FMA Draft part 1E

CREW-SERVED WEAPONS:
Weapons such as Support Machineguns, Rocket/Missile launchers and so on
are usually designed to be operated by a crew of two (sometimes more); one man
acts as the gunner for the weapon, while the other(s) serve as ammunition
porters and loaders. When a second crew member is present to load the weapon,
he may transfer his actions to the firer in terms of "extra shots" for the
weapon team, in a similar way to the transferral of actions by a Leader: the
loader dices
when he is activated, using his basic die - if he rolls OVER his
motivation then the weapon may be fired using the loader's action(s), but
still using the GUNNER'S die type for the shots (the loader is not firing the
weapon
-
he is simply assisting the gunner in maintaining a high rate of fire). If
the loader rolls equal or under his motivation, he has "fumbled it" -
broken a link in the ammo belt, jammed the feed, or something - and his
actions are lost while he tries to fix things.
Both/all members of the weapon crew must be in actual base-to-base
contact in order to function in this way, and neither figure can have moved
during that turn.

EXAMPLE: In one turn, a player activates the GUNNER of a two-man
machinegun team to move into a suitable location to set up a firing position;
later in the same turn he activates the LOADER of the team to move also, to
join the gunner. In the following turn, the gunner uses his activation (both
actions are required) to set up the gun on its mount, ready for sustained
fire; when the loader is activated in that turn, he can roll to transfer his
actions to the gunner in order that the team can fire. During the third turn,
if
the team stay in position then the weapon can be fired twice - once in
the gunner's activation and once (provided he doesn't foul up on the die roll)
in the loader's. (Note: there is nothing to stop the player activating the
loader before the gunner at any time, and they do not have to be treated as
consecutive activations unless the player so wishes.)

VEHICLES: All vehicles (unless robotically controlled) require at least one
crewman (the driver or pilot), and may also have a number of other crew
fulfilling the positions of commander, gunner(s) and other roles. Each crewman
is treated as a separate "figure", and each has his own activation marker
(which may be placed on or by the vehicle model, or kept
off-table on a record sheet if preferred). Individual crewmen are
activated just as any other figures in the normal turn sequence, allowing the
vehicle
to perform whatever actions that crewman is controlling - eg: to MOVE
the vehicle, the DRIVER must be activated, to fire a weapon the GUNNER
responsible for that weapon must be activated, and so on. If the vehicle has a
COMMANDER (as in most military combat vehicles), then
he acts as a LEADER figure for the rest of the vehicle crew - he may
make communications actions, fire a weapon (if he is controlling one), or may
transfer actions to re-activate any other crew member (including the
driver, thus allowing the vehicle to move extra distance).

GRENADES (and other nasty things that go BANG)
Notes on use of grenades and other area-destructive weaponry:
Grenades (whether launched or thrown), rockets, missiles and suchlike are very
effective weapons, and this is reflected in their lethality under the
rules - throw a grenade down an alley and most of the people in the way
are
quite likely to end up dead or messily wounded. The down-side of such
weapons is that they are very unselective; if you are trying to get one
terrorist/criminal in amongst a large crowd of innocent civilians,
lobbing something explosive into the middle of them is probably NOT the best
way
of going about it - you may get your man, but think of the paperwork
from the Police Complaints Commission....
The point is that the use of area-effect weapons (and indeed all
hardware
heavier than ordinary small-arms) really needs to be controlled by the
"rules of engagement" in force in any given scenario or situation. For
example, if you are playing a house-clearing scenario in a war zone then
obviously most weapon types are quite justifiable; if, on the other hand, you
are doing a Police patrol of a heavily populated area then it is most unlikely
that your men will have access to explosive weaponry, let alone be permitted
to use it. The "bad guys" may be affected in similar ways, though
often for different reasons - while a street gang might have less
scruples about blowing up a few bystanders, they will not find it easy to get
access to explosive weaponry (they have to make, steal or buy stuff, not just
go down to the armoury with a requisition chit...) and will thus be more
careful about "wasting" such valuable equipment when a burst of
cheap-and-available bullets would do the same job.
Bear in mind also that explosive devices don't just make a mess of people,
but property as well - blowing out a Mega-Corporation's front office
while in pursuit of a criminal is not likely to make you many friends in the
places that matter! Under these rules, explosive weaponry doesn't just
disappear into thin air if it misses its intended target - an
anti-vehicle
missile will simply carry on until it impacts with whatever is in the way
("Honest, Sarge, if I'd realised that the hospital was right behind the enemy
APC I wouldn't have fired at it...."). Of course, gamers being who they are
they won't hold back just because of the risk of a little collateral damage,
will they? Well, they will if they stand to lose Victory Points for it....

FIRING GRENADES AND ROCKETS: Explosive weapons such as grenades (whether
thrown or launched) and
man-portable rockets are fired using different rules from normal guns,
because we not only need to know if they hit their intended target but also
where they go if they don't! Each such weapon type has a fixed Range Band that
does NOT depend on the
skill of the firer - his ability (or lack thereof) is used to determine
how accurately he can aim the shot. THE MAXIMUM EFFECTIVE RANGE OF SUCH A
LAUNCHED WEAPON IS TEN TIMES ITS RANGE BAND.

Range Band examples: Thrown Grenade: 2"* Launched Grenade: 6"
Rocket Launcher  (shoulder-fired)               10"
* for characters with STRENGTH ratings above normal human levels (eg: some
'borgs), increase range band of thrown grenades (or any other thrown
projectile) by 1" for every die type above human norm (D6) - thus a
Combat 'Borg with a strength of D10 would have a range band of 4" for thrown
weapons.

The firing player places an IMPACT counter where he wishes to aim the
projectile, and then measures the range from firer to intended impact point.
If the range is up to ONE range band, then the Target Number for an accurate
shot is 1; if the range is up to TWO range band multiples, then the Target
Number is 2 and so on. The firing player now rolls the firer's SKILL die. If
the die score EXCEEDS the target number, then the shot hits the intended point
of aim; if it is EQUAL OR LESS than the target number then the shot DEVIATES
from the intended aim point, by a distance equal to the ACTUAL DIE SCORE
ROLLED in inches. The DIRECTION of the impact's deviation from the intended
aim point is determined by rolling a D12 and using the usual "clockface"
method.

Example: An EXPERT firer is using a Grenade Launcher (Range Band 6"), and
designates as his intended target a point 26" away. This range is into the
FIFTH multiple of the Launcher's range band, so his Target Number is 5.
Rolling his skill die (a D10), the firer needs a 6 or more to hit the
designated point; if he rolls 5 or less the grenade will deviate according
to his rolled score - on a 2 it will deviate 2", on a 5 it will deviate
5".
A D12 roll determines the direction of deviation, so a roll of 6 would be
"short", 12 an "over" and so on.

IMPORTANT: if the Target Number is actually equal to or higher than the
firer's skill die type (eg: if a GREEN firer (skill die D6) were to try a shot
with a target number of 6 or more) then the shot AUTOMATICALLY DEVIATES; in
such cases roll the skill die, SHIFTING UP ONE DIE TYPE for
every additional Range Band - thus in this example the GREEN firer will
roll a D6 at up to six range bands, but a D8 at seven RB, D10 at 8 RB and D12
at 9 RB. The number rolled on the die is the deviation distance in inches, so
in the worst case the shot may deviate by as much as 12"! Shots
at ranges that would shift the die above a D12 are not allowed - we
assume that even the most inexperienced firer is bright enough to know that
his chances of a hit are too small at such distances.

"BLIND" SHOTS: It is possible for a firer to try and "lob" a shot over an
obstacle to hit an area he cannot actually see; this is a very dodgy business,
however, and not to be recommended where there are innocent civilians about!
If someone wishes to try this, then the impact counter is placed as normal but
the shot automatically deviates a distance according to a D12 roll, regardless
of range or firer skill.

BOUNCING ROUNDS: If deviation causes a projectile to hit a solid object, for
example the side of a building (quite likely if something is fired or thown
down a narrow street are alleyway) then one of two things will happen: if the
weapon is contact-fused (eg: a rocket or launched grenade) then it will
detonate at the point that it hits the wall or other obstruction, with
normal effects. If it is a time-fused weapon such as a hand-grenade,
then it will bounce back from the obstruction by a distance equal to any
unused deviation distance; eg: the impact resolution roll says that a grenade
deviates 4" to the left of its intended target point, but the target point is
actually only 3" away from a solid wall to the left. The grenade hits the wall
(deviating 3") and bounces back the unused portion of its full deviation (ie:
1"), so it ends up only 2" from the intended impact point after all. If the
deviation direction means that it hits the wall at something other than a 90
degree angle, then it bounces off at an opposite angle (just like
bouncing something off a wall in real life - God, this is so obvious but
if we don't write it down SOMEONE is going to argue about it....).

SMOKE ROUNDS: Grenades (hand and launched), rockets and mortar rounds are all
available in smoke rather than explosive variants. The firing procedure for a
smoke
round is exactly the same as for any other area-effect projectile, with
accuracy and deviation rolled for as normal. Once the final point of impact is
determined, place a SMOKE marker at that point. For visual effect you may
surround the smoke marker with some cotton wool "smoke" if you wish, but for
game purposes all effects are measured from the actual marker. Any smoke round
(regardless of type of delivery system) creates an obscured area 6" diameter
centred on the marker, which blocks line of sight and line
of fire until the smoke dissipates - thus no LOS or LOF may be traced if
it passes within 3" of a smoke marker at any point. Figures moving through (or
caught in) smoke clouds (ie: the come within
3"
of a smoke marker) must roll a REACTION TEST immediately - if they fail
to beat their motivation level then they receive a SUPPRESSION marker due to
disorientation and other effects of the smoke. (Note: figures in fully sealed
environments (eg: PA troopers) may be deemed to be immune to smoke effects).
At the end of each full game turn, roll a D6 for every smoke marker on the
table (even those that were only placed in the current turn) - on a roll
of 5 or 6, the smoke dissipates and the marker is removed, but on a 4 or less
it remains effective throughout the next turn, at the end of which it is
rolled for again. OPTIONAL: WIND EFFECTS: If players desire to simulate the
effects of wind
in the game, any smoke marker that survives the end-of-turn check should
be moved downwind, either a fixed distance (maybe 3") or a random D6 inches.
Wind direction should either be determined before the game, or the first time
it is needed, in either case by a D12 "clockface" roll.

GAS ROUNDS:
If the scenario permits, gas rounds (lethal or non-lethal) may be
employed using the same rules as for smoke rounds. The procedures for
accuracy, area of effect, dissipation and wind effects are exactly as for
smoke. Note that
while non-lethal gas agents may be quite readily available in urban
situations (eg: riot-control gases used by police units), lethal nerve
gases and the like should be VERY strictly controlled! Any figure caught in a
gas cloud (ie: within 3" of a gas marker) must roll their quality die
immediately. Figures in sealed environment suits are unaffected by gas attacks
unless they roll a 1, which indicates that some
small amount of gas has got into their filtration systems - in this
case, they are given a SUPPRESSION marker to represent them having to sort the
problem out.