House Scopes / Sniping rules

[Oleyo]

I wanted a more robust rules system for scopes than are in the current rules so I made some house rules.  My reasoning is that the current scope rules seem a bit arbitrary in the way it handles range increments  Also, I feel that even with a high power scope, long shots should still be more difficult than close ones, due to the bullet being in the air so long, more subject to wind and subtle target movement.

These rules are designed to have the following effects:
* Make scope ranges feel less "random" and be more usefull outside optimum range.
* Make long shots scale up in difficulty, even with scopes.

It works with only two small rule alterations:
 
Rule 1:
The Aim action remains the same but also states:  "an Aim action is required to make use of a mounted scope.  Additionally, when aiming with a scope, the per increment range penalty is reduced from -2 to -1

Rule 2:
I threw out the old scope stats and gave each "native" range increments, whithin which a bonus of +1 is applied.

1.5-4x - Increment 2-3
4.1-8x - Increment 4-5
8.1-16x - Increment 6-7
16.1x + - Increment 8-10


Thus, at max range of 10 increments, with an 18x scope, there will still be a meaty penalty of -7 (-9 for the nine increments after the first, +1 for aim, and a +1 "scope" bonus).

This seems apropriately difficult for absolute extreme range shots and gives sniper characters a chance to shine with high BAB, brace, match grade amunition, marksman feats, sharpshooter feats, and weapon upgrades.

At, only the second range increment, with say, a 2x scope, there is actually a total +1 bonus (-1 range penalty for one past the first, +1 Aim, +1 scope)  So, shooting doesn't get too hard until much farther out.

My system seems not to break any other game mechanics, and seems to work well with game mechanics which increase the users range increments (aka marksman feats) but let me know if you find any hitches, or if you have any tweaks!

[Mister Andersen]

If you want to make things such as windage a factor, simply say "you need to take an aim action for each increment between you and your target"

[Oleyo]

Thats a good thought...increase the time to aim at distant targets.  It wouldnt change the way the scopes work though, which is something I don't like in the rules.  Thanks for the insight!

I have only GM'd 2 sessions with SC 2.0 (actually my first ever) so next game session I will actually play test these rules.  For the most part I really love the mechanics of SC 2.0.  It is a really robust framwork of rules, and I find modification to be fun and easy.  I especially like the "tricks" that can be applied to actions.  This is a great mechanic for actions that are dependent on, or restricted to certain situations, eg. other actions.

OK, I just had to get that off my chest and give the folks at crafty some props.  Keep up the good work, guys!

[Desertpuma]

I like this idea.