| Register Now | |
| My Points | |
| My Games | |
Join a brotherhood of the finest warriors in the universe
| Page 2 of 2 (22 messages) | « First page... 1 2 |
RenoDM said:
When it comes to tracking ammo something I've had players do in other games is use piles of those little glass "stones". The small ones are perfect and their easy to keep in a little plastic container. We put as many stones in the container as one clips worth of ammo and remove the stones as shots are used up. When the clip is changed simply pick up all the stones and put them back in the cup (or the other way around).
I like using visual/tactile methods like this because it tends to keep the players at my table more focused on the game then writing and erasing on their character sheet. It also tends to make sure ammo is kept track of accurately without becoming a management hassle or being distracting.
I just stole this from you, so much easier than my scatch paper, and gives me something to use my life/honor counters for now that i don't play L5R anymore. I have to track my ammo, its a compulsion, i've played too much Post Apoc stuff not to.
Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
Sun-tzu
Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
I do something similar to the stones, but use poker chips instead. Every time people start shooting they have to hand in poker chips of appropriate value.
Around the corner there may wait, a new road, or secrete gate.
-J.R.R. Tolkien
Back in the old Cyberpunk days I've seen sheets of paper with cross- sections of clips. You'd prepare the clips by using pen to fill in the bullets from the bottom up to the correct number in the clip then use pencil to cross of rounds as you fire them. Worked well.
BUT! The cool thing I've seen (in these forums?) for Dark Heresy was an awesome circular ammo counter. You pinned it in the middle and turned the top circle window to show the current number of rounds and clips. It's easy and makes counting ammo novel, so encorages the player.
Is the person who made those around still? Any chance of making those for Marine weapons? Unlike Dark Heresy we are now dealing with nice, standardised weapons so it should be easy.
This disclaimer has been automatically added.
Aajav-Khan said:
N0-1_H3r3 said:
It depends on the group, really.
Yes. Having played most "ammo-dependent" RPG`s available trough the years ( Twilight 2000, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun etc etc. ), counting ammo is a learned reflex. It is just something you do. It gives a sense of realism. Abstracting ammo reserves ( for a PC ) just feels...wrong. YMMV.
Aajav-Khan said:
N0-1_H3r3 said:
It depends on the group, really.
Yes. Having played most "ammo-dependent" RPG`s available trough the years ( Twilight 2000, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun etc etc. ), counting ammo is a learned reflex. It is just something you do. It gives a sense of realism. Abstracting ammo reserves ( for a PC ) just feels...wrong. YMMV.
Indeed it does vary. I can count round-by-round when I'm running a character, but nearly everyone else I've run games for doesn't do it/can't be bothered/forgets/fudges/misses the count.
So I really really hate tracking ammo and look for ways around it - especially for games where there is a cinematic feel to the action (or those where such a feeling is laid on).
For special ammo like Kraken rounds, yes, count it shot-by-shot of course. Or 6-shot revolvers or low-cap shotguns, grenade launchers or one-shot muskets where it's easy to count. But for automatic and semi-automatic weapons, either got ammo or you don't and that's what matters to me anyway.
YMMV indeed. ;-)
Without Signature
I found it! The PDF of the "MK1 Ammo Counter by Luther" is still on Dark Reign.
http://www.torsononline.com/images/AmmoCounterSampleBlank.pdf
Now if someone could only make pretty Astartes bolt weapon versions...
This disclaimer has been automatically added.
Stinger said:
Counting shots fired sucks and enforcing it in the middle of a fight is bothersome, people never properly keep track or forget to do it at all, IME.
What I'm going to do is, during any individual engagement, I won't worry about ammunition expenditure for the Marines, assuming reloads just happen. But if someone rolls a jam, then I'll give the player the option of actually having a jam that needs to be cleared or running out of ammo and needing to reload (they'll just get the reload as a free action - that's the tradeoff for the reload using up ammo).
Then, when the fight is over, each character rolls BS (representing their fire discipline) and if they fail, their ammunition level is reduced a step - Full > Depleted > Low > Out. If they rolled a jam in the fight and chose the reload instead of the jam, the ammo level automatically depletes without a roll.
Or something like that.
That's actually not a bad method Stinger.
I want him in the games until he dies playing.
Oh, I dunno, abstracting it in Stinger's method seems workable, and even contextually thematic. A marine can run out of ammo, but still mow down hordes of foes as we are so used to reading/experiencing in the fluff and war-game. Stinger's method seems to fit that bill, and has the side benefit of rewarding another abstract in terms of the marine's practiced weapon discipline. There are further refinements that could be made to the idea, but as a general balance between bookkeeping and action it seems useful.
I want him in the games until he dies playing.
| Page 2 of 2 (22 messages) | « First page... 1 2 |
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact | User Support | Rules Questions | Help | RSS