[d20] Modern: Revised Firearms Combat Rules

As a part of the 7th Circle project, I've started working on some variants for d20 modern to make its role in the game
more interesting- no big alterations to the fundamental rules, just new material replacing the old. In this case I've
attempted to revise firearms combat (and in a few cases, ranged combat in general) just by introducing two new
combat maneuvers and revising a handful of feats. Credit for inspiration is due to the excellent Spycraft RPG and the
Hero's Guide supplement to the d20 Star Wars game. The revised occupations list, base classes and action point rules
can wait for another day.

NEW COMBAT ACTIONS

Suppressive Fire

As a full-round action, a character whose firearm has at least 5 shots remaining may expend 5 shots to target an
unoccupied square. Until their next turn, that character is treated as threatening the square in question with that
firearm and can make attacks of opportunity as normal.

Take Aim

As a standard action, a character can take aim with a ranged weapon. Have the character make a ranged touch attack
as though it were with a ranged weapon that they are currently wielding. If the touch attack hits, the character gains a +
2 competence bonus on all attack rolls against the target in question until the target moves more than 5 feet during a
turn or leaves the attacker's line of sight. While aiming, the attacker cannot attack any other targets or use any other
weapons, nor can they move, even to make a 5-foot step. Likewise, if the character’s concentration is disrupted, the
character loses the benefit of aiming.

REVISED FEATS

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Advanced Firearms Proficiency

In addition to negating the -4 penalty on a standard autofire attack, a character with this feat whose automatic firearm
has 6 or more shots remaining may focus a stream of fire at a target. The character chooses a number of volleys up to
1/3 the remaining shots in his weapon (rounded down, maximum 10 volleys), expending 3 shots per volley fired. The
character then makes 1 attack as a full-round action, suffering a –1 penalty per volley fired (in addition to all standard
modifiers). With a hit, the target is struck by 1 shot + 1 additional shot for every 4 by which the character’s attack result
exceeds the target’s Defense (to a maximum equal to the number of volleys fired). Regardless of the number of volleys
the character fires, they apply precision-based damage only once. If they score a critical hit, only the first shot fired
deals critical damage; all others deal regular damage.

Also, a character with this feat who uses an automatic firearm to take a Suppressive Fire action may target an
unoccupied 5-foot-by-10-foot or 10-foot-by-10-foot area instead of a 5-foot-by-5-foot square.

Burst Fire

A character with this feat may also make a wide burst instead of a narrow one, foregoing the extra 2 dice of damage in
exchange for a +2 circumstance bonus on the attack roll (as opposed to a -4 penalty).

Dead Aim

Prerequisites: Wisdom 13, Far Shot.

Benefits: The character may Take Aim as a move action and receives a +4 circumstance bonus to hit.

Normal: It takes a standard action to Take Aim and the character receives a +2 circumstance bonus.

Skip Shot

This feat does not apply a penalty to damage. It may be used with any ranged weapon, not just firearms. The GM has
final ruling on which attacks will successfully bounce off which surfaces (requiring a reflective surface for a spell ray, for
example).

Strafe

Prerequisites: Personal Firearms Proficiency, Advanced Firearms Proficiency.

Benefits: A character whose automatic firearm still has 9 or more shots remaining may spread a stream of ammunition
across several targets. The character chooses a number of adjacent 5-ft. squares up to 1/3 the ammunition remaining in
his weapon (rounded down, maximum 10 squares) and expends 3 shots for each square chosen this way. He may not
skip any squares across the target area, nor may he target any square more than once or target any square directly
behind another square already being strafed.

The character then makes a single attack roll against all of the opponents occupying the chosen squares. Each
successive square (including the first) receives a cumulative +2 circumstance bonus to defense, starting with one end of
the line of squares and moving along to the other. The character selects one square beforehand and applies any
precision-based damage (including critical hits) to that target only. If the same target occupies multiple selected

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squares, each occupied square is handled as a separate target. The standard bonus to Defense applies, and damage is
inflicted for each successful hit.

Alternately, the character may select only unoccupied squares and be treated as threatening those squares until the
beginning of their next turn in the same manner as a Suppressive Fire action, taking a -1 penalty per square selected to
each attack of opportunity made this way.