed to be thrown, but it is thrown anyway, then the Difficulty to throw them raises by + 1.

Traits: Dex + Athletics Difficulty: Normal / + 1 (Non-balanced)
Accuracy: Normal Damage: Per Weapon Type (Lethal)

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• Two Weapons:

Your character gains an advantage by firing two weapons at once. However, this maneuver also has complications. Firing two weapons is considered a multiple action and imposes the standard penalty for total shots fired. Your character also gains a penalty of + 1 to your off hand. The Ambidextrous merit ignores this penalty. Attackers may fire a number of shots equal to total the weapon's rate of fire. So if both weapons have a rating of 3, the attacker may fire 6 times total, but three of the shots will have the off-hand penalty.

Traits: Dex + Firearms Difficulty: + 1 for Off Hand
Accuracy: Normal Damage: Per Weapon Type

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• Bows:

To use a bow characters need the Secondary Skill Archery. If your character doesn’t have Archery and still wishes to fire a bow, then Athletics is used instead at a + 1 Difficulty. Bows can be used to stake a vampire, but to do so 5 successes are needed to hit the heart properly and then at least 3 health levels of damage must be inflicted after the soak.

It takes an action to notch the arrow and two actions to load a crossbow. These are considered automatic actions and no roll is required. If the attacker botches, the bowstring snaps. It can be replaced with a spare one by rolling Wits + Archery at normal difficulty or Wits + Crafts at difficulty + 1. It takes two actions to replace a bowstring.

Traits: Dex + Archery/Athletics Difficulty: Normal/+1 (Athletics)
Accuracy: Normal Damage: Per Weapon Type (Lethal)

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Ranged Weapons Chart

Type	Damage	Range	Rate	Capacity	Conceal	Example
Revolver, Lt.	4	12	3	6	P	SW Bodyguard (.38 Special)
Revolver, Hvy.	6	35	2	6	J	Ruger Redhawk (.44 Magnum)
Pistol, Lt.	4	20	4	15+1	P	HK USP (9mm)
Pistol, Hvy.	5	25	3	13+1	J	Springfield XDM (.45 ACP)
Rifle	8	200	1	3+1	N	Beretta Tikka T3 (30.06)
SMG, Small*	4	20	3	17+1	J	Glock 18 (9mm)
SMG, Large*	4	50	3	30+1	T	HK MP5 (9mm)
Assault Rifle*	7	150	3	30+1	N	FN SCAR (5.56mm)
Shotgun	8	20	1	5+1	T	Remington 870 (12-Gauge)
Shotgun, Semi-auto	8	20	3	6+1	T	Benelli M4 Super 90 (12-Gauge)
Crossbow**	5	20	1	1	T
Bows	4	20	1	1	T
Thrown Weapons	4	10	1	1	P

Damage:

Indicates the damage dice pool. Against mortals, firearms are considered lethal damage. Versus vampires, firearms are considered bashing damage unless the head is targeted (see “Targeting,” p. 274 in the core book), in which case the damage is considered lethal.

Range:

This is the practical shot range in yards or meters. Weapons may be fired at twice this distance, but the attacks are considered long range (difficulty 8). Rate: The maximum number of bullets or three-round bursts the gun can fire in a single turn. This rate does not apply to full-auto or spray attacks.

Capacity:

The number of shells a gun can hold. The +1 indicates a bullet can be held in the chamber, ready to fire.

Concealment:

P = Can be carried in the pocket;
J = Can be hidden in a jacket;
T = Can be hidden in a trenchcoat;
N = Cannot be concealed on the person at all.

*Indicates the weapon is capable of three-round bursts, full auto, and sprays.
**The crossbow is included for characters who wish to try staking an opponent. Crossbows require two turns to reload (if you have potence its 1 round). Unless the crossbow is aimed at the head or heart, it inflicts bashing damage on Kindred. It inflicts lethal damage versus mortals.