The Effective Use of Firepower

How to use guns in a game, and not have them be disruptive. Originally written for the rm2k forums (a console-style RPG creator) but I always end up writing from the POV of a face-to-face game.

First tip.

Don't ask me why this is, but players love descriptions of big guns. Pictures are, you know, ok, but descriptions leave them salivating. The same rule for everything then - build up the anticipation. Start by having ominous equipment lockers that the player isn't allowed near "because that's my PERSONAL" store. Build up a reputation. Have snatches of conversation about "oh, that guns okay, I guess, but really you want..." Show earth rending explosions and make it clear that this gun really does kick. Finally, have the incapacitated mentor hand over the weapon for the player to use - clearly reluctant to part with it. Have the mentor even more obsessed with the gun than the player by this point is. Now let the player fire the gun. Once. Blow it up. Their mentor chews them out. "How could you destroy that gun, it's... priceless. IRREPLACEABLE. Now I'm going to have to use the BIG gun." Now have the player mount that gun on a helicopter - the gun is THAT BIG. And make sure it doesn't last very long either. All along the way, descriptions of chrome, of unusual and unlikely designs.

Second tip.

Fit the weapons to their use. MOST of the time most people can't use fully automatic assault rifles. On stealth missions small sleek black silenced pistols. And so on. Again, description description. "I spit forth death with precision, the sledge shot back just once. He watched me taking the stealth-blackened casing out of the breach for the longest time, the rest of his life." Stealth lends itself well to film-noir and a voice-over (or text-over). Similarly, in survival-horror guns are more primitive things simply due to availability, and they break quite often. You can keep the player artifically gun-poor in a gun-rich world.

Third tip.

The far future has many many weapons - but many many defences too. Although doubtless the nano-seeker-killer-robot-missile exists, able to seek out and destroy a target from city blocks away: such weaponry is military; and anyway, most cities have police fields to catch and shut down such things. Work on *interesting* tech, rather than just bigger, better, more city blocks destroyed per shot, tech.

Fourth tip.

Sci-fantasy. Consider the logic proposed by Continuum. Technology becomes smaller faster and better. Why not just embed all technology possible into each individual? Saves losing your cellphone. This way, we are back to 'psychic' powers.

Fifth tip.

Guns, although devastatingly effective at close range, aren't actually that good at long ranges. Sniper rifles have an effective range of a couple of clicks, tops - and such situations will be unusual (ambushes only, really - and those are plot driven) Plus modern comms gear lets you talk and see your enemy from further away. So the two can sorta cancel out.

Sixth tip.

Most players LOVE sniping. They don't like to BE sniped, though. They are also less happy sniping NPCs since NPCs don't get mad about the unfairness of it. Use that :)

Seventh tip.

Lots of guns. Players LOVE choice, and guns give them thousands of trivial choices. GIve the player access to plenty of guns, but let them carry only a few at once. Make them choose 2Oh, this gun is a bit more accurate but it's louder. This one is 'spray and pray' but makes a cool noise. This one can stop a rhino in mid charge - but it's called "the llama". And so on. Multiple guns is a shiny thing.

Eighth tip.

Threats. A gun is easier to conceal, but useless while concealed. If you have a gun and are waving around - because it can kill you in one shot, you have to be more careful. You can use guns throughout and threaten people - and yet have no one fire a shot. Again, this is using guns for atmosphere rather than as guns.

Ninth tip.

Make sure you meet expectations. If your game is intended to be heroic "a few bullets won't stop me" and "The bad guys minions always miss with their first barrage, giving the hero time to get to cover" then make sure that the player understands this from the instant the intro sequence rolls. And stick to those rules. Similarly, if it's a private ryan "All your friends will die and a single bullet wound will immobilise you" then make damn sure they understand that too. Neither style is 'bad' - every style can work, so long as your players understand what you are trying to do. This is a general tip, but especially important with guns which, as aforementioned, can kill with one shot.

Tenth tip.

Fate points. This is an entirely artifical sysem, but what the heck. When a player, or a major bad-guy, does something "cool" they earn fate points. And they can then spend those points to avert reality and escape death in a "cool" way. An example might help.

No fate points: The mook squeezes the trigger. You die. A few fate points: You kick the gun away, the mooks shot misses. Now what? A lot of fate points: You kick his arm upwards, and the shot goes wild - breaking a chain that is suppoting a beam - the beam comes crashing down towards the mook. A heck of a lot of points: You pull out your gun and shoot straight down his barrel, the bullets meet and the gun falls out of his wounded hand.