Sniping Skill, Or: is every Street Sam w/ a smartlink a god of extreme range shooting Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Kerenshara]

In SR4X, and especially 4A, there is a big discrepancy between “progression” for Awakened characters and the Sammies and their brethren. The Karma for Cash rule helps right this to some extent, but being a Mage isn’t really cheap, either. We saw in a recent campaign that, short of just piling dice pools up to the heavens, the Sammy winds up going into other things because they can’t rationalize buying that 6th level in Firearms.

The issue is, having know a few snipers, short of the actual trigger pulling, sniping is a skill set all to itself. It’s precise and methodical. When you’re good enough, a lot of it becomes automatic, and the right tools help tremendously. But essentially what it all boils down to is negating the difficulties (read: DP Penalties) associated with range-to-target and / or target movement.

So, here’s my idea:

Offer a custom skill called “Sniping”. It’s a Combat Active Skill not in any group. It’s tied to Logic (take THAT Mr. “I don’t need a brain to geek drek” Sammy!), can NOT be used untrained and benefits from an Encephalon and a Math Coprocessor like a Hacking skill. Specializations would include “Cold Bore” (First shot), “Rapid Re-engagement” (Follow-up shots), “Rapid Preparation” (read: quickly control breathing after running) and “Precision Targeting” (Bypassing cover, armor, etc). The entire point of the skill is that when attempting a shot beyond close range, as part of the “Take Aim” action make a Sniping roll. Any successes are applied against the negative modifiers at the target’s end of the shot. You need not be stationary, buy you can not be in motion yourself (you can snipe from a moving vehicle if you’re stationary within the vehicle). All penalties which would normally affect a shot from the shooter’s perspective (lighting, self motion, wound penalties and so forth) apply to the Sniping roll.

The maximum number of hits on the roll is capped at Skill x2. The result of the roll replaces the usual +1 for Take Aim, but the sniper can choose to keep aiming. They also may take a consecutive total of 3 + Hits “Take Aim” actions, Max = 3 + Sniping Skill.

This way, you can have somebody who really is JUST a sniper and excels at it without having to be Annie Oakley. After all, if you negate YOUR penalties, are highly skilled in Sniping, and can negate the target side penalties, all you’re doing is squeezing that trigger nice and soft. Plus, if they're Aiming all the time, they're not taking double shots constantly, right? If they're using SS weapons, moreso.

Oh, spotters: Another person who has the same LOS and Sniping skill can assist, making their own roll and contributing their net hits to the trigger-puller’s Sniping roll subject to all the same rules. Maximum one person helping.

Thoughts?

-Kerenshara

[Kerenshara]

Just one note:

Sniping Skill only negates penalties. A Smartgun is a bonus. I never suggested the two weren't interchangable. And a high enough Sniping roll could negate a whole lot more than 2 dice of penalties.

A skilled user always gets a lot more out of the tools they have than a novice.

-Kerenshara

[Whipstitch]

Just one note:

Sniping Skill only negates penalties. A Smartgun is a bonus. I never suggested the two weren't interchangable. And a high enough Sniping roll could negate a whole lot more than 2 dice of penalties.

A skilled user always gets a lot more out of the tools they have than a novice.

-Kerenshara

I what I was insinuating earlier though is that some tools and some veteran tricks are individually useful but more than a bit redundant when combined, sort of like giving an Army Ranger a rating 2 Survival Activesoft. Training wheels keep you upright but when it comes to my racing bike I consider even a kickstand to be extra weight I just don't need.

[Kerenshara]

I what I was insinuating earlier though is that some tools and some veteran tricks are individually useful but more than a bit redundant when combined, sort of like giving an Army Ranger a rating 2 Survival Activesoft. Training wheels keep you upright but when it comes to my racing bike I consider even a kickstand to be extra weight I just don't need.

*waggles hand back and forth*

"Redundant", as you'd define it, means "unnecessary" if your examples are an indicator.

There is a 1st-gen prototype smartgun sniper rifle already on the market IRL, and it includes a ballistic computer that is actually pretty amazing when you get down to it. But unless said smartgun is automatically controling the weapon, all it's doing is providing a very capable tool to help pick up some of the load. Shooters with the new rifle are able to achieve much higher incidence of cold-bore hits at extreme range, but making up for target motion and calculating for barriers and cover is still going to be a lot of intuition.

I know the IT hardware in 2070 is pretty wiz, and the software is spawning AIs, but the ammount of power available to something the size of a Smartgun (remember it's not just chips; it's power supply, optics, interface and a "hardened" enclosure) isn't going to be able to match the TRAINED sniper's brain for things like snap calculations of lead (read: crossing target snapshot) or adjusting for deflection of a windshield.

Does that distinction I'm trying to make here make sense?

-Kerenshara

[Whipstitch]

Unless you've got an emotitoy. They help read people just fine. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

As far as my examples go, staying upright isn't unnecessary, but you do not necessarily benefit from having multiple ways of reaching upright. Sometimes you just have a best option that renders the others superfluous. Anyway, I guess we can argue about this until the cows come home, but ultimately a lot of it comes down to a different interpretation of the setting. I just don't really what a spotter can do for you in terms of plain ol' improving your odds of making the shot compared to a longarms+drone+tacnet+smartlink combo. That pretty well covers know-how, ballistics calculations and appraising the shot from several vantage points. I can see having a trained spotter (ie, someone with Longarms/Firearms/HW) acting as a tacnet alternative or maybe helping out via a teamwork test at the most, but I don't really see including yet another skill and then adding all that up to one big pile of largely unpenalized dice.

[Kerenshara]

Unless you've got an emotitoy. They help read people just fine. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Emotitoys are garbage, IMHO. Generally I can look the other way on most things, but these just hork me off.

ultimately a lot of it comes down to a different interpretation of the setting.

Y'know, I just re-read the sub-title of my OP, and I guess your answer is "Option B". *grin*

As to another skill, I've been toying around with the skills trying to come up with something between SR3 and SR4X. I'm particularly focusing on Combat Skills. Here's what I'm toying with presently:

[ Spoiler ]

• Brawling
• Martial Art (by type)
• Knives
• Blades
• Clubs
• Staves/Pikes
• Cyberimplant Weapons
• Exotic Melee Weapon (by type)

• Tasers
• Sidearms (Includes Automatic Pistols in SA mode)
• Longarms (Includes other automatics in SA mode)
• Automatics

• Machine Guns
• Grenade Launchers
• Mortars
• Rockets
• Guided Weapons

• Exotic Ranged Weapon (by type)
• Sniping
• Bows
• Crossbows
• Throwing
• Dodge

-Kerenshara