Target Engagement Speed, Or: Big gunz iz slower dan little gunz is slower dan fists? 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]

Something I've been kicking around as part of my obsession with the guns of the 6^th World that's now kinda spilled into combat, generally.

Here's the thing: ask anybody skilled / experienced at CQB (Close Quarters Battle) and they will tell you longer weapons are problematical. It takes longer to bring a full rifle up to ready as you round a doorway and acquire your sight picture than it would to do the same with a sidearm, and lots less time to just punch the guy who was waiting for you. In really close, that rifle may not even have space to come up to the ready. Hence, the US Army's conversion to the M4 carbine over the nearly identical M16 for fighting in The Sandbox where house-to-house and block-to-block firefights are the norm, and the re-issuance of VERY large/long battle rifles for The Rockpile where accuracy at long range is more at a premium in a lot of cases. Specialty weapons with quick-change upper receivers going from CQB barrel lengths (call it 10.5" / 275mm or so) and optics (Red Dot) to Precision Marksman / Sniper barrel lengths (up to 20" / 500mm+) and magnification scopes like Land Warfare Resource Corp's SABR and REPR battle rifle designs based on the venerable M10 (7.62x51mm version of the M16).

My thinking runs like this:

Is there a way to have longer weapons (lower Concealability / longer Reach) negatively impact your initiative slightly? The ability to shoot the guy who wants to punch you beyond 2 Meters is already nice enough, and the Reach Modifier for the opposed Melee Test already takes the advantage of the long blade into account. But the guy using his knuckles is arguably faster. Enough so to make a difference (in game terms)? That's why I'm tossing this out to you. Forget reality where they hyper-trained SpecOps guys disable pistol-packing Bad Guys from up close; All our action media is rife with the stuff. Heck, even the Fluff for the 1st Ed printing of Food Fight talked about ducking under the guy's shotgun to shove his sandwich up the Bad Guy's nose.

I know a lot of people will say "It's a game, who cares?" If that's your feeling, save the thread space. If you think it's not worthy of making a game mechanic of it, then not only do I want to hear about it, I want to hear details of your reasoning against it. And if you like the idea generally, or think you have a better way to get to the same point, fire away.

Thanks in advance!

-Kerenshara