Okay,

DH is often about making weapons look bulky, drum-fed weapons look more bulky than normal.
I have 2 appoaches to this little problem after a players asked me if he could have one.


Ammo Drum:
Weight: +0.75kg
Availability: Rare
Cost: 15 thrones

This special magazine doubles the ammo capacity of said weapon.
This mod only applies to semi or fully automatic SP weapons.
(Ammo not included)


The second approach is that the gun also needs to be modified to carry said clips.

Any Ideas?

S.

this is actually a great idea.

i remember reading a one of the BL books that a bolter drum mag. had about 100 shells but that was for a marine. so i would probs instead of doubling ammo capacity maybe make it 50 rounds?

ur choice

This would be my take on this idea. As I recall Gaunt used a drum magazine from time to time on his Bolt Pistol.

Ammo Drum, Small:
Weight: +0.5kg
Availability: Rare
Cost: 15 thrones - does not include ammo

This special magazine doubles the ammo capacity of said weapon.
This clip type is only available to semi or fully automatic Basic SP weapons and Bolt Pistols.
Reload time is increased by a Half Action.

Ammo Drum, Large:
Weight: +1kg
Availability: Rare
Cost: 25 thrones - does not include ammo

This special magazine triples the ammo capacity of SP weapons and doubles that of Bolt weapons.
This clip type is only available to semi or fully automatic Basic SP or Bolt weapons.
Reload time is increased by a Half Action.

Ammo Drum, Heavy:
Weight: reduce weight by new lower ammo capacity
Availability: Rare
Cost: 35 thrones - does not include ammo

This special magazine halves the ammo capacity of belt or box fed heavy SP and Bolt weapons.
This mod only applies to Heavy SP and Bolt weapons.
Reload time is decreased by half.

Ammo Drum Receiver Modification - 25 Thrones

This minor modification allows any Bolt or semi or fully automatic SP weapon to use ammo drum clips interchangeably with standard clips. Any weapon with an ammo drum installed looses the compact quality. Ammo drums are incompatable with the Fire Selector modification.

This is a fantastic idea! I actually remember wondering why these hadn't jumped ship from the old Inquisitor game-And really, is there anything more truly gangster-esque than a drum-fed submachinegun?

I love the idea, i've been toying with the Idea myself but have been a bit stumpped. I'm bored of fire selectors.

I like what ItsUncertainWho has done.

The only things I would say is that it might be nice to have fixed ammo capacity but increase the weapons weight by a percentage. Say +25% for a small one, +50% for the big ones (for the basic ones).

And the prices do seem to be a bit high.

Face Eater said:

I went with the idea that the clip you buy is dependent on what ever weapon has been modified. So the clip size increases based on the idea that you are purchasing a drum for a specific weapon. It didn't cross my mind to specify that.

Face Eater said:

These would not be something that would be available over the counter at your local gun shop. They would most likely be restricted on most worlds and sell with a premium. There is nothing stopping you from cutting a discount, or making your groups face talk the dealer down. Consider these prices MSRP.

I love this idea, its perfect for the sort of ad-hoc group that dark heresy portrays.

I would maybe put a higher risk of the gun jamming when this is equiped to represent the extra gubbins needed for this magazine and modifications needed for it to work with the gun.

Could always add the trait Unreliable, or remove reliable if the guns has reliable....

Santiago said:

I was going to recommend this based on the real life M1928A1 Thompson Machine Gun; better known as the "Tommy Gun" or the "Chicago Typewriter." While it was able to use a 50 or 100 round drums in lieu of it's more common 20 or 30 round magazines, it had a much higher tendency to jam when doing so.

-=Brother Praetus=-

The drum magazine for the Boltgun is also prone to jamming according to Lexicanum

The problem, that I can see with that is that once ammo drums make the weapon unreliable is it not just inferior to a fire selector unless the ammo count is unrealistically high or dirt cheap.

Really a problem with fire selectors being too **** good <shakes fist>.

The problem with historical drum magazines was low quality of the spring in the drum. A full load would weaken the spring over time.

Because the spring could not feed quickly enough or far enough the drum magazine ended up giving a effective thirty or so rounds, rather than the promised 72-100. Because of this it was considered more effective for military use to use 20-30 round clips.

A WWII russian soldier would usually have one drum loaded with only 40-50 rounds (rather than the possible 72) for his PPSH, and then about half a dozen of the newer thirty round clips for rapid reload. This meant less bulk to carry, as the drums were very cubersome, less chance of a jam, since the spring was not put under so much pressure, and fast reload so critical during combat.

Modern drum magazines are build with much better metallurgical knowledge and processes. A modern day drum magazine for assault rifles or light machineguns will only rarely jam, even if they are still more difficult to keep clean in dirty environments.

A good option could be to have common quality drum magazines unreliable. Good quality and better magazines keep their weapon's reliability.

I just had an idea that you could add 1action the reload time of a drum (likely to still be quicker than reloading 3 clips).

But I like you're idea Mister Zipangu, especially if you reflect it in the cost so they cost , say 5g, 10g and 15g normally.

I consider the Vanaheim shotgun to already have a drum magazine. Otherwise I agree with the other posters here, it would be inferior to RAW Fire Selectors. But then again why use RAW Fire Selectors?

In my game such a magazine could have it's place, but generally speaking the increased bulk and potential for unreliability is generally not worth it.

Ive had the discussion with my players reguarding tactical clips / drum / box fed weapons and traits / costs etc....i agree with most as for the usual price of things and rules as far as increased likelyhood of jamming etc...BUT..I make an exception when it comes to Mechanicus ( since they are the best at tech everything ..always squirreling away untold technoligical secrets for reverse engineering and later use ) In our group we use special ammo clips patterned after the calico manufacturer of today for any mechanicus character and anyone savy enough to gain their favor sufficiently to aquire the clips...

Like the modern calico these clips ONLY work for the semi-full auto pistols and rifles specially fitted to use the clips. ( ONLY for use in SP (Pistol and basic weapons ) Reasoning i dont use or allow them for other types is to prevent total overbalancing and munchkinizing the game. The weapons still only do the listed damage no more no less...they just can dish it out for longer before needing a reload.

Mechanicus thoughts...hoard all tech..keep the best for mechanicus and close ally use only.....weapon with comparable damage to common one...only with exponentially increased ammo capacity ( minimum 50rds up to 100rds as opposed to the usual 15-30 ) and reliable trait = serious advantage for the team.

Here's a copy paste of my house rules on the matter. Prices may be changed to reflect the balance you're going for.