Somebody recently pointed me to these little things,and after reading them I practically went 'WTF were these guys thinking?!'.

'Each hit against an armored target will reduce it's AP value by 1 (to a minimum of 0)' To me in a game where a successful acquisition test means you get a steady supply of a kind of ammo, Acid Shells practically mean 'don't bother with armor anymore, Dodge and Shields is where it's at'. You can spam NPC mooks (easy to get) with shotguns (also easy to get) using Acid Shells (of which you have a steady supply of regardless of how many mooks die using them) at anything and strip them of armor. 3-4 guys with shotguns can rip a terminator apart in one round.

They're also a nightmare for the DM, who would have to keep track of how many points of armor have been reduced from where on each NPC that got hit.

Have they been errata-ed anywhere, or am I missing something about them? Or are they just as strong as I suspect?

First of all, Acid Shells are Very Rare, which puts them out of range of most lesser organizations to get.

Then there's a weird thing with Acquisitions. As far as I've understood, a single Acquisition for the quantity "Single" would give you a crate of ammo that'd supply a single (or possibly two people) with such ammo for quite a while. You might say indefinitely, but most unusual ammo could require a simple Upkeep test every once in a while to replenish. Now, that supply is far from infinite for more people, and could then conceivably only be enough for a single magazine per mook.

If you want to go purely by the rules, I'm pretty sure it'll only be infinite for one single person, which is rather stupid, but such are the rules. That means that you can't "cheat" the Acquisition test by buying for a single person and then using it for many, at least not intentionally.

First of all, Acid Shells are Very Rare, which puts them out of range of most lesser organizations to get.

Then there's a weird thing with Acquisitions. As far as I've understood, a single Acquisition for the quantity "Single" would give you a crate of ammo that'd supply a single (or possibly two people) with such ammo for quite a while. You might say indefinitely, but most unusual ammo could require a simple Upkeep test every once in a while to replenish. Now, that supply is far from infinite for more people, and could then conceivably only be enough for a single magazine per mook.

If you want to go purely by the rules, I'm pretty sure it'll only be infinite for one single person, which is rather stupid, but such are the rules. That means that you can't "cheat" the Acquisition test by buying for a single person and then using it for many, at least not intentionally.

By the rules, if you get infinite ammo for a 'squad (3-5)', you get infinite ammo as long as you have a single squad of dudes using it. There's nowhere implied that you can't replace the guys in a squad.

Regardless, once you get enough of it, I can't find any reason not to beam down the shotgun kamikaze squad vs any heavily armored opponent.

The DM has final say in how many times a player needs to make an acquisition test to keep an acquisition with them.

If you have a vindictive GM, be prepared to make an acquisition test more than once in revenge for making him (or her) do more accounting.

Edit: However, the GM could also use these same bullets against you. In D&D terms, I suppose this is similar to throwing a rust monster at the players.

Honestly, while they are useful, the trouble is a) hitting your opponent and b) surviving long enough for the hits to matter.

And, just like anything in the games, if you're the GM and don't like them, either set up a gentleman's agreement they'll never be used or ban them.

Also, in Rogue Trader Core at page 275, there's a paragraph that notes that an Upkeep Test must be made if a supply of rare ammunition is used excessively, which arming mooks with them could be seen as. So there should be repercussions if used excessively.

But, yeah, if they are used with accuracy, kept by a wealthy individual and used by proper troops, you WILL mess people up.

Honestly, while they are useful, the trouble is a) hitting your opponent and b) surviving long enough for the hits to matter.

And, just like anything in the games, if you're the GM and don't like them, either set up a gentleman's agreement they'll never be used or ban them.

Also, in Rogue Trader Core at page 275, there's a paragraph that notes that an Upkeep Test must be made if a supply of rare ammunition is used excessively, which arming mooks with them could be seen as. So there should be repercussions if used excessively.

But, yeah, if they are used with accuracy, kept by a wealthy individual and used by proper troops, you WILL mess people up.

That's what I thought, on PCs they're rather poor, as in the 2-3 rounds it takes to strip somebody off armor you could easily use some other type of ammo (like organ grinder) or a meltagun and kill him. Using them on mooks however gives you one of the very few ways to make crew NPCs non-useless vs the kind of stuff a mid-to-high level party is fighting.

_{why did they not use hellfire rounds instead.}

_{why did they not use hellfire rounds instead.}

Well, if we're talking NPCs with shotguns, hellfire only sets you on fire, acid also breaks your armor

Also, Hellfire works off Righteous Fury, which mooks can't achieve, doesn't it? Or does Rogue Trader Hellfire work differently?

Also, Hellfire works off Righteous Fury, which mooks can't achieve, doesn't it? Or does Rogue Trader Hellfire work differently?

I think he means Inferno rounds. There are no hellfire rounds in Rogue Trader.