Ranged Combat

[naloth]

I couldn't find any particular rules for what you need to roll to hit stationary targets, and the only distance penalties seem to be for shooting 40+ squares. There are rules for targets that would have trouble dodging (Hindrances), but effectively zeroing out defense for something that's up to 400 feet away seems a bit generous. The first part has come up a few times, since there have been targets (walls, small objects, control panels, etc). For the most part cover seems to make more of a difference there. The second part is less of an issue (since most engagements have happened in close quarters), but it should be harder to hit stationary targets at further ranges so I'd like to wrap that in.

Previously, I've treated these like feats (10/20/30/40/50 target numbers), but it seems like this would be a more dramatic way to handle ranged combat: Stationary targets have a 0 defense. Outside of suffering hindrances you can touch/hit stationary targets within your reach automatically.
Ranged targets (all) get a +5 defense per full 10 squares beyond the attacker's reach. This result modifier is added to all ranged combat rolls. Stationary large targets are get a -5 result bonus for every level of Growing active. Stationary small targets get +5 result bonus per level of Shrinking active. If larger or smaller targets are actively defending, use the Agility multiplier instead.

New addition: Aiming. Taking a full turn to aim a ranged attack (doing nothing else) before attacking gives you a Moderate Benefit (+2 dice bonus).

Example: In the heat of combat, a grenade about the size of a baseball 75' away would have a (0 for stationary + 5 for range + 15 for shrinking 3) = 20 to hit. That's a not that hard of a shot for Pistol Pete (Agility 1; Weapon Technique: Pistols +x2 to hit, for a total x3 to hit) but to up his odds he aims for a turn first. This way if he rolls a 5+ he'll still hit (5+2 bonus = 7 which x3 gives him his 21).

In the end it comes out similarly to just saying it was a Moderate (requiring a 20) difficulty in the first place, but with a better guideline to come up with the difficulty number. It doesn't affect ranged combat at all until the combatants are 10+ squares apart and even then a small modifier affects low multipliers (fairly normal people) a lot more.

[BASHMAN]

Here is how I might handle it as a house rule:

Unattended Objects have a base difficulty of 10 if they are small, 5 if they are not. Narrator may adjust this based on size.

Powers with a Range of Close (5 squares) don't get any adjustment. Otherwise:

Targets within one fifth of your max range you get a Moderate Benefit to hit. Targets at 3/5ths to 4/5ths max range get a Moderate Hinderance, targets beyond 4/5ths have a Major Hinderance.

Example: You have eyebeams with a range of 30. Within 6 squares, you get +2 Dice Bonus to hit. At 18-24 squares, you have a -2 Dice Penalty to Hit, and a -3 Dice Penalty at 25-30 Squares.

Example 2: You have a rifle with a range of 60. Within 12 squares you get +2, at 36-48 you get -2, and from 49-60 you have -3.

[naloth]

Assigning hindrances seems like great and easy to use idea. I'll definitely give that a try. I'm less sure about offering a Benefit as that seems to make a long ranged attack easier to hit with than a similar melee attack at close range.

'll have to test out the base difficulty. It feels awfully low - a normal human would be able to easily shoot a human sized targets with most any gun nearly 100% of the time in combat conditions, and could usually pick off a baseball sized target at a similar range. This is a cinematic game, but it seems like some of those feats should be a bit of a challenge.

On an entirely separate note, I've been creating a python gui to design characters for my own use and storage. For that program I found that the easiest way to implement the "some levels may be used to increase the damage/effect while others improve your ability to hit" was to treat it as an Enhancement: Hit Bonus: 1-3, each level gives a +1 DM to hit your target. Right now I manually make sure I'm not taking too many levels of power + enhancement, but I could see using this in combination with a campaign setting to manage how damaging attacks can be. It also gives that hit/damage choice to a few powers that don't have it which would otherwise need Boost to hit better without having a higher base Agility.

[BASHMAN]

Well a person who has not shot a gun before is rolling at x1, but a person with any significant shooting experience would probably have a x2 to hit. Maybe even x2+3.