Dumpshock Forums > Wanted: Less-than-Lethal Tips and Tricks

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 03:57 AM

Hey Gang!

So I FINALLY got into an SR game! It's a PbP on RPOL, and I'm pretty excited. The other players have very interesting characters and the GM seems really really cool.
That said, I decided to make a Gunslinger Adept... something I've always wanted to try, but never got around to it. Well, with this particular character he prefers to take people down with non-lethal means whenever possibly. Why? Well he's JUST that kind of guy! LOVE AND PEACE!! XD (ok, ok... he's very VERY loosely based of Vash the Stampeded from Trigun, but whatev! Just the gunplay and dodging stuff mind you, and not the other crazy stuff)

Anyway, so far I'm going with SnS rounds in his pistols and also using unarmed shock weapons for melee takedowns. (So pretty much the obvious)
He DOES carry normal rounds, but those are reserved for extreme situations.

That said, I wanted to hear from anybody on Dumpshock that had played these kind of pacifist characters before. What tricks did you come up with? What situations did you have a really hard time with, and how did you deal with it?
This character I have isn't totally against using a lead bullet, but he'd rather explore all other options first. Any ideas other than shock weapons would be appreciated, as would drug alternatives that don't take a whole round to kick in (thought of DMSO Narcojet Capsule rounds already, but then chucked it when I realize the baddy would still get until the end of the initiative pass to act before it kicked in).

Also, if any fellow Gunslinger Adepts want to chime in with their two bits on the archetype, I wouldn't complain.

Kind of related to the gun ammo, I wanted to ask about the difference between Gel Rounds and Stick-n-Shock. Other than SnS being more expensive, what possible advantages do Gel Rounds have? I'd actually prefer to use Gel Rounds, especially in his main custom Super Warhawks, but they just seem so inferior to Stick-N-Shock.
It gets even worse with light pistols and hold-outs. I can just use SnS and substitute it's special DV for the crappy DV of the base gun.

And speaking of SnS... how the heck do they even work, exactly?? I keep trying to visualize them, or understand them logically, and I have a hard time. They deliver as much shock as a taser, but have internal batteries. And they somehow stick to an opponent (Gecko Grip?) long enough to deliver a massive shock which also seems to travel through many layers of clothing and armor they might have on. As well, the size of the round doesn't matter. You could make a tiny .22 hold-out Stick-n-Shock round and it would do the same damage as a round from the Barrett Anti-Material Sniper Rifle. Huh?

Oh, and now for the controversy... SnS vs. Spirits? Does it bypass Immunity to Normal Weapons and do full damage? YES/NO/PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR ASKING!!

Finally, I'm going to post my character sheet below. We are still waiting on a couple other players to finish theirs, so I could possibly make some tweaks if I wanted. Take a look and let me know if any advice for some changes. Keep in mind, this isn't a prime runner. He's quite the newbie and I fully plan on developing him into a badass (FOR LOVE AND PEACE) if he survives that long. Sorry in advance if the format is kind of wacky.

[ Spoiler ]

Saint Sithney

Jul 12 2010, 06:17 AM

Haven't scoped your sheet yet, but for the question about Stick and Shock, it works just like a taser. Two small needles attached to a peak-discharge battery, fired at low velocities. It flies, they stick it shocks. The armor penetration works on the needle through Kevlar principal. It passes through ballistic armor and between some plated impact armor. It's not a perfect system, but it's a decent abstract.

Gel rounds used to increase damage because of the larger kenetic energy transfer. Not any more though. Went from +2DV to -1DV, so now they are garbage unless your target has zero impact armor. They still knock suckers on their asses though. Used to be you could shove gels in an elephant rifle and run around KOing Trolls and whooping it up.

Stick and shock doesn't bypass ITNW, it halves the spirit's armor to Force rather that 2xForce. So, you only have to do 6 damage to a Force 6 spirit to hurt it rather than 12 damage.

As to general advice for someone playing a gunslinger, get something bigger than a pistol, or get used to spending your first action each pass taking aim with vision mag. 0-5m short range is crippling. Try getting an FN P93 Praetor E, removing the stock, putting it on a sling and hiding it under a long coat. Then it's +0 Conceal and has twice the engagement range. And with Electronic firing and 1 integral recoil comp, you've got a good head start on a gun which you can turn into a monster with proper modding and accessories.

Mäx

Jul 12 2010, 06:24 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 06:57 AM)

Kind of related to the gun ammo, I wanted to ask about the difference between Gel Rounds and Stick-n-Shock. Other than SnS being more expensive, what possible advantages do Gel Rounds have? I'd actually prefer to use Gel Rounds, especially in his main custom Super Warhawks, but they just seem so inferior to Stick-N-Shock.
It gets even worse with light pistols and hold-outs. I can just use SnS and substitute it's special DV for the crappy DV of the base gun.

With warhawks gel rounds are pretty good, the -2 to body for knockdown purposes pretty much qurantees a knockdown on any grunts you run into.
A basic security guard with body of 3 is knocked out if he takes a single point of damage and even the tougher body 5 enemies go down if they take 3 points of damage and they most likely will take that much as warhawks do a mimimum of 6 points damage.
But ofcource S&S is better for hold-outs and light pistols.

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 06:57 AM)

Oh, and now for the controversy... SnS vs. Spirits? Does it bypass Immunity to Normal Weapons and do full damage? YES/NO/PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR ASKING!!

Ofcource not, its not magic but it does half the protection provided by ITNW.
Actually Sithney you have to do 7 points of damage to harm a force 6 spirit(has to exceed the immunity armor), but luckily thats the minimum damage a standart taser and S&S-rounds can do.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 06:27 AM

QUOTE (Saint Sithney @ Jul 12 2010, 01:17 AM)

Haven't scoped your sheet yet, but for the question about Stick and Shock, it works just like a taser. Two small needles attached to a peak-discharge battery, fired at low velocities. It flies, they stick it shocks. The armor penetration works on the needle through Kevlar principal. It passes through ballistic armor and between some plated impact armor. It's not a perfect system, but it's a decent abstract.

Gel rounds used to increase damage because of the larger kenetic energy transfer. Not any more though. Went from +2DV to -1DV, so now they are garbage unless your target has zero impact armor. They still knock suckers on their asses though. Used to be you could shove gels in an elephant rifle and run around KOing Trolls and whooping it up.

Stick and shock doesn't bypass ITNW, it halves the spirit's armor to Force rather that 2xForce. So, you only have to do 6 damage to a Force 6 spirit to hurt it rather than 12 damage.

As to general advice for someone playing a gunslinger, get something bigger than a pistol, or get used to spending your first action each pass taking aim with vision mag. 0-5m short range is crippling. Try getting an FN P93 Praetor E, removing the stock, putting it on a sling and hiding it under a long coat. Then it's +0 Conceal and has twice the engagement range. And with Electronic firing and 1 integral recoil comp, you've got a good head start on a gun which you can turn into a monster with proper modding and accessories.

Hmmm, some good stuff there, thanks.

As far as the pistol thing... I'm kind of focused on on pistols, sadly. It's the only firearms skill I have. But I was hoping to pick up that Krav Maga Quality that lets you Aim as a Free Action as soon as I get the karma for it.
Not only that, but I was kind of going for a gun-kata equilibrium style. Thankfully we already have some long ranged fire support in the group, so I was approaching my role as the short range/melee specialist.

You actually brought up something I had been wondering about.... removing the stock lowers the concealability of a gun right? Well, I was looking in the books for that the other day and couldn't find it. Any chance I could get a page reference?
Also, I think I saw you promoting the Praetor SMG in the '1 Gun' thread (if not you, someone else was as well). Would you mind filling me in on the reasons that SMG pulls ahead of the others? I was under the assumption that the Ingram Smartgun X still gave the most bang for the buck.
Incidently, I just also noticed that the Preator is Forbidden, while the Ingram is just Restricted. Why is that?

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 07:13 AM

QUOTE (Saint Sithney @ Jul 12 2010, 01:17 AM)

Try getting an FN P93 Praetor E, removing the stock, putting it on a sling and hiding it under a long coat. Then it's +0 Conceal and has twice the engagement range. And with Electronic firing and 1 integral recoil comp, you've got a good head start on a gun which you can turn into a monster with proper modding and accessories.

Something else I was wondering.... I thought the Sling mod only provided a conceal bonus if it was a Longarm or Heavy Weapon. I usually take a Longarm to mean the guns usable by the Longarm skill... but do they mean something different here? Does an SMG count as a longarm in this case?

Saint Sithney

Jul 12 2010, 07:20 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 11 2010, 11:27 PM)

Also, I think I saw you promoting the Praetor SMG in the '1 Gun' thread (if not you, someone else was as well). Would you mind filling me in on the reasons that SMG pulls ahead of the others? I was under the assumption that the Ingram Smartgun X still gave the most bang for the buck.
Incidently, I just also noticed that the Preator is Forbidden, while the Ingram is just Restricted. Why is that?

I think that was draco18? anyway, the Praetor is a gun which grows well. It has integral Recoil compensation, which you can't really put a price on, and it has Electronic firing as a standard option, very cheaply, so that saves you money (the electronic firing mod just by itself usually costs 1000¥ while the P93E costs 850¥) and still leaves you with 6 mod slots for specialty mods, like ceramic parts, easy breakdown or high velocity fire. Lots of places one can go with that gun.

As to removing the stock, That's just my interpretation as to how the sling modification reduces the weapon's conceal penalty.

And, for the Krav Maga/ROSS skill to make take aim a free action, you can only take one free action per pass, which means only one aimed shot, even if you can still make a 2nd unaimed shot. Most pistoleros I see in action will usually Take Aim as a Simple Action, then use a Free Action to Call their Shot for increased damage at +4DV -4Dice, and Fire with their final Simple Action. It punches through armor better that way, not that Stick and Shock doesn't trash armor, but it drops a guy in one hit and helps keep your pistol full of that expensive-ass ammo.

Saint Sithney

Jul 12 2010, 07:22 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 12:13 AM)

Something else I was wondering.... I thought the Sling mod only provided a conceal bonus if it was a Longarm or Heavy Weapon. I usually take a Longarm to mean the guns usable by the Longarm skill... but do they mean something different here? Does an SMG count as a longarm in this case?

No, you're right, I glossed over that. A PDW like the Preator is by no means a long arm.

Neraph

Jul 12 2010, 07:41 AM

Don't forget the clip size of the Praetor, and the totally awsome look.

For a gun adept, take/get clubs, get Krav Maga and Firefight to remove the penalties for firearms in melee, then get the maneuvers:
Two Weapon Style
Riposte

Two Weapon Style will allow you to always get a full parry in a firefight (using melee hardened pistols as clubs), insuring your survivability. This will also make you able to Riposte, with which you can shoot someone at your full normal attack.

Watchful Guard is an all-around good maneuver, and Offhand Training (Clubs) may be useful if you don't have Ambidexterity.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 07:45 AM

Ah, I get ya about the Preator. I just re-read it and I'm surprised I didn't notice the potential before. Plus I love the picture (one of the few good ones in that book)!

Aw dangit... now you are making me rethink my decision to go pistols.
It almost seems like Automatics would be far more versatile, as I can use anything from a Machine Pistol to an Assault Rifle.

I guess the main stickler is still concealability and legality though. It's much harder to keep a low profile when packing full automatic weapons, lol.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 07:57 AM

QUOTE (Neraph @ Jul 12 2010, 02:41 AM)

Don't forget the clip size of the Praetor, and the totally awsome look.

For a gun adept, take/get clubs, get Krav Maga and Firefight to remove the penalties for firearms in melee, then get the maneuvers:
Two Weapon Style
Riposte

Two Weapon Style will allow you to always get a full parry in a firefight (using melee hardened pistols as clubs), insuring your survivability. This will also make you able to Riposte, with which you can shoot someone at your full normal attack.

Watchful Guard is an all-around good maneuver, and Offhand Training (Clubs) may be useful if you don't have Ambidexterity.

Wow, that's really interesting. It's a bit 'spendy' though, isn't it? I already have Dodge at 5 ranks, so my normal dodge pool in melee (with combat sense) is 17 dice. Shouldn't that be more than enough? Or no?
I didn't know that Riposte allowed you to make a follow up ranged attack though... that could be interesting. But it still uses up your next action right? Since they already used their turn, wouldn't you end up attacking again before your opponent anyway?

I definitely have Firefight and Krav Maga at 15 BP though, to get rid of that pesky -3 modifier. Gotta love the extra +2 dice I'll also get against anyone foolish enough to get into melee with me.

Watchful Guard is definitely on the priority list to buy, and in game I already have a Firefight/Krav Maga sensai... so thankfully that shouldn't be hard. I just couldn't spare the extra 2 BP in chargen.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 08:06 AM

Something I was thinking of doing to mitigate the range penalties.

Get the Hawk Eye quality. It shifts the range increment one over, so Short and Medium range would both be +0 mod. Long would be -1 and Extreme would only be -3.
Add a the Improved Range Finder mod and I could make shots up to Long Range with no penalty, and Extreme shots would only be -2. No Take Aim actions needed.

Adept Centering metamagic would also help out a lot right? So at Initiate Grade 2, as long as I was Centering (Gun-Kata style!) I wouldn't even have a penalty for an Extreme range shot.

Speaking of Adept Centering... is it as kick ass as it sounds? Does it lower ALL the different negative dice modifiers to attacks? Like range, wounds, running, etc?
Does it lower them all by the same amount simultaneously, or do you have to pick one specific modifier at a time?

Mäx

Jul 12 2010, 08:32 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 10:06 AM)

Speaking of Adept Centering... is it as kick ass as it sounds? Does it lower ALL the different negative dice modifiers to attacks? Like range, wounds, running, etc?
Does it lower them all by the same amount simultaneously, or do you have to pick one specific modifier at a time?

The way its worded i would say neither of those.
As i read it it actually lowers the the total of the negative modifiers so for example if you have -1 for range, -1 for vision and - 1 from wounds then being a 3 grade iniative would let you ingnore all of those, but being grade 2 would leave you with a total of -1.

Edit: Just read your build, you can only have max of 3 in improved ability(and that recuiers base skill of 6), skills have augmented maximum of current rank * 1,5.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 08:37 AM

QUOTE (Mäx @ Jul 12 2010, 04:32 AM)

The way its worded i would say neither of those.
As i read it it actually lowers the the total of the negative modifiers so for example if you have -1 for range, -1 for vision and - 1 from wounds then being a 3 grade iniative would let you ingnore all of those, but being grade 2 would leave you with a total of -1.

hmmm, I never thought of it like that. Thanks.

Anyone know if the adept power 'Heightened Concentration' from the Digital Grimoire is worth taking. How does that one work? I pick a specific situational modifier (like wounds, range, running, vision, etc) and it lowers it by Magic Rating?
It says it's a complex action to activate, but how long does it last? It doesn't say in the text.

EDIT: Just read your edit.... oh shit, really?? I just took the modified rating to mean the max levels of improved ability.... so I thought you could buy up to 9 ranks of Improved Ability if you had Magic 9 and a Pistols of 6.
Damn.... that changes things alot.

So is that rounded up or rounded down? My Pistols is 5, so x1.5 is 7.5.... is it effectively 7 max, or 8?

Mäx

Jul 12 2010, 08:43 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 10:37 AM)

hmmm, I never thought of it like that. Thanks.

Anyone know if the adept power 'Heightened Concentration' from the Digital Grimoire is worth taking. How does that one work? I pick a specific situational modifier (like wounds, range, running, vision, etc) and it lowers it by Magic Rating?
It says it's a complex action to activate, but how long does it last? It doesn't say in the text.

The texts says for a task, but task isn't a defined game term, the general concencus seems to be that you need to activate it for every single shot if you use it to help shooting.
Thats mostly becouse a cheap power like that shouldn't be better then a metamagic technique.
Its kinda better for thinks that take a while to do(and have a single big negative pool modifier for the power to counter) as opposed to thinks that are over in one action.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 08:49 AM

QUOTE (Mäx @ Jul 12 2010, 04:43 AM)

The texts says for a task, but task isn't a defined game term, the general concencus seems to be that you need to activate it for every single shot if you use it to help shooting.
Thats mostly becouse a cheap power like that shouldn't be better then a metamagic technique.
Its kinda better for thinks that take a while to do(and have a single big negative pool modifier for the power to counter) as opposed to thinks that are over in one action.

Hmm, ok thanks a lot for all the info. This is the first adept I've got to play in SR4, so I feel like a newb for missing these little things.

So with his Pistols at 5, can I get Improved Ability at 2 or 3? (the round up or round down question)

And what other adept powers do you think I should get with the extra PP?
I'm thinking Attribute Boost (Agility) for sure, probably just at 2? That still leaves some points left-over.

Mäx

Jul 12 2010, 09:01 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 10:49 AM)

Hmm, ok thanks a lot for all the info. This is the first adept I've got to play in SR4, so I feel like a newb for missing these little things.

So with his Pistols at 5, can I get Improved Ability at 2 or 3? (the round up or round down question)

And what other adept powers do you think I should get with the extra PP?
I'm thinking Attribute Boost (Agility) for sure, probably just at 2? That still leaves some points left-over.

Well the augmented max for skills doesn't mention rounding at all, but it does say that max possible is 10 if you have aptitude so i would take that to mean that you round down.

I always like to take Sustenance for adepts if i can spare the 0,25PP.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 09:02 AM

Ok, so I did a little searching around Dumpshock and found this thread about Heightened Concentration which actually had some writers chime in and indicate it didn't just apply to one single action or 'task'. You basically spent a complex action to remove the negative dice penalty from one modifier and it stayed like that for as long as you wanted... until you wanted to change the type modifier it removed, then you had to spend another complex action.

Mäx

Jul 12 2010, 09:22 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 11:02 AM)

Ok, so I did a little searching around Dumpshock and found this thread about Heightened Concentration which actually had some writers chime in and indicate it didn't just apply to one single action or 'task'. You basically spent a complex action to remove the negative dice penalty from one modifier and it stayed like that for as long as you wanted... until you wanted to change the type modifier it removed, then you had to spend another complex action.

Not really, it just that there are many task that take more then a simple action. AH only said that intention was that it would aply to more then a single test not indefinedly.
And even if your GM allows that wierd intereption of the power(lasting forever), most modifiers are situational and only ably to task at hand so you have to ingnore them again if you want to make the same action a second time as you cant use the power to ingnore a penalty thats not present.

Saint Sithney

Jul 12 2010, 09:22 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 02:02 AM)

Ok, so I did a little searching around Dumpshock and found this thread about Heightened Concentration which actually had some writers chime in and indicate it didn't just apply to one single action or 'task'. You basically spent a complex action to remove the negative dice penalty from one modifier and it stayed like that for as long as you wanted... until you wanted to change the type modifier it removed, then you had to spend another complex action.

So, you could take an IP to remove all Recoil from a High Velocity weapon, and then go to town mowing people down with 12-round bursts? That's inordinately awesome.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 09:36 AM

QUOTE (Mäx @ Jul 12 2010, 04:22 AM)

Not really, it just that there are many task that take more then a simple action. AH only said that intention was that it would aply to more then a single test not indefinedly.
And even if your GM allows that wierd intereption of the power(lasting forever), most modifiers are situational and only ably to task at hand so you have to ingnore them again if you want to make the same action a second time as you cant use the power to ingnore a penalty thats not present.

The whole 'task' thing is flavor text though. Just as you said before... a 'task' is not definable mechanically in the game. And AH went on later in that thread and other threads to confirm the version I described. Just because a modifier isn't present to be ignored at the moment doesn't mean the power is still not attuned to it. After all, the description only states the activation method (complex action), but not the length. If the length was something very specific, wouldn't they have said so?

I don't know, that's just how I see it after looking at everything and reading the evidence. But I can empathize with other interpretations as the power is just... written very very poorly.
*shrug* I don't think 1 PP is cheap though, especially as 1 PP is supposed to equal 1 Metamagic ability.
Either way, after searching through a bunch of threads on the matter and seeing what a hot topic it is, I don't want to continue the debate. I'll just have to ask my GM and see how he sees it.

I have 1.5 PP left after losing 3 levels of Improved Ability Pistol. I think I'm definitely going to take 2 levels of Agility Boost to make up some of the difference, and that leaves me 1 pp.
If my GM interprets Heightened Concentration as AH and others do... I'll take it. If not, I'll have to think about what else I can do with 1pp. *shrug*

Saint Sithney

Jul 12 2010, 09:51 AM

QUOTE (Ravennus @ Jul 12 2010, 02:36 AM)

I think I'm definitely going to take 2 levels of Agility Boost to make up some of the difference.

The way boost powers work, it's generally almost as good, and safer, to just take 1 level of boost. It's not worth having to soak an extra point of stun for just one more die on the boost test.

You could pick a 2nd attribute to boost though, like Strength, in case you need to climb a wall or some such.

DireRadiant

Jul 12 2010, 01:46 PM

Stun Batons
Defiance Shock Taser
Gel rounds = Capsule rounds with whatever chemical of choice
Custom ammo = stealth rfid tag rounds
Chemical grenades. besides the usual thermal smoke and other items, freeze foam grenades are just fun.

Laodicea

Jul 12 2010, 05:44 PM

People seem to forget that you can subtract hits from your roll at will. You can do less than lethal damage with guns, if you want. You can either take a called shot for a leg, or as I've just suggested, subtract hits so that it's not a killing shot. Most reasonable people are going to surrender when they get to 9ish hit boxes of damage.

TheOOB

Jul 12 2010, 06:26 PM

When someone is prone and taking 3 dice of wound penalties, they are pretty much down for the count. As far as non-leathal goes, stick and shock (and other electric attacks), are really where it is at. My double pistol user in my game typically starts a fight by tagging the four most dangeroous combatants with SnS rounds, if it does knock them out right away, they will get that nasty penalty(and probably be prone).

Falanin

Jul 12 2010, 06:34 PM

QUOTE (Saint Sithney @ Jul 12 2010, 12:17 AM)

As to general advice for someone playing a gunslinger, get something bigger than a pistol, or get used to spending your first action each pass taking aim with vision mag. 0-5m short range is crippling. Try getting an FN P93 Praetor E, removing the stock, putting it on a sling and hiding it under a long coat. Then it's +0 Conceal and has twice the engagement range. And with Electronic firing and 1 integral recoil comp, you've got a good head start on a gun which you can turn into a monster with proper modding and accessories.

Or you could get an improved rangefinder mod for your pistols, and drop 1 range bracket of penalties.

EDIT:and for doorbusting/dropping trolls on their butt entertainment, I suggest a pair of Echiro Hamato pistols. 1 loaded with gel for knockdown goodness, 1 loaded with shock lock, for opening things.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 07:02 PM

QUOTE (Laodicea @ Jul 12 2010, 12:44 PM)

People seem to forget that you can subtract hits from your roll at will. You can do less than lethal damage with guns, if you want. You can either take a called shot for a leg, or as I've just suggested, subtract hits so that it's not a killing shot. Most reasonable people are going to surrender when they get to 9ish hit boxes of damage.

Hmmm... you can pull your punches like that, so to speak? I wasn't aware of that. I glanced through my copy of SR4A and couldn't find the rule. Could you possibly let me know where this is?
Does it cost an action? And if you can subtract hits from you roll, is this before or after the opponent rolls their defense?

DireRadiant

Jul 12 2010, 07:45 PM

p. 161 SR4A

Normally you do called shots for more damage, however, there is one standard option to "Knock something out of the target's grasp." followed by a "Whatever the GM allows" option.

Ravennus

Jul 12 2010, 07:54 PM

QUOTE (DireRadiant @ Jul 12 2010, 02:45 PM)

p. 161 SR4A

Normally you do called shots for more damage, however, there is one standard option to "Knock something out of the target's grasp." followed by a "Whatever the GM allows" option.

So it's more of a GM fiat grey area in regards to a Called Shot. Hmmm.
It also doesn't seem very reliable as you would remove the dice before the opposed test to hit, so chances are you might miss altogether. And I still don't see how you could "subtract hits from your roll at will", as Laodicea indicated.
Calling a shot in this regard, if the GM allowed it, would only remove dice (and maybe lower the DV in the opposite manner of a called shot for more damage), but you still would be stuck with however many net hits you achieved.