Money-bought Ammo i Point-bought weapons

[MakDemonik]

A player of mine loves his shotguns, mainly because they are basically a metal tube with a firing pin that shoots everything you cram in it. Shot, Slugs, Darts, Explosive paylodes, Dragonbreath etc etc etc.

As the players got further and further into the Infinite Worlds campaign they acquired non-mundane powers. A pasicic, a nanomachine/parasite enmpowered super soldier (MGS style) etc.

Now for our techie/driver becoming a cyborg would be preferable but... paying a not-insignificant amount of Character points just to model what his 'trusty double barrel' can do with more ammunition types than he can count seems just wrong.

I know there are Alternative Abilities with /5 cost for anything besides the costliest ability. I have also seen the AP and HP enhancements in Power-Ups. And maybe someone could argue for some variable enhancements/limitations etc. But this all seems very iffy. Trying to recreate the ammunitions mechanics with points. Even though we actually have the ammunition stats.

I also have read about some people mentioning buying Payload or Gadgets or other $-item bound abilities and then considering the Equipment 'built in'. But I found out quickly that is a no go for my group. Because if one can just pay 1-2 points to get payload 'slots' for butting money bought tools into himself you could quickly argue that you should be abe to do that with anything. Grappling hooks, Trauma plates, blades, flamethrowers. Then dozens of traits become just useless. (especially DR and Modular Abilities)

How would you handle just having a trait representing a shotgun in your arm. That you need to have your limited $ bought ammo for but you can cram in pretty much anything that fits down the pipe. Especially if sometimes the player likes to make his own makeshift ammunition (like Stake shots vs Vampires)

[Donny Brook]

I don't think there is any rules based solution to the problem you mention in your second-last paragraph.

Anyway, you could consider either:

a) making an exception to the 'no weapons' rule and calling it an Accessory perk; or

b) building Alternative or Modular Innate Attacks with Limited Use: Reload. limitation.

[Imbicatus]

I’d just have the cyborg take Extra Arm (Weapon Mount -80%) For 2 points and then use it with his shotgun bough with cash.

[Kale]

Originally Posted by Imbicatus

I’d just have the cyborg take Extra Arm (Weapon Mount -80%) For 2 points and then use it with his shotgun bough with cash.

Yes, Weapon Mount is what you want. He should also consider Weapon Bond for the installed weapon, and possibly Signature Gear to give it some Plot protection.

You can also buy ammunition as signature gear that gets 'refilled' every session. This (if the GM permits) reduces bookkeeping as the player knows he will start every game session with the same quantity of different types of ammo (as long as he used Sig Gear to purchase them). Realistically if a session ends in the middle of a firefight the PC wouldn't be replenished until the end of said firefight in the next session, but otherwise the PC will have a simpler loadout overall.

[Varyon]

Provided all the ammo is generally available (or not, and he has to jump through the same hoops as a guy with an actual shotgun would), I'd say build his ability with the stats the shotgun would have firing rifled slugs (including Limited Use with Slow Reload if it has an internal magazine), add perhaps a +20% Enhancement for having increased versatility, and just let it work by loading normal shotgun shells.

Alternatively, allow the character to purchase the weapon with cash, then pay points to essentially "buy off" the Gadget Limitations that are built into the weapon. Payload (probably with a Limitation to only apply to that weapon) is necessary to eliminate the weapon's weight.

[MakDemonik]

Oh yes, now that you both mention it Weapon Mounts do seem like reasonable solution. I guess I didn't really think of them because the assumption (that I kinda failed to mention, now that I think about it) was that this is not a replacement for the hand but a built in weapon.

(Less Army of Darkness Chainsaw Hand, more Cyberpunk unfloding/hidden gun in the forearm).

So that the hand functionality would not be lost. But I guess point-wise it would work out if I just bought the Extra arm Weapon mount but instead of considering it an actual extra limb, just slapping the cost onto the Robot Arm Replacement Trait and calling it a built in gun.
Maybe with some enhancement or extra cost for the 'hidden' part.
So basically a Meta-Trait?

Btw. making it wholly Modular Abilities came to my mind too but together with the arms armor plating (DR) and all the possibilities especially with how many ammo options there are (and how powerful some are) that would very quickly become overpriced. Especially if I would want to include some more ridiculous shots like HEAT shot etc.

I'd see it as a neat suggestion for a very high powered campaign, where a quick gadgeteer could make up new ammo types ad-hoc right before a fire fight (or even pull them out retrospectively with Gizmo). Then instead of worrying about designing and pricing ammo the GM could just say "You can craft what whatever you can allocate the points for" (maybe just with a final VETO, to not spawn any M.U.N.C.H.K.I.N. 1 point toxic shots etc.)

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by MakDemonik

But I guess point-wise it would work out if I just bought the Extra arm Weapon mount but instead of considering it an actual extra limb, just slapping the cost onto the Robot Arm Replacement Trait and calling it a built in gun.

That's exactly the point of the Weapon Mount Limitation on the Extra Arm. In this case, the "Extra Arm" isn't an extra arm at all. It's just the Weapon Mount. There's not another arm sticking out of the character, it can't Block or Parry or punch, can't grab things, doesn't help in grappling -- all that stuff that arms normally do, the Weapon Mount can't do. That's why it's -80% price. All the "arm" does once you put the Weapon Mount Limitation on it is just carry the weapon around.

And it doesn't have to look like a third arm. That's just a cosmetic special effect. If you want it mounted on the character's forearm, or attached to his shoulder, whatever, it's up to you, as long as it's not something that calls for some extra traits to get added into the ability.

If you did want to replace the hand, Army of Darkness style, you'd probably have a Temporary Disadvantage (One Hand) while the shotgun was prepared. Or if you wanted to have a lot of attachments, the simplest thing to do might be to have the base character with One Hand, then have an Alternative Ability set with the shotgun, chainsaw, vault drill, whatever, with one option being "Not One Hand" (opposite value of the One Hand Disad) to represent having a human-equivalent hand attached. A really huge number of options might call for Modular Ability, but it usually takes a lot of those to wind up being cheaper than an AA group.

[Kale]

Also note the weight of the "Weapon Mounted" weapon still counts against encumbrance. I believe Payload would offset this, and for something like a shotgun would probably only cost a point or two extra. Some of the payload space could include a stash for extra ammo as well.