In which Vox and Mr. Johnson discuss the weapon accessories and modifications found in Run & Gun. In the second half of the show, Mr. Johnson sits down to talk with Colen of Lone Wolf Development about Realm Works campaign management software.
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Top show as always, and it sounded to me like the Hero Lab section of the interview with the guy from Lone Wolf was edited off for next week (I hope) :o) Love Hero Lab, I did some data file editing and proofing/testing for the SR4 files, it’s awesome software and can’t wait for the SR5 version – especially as it’s earlier in the cycle so will be easier to manage.
Thanks much! And, as you have no doubt been able to tell by now, you’re right about the editing. 🙂 We’re looking forward to the update, too!
With regards to suppressors and gas vents, I’m not 100% sure but in Shadowrun the ‘gas vent’ has been a fudge to explain how it helps with recoil. I know a lot of weapons with minimal recoil with no ‘gas vents’ but there are other methods of reducing recoil but in SR1 they just said ‘oh it vents gas to help recoil’ and were done with it and we’re stuck with that legacy. We’re missing the Heavy Barrel mod as well as the reduced and extended barrel mods, so once we have those there’s even less reason why you’d not be able to put a silencer or suppressor on the barrel. Even if you modified the gas venting (which is there anyway, otherwise you’d not be able to reload a new round) to help reduce barrel climb you’d still have your thread on the end for suppressor/silencer.
I don’t know much about firearms manufacture and the physics behind it, so the realistic feasibility of the gas vent eludes me. It is nice to see some weapons in Run and Gun have lower recoil based on their design rather than an accessory. Besides the question about whether a gas vent would be making noise before the silencer gets the chance to do its job, I see it as a potential game design issue. I like the idea of having to trade off recoil compensation in order for the stealth advantage silencers and suppressors give you.
If they’re going to start adding non-gas vent RC beyond the basics (stock, foregrip, personalised grip) then great! In SR3 and SR4 those were lacking so you had to use a gas vent. I can see your point about game balance, and the new strength based ‘free’ RC is handy so I can see a street sammie running about with a suppressed assault rifle and a fully comp’d one. It’s just extra weight for people to carry – and for faces and mages that can take a toll.
As a self-identified weapon head I can chime in here. A suppressor (aka ‘silencer’) slows down the gas leaving the end of a rifle barrel and allows slower gas expansion -> reduced sound/less “bang”.
A ‘Gas Vent’ a-la Shadowrun style would work by scavenging that same gas prior to it making its way to the suppressor and venting it out of the top of the barrel somewhere. This would work like my Glock 23C pistol. Fun picture: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2334/3527037167_60d516fa6a.jpg
Now how you would do this in real-world mechanics I’m not sure. That gas escaping the top of my Glock makes a BIG flash and also a bang. There’s no way to capture that for suppression. This is a RPG with magic, faeries (elves) and a whole slew of crazy critters so a little bit of belief suspension is in order ;D
Frangible ammo is used primarily nowadays on airplanes – US Air Marshals have frangible ammo so as to not puncture the fuselage if/when they have to fire their guns.
Definitely a good use for frangible ammo.
Armour mods: the SR4 mil-spec (well any full body armour) could have anything from a cyberlimb as an accessory, so if you had cyber implants (spurs or razors) they don’t extend outside the sealed suit (that’d be an issue if they did) however you could take them out of yourself and put them in your mil-spec armour and then you still have them with you. Handy when they’re enchanted :oD
Wow, I’d hate to think of the Object Resistance you’d have to overcome to enchant cyberware. I’m not even sure you could, since because you paid Essence for them they aren’t objects that are separate from you, but part of your being, and as far as I know you can’t enchant metahumans. Definitely an interesting subject to explore.
You’re totally right! Which is why in SR3 and SR4 the rules stated that you had to enchant an implant before it was implanted – because you’re correct in saying that afterwards the object, as it’s paid for with essence, becomes part of your own aura. The OR’s in SR5 seem to be higher than previous editions, but also the enchanting rules in previous editions allowed the use of orichalcum and other radicals to reduce the TN for the test. So my wolf combat shaman (is there another kind I wonder :o)) has orichalcum laced hand razors which are enchanted as weapon foci (they’re actually stacked foci, one weapon/shielding the other weapon/power). The cyber mechanisms which extend and retract are mundane, it’s just the actual blades which are enchanted – hence why he can remove them for repairs (as mentioned in a sourcebook from SR3, the name of which eludes me at present) and installation into full body sealed suits of armour such as his light mil-spec with ruthenium (and a few other mods). And yes, the karma cost was huge, but when you’re a super prime runner at 1200+ karma you kinda don’t really worry about that stuff :o)
Oh and once an enchanted implant is implanted, then you have to assense that person’s aura to distinguish the focus from the person. In SR4 it was 5 hits, that may change of course in SR5.
I loved the review, another great episode. When you get to the martial arts section I would like a little clarification. As I read the book martial arts are considered a specialization. I would like to know do you get the specialization bonus any time you make an unarmed attack or only when you use one of the martial techniques? Thanks again for putting out a great podcast.
Thank you! Yes, we’ll cover that when we cover the martial arts section of R&G.