I had, a week or two ago, shared some materials for the Tiberian Dawn GURPS game I was considering running over at the SJ Games Forums. One of the points brought up was that somewhere in the sizable publication list of Pyramid Magazine - the GURPS e-zine - was an article that offered up an alternative take on the way the Guns skills are handled in GURPS.
For those who aren’t familiar, GURPS puts personal firearms down as “Guns”, an “Easy” skill with several specializations. These stock specializations are Grenade Launchers, Gyrocs, Light Anti-Armor Weapons, Light Machineguns, Muskets, Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, and Submachine Guns. This skill defaults to DX-4, and most of the skills default to each other at -2 (pretty generous), except LAW, Grenade Launcher and Gyroc defaulting at -4 (pretty normal). Familiarity mechanics further differentiate guns in each class. For example, Rifle covers both old-school muzzle loaders as well as modern G36’s. Penalties are based on differences in Action (muzzle loader, bolt, etc), Caliber (9mm to .50, etc), and grip (bullpup vs conventional, etc). Thus, being able to shoot translates to all guns, but depending on what you’re trying to achieve your lack of experience with one or another will cause some hiccups.
The categories are pretty well defined, but pretty much out of the gate there’s some problems, particularly overlaps between them. I wont drag this out with many examples, but one includes shotguns: A hunting shotgun with a smooth bore and buckshot is the pure form of the archetype, but a rifled one with a slug is basically a rifle (except using the shotgun skill). Additionally, because the default is so generous, you quickly run into point reshuffling situations if you want to be good at multiple types of firearms. I wont get into details here, but let’s say it can be a problem.
So this article: "ALTERNATE GUNS SPECIALTIES AND TECHNIQUES" from Pyramid 3-65, March 2014, by Hans-Cristian Vortisch. To get down to business, he provides a well reasoned layout for what these categories are overkill and actually less realistic than a lot of us GURPS types would want. He lays down that there should be three categories: Pistols, Long Arms, and Light Anti-Armor Weapons. He proposes anything without a shoulder stock is basically a Pistol, anything with is a Long Arm, and anything that shoots anti-tank ordinance is a LAW.
These all now default at -4. Controlling automatic fire versions of these is now a Technique that defaults to the core skill at -2. Grenade Launchers and the like are now a Technique called Payload Warhead which is also at -2.
There are now twice as many familiarity penalties, docking -1 based on caliber, ignition, action, grip, sights, and feed. If you want to shoot an ordinarily stocked Long Arm without your stock (like an SMG with a retracted one), then you use the regular skill at a penalty, as discussed in Tactical Shooting.
This conserves points a bit. Formerly, if you wanted to be a Patrol Officer equally good with Shotguns, Rifles, and Pistols (common police weapons in the US), an averagely dexterous (DX10) person would need to drop 12 points in - 4 points per skill - to raise it up to the “Professional” level of 12. This represents a huge amount of time - 2400 hours (as given in Basic). Under the current system you would need only 8 points - 1600 hours - to achieve the same level of skill, since familiarity would be erased due to the 4 points you put in Long Arms. Similarly, making automatic fire skills a Technique means you can more easily distinguish those who’ve been made familiar with this method from those who have not. As someone who messes around with skills for exactly this kind of distinction, I find it attractive.
So with that in mind I think I’ll deploy this system in a future game since it plays a little nicer with players. Is it perfect? Probably not. Do I think it’s an improvement over the former system? Sure. If nothing else, it’s fewer lines of Guns. Each point gives you two familiar weapons, so you could quickly move beyond the need to even fool with it, depending on just how much firearm variety you have in your games. For this Tib War one, two points in Long Arms more than does it. Presently I’ve only worked it out in my head, and given how my brain works, I wont likely see any problems until I’m pinned down deep in enemy territory with half a mag left and a fixed bayonet.
Now, what kind of other alternate rules modifications and house rules shall I flex…
'Ere we go, over the top…
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