In DANGER CLOSE, firefights and combat take place on a squad level. I can imagine, however, wanting to ‘zoom in’ for particular moments; room breaches, duels or personal confrontations, taking down high-value targets. I really like the simplicity and brutality of Luke Gearing’s Violence. but as-is, it really focuses on street level/”normal” modern combat, not the type of foes one might fight in DANGER CLOSE.
Image: Space Marines by Chris Falkenberg
This resulted in me writing the following; a Wasteland & Warzones expansion of the core rules, as I set out to specifically figure out how stuff like giant mutants, power armor and grimdark things might work in this system. These rules will be added to DANGER CLOSE itself, too.
Wasteland & Warzones
Biology
A creature’s biology describes its size, and affects its injury rolls and melee capability.
| Biology | Injury Check Dice | Melee Modifier | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frail | d20+4 | -2 | Gretchin, feral ghouls, rad-roaches |
| Normal | d20 | 0 | Humans, ghouls, cultists |
| Tough | d12 | +2 | Orks, Super Mutants, Space Marines, Ogryns |
| Hulking | d10 | +4 | Deathclaws, Carnifex, Mirelurk Queens |
| Monstrous | d8 | +6 | Knights, Behemoths, Greater Daemons |
Weapons
Ranges
- Close: Same room, up to 10/20 meters
- Medium: Down a street, 20-200 meters
- Long: Far away, +200 meters
Ballistic
| Weapon | Injury Check Modifier | Magazine | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistol | – | 12 | Close-Medium | |
| SMG | – | 25 | Close-Medium | Auto capable |
| Shotgun | +5 close, +2 medium | 6 | Close-Medium | |
| Assault Rifle | +4 | 30 | Medium | Auto capable |
| Sniper Rifle | +4 | 5 | Long |
Laser
| Weapon | Injury Check Modifier | Magazine | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laspistol | +4 against light/medium armor | 30 | Close-Medium | |
| Lasgun | +4 against light/medium armor | 60 | Medium | Auto capable |
| Longlas | +4 against light/medium armor | 20 | Long, Advantage |
Plasma
| Weapon | Injury Check Modifier | Magazine | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plasma Pistol | +4, ignores armor | 6 | Close-Medium | Rare. Vents on natural 1 |
| Plasma Gun | +4, ignores armor | 10 | Medium | Rare. Vents on natural 1 |
| Melta | +6, ignores armor | 4 | Close only | Very rare |
Venting: Injury for user.
Bolt Weapons
| Weapon | Injury Check Modifier | Magazine | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt Pistol | +5 | 8 | Close-Medium | Rare |
| Bolter | +6 | 24 | Medium | Rare. Auto capable |
| Heavy Bolter | +8 | 100 | Long | Very rare. Auto capable |
Bolt weapons gain +2 against Frail/Normal biology.
Armor
| Armor | Modifier |
|---|---|
| None | +0 |
| Light (leather, raider scraps) | -1 |
| Medium (flak, combat armor) | -2 |
| Heavy (carapace, T-45) | -3 |
| Powered (T-60, Mk VII plate) | -5 |
Melee Weapons
- Reach. Compare the Reach values of both weapons. The difference between them is added to the d12 roll the combatant with the longest weapon.
- Lethality. Applied to any Injury Checks caused by the weapon.
- Threat. How scary the weapon is. Against opponents with a training level lower than the Threat of the weapon, this is added to the d12 roll of the wielder.
- Fragility. This is the chance that the weapon breaks. This is rolled each round the weapon is used.
| Weapon | Reach | Lethality | Threat | Fragility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fist | 0 | -5 | 0 | 1-in-10 |
| Knife | 2 | +2 | 3 | 1-in-12 |
| Machete | 3 | +4 | 4 | 1-in-12 |
| Wasteland | ||||
| Tire Iron | 2 | -2 | 1 | 1-in-10 |
| Super Sledge | 5 | +4 | 4 | 1-in-20 |
| Deathclaw Gauntlet | 1 | +3 | 5 | 1-in-20 |
| Ripper | 1 | +4 | 4 | 2-in-6 |
| Warzone | ||||
| Combat Knife | 2 | +2 | 2 | 1-in-20 |
| Chainsword | 4 | +5 | 5 | 2-in-6 |
| Power Sword | 4 | +5, ignores armor | 5 | 1-in-20 |
| Power Fist | 1 | +6, ignores armor | 5 | 1-in-12 |
| Thunder Hammer | 5 | +8, ignores armor | 6 | 1-in-20 |
| Choppa | 3 | +3 | 3 | 1-in-8 |
Melee: Compare Skill, Biology and Reach. For each, the difference is added to the d12 roll of the combatant with the highest value. Threat is added if the opponent’s Skill is lower than Threat value. Then, both roll 1d12.