Certain fired weapons (typically guns) automatically reload and so offer the firer the ability to shoot multiple shots at the same or different targets. There are two main mechanisms:
Some weapons will have just one of these modes, while others will have both options.
Every self-reloading weapon also has a Recoil rating, which shows how much kick the weapon has after each shot. A recoil rating of 1 has minimal kick, while a recoil rating of 5 makes it very hard to fire multiple shots with any kind of precision.
Any weapon that is fully automatic will also have a Burst rating. This shows the number of shots that will be fired in a single action if the weapon is fired in fully automatic mode. For hand-held weapons, this is normally around 10 shots.
The different firing options are covered below.
The firer squezes the trigger multiple times in a single snapshot fire or aimed fire action, while keeping the weapon targeted on a single target.
The action point cost of the manuever is increased by +1 per additional shot fired, i.e. +1 AP per extra time the trigger is pulled.
The attacker gains a +1 bonus on the attack dice roll per additional shot fired.
The maximum number of trigger pulls in a single maneuver is 4, to give a +3 bonus on the attack at a cost of +3 APs for the maneuver.
If the attack hits the target (after allowing for any active defence) by more than the recoil rating of the weapon, multiple shots will hit:
The damage from each shot that hit is worked out separately. The defender must make a separate soak reaction for each shot that he/she wishes to soak.
For knockback purposes, a single knockback dice roll is made, taking the highest damage from any of the shots that hit +2 per other shot that also hit.
The firer holds down the trigger in a single snapshot fire or aimed fire action, while keeping the weapon targeted on a single target.
The action point cost of the manuever is increased by +1, to reflect the additional time spent holding down the trigger.
The number of shots fired is equal to the Burst rating of the weapon, provided there was sufficient ammunication in the weapon.
The attacker gains a bonus on the attack dice roll based on the number of shots fired in the burst, as follws:
If the attack hits the target (after allowing for any active defence) by more than the recoil rating of the weapon, multiple shots will hit:
The damage from each shot that hit is worked out separately. The defender must make a separate soak reaction for each shot that he/she wishes to soak.
For knockback purposes, a single knockback dice roll is made, taking the highest damage from any of the shots that hit +2 per other shot that also hit.
The firer holds down the trigger in a single snapshot fire action, while moving the weapon so that shots fire out in a spray across an area. This gives him/her a chance to hit multiple opponents with a single action.
The action point cost of the manuever is increased by +2, to reflect the additional time spent holding down the trigger and moving the weapon during the attack.
The number of shots fired is equal to the Burst rating of the weapon, provided there was sufficient ammunication in the weapon.
The attacker declares how many hexes he/she is spreading the spray fire across. The hexes must be contiguous and form a sensible spray pattern from the attacker's position (i.e. an arc of fire).
Spray fire wastes a number of shots equal to the number of hexes targeted. The attacker can then allocate the remaining shots between any targets in the sprayed hexes. So, for example, if an attacker spray fires a burst of 10 shots across 5 contiguous hexes, he/she will have 5 shots remaining to allocate among targets within the 5 targeted hexes.
Separate attack dice rolls are made for each target against which shots have been allocated.
Spray fire is less accurate than normal burst fire, so there is a penalty on every attack dice roll of -1 per hex sprayed (regardless of whether there was a target in the hex).
However, the attacker may gains the normal bonus on the attack dice roll for multiple shots impacting a single target, as follows:
If the attack hits a target, only a single shot will hit (sprayed fire is inherently less accurate than burst or semi-automatic fire).