# Reading a Weapon Entry

*The Modern Armory, Firearms, Explosives, and Ammunition for Exodus NDS, 1939 to Today. Source: https://exodusnds.com/sourcebooks/modern-armory/reading-a-weapon-entry*

Every weapon in this book uses the same format.

##### <span class="weapon-bar ballistic"></span>Service Pistol, 9mm
<span class="weapon-aka">Glock 17, Beretta 92, SIG P226, Browning Hi-Power, Luger P08, Walther P38</span>

<div class="weapon ballistic">

<span class="dmg">6</span>
<span class="crit">3</span>
<span class="range short">Medium</span>
<span class="enc">1</span>

</div>

<div class="weapon-detail">

<span class="skill">Light Ranged</span>
<span class="price">300</span>
<span class="avail">Common</span>
<span class="type">Ballistic</span>
<span class="qual">Concealable 1</span>

</div>

## The Fields

**Also known as** lists real weapons of this type. They share the stat line.

**Damage** is a flat number for anything that fires or explodes. It does not add Might or Agility. Add 1 for each uncancelled Success on the attack, then subtract the target's Resistance. Hand weapons in Chapter 15 print a bonus (**+2**) that is added to the wielder's Might.

**Crit** is the number of net Boons that must be spent to inflict a Critical Injury. A dash means the weapon cannot inflict one.

**Range** is the farthest band at which the weapon attacks. See Range below.

**Enc** is Encumbrance.

**Skill** is Light Ranged, Heavy Ranged, Gunnery, or Melee. At a table using the core rules' single Ranged skill, use Ranged for all three. Placed explosives use Craft, or a Universe's Demolitions skill.

**Price** and **Avail** are covered under Price and Availability below.

**Type** is the damage type: Ballistic, Blast, Fire, or one of the three types from the earlier armories. See Damage Type.

**Qualities** are defined in Chapter 3.

## Calibre Sets Damage

Every firearm takes its damage from the cartridge it fires. The same cartridge from a longer barrel sometimes gains a point.

| Band | Damage | Typical cartridges |
|:--|:-:|:--|
| Rimfire and pocket | 4 | .22 LR, .25 ACP |
| Light pistol | 5 | .32 ACP, .380 ACP, 9x18mm, .38 Special from a short barrel |
| Service pistol | 6 | 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Magnum |
| Magnum pistol | 7 | .44 Magnum, .454 Casull |
| Hand cannon | 8 | .50 AE, .500 S&W |
| Rimfire rifle | 5 | .22 LR from a rifle barrel |
| Carbine | 7 | Short-barrelled 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm, .30 Carbine, .30-30 |
| Rifle | 8 | 5.56mm, 7.62x39mm, 7.62mm NATO, .30-06, 7.92mm Mauser, .303 |
| Magnum rifle | 9 | .300 Winchester Magnum, .338 Lapua; belt-fed 7.62mm from a squad weapon |
| Heavy rifle | 10 | .50 BMG, 14.5mm, dangerous-game cartridges |
| Shotgun | 7 or 8 | 20 gauge and .410 at 7; 12 gauge at 8 |

Submachine guns sit one below their pistol cartridge. **Auto-Fire** is what the class is for.

A GM adding a weapon this book does not list finds its cartridge here, takes the damage, and copies the rest of the stat line from the nearest entry.

## Might Requirements

**Cumbersome X** means the weapon needs Might X. A wielder with lower Might adds Bane Dice equal to the shortfall to every check made with it.

| Cumbersome | Main examples |
|:-:|:--|
| 2 | .45 Service Pistol, Four-Barrel Pocket Pistol, Heavy Submachine Gun, Designated Marksman Rifle |
| 3 | .44 Magnum Revolver, Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle, both machine guns, rocket launchers, Flamethrower |
| 4 | .50 Hand Cannon, .50 Anti-Materiel Rifle, Big-Game Rifle |

A bipod (Chapter 17) lowers Cumbersome by 2 while it is deployed.

## Range

The core rules set the difficulty of a ranged attack by band:

| Band | Difficulty |
|:--|:--|
| Engaged | Easy, plus 1 Bane Die |
| Short | Easy |
| Medium | Average |
| Long | Hard |
| Extreme | Severe |

A weapon cannot normally attack beyond its printed range. Where the GM allows it, add at least 1 Bane Die for each band beyond.

**Handguns reach Short or Medium.** Long guns reach Medium or Long. Only the Sniper Rifle, the Anti-Materiel Rifle, and the Guided Missile Launcher print Extreme.

**Placed** in the Range field means the weapon is set in position and fired later. Chapter 13 has the procedure.

## Concealment

**Concealable X** adds X Bane Dice to any check made to find the weapon while it is deliberately hidden on its carrier.

| Rating | Hides in | Entries |
|:-:|:--|:--|
| 4 | Plain sight, as another object | Disguised Pistol, Dart Projector |
| 3 | A pocket, a boot, a sleeve | Derringer, Mini Revolver, .22 or .25 Pocket Pistol |
| 2 | A waistband under a shirt | .32 or .380 Pocket Pistol, Snub Revolver, Subcompact 9mm, Four-Barrel Pocket Pistol, Captive-Piston Pistol, Zip Gun, Stun Gun, Collapsible Baton |
| 1 | Under a jacket | Service pistols, Target Pistol, Machine Pistol, Sawed-Off Shotgun, Silent Pistol |
| none | Nowhere on the body | Magnum Revolver, Hand Cannon, every submachine gun and long gun |

**No rating means conspicuous.** A weapon with no Concealable rating cannot be hidden on the body. Under a long coat or in a bag it goes unseen until someone looks. Any search finds it without a check.

**Searching.** A pat-down is the searcher's Perception check opposed by the carrier's Subterfuge, with the weapon's Concealable rating added as Bane Dice. A careful search, one that takes several minutes and the carrier's cooperation or restraint, ignores 2 points of the rating. A metal detector ignores the rating altogether.

**Drawing** a concealed weapon is a maneuver. Drawing from an ankle rig or other deep concealment is an action.

## Noise

**Every firearm is loud.** A shot is heard out to Long range in the open and through the walls of an ordinary building. It tells everyone who hears it roughly where it came from, and it ends any attempt at stealth in the scene.

Two qualities change this.

**Suppressed** weapons are heard only out to Short range, and a listener farther off does not learn the shooter's position from the sound.

**Silent** weapons do not by themselves reveal the shooter's position to anyone.

A suppressor (Chapter 17) makes a weapon Suppressed. A Suppressed weapon loaded with subsonic ammunition (Chapter 16) counts as Silent. A few purpose-built weapons in Chapter 14 are Silent as printed.

Explosives are never quiet.

## Running Dry and Jamming

**This book does not count rounds.** A weapon without **Limited Ammo** fires for the whole scene.

The GM may spend a **Calamity**, or **3 Bane**, from an attack to run the weapon dry. Reloading is a maneuver. An attack that used **Auto-Fire** runs dry on **2 Bane**.

**Limited Ammo X** weapons are counted. After X attacks the weapon is empty, and reloading is a maneuver unless the entry says otherwise. Single-use weapons, such as grenades and disposable launchers, print Limited Ammo 1 and are gone when used.

**Unreliable** weapons jam. If an attack with one generates 2 or more Bane or a Calamity, the weapon cannot be fired until an action is spent clearing it.

## Price and Availability

**Price** is close to the cost of the weapon in present-day US dollars. Ordinary ammunition is included.

| Setting the game in | Multiply prices by |
|:--|:-:|
| 1939 to 1945 | 0.05 |
| 1946 to 1969 | 0.1 |
| 1970 to 1989 | 0.3 |
| 1990 to 2009 | 0.6 |
| 2010 to today | 1 |

These factors give period prices in period dollars. A Universe with its own currency picks one factor and applies it to the whole book; every relative price stays intact.

**Black-market prices** are higher. A Restricted weapon bought without the permit costs double. A Military weapon costs three to five times its price, and a Rare one costs whatever the seller knows the buyer will pay.

**Availability** answers a different question: can you find one at all.

| Tag | Meaning |
|:--|:--|
| **Common** | Sold legally to ordinary adults in most places, sometimes with a waiting period |
| **Restricted** | Needs a licence, a badge, or a permit, or is illegal for civilians in many places |
| **Military** | Issued to armed forces. Civilian ownership is a serious crime nearly everywhere |
| **Rare** | Made in small numbers, obsolete, or built by a state for its own agents |

Law varies. A handgun that is Common in one country is Restricted in the next. The tags describe a permissive jurisdiction, and the GM moves any entry one step for a strict one.

## Damage Type

Every entry prints a damage type. The types do nothing in this book. They exist so that an armour system can tell a ballistic vest from a flak jacket from a fire suit.

| Type | Covers |
|:--|:--|
| **Ballistic** | Bullets and shot |
| **Blast** | Explosions and the fragments they throw |
| **Fire** | Flame and burning chemicals |
| **Thrusting, Cutting, Crushing** | Hand weapons, darts, and spears, as in the earlier armories |

*The Armourer* is the book that reads them. Until your table uses it, or another armour system, ignore the field.

## Reading an Ammunition Entry

Ammunition in Chapter 16 uses a shorter block.

##### <span class="ammo-bar ballistic"></span>Armour-Piercing

<div class="ammo ballistic">

<span class="adjust">Pierce +2 against armour and cover only. Crit rating worsens by 1.</span>
<span class="acost">x3</span>
<span class="aqty">load</span>

</div>

<span class="ammo-fits">Service pistols and larger, all rifles, machine guns.</span>

**Adjustment** is what the load changes on the weapon's stat line.

**Price** is a multiplier on the cost of a load of ordinary ammunition, or a flat price for a grenade or rocket.

**Per** is what one purchase buys: a **load**, which is enough for one scene, or **each**.

**Accepts** says which weapons can fire it.