Why 3 Different Damage Listings For Shotguns???

[Listlurker]

I've read both the THB and the TAS Weapons PDF, but I still don't understand why shotgun damage is listed as 3D6/2D6/1D6. Are these damages at different ranges? Different ammo types? Single-shot/Burst/Full Auto?

Would someone be so kind as to explain what I'm missing here?

Thanks,

LL

 

[Ben W Bell]

I don't have my books here, but I believe in most games when shotgun damage is listed like that it is indeed over different ranges. Does not apply the same to solid shot though.

 

[Ellros]

Damage is the same whether it is buckshot or solid slug. Buckshot, however, has special rules to go along with it (page 204).

 

[Listlurker]

Thanks to both people who replied, but I still don't really have an answer yet.

BenBell made a suggestion which Ellros later disproved -- and I'm still left wondering ... why are there three different damage listings for shotguns?

ROF is listed as 1, and there's only a single range increment shown ... so what are the three damage listings for, folks?

Thanks,

LL

 

[notagoodusername]

The damages listed are for different range bands. See "Buckshot" under "Non_standard Ammunition" on page 204 of the THB (Right hand column).

In a nutshell:
3d6 up to 3m, one target
2d6 up 6m, one target
1d6 up to max range (10x3=30m), 2m wide

It also has less affect against armour, so check the description.

Hope this helps,

Shane

 

[themink]

p204 -
Buckshot will hit a single target for 3d6 upto 3 meters away.
At 6m away, it does 2d6 against a single target
Beyond 6 meters it does 1d6 in a 2 meter wide swath out to it's max range.

So that explains the 3d6/2d6/1d6 - for buckshot

I don't think it gives an explicit damage code for "6*7mm bullets" however I would just assign it 1d6 damage plus I would give it an extra dice damage and a +1 to hit (the equivalent to a 3round burst fired as a spray and a burst)

It doesn;t say anything about a to hit bonus for buckshot - but I would give it a +1 from 3m and +5 from 6m onwards.

A Shotgun against a stationary target is unsporting - which is exactly what you want (probably)

Note there are special armour rules for buckshot (see p204) which makes buckshot useless as a military weapon unless your only task is killing flags and wrecking solar fabric.

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by The Mink:
p204 -
Buckshot will hit a single target for 3d6 upto 3 I don't think it gives an explicit damage code for "6*7mm bullets" however I would just assign it 1d6 damage plus I would give it an extra dice damage and a +1 to hit (the equivalent to a 3round burst fired as a spray and a burst)


I think the extra dice for number of pellets hit are already factored in by the damge by ranges.

It doesn;t say anything about a to hit bonus for buckshot - but I would give it a +1 from 3m and +5 from 6m onwards.

Or you could argue that for a 'telling' hit you need enough pellets on target to do more than just hurt a little, so the not accuracy bonus represents wetrher enough have hit.

Note there are special armour rules for buckshot (see p204) which makes buckshot useless as a military weapon unless your only task is killing flags and wrecking solar fabric.

But damned good at ripping lots of annoying holes in vac suits, should any damage get through. They can only carry so many patches.

Shane

 

[themink]

Originally posted by Shane Mclean:
Originally posted by The Mink:
p204 -
Buckshot will hit a single target for 3d6 upto 3 I don't think it gives an explicit damage code for "6*7mm bullets" however I would just assign it 1d6 damage plus I would give it an extra dice damage and a +1 to hit (the equivalent to a 3round burst fired as a spray and a burst)


I think the extra dice for number of pellets hit are already factored in by the damge by ranges.

Note there are special armour rules for buckshot (see p204) which makes buckshot useless as a military weapon unless your only task is killing flags and wrecking solar fabric.

But damned good at ripping lots of annoying holes in vac suits, should any damage get through. They can only carry so many patches.

Shane

Shotgun vs vaccsuit - vistom busier than a one armed paper hanger.

The rules on p204 are good for buckshot - but shotguns in the description can also fire 6 bullets in a cartridge - can you see any rules for that?

 

[Ellros]

For buckshot bonus to hit, you can always try using the bonus for fletchettes. That's my idea.

 

[Listlurker]

Thanks to everyone who responded here for your patient and thorough explanations of the shotgun details. My eyes had looked at page 204, of course, but somehow my brain managed to miss processing the section on Buckshot every single time.

I know the latter probably sounds weird, but that's a phenomenon I've noticed more than once with the T20 book: because snazzy formatting was let go to some degree, in order to cram in as much Traveller Goodness(tm) as possible into the book, sometimes useful information gets "visually buried". It can be hard to pick out specific rules information from the book (especially at the gaming table!) and the Index is a hit-and-miss affair, I find.

Or ... I'm a doofus. Pick your own adventure path, kids.

Anyway, thanks again to all who replied. I'm off to kill some flags and wreck some solar fabric now ...

LL

 

[justacaveman]

When they say 6 bullets in a cartridge, thet are refering to buckshot. Buckshot is large caliber shotgun pellets (about .30 caliber). When they say pellets, they mean birdshot (small caliber pellets about the size of BB's). The problem is the original CT descriptions were written by someone who had their terms mixed-up, so the resulting descriptions make no sense. And the info on flechettes is just wrong.

 

[themink]

Originally posted by LordRhys:
When they say 6 bullets in a cartridge, thet are refering to buckshot. Buckshot is large caliber shotgun pellets (about .30 caliber). When they say pellets, they mean birdshot (small caliber pellets about the size of BB's). The problem is the original CT descriptions were written by someone who had their terms mixed-up, so the resulting descriptions make no sense. And the info on flechettes is just wrong.

In which case, I can't find the rules for birdshot. Which ever way it goes, I can find the rules for one round (which they call buckshot) but the description for two.

I also suffer from Domestic blindness and task amnesia (ie if she send me into the kitchen to pick up the salt on the table, I won;t see the salt which is sitting in splendid isolation in the middle of the table, then will forget what I came in for) - so I am quite probably just looking at it without seeing it.

 

[bertdatroll]

It is my understanding that the info on the chart is definitely for buckshot. Not only is birdshot mentioned but SLUGS are also mentioned (in the footnotes for the chart). I wonder what the weapon stats for slugs are? It seems to me that a deer slug would penetrate armor rather effectively and not degrade in damage over range like buckshot.

hmm...