NFM character using guns mounted to their body

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Fair enough. At normal GURPS resolution, I'd be more inclined to have that give reduced Acc rather than have it make Aim impossible, at least so long as you still have some sort of sights. If using the Douglas Cole article named either "Take Aim" or "On Target" (I will never be able to remember which one is the name), where Aiming calls for a roll, you'd have full Acc but a penalty to the Aim roll.

Considering you can aim a cannon on a carriage, yes, if you've got sights somehow it seems obvious that you can aim a gun hard-mounted to your shoulder or wherever, if with much more difficulty than when aiming with a precision manipulator.

Originally Posted by Varyon

My thoughts here are that the teeth are the only thing you can actually use to grip the pistol, meaning its recoil is basically going to be going straight into the teeth, and also that having it far enough back in the mouth for a good grip with said teeth is going to pretty much place it right up against the tongue, making negligent discharges highly-likely. There's also the problem that you are going to, by necessity, be ejecting hot brass right in front of your face. If the quadrupeds have long snouts like most dogs, maybe something that has an extended mouthguard (in a U-shape, so it's only wrapping around the teeth and not filling the rest of the mouth, leaving the tongue free to activate the trigger without leaving it dangerously-close to doing so accidentally), with the bits that grip the teeth having a good deal of give to them (so the recoil isn't going right into the teeth and likely knocking them out of place* when used for anything other than rather low-power cartridges) and perhaps a part that extends over the lips to brace against the face (sort-of like on a pacifer), that might be workable. You'll also probably need the breech well forward of the mouthguard so there's some distance between your face and the hot brass. Still feels a bit silly, but maybe it's workable, particularly in a sufficiently-cinematic setting. I'd probably have such weapons have -1 Bulk compared to normal pistols (they functionally have something akin to a pistol brace installed on them), and probably have them apply a further -1 to Holdout (the long mouthguard normally doesn't add to Bulk because it's inside your mouth, but when it's out of your mouth it would). You may be able to holster it at your shoulder or on your chest, with the mouthguard sticking out (you'd need to nudge whatever is covering it to the side first if you have it concealed) for you to bite into and draw it.

*I think canids normally have their teeth much better-attached to the rest of them than do humans, given the way they often feed in the wild and how dogs love to play pulling games with rope and the like. But even so, I wouldn't expect them to hold up very well to recoil without some means of softening the blow. Assuming the quadrupeds are similar, of course.

I don't think it's cinematic so much as solving a hard problem (having a 'handheld' weapon when the most handlike thing you have is your mouth) the best way available. It's not great, but it's still best in class for lack of competition.

You can place the trigger wherever you want it, there's no reason you need to put it in a place you can't avoid actuating. If you put the trigger near the front of the mouth actuated by pulling towards the back, I think it wouldn't be any easier to do by accident than the human style. It's certainly much better than a trigger actuated by biting down as per the OP!

There are a number of ways to go at shock mitigation (I'd suggest cushioning material and having much of the force go to the gums rather than teeth) but depending on your dentition it definitely is a likely literal pain point. You're also firing even closer to your ears than human shooters, which won't be fun.