[AtE] Random Weapon Tables, Using bullets as Currency, and Gamism vs Simulationism

[Minuteman37]

So I've finished putting together a random weapons table/ shopping catalog for my AtE game and am looking for feedback.

The basic setting premise is that a few decades following an all out nuclear exchange between the US and Russia the remnants of humanity are emerging from there shelters only to find a new far more dangerous world then the one they left behind.

The only thing I have left to do is assign value to the ammunition that will constitute the de facto currency of the setting as AtE says. The only issue is that AtE takes a more abstracted approach then I want. So assuming that I want a single .22 Long rifle around to equal one GURPS dollar how should I assign value to the following rounds.

.357 Magnum
.38 Special
.45 ACP
5.56x45mm
7.62x51mm
9x19mm
10x25mm
12G

Here's a link to the entire spreadsheet, all comments and criticisms are welcome.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[Maz]

Well you can't really set a rigid system for a barter-trade system. If I own a glock then 9x19mm might be much more valuable to me than 10x25mm rounds.

But I understand the need for a general guideline for you as a GM.
I would use Weight. High-Tech list wt of All The Ammo. Then just set a value relative to weight.

This would also make ingame sense as you can then simply load a bunch of ammo on a scale to know its rough value.

[mlangsdorf]

.22LR normally has a CPS of $0.1, so if you're increasing it's nominal value to $1, I'd just multiply the CPS of all other ammo by 10x.

If you're looking for a slightly more complicated approach, you also need to factor in the fact that different ammo types are more or less common in different parts of the world, and put a further adjustment to effect utility. I discuss doing that for my ATE game here:
http://noschoolgrognard.blogspot.com...c-bullets.html

[Minuteman37]

One thing I did forget to mention though was that I'd like the potential damage to cost ratio to go down as we move away from .22. The idea being that though .22 is a small round that doesn't do that much damage it's still the most economical option for a firearm.

[mlangsdorf]

So you want something like:

Rnd     Dmg        Cost   Ratio
.22LR   1d pi-     $1     1:$1 (1)
.38     2d-1       $4     2:$4 (1/2)  
9mm     2d+2       $7     2.5:$7 (1/3)
.357    3d+1 pi+   $12    3:$12 (1/4)    
10mm    2d+2 pi+   $10    2.5:$10 (1/4)  
.45     2d pi      $8     2:$8 (1/4)    
12G     5d pi++    $40    5:$40 (1/8)    
.223    5d         $25    5:$25(1/5)    
.308    7d         $40    7:$40(1/6)

You can fudge those numbers; my version is a bit extreme for demonstration's sake.

You'll run into the problem that you trade 1 .308 round for 10 .38 rounds, break them down and reload them as 8 .357 rounds, and sell those .357 rounds for a .308 round and $56 worth of other goods and repeat the process. Making the numbers less extreme will probably take off some of the pain.

Good luck playing with the numbers; I think I've shown you the way.

[Purple Haze]

One can not, in general, break rounds down and remake them in other calibres.

Brass can be slightly re-necked or shortened when reloading but that is it.

Bullets for .22LR maybe entirely some lead alloy, but everything else is jacketed.

This is ridiculously impractical at our tech level, and outright impossible at a post-apocalyptic one.

[AmesJainchill]

Originally Posted by Purple Haze

One can not, in general, break rounds down and remake them in other calibres.

Brass can be slightly re-necked or shortened when reloading but that is it.

Bullets for .22LR maybe entirely some lead alloy, but everything else is jacketed.

This is ridiculously impractical at our tech level, and outright impossible at a post-apocalyptic one.

I think he means load more powder in the .38 case to make it a .357 level of power without lengthening the case to distinguish between the two rounds. Whether there's enough case capacity for that I dunno.

[Purple Haze]

A .357 cartridge is longer than a .38.

While a .38+P is about the same energy as a .357 that comes from using a different powder.

All recent .38 revolvers can handle +P ammunition. Almost all the .38 ammunition sold is +P. People who have .357 revolver normally use .38+P because it works the same, and is cheaper, more available, than .357.

Powders are tuned as to burning speed and pressure. Dumping them in a different cartridge, or even just changing the bullet weight, is fraught with danger.