When looking at the OW weapon upgrade lists I found a couple of surprising absences, such as the fire selector, but was most surprised to see that a few upgrades you would expect from the guard, such as heavy weapon gun shields, were also absent. This is how I think they might go:

Gun shield Weight: 10kg Availability: Average

The weapon mounts a small flak plate to protect the gunner from enemy return fire. A gun shield provides 4 points of cover to the gunner's arms and chest if he is standing, or arms, chest and legs if he is prone, as long as the weapon remains braced. Bulging biceps and the Auto-stabilised trait have no effect on this ability.

Upgrades: Any heavy non-launcher weapon.

Gun carriage Weight: 25kg Availability: Scarce

The weapon is mounted on a wheeled carriage for ease of transport and to provide a solid firing position anywhere on the field. A heavy weapon with a gun carriage counts only 1/4 of its actual weight, incluiding upgrades, towards the gunner's encumbrance limit, since it allows him to pull/push it around. Also, a gun carriage allows the gunner to brace the weapon as a Free action and has a 180º firing arc. At the GMs discretion the gun may beccome bogged in dificult terrain, such as mud or dense foliage, and require carrying.

Upgrades: Any heavy non-launcher weapon.

High-capacity magazines Weight: x1/10 Availability: Common

High density capacitors, elongated magazines or ammo drums allow the weapon to hold more ammunition and need to be reloaded less often. A high-capacity magazine doubles the Clip capacity of the weapon using it.

Upgrades: Any pistol or basic weapon.

What do you think and what other upgrades do you think should the final version include?

Tought of another one:

Auxiliary shotgun Weight: 2'5kg Availability: Rare

A compact version of the regular pump-action shotgun is fitted under the barrel of another ranged weapon such as a lasgun, allowing the user to fire the shotgun instead of the gun it's attached to. Though heavy and cumbersome, the under-barrel shotgun gives the user added versatility and is ideal for breaching and close combat. A character using a weapon with an auxiliary shotgun can choose to either fire the shotgun or the weapon it's attached to in his Turn, but not both at once. A weapon can only have one auxiliary weapon attached. (Basic ; 30m ; S/-/- ; Damage 1d10+4 I ; Pen 0 ; Clip 4 ; Reload 2Full ; Scatter).

Upgrades: Any basic Las, SP or Bolt weapon.

I like the Gun Shield quite a lot actually. The problem all of those have though is that the feel like weapon customizations with no downsides though. Especially the gun shields seems hella strong.

Musclewizard said:

Other weapon upgrades have no inherent downsides either apart from added weight. And a 10kg shield added to a 40kg gun needs a mighty brawny heavy to lug it around.

JuankiMan said:

I would just limit that the weapon must be braced on a surface to benefit from the gun shield (not simply by standing). I would probably say it modifies the brace action to a full round action (even if still standing and not benefiting from the weapon). If firing the weapon unbraced (even with bulging biceps/auto stabilized), it will incur a -5 BS to fire (on top of normal lack of bracing penalties).

The thing I like about it is that it fixes the thing I was disappointed with how the heavy gunner would most likely work. E.g. they all run around like Gunnery Sgt. Harker, firing their heavy weapon from a standing firing stance. The gun shield idea promotes the kind of IG gunners we see in TT. That is to say, firing from a deployed position with the gun resting on the ground.

The high capacity mags definitely need to be changed. I would double the weight at least (unless that was supposed to be additive). Also, I would base its own availability as either rare, or two steps more difficult than the base ammo it is using (in the case of already rare ammo). E.g. charge packs go to rare, plasma flasks go to extremely rare.

I like the gun carriage though. It probably needs better rules on just how big it is.

Actually, when I envisioned the Gun shield rules I did not think of the Heavy firing the gun from the hip. I guess I should have specified that the shield is only useful when braced over a flat surface or a bipod / tripod. I'd say a -10BS penalty to firing the weapon from an unstable position even if braced or with Bulging biceps / Auto-stabilised.

In respect to the magazines, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "additive". The x1/10 means that the gun weighs 10% more (an ammo clip usually weighs 10% as the weapon). This would apply to all ammo carried, of course, though I suppose x1/5 might be more appropriate to apply some downside to the upgrade. Rare feels way too much for what amounts to a bigger ammo box, and remember that this is just the weapon upgrade. The ammo that goes inside must be acquired separately at its usual rarity.

And about the carriage, I was envisioning things like this or this . If the Imperium can build a 2kg tripod they must have super-light building materials.

Except that saying x1/10 weight actually means that the gun weighs one tenth of its base amount. You should just say 10% more, since whole numbers are always easier than fractions.

javascript:void(0);/*1342154151088*/

JuankiMan said:

wouldn't that be considered a combi weapon? or am i miss understading what a combi-weapon is?

Combi-weapons are generally hold a single shot, though it used to be a half clip back in… ascension I believe? This ensured you actually could use that plasma on maximal even if just once…

If it were to be redone for OW, here's what I would suggest:

-Combi-Weapons are considered one step less available than the rarest of the two combined weapons.

-Weapons from different races cannot be combined. Even Ork weapons will convert whatever was looted to its nearest Ork equivalent in the process. You cannot make a Combi-Melta Eldar Longrifle. The weapons must have been crafted as a single Combi-Weapon in the first place, but different forgeworld patterns remain acceptable for the sake of the game. Patterns could be transmitted for a custom order anyhow.

-When mating a pair of weapons in this fashion, the most common weapon of the two is designated as the primary. If both are of equal rarity, use the following order of priority: Las>Solid>Bolt>Flame>Plasma>Melta

-Only certain very specific exotics may be combined, and such cases are extremely rare, such as the executioner bolt pistol.

-Secondary weapon is always a pistol.

-Secondary weapon holds half as much ammunition, to a minimum of one. As a result they have their own, compact ammunition magazines, but use standardized connections to allow replenishing off standard ammunition or generators. Reloading compact magazines requires an additional action [half becomes full, full becomes 2-full, 2-full to 3-full and so on]

-The Secondary weapon adds half its weight to the main weapon but cannot be detatched and used on its own: Even when removable for maintenence or replacement purposes, it has no stock, handle or foregrips of its own

The one exception here would be hellpistols, which are connected to the same standard backpack supply they tend to all use. Which we really need to up the ammo count on anyways.

mrady said:

Yes and no. Combi-weapons tend to be built-in at construction and, as such, tend to have much more powerful weaponry like a plasma gun or a flamer. The auxiliary shotgun , like the auxiliary grenade launcher , is an easily detachable add-on for a rifle weapon to increase its versatility on the field. It works very much like a combi-weapon, but it is easier to bolt-in or remove.