Made by Kevin Dole 1996
E-mail: dmerrill@plainfield.bypass.com
Throughout history, the person who won a gun battle was usually either
faster or more accurate. When it came to military applications, he was
usually a grunt who had shown superior marksmanship ability to his
comrades. Initially, he was just another grunt, but tactics change with
technology. They were first grouped into units, and given the role of
scouts and skirmishers, or of removing the enemy from a range greater
than that capable from the average infantry man. As the range and
accuracy of the weapons improved, the units became smaller, and split
along two distinctly different line.
The first is the sharpshooter. His mission was to target the enemies
officers, communications personnel and heavy weapons crews. He is
assigned to a regular infantry or cavalry unit, and might be armed
with a more accurate and/or more powerful version of the infantryman's
rifle. His rifle might or might not have optical sights and sighted
and stocked for his preference, as he was expected to be able operate
as a regular grunt along with his extra duties. He turns in his rifle
like everyone else, and is not allowed to improve it. His target is
selected by his squad or platoon leader, much like a grenadier's or
any other support gunner's. Essentially, all he is a support weapon
operator.
The other path is the sniper, or marksman. His targets are similar to
the sharpshooter's, but has more independence. He does not usually walk
patrol or take sentry duties with regular troops. They are organized
into two- to three-man teams, which usually operate independently from
other units, unless several sniper teams are "wolf-packing" an area
(see Tactics, below). He fires from hiding, usually only expending a
few shots from a site, then he moves. His rifle is fitted with optical
or electro-optical sights, which are set to the precise point of aim for
it's owner at a particular range, is fitted to his body, and is built
from match grade components.
He maintains his weapon himself, fulfilling all of the armourer duties
on his weapon, and has a certain degree of latitude when it comes to
customization and personalization. He engages the enemy from two to
three times the range of a sharpshooter, and his targets are selected
by himself and his spotter only. He practices what is called fieldcraft
- tracking, stalking, camouflage, living off the land. Snipers are
hunters of men. A sniper team is a strategic weapon.
(Contrary to popular opinion, the lone sniper is mostly a myth started
by the entertainment industry. While only one gun may be up at one time,
the other members of the sniper team are alerted (read as woken up) when
ever there is activity in their target area, and everyone is on station
when the shot is taken.)
A true sniper is the ultimate guerrilla. He can effectively disable
anything from a tank to aircraft to his fellow man with his standard
rifle. In recent years, the advent of more powerful, more accurate
rifles have given the sniper the ability to destroy light vehicles,
sensors and communication gear, even artillery pieces from a half
kilometer or more away. A group of five or six, three-man sniper
teams can decimate a platoon in matter of seconds, or call down
friendly assets to destroy heavy vehicles in minutes. They can, when
properly used by their commanders, be the deciding force in a battle.
MARKSMAN AND SHARPSHOOTER RIFLES
A marksman's rifle is a highly personal and advanced piece of machinery.
A true sharpshooter's rifle is not very far behind. There are four
paths to precision rifles. The first is to select a noticeably more
accurate infantry rifle during test firing, and improve it's accuracy
(such as the BlasTech E11/M). The second is to take a sporting rifle,
slap on a scope and upgrade the appearance (such as the SoroSuub X-45
Sniper). The third is to simply use a sporting rifle, a much less
desirable way of doing things (such as the Drearian Defense Conglomerate
LightSport), due to differences between military and civilian tolerances.
The fourth, and most costly, is to start with a totally new weapon (such
as the Merr-Sonn SX-451). The fifth, and final way, is to take a base
design of a time proven rifle (military or civilian), make it more
powerful, and a construct the modified design of match-quality parts
(such as the BlasTech Sharpshooter V).
BlasTech E11/M
The E11/M is variant of the venerable BlasTech E11. The rifles start
life as production E11s, but show a certain degree of accuracy over
and above what is normally expected during test firing. These are
later test-fired from a machine rest to prove that the accuracy was
actually due to the rifle, not the shooter. From here, they are
fitted with the long barrel and fixed stock found the H11 (the weaker,
sporting version of the E11). They are similar in almost every way to
the standard E11, they just are a little more accurate. These are
being fielded by the Empire as platoon level special weapon, in an
attempt to minimize the danger of Rebel marksbeings. In reality, this
idea is quite misguided and rather useless, but is still quite a good
rifle.
type: sharpshooter's blaster rifle
skill: Blaster: rifle
availability: 3 X
cost: 1500 (25)
range: 4-40/120/300
ammo: 100
damage: 5D
note: scope: +1D to hit if used for one round of aiming.
BlasTech Sharpshooter V and Hunter V
The Sharpshooter V is a direct outgrowth of the relatively new Hunter
V sporting carbine. When members of the Imperial Ordinance Procurement
Command first examined the Hunter V, they found much that they liked.
However, they wanted better throughput and coherency from the bolt,
and a better scope. Having written their findings, the samples went
to various General and Admirals as hunting guns, and a very few where
given to COMPNOR SAGroup shooting contest winners. BlasTech took their
own initiative, and redesigned the Hunter, producing the Sharpshooter V.
They petitioned for a new trial for their weapon, and received it
through the intervention of an Advisor to the Emperor, who enjoys
target shooting. The scope which is built directly onto the SS V is
quickly becoming the standard which all others are measured, and most
people agree the that what many call a "lack of power" is a suitable
compensation for the increased range.
Sharpshooter Vs are currently a standard issue weapon to Army Sharp-
shooter and Engineer units, counterterrorist teams from the Imperial
Security Bureau and the Sector Marshals. The Hunter V is often used
by law enforcement organizations as a precision rifle, in an effort
to minimize loss of innocent life and the destruction of private
property, and by game hunters who wish to minimize meat and hide damage.
(note: These notes expand on those given in the Imperial Sourcebook.
The Hunter V's stats appear below in parenthesis.)
type: precision blaster carbine
skill: Blaster: carbine
availability: 2 X (1 R)
cost: 1200 (25) (1000 [25])
range: 3-30/100/350 (3-30/100/300)
ammo: 100
damage: 4D+1 (3D+2)
notes: scope: Reduce range, smoke and darkness penalties by
2 steps (ie: long range becomes short, 4D smoke
becomes 2D smoke, etc) if used for one round of
aiming. (Hunter V: Reduces range, smoke and
darkness penalties by one step.) Includes bonuses
for bipod.
Merr-Sonn M-435 DeathSledge
The companion longarm of the new M-434 DeathHammer pistol, the Death-
Sledge is actually meant to be a basic grunt rifle. At this time,
however, it is seeing service mostly as a sharpshooter and marksman's
rifle. It has the longer range normally associated with less powerful
weapons, the throughput of the famous A280 and is tougher than a pour-
stone brick, topped with an excellent, passive light enhancing scope.
The only real drawbacks are the price (and this is due to the cutting
edge technology incorporated in the weapon) and the energy consumption
rate. This last is unavoidable at this time, but later variants of the
design expect to improve in this area as the technology involved
improves. Personally, I think the price is well worth it.
type: advanced blaster rifle
skill: Blaster: rifle
availability: 3 R,X
cost: 1500 (25)
range: 4-40/120/350
ammo: 60
damage: 5D+2
notes: scope: +1D to hit if used for one round of aiming.
Up to +2D against lo-lite conditions.
Merr-Sonn SX-451 Heavy Sniper Rifle
The Merr-Sonn SX-451 is one of the premier heavy sniper rifles on the
market today, it is closer to a piece of light artillery than it is to
a personal weapon. The mission of the SX-451 is to destroy materiel,
vehicles and crew served weapons from a distance, usually outside of
the enemy's perimeter. It is also being used by law enforcement
authorities to neutralize armed criminals who have taken cover behind
cover capable of stopping a lesser shot, to destroy explosive devices
where they lay and to disable a felon's escape vehicle.
Having the range and power of the famous E-WEB heavy repeating blaster,
the SX-451 is not a small weapon, nearly two meters long and 15kg in
weight, making unsuitable for all but a few, specialized, select
missions. For transportability, the rifle breaks down into four pieces
(barrel and scope, bipod, action, and stock), and packs into a case or
a specially built packframe. Reassembly take about a minute, with no
special tools, just a credit chip, screwdriver or similar item. The
scope is built under license from BlasTech, as it utilizes the thermal,
UV and passive light enhancement composite image systems found in the
Sharpshooter V, while improving on the haze and smoke filters.
Unfortunately, due to the power, the capacitors in the trigger group
must be quite powerful, but compact for portability. The trade off
with this is a 20 second recharge time on the firing mechanism. But
all things considered, you really don't need to hit a target twice for
it to stay still.
type: heavy sniper rifle
skill: Blaster: rifle
availability: 3 X
cost: 4000 (25)
range: 3-100/350/500
ammo: 5
fire rate: 1/4
damage: 8D
notes: Scope: Reduce range 2 steps (long becomes short, etc.),
negates all smoke and darkness penalties, after
1 round of aiming. Includes bonuses for bipod.
Rodiarms Needle Rifle
Not what one thinks of as a sniper rifle, the Rodiarms Needle Rifle is
almost the perfect covert marksman's weapon: silent, compact, lethal.
The Needle Rifle fires a frozen dart of some kind of poison, ranging
from fast acting knockout drugs, to slow toxins, to truth serums, with
jets of compressed gas. When fired, the dart makes a soft "thirp"ing
noise which is almost impossible to hear after three meters, and feels
like the bite of an annoying insect when it hits. Unfortunately, the
projectile is quite brittle, and can be beaten by all but the absolute
lightest armour, even leather or chromasheath swooper jackets!
COMPNOR agents have made some use of this weapon to expose corrupt
politicians, hitting them with truth serum darts just prior to making
speeches (often, the Rebellion has claimed the actions as their own).
type: frozen dart rifle
skill: Missile Weapons: needle rifle
availability: 3 R,X
cost: 3000
range: 3-50/150/400
ammo: 500
fire rate: 1
damage: varies by toxin
notes: scope: +1D to hit if used for one round of aiming
brittle: Can not penetrate any armour heavier than +1 Physical
unnoticeable: requires Difficult PERC roll to feel
impact of the dart.
SoroSuub X-45 Sniper
This is what happens when profiteers try to make a precsion rifle.
The only saving graces of this thing are the scope and the cost.
Actually, mostly the cost. It is very light, the stock is too short
for anyone other than a Sullusten or Jawa, has no provision for
mounting a bipod, has poor ergonomics and pitiful range. The scope
is of a generation of electrical image enhancement that predates the
first skirmishes of the Clone Wars. The SoroSuub X-45 is often sold
as a sporting weapon (along with slip-on, aftermarket stock extensions),
and sees usage only among the most desperate private military units.
It is such a pitiful weapon, even the majority of the Rebel Alliance
considers it to be almost as bad as no weapon at all.
type: "sniper" rifle
skill: Blaster: rifle
availability: 2 R,X
cost: 950 (25)
range: 1-25/100/250
body: 1D
ammo: 25
damage: 5D
notes: Scope: -1 level of range if used for one round of aiming.
short length of pull: Designed for little people. +3 difficulty
if shooter has normal to long sized arms.
Stock extensions available (cost about
10cr).
other rifles:
Over the years, nearly every model of rifle and carbine has been used
as a sharpshooter or marksman's rifle. What one wants to look for is
greater than average range (say 350m max range vs 300m), damage (5D+2
vs. 5D), or accuracy (range 4-40/120/300 vs 3-30/100/300). From their,
most people strap on some form of optics, range from simple, optical
sights to a pair of macrobinocualrs to purpose built macroscopes,
passive light enhacers and thermal imagers. Many people also add a
bipod, which steadies the rifle when deployed onto a firm surface,
allowing the off-side hand to pull the stock tighter into the shoulder.
TACTICS: (also see the above sections)
The greatest tactical thought that a sniper should have is his superior
capabilities over longer range. When the fighting occurs at close up,
inside a com booth-type ranges, the sniper is not using his full
advantage. When they have the chance to put some range between them-
selves and the target, that is were the sniper is better used. To
best use snipers, break them up into teams. A sniper team consist of
two to three people, and operates inside of a specific area for a
specific amount of time. No friendly units are to enter, nor is there
to be any fiendly forces fire on targets in that area, without the
express permission of the sniper team. The sniper fires one to five
shots, each one of which is evaluated by the spotter for effectiveness
and the need for follow-ups, from a concealed position, then they move
to a new position and repeats the process. For a three-man sniper team,
an arms load out might look like this (plus personal sidearms and
blades):
* 1 sniper rifle
* 2 blaster rifles (at least one fitted with a grenade launcher
and/or is selective-fire capable)
* Spotting scopes and other optics (for target evaluation and
location)
* 1 long range comlink, for calling down air and artillery
support on targets that the team can't deal with.
Other effective techniques include the sniper-pack ambush, were you
have multiple sniper teams operating in an are were a an enemy unit
will be passing. They should get there a few days early, so as to
prepare their hide sight. When the time comes, the most senior of
the snipers will initiate the ambush by firing a series of shots.
Then the next team in the order, then the next. After each set of
shots, the teams move to a new hide sight. If it is properly done, a
group of a dozen men can make a force of a hundred men to think that
they are outnumbered, as the targets never really are sure of where
they are being fired on from, and are always turning around to shoot
back. An all without the use of heavy weapons.
(GM and player's note: This a very skeletonized briefing on sniper
employment, as I think Empress Jae would kill me if I sent out anything
over three thousand words long, and no one would ever read it. If you
want to seriously use snipers in your game, and are looking for a good
book to explain, in detail, sniper tactics and techniques, I recommend
the following:
- The Ultimate Sniper, by Maj. John Plaster (Paladin Press, 464p. ISBN
0-87364-704-1) $40 The single best book of sniper skills to date.
Maj Plaster keeps it simple and informative.
- US Army Sniper Training Manual (197p, ISBN 0-87364-120-5) $20
A very good, detailed document, but a bit dry.
- US Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Training Manual (Desert Publications,
192p. ISBN unknown) $17 Explores the recon and forward observer
aspects of a sniper team very well.
Any of the above three will tell you everything that you need to know
to run snipers in any RPG. And probably some stuff you never wanted
to know.)