I’m going to be running a Deathwatch game this September (hopefully depending on whether the book I want to use to run it has come out by then). I’d like to keep the requisition system, and since it’s mostly self-contained from the rest of the rules that hasn’t been too much of a problem.

The issue I’m having is how much clips of standard ammunition should cost. I know the Errata says that in general a character should have 3 clips per weapon, but I think it’s likely players will want to requisition more (especially if they think they are going to be facing a long or combat-heavy mission). How much should be charged in requisition points per extra clip?

Calonnau said:

I suspect this will come down to the weapon and how gritty you want the mission to be. A lot of GMs run weapons as being "infinite ammo unless I say otherwise" (i.e. if ammo-restraint is a factor for the current mission, they'll be briefed as such and have to plan accordingly).

For a general campaign running a more realistic ruleset (ammo tracking etc), 1 Requisition for 2 extra clips should cover bolters and other basic weapons, with 1 per clip for Special/Heavy Bolter/Missile Launcher and 2 per clip for the more exotic heavy stuff. This way allows them to plan for a little extra sustainability, but discourages carrying huge amounts of ammo for no good reason.

The other way to go if they're planning for a long, hard battle is to allow them to requisition an Ammo Cache. 20 Requisition for a number of large ammo crates with enough spare ammo to keep them going. The crates are bulky enough to make moving them under combat conditions impractical, but if they're stashed inside a Bastion or in a bunker on an Aegis Line, they may be a vital source of mid-mission refills. This is especially true if you're throwing waves of attacks at them or if they're facing a Last Stand situation. The crates contain enough ammo to refill all weapons up to Distinguished rank indefinitely, as well as a healthy supply of Frag/Krak grenades and other standard issue consumables. Of course, if the Ammo-Dump were to come under fire (pretty heavy fire, given this is an Astartes Ammo Crate - not a gunpowder keg), it could provide for some interesting moments of its own.

I run it as follows:

* Standard ammunition to fill each weapon

* Three additional clips per weapon

* 1 Requisition for 1 clip of normal ammunition

* Cost (with 1.1 errata) for 1 clip of special ammunition.

Thank you both for your replies. I like Vehem's idea of costs and I was already considering going with a similar idea to the ammo drops. Have you run ammo like this in your own games, and how did it go?

I generally run with Ammo counts and restrict the total number of clips and equipment that a character can carry. I generally allow two basic weapons with 3 clips of ammo each with the option to only carry one weapon but additional ammo. Resupply can be done at any "reasonable SM resupply point". Which means that most places simply don't carry SM issue gear or ammo and resupply is only done at special points. A SM strike cruiser will likely have as much ammo as needed but a Imperial guard forward base will have nothing.

Allowing the KT to requestion a Ammo Dump or a supply drop is a good option that I had not thought of.

One idea which was shown in the latest Deathwatch novel (which I'd really recommend) was when the Kill-team on it was on a mission into a massive Genestealer nest to retrieve an Inquisition agent. As they were descending they set up several caches of extra ammo (as well as booby traps). It leant this nice note of tension - do we have enough ammo to fend off this wave and can we then get to the next RP to restock before they catch us?