Information Shoot To Roleplay Guide

[AbeBatJes]

Hey everyone! So you're getting into Half Life 2 Roleplay, and you're suddenly stuck in a Shoot To Roleplay scenario! What do you have to do? Well, my friend Pants here, showcasing as Lucas Leavitt, and myself AbeBatJes, showcasing as Trey Watkins, are going to show you how to fight!​

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Look at this silly Civil Protection not paying attention! We got the jump on him! Now in these engagements, rather than blasting him a new one to the next century, the most IDEAL thing to do, is fire a few shots TOWARDS them, but not directly at them; a good example would be firing towards their feet, or a wall next to them (Physically; ICly you can fire AT them). Normally when these engagements occur, an admin or GM will be around to supervise this (dependent on how many people are on). This is where things get interesting.



A popup will normally appear in a "Yell" fashion, or sometimes one of the mods will yell out HOLD, to allow either a /ev (Event) To be posted out, or a /GIT or /GME (Global variants of /it & /me); /gme will have your character's name appear globally to the entire server, while /git will Globally show what you type, without your character's name. Then the turn orders occur! Now the only exception would be if you are separate from whatever is going on in the server, and are having your OWN confrontation. What'd be recommend at that point is using /lme /lit, which just further increases the distance of where players can see where you're typing from, so there's no confused on an ongoing fight.
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"But Abe? How do we know if we hit someone or not?"

I'm glad you asked random Male_07! So here on Idyllic, we go off of what's known as the 'Faith Rule'. In laymen's terms, if I'm at a certain distance from you, like seen from our little engagement, more than likely my shots are going to land. Now naturally speaking, people will react when they hear gunfire, and if and when they get hit; so their body may flinch, causing a few rounds to miss. However the close the individual is, the more likely the majority of the rounds will land.



"Awesome, so I can just mag dump them!"

Well, no... not necessarily. While some weapons are known for their higher rate of fire, you have to take into accountability of a mixture of elements; are you getting shot at? The recoil, and most importantly, the turn order. Normally speaking, the timeframe between each turn is similar to DnD, and that it lasts roughly between 3-6 seconds.

Now YES... there ARE people who have managed to mag-dump certain weapons like shotguns in VERY quick successions, but you have to also understand that they are people who not only are professionals, but it's in a controlled environment. Now while some characters may have more training than others, the general rule of thumb is Automatic weapons can get a decent burst out, semi-auto weapons (dependent on the firearm) can do a burst as well, but less, and pump-action is even slower. You also should take into consideration for reloading as well, just to play fair.



"Well Abe... what if I don't want to want to go off of the Faith rule? Is there something else that we can do?"

Yes Male_07! There is! There's a command called rp_roll 1d20. This makes the server throw out a D20 for you, and determines the outcome. So if you're firing at someone, and you roll a 7, and the opposing person rolls a 12, the following could occur: The weapon jammed up at that moment and the gun didn't fire; the rounds from the weapon's recoil caused you to miss, or there was some other factor all together! Now there's a few other factors to go into...



If someone is at point blank range; a roll isn't going to help you dodge the bullets... and dependent also on the type of 'protection' you have, more than likely, the rounds will pierce the vest and still cause injury. THIS can effect BOTH parties. But if the person who is getting shot at didn't notice the other party, and they're this close; sorry, but retaliation just wouldn't be feasible in all accounts.



"So what about long range engagements? What do we do there? Do we just simply fire at the person and hit them?"

No my good friend! Even with scoped rifles at VERY long distances, the chances of actually hitting a target, especially one that's moving, can be VERY challenging, even to the most skilled of shooters!



Now while going for a headshot sounds like an epic thing that you can do, and you've probably done this countless times in Call of Duty, Battlefield, and insert any game you like; in a real life scenario, this is considered rather difficult; you're better off at firing towards someone's center mass if you're going to land a hit effectively. And even then, at long distances, part of the faith system as well as rolls comes into play.

Now a Natural 20 won't always nat you a headshot (unless the person rolls a 1; then that's a critical success and they should be shamed), if you're taking the first shot, it's best to fire close by the person, and ask to HOLD (again, normally a GM or Admin will be around supervising this, so they'll sometimes be the ones to engage this). Now the shot CAN land, or it may narrowly miss; those that may have had a sharpshooter background, or have been training for EXTENSIVE amounts of time, may be capable of hitting the person on the first round; but this doesn't always means it hits.​

 

[AbeBatJes]

"What do you mean? I shot at them and it should've landed?"

Yes! And it could have landed! HOWEVER, another thing to take into account is protection! Some individuals may be wearing stronger plated armors, especially Overwatch, which are known to have VERY durable plating, and can be sometimes difficult to take down. Some smaller munitions such as 9x19 may 'tickle' them, whereas a 7.62x54mmr may possibly go through their plating, dependent on the range, angle, and other factors.



"So what about those that get hit? What do we do in situations like that? If they're grievously injured, do they just die?"

EXCELLENT QUESTION MALE_07! So there's many factors that can go into play. In S2K, 99.9% of the time, it will ALWAYS be NLR (New Life Rule), meaning that the person that died, wasn't YOUR character, but rather someone that was in your place.

NOW! Dependent on the situation, two things can happen. Much like my character, you can take a Permanent Injury (such as a loss of a limb, or something that factors towards that), a PK (Permanent Kill/Death)... or in SOME factors; a loss of gear (can be the majority or all of it, however this is more of a rare scenario). However before such scenarios happens, the majority of the time, an admin or GM will be around to witness this, and sometimes check to see what route you'd like to take. However not ALL deaths are avoidable; it's best to play smart, whenever possible!

ALSO! Remember that you are NOT superman. If you get hit, and you're bleeding... you may want to take care of that wound. Otherwise, you may die while trying to run away, or go to the next objective.



"So if I have armored plating, or even some combine gear, I should be protected and safe right!?"

Well, not exactly. It's a slippery slope. While YES, armor CAN protect you from certain death, it doesn't make you invincible. While smaller caliber rounds (dependent on your plating and type of armor) can resistant/stop the bullet, the kinetic force that goes from the plating onto the human body, does NOT feel great at all. And the bigger the caliber, the more 'damage'. So even if you manage to survive a 7.62x54mmr round going into your combine vest if you had it, you will definitely feel one of your ribs or two crack; it will be VERY unpleasant, and you will have to do some injuryRP.

Also, this is why some people may still die from a grenade even if shrapnel doesn't hit anywhere nearby their body. Although there are cases of people surviving the blasts, being nearby certain explosives can be devastating to the human body's internal organs, causing from bruising to internal ruptures.



That is why in scenarios like these, firing off a RPG inside a tight corridor towards an enemy would be a rather bad idea. Even say they were in a longer room, the blast itself can be rather devastating not only for the person firing, but towards allies as well, which is why some individuals may not utilize explosives; gotta be smart!


"Can't I kick an explosive or toss an explosive away so it doesn't harm myself or other friends?"

Another great question. So dependent on the context, sometimes a roll can be ensued, however sometimes there's a 'house rule' that if it can be cool, or make for an epic moment, sometimes it may be allowed. BE WARNED HOWEVER! Sometimes as spectacular of these events can be for protecting your friends, a disastrous moment can just as likely occur; so choose your ideas wisely!



"So Abe, how many moves can we do per turn exactly? Surely I can take cover, fire around a corner, and pull back right?"

So not exactly. If you're moving to cover, dependent on the situation, you can provide suppressive fire while moving slowly; this may make you a target, and if you're not suppressing the right spot, you're liable to get hit. Also dependent on the type of firearm, you may be able to possibly reload and then fire, but maybe a round or two AT MOST, and even then. Remember, every turn is roughly between 3-6 seconds give or take, so you need to plan accordingly.
Also, if you're suppressing an area, that area is in-fact, SUPPRESSED. So if you're the opposition and try to move around and shoot at the individual; sorry, but you're gonna get hit. Sometimes you just have to either wait it out, or come up with a plan.​

 

[AbeBatJes]

"Abe, I have more questions. With all these weapons and what not, what's actually effective? What works and what doesn't? It feels like sometimes my guns can destroy the entire world, and at other situations, it just tickles the enemies. What gives?"


Well Male_07, sometimes it's a mixture of players wanting to be the main character, and sometimes people forgetting certain things. Afterall, we're only human, and we all want to have fun in some capacity. I'd like to recommend looking at the Ballistics & Armor Guide! While it shouldn't be taken at a one to one value, it's a general consensus of what should be potential.​

Let's go over the MP7 for example. Yeah, it looks small. But it's actually quite an effective weapon. It uses the cartridge 4.6x30mm. This particular round is capable of going through certain targets, such as certain thin sheets of metal, car doors, and even certain levels of Kevlar/plating (Dependent on the level). Now it's hard to remember what each round will be capable of going through and what it can't, so it's recommend to occasionally check up on the document, but not have it be the number one commandment above all things.

ANOTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND! Bolt-Action weapons can NOT be chain fired like it's an automatic weapon, including a weapon such as the KS-23. It takes time having to aim your weapon, fire off the shot, rack the bolt, and have the next round ready. And while the KS-23 for example isn't obviously a bolt action, it's a VERY heavy hitting weapon, with A LOT of recoil to boot.



That also comes to mind! So to further add as to what weapons would be great; LMGs for example are king above others in terms of suppressing an area. If someone use using an LMG, even by trying to peak around to toss out a grenade, or go around to shoot at the person, will ALWAYS result in you getting hit. If someone is using a rifle, if they're timing their shots, it MAY be possible, but more often then not, you will more than likely get hit. Suppressing with a shotgun isn't particularly a viable option, unless you had a drum mag, and it was with a semi-automatic/automatic shotgun, but even then, holding down the trigger and eating that recoil, wouldn't be advisable.

In terms of engagements, an LMG can be used on the go, and fire off small burst rounds, but continued fire will result in heavier recoil, and make your shots less accurate as a result. Getting down into a prone position, and having either a bipod, or something to keep the weapon stable, can provide better accuracy. Make sure you have some decent cover; also you can't run to cover, set your weapon down and start firing. Just not allowed.

Rifles (dependent on the caliber and type of weapon), are great at mid to long range engagements; short is also viable as well, but there are other types of weapons that'd fill that category, such as SMGs or shotguns.

Speaking of shotguns; while you can potentially dump shell after shell into a target.. you aren't Rambo. You can maybe pop off between two to three shots at MOST. And don't always let it be that many rounds every single time. But if you do up to that amount, keep in mind that you WON'T be able to get back into cover; you will HAVE to remain where you were at while firing; while you may be shooting at one target, someone may have eyes on you, and can retaliate. So be SMART!

For snipers; it's a very accurate weapon, that has a lot of velocity as well. However before taking a shot, you need to properly get into position to line up your shot (unless someone is VERY nearby; then you can more or less eyeball it/iron sight it essentially). Keep in mind that getting a headshot isn't like how it is in the movies; it can be quite difficult to achieve, especially in in long distances. Otherwise, more likely than not, the bullet may sometimes just miss or even graze.

During S2RP, you can line up your shot, getting everything adjusted and wait (in a way 'skipping' a turn), and when it's your turn, and if the person you're looking at hasn't moved, you are able to fire off a well placed accurate shot towards them (preferably center mass of course). Keep in mind that you can only fire off one round at a time (the only except would be the Dragunov, that being a semi-automatic. HOWEVER, the second shot may not be as accurate if you fire it twice in a single round).​