Shadowrun Ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is defined first by its various types (standard, gel, APDS, etc.), second by the class of gun for which it was made (light pistol, assault rifle, MMG, etc.), and third as cased or caseless.

For simplicity, each kind of gun can trade ammo with another of its class; for example, all light pistols can share ammo. At the gamemaster’s discretion, other weapon types may be allowed to share ammunition (some different firearm types do use the same ammunition in real life).

In these basic rules, the difference between cased and caseless ammunition is that caseless ammo has its own propellant and does not have a cartridge case. A gun can fire cased or caseless ammo, but not both.

The ammunition’s Damage Modifier and AP Modifier are added to the weapon’s usual Damage Value (DV) and AP. For example, an Ares Predator IV (DV 3D+1, AP –0D+2) with APDS (AP –2D+2) would have a modified Damage Code of DV 3D+1, AP –3D+1.

• APDS Rounds: Amor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) rounds are specially designed to travel at high velocities and pierce armor. APDS reduces the effectiveness of Ballistic armor (AP –2D+2).

• Assault Cannon Rounds: These highly stable explosive rounds are made of HDX superplast compound.

• Explosive Rounds: Explosive rounds are solid slugs designed to fragment and explode on impact. They increase the DV by 0D+2. Explosive rounds will misfire whenever a critical glitch is rolled. When this occurs, the character firing the weapon is automatically struck by one “attack,” with a Damage Code equal to the normal damage done by the weapon. The character may make a damage resistance test as normal. Any attack the affected character is making at the time misses.

• EX Explosive Rounds: This improved model of explosive rounds adds 0D+2 to the weapon’s DV and has an AP of –0D+2. It follows all other standard explosive rounds rules.

• Flechette Rounds: Tiny, tightly packed metal slivers function as the business end of a flechette round. They are devastating against unprotected targets, but not very effective against rigid armor. Flechette rounds raise the DV of weapons by +1D+1. They also raise the effective value of Impact armor (AP +3D+1). Guns with flechette ammo already figured into their Damage Code have an (flechette) notation following the Damage Code.

• Gel Rounds: These non-lethal rounds use a hard jelly-like substance and are often employed for riot control. They are usually semi-rigid slugs that flatten on impact, disbursing their kinetic energy over a larger-than-normal area. Gel rounds inflict Stun damage and are resisted with armor (AP +1D+2).

• Injection Darts: For use with dart guns of various types—such as the Parashield pistol and rifle—injection darts carry a single dose of a drug or toxin. Effects depend on the drug payload, but to successfully deliver the payload and penetrate armor, the attacker needs two net hits on the Ranged Combat Opposed Test.

• Regular Ammo: Standard full metal jacket rounds for all kinds of uses (mostly killing).

• Stick-n-Shock: This is a special adhesive projectile that sticks to the target and incorporates a battery pack that delivers short bursts of high-voltage pulses. The Stick-n-Shock replaces the weapon’s Damage Value with its own.

• Tracer Rounds: Tracer ammo burns “tracers” along the line of flight, making it easier for the shooter to home in on the target. This type of ammunition can only be used in full-auto weapons and is loaded as every third round in a magazine. This is an exception to the restriction of one type of ammunition to a magazine. Non-smartgun users firing tracer rounds receive a +0D+2 dice pool modifier at all ranges beyond Short when firing a short burst, +1D+1 when firing a long burst, and +2D when firing a full burst.

• Taser Dart: These darts are designed to be loaded into taser weapons.

Ammunition, per 10 shots	Damage Modifier	AP Modifier	Availability	Cost
APDS	-	-2D+2	5X	70
Assault Cannon	As Cannon	As Cannon	5X	450
Explosive Rounds	+0D+2	0	3X	50
EX-Explosive Rounds	+0D+2	-0D+2	4X	100
Flechette Rounds	+1D+1	+3D+1	1R	100
Gel Rounds	-0D+2 (Stun)	+1D+1	1R	30
Injection Darts	As Drug/Toxin	-	1R	75
Regular Ammo	-	-	1R	20
Stick-n-Shock	4D (Stun)	-half	2R	80
Tracer	-	-	2R	75
Taser Dart	As Taser	-half	1	50