FMA World War II

Damo,

It'd be kinda hard to come up with FMA stats for weapons when the basic firing
mechanics have two to three different iterations (and the final one may not
exactly resemble either of those). The game hasn't been published yet,
formally, and the version in playtest A) doesn't resemble the original
manuscript released way back in details and B) may not resemble the final cut.
So to come up with stats for a system in flux seems kind of interesting.....

(Questions: Would you use fixed FP and range bands (5) or would you use 2 or 3
range bands (of variable size by weapon or fixed) where FP varies with RB?
These kinds of fundamental decision really impact how you describe a weapon in
a game... you sort of have to have fixed game mechanics before such a
description makes sense....)

In general, think of it this way:

Most bolt action rifles are (give or take) good long ranged weapons with a
fair bit of punch. Some (like the M1) are a bit faster firing. Then
you get into things like the MP-44 which are a
bit lighter in punch, but still relatively longer ranged and have a bit of RoF
improvement.
Then we get down to SMGs firing pistol bullets -
High RoF, not a lot of accuracy, a decent impact, but not much range. And of
course then you have your support weapons.

Once you've decided on your fire mechanics, you can treat most of the rifles
as similar to whatever your default bolt action rifle in the generic mechanic
is. You can then treat the
assault rifles (MP-44/BAR) as perhaps having a
bit more firepower. SMGs should all be more or less equivalent to your generic
SMG.

For instance, if I was using 5 range bands (with D4 to D12 range dice in
defence) and a set FP, I'd consider (RBM is range band multiplier so that
weapons with good range characteristics get to fire further):

Bolt-Action Rifle: FP d6 (M1 perhaps D8),
Impact D10, RBM 2.0 Sniper Rifle: D10 FP, Impact D10, RBM 3.0 MP44: D8 or D10
FP, Impact D8, RBM 1.5 BAR: FP D10, Impact D10, RBM 2.0 9mm SMG: FP D10,
Impact D8, RBM 0.5.45 SMG: FP D10, Impact D10, RBM 0.5 LMG: FP D12, Impact
D10, RBM 2.0 HMG: FP 2D10, Impact 2D10, RBM 3.0 9mm Pistol: FP D6, Impact D8,
RBM 0.5.45 Pistol: FP D6, Impact D10, RBM 0.5 Trench Shotgun: FP D6(3 separate
dice), Impact D8, RBM 0.5 Flamethrower: FP D12, Imp D12, RBM 0.5 (or
a fixed max range of about 8-10")

Armour: D4 for just about everyone.