Skills & Feats
New Skills
Motorcycle Driving (Dex)
This skill is used whenever driving a motorcycle; piloting a motorcycle is different enough from driving a car or tracked vehicle that the standard driving skill cannot be used for Drive Checks while on a motorcycle (and vice-versa). Characters who plan on driving a motorcycle often should have the Wheeled Vehicle proficiency as well.
Check: See the Vehicle Combat section (as well as modifications to it for motorcycles, found in Rules & Errata).
Additionally, the Motorcycle Driving skill can be used to perform stunts and maneuvers while riding a motorcycle.
Riding Task DC Cover 15 Bail 15 Jump 15 Fast mount or dismount 20* *Armor check penalty applies Cover: You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside the motorcycle, changing a "Driver" hit location result to a "Hull" hit. You can't attack or make other non-driving actions while using the motorcycle as cover. If you fail, the attack hits you as normal.
Bail: It's better to fall off a motorcycle on your own terms than to be thrown off in an accident, so riders foreseeing a collision can choose to bail before they hit something. This action is performed as a full-round action (it takes a second to recover from a 30 mile-per-hour fall, after all), and can be taken by someone on a motorcycle who is involved in a collision, but has yet to take their action(s) for the round. Those making their skill check take 1d4 subdual damage; those failing take damage as if they had been thrown from their motorcycle during a collision, using the motorcycle's current speed as the collision speed (see Rules & Errata for details).
Jump: This skill check is used to keep from falling off of a motorcycle when it lands following any jump of 5 feet or more. Jumping the motorcycle isn't so much a skill as it is finding something appropriate to fly off of; staying on when landing is the trick. Those failing the roll fall, taking damage as if they had been thrown from their motorcycle during a collision, using the motorcycle's current speed as the collision speed (see Rules & Errata for details).
Fast mount or dismount: You can mount or dismount as a free action. If you fail the check, mounting or dismounting is a move-equivalent action. (You can't attempt a fast mount or dismount unless you can perform the mount or dismount as a move-equivalent action this round.)
Class Skill: Consider Motorcycle Driving to be a class skill for any class that has Driving as a class skill; namely, every class except for Adept, Chaplain and Psychic.Craft (gunsmithing) (Int)
Gunsmithing is technically not a "new skill" - it is simply another "type" of Craft skill Weird Wars can take. Gunsmithing focuses on the creation, and more commonly, modification of firearms. Due to the differences between archaic and modern weapons, however, the information provided in the Craft skill entry (PHP pg.65-66) need to be changed for gunsmithing:
Check: The basic function of gunsmithing is to modify, or "customize", existing firearms. Although the original design and prototype of a specific gun are done by a gunsmith, creating weapons from scratch (except in the case of a "zip gun", below) is beyond the scope of the Weird War II game. If a character with the gunsmithing skill has enough "free time", and access to the equipment and supplies necessary to make a gun, odds are they could just as easily get someone else (with more experience and skill) to make it for them. In other words, there is not enough reason to have rules for creating guns from scratch - if the reason for making a "new" gun is pertinent enough to the campaign, the WM should either allow the character to make it without any skill rolls, or have it provided to the characters by the OSI, army, etc.
Additionally, although a gunsmith can also press bullets, this is not something that really needs to be a part of a Weird War II game. If a character needs some special type of ammunition, either they're going to be able to get it from the military or someone else, or they're not going to have access to it at all. As with the creation of special guns, special ammunition should be supplied to characters at the WM's option, as it suits his particular campaign.
Customizing firearms: "Masterwork" is a term reserved for swords and chain mail - high quality, unique guns are "customized." Customizing a gun involves "fixing" minor defects introduced during the mass-production of the weapon, changing out factory components for better custom-made pieces, adding new options or 'flair" to the weapon, or otherwise improving it's accuracy, looks and functionality. To (properly) customize a weapon the gunsmith needs access to the proper equipment, including large metalworking machines found in a machine shop. In other words, it is not something that can be done while a grunt is sitting in a foxhole, or otherwise in a combat zone. Additionally, ammunition must be fired as part of the process (since customization of weapons should only be done "behind the scenes" when allowed by the WM, how many bullets were actually fired really doesn't matter). To do so, the gunsmith makes a Craft (gunsmithing) skill check vs. DC 20 after spending a full day's work on the weapon. If the skill check is successful, the weapon gains a +1 attack bonus (as with a masterwork weapon), and also only jams 50% as often as a normal weapon (i.e. whenever a natural 1 attack roll results in a gun jam, there is a 50% chance that the customized weapon will remain functional). If the check is unsuccessful, the gunsmith may continue working on the weapon day-by-day, with the DC reducing by 2 for each subsequent day (i.e. 18 on day 2, 16 on day 3, etc). These days do not need to be one after the other - they may be spread out over a longer period of time. If the DC ever reaches 10 (as of day 6), the weapon's quality is too low to allow for proper customization. Additionally, if a natural 1 is ever rolled on the skill check, the gunsmith has accidentally damaged the weapon beyond repair, effectively destroying it.
Customizing firearms only applies to "personal" weapons - pistols, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, and machineguns. Although it's possible to customize a tank cannon, it's just not something that anyone has any experience with.
Repairing guns: A gunsmith may repair weapons using the rules listed for the Mechanic skill (WW pg.52-53) - simply make the skill check using your Craft (gunsmithing) skill instead of the Mechanic skill.
Special: If you have 5 or more ranks in the Mechanic or Knowledge (engineering) skills, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Craft (gunsmithing) checks. These bonuses stack.
New Feats
The majority of the following feats make characters more deadly in firearm combat, although they're not any worse than Rapid Shot or Dead Eye.
Double-Tap (General)
One of the benefits of semi-automatic weapons is that, giving some practice and good reflexes, it is possible to fire off two rounds in quick succession before recoil has thrown the weapon that far off target.
Choose one semi-automatic weapon, such as a Colt 1911A1 pistol or M1 Garand rifle. You can fire two shots simultaneously with this gun, similar to automatic burst fire.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (with the chosen weapon), Dexterity 12+.
Benefit: Instead of firing a single shot with the chosen weapon as a standard attack action, you may instead fire a two shot "burst". Treat this as automatic fire, except only 2 rounds are expended and only 2 rounds can hit. Note that no penalties for lack of bracing are incurred, as with an automatic weapon.
Normal: Semi-automatic weapons can only fire a single shot with each attack action.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new weapon.
(As a note to those that have never fired a gun before, doing a double-tap isn't that easy to do, and being able to do so with one weapon doesn't mean you can do it with any. Feel free to change the Prerequisites for this feat if you disagree.)Quick Tap (General)
Although most automatic weapons from the WWII era did not have selector switches to change them to semi-automatic mode, it is still possible to fire off a single round by lightly tapping the trigger, in essence depressing it just enough for a single round to be fired before releasing it again. This isn't something easily done, however, and takes some practice to learn.
Choose an automatic weapon, such as a Browning .50 cal machinegun or a BAR. You can fire single shots with this gun, as if it were a semi-automatic weapon.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (with the chosen weapon), Dexterity 12+.
Benefit: Instead of firing a burst of rounds as a standard attack action, you may instead fire a single shot. Treat this as standard non-automatic fire. In all respects the weapon counts as if it were semi-automatic, allowing the hero to use other feats, skills or rules normally useable only by non-automatic weapons.
Normal: Automatic weapons, unless specifically stated in their descriptions, can only be fired in bursts of 3 (or more) rounds.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new weapon.
(I've never had the opportunity to fire a fully-automatic weapon before, but given my knowledge of how guns work this feat should be realistic. Feel free to change the Prerequisites for this feat if you disagree.
Also note that many weapons with selector switches do not actually fire in fully-automatic mode, instead firing in 3-round bursts each time the trigger is pulled, in which case this feat would not work. As far as I'm aware, however, this wasn't the case with any of the WWII weapons equipped with selector switches. )All-American (General)
Your hero played baseball back in the States, and can apply his skills at catching and throwing baseballs to the similarly fast-paced game of Grenade Hot Potato.
Prerequisite: Endurance (representing time spent playing baseball in a league or on a school team), Dexterity 12+.
Benefit: When returning grenades (WW pg.90), the DC for the Reflex save is 15.
Normal: When returning a grenade, the Reflex save is vs. a DC of 20.
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