Shotgun Ammunition
Source: World of Darkness—Armory © 2006 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Shotgun Ammunition Types
Slug: The de facto standard for shotgun shells is the slug, a thumb-sized lead cylinder with no subtlety or finesse whatsoever. Slugs are used for hunting large game and humans.
Mechanics: None. The slug is the default ammunition type with which all shotguns are assumed to be loaded unless otherwise specified.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Slugs are universally available anywhere ammunition is sold.
Buckshot: Shot ammunition is the source from which shotguns derive their names. A shot shell contains multiple lead or steel spheres that travel in an expanding cone from the muzzle of the gun when fired. Buckshot is the largest type of shot. A #00 (“double-ought”) buckshot shell, the type most commonly used for combat applications, contains nine 0.33-inch pellets. This shot is brutal at close range, and, at longer ranges, the spread of the shot makes it likely that a well-aimed blast will catch at least part of the target in its pattern. Firing shot in close proximity to a friendly subject is dangerous at range — a shot pattern typically expands one inch for every yard the shot travels.
Mechanics: At short range, buckshot gains a one-die bonus to its Damage rating against unprotected living (or unliving) targets. At medium and long range, buckshot loses this bonus, but suffers only half the normal range penalties, and any other character in physical contact with the target (e.g., grappled or grappling) also suffers damage equal to half the damage the primary target receives (round down). At all ranges, any target’s Durability or Armor rating is doubled.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Buckshot is universally available anywhere ammunition is sold.
Birdshot: Intended for hunting birds and small game, birdshot is similar to buckshot but composed of much smaller pellets: 0.05 to 0.18 inches. It quickly disperses over range, and is barely dangerous to human-sized targets over most distances.
Mechanics: All of birdshot’s ranges are halved and its Damage rating is reduced by 1. At medium and long range, any other character in physical contact with the target (e.g., grappled or grappling) also suffers damage equal to half the damage the primary target receives (round down). At all ranges, any target’s Armor rating is tripled.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Birdshot is universally available anywhere ammunition is sold.
Breaching: Breaching ammunition is specialized ammo developed for law enforcement use when a door has to be opened right now. A breaching shell contains granular or powdered metal. This payload strikes as hard as a slug at point-blank range, but rapidly disperses, losing all significant force within 20 feet of the gun, ensuring that the ammo will not penetrate walls or doors or ricochet to strike bystanders. Typically, a SWAT team’s entry man carries a pump-action shotgun loaded with breaching shells, and can blow the lock and hinges off a door in under six seconds.
Mechanics: At close combat range, a breaching shell does normal damage. At short range, a breaching shell does bashing damage. A breaching shell has no effect at medium or long range. When a character chambers a breaching shell in a semi-automatic or automatic shotgun, roll a die: on a 1–5, the gun jams, requiring one turn to clear.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Breaching ammunition is technically legal for civilian sale, but almost all suppliers are law enforcement retailers that will not sell to clients without credentials. Breaching ammunition is available only in 12 gauge.
Flamethrower: The pinnacle of exotic shotgun ammunition is the flamethrower shell. Sold under various brand names (“Dragonsbreath” being the most infamous), these shells use low-explosive propellant charges to expel burning powdered zirconium. The volume of the shell limits the amount of incendiary material that the shell can contain, but the tongue of flame can reach as far as 75 yards and lasts two to three seconds. Flamethrower shells are of limited value for direct attacks, but can flash-blind anyone looking in the direction of the blast (especially at night) and are likely to ignite flammable substances such as dry leaves, wood or clothing. Flamethrower shells are advertised to not damage guns out of which they’re fired, but they do leave a greater than normal amount of chemically unique residue in the barrel.
Mechanics: A flamethrower shell attack is resolved as a long burst of autofire with a base Damage 0. All damage from a flamethrower shell is fire damage. The flame emitted by a flamethrower shell is the size of a bonfire (Damage 2) and burns with the intensity of a Bunsen burner (+2 Damage bonus). Thus, an attack with a flamethrower shell will never inflict more than four points of damage. On an exceptional success, combustible items on the victim (hair or clothing, for instance) will catch fire, and, the following turn, he’ll begin taking two points of lethal damage per turn until extinguished.
Because a flamethrower shell burns for up to three seconds, using it in any shotgun that ejects spent shells automatically is hazardous to the shooter and everyone around her. Using a flamethrower shell in a semi-automatic or automatic shotgun means that the shell will be ejected while it’s still spitting fire. Everyone within 20 yards of the shooter, as well as any significant target (e.g., anything whose destruction could have interesting story effects) is subjected to a separate chance roll attack from the shell as it flips end-over-end. The shooter suffers the effects of all dramatic failures caused by these chance rolls.
Acquisition: Resources • for a blister pack of three shells (about $5/shell on average) ($5/shell). Flamethrower shells can be ordered online, but over-the-counter sales are usually limited to sporting goods stores in rural areas, where it’s rare to find more than four or five packs in stock at a time. They are illegal in some regions — laws vary. Where available, these shells are sold as novelty items (“Hey, y’all, watch this!”) or used by forestry services for starting controlled burns. Flamethrower shells are manufactured in limited quantities and only in 12 gauge, and mass purchases will arouse attention.
Flare: Shotgun flares are intended for emergency signaling use. When fired into the air, a flare round is visible for up to a mile in daylight and up to 10 miles on a clear night. Shotgun flares are available in a wide variety of colors, with red, white and green being the most common. Mechanics: The flame emitted by a flare is the size of a torch (Damage 1) and burns with the intensity of a chemical fire (+3 Damage bonus). Thus, an attack with a flare will never inflict more than four points of damage. On an exceptional success, combustible items on the victim will catch fire, and, the following turn, he’ll begin taking one point of lethal damage per turn until extinguished. Acquisition: Resources • for a blister pack of three shells ($15). Flares are legal for civilian sale and are available in most large sporting goods stores. Flares are available only in 12 and 20 gauge. Large quantities are hard to acquire due to limited production, and mass purchases may draw attention.
Flechette: A flechette shell replaces buckshot with about 20 small metal darts. Flechettes individually pack less kinetic energy than shot pellets, but are less likely to deflect off scenery or body armor.
Mechanics: Flechettes function as buckshot, but body armor does not provide double protection against them.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Flechettes are legal for civilian sale, but produced in limited numbers.
Gas: A “CS penetrator” shell features a steel end cap over a reservoir filled with tear gas. Gas shells are designed for police use against barricaded suspects — a gas shell will penetrate re- inforced safety glass, a car door or up to two inches of hardwood before expelling its gaseous payload. Police generally try to gauge what they’re firing through before taking the shot in order to ensure that the round ends up on the other side of the barrier.
Mechanics: A gas round’s ranges are half normal. If fired at a character, the gas round does normal damage. If fired at a solid object (or a character wearing rigid body armor), the gas round gains the Armor Piercing 2 trait. The shell’s tear gas payload is enough to fill a 10-foot radius. On an exceptional success, the gas round lodges inside the target, inflicting one additional point of fire damage at the end of the next turn from heat and the pressure of spewing tear gas. When a character chambers a gas shell in a semi-automatic or automatic shotgun, roll a die: on a 1–5, the gun jams, requiring one turn to clear.
Acquisition: Resources •• for a package of five shells ($100). Gas shells are restricted to law enforcement and military sale, and are available only in 12 gauge.
Riot Control: Less-lethal shotgun ammunition is available. Some riot control rounds are solid rubber, while others fire vinyl beanbags full of lead shot.
Mechanics: Riot control ammunition does bashing damage rather than lethal damage unless the ammo is aimed at the target’s head, in which case the ammo still does lethal damage. Riot control ammunition can be acquired in both buckshot and slug equivalents.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Riot control ammunition is legal for civilians, though rare. It is available only in 12 gauge.
Rock Salt: Rock salt ammunition is not sold commercially, but is handmade by many a rural resident by replacing an ordinary shot shell’s contents with chunks of rock salt. The irregularly shaped chunks of salt strike with enough force to embed themselves in the victim’s skin, causing superficial but excruciatingly painful wounds.
Mechanics: Rock salt functions as birdshot, but does bashing damage at any distance greater than close-combat range. However, any character struck with rock salt suffers a penalty to all rolls equal to the amount of damage she took until she has a chance to pluck the salt chunks out of her flesh and rinse out her wounds.
Acquisition: Resources • for enough rock salt to convert a couple hundred shot shells. Rock salt is not a controlled substance.
Sabot: A sabot round consists of a small, dense core surrounded by a lightweight jacket (the sabot itself). When the round is fired, the sabot falls away within a few yards of the muzzle, leaving the projectile to travel on at extremely high velocity. In a shotgun, this provides no additional dam- age effect, but increases the effective range of the slug.
Mechanics: A sabot functions like a slug, but all ranges are increased by half again.
Acquisition: Resources • for a box of 25 shells ($40). Sabot slugs are available in 20, 16, 12 and 10 gauge.
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What about handgun and rifle ammo?
And the totally crazy other types of ammo?