On 23.9.2017 at 9:19 PM, Archlyte said:

Yeah and I do realize that it's supposed to be abstract, it's just that every time I try to stick to it being purely an unspecified narrative they suck me in with some plan or action that requires knowing where things are precisely lol. On a side note Kkuja you are just awesome, had to say it. Always like your posts

"requires knowing where things are precisely" Could you give an example? I'm asking because I cannot think anything which would require me knowing positioning absolutely, but I know those situations are real. When I started GMing our game was full of those situations, but nowadays there are none.

And, thank you for your kind words. I think I have done something correctly. By the way, your comment saved my day, which started poorly (I noticed I forgot my ID and keys home, when I needed to enter my office, so back to home to retrieve them.).

On 23.9.2017 at 9:15 PM, Archlyte said:

I personally have never shot anything with a pistol accurately over 60 yards, but I looked I up and guys can make shots out to 200 yds. with a reflex sight. Average gun fights are stupid close, as I also looked up the FBI data, but we also have to remember that Range categories need to be kind of elastic. This does point out a problem with that extra difficulty die at point blank (engaged ) range for pistols. Pistols really shouldn't be penalized at that range and would probably get a blue as well as being Easy. I imagine they did this to give melee guys a chance.

I agree with Edgookin's reply for this.

We must also remember the game design point of view. DEVs (AFAIK) want to keep the system light and fast. Its ability to simulate real world is secondary. System that tries to be realistic, need absolute ranges. Cinematic and narrative over realistic.

And again, nothing blocks you from making house rules. Only you know what works for your group.

11 hours ago, kkuja said:

I agree with Edgookin's reply for this.

We must also remember the game design point of view. DEVs (AFAIK) want to keep the system light and fast. Its ability to simulate real world is secondary. System that tries to be realistic, need absolute ranges. Cinematic and narrative over realistic.

And again, nothing blocks you from making house rules. Only you know what works for your group.

Yeah that's true. They will often ask me just where something is in relation to their speeder and then use the length of their speeder as reference, or they will try to figure out an elevation as opposed to a horizontal distance (there are a LOT of vertical situations in Star Wars lol). I think also my experiences come into this as well because I am sure my perceptions of these ranges informs my descriptions. So some of it is about that I'm sure. Again, I think that you are right about narrative over realistic, but having some verisimilitude in the form of physics reliability isn't a bad thing unless it does kill narrative use. Thanks for mentioning that my comment made your day better, that's just cool. It can get kind of negative on the forums sometimes and I wanted to say that I appreciate your approach to things and the info you present.

I like the topic and am enjoying some of the input about the range bands as it relates to combat. I think I will adopt this general description as it seems very reasonable and easy to bring into a gaming situation.

I am now getting back into tabletop RPGs with Edge of Empire. Some great resources here.

I wanted to add my two cents for the two cents it is worth. Speaking from what I know of my own experience with firearms:

I would say a character without a proficient skill with a pistol would indeed have a very hard time hitting a target at 25 m without taking multiple shots. One who is practiced should be able to hit a target at 25 m without too much consternation. 50 m is also an acceptable shot with a pistol so long as you have been practicing, but it is a challenge. I'm referencing real people, not those guys who can shoot through the hole in a metal washer they toss in the air. All of this is from a static situation though, of targets that sit down range and aren't moving around, within half cover, using iron sights. Different postures (prone, kneeling, standing) and whether or not you are able to steady your gun on a support of some sort is also going to have an effect. A pistol with optics is going to be a bit different, but a pistol is much harder to steady with a shorter overall length vs. a long gun. Plus you aren't shouldering it which also increases your arch of movement, widening out your shots down range. Archlyte mentioned earlier that most firearms confrontations are within 7 m, that is true and if you take into consideration lunge distance which is largely accepted as 7 m, then the battle could go in many different directions. (Lunge distance meaning roughly the time it takes you to draw your pistol and get a good shot off before someone could have closed the gap and knifed you in the neck, assuming their knife was already accessible).

At 50 m you can easily hit the target with a rifle and iron sites. Further out than 100 m I find it is harder to accurately see the target without magnification optics, but you could always walk your shots onto the target if you don't care about the surroundings. The accuracy and power of the rifle isn't in question further out, just the clarity of the target without magnification.