Re: [CP] Head Shots

Ross Winn wrote:

> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
>  "GreedySmurf" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > Next question is a more stylistic one than a hard rules issue, and that is
> > head shots.
> >
> > I should point out that I'm a player in this new game not the GM, but I can
> > still see a problem here with our game. I would estimate that about 8 out of
> > every 10 attacks made by a PC is declared as a head shot. the other 2 out of
> > every 10 is a fully auto burst.
> >
> > If you are happy with a hollywood style game this is fine, but when almost
> > every bad guy goes down with a hole in the head it starts to get a bit
> > ridiculous. And if the GM decides turnabout is fair play, the PC's aren't
> > going to last very long. Well even shorter than usual maybe :-)
> >
> > I guess two points, does anyone do anything different than the standard -4
> > to called shots, and do you apply the double damage before or after applying
> > the SP of any head armour?
> >
> > Cheers.
>
> -4 with usually other modifiers as well. Always apply head armor SP
> first, then double the remainder.
>
> This is one of the classic problems with 2020. I hadn't ever found a
> solution to it, though I tried for 5 years.

Hey Ross, how ya been.  Honestly I never had a problem with it.  Quick death in CP
is one of my favorite features of the game.  Life is cheap, and when bullets start
flying it sells for pennies on the dollar. A -4 penalty to hit, plus the penalties
for lighting, movement, stress, rate of fire, gun accuracy, distance, etc... all
add up pretty rapidly.

If your game is out of control in regards to cybernetics, armor, big old guns
whatever, then it can be a serious problem.  For all things remember this.  It may
be legal for everyone to own a gun in CP 2020, but military grade weapons (full
auto firing weapons, explosives, etc...) will still be illegal, no matter how you
slice it.  Also the legal weapons pc's purchase must still be registered to them,
and once committed it will be illegal for a character to own a weapon.  Cops
aren't stupid, if they stop (even for speeding) you they will pat you down, if you
are carrying illegal weapons (including ones not registered to you) you go to
jail, the weapon gets confiscated, and you're screwed.   If you are seen walking
down the street with an assault rifle expect a full swat team to be coming any
minute.  The same goes for armor.  Metal gear is military grade armor, not legal
to own without a licensee, and anyone stupid enough to wear it on the street is
asking swat to come down on him, as well as have people running from him
screaming.

Lastly I want to point out that the prices given in the book reflect standard
market price.  Most of the weapons and armors that will be causing a problem in a
game are going to fall under the military grade, and only be available on the
black market, at severely marked up prices.  If the weapon has been used to commit
a crime it will go cheaper, but that will also make it much more dangerous to
carry.  Even the best fully auto capable weapons require significantly more
maintenance than standard firearm.

In closing I just want to point out that the reason CP is the best game system
ever is that is is so deadly.
The street punk with a .22 caliber zip gun can still take out the hard core
professional killer with a shot to the head.  That's the way it should be.
Firearm combat is deadly, and is properly reflected in the game.  But it's also
extremely hard to hit someone in the head during active combat, and along with the
-4 for a called shot, their are plenty of modifiers to reflect that.  If you need
another way to limit pc's due to munchkinism, I suggest limiting the amount of
points they can put into any skill for a starting character to 5.  Actually I
recommend you use my home brew rules for handing out exp, they can be found here,
along with some other interesting home rules:

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Fuji/3598/drocrules.html

D