Burst Fire is a firing mode that allows you to fire multiple shots in a single attack at the cost of reduced 🎯 Accuracy. Burst Fire represents rapid semi-automatic shots (Fire Rate 1-2) or fully automatic fire (Fire Rate 3+).
Quick Reference
To perform Burst Fire:
- Pay Burst Fire ⚡ AP cost
- Shots = Fire Rate + 1
- Roll first shot — if this is a CRIT, all shots CRIT (but only 1 CRIT die)
- Roll remaining shots individually
- For each hit: roll damage, subtract DT (minimum 1)
- Sum all post-DT damage, add CRIT Die if applicable
- Apply DR to total
- Apply weapon effects once
- Deduct ammunition (1 per shot, or × Gatling multiplier)
Requirements
- Your weapon must have a Fire Rate of 1 or higher. Weapons with Fire Rate 0 cannot use Burst Fire.
- You must have enough ⚡ AP to pay the Burst Fire cost.
Number of Shots
The number of shots in a Burst Fire attack is determined by the weapon’s Fire Rate:
Shots = Fire Rate + 1
Burst Fire Penalty
Burst Fire attacks suffer an Accuracy penalty that reflects the difficulty of controlling rapid fire. This penalty applies to all shots in the burst.
The Burst Fire Penalty varies by weapon and is listed on the weapon’s stat block.
Faster weapons generally have higher Burst Fire Penalties than slower ones.
Resolving a Burst Fire Attack
Step 1: Roll the First Shot
Roll to hit for the first shot of the burst:
d20 + SPECIAL Modifier + Skill - Burst Fire Penalty
Apply all normal modifiers (range, Cover, Aim, Called Shot penalty, etc.).
Step 2: Determine Hit Location and CRIT
Each shot calculates its own Hit Location (unless if you are performing a Called Shot Burst Fire)
If the first shot is a CRIT, all shots in the burst are treated as CRITs. Only 1 CRIT Die is rolled for the entire burst attack — it is not multiplied by the number of shots. The CRIT Die damage is added to the damage of the first shot
Step 3: Roll Remaining Shots
Roll to hit for each remaining shot individually, using the same modifiers as the first shot. Each shot either hits or misses independently.
Step 4: Calculate Damage
For each shot that hits:
- Roll the weapon’s damage dice.
- Subtract the target’s DT (Physical or Energy, matching the damage type) from each hit individually. Minimum damage per hit is 1.
After all hits are resolved:
- Sum all post-DT damage from all hits.
- If the first shot was a CRIT, add the CRIT Die result to the total. CRIT Dice are not affected by DT.
- Apply the target’s DR (percentage reduction) to the total.
- The final result is the damage dealt to the target’s HP and the targeted limb’s 💔 Cripple Threshold.
Step 5: Apply Effects
Weapon effects (Bleed X, Embed X, Burn X, etc.) are applied once per ⚔ Attack, not per hit. The effect triggers if the ⚔ Attack deals damage (i.e., at least one shot hit).
Damage Calculation Example
A weapon deals 4 damage per shot, Fire Rate 3 (4 shots). The target has 2 Physical DT and 20% DR. Three of the four shots hit. No CRIT.
- Shot 1 hits: 4 - 2 DT = 2 damage
- Shot 2 misses: 0 damage
- Shot 3 hits: 4 - 2 DT = 2 damage
- Shot 4 hits: 4 - 2 DT = 2 damage
- Total post-DT damage: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6
- Apply DR: 6 × 0.8 = 4.8, rounded to 5 damage
Ammunition
Each shot in a Burst Fire attack consumes 1 unit of ammunition.
Gatling Weapons
Weapons with the Gatling tag (such as miniguns) have extremely high fire rates. Each “shot” in a Gatling weapon’s burst actually represents multiple bullets fired in rapid succession.
Gatling Resolution
- Roll to hit for each shot normally.
- If a shot hits, roll the weapon’s damage dice and multiply the result by the Gatling multiplier (listed on the weapon, typically ×4).
- DT is applied once to the multiplied damage of each shot, not per individual bullet.
- Ammunition consumed equals shots × Gatling multiplier.
Gatling Example
A minigun has Fire Rate 8, Gatling ×4, and deals 2 damage per bullet. It fires 9 shots, consuming 36 rounds of ammunition (9 × 4).
For each shot that hits: 2 damage × 4 = 8 damage per shot. Against a target with 3 Physical DT: 8 - 3 = 5 damage per shot.
If 6 of 9 shots hit, total post-DT damage = 6 × 5 = 30. Then apply DR to the total.
Burst Fire and the Recoil Rule
If you perform a Burst Fire attack and then make any subsequent attack in the same turn, all subsequent attacks suffer -4 🎯 Accuracy. This penalty stacks for each Burst Fire attack performed.
| Turn Sequence | 🎯 Accuracy Penalty |
|---|---|
| Burst Fire → End turn | No penalty |
| Burst Fire → Single shot | Second attack at -4 |
| Burst Fire → Burst Fire | Second burst at -4 |
| Burst Fire → Burst Fire → Any attack | Third attack at -8 |
The Recoil penalty resets at the start of your next turn.
Note: The Recoil Rule is triggered by performing a Burst Fire attack. A Single Fire attack does not trigger the Recoil Rule for subsequent attacks.
Burst Fire and Overwatch
When entering Overwatch, you may choose Burst Fire as your firing mode. Your Overwatch Attacks will use Burst Fire, and the ⚡ AP cost of each Overwatch Attack is the Burst Fire ⚡ AP cost.
The Recoil Rule applies to Overwatch Attacks. Your first Overwatch Attack has no penalty. Your second suffers -4 🎯 Accuracy. Your third suffers -8 🎯 Accuracy, and so on. The Recoil penalty from Overwatch is cleared at the start of your next turn.
Burst Fire and Called Shots
You may perform a Called Shot with Burst Fire. The Called Shot 🎯 Accuracy penalty applies to the first shot, and if it hits, all subsequent shots target the same declared limb. The Called Shot ⚡ AP surcharge (+1 ⚡ AP) applies to the total Burst Fire cost.