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| Winchester 1897 12 Gauge Shotgun - "Trench Gun" for WWI |
Time to talk about shotguns, a favored weapon. Why? It does massive damage. Look at the following chart:
They're not concealable, but in the 1920s, people won't bat an eye if you had one in your trunk or transported one in a carrying case. People would have one available to go hunting vs a handgun.
The only drawback is that they mainly hold two shells, meaning you can only fire twice before having to reload. But by 1920, the Winchester 1897 12 Gauge Shotgun holds 5 shells and you can pre-load one shell in the barrel for a total of 6 shots, but loading takes a long time. This weapon was used to clear trenches in World War One. Though carrying one of these might raise eyebrows as the single barrel is shorter and probably not used for hunting.
The story is that the military used 12-gauge shotguns with 00 buckshot in the Spanish-American War in 1898 to kill insurgents in the Philippines. Nothing else stopped the knife wielding attackers.
00 buckshot is 9 pellets, each slightly smaller in diameter than a 9mm bullet.
From the Live Demo video above, at point-blank and short range, you can only hit one target, the spread of pellets isn't enough to hit more than one target. At medium range, you can hit 1.5 targets.If you watch shows such as Supernatural, you can try to load shotgun shells with rock salt. According to this article, it can only do damage at point-blank.
One way to conceal a shotgun is to saw off its long barrel and stock. Thus the sawed off shotgun, easily concealed beneath a trench coat.
Buckshot: 4d6 damage = 14 avg damage; on extreme success, automatic max damage 24.
Solid slug: 1d10+6 damage = 11.5 avg damage; on extreme success, avg damage 27.5, max damage 32.
p.s. A note on recoil. If properly braced, it doesn't really matter how small (PC's SIZ) the shooter is. It just needs some proper training. Only in cartoons and old movies does a shotgun's recoil knock you off your feet. Here's a link for how to properly brace a shotgun: https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/correct-way-to-shoulder-a-shotgun/
The following is from my Q&A on Combat:
In extended gunfights, where you need to fire more than both barrels, you can load one shell and fire, but with a penalty die. See p.113 Keeper Rulebook, Reloading Firearms.
I think the only drawback not in the rulebooks is that if it's raining, the paper cartridges might swell and jam the barrel and you won't be able to reload. And if the cartridges aren't taken care of well, such as just shoved into a pocket, the cartridges might get damaged or bent, or swollen from moisture. Keeping the cartridges in the original box or a waterproof bag would go a long way in keeping the cartridges usable.
p.s. A note on recoil. If properly braced, it doesn't really matter how small (PC's SIZ) the shooter is. It just needs some proper training. Only in cartoons and old movies does a shotgun's recoil knock you off your feet. Here's a link for how to properly brace a shotgun: https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/correct-way-to-shoulder-a-shotgun/
The following is from my Q&A on Combat:
Q (MH): How does a double barreled shotgun work?
A (MH): Shotguns have under Uses per Round either "1 or 2" or "1 (2)". "1 (2)" are single barreled shotguns. "1 or 2" are double barreled shotguns. Also under Name if you see a "(2B)" it's a double barreled shotgun.
Single barreled shotguns "1 (2)" act like handguns where you get a penalty die if you fire twice.
For double barreled shotguns "1 or 2", you can fire at:
Damage listed is for a single barrel. Shotgun pellets do not impale, so an Extreme Success only does max damage. See p.406 Keeper Rulebook, 2nd column, Shotguns.
Optional Armor Rule, see p.126 Keeper Rulebook. Armor is reduced from each damage die. e.g. Creature has armor of 1 gets hit with a 4d6 shotgun blast; armor will stop 4 pts of damage from pellets.
A (MH): Shotguns have under Uses per Round either "1 or 2" or "1 (2)". "1 (2)" are single barreled shotguns. "1 or 2" are double barreled shotguns. Also under Name if you see a "(2B)" it's a double barreled shotgun.
Single barreled shotguns "1 (2)" act like handguns where you get a penalty die if you fire twice.
For double barreled shotguns "1 or 2", you can fire at:
- one target with one barrel. Normal attack roll.
- one target with both barrels. Two attack rolls, one for each barrel, no penalty die.
- two targets, one with each barrel. Normal attack roll for first shot, Penalty die for 2nd target.
Damage listed is for a single barrel. Shotgun pellets do not impale, so an Extreme Success only does max damage. See p.406 Keeper Rulebook, 2nd column, Shotguns.
Optional Armor Rule, see p.126 Keeper Rulebook. Armor is reduced from each damage die. e.g. Creature has armor of 1 gets hit with a 4d6 shotgun blast; armor will stop 4 pts of damage from pellets.
Optional Point-Blank Rule, see p.127 Keeper Rulebook, Point-Blank Revisited. Rifles, full-length shotguns, and bows do not get a bonus die at point-blank range. Short-barreled shotguns (such as the Winchester 1897 "Trench Gun" used in WWI or a modern Remington Tac 14) or sawed-off shotguns do gain a bonus die.
In my experience, shotguns generally become the weapon of choice for veteran CoC Players. Due to the massive amount of damage it does. PCs would move into point-blank or wait until an enemy comes into point-blank for a bonus die before firing. Though an extreme success would only result in maximum damage instead of an impale. See p.406 Keeper Rulebook, Shotguns.
What's interesting is that Delta Green does something different. Shotguns always gain a +20% to hit (similar to a bonus die). Armor stoppage is doubled. Single barrel is 2d8 and firing both barrels is 3d8, rolling only once to hit. See p.94 Delta Green Agent's Handbook, Shotguns.
So, you can house rule something similar, such as 6d6/3d6/1d6+2 damage for a double barreled shotgun blast, requiring only one die roll to hit if firing both barrels.
Q (MF): For a shotgun how do you read Damage and Base Range? Does the level of difficulty change? What do the numbers between slashes mean?
A (MH): The numbers are for a single barrel firing 00 buckshot. The closer you are, the more damage a shotgun does as you get hit by more buckshot. The damage corresponds to the range: short/medium/long. For a 12-gauge Shotgun (2B), firing one barrel: 4d6 is at 10 yards or less (short range), 2d6 at 20 yards or less (medium range), 1d6 at 50 yards or less (long range). See p.406 Keeper Rulebook, Shotguns.
See p.112 Keeper Rulebook, Range and Firearms Difficulty Levels: Long range (2x base range) is Hard difficulty level. Very long range (4x base range) is Extreme difficulty level.
See p.406 Keeper Rulebook, Shotgun solid slugs. Base range 50 yards. Which leads me to believe that firing buckshot has a lower base range than solid slugs. For Handguns, almost all of them have a Base Range of 15 yards. Rifles 110 yards. From the article below, 30 to 50 yards is where the shotgun becomes unpredictable which leads me to believe shooting below this distance is where you need a regular success.
As a judgement call, I'd do the following:
If the shooter using a 12-gauge shotgun has a DEX of 50, DEX/5 = 10 feet is point-blank range.
Mossberg 500 with 14" barrel is 28" length overall (combat/tactical shotgun).
Winchester shotgun with 30" barrel, overall length 51" (hunting shotgun).
0' to 4' (GM potluck, depending on weapon and situation: too close to shoot, 1 penalty die for hip firing, or bonus die for point-blank.) See p.127 Keeper Rulebook, Point-Blank Revisited.4'+ to 10' (bonus die for point blank, regular success to hit, 4d6 damage)10'+ to 10 yards (regular success to hit, 4d6 damage)10+ yards to 20 yards (regular success to hit, 2d6 damage)20+ yards to 50 yards (hard success to hit, 1d6 damage)50+ yards to 100 yards (extreme success to hit, 1d6 damage).
If this is too complicated, then I'd just rule that max Range is 50 yards. And you only need a regular success to hit. But use the short/medium/long ranges to determine damage.
Shotguns are typically considered close-range firearms, especially when loaded with buckshot. Beyond about 30 to 50 yards, the spread from most shotguns becomes too unpredictable to reliably guarantee that any of the pellets will hit the intended target.
Hunters are urged repeatedly not to try for ducks that are more than 50 yards away.The heavy shot used for geese is dangerous for 1,400 yards -- almost a mile. A Winnipeg ballistics engineer says that heavy shot for geese is the same weight and travels at the same velocity as a .22 caliber bullet.A heavy goose shot, fired without careful aim and caution, is the same as a dozen .22 bullets scattering over the countryside for a mile: This means that hunters must be extra careful. They should check to see that they have a clear range for the danger distance of the shot. In heavy country, or marshes where there are many hunters, a man must be extremely careful that his stray buckshot doesn't wound or kill a fellow hunter.
Q (A): What's the range and damage for a sawed off shotgun?
A (MH): See p.403 Keeper Rulebook, 12-gauge Shotgun (2B sawed off). By shortening the barrel of a shotgun by sawing it off, it decreases the time the pellets stay in the barrel and doesn't allow enough time for the propellant (gunpowder) to completely ignite before the pellets leave the gun. This leads to a shorter range. Also the pellets spread out sooner. It also has a fair amount of recoil if held like a handgun vs braced against the body. If you look at the base range, it's only 5/10 yards, short/medium. There is no long range. I assume the shot becomes spent and too spread out to do any damage at long range.
There are no stats for using a slug in a sawed off shotgun. I'd say it's very ineffective and the slug might just tumble after leaving such a short barrel. Worse case scenario, give it the same range as the pellets for a sawed off shotgun, 10 yards, instead of the 50 yards for solid slugs.
See the following video on Sawed Off Shotguns: https://youtu.be/ambeh2YE49g
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