Weapons Malfunctions

PCs, whether adventurers or military, often find themselves in situation where their gun is the only thing they can depend on to live long enough to see the next sunrise. It's a given that when the fecal material hits the fan, that trusty weapon will save the PCs bacon. Unfortunately, guns, like all mechanical things, are subject to problems. What happens when guns go bad?

Whenever a PC fires a gun, there is always the chance of rolling the dreaded '2', the critical failure. also, cheap, shoddy or poorly cared for weapons can have increased chance of malfunction. For example, a Cr50 revolver bought in a pawnshop and showing signs of mistreatment may malfunction on a roll of 3-, or even 4- if the GM is particularly sadistic. Weapons skill will allow the PC to determine the relative quality of a firearms by inspection. Additionally, poor quality ammunition will increase the likelyhood of a weapons malfunction

Malfunction modifiers

Base Roll for a malfunction is 2 on 2d6
DM
Poor quality weapon -1
Lack of recent maintenance and cleaning -1
Rust or corrosion (severe lack of maintenance) -2
Exposure to corrosives, abrasives, etc* -1/day
Poor quality ammunition -1
Battlefield Pickup Ammunition** -2

* Weapons can be designed to survive in corrosive or insideous atmospheres at 10x their normal cost.

**Battlefield Pickup is ammunition scrounged from areas of battle.

When a malfunction happens , the player should roll 2d6 on the following table to determine the effect.

Conventional Firearms

Roll Malfunction effect/resolution
2 Structural Failure The weapon explodes, doing 1/2 damage (rounded up) to anyone with close range.
3 Structural Failure The weapon explodes, doing 1/2 damage (rounded up) to the firer.
4 Breakage A broken part must be repaired or replaced. Requires at least mechanical or gunsmith and the new part or materials to fabricate one.
5 Action Jammed A severe jam that cannot be cleared in the field. Your gun is now a club. See the armorer.
6 Action Jammed A severe jam that can be cleared in the field, given time. Clearing the jam requires 1d6 turns, less1 turn per level weapon skill or mechanical
7 Stoppage A simple but severe weapons stoppage. Immediate action drill will clear the weapon. Roll 8+ -weapons skill to clear within the current round. If the PC fails the roll, it will require an additional round to clear.
8 Stoppage A simple but moderate weapons stoppage. Immediate action drill will clear the weapon. Roll 5+ -weapons skill to clear within the current round. If the PC fails the roll, it will require an additional round to clear.
9 Stoppage A simple weapons stoppage. Immediate action drill will clear the weapon.
10 'Click' Gun not loaded/empty. Oops! PC must load/reload weapon
11 'Click' Round not chambered/ dud in chamber. PC loses one round while cycling the action, revolvers may fire next round in chamber at DM-3 to hit.
12 Safety The safety is on. PCs with weapons skill may fire at -3DM. PCs without the requisite weapon skill lose a round of firing while cursing their own stupidity

Stoppage Modifiers DM Cost
Cheap or poorly maintained weapon -3 50%
High quality weapons +2 125%
MilSpec Weapon +3 200%

*MilSpec in this system indicates the weapons meets requirements for issue to Imperial forces. These requirements are rigorous and take into accound varying environments. Civilian weapons can be built 'MilSpec'. MilSpec weapons will typically have about 10-20% more mass than non-MilSpec weapons due to heavier, more rugged construction.