At 12:19 PM 6/6/2006, you wrote:
Hello Folks,
I thought I'd hit you with the following question to see what you all
think of it.
If you have a target that is hidden behind some object such that he is only
half exposed - the target gets a beneficial modifier on his behalf. If you
have a target that is standing out in the open in a "weaver" stance for
example, he is perpendicular to the shooter and fully exposed. But what if
you have a target that turns his body sideways to you before you fire at
him. By definition, he has pretty much halved the target space he was
occupying and thus, would be in a similar situation as a target who is
behind cover of sorts with only half his body showing.
In such a circumstance, would it be worth noting as a GM, that a PC who
turns his body sideways for extra survival purposes, should gain such a
benefit?
Personally? I'm inclined towards permitting this. The caveat of course is
that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. PC's who can
turn sideways in an effort to minimize their target profile should also
have to deal with NPC's who do the same. I'm inclined towards making such
an action highly unlikely for NPC's who do not have the skill Tactics at a
level of at least 12, possibly 14.
Thoughts?
I'd let it go, personally. If the situation was something where you
were dueling with pistols in the classic dueling stance, then it
would have merit. However, in most cases both the shooter and the
target are going to be moving and should make things difficult enough.
If, on the other hand, you decide to go this route, here are some thoughts:
1. If the target is wearing body armor, blading (turning the body)
towards the target will generally expose the unarmored, or more
thinly protected, area under the arms. In this case, there should be
a damage modifier to the detriment of the target as there's
essentially clothing over soft tissue over the vital organs. Not a
good place to be shot.
2. Pre-develop modifiers that can be used: Weaver, Isosceles,
modern shotgun/carbine/SMG, etc, for both standing and kneeling.
3. When a character is "pie-ing" a doorway or corner, ask whether
they're using the correct hand for the maneuver. Depending on the
side where the corner is located, the character should switch to his
off hand so as to retain as much concealment as possible. Otherwise,
as he cuts the pie, he's going to expose more of his body and head
than necessary, depending on the size and skill of the character this
may be enough to give the target something to shoot at before the
character sees the target.
4. When determining where the target is hit for a snap shot,
consider that the most likely points of impact will be the targets
gun and arms and anything in the general area.
For numbers 1, 3, and 4, I've both read reports of this happening in
the Real World and either been party, victim, or instructor of
similar encounters while using Simunitions during tactical firearms training.
Kurt Feltenberger
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
TEOTWAWKI Fiction And Discussion http://www.teotwawki.net
"To our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations,
may she always be in the right, but our country, right or wrong!"
~Stephen Decatur
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