Ammunition Types

Firearms may be loaded with a variety of different types of ammunition. The various ammo types have advantages and disadvantages that should be weighed when selecting a firearm and ammo. While some combinations are impossible, most classifications of ammunition can be combined with others. For example, while armor-piercing incendiary rounds are possible, Dragon's Breath flechettes are not.

10-gauge and heavier shotguns inflict nonlethal damage on their user when fired. There are modifications and feats that can mitigate this damage.

Ammunition with a bonus or penalty to its attack modifier versus armor apply that bonus or penalty when a target has a natural or armor bonus to defense of greater than +2. Bonuses to-hit cannot exceed the target's armor bonus to AC.

Armor Piercing rounds have superior performance against armored targets, but suffer a damage penalty against all targets.

Ball is the technical name for solid lead projectile ammo. It is the most common ammo type and has no bonuses or penalties.

Birdshot is a shotgun round that uses smaller pellets. It is generally considered inferior as a combat load.

Buckshot is the standard shotgun load and inflicts full damage in the first range increment, thereafter suffering a -1 die penalty to damage per increment beyond the first. Shotguns suffer no penalties to-hit for range.

Cold Load rounds are intended for covert, close-range use. While they arenearly completely silent when fired from a suppressed weapon they suffer penalties to-hit and damage for every range increment beyond the first. A DC 15 Listen check is required to notice the sound of the firing of a cold-loaded round in a weapon fitted with a suppressor. Any penalties levied cold loaded ammo stack with those levied by a suppressor.

CS shotgun shells are essentially tiny tear gas grenades. The listed damage is caused when a character is struck directly by the shell but generally users aim at a square rather than a target. On the round it is fired it fills the square it strikes with a cloud of standard CS gas, which spreads to all adjacent squares the round after. The gas disperses after 10 rounds, half that in light winds, and 1 round in a strong wind. Any character encountering the gas must pass a DC 20 Fort save or be stunned for 1d6 rounds, at the conclusion of which (or immediately if they pass the save) they are shaken for 1d6 rounds.

Dragon's Breath shotgun shells essentially transform a shotgun into a light flamethrower, creating a jet of flame in a 20' line that causes 3d6 damage, halved with a successful DC 15 Reflex save. They do not generate sufficient chamber pressure to actuate an automatic or semiautomatic firearm, so weapons using them must have their actions worked by hand in a single shot fashion. Additionally, any weapon firing a Dragon shell becomes unreliable until it has undergone maintenance. Dragon's Breath shells carry an explosion risk in the same fashion as Explosive and Incendiary rounds.

Explosive and Incendiary rounds inflict substantially increased damage, but if the character carrying them ever suffers more than 10 points of damage from fire, falling, or an explosion he must make a DC 20 Fort save. If failed, all such rounds on the character's person explode and inflict 4 points of damage per round in a 5' radius. Characters in the adjacent spaces may make a DC 20 Reflex save to halve this damage.

Flechette rounds are an expensive shotgun load that offers greater damage at range but suffers greatly against armored targets. They do full damage in the first range increment only, suffering a cumulative -2 penalty for each increment thereafter.

Hollow Point and Glaser rounds are frangible rounds designed to fragment inside a target for superior energy transfer. They do greater damage but suffer penalties against armored targets.

Hot Load rounds may be combined with other ammunition types, but multiple sources of unreliability stack. Thus, a gun firing AET hot loads inflicts +4 damage, but misfires on a natural 1 or 2.

Riot ammunition such as rock salt or beanbag rounds inflicts nonlethal damage. Due to non-optimal ballistic characteristics they do not receive the standard shotgun to-hit bonus.

Tracer rounds provide an equipment bonus to hit, but the user suffers a -2 penalty to AC until the start of his next turn. Additionally, Reflex save DCs for autofire attacks made with tracer rounds gain a +2 equipment bonus.