Kashyyyk Long Gun

[Naaman]

WotC has stats for a weapon seen in RotS called the Kashyyyk Long Gun. It is a weapon specific to wookiees, similar to the bowcaster.

We've tossed around alternate rules for bowcasters before (most of us tend to agree that 4D is not enough damage to replicate what a bowcaster does on screen).

For reference, in WotC's rules, a blaster rifle does 3d8 damage. A bowcaster does 3d10 damage, and the long gun does 3d12.

Both the bowcaster and the long gun require a strength of 15 (well above human average, slightly above heroic average... slightly above wookiee average, incidentally) in order to operate the weapon to full effect.

The blaster rifle has a range increment of 30m (which means it's max range is 300m), while the bowcaster and long gun each have a range increment of 10m (max range of 100m) The bowcaster and blaster rifle both have an increased chance of scoring a critical hit (twice as often as "normal" for d20 weapons... or, 10% vs. 5% for typical weapons; the long gun has a 5% chance).

Using that info for comparison, I'm looking at statting out the long gun. Here's my first try:

Skill: Kashyyyk Long Gun
Ammo: 10
Range: 2-8/40/100
Cost: Not usually available for sale (2000 credits)
Availability: 4, R or X
Damage: 6D+2 or 7D (??? Not sure what makes most sense; thoughts?)
Game Notes: Any character may fire this weapon once each round. In order to fire more than one shot in a round, a character must make a lifting check (moderate difficulty) in order to fire a second or subsequent shot each round. Characters with at least 5D in lifting may ignore this requirement.

[Bren]

The gun range seems too short. Why have a "long" gun with a shorter range than a blaster pistol.

Re: bowcasters: I use 4D Speeder-scale damage.

[garhkal]

i'd set it at 6d damage, and give it a bonus to shoot at short range, say of +2d, dropping to +1d at medium, representing the long gun part of it.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Naaman]

[Naaman]

[CRMcNeill]

IMO, comparing shotguns and rifles is an apples & oranges scenario, as the two are designed for a different purpose. It's also noteworthy that hunting shotguns are used for hitting targets at greater ranges than riot shotguns, which are optimized for close quarters.

My first thought would be to make this a variant of the bowcaster, using the same ammo (as described here), but with double the listed range, and with an ammo capacity of 10.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Ray]

[Naaman]

[garhkal]

[Bren]

[CRMcNeill]

Indeed. Bringing up shotguns to disprove the point is very much an apples and oranges fallacy, as there are other factors that affect why a "long gun" shotgun has shorter range than would a rifle with a shorter barrel. It's better to compare within type: rifles with other rifles, and shotguns with other shotguns. And all other things being equal, a longer barrel will have greater accuracy at longer ranges than a short barrel, in trade for being more cumbersome at close range.

Naaman, is it possible you're getting too hung up on a literal interpretation of "long gun" at the expense of asking why a weapon that is similar to a bowcaster would need a barrel that is so much longer?
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Naaman]

Yeah, sure. I suppose its possible. I just approached the topic with a notion that "long gun" is not an indicator of function but of size. No biggie in the end.

With respect to accuracy and barrel length (in case you're interested), for SW, I can see this being a thing, but in reality its not really the case. Barrel length does not correlate directly to accuracy but to velocity. Barrel rigitity (which varies inversely with barrel length) is what affects accuracy. For each bullet and application, there is an "optimum" barrel length which determines maximum deadly range. The shorter the barrel, the less likely all the powder will be burned, thus reducing the force behind the bullet. A slower bullet will run out of steam sooner and fall to the ground sooner.

On the other hand, a barrel that is longer than optimum will also reduce velocity since the powder burns up before the bullet is free of the barrel's friction.

A more rigid barrel (due to material or thickness) will flex less, thus discharging the bullet straighter.

In any case, shooting far is a question of matching powder charge to barrel length, while shooting accurately is a question of barrel rigidity. Shooting far and accurately requires the correct barrel length (not too long and not too short for the particular round/load/application) with the heaviest barrel profile that is practical for the weapon's intended use/role.

/tangent.

[Naaman]

[Naaman]

[Bren]