Pyramid #3/57: Gunplay
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Stock #37-2657 COVER ART INTERIOR ART CONTENTS Bruce Popky Greg Hyland FROM THE EDITOR . 3 MODERN WARFIGHTER : G EAR . 4 N HIS I T by Kenneth Peters THE DEVIL ’S CHARIOT . 16 by Hans-Christian Vortisch ISSUE EIDETIC MEMORY : Our aim is true in this month’s Pyramid! We’re looking at all aspects of gunplay, with new weapons, options, gear, and more. BROCK -A VERY GUNS . 23 by David L. Pulver It’s not enough to be able to shoot the enemy – you have to get there first. You’ll find everything you need with Modern DODGE THIS . 27 Warfighter: Gear. From warfighter and GURPS Ultra-Tech by Douglas Cole co-author Kenneth Peters, learn what members of modern professional land forces carry into the field, with GURPS stats THE NOCK VOLLEY GUN . 31 for new gun-thwarting body armor and an arsenal of other by Graeme Davis support equipment. Once they’re outfitted, those warfighters, mercenaries, and MAGIC BULLETS . 34 monster hunters can get a lift in The Devil’s Chariot. Hans- by Christopher R. Rice Christian Vortisch – marksman behind GURPS Tactical Shooting – provides details, usage ideas, and GURPS stats for RANDOM THOUGHT TABLE : the popular Russian “Hind” helicopter . along with the big MAKE EACH SHOT COUNT . 36 guns it wields. by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor Explore the rise of a potential weapon source in this month’s Eidetic Memory. GURPS Mass Combat author David ODDS AND ENDS . 38 L. Pulver reveals the fictional history and GURPS stats of the Brock-Avery Guns, from their first TL5 flintlock through mod - ABOUT GURPS . 39 ern-day arms. Add a new line of weapons your heroes have never heard of before . The best way to deal with weaponry wounds is not to get hit in the first place! When your shooting matches aren’t realistic enough, you should Dodge This. Find out how to use existing ® GURPS rules – or add minor optional tweaks – to make dodg - ing, parrying, and blocking more satisfying experiences in your adventures. ® For your Wild West and 18th-century high-seas adventures, be sure to grab The Nock Volley Gun. GURPS Crusades co- author Graeme Davis reveals the history and GURPS stats of this intimidating seven-barrel carbine from another time. You already know to choose your ammunition based on Article Colors what you expect to shoot. When your targets are supernatural, Each article is color-coded to help you find your you need more than ordinary ammo; it’s time to turn to Magic favorite sections. Bullets. With these GURPS costs and simplified stats, you’ll find the right combination for any situation – no matter how exotic. Pale Blue: In This Issue This month’s Random Thought Table examines how to Brown: In Every Issue (letters, humor, editorial, etc.) make every hero’s shot count, Odds and Ends looks at existing Green: Columnist ammo resources and unexpected weapon situations, and a Dark Blue: GURPS Features well-armed Murphy’s Rules means you no harm . honest. If you’re looking for an issue with kick, you need to pull the Purple: Systemless Features trigger on this one. With rules, tools, rods, and rides, Pyramid #3/57 might just be our Magnum opus! Editor-in-Chief T STEVE JACKSON Art Director T SAMUEL MITSCHKE Chief Operating Officer T PHILIP REED e23 Manager T STEVEN MARSH Assistant Art Director T Marketing Director T LEONARD BALSERA GURPS Line Editor T SEAN PUNCH BRIDGET WESTERMAN Director of Sales T ROSS JEPSON Assistant GURPS Line Editor T Production Artist T NIKOLA VRTIS Page Design T PHIL REED and JASON “PK” LEVINE Prepress Checker T MONICA STEPHENS JUSTIN DE WITT PYRAMID MAGAZINE 2JULY 2013 FROM THE EDITOR GURPS has always been a great game for those who love FROM GUN THE EDITOR ? guns . or even those who didn’t know they loved guns, until This issue revolves around all things gun-related – including they discovered a game that made ’em fun. We hope our aim intel of interest to those who sling firearms to get the job done was true with this locked and loaded issue of Pyramid! (or just want to get out of their way). For many folks in near- modern campaigns, the choice of weapon is one of the first questions that helps shape character creation; someone who favors a shotgun almost certainly evokes a different image than More guns and more gear a hero with two silver revolvers or an AK-47. Fortunately, even with as specific a topic as “gunplay,” it’s mean more adventure! still a wide-open area . and the assortment of subjects here should provide a lot of opportunities and options even for gamers who already have a weapon of choice. Plus, new ideas mean you might come up with predicaments you never con - WRITE HERE , W RITE NOW sidered: A plethora of magic-bullet options (pp. 34-35) gives Despite the header above, we don’t really want you to gun you reason to go up against new threats that only succumb to down the editor as commentary about this issue. We’d much magic bullets. Having a whole new (fictitious) company that’s rather hear your thoughts using words! Did you find the gun manufactured weapons throughout the ages (pp. 23-26) issue to be a fun issue? Or was it a misfire? Let us know how well means you can now have a ready-made source of usable we hit the target privately at [email protected] , or join the background material . or even an easy-to-add explanation straight-shooting community at forums.sjgames.com . for the source of Mr. Bigg’s wealth. Pyramid, GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. e23 and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Pyramid is copyright © 2013 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Submission of your photos, letters, humor, captions, and marginalia constitutes permission to Steve Jackson Games Incorporated to use them in all media. All such submissions become the property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and will not be returned. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors’ rights is appreciated. PYRAMID MAGAZINE 3JULY 2013 MODERN WARFIGHTER : GEAR BY KENNETH PETERS The Soldier System includes the Soldier and those items and out combat operations in the complex post-Cold War world. It equipment the Soldier wears, carries, or consumes. It includes all includes the trigger-pullers who directly engage the enemy in items in the Soldier’s load and those items of equipment to firefights, logistics personnel who supply crucial food and accomplish individual tasks and missions (for example, crew- ammunition, intelligence analysts that provide targets and infor - served weapons, inter-unit radios) that the Soldier must carry. mation, and the crews who man many distant support artillery The Soldier System includes physiological, as well as applied and armed drones. It does not refer to any specific branch of capabilities and considerations for the operational environment service (as opposed to “soldier”, “sailor”, “marine”, “airman”, (both natural and man induced) that range from home station to etc.) or nation. the battlefield. Within the broader military community, “warfighter” is a – U.S. Army, TRADOC Pamphlet 525-97 (2006) term of art that refers to any individual responsible for opera - tional decisions that result in the use of military force. This can The raison d’etre for warfighters is to bring deadly force to include members of the political leadership who commit mili - bear on his enemies. To do this, they need weapons (the more tary units to advance political and economic goals on the destructive and portable the better) and all manner of clothing behalf of their nation or patron. and equipment to survive contact with the enemy and accom - plish the many and varied tasks that are the unglamorous side of a warfighter’s duties. As important as the firearms are the non-weapon equipment that a late TL8 infantryman on the bat - tlefields of today and tomorrow carries to get the chance to use The soldier’s body becomes a stock of their bolts of technological lightning. accessories that are no longer his own. What Is a Warfighter? – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Within this particular context, “warfighter” is a generic term for members of any modern, professional land force that carry FULL BATTLE RATTLE Standard Issue: 100-lbs. of the lightest weight gear. and ammunition can still exceed medium e ncumbrance – Anonymous warfighter (p. B17) for a ST 11 warfighter! This reduces the speed that the warfighter can travel (see Encumbrance and Move , p. B17) and Warfighters are expected to chase fleeting targets across penalizes most physical activities by the encumbrance level. mountains, race through devastated urban landscapes, and trek This is a vicious feedback loop that contributes to extra expen - across trackless desert wastes while bearing so much equipment diture of Fatigue Points (see Fighting a Battle , p. B426). that it’s too exhausting to stand, much less run. A player may be happy to outfit his character with little more than an assault rifle, bandolier of ammo, loincloth, and a grin, but actual ASIC EAR warfighters are burdened by equipment lists with items that B G In addition to their uniform, armor, and weapon, these are range from the absolutely vital to the situationally useful.