I want to make sure I am both playing, and running the "Called Shot" rule correctly. Can someone walk me through it step by step? I realize that this is asking a lot, so my thanks to any one who helps in advance. I owe you one.

The attacker needs a spare Free action at the time of making the attack in order to 'call the shot' - a simple action will do just as well, but he still needs whatever action the attack requires as normal in addition.

The option is only available to single-shot, semi-automatic, burst-fire and melee attacks.

The option is also only available with the GM's blessing. Using a grenade launcher may well be disallowed, as may calling a shot in total darkness.

The player can take one of three main options (others may be available subject to imagination).

1) Circumvent the armour. This takes away the resistance bonus of the target's armour rating and applies it as a penalty to the attacker's roll. So long as the attacker is good enough to still hit the advantage is not in the damage value as such but in removing the added bonuses of wearing armour, such as positive armour penetration and conversion to stun damage.

2) Increase the damage. This is a straight one-to-one trade-off in dice to hit for increase in damage value. It's a bit abstract as it doesn't go hand-in-hand with body locations, but the simplicity is worth it.

3) Knock an object out of the target's hand. -4 dice to hit and the GM decides if the object 'survives'. It's not specifically for melee and the rules don't strictly say that no damage is done to the Target, but these should be overruled by the GM as and when appropriate.

So the attacker picks one, takes the penalty to his dice pool and goes from there.

Technically, #1 specifically does this: "If the attack hits, the target’s armor is ignored for the damage resistance test; the target rolls only Body."

Damn. Okay I have been skipping this:



Thanks. So if for example I have a Firearms Group skill of 4 and say my Agility is a total of 8. I then add in 2 dice for my smart gun link for a total of 14 dice. I decide to take a called shot at the Aztechnology trooper who's irking me but since he's all armored up I decide to call a shot to his lightly armored face area. So let's say he has a hypothetical armor of 9 points, so I subtract 9 dice and as long as I hit it's physical damage, and the Aztech trooper only uses his body plus any natural armor he may posses?

Is that a correct, albeit basic, break down?

You've got the short of it. I'll go into more detail if you're interested.



If you make a called shot, you get a dice pool modifier (after calculating everything else) based on what you're doing:


1. Bypass armor: -X, where X is the target's armor rating. AP does not apply.

2. Deal more damage: -X, where X is a number from 1 to 4, chosen by the attacker. If successful, add X to the DV before rolling the damage resistance test.

3. Disarm: -4. If the attacker hits, he doesn't actually deal any damage to the target, but instead compares his DV (modified by net hits) to the target's Strength. If the DV is greater, the target drops whatever object he was holding. The object may be damaged in the process. (GM call: shooting a gun out of someone's hand? Yes. Slapping a weapon away with your bare hands? Probably not.) If the target is holding more than one object (Guns Akimbo, anyone?), the attacker chooses which one he's aiming at before rolling.


Some complications which may arise:
- Target is on Full Defense / has cover / etc.: The attack/dodge tests are resolved normally regardless of whether there's a called shot involved. The target is entitled to whatever defenses he has going just like dodging a normal bullet, and the attacker faces the usual challenges for shooting at things.

- Attacker is using Burst Fire: A wide burst reduces the target's dodge pool as normal. A narrow burst adds more damage, but this can be tricky:


- Target has full cover, attacker is shooting through a barrier: Now THIS is a good one. the rules state to simply add the Barrier's Armor rating to the target's Armor rating, and if the modified DV is not greater than the barrier's Armor rating, the shot simply doesn't penetrate at all. Let's address this one in the same order we used above. Note that in ALL circumstances, the weapon's AP rating is applied to the barrier's Armor rating before you compare anything.

Called Shot to bypass target's Armor: You can't bypass the barrier's Armor, it's a barrier. You "bypass" it by moving your butt around so the barrier's not in the way anymore. Assuming you somehow have a good enough view of your target to aim at a weak point in the armor they're actually wearing (bulletproof glass or whatnot), you can still make that shot. If you hit, they will use only the barrier's Armor rating to add to their DR test (and for comparing DV to stage Physical down to Stun).
Called Shot to deal extra damage: Once again, you're bypassing the target's kevlar, not the concrete wall they're standing behind. Do not add the damage from the Called Shot when comparing the DV to the barrier's Armor to determine if the shots penetrate. DO add the bonus before comparing the DV to the target's Armor for Physical/Stun downgrading.
Called Shot to disarm: Yeesh. RAW, you add the barrier to the target's Armor, but they no longer get to ROLL their armor. You would just compare the DV + Net Hits to the barrier's Armor to see if the shot goes through at all, and if it does, it's completely unaffected. I'll put my personal interpretation into a spoiler, as it's a bit fancy and NOT RAW AT ALL.

There are several common house rulings (I daresay), along the lines of 'no Called Shot with Wide Burst', 'none through barriers', etc.

True.

The value of this system when cyberdocs start ramming metal plates into your skin/cyberlimbs is debatable though.

That's why people rarely use #1, unless they're just dying for a special application (toxin, etc.). RAW, I'm not sure implant/natural armor *isn't* bypassed. Things that add dice directly to damage resistance are fine, esp. because they usually do so via Body/pseudo-Body.

There are also some about called shots on short bursts in FA Mode, which are illegal by RAW.

Of course, you could still claim shots to the (cyber)eyes, which bring Protective Covers to bear, or shots inside the mouth, or up the nose to be really fancy.

On a more mattering note: how does this interact with a spirit/vessel's ItnW?

It hinges on the GM's decision whether spirits have particularily vulnerable parts. If they do, ItNW works like normal armor. Bypass Force*2 armor or add +x to damage and do enough damage otherwise pling!

I'd say this one cannot be bypassed as it is not actual armor, but rather a specific, magical effect that happens to be ruled in "armor" terms, probably to re-use an existing rule mechanism rahter than adding something specific that would in fine work the same (completely negate damage if DV is too low, add extra soak dices if it's high enough).

Technically speaking, the above Barrier rules are house rules; by RAW, the barrier simply adds to their armor, and that's your penalty. "Bypassing" barriers simply means aiming for a smaller exposed spot. This also makes sense. Otherwise, standing behind a chain link fence would render you immune to sniper shots. Both outcomes are equally bad, which is why I try and pretend called shots don't exist in my games.

Nah, magic is magic.