AMMO MODIFICATIONS
This section lists some of the many
ways you can alter ammunition to be more effective. Note that the following
ammunition types cannot be used in conjunction to stack there effects:
Unstackable Mods Type 1: Armour
Piercing, High Armour Piercing
Unstackable Mods Type 2: Dum-dum,
Glaser
Unstackable Mods Type 3:
Man-stopper, Scatter Shot
Unstackable Mods Type 4: Hot-shot
cell, Hellfire cell, Solar charging cell
Armour Piercing: This ammunition
modification can be applied to piercing or slashing projectile weapons. The
bullet is covered in a very low friction metal like teflon or kevlar. The
bullet has a greater chance of penetrating armour. The cost of the ammuninition
is 1 DC greater than normal. +2 damage against targets in armour. -2 damage
against targets with no armour. Piercing weapons only.
Beanbag: This is a
weapon for shotguns. Instead of firing bullets in an explosive burst the weapon
fired contains a bag of beans. The impact of the attack can render a man
unconscious, particularly if fired at the head. Bolt ammo or 12 gauge only can
be modified in this way. Bolt ammo made ‘Beanbag’ can only be mounted in an
Executioner Shotgun not in a boltpistol, boltgun, stormbolter or heavy-bolter.
The effect of this ammunition modification is that it makes the damage dealt
non-lethal. Bean-bag ammo cannot also be high-explosive, armour piercing or
have another similar modification. The only mod a Beanbag can use normally is
Man Stopper. Beanbag ammo is 1 DC cheaper to purchase than regular shotgun ammo
and 2 DC cheaper to purchase than regular bolt ammo.
Bio-Agent Coating:
Unfortunately for its victims, biological warfare continues to be a common part
of combat even in the Fusion Age. Bio-agent ammunition is a logical extension
of previous military tactics with regards to biological warfare. Bio-agent
ammunition contains a miniscule amount of a biological weapon inside an
insulated chamber within each round. Use of bio-agent ammunition causes a –1
penalty to damage. However, any living creature damaged by the round is
injected with a poisonous bio-agent with effects identical to cyanogen gas.
(See the poisons and gasses section.) Bio-agent ammo adds +3 to the purchase DC
of the ammunition. Atomic and energy based weapons cannot be given this
ammunition modification.
Deflecting Ammo:
Deflecting ammunition creates a gravity deflection field that causes the
bullets to bounce off walls. When used properly, deflecting ammunition can be
bounced around any barrier, around corners, underneath vehicles, and so forth
for maximum penetration potential. Any character using deflecting ammunition
immediately gains the benefit of the Skip Shot feat. Atomic and energy based
weapons cannot be given this ammunition modification. Deflecting ammo is very
hard to find and uses extremely rare technology. They add +6 to the purchase DC
of the ammunition.
Dum-Dum: Dum-dum shells
can easily be made as a quick modification on physical bullets – only
stub-ammo, auto-ammo and heavy auto ammo can take this modification – by
carving an X on the cap. Weapon deals +1 damage but if the opponent is wearing
armour he gets a +2 to his Damage Reduction. There is no additional cost to the
purchase DC of the ammunition; this is a home-made mod.
Expanded Magazine: Some weapon engineers recognize that stopping to reload a
weapon in combat is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening maneuver.
Taking steps to reduce the amount of time required to keep the weapon full,
these engineers have increased the ammunition capacity of the weapon to reduce
the frequency with which it must be reloaded. Any weapon with the expanded
magazine gadget doubles its normal magazine capacity. This gadget may only be
taken once per weapon. Expanded
magazines add +2 to the purchase DC of the ammunition.
Glaser: These weapons
are professionally designed Dum-Dum bullets. They bite deeply into flesh but
are easily prevented by even a light bulletproof vest. Glaser rounds cost +1
purchase DC and can only be applied on physical bullets: -ammo, auto-ammo and
heavy auto ammo. Weapon deals +2 damage but if the opponent is wearing armour
he gets a +4 to his Damage Reduction.
Hellfire Energy Cell:
Hellfire energy cells are those used in the notorious ‘hellguns’ of the
Imperial Guard shock troopers. They cost +2 DC per energy cell and add a +1
bonus to the laser weapons DRP. Hellfire Energy Cells cannot be recharged by
plugging them into an electric outlet. Small and Large energy cells only.
High Armour Piercing:
The weapon is coated with depleted uranium or another highly volatile compound.
The damage reduction penetration of the weapon increases by 1. Additionally it
acts like ordinary AP ammo. (+2 damage against targets in armour. -2 damage
against targets with no armour.) Atomic and energy based weapons cannot be
given this ammunition modification.
High-Explosive: The
explosive is given a considerable additional bang because of the increase of
special chemicals in the bullet frame. The high-explosive ammo mod adds a +1
die of damage to the weapon. Explosive damage types only. High Explosive adds
+4 to the purchase DC of the ammunition.
Hot Shot Cell: The
weapon uses a prototype power unit that drains of energy very quickly and makes
the weapon slightly more unpredictable. This modificaiton can be applied to
small energy cells, large energy cells, small atomic powerpacks and large
atomic powerpacks. The effect is to deal +1 die of damage. Each shot uses 5
charges rather than 1. Charges drained in this way cannot be recharged. The
weapon suffers a melt-down in the same way as a plasma-gun if the target rolls
a 1. In the case that the weapon already suffers a chance to meltdown then the
chance is increased by 1. (Eg: A plasma-gun melts down on high-power on a 1d20
roll of 1 or 2. With a Hot-Shot Atomic Powerpack it suffers a meltdown on a
1d20 roll of 1-3.) Hot Shot cells cost +6 DC.
Man Stopper: Manstopper
shells are typically used by Adeptus Arbites to capture enemies. Man Stopper is
the only modification that can be stacked with beanbag ammunition. Bolt ammo or
12 gauge only. Target struck must pass a Balance check DC of your attack roll
or be knocked prone. In addition failing the balance check knocks the character
back 5ft per 5 points of damage inflicted. Bolt ammo made ‘Man Stopper’ can
only be mounted in an Executioner Shotgun not in a boltpistol, boltgun,
stormbolter or heavy-bolter. Man Stopper ammo is 1 DC more expensive to
purchase than regular shotgun ammo and 2 DC more expensive to purchase than
regular bolt ammo.
Scatter Shot: This
modification causes a shotgun or executioner shotgun to fire its bolt or 12
gauge round in an even greater spread of fire. Bolt ammo or 12 gauge only. When
a target is struck a 10’ radius burst centered on the target occurs. Nearby
targets must pass Reflex DC 15 or talk half damage. Bolt ammo made ‘Scatter
Shot’ can only be mounted in an Executioner Shotgun not in a boltpistol,
boltgun, stormbolter or heavy-bolter. Scatter Shot ammo is 2 DC more expensive
to purchase than regular shotgun ammo and 3 DC more expensive to purchase than
regular bolt ammo.
Seeker Ammo: Each round
of seeker ammunition contains a microscopic computer and gravity-bending
generators. When seeking ammunition leaves the chamber, it immediately detects
the distance to its current target. If that target moves, the gravity
generators nudge the bullet into a new trajectory to intercept its target at
its new location. Seeking ammunition grants a +1 bonus on all ranged attacks.
Seeker ammo is very hard to find and uses extremely rare technology. They add
+12 to the purchase DC of the ammunition.
Solar Charging: The
advantage of most laser weapons is they rely on an energy cell which can be
recharged by electricity. Solar panels allow the weapon to recharge even when
no outlet is available or even during combat. A solar charging cell recharges
energy at a rate of 1 charge per minute (10 rounds). +4 credit DC.
Subsonic/Cold-Loaded:
Cost +2 DC, +1 DC respectively. See Ultramodern Firearms for more details.
Synthetic Metals: The ammunition is crafted entirely from synethic plastics
and does not trigger metal detectors. The weapon may still trigger the metal
detector but not if it too is synthetic. Other weapon sensors are also baffled;
this ammo mod grants a +4 bonus on any checks made to conceal the ammo from
sensors in general. The ammo mod adds +2 to the Purchase DC. If synthetic
metals is chosen the only other ammo mod that can be applied is Dum-Dum.