Dodgin' Bullets

FF_Ninja · 03-21-2016, 10:11 AM

I've been reading up on mechanics for handling gunfights and noticed that (unless I missed something important) defenders get basically the same roll for dodging a bullet that they would from a slower projectile or a melee weapon. The book does differentiate here by establishing the defender as not actively dodging the bullet as much as preemptively dodging the shooter, and, arguably, the defender cannot parry or block gunfire, but the straight-up dodge roll appears to be unchanged: success vs. dodge.

In a comparative lineup, one can reflexively dodge a swing from a baseball bat or a thrust from a knife; one can even conceivably duck or twist to avoid a well-aimed arrow (although I, having shot my share of bows, would consider that a degree more difficult; arrow velocity is not negligible); but most firearms launch a projectile at several hundred feet per second in general.

And yet they all get the same success roll vs. dodge.

My question is this: Did I miss something in my basic study of combat mechanics, or do the basic rules really operate this way? Are there supplements that deal with this topic?

Again, maybe it's the fact that I'm missing certain supplements, but I just find it odd that you can have a crack shot ace his shots with impunity, only to have his target dodge the round with the same frequency as any other attack.

The more I think about it, the more I feel I really must be missing some rules somewhere, because the mitigating anti-whiff factors for melee attacks come in the form of feints and ruses and the like, but I'm not seeing anything a gunner can do to impact his target's dodge roll.

Insight?

03-21-2016, 10:11 AM	#1
FF_Ninja Join Date: Feb 2016	Dodgin' Bullets I've been reading up on mechanics for handling gunfights and noticed that (unless I missed something important) defenders get basically the same roll for dodging a bullet that they would from a slower projectile or a melee weapon. The book does differentiate here by establishing the defender as not actively dodging the bullet as much as preemptively dodging the shooter, and, arguably, the defender cannot parry or block gunfire, but the straight-up dodge roll appears to be unchanged: success vs. dodge. In a comparative lineup, one can reflexively dodge a swing from a baseball bat or a thrust from a knife; one can even conceivably duck or twist to avoid a well-aimed arrow (although I, having shot my share of bows, would consider that a degree more difficult; arrow velocity is not negligible); but most firearms launch a projectile at several hundred feet per second in general. And yet they all get the same success roll vs. dodge. My question is this: Did I miss something in my basic study of combat mechanics, or do the basic rules really operate this way? Are there supplements that deal with this topic? Again, maybe it's the fact that I'm missing certain supplements, but I just find it odd that you can have a crack shot ace his shots with impunity, only to have his target dodge the round with the same frequency as any other attack. The more I think about it, the more I feel I really must be missing some rules somewhere, because the mitigating anti-whiff factors for melee attacks come in the form of feints and ruses and the like, but I'm not seeing anything a gunner can do to impact his target's dodge roll. Insight? Last edited by FF_Ninja; 03-21-2016 at 10:13 AM. Reason: Clarifications.