Skills - maybe this game isn't what I'm looking for

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Rupert

And 8- is about right. If the opponent is dodging (probably also at 8-) it might be a little low. On the other hand, 10 yards is at the outer end of pistol v pistol fights, so hitting on an 7-10, depending on range and lighting, and having the opponent dodge on an 8- gives hit chances in the 12-37% range, which is fine for a realistic gun-fight at these ranges.

Now, if you want you guys to hit more often than normal professional police and soldiers, because it feels better to you, by all means do so. It doesn't mean that professional 'need' guns-14 to do their jobs though.

For what it's worth, people with Guns-12 and appropriate weapons (i.e. ones that can damage the PCs on a hit) can threaten very high point value 'fun bunnies' if the latter don't get to dictate the range, lighting, etc. and just try a stand-up shoot out with the 'mooks'.

To me, that's one of the main features of the GURPS system, and not at all a "bug."

People with guns are dangerous.

Now, some are considerably more dangerous than others, but in point of fact we have designed modern firearms as machines that do one thing incredibly well. Anybody who has one of those machines has the potential to cause real harm.

No player should ever feel completely safe about walking a PC into combat, and modern firearm combat should always make them a little shakey. Even a toddler with a .22 pistol could accidentally roll a critical hit.

If a bunch of effective-skill 8 gang-bangers, or skill 10 Taliban fighters, start capping off rounds, the odds that one of them rolls a critical hit goes way up.

Yeah, the skill-16 FBI SWAT guy gonna kill at least 10 gangsters before one even gets a round anywhere near him; and there's a reason we send Spec OPs teams after Taliban strongholds -- and the teams still lose people.

As for real-life police shootings, I covered a "suicide by cop" incident in Fort Morgan, when I worked out there.
Two officers emptied the mags of their 9mm pistols at the suspect, who nearly emptied his mag at them.

Of the about three dozen shots fired, three hit the suspect -- one in the hand, one in the ankle, and one center-of-mass.

The cops didn't get hit even once.

So, three shots hit out of about 36 fired, and only one of hits was life-threatening.

I'd say PCs definitely need to be better than that. :)