Reflex Skills
Reflexes
Double Tap (per weapon type)
Two to the chest, one to the head. Pistols should never be discounted as deadly weapons, but they are not nearly as deadly as larger weapons like rifles, and sometimes putting an opponent down right now is of vital importance. With their relatively low recoil, sometimes it is possible to get multiple reasonably accurate shots on one or more targets. See double tap rules in the Combat and Adventuring chapter for more information.
Quick Draw (Melee-short, Melee-long, Pistol, Long Gun, Others)
If the enemy gets the drop on you, you’d best be able to arm yourself fast. It usually takes an action to draw a new weapon in combat. If you’ve got this skill, you can draw a new weapon and use it in the same action. The TN is usually fair (5). If you fail, you draw the weapon normally and can’t use it in that action. If you go bust, you’ve dropped it. If you go bust and you’ve got bad luck, you might blast yourself or a friend, or slice yourself open on the draw.
Speed Load
In the thick of a firefight, guns will run dry depressingly fast, especially if you’ve got an automatic weapon and are heavy on the trigger. Speed loading helps keeps your guns roaring while missing as few beats as possible. For weapons such as revolvers, tube-magazine weapons (like pump shotguns or some rifles) or rifles with internal magazines (such as most hunting rifles), it normally takes one action to reload bullet or shell. A successful speed load check allows a character to slam up to 3 rounds into a weapon during a single action. If a weapon has a magazine, a fair (5) speed load roll removes the old mag and slaps a new one in place in a single action, otherwise it takes two actions. If you fail loading single bullets, you still get in one round. If you fail to load a magazine, you don’t get it in at all. Maybe the empty is stuck or the fresh mag snagged when you tried to get it out of the pouch. Try again next turn and remember that sometimes haste cuts both ways…
