Ammo Price

By Golmorgoth, in Dark Heresy House Rules

I am a bit curious to learn if any of the folks here have special rules for the price of ammuntion. My main dissatisfaction with the system in DH is that ammo for the plasma gun and meltagun, which are supposed to be rare and powerful weapons, have amazingly cheap clips. These weapons are extremely rare; shouldn't their ammunition therefore also be extremely rare, and therefore expensive? I believe they cost 15-20 something for a full clip in DH. Compare this to a bolt shell, which costs 16 each, even though bolt weapons are considerably more common, and more to the point, considerably less powerful. I also don't like the fact that basic bullets are purchased in lots of 20 rather than by clip.

Sorry if I ranted a bit there, and I do have my own system in place to fix the things I don't like. I am just curious to hear what other people think.

Golmorgoth said:

I am a bit curious to learn if any of the folks here have special rules for the price of ammuntion. My main dissatisfaction with the system in DH is that ammo for the plasma gun and meltagun, which are supposed to be rare and powerful weapons, have amazingly cheap clips. These weapons are extremely rare; shouldn't their ammunition therefore also be extremely rare, and therefore expensive? I believe they cost 15-20 something for a full clip in DH. Compare this to a bolt shell, which costs 16 each, even though bolt weapons are considerably more common, and more to the point, considerably less powerful. I also don't like the fact that basic bullets are purchased in lots of 20 rather than by clip.

Sorry if I ranted a bit there, and I do have my own system in place to fix the things I don't like. I am just curious to hear what other people think.

Your post doesn't seem "ranty" to me. Maybe I can help shed some light on this for you.

Well, given that plasma weapons use a tiny fusion reaction to turn hydrogen into plasma, and melta weapons utilize "high-pressure gases" it makes sense that the ammunition is relatively inexpensive. It is the technology behind how the weapon works which makes them expensive, not their ammunition. Hydrogen is one of the most common elements in the known galaxy.

Bolt rounds use rocket fuels, adamantine and diamatine, not to mention the explosive core. These have to be processed and manufactured, which requires more materials and manpower then a facility that can extract and "bottle" hydrogen for a plasma canister. Such a facility. once built, would probably practically run itself with only limited supervision.

As to the ammunition types for solid projectile weapons, they are sold by the box in real life. Why change that for the game? Go to a gun store and tell them that you only want 15 rounds of 9x19 rounds and not the whole box, and they'll look at you like you're crazy.

-=Brother Praetus=-

Brother Praetus said:

Golmorgoth said:

I am a bit curious to learn if any of the folks here have special rules for the price of ammuntion. My main dissatisfaction with the system in DH is that ammo for the plasma gun and meltagun, which are supposed to be rare and powerful weapons, have amazingly cheap clips. These weapons are extremely rare; shouldn't their ammunition therefore also be extremely rare, and therefore expensive? I believe they cost 15-20 something for a full clip in DH. Compare this to a bolt shell, which costs 16 each, even though bolt weapons are considerably more common, and more to the point, considerably less powerful. I also don't like the fact that basic bullets are purchased in lots of 20 rather than by clip.

Sorry if I ranted a bit there, and I do have my own system in place to fix the things I don't like. I am just curious to hear what other people think.

Your post doesn't seem "ranty" to me. Maybe I can help shed some light on this for you.

Well, given that plasma weapons use a tiny fusion reaction to turn hydrogen into plasma, and melta weapons utilize "high-pressure gases" it makes sense that the ammunition is relatively inexpensive. It is the technology behind how the weapon works which makes them expensive, not their ammunition. Hydrogen is one of the most common elements in the known galaxy.

Bolt rounds use rocket fuels, adamantine and diamatine, not to mention the explosive core. These have to be processed and manufactured, which requires more materials and manpower then a facility that can extract and "bottle" hydrogen for a plasma canister. Such a facility. once built, would probably practically run itself with only limited supervision.

As to the ammunition types for solid projectile weapons, they are sold by the box in real life. Why change that for the game? Go to a gun store and tell them that you only want 15 rounds of 9x19 rounds and not the whole box, and they'll look at you like you're crazy.

-=Brother Praetus=-

What brother Praetus said. These are some of the few things that makes sense within the setting.

But if you want it to make more sense (as in being more realistic)m you could have different prices for different kinds of SP ammunition. Maybe even one price per gun type: Stub revolver, stub automatic, autopistol, autogun, shotgun, hunting rifle... and so on. I wouldn't be bothered with the extra bookkeeping though.

Similarly keep in mind that its only for the weapons clip size - meltaguns only have five shots for example, so that 20 thrones can add up fast.