[Silverfish42]

Having been doing some reading on real world applications of various ammo types, modern flechette ammunition seems to generally be the opposite of the SR approach. They lack the stopping power of traditional buckshot, but are superior at penetrating armor. I'm just trying to figure out how to make them behave in a more believable way while still being useful. Maybe something like the SCIMTR flechette rounds, which was more like tiny razor blades.

[Mirikon]

I'll assume you're talking 4th edition, since 5th no longer has ballistic/impact difference. Flechette in SR is the catchall for 'lots of tiny objects flying at something'. This means that buckshot, flechette needles, and shrapnel from a frag grenade are all counted as being the same kind of damage. Now, the reason that flechette goes against Impact instead of Ballistic is because ballistic is the kind of armor plates like you see in kevlar vests, while impact is the kind of thing like you see in bike armor and chain mail. It is also true that in 4th Ballistic armor tends to be higher than Impact armor. So you have a bunch of tiny projectiles hitting a target over a dispersed area, much like the kind of 'full body' impact you get from, say, wiping out on a bike. As for the 'tiny razor blades' thing, that'd probably be the Armor-Piercing Flechette mentioned in WAR!

[Silverfish42]

Ah yeah, I keep forgetting about the edition change. I own all the 4AE books, so am definitely not switching for a while to have to buy new books.

[KarmaInferno]

Also keep in mind that not all previous designers for SR have been neccesarily that familiar with real world guns, so they have made some rules based on "knowledge" gleaned from Hollywood or other media.

In real life flechette can hit just as hard and fast as any other ammo, and does not spread anywhere near the cone of death depicted in most games and movies.



-k

[Mirikon]

And then there's always the bit about it being a game, and having to be balanced as such, instead of a weapons simulator.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Flechette = tiny needles, fragments, or otherwise 'cutty things' moving at high speed.  It does cut through armor IRL - 'armor' being kevlar, i.e. ballistic armor which is usually pretty good at stopping a bullet - which is, let's face it, a fat cone of lead.  If someone is wearing something that's mostly ballistic armor, then you're golden.  If they have heavy impact plating, your penetration is a lot less - because even now, the only needles that punch through metal plates are fired from mass accelerator weapons, e.g. railguns and such.

Also, KI, remember that in Shadowrun, only shotguns give you a 'cone of death'; they're just as 'roughly singular' as a standard round, so they hit in the same place.

[Critias]

The key is to just remember that "flechette" in SR =/= "flechette" IRL.  Much like clip/magazine, once it got used, the term stuck because no one wanted to change it, is all.

[Silverfish42]

The key is to just remember that "flechette" in SR =/= "flechette" IRL.  Much like clip/magazine, once it got used, the term stuck because no one wanted to change it, is all.

Ah, that makes a lot of sense.