MHI

[theAxe]

Hi, I'm new here, recently got the MHI rulebook and I'm going to start running an MHI campaign in about 2 weeks. So my friends are character building and one asked some questions I was wondering how to answer. We've all done D&D and other RPGs for years but have no prior experience wtih HERO.

 

What he asked is:

"Machine guns are included in unusual modern weapon familiarity but all require strength 14+ to use. I don't see Chuck walking around with a PARA but I'd like him to be able to use a turret or tripod mounted weapon should the need arise. Would he still need a strength 14 if he doesn't have to lift the gun? Likewise, could he at least help crew a multiperson weapon without strength 14? Ammo boxes are heavy but he could fire, feed the belt, or something."

 

"Martial arts with a gun: The book lists rifle butt as reach(m) but bayonet as reach(s). Is that reach with the bayonet when it's not attached? Shouldn't the back end and front end of the rifle have the same reach? The shotgun butt to the face scene in pulp fiction makes me think that perhaps rifle butt should be reach(s) and bayonet reach(m). I have no problem using the rules as written for simplicity and balance reasons I'm just saying...bwha?"

 

It looks like a great system and I'm looking forward to trying it, I'm glad to see it looks like a supportive community.

Thanks,

~Andrew

[Steve Long]

1.  A firearm fired from a bipod, tripod, or the like typically has a -10 STR Minimum. For a weapon mounted on a turret STR Minimum isn't even a consideration.

 

Keep in mind, too, that having less than the STR Minimum doesn't prevent a character from using a weapon, it simply makes it more difficult to shoot accurately and effectively (see MHIRPG p. 147). If a character wants to be skilled at using heavy firearms but not an overall strong person, he could buy extra STR with the Limitation Only To Meet STR Minimum For Using Firearms (-2). So assuming Chuck has STR 10, for just 3 points he could use any of the machine guns listed on MHI RPG p. 150 without penalty. Of course, as GM, you may not want to let Chuck tote an M60 around everywhere he goes.

 

 

2.  The S (Small) category listing for a bayonet is for a bayonet wielded on its own, like a knife. If a character attaches a bayonet to a gun, the bayonet would then have a Reach equal to the length of the gun (easy enough to just call that +1m for most long arms, though I'm not sure of the real world accuracy of that).

 

In terms of the Reach for using a rifle butt to bash someone, that's up to you as the GM. Personally the way that maneuver looks in the movies, and as I conceptualize it in my head, it seems to be a Short range attack to me -- you don't see soldiers thrusting all the way out with the butt of their rifles to hit someone, the way you sometimes do see them stab with a fixed bayonet. But it might be physically possible if a character were really desperate. I suspect if you post a question someone who owns a rifle might perform an experiment to see how awkward a "long-distance rifle butt stroke" would be.