X-Com: Gray Dawn Suppressing Fire
Suppressing fire can take two distinct forms. One is covering fire; blind, un-aimed shots meant largely to psychologically incapacitate a target and prevent them from pressing the attack. The other is saturation fire.
Covering fire actions are aimed at a target (or their location) and are taken at a -15 penalty, meaning they will usually only hit on a critical success (and maybe not even then!). For every firing action (full ROF for semi-auto weapons) expended, +1 suppression is applied (up to +3). You can burn through ammo very quickly this way if you want to try and keep their heads down. Regardless of how many shots you take per action, only one attack roll is made, and only a max of one round may hit.
Burst fire weapons can fire multiple bursts (3 rounds) but do not cause multiple action penalties, just the -15 for covering fire and no +3 bonus from burst fire. If any burst hits, a maximum of one shot from each burst will hit. This is to reflect that burst fire is more effective at providing fire support than semi-auto weapons.
Full-auto weapons give +1 suppression/5 ROF. Their attack roll is made at -15, and they do not gain the +1/10 ROF bonus at close range as described in FNFF. If a full-auto weapon hits, multiple shots may land on target; roll as for a burst-fire weapon. Full-auto suppression is slightly different than aiming a stream at a target; it is a wild spray of fire, intended to keep people down rather than hit them, hence the improved suppression.
Covering fire is not intended to be accurate. It is the simple act of firing downrange to prevent an opponent from firing. Hits will largely be random and due to sheer luck. Also, covering fire is the only real attack option available to a combatant that has failed a suppression roll, or one that has chosen full cover for their combat stance. Covering fire is the equivalent of sticking your weapon around a corner or over an obstacle and plugging away while exposing as little of yourself to incoming fire as possible (and losing any ability to aim). Covering fire is only effective out to long range (see Range, below), since because it is poorly aimed to begin with, firing at targets at extreme range will likely mean that your shots are so far off the mark that the target may not even realize he is being shot at (which is the whole psychological mechanism behind suppression). Suppressing a target at extreme range will require actual aimed fire.
Since a large component of suppressing fire is psychology and proximity, combatants adjacent (within one space/hex/inch) will also receive suppression from covering fire. Full-auto covering fire increases the suppression effect to two spaces/hexes/inches. Who knows who that wild shot was aimed at? It still hit the log a few feet from your head, so it might have been aimed at you. This should also (as in real firefights) encourage combatants to spread out, or focus fire on targets clumped together. Choosing covering fire for your action will take your entire combat round; you are periodically popping off shots for the entirety of a few-second period.
The second form of suppressing fire is saturation fire. Only automatic weapons can be used for this tactic. It is coordinated fire placed into a firing lane for the purpose of area-denial. It is employed as described for suppressing fire in the FNFF rules. Any target within the firing lane, attempting to move through it during the combat round, or emerging from cover while under saturation fire will need to make a suppression roll to even attempt it, and if they succeed, a dodge/cover roll at a target number of the number of rounds fired/the width of the firing lane in spaces. Attempting saturation fire requires that the shooter has passed any required suppression checks, because it will leave them exposed during a fight for a sustained period, and requires a bit of concentration. If you spray an automatic weapon at a piece of cover you know an opponent is hiding behind and they take an active combat stance to shoot at you from behind it, they stand a chance of being hit before they even take a shot. Hits from saturation fire take place before the target can act. Those bullets were already flying, and the only reason you got hit was because you stuck your fool neck out. You lose the initiative on that one, bub. If hit by saturation fire, the target rolls on the burst fire table to determine the number of hits.
