Scary Black Guns

Minimum rules for firearms in The Black Hack

A firearm is a ranged weapon with a range band and an ammunition die. Everything else comes from rules The Black Hack already has: DEX tests, class and HD damage, Advantage and Disadvantage, Armor Points, Usage dice and Powerful Opponents.

Shooting

A firearm attack is a DEX test; so is avoiding a shot. Damage comes from the shooter's class or HD, not the gun. The two-handed rule does not apply to firearms. Powerful Opponents applies to shooting and avoiding shots like any other test.

Advantage	Disadvantage
Stationary, braced or shouldered shot	Target in partial cover (full cover blocks the shot)
Target unaware of the shooter	Target one band beyond Effective range
Target much larger than human	Long gun fired at Close (pistols ignore RAW's Close penalty)

Stacking. Each Advantage cancels one Disadvantage. The side with more sets the roll; a tie rolls normally. A test never uses more than one extra d20.

Monsters shooting. Apply the table from the monster's side, inverted for the PC's avoid test: a monster's steady shot gives the PC Disadvantage, and a PC in cover gets Advantage.

Firing into melee. When a shot at a target Close to a PC ally misses, the ally tests DEX or takes the damage. An NPC ally takes the damage. A natural 20 jams instead of hitting the ally.

Range and weapons

Each firearm has an Effective band. Shots within it test normally, one band beyond is at Disadvantage, and anything farther is out of reach. The Usage die is a typical loadout; adjust it for what the character actually carries.

Weapon type	Effective	Typical Usage die
Holdout pistol	Close	d4
Pistol or revolver	Nearby	d8
Shotgun	Nearby	d6
SMG or assault rifle	Nearby / Far-Away	d10
Hunting or battle rifle	Far-Away	d8
Scoped rifle	Distant	d6
Belt-fed machine gun	Far-Away	d20

Other eras. A muzzle-loader takes one action to reload after every shot. An energy weapon's Usage die is its power cell.

Ammunition and jams

The Usage die tracks ammunition carried, not magazine size. Roll it after each round the weapon fired in. If the weapon fired full-auto, roll it twice.

Full-auto. Against one target, roll damage twice and keep the higher. Against several targets Close to each other, attack each at Disadvantage.

Jams. A natural 20 on a firearm attack misses and jams the weapon. Clearing it takes one action.

Reloading. A spare magazine, clip, or belt occupies one encumbrance slot. Replacing ammunition takes at least one action, depending on the weapon.

Armor

Armor stops gunfire like any other damage, using RAW's Armor Points. Historical and future armor map onto the same scale by how well it protects.

Armor	AP	Notes
Stab vest	2
Ballistic helmet	2	Stacks with other armor, like a Small shield
Soft vest	4	Concealable
Ballistic shield	4	As a Large shield; one hand
Plate carrier	6–8	By plate coverage
Bomb disposal suit	10	Counts as several items for encumbrance

Stunners

Stunners deal no damage and never cause an Out of Action roll. A stunned target is unconscious for d4 Moments.

• PC firing: a normal DEX attack. A hit stuns the target.
• PC targeted: test DEX to avoid the hit. If hit, test CON or be stunned.

Powerful Opponents applies to all three tests.

Variant. A monster whose HD exceeds the shooter's level is immobile for one Moment instead of unconscious. Use this if one hit dropping a boss is too easy for your table.

Optional class feature: Gunslinging

For settings that revel in ballistic excess. This matches RAW's Warrior, who gets one attack per level.

• As part of their action, a Gunslinger makes one firearm attack per level.
• Roll the weapon's Usage die once per Moment of shooting, instead of after the fight.
• Jams don't interrupt the barrage. After resolving all attacks, make one DEX test. On a success, ignore every jam from that barrage. A natural 20 on this test fails, as always.