Equipment:
Ammunition
There are many exotic rounds that can be purchased for projectile weapons. Special rounds can be used so long as the type is appropriate for the firearm. The rounds are purchased based on a multiplier of the base ammunition price. Characters may have magazines with different types of rounds, swapping as needed.
The same ammunition types may be purchased for railguns, but the cost is tripled.
| Ammunition Type |
Cost Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Antipersonnel | x1.2 |
| AP | x2 |
| Explosive | x1.5 |
| HEAP | x2.5 |
| Heatseeker | x3 |
| Hellfire | x3 |
| Incendiary | x1.5 |
| Powder | x1 |
Antipersonnel Rounds: Antipersonnel rounds, restricted to law enforcement and military use, have a devastating effect against unarmored opponents. They are designed to break up on impact, sending numerous small fragments tumbling through the body. When using an antipersonnel round, the target's armor bonus or natural armor bonus is tripled. If the attack hits, the round inflicts double normal damage. The hardness of objects or cover is also tripled.
Armor-Piercing Rounds: AP rounds are restricted to military personnel. This ammunition type eliminates up to 5 points of armor bonus, natural armor bonus, or hardness. Armor-piercing rounds tend to pass right through their target. As a result, they suffer a -2 penalty on all damage rolls.
Explosive Rounds: This ammunition is restricted to military personnel. Explosive rounds detonate on impact with their target, dealing half fire damage and half piercing damage. The damage for an explosive round is double the weapon's base damage.
HEAP Rounds: This costly ammunition combines the effects of armor-piercing and explosive rounds. The round eliminates up to 5 points of armor bonus, natural armor bonus, or hardness and deals double the base weapon damage. The damage is half fire and half piercing, and the explosive effect eliminates the damage penalty normally associated with armor piercing ammunition.
Heatseeker: These munitions can only be fired from gyrojet weapons. Heatseeker rockets gain a +2 circumstance bonus on attack rolls against living creatures, vehicles, robots, and other targets with a noticable thermal signature. Heatseekers also ignore any miss chances due to concealment against such targets. They are notoriously ineffective against undead, constructs, and most plants.
Hellfire Rounds: A hellfire round consists of a magnetic capsule that contains a microscopic quantity of antimatter. While miniscule, the antimatter is sufficient to release dangerous levels of heat and radiation. Superconducting loops create the capsule and can maintain it indefinitely. Hellfire rounds have an effective hardness of 20.
A weapon firing a hellfire round deals radiation damage. Damage is measured in doses of radiation the target is exposed to. Hellfire rounds are outlawed except for military use, and even military units are restricted in their use.
Incendiary Rounds: Composed of a powder that volatizes quickly when exposed to air, these rounds shatter upon impact. A flare of heat is released, possibly igniting the target. Restricted to military use, incendiary rounds have particularly poor penetration. Armor bonuses and natural amror bonuses are doubled against attacks by incendiary rounds. The rounds inflict three times normal damage by weapon type, and the damage is fire damage. The round burns up completely after the first range increment, so distant shots are impossible. These rounds function only in a normal atmosphere. Underwater versions have the same cost, and do not work out of water. Oxidant versions do not require air and work anywhere. Oxidant incendiary rounds cost three times what normal incendiary rounds cost. If an incendiary round cannot burn, such as a normal round in vacuum, it is treated as a powder round.
Powder Rounds: Composed of compressed powder, these rounds vaporize when they meet any cover or resistance. Damage is halved and treated as subdual damage. Objects take 1/4 damage from powder rounds. Powder rounds are uncommon among soldiers and adventurers, but they are very useful for crowd control and disarming suspects.