Weapon Wear Values

[simonmark6]

These are the rules I used when I had finicky bean counters as players. If each player has a primary and secondary weapon then it's just complicated. If they have several weapons, NPCs and vehicle weapons it becomes very boring.

Another way I worked on it was that any Critical failure caused another roll and if that was a 20 the weapon was broken. Players could also sacrifice kit for a reduction in a wound, usually $10 of kit for one point less damage.

Here are the rules: they are long, boring and probably unworkable in any campaign apart from Accountants and Auditors.

Suggested rules for weapons wear:
1) Condition of a weapon:
The weapon’s condition is very important. It determines the following points:
Maintenance Time (MT): How long it takes to do basic care of the weapon. This is in minutes for basic care and hours for work a gunsmith needs to do.
Maintenance Interval (MI): The number of firefights a weapon goes through before it must be maintained. If no maintenance is done at this point it drops a level. If a weapon is not being used, this is months rather than firefights.
Accuracy: This is a penalty to the hit roll if a weapon is deteriorating.
Range: The lowering of range for deterioration.
Reliability: The lowering of the JAM roll.
2) Effects of Condition:
0: Factory Fresh: MT: Value in Dollars/10/mins. MI: 10 firefights
1: New used: MT: Value in Dollars/10/mins. MI: 9 firefights
2: Great condition: MT Value in Dollars/10/mins: MI: 8 firefights
3: Good condition: MT Value in Dollars/10/mins: MI: 7 firefights
4: Starting to show wear: MT Value in Dollars/10/mins: MI: 6 firefights -2m range
5: Worn: MT Value in Dollars/10/mins: MI: 5 firefights -2m range +1 JAM
6: Quite Worn: MT Value in Dollars/10/mins: MI: 4 firefights -4m range +2 JAM -1 Acc
7: Very Worn: MT Value in Dollars/8/mins: MI: 3 firefights -6m range +3 JAM -2 Acc
8: Worn Out: MT Value in Dollars/6/ mins: MI: 2 firefights -8m range +4 JAM -3 Acc
9: Wreck: MT Value in Dollars/4/mins: MI: 1 firefight -10m range +5 JAM -4 Acc
10: Total Wreck: MT Value in Dollars/2/mins: MI: 1 firefight -12 range +6 JAM -5 Acc
3) Determining Condition:
This can be GM mandate or depend on certain circumstances or quality of the weapons.
User’s Experience: This is based off Initiative.
6+: Best of the best: Weapon Condition 1.
5: Veterans: Weapon Condition 2
4: Experienced: Weapon Condition 3
3: Regulars: Weapon Condition 4
2: Green: weapon Condition 5
1: Untrained: Weapon Condition 6

Other Qualities:
Antique: Weapon is from before WW1: -4 Condition
Old Timer: Weapon is from before WW2: -3 Condition
Long in the tooth: Weapon is from before 1980: -2 Condition
Poor storage: -d6 Condition

Note: This is general advice. In the end, the GM may mandate condition according to the demands of the story.
4) Losing Condition:
Eventually weapons wear out no matter how well they are looked after. Weapons lose condition under the following circumstances:
No maintenance: -1 Condition for every MI missed.
Bad shooting: -1 Condition for every critical miss.
Poor maintenance: -1 Condition for a critical failure of maintenance.
Bad use: -1 for any excessive abuse judged by the GM.
5) Restoring Condition:
Condition can be restored but only if a spare with the right parts can be found. One level of condition can be restored at a time.

Finding the parts: A looted or found or bought weapon of the same type can be used for spare parts. The number of parts that can be gained is equal to the Condition minus 10. To determine if the parts available solve the problem, roll a d100 and check the weapon’s Condition. There is a -10% chance of gaining the right parts for every point of Condition so a Condition 6 rifle has a 40% of finding the right part from a spare.

Eg:
Tommy has a battered M16 with a Condition of 7. He finds another M 16 in a wrecked M2 that is condition 8. He strips it for two parts and rolls to see if either can improve his gun. He rolls a 19 and an 87 with a target of 30%. He gets lucky and finds one part to help him. He fits the part successfully and his gun goes up to WV 6 and loses several minuses to his abilities.

If there are several guns that could be fixed, roll for each weapon. Once the parts have been rolled for they cannot be used for that weapon again until it drops a Condition band. You can roll again for a different rifle however.

Note: No weapon can rise from 1 to 0.
6) Magazines:
Magazines also wear out and have the following issues:
Condition ranges from 0 to 10 and lose condition as follows:
-1 for every 10 reloads or top up (effectively every 10 firefights)
-1 for bad use
-1 for a monthly roll (roll a d20 and on a 20 lose a point)

Magazines cannot be maintained or fixed.

Effects:
0-5 No effect
6-10 -1 chance for JAM per point. Can be cleared with a recharge.
7) Brass:
Reloading brass can wear it out too.

Every time brass is reloaded it gains one point of wear. A failed gunsmith roll adds an extra point.

Effects:
0-5 none
5+ -1 chance of JAM per point.

Brass cannot be repaired
8) Other issues:
If the GM wishes, the following qualities can be given to guns:

AK: Parts can be gained from any AK family weapon
Lemon: - 1 to wear value
Reliable: Halve MI and MT
Complicated: Double MT

[headquarters]

Barrels wear out - cheap and inferior ammo hasten this in some cases.

Our HK416s are guaranteed for 8 000 rounds from HK given the ammo we are obliged to use in them.

With other types of ammo I am sure You could quadruple that amount before barrel wear is significant. Other parts may go before though.

I like the idea in game terms and try to give weapons individual stats to reflect it. ADnD style - to hit if it spreads..roll another d10 for a certain percentage check to see if it jams or misfires every time the player rolls a 10 when firing.

alter stats - say shorten range to reflect greater inaccuracy etc.

[Raellus]

On a 20 on a to-hit roll, I roll for a stoppage check. Right now, I keep it simple. I roll a two-sided die. On a one the weapon continues to function. On a two, there's a jam (double feed, FTF, or something to that effect) and the player has to spend at least one turn clearing the jam. If I had the time, I might adjust these procedures to reflect weapon wear, increasing the odds of a jam and time to clear it for a weapon with greater wear value. ATM, I just don't have the time to keep track of weapon wear. Keeping track of battery charge/life for my players' electronics is a real time suck and I'm not inclined to do both.

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Raellus

On a 20 on a to-hit roll, I roll for a stoppage check. Right now, I keep it simple. I roll a two-sided die. On a one the weapon continues to function. On a two, there's a jam (double feed, FTF, or something to that effect) and the player has to spend at least one turn clearing the jam. If I had the time, I might adjust these procedures to reflect weapon wear, increasing the odds of a jam and time to clear it for a weapon with greater wear value. ATM, I just don't have the time to keep track of weapon wear. Keeping track of battery charge/life for my players' electronics is a real time suck and I'm not inclined to do both.

not to mention all other variables that hey tend to forget - encumbrance, fatigue, rations etc... having npcs snuff them is so right sometimes...

[swaghauler]

Carried an M60E2 on my HEMTT when I served with the 10th waaaay back in the 90's. The easiest way to use Weapon Wear values without hassle would be to simply reduce the base range band on worn weapons. The M60E4 lost out to the M240B in DOD tests and will be replaced by the MK48 simply because it could only go 1950 mean rounds between failures and the MK48 went almost 2600. That's 10 belts for the PIG. I did a 3 week security detail in Afghanistan about 6 years ago and the troops at Baghram were playing with an AK-47 that had roofing nails where the pins used to hold the trigger assembly in. The barrel was shot smooth. That gun flawlessly cycled about 20 mags as we played with it. Accuracy was s**t, but it still ran. These and other experiences (I shoot 3 gun and IDPA) have told me that a jam mechanic is an unneeded complication. If your gun won't run dirty or worn; there's something more wrong with it.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Raellus

On a 20 on a to-hit roll, I roll for a stoppage check. Right now, I keep it simple. I roll a two-sided die. On a one the weapon continues to function. On a two, there's a jam (double feed, FTF, or something to that effect) and the player has to spend at least one turn clearing the jam. If I had the time, I might adjust these procedures to reflect weapon wear, increasing the odds of a jam and time to clear it for a weapon with greater wear value. ATM, I just don't have the time to keep track of weapon wear. Keeping track of battery charge/life for my players' electronics is a real time suck and I'm not inclined to do both.

Roll a D10 and use the wear value as your target number. Higher than Wear Value equals NO JAM. Wear Value OR Less equals a "Tap, Rack, Bang" drill.

[Cdnwolf]

TWILIGHT 2013 did an extensive look at wear and repairs.

Copyright of the following belongs to those dudes....




Wear

The Reflex System measures the amount of abuse an item has
endured with Wear. The higher an item’s Wear value, the more
worn-out it is. A factory-fresh item has Wear 0, while any item
that reaches Wear 10 has fallen apart and is good only for salvage.

Accruing Wear

A factory-fresh item begins with Wear 0.

During play, each of the following events adds 1 to its Wear value:

It receives sufficient damage to disable it, as per the rule
in Chapter Five for damaging items. In the case of a vehicle, this
criterion is “receives a hit that results in one or more major damage
results.”

It undergoes one period of use (see following) after which it
does not receive preventive maintenance.

While using it, an Unskilled user fails a skill check with a
MoF of 5 or more (butterfingers!).

It receives particularly egregious abuse or misuse (GM’s
opinion; dropping electronics from shoulder height onto concrete,
smashing a car through a chain-link fence after an off-road chase,
or burying a firearm in mud and firing it without cleaning are all
appropriate conditions).

Except at the GM’s discretion, no single item’s Wear can
increase by more than 1 in any given scene.

Effects of Wear

As an item accrues Wear, it exhibits signs of decay in both
appearance and performance. Its reliability declines, making it
more likely that it will break down at an inopportune moment.
Whenever an item accrues a point of Wear, the GM secretly
rolls 1d10. If the die result is less than or equal to the item’s new
Wear value, the item will break the next time it is used (unless it
receives maintenance first - see following). An item that breaks
due to Wear is considered disabled, just as if it had received a
damaging attack.

Severe Use (period of 1 day):

At this level, the equipment
is being sorely taxed and requires constant attention to remain in
good working order. For electronics, severe use is continuous
runtime for more than a week. A vehicle undergoes severe use if it
sees 1,000 road kilometers or 200 off-road kilometers in a single
day. A firearm that fires 250 rounds or more in a single day is
undergoing severe use.

An item’s operating conditions can also affect its use. Use is
considered one level higher if the item is being used in conditions
of excessive humidity, dust, sand, or corrosion (including sea
air). Conversely, the default rules for use assume field conditions;
if the item is being used in the equivalent of complete shelter,
reduce its use by one level for a mechanical item or two levels for
electronics.

Maintenance

After a device undergoes one period of use, it requires
preventive maintenance to maintain its current Wear value.
Preventive maintenance is not intensive mechanical work;
rather, it involves cleaning, lubricating, tightening bolts, checking
connections, running diagnostics, and other time-consuming but
largely trivial tasks. This process requires a number of hours of
work equal to the item’s Maintenance trait, as well as a skill check.
This latter can be either the skill appropriate to using the device
(COG, TN +3) or ATS (COG, TN +5). Alternately, if the character
has at least a Novice rating in either skill, he can expend one unit
of maintenance supplies appropriate to the device for automatic
success. With success, the device does not accrue Wear for the
period of use that just ended.

Example: Leslie’s G36 has Wear 7. Over the past week of play,
Leslie has been involved in three firefights and has expended several
hundred rounds, which constitutes heavy use of the gun. The
weapon now needs maintenance or it will accrue Wear.

Leslie is Unskilled in the Mechanics[Gunsmithing],
but has sufficient skill in Longarm to handle the task.
She makes a Longarm (COG, TN +3) skill check. The G36 is a
fully automatic firearm, so this task requires one hour. Despite
the -3 penalty for the item’s existing Wear value, she succeeds
handily, and her G36’s Wear stays at 7.

The following table lists
suggested Maintenance values for specific broad categories of
equipment.

Weapons

Item Type Maintenance (hrs)
Close combat weapon 0.25
Firearm, simple action (revolver, bolt-, break-, or
pump-action) 0.25
Firearm, semi-automatic 0.5
Firearm, fully automatic 1
Heavy weapon, unguided 2
Artillery 2
Heavy weapon, guided 4
Electronics
Item Type Maintenance (hrs)
Electric light 0.25
Personal entertainment device 0.25
Night-vision optic 1
Radio 2
Computer 3
Sensor (geiger counter, gas detector) 4
Tools
Item Type Maintenance (hrs)
Simple hand tool (personal water filter, multitool) 0.5
Simple large tool (group water filter, parachute) 2
Complex hand tool (sextant, chainsaw) 2
Complex large tool (portable darkroom, hydraulic
power unit) 5

Reconditioning

Preventive maintenance is a vital part of keeping a survivor’s
gear in working order. However, it cannot improve an item’s
condition, only keep it from degenerating further. Actually
restoring an item’s condition (thereby reducing its Wear) is a more
involved task.

Reconditioning an item is a supply-dependent action
requiring one unit of parts. It takes a number of hours equal to the
item’s current Wear times its Maintenance value, as well as an ATS
(COG, TN -2) skill check. With success, the item’s Wear value is
reduced by 1. With a margin of failure greater than 5, the attempt
does more harm than good and the item’s Wear increases by 1.
Reconditioning can never reduce a device’s Wear to 0.

Example: Tired of missing easy shots because of her G36’s condition,
Leslie turns over the gun to Matt for reconditioning. Matt
digs out his stock of spare parts and sets to work. The rifle has
Maintenance 1 and Wear 7, so the task takes 7 hours. It also consumes
one unit of small mechanical parts. Matt makes a Mechanics (COG, TN -2) skill check, suffering an additional -3 penalty for
the gun’s Wear. Despite the penalties facing him, he succeeds.
The G36’s Wear is reduced to 6. While that isn’t enough to completely
remove penalties, it’s a good start.

Cannibalization

Desperate times can call for desperate measures. While
a survivor might not yet be desperate enough to eat his friends,
it’s quite likely that he will at some point find himself taking
components from one disabled device to keep another operational.
This practice is known as cannibalization.
Cannibalizing an item effectively destroys it as the mechanic
disassembles it for useful components. This task takes twice the
item’s Maintenance and requires an ATS (AWA, TN -2) skill check.
With success, the process yields a number of units of parts equal
to the margin of success. With a margin of success of 0, the item
yields no parts but is not (yet) destroyed, and the mechanic can try
again. No cannibalization attempt can ever produce more parts
than (12 - the item’s Wear).

Cannibalization and Reconditioning

Once an item is cannibalized, the parts it yields can
immediately be used to recondition another identical device. If
a character chooses this option and has a Novice or better ATS
skill rating, each reconditioning attempt made with a unit of these
donor parts succeeds automatically and takes half the normal
time. If the parts are saved for later use, this benefit is lost (unless
you really want to engage in the bookkeeping necessary to track
the source of every unit of parts you salvage).

Example: Matt finds another G36 and decides to strip it for parts
for Leslie’s. The donor rifle has Wear 8. Matt makes a Mechanics
(AWA, TN -2) skill check, suffering a -4 penalty for the gun’s
Wear. Matt succeeds with a margin of success of 3 and receives
3 units of small mechanical parts (the maximum he could have
received was 4).

Matt decides to use 2 units of the donor parts to restore Leslie’s
gun from Wear 6 to Wear 4. This takes a total of 5.5 hours (3
hours to reduce Wear 6, plus 2.5 hours to reduce Wear 5) and requires
no skill checks. He tucks the third unit of small mechanical
parts away for later use.

Reconditioning in this manner can reduce a device’s Wear to
0. However, taking a device from Wear 1 to Wear 0 requires 10
units of parts, at least half of which must be cannibalized.

Repair

When a piece of equipment becomes disabled, whether
through combat damage or Wear accrual, it must be repaired
before it can be used as anything but a blunt implement.
Repairing an item is a supply-dependent action requiring a one
unit of parts. It takes a number of hours equal to the item’s current
Wear times its Maintenance value, as well as an ATS (COG) skill
check. With success, the item is repaired and is no longer considered
disabled. With a margin of failure greater than 5, the attempt does
more harm than good and the item is destroyed permanently.


GM Hint: Wear Descriptions

GMs may find the following material useful in describing
the apparent condition of an item.

Wear 0: The item is mechanically and cosmetically
in perfect condition. If it isn’t factory-fresh, it has recently
undergone detailed cleaning and rebuilding at a manufacturer’s
reconditioning facility or the equivalent.

Wear 1: “Only used once; like new.” No cosmetic
deterioration is apparent, and all parts are in working order.

Wear 2: The item has started to show the effects of regular
use, but is still fully functional.

Wear 3-4: The item has started to show signs of heavy
use and internal components display the first hints of erosion.
However, it is still perfectly usable.

Wear 5-7: The item has started to show considerable
signs of use. Working surfaces and delicate components are
wearing down. At this point, its reliability may be suspect, and
its condition begins to complicate attempts to work on it.

Wear 8-9: The item looks, and is starting to function, like
it was dragged down a stretch of bad road and then back up for
good measure. By this point, it is held together by little more
than chewing gum, baling wire, and wishful thinking. It is in
such bad shape that only a specialist will be able to keep it in
working order for any length of time.

Wear 10: The item is no longer functional. Its cosmetic
appearance is deplorable at best. With luck, some parts may still
be salvageable for use in other devices.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

Roll a D10 and use the wear value as your target number. Higher than Wear Value equals NO JAM. Wear Value OR Less equals a "Tap, Rack, Bang" drill.

I really like this. It's simple, logical, and adds realism without adding a lot of paperwork.

-

[swaghauler]

I do my jams just like you (rolled for only on a fumble). One thing I forgot to add in my original post is that I also add a "catastrophic failure" effect for rolling a 10 on the Jam Roll. I consider this to be a malfunction so serious that only an Armorer/Gunsmithing (and it MUST be this skill- no Small Arms substitution here) roll will fix it (taking several minutes). This renders the weapon inoperable for the rest of the combat AND INCREASES its wear value UNLESS the weapon is serviced by someone with Gunsmithing skill and they succeed at an AVE:GUNSMITHING skill check (in addition to the check that restores the weapon to function). A Catastrophic Failure on this roll renders the weapon broken and only suitable as a "parts gun." An Outstanding Success REDUCES the weapon's wear value by one. If the Gunsmithing check that restores function to the weapon is an Outstanding Success; NO wear roll must be made. The weapon remains at its current Wear Value. A Catastrophic Failure on the function check results in the weapon being broken and suitable only for parts (again without the wear prevention roll). This is really the only way I follow weapon wear in my game (there is just too much other crap to worry about). FAIR WARNING! This rule WILL make a "combat skills heavy and maintenance skills light" team stomp their feet and cry.

[swaghauler]

I was called out on my Jam Mechanic by a new player the other night. Eric is so new to gaming that he only has 2 game sessions under his belt. However, he is a very experienced hunter and competitive shooter. He gave me this simplified version of my own Jam Mechanic.

When rolling under the weapon's Wear Value to see if it has jammed; a Roll of 1 on the INITIAL JAM ROLL CAUSES A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE in a weapon with a Wear Value of 6 or greater. A roll of 1 or 2 on the INITIAL JAM ROLL CAUSES A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE in a weapon with a Wear Value of 10.

If a Catastrophic Failure does occur; It requires an AVERAGE: Gunsmithing (no Small Arms here) roll to restore the weapon to function. This task takes 2D10 +10 minutes and requires Small Arms tools (mechanic's tools may be substituted but this makes the task DIFFICULT). At the GM's discretion, This may require 1 unit of small arms parts (as per 2013's rules) to fix the failure. The weapon WILL increase in Wear Value by 1 level (with Wear Value 10 weapons becoming inoperable). If an OUTSTANDING SUCCESS occurs during this roll, NO Wear occurs and NO parts are needed to restore function. If a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE occurs on the Gunsmithing roll, The weapon is NO LONGER FUNCTIONAL and is only good for parts salvage.

My friend (who is a machinist) also suggested that half of all gun parts taken from a weapon (if your using the 2013 Salvage Rules) be Specific to THAT Weapon's Model (ie barrel, bolt, sear, etc...) and the other half (the larger half if there is an uneven number of parts) be "generic" gun parts (pins, screws, and springs) usable on any project.

This reduces the number of rolls from 3 (in my old system) to 2 (as above). Anything that reduces the number of skill rolls is welcome in my campaign. Fresh Minds, New Ideas.