Greyed locations are called-shot only.

Head – 2 MFD step penalty; bonus damage

Shots that hit a creature in the head deal 150% as much damage as they would otherwise. This multiplier comes into play before armor reduction and every other multiplier to damage has been applied. That means that a x3 critical hit can turn into a lethal strike that does four and a half times as much damage, assuming that the target character’s head has 0 DT. When the head of a character or creature is crippled, they suffer a 2 MFD step penalty on rolls based on INT, PER, CHA, and a 1 MFD step penalty to penalty to accuracy.

Torso– 0 MFD step penalty; default targeting location

Most races generally keep their important vital organs in their torso; this is the reason why suffering five wounds to this area usually leads to death. There is no MFD Step penalty to target the torso of most characters and creatures – this is the largest location on the body, after all. When the torso is crippled, all END, STR, and AGI based rolls (Including small and big guns) suffer a 2 MFD step penalty.

Legs –1 MFD step penalty

The legs are extremely important to all characters as a means of getting around, saying nothing about their importance in remaining upright. While there is no damage bonus or extra effect associated with hitting a target here, crippling the legs will drastically reduce a character’s speed. For four-legged characters, being crippled in the leg reduces land speed by five feet per action per leg crippled. If a character has one or fewer legs remaining in an un-crippled state, they cannot move without assistance. Each crippled leg also imparts a 1 MFD step penalty to accuracy with battle saddles and a penalty of the same magnitude to sneak.

Arms (Bipedal Creatures only) –1 MFD step penalty; chance to disarm

For Hellhounds and Minotaurs, arms are an essential part of how they interact with the world. This is confusing to ponies, who mostly interact with things through magic or with their mouths or tails, but during the war they quickly learned that shooting a minotaur in the arm was a great way to make them drop their weapon. Shots to the arm have a 5% disarm chance for every wound dealt (roll after wounds are dealt). Characters crippled in one or both arms take a 1 MFD step penalty per crippled arm on any tasks that they rely on their hands to perform, including (but not necessarily limited to) repair, science, all accuracy rolls for non-natural weapons, and lockpicking.

Horn –3 MFD step penalty

The horn is the central focusing point for magic. Shooting it will disrupt any spells in the process of being cast or maintained. Crippling the horn increases the difficulty of casting any and all spells by 2 steps, and doubles the strain cost of all spells cast. Removing the horn entirely prevents any magic or spellcasting. Healing a crippled unicorn or alicorn’s horn is extraordinarily difficult, as conventional healing agents have minimal effect on the magically hardened tissue.

Wings – 1 MFD Step Penalty (folded); 0 MFD step penalty if spread

Wings are absolutely necessary for flight. It should thus come as no surprise that the easiest way to disable a flying combatant is to cripple them in the wings. While the wings of a pegasus, griffin or alicorn are quite tough and durable, any attacks that cripple them in the wings immediately render them incapable of flight until healed. If they’re not solidly on the ground when the crippling injury is inflicted, refer to the falling damage rules in the Dangers of the Wasteland chapter. A recently crippled victim with a held action may attempt to use a healing potion to restore the damaged limb, but any other form of magical healing requires closer proximity or more time to be effective. If one or both of a character’s wings are maimed, they cannot fly.

Eye –4 MFD step penalty; called shot only, partially blinded, bonus damage

It is exceptionally difficult to hit an opponent in the eye. However, hitting an opponent there is generally a sure-fire way to take them down for the count. Because it is part the head, the bonus 1.5x modifier to damage still applies, and any shots to the eye that hit and deal more than 1 wound to the area automatically blind an opponent, cripple them in the head (with all the associated penalties), and incapacitate them until they can receive proper medical attention (i.e. until a healing spell or potion is administered). This incapacitation lasts a minimum of two rounds.

If they do not receive medical attention within the first two rounds of incapacitation or if they try to continue fighting or moving around, they must make a difficult (MFD ½) endurance roll to work through the pain; those that fail this roll are rendered unconscious until they either die of starvation or receive medical attention. Ponies blinded in this fashion take a -50 penalty on all perception rolls and an additional -25 on all accuracy rolls, in addition to the penalties they take for being crippled in the head. If not healed within thirty minutes via healing magic, the eye may be lost permanently. All wounds dealt to the eye are dealt to the head.

Ear –3 MFD step penalty; called shot only, deafness chance, disorientation

While less difficult to hit than the eye and less debilitating to your target, shots to the ear can be useful for disorienting opponents. Despite being technically part of the head the bonus 1.5x modifier to damage does not apply for most species (equines in particular). Shots hitting the ear provoke an END roll, the MFD of which is equal to that of the roll made to hit. Failing this roll deafens and disorients the affected target, temporarily granting them the Hard of Hearing hindrance and a 1 MFD step penalty to all actions for 1d4 combat rounds. Critically failing this roll makes the hindrance permanent (though the other penalties still go away after 1d4 rounds). If the character already has Hard of Hearing, they get the Deaf hindrance instead for the appropriate duration. All wounds dealt to the ears are dealt to the ears alone (treat them as a separate hit location – the ears cannot become crippled, only maimed), and maiming one ear gives the Hard of Hearing hindrance permanently; maiming both gives the Deaf hindrance.

Heart – 4 MFD step penalty; called shot only, bonus damage

It’s damn near impossible to shoot a pony in the heart, but damn if it isn’t a romantic thought. Not many ponies would shoot for the heart if they were trying to kill a pony; the head is a more logical choice. A successful shot to the heart deals twice as much damage (a x2 damage multiplier). If it deals enough to cripple the location, the target must roll END MFD ¼ or go into cardiac arrest. They will immediately go unconscious and will die if not treated in the next two minutes. Critical failures on the END roll should think up some good last words for their character, because they will die at the end of that combat round unless treated. This area counts as part of the torso; all wounds dealt to the heart are dealt to the torso.

Genitals– 3 MFD step penalty; called shot only, stun, bladed weapons deal bonus damage

No one wants to be hit here, which is generally why those with a cruel or sadistic streak tend to aim for this area first. A character hit in the genitals and wounded must roll Endurance MFD ½ or be stunned and unable to act for as many full combat rounds as they’ve taken wounds. Bladed weapons that hit this area automatically score a critical hit. Crippling this area will automatically make character miss their next action, even if they succeed on the endurance roll; maiming this area prevents a character from reproducing, in addition to rendering them stunned for as many full combat rounds as they’ve taken wounds. They may move at half speed, but may not attack for the duration. If the target is lying on their back or standing above the attacker, the penalty to hit here is reduced to 2 MFD steps.

This area counts as part of the torso; all wounds dealt to the genitals are dealt to the torso.

Mane or Tail– 1 MFD step penalty; called shot only

This area suffers no immediate penalties if a character suffers a wound here for equines, but it is generally quite upsetting to most species to lose their goddesses-given butt ornament. Unless listed specifically as a combined hit location, the tail and mane are to be treated as independent of the torso for the purpose of calculating wounds for maiming, and cannot be crippled. Maiming of the mane or tail may have varying effects depending on character and race, though is generally associated with a speechcraft penalty and a loss of the use of the tail as storage, an extra limb, or for other specific actions.

Cutie Mark – 2 MFD step penalty; called shot only

This area carries no immediate penalties if a character suffers a wound here, but it can prove quite demoralizing to ponies and zebra long term if their cutie mark has been removed or otherwise disfigured. Otherwise, this area counts as part of the torso; all wounds dealt to the cutie mark are dealt to the torso.

Saddle Bags/Packs (or Side/Back Holster) – 1 MFD step penalty; called shot only, item loss/damage chance

Bandolier (or Leg Holster) – 2 MFD penalty; called shot only, item loss/damage chance

Ponies tend to keep their gear on or near their person in the wastelands, which makes targeting a pony’s gear a great way to hinder them in the long term – or to just piss them off. Saddlebags have a 50% chance of being struck by damage applied to the torso,but targeting them directly is more effective. Damage dealt to any item that contains other items, such as the saddle bags or a bandolier, has a chance to either damage the items inside or to open up the container and spill items onto the ground. Battle saddles count as saddle bags or side-holsters for the purposes of targeting gear.

Piercing and blunt weapons, such as bullets, hooves, concussive explosions or blunt melee weapons will damage items directly without necessarily damaging the container. For every ten points of damage done to the area by such weapons, one item inside is damaged or destroyed (saddlebags with armor thus become a good proposition).

Blades and magical energy weapons tend to damage both the contents and the container itself. Not only do they destroy one item for every 10 points of damage dealt,

Weapon (Mouth or Telekinesis Wielded) – 2-3 MFD step penalty; called shot only, disarm chance

Weapon (Battle Saddle or Telekinesis Wielded Big Gun) – 1 MFD step penalty; called shot only, disarm chance

Shooting at an opponent’s weapons is a great way to disarm them without actually harming them. If a mouth wielded or held weapon is hit, the wielder must make a STR check MFD ¼ to hold onto it or will be disarmed. Similarly, telekinetically grasped weapons require a magic roll MFD ¼ to maintain grip. Those characters with Mighty Telekinesis spells may raise the MFD by 1 step for every level of that spell they possess. Battle saddle wielded weapons cannot be disarmed in this fashion.

If the weapon is an explosive, the wielder must roll luck. The MFD to make is 1½ minus a step for each ‘wound’ (10 damage) dealt to the weapon. If they fail, the explosive goes off. AoE big guns work similarly, but the base MFD to make on the luck roll is 2 instead of 1½ .

If you’re playing with the optional weapon condition rules, every wound dealt to a weapon (all weapons have a damage per wound of 10, regardless of size or complexity) reduces its condition by 1 step.

SMGS or pistols wielded either by mouth or by magic have a 3 MFD step targeting penalty. Rifles and shotguns that are mouth wielded (such as lever action weapons) or held telekinetically have a 2 MFD step targeting penalty. Big Guns have a 1 MFD step targeting penalty.

Targeting in Melee

Using a ranged weapon at melee distances is not usually a good idea; most ranged weapons are not terribly durable when used to block incoming blows, and tracking a target with a weapon becomes very difficult. When within melee striking distance of your target (adjacent to them or less than 5 feet), unless you’re using telekinesis of hind-leg stance, you suffer a 1 MFD step penalty to hit. This penalty increases to 2 MFD steps if you’re using a battle saddle with single shot weapons. Burst-fire or automatic weapons and shotguns take no penalty at all unless mounted to a battle saddle, whereupon they take a 1 MFD step penalty.

In short: if you can help it, don’t use a ranged weapon in close quarters. If you absolutely have to, use a shotgun or automatic.

Friendly Fire

Incoming fire has the right of way, regardless of whether or not it’s friendly. Firing any ranged weapon –guns, magical energy weapons, or spells – through a space occupied by a friend or an allied character directly risks hitting them, and they’re probably not going to appreciate it overly much if you do.

When firing through the space occupied by a friend, increase the MFD to hit your target by 1 MFD step. If your shot then fails to hit your target by exactly 1 MFD step, congratulations: you’ve shot your friend! This effect stacks for shooting through multiple spaces occupied by friendlies. For each friend you must shoot through, increase the MFD by one step. If you miss by however many steps you had to add to the MFD, one of your friends caught the bullet for you (try convincing them to bring it back!). Smart gun-ponies will use higher ground or strategic positioning to eliminate the need to shoot through friendly ponies at all.

That leads us to the second method of potential friendly fire: shooting through an enemy into a friendly. Say you’ve got a shot lined up, and your cunning melee-specialized compatriot runs behind your target. Surprised by their initiative but unfazed, you fire… and miss your target. Have you hit your close-combat comrade? Maybe!

If when firing your weapon any allies are in the line of fire beyond your target and you miss, any allies beyond that target must roll luck. All they need to do when rolling luck is roll below your failed roll to hit. If they don’t, the bullet hits them instead.

If under those circumstances multiple ponies would be hit by your mis-fire, the one closest to the target is the one harmed. If the weapon was burst-fire or automatic, your GM may rule to split the damage between multiple targets.

The final way to experience the joys of friendly fire is with AoE – Area of Effect. It’s pretty easy to catch one or more of your friends in the splash damage of a grenade or a wide-effect spell. This doesn’t really take much in the way of explanation – they take damage from your grenade or other AoE damage source just like any enemy does!

And that, my friends, is why we give grenades only to trained professionals. Also, to ponies we don’t like very much on the off chance that they go off unexpectedly.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 864