There was a thread on the Only War Forum about Weapon Ranges being borked, in so far as each Range bracket is concerned. It's taken me a while to look into the subject, and while I was doing so I thought it might be generous to give Acolytes a bit more of an "edge" over criminals of the common variety.
Here's my proposal:
Acolytes (and significant NPCs) may add their Perception Bonus to the Range listed in the profile of their weapon(s).
Example: Evan has a Perception of 42, and his favored weapon is the "Scalptaker" pistol, which has a (base) Range of 40m. Evan's Player may add 4 to the base Range, raising it to 44m. His Hecutor 9/5 (should he use it) would have a Range of 34m, rather than 30m.
There are certain drugs, consumables and toxins/poisons that might affect a PC's Perception (temporarily reduce it), and the concept of adding PB to the base Range of a weapon could then (potentially) be reflected in the adverse effects of being an addict, drinking too much (or being an alcoholic), and/or succumbing to toxins/poisons. If a PC were to fail a Carouse Test, for instance, he/she will suffer 1 Level of Fatigue (with the resulting -10 to all Tests), but the GM might also reduce the PC's Perception by 5 or 10, depending on the potency of the drug or drink, thus reducing the effective Range of his/her weapons. Of course this would be the case for "generic" drugs, drinks, or toxins.
For more specific drugs: Slaught, which increases Agility Bonus and Perception Bonus by 3 for 2d10 minutes, could become the drug of choice for an addicted sniper.
To incorporate this Perception Bonus benefit into Weapons Ranges:
- Category 1- Point Blank (up to 3m): +30 to hit
- Category 2- Short Range = one half of a weapon's Range (base + PB), rounded up (if Evan uses his "Scalkptaker" it is anything more than 3m and up to 22m): +10 to hit
- Category 3- Medium Range = 2x a weapon's Range (anything more than 22m and up to 88m): +/-0 to hit
- Category 4- Long Range = 3x a weapon's Range (anything more than 88m and up to 132m): -10 to hit
- Category 5- Extreme Range = 4x a weapon's Range (anything more than 132m and up to a maximum Range of 176m): -30 to hit
Adding this to a game will have no negative consequences if your Players aren't playing addicts, drunkards, or you don't often hit them with toxins. However, it could also be an immersion-deflating "pause button" as Players recalculate their Ranges during the opening moments of a drunken shootout in the pub. Personally, I prefer to keep my Players on their toes, and they are a thinking lot in any case, so it's not likely to stall our group.