Depends. Shorter Barrel, folding stock . . being a huge tall metahuman also helps a bit ^^
Or at least, it should <.<
First you go:"Whoa . . a Troll . . Tall fella o.O"
Then you go:"And god damn is he packing heat. That's hotta be the biggest Pistol i ever saw"
After that:"What kind of Pistol IS that anyway? Does that thing have TWO Barrels?"
Later:"Holy shit! That's a frigging SHORTGUN he's slinging around like other people would handle a Predator?"

We've got some house rules for shotguns that go back to SR1 when we decided that a) shot ammo is cheap and b) shot is bad for rifling.

1. Flechette ammo, the expensive stuff, is comprised of specially shaped needle-like darts that interlock for firing and interact with rifled barrels like standard solid rounds. Flechette normally stays in close proximity and doesn't spread. (except as noted below)

2. shot rounds are round balls of metal that are as cheap as standard ammo but they disperse immediately upon fired, destroying rifled barrels and creating a spread pattern.

3. Smooth bore shotguns (or a rifled barrel shotgun that is then used with shot) has 75% range for APDS and smartlinks actually impose a -2 penalty unless they are specifically calibrated for APDS. Smartlinks can only have one calibration so apply that penalty to shot if APDS calibrated. (That narrow penetrator is pretty erratic without that spin stabilization while slugs rely on inertia to maintain a straight line without spin.)

4. Rifled shotguns can use expensive flechette ammo and get the same spread pattern as shot without destroying the rifling. Smartlink calibration is consistent across all non-shot rounds.

Snpier rifles,- large clunky and impractical to move quickly. great take down when you can pick the shot but otherwise lousy.
Shot gun, in close and light. good take down damage at close range, easy to move, cheap.

I guess I should have added the proviso...that I was thinking in terms of SR3. I guess I missed the SR4...shotguns are exotic weapons???

In SR4, shotguns are fired with the Longarms skill. That also covers sniper rifles and sporting rifles. A sniper could have a short barrel Defiance T-250 as his personal weapon (Same conceal penalty as a machine pistol).

In a world with shadowrun level survilliance and response capabilities, there are really three modes of operation:

A) Big guns Time

B) Covert Activity Time

C) Transitioning from B to A when you get sprung.

In big guns times the big clunky nature of the sniper rifle is outweighed by its benefits. Basically the big sniper rifles with APDS can kill high force spirits. Shotguns cannot. As high force spirits (and drones) are a realistic and tangible threat, sniper rifles RULEZ AND SHOTGUNS DROOLZ

Or something

B) Both are relatively incapable of covert activity. I suppose you could get a sawn off, but even then it's not really concealable, and MAD scanners will find you. Conversely sniper rifles can be used at ranges beyond reasonable detection distances.

C) The transition - both of them blow for this too really because you cannot 'have them' in the covert stage and pull them out when things go south. Both are obvious. This is, incidently, the space that automatics totally dominate.

Well that doesn't seem so bad. I heard exotic weapon and my brain went into D&D mode. I guess that is really a short barreled shotgun. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

For this reason, the Slivergun has been my personal sidearm of choice for 3 Editions.

In 4E, its a tougher call to make... but now I'm leaning towards Automatics. Machine Pistols are weapons of all seasons now! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

- J.

One noteworthy difference from SR 3 to 4 is how weapon concealability ratings have been eliminated. Any machine pistol will be harder to hide than any heavy pistol, all other things being equal. Furthermore, a pistol can be explained away a lot more easily than a machine pistol. "Oh, I might need to spray down a whole room with bullets in self defense, yeah..." A shotgun or sporting rifle can be left in plain sight on your pickup's gun rack, but an assault rifle or sniper rifle will raise a whole lot of eyebrows.

Excellent point. If the weapon causes you more problems then it is going to solve...might think about an alternative.

Which is why I went with a shotgun on my most recent guy. I mean even if he is caught with the gun. it’s a lot less to bribe a cop off to forget about a shotgun then it is a Colt M23 or a Barret Model 121. Then again I dare a cop to find my shotgun. I went with a Barrel Reduction, throw a sling on it, and got my GM to approve a house rule weapon mod call stock removal for the game which added a -1 conceal, and you are left with a -3/-4 (ready/unready the sling specifics in the description between ready and unready) throw that under a lined coat, and you got a -5/-6 conceal . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

The Aztechnology flamer. Let's face it - is there really a situation that can't be solved by barbecuing someone? Or possibly the Ares MP-3 Laser.

...it also depends where you are,in darkest Barrens open lined coat and Assault Rifle under it is ok,
poshier places Ares Predator IV with licence is acceptable, and of course
there are places where tasers or extendable batons are acceptable also..

And let's not forget, things like tasers, knives, and even extendable batons are perfectly legal in most places.

You might get some sideways looks or be required to check them, but technically, they don't require permits. Of course, if you use them in them commission of a crime, they will probably allow the authorities to trump up the charges to some ridiculous degree. (Well, assuming they catch you.)

-paws

This is why they have availability >12. Otherwise everyone would be using them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That is reason why you should always check weapons policy of the meeting place..

Indeed. Its a good idea to get as much info about your meeting place(s) as possible.

-paws

LOL - that is the perfect response to the OP.

Noting that this character is being modeled after the Boondock Saints, how close do you want to get to that theme? In the movie, they pretty much exclusively used pistols and shotguns, and they were quite often dual wielding the pistols. As a GM who encourages role play over power gaming, I would give more personal karma to you for roleplaying those aspects of the character, and using pistols and shotguns even when the situation might call for something different.

2xAres Predator IV w/skinlink,Personalized grip,Internal silencer and Improved Range Finder
Remington 990 w/Internal Smartgun System,skinlink,Improved Range Finder. (Easy Breakdown(manual) ?)
Pistols(Heavy Pistols) 6(+2)
Longarms(Shotguns) 4(+2)
Reflexes Recorder (Longarms skill)
High Edge
High Charisma
Ambidextrous
Muscle Toner (lvl 2,Alphaware)
Agilty at least 5(7)
Martial Arts(Krav Maga or Firefight)
Addiction(Mild) (Alcohol)
That would be starting idea.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

When i think Big Guns i'm thinking HMGs, MMGs, LMGs, Assualt Cannons and Rocket launchers... i guess we arne't on the same page...

Completely agree.

Tasers: Reasonably inexpensive, no license required, and they have the same electricity damage that everyone loves about S&S. That said, their ammo capacity and range suck and they don't load anything but taser darts. Still, you can actually pull and use one of these in public without drawing too much attention, so it's not something to be overlooked.

Holdouts: these have one big thing going for them: concealability. On the other hand, they have terrible damage, range and ammo capacity are stlll relatively low, and they don't have mounts for accessories. That said, weapon modifications can get you around the issue with accessories, if you have the right skills - or right contacts; and by the time you finish drawing and emptying a Cavalier Scout into someone, one of you will be dead - if you're not sure it'll be them, this was a time for a bigger gun.

Light Pistols: Compared to the holdouts, the light pistols have 3 things going for them: Ammo capacity, weapon mounts, and cost. That said, they still have the same lack of damage and range, and lose some of the concealability that was a selling point for hold-outs. Use them for the disposability that comes with having negligible cost and availability; skip the post-run drinking binge to go buy a new one after you had to drop or destroy one of these and you'll probably find yourself with more money at the end of the night.

Heavy Pistols: Sidearms with serious stopping power. Less concealable than the prior categories, but the added damage, range, and AP are well worth it if you can get away with them.

Machine Pistols: Probably the biggest selling-point for these is that they use the automatics skill. With the right mods, one of these can potentially still be fairly concealable - though it won't compete with the actual pistols - allowing someone who primarily uses assault rifles to have a reasonably discreet back-up without going into another skill. That said, damage and range are back down at light pistol levels, and you're going to have to put a lot of work into giving them decent recoil compensation. Use it as a sidearm for the guy who needs a slightly more discreet alternative to their usual assault rifle.

SMG: Slight improvement in damage over the Machine Pistol, large improvement in range. Still, for a similar price, you can get an assault rifle with even more damage, range, and AP. Main reason for using is that it is still a one-handed weapon; use it if you're needing the other hand for something else.

Assault Rifle: The automatic weapon. Good damage, range, and AP combined with burst-fire and full-auto capabilities. It's not discreet, but it's probably the best all-around weapon for firefights.

Sniper Rifles: The name says it all. But in case it doesn't: Range and damage. Great for providing distance support or when assassination is the name of the game.

Sporting Rifles: Fills the same role as the sniper rifle, above. Doesn't do it as well, but it's cheaper, less hyper-specialized, and can be explained away to Lone Star.

Shotguns: High damage, terrible AP. Great for tearing up unarmored and lightly armored foes. Switch to slugs or a different weapon if you're facing heavily armored opponents - or any where called shots can't be used to bypass armor. Also works as a back-up weapon for the team sniper, as it provides close-range threat removal tied to the skill they were already taking.

Machine Guns: Start at Assault Rifle stats and work up from there. Better range than the Assault Rifles, but more recoil. Use LMGs for drones or vehicles where you can't manage/don't want a reinforced mount. For use outside of mounting them on vehicles, go ahead and get the HMG - it's more expensive, but by the time you're wanting/needing to bring one of these, you need the extra firepower more than you need the money. Just make sure you have plenty of recoil compensation.

Assault Cannons: Match sniper rifles for range, with even more power. On the other hand, the ammo here is expensive as all get-out, so you don't want to use it if you don't have to.

There is one point people forget about the shotgun. Even if the damage doesn't penetrate the armor, you can be pretty certain that you will drop him from the stun damage. Remember that both the Star and corps are much more likely to hunt you down if you start killing them and their employees.

Remington 970 and Predator IV for me. Best combo of firepower, cost, and legality.

I actually just noticed this, but...

Did nobody mention to Catalyst that the "12" part of Auto Assault 12 is not a model number?

It refers to the shotgun shell gauge size.

The bigger the number, the smaller (and less powerful) the shotgun shell.

So an AA-16 would be a pathetically underpowered weapon for urban combat.

Also, nearly every article about the modern day AA-12 also discusses the FRAG-12 shaped charge HE ammo that is expected to be fielded with the shotgun for specialty use. Yet the shotgun gets into Arsenal but the ammo does not.


-karma