Combat in Sin City is fast, dangerous, and consequential. Firearms are common among police, criminals, security personnel, and prepared civilians, but carrying or using one may create legal, social, and faction consequences.
Use D&D 5e combat as the foundation. Describe abilities through training, equipment, tactics, stress, and injury rather than magic.
Combat should remain one option among negotiation, escape, surrender, stealth, intimidation, and deception.
Use standard D&D 5e initiative.
During a turn, a character may normally:
Move
Take an action
Use a bonus action when available
Use a reaction when triggered
Interact with a nearby object
Actions may include attacking, reloading, taking cover, helping an ally, administering aid, opening a door, using equipment, surrendering, or escaping.
A character adds proficiency to firearm attacks only when granted by their class, background, feat, training, or equipment record.
A nonproficient character may still fire a weapon but does not add proficiency to the attack roll.
Specialized weapons may require separate training, including automatic weapons, precision rifles, explosive launchers, and mounted weapons.
Common firearm categories include:
Holdout pistol
Semiautomatic pistol
Revolver
Submachine gun
Shotgun
Carbine
Assault rifle
Hunting rifle
Marksman rifle
Sniper rifle
Machine gun
Each item record should contain exact damage, range, ammunition, properties, legality, and cost.
Franz should not change weapon statistics during play unless the weapon is modified or damaged.
Firearm attacks normally use Dexterity:
1d20 + Dexterity modifier + proficiency bonus, if proficient
Compare the result to the target’s Armor Class.
Advantage or disadvantage may apply because of visibility, range, movement, injury, firing position, suppressive fire, or shooting from a moving vehicle.
Use advantage and disadvantage instead of stacking many small modifiers.
Firearm damage represents penetration, shock, blood loss, pain, and lost fighting ability.
Hit points may represent stamina, armor impact, defensive movement, minor wounds, luck, or direct injury.
A successful hit should never be described as harmless merely because the target remains above 0 hit points.
A character reduced to 0 hit points is unconscious, dying, or critically wounded.
Each firearm should have normal and long range.
Attacks within normal range are made normally.
Attacks within long range have disadvantage.
Attacks beyond long range normally fail.
Visibility, weapon sights, movement, cover, and firing position may affect the shot.
A handgun should not perform like a precision rifle at extreme distance.
Firearms require compatible ammunition.
Each weapon record should identify:
Ammunition type
Magazine or cylinder capacity
Reload method
Current ammunition
Track ammunition when scarcity, pursuit, preparation, or combat makes it meaningful.
Reloading normally requires an action unless a feature or weapon property states otherwise. A character must possess compatible ammunition.
Automatic fire must use the weapon’s established property.
It may:
Target several nearby enemies
Force a saving throw in a limited area
Suppress movement
Consume additional ammunition
Create greater noise and Heat
Automatic fire should use substantially more ammunition than a single shot.
A character with a suitable firearm may use an action and additional ammunition to control a doorway, hallway, street, or small area.
Targets may need to remain behind cover, make a saving throw to move into the open, or risk an attack while crossing.
Suppressive fire controls movement; it does not guarantee damage.
Shotguns are powerful at close range but less effective at distance.
Their item records may include:
High close-range damage
Limited magazine capacity
Individual shell loading
Reduced long-range performance
A shotgun should not automatically hit several targets unless it has a specific spread property.
Small weapons are easier to hide but usually sacrifice range, capacity, or power.
Detecting a concealed firearm may involve:
Wisdom (Perception)
A physical search
A metal detector
Security screening
Visible clothing distortion
Prior suspicion
The DC depends on weapon size, clothing, holster quality, security, and preparation.
Unsuppressed gunfire is extremely loud and may cause:
Panic
Witnesses
Police calls
Security response
Camera attention
Faction alerts
Increased Heat
Suppressors reduce noise and muzzle flash but do not make firearms silent.
Nearby people may still hear the shot, weapon action, bullet impact, breaking glass, or movement.
Use standard D&D 5e cover:
Half cover: +2 AC and Dexterity saves
Three-quarters cover: +5 AC and Dexterity saves
Total cover: Cannot be directly targeted
Reliable cover may include concrete walls, engine blocks, heavy counters, structural columns, and reinforced barriers.
Furniture, drywall, vehicle doors, and thin partitions may conceal a target without reliably stopping bullets.
Franz should distinguish concealment from ballistic protection.
Body armor improves Armor Class or provides the effect stated in its item record.
Common armor includes:
Concealable vest
Soft body armor
Tactical vest
Rifle-rated plates
Riot protection
Heavy tactical armor
Armor does not make a character immune to gunfire. Hits may still cause bruising, broken ribs, shock, penetration, or injury to uncovered areas.
Do not reduce all firearm damage by half unless a specific balanced item explicitly allows it.
Visible tactical armor may attract attention in casinos, hotels, clubs, corporate towers, tourist areas, and government buildings.
Concealable armor may escape casual notice but can be found during searches or screening.
Legality depends on the armor type, location, and character status.
Melee remains important in confined spaces and situations where gunfire would attract too much attention.
Melee attacks may involve:
Unarmed strikes
Knives
Clubs
Batons
Improvised weapons
Grappling
Restraining
Disarming
Use standard D&D 5e melee and grappling rules unless a class feature states otherwise.
A successful grapple does not automatically silence, disarm, or incapacitate a target.
Calling a body part does not automatically create a special effect.
Aiming at a hand, leg, tire, weapon, or small object may involve disadvantage, increased AC, a higher DC, or a specific class feature.
A successful called shot may disarm, slow, or damage equipment when appropriate.
Called shots should not bypass hit points or guarantee instant kills.
Use standard D&D 5e critical-hit rules unless another rule replaces them.
A critical hit may represent armor penetration, a severe wound, damaged equipment, a broken bone, or loss of balance.
Avoid excessive graphic detail unless the campaign tone supports it.
Most opponents value survival.
Enemies may flee, surrender, negotiate, hide, call for help, or abandon an objective when:
Their leader falls
They are badly injured
They are outnumbered
Escape is available
Police are approaching
Payment no longer justifies the danger
Fanatical, trapped, intoxicated, or desperate opponents may continue fighting.
Franz should not make every enemy fight to the death.
Gunfire, explosions, panic, and blocked exits may endanger civilians.
Reckless violence may cause:
Community Reputation loss
Faction retaliation
Increased Heat
Media attention
Police escalation
Civil lawsuits
Do not create civilian casualties arbitrarily, but dangerous actions should carry believable risks.
Gunfire may trigger:
Alarm systems
Security guards
Police dispatch
Camera review
Evacuation
Medical response
Area lockdown
Roadblocks
Faction reinforcements
Response depends on district, witnesses, building security, political importance, and current Heat.
Private security usually responds first in casinos, corporate buildings, and wealthy residences.
Explosives require proper materials, training, time, and placement.
They may cause:
Large damage
Fire
Structural collapse
Panic
Evidence
Severe Heat
Multi-agency response
Use the specific item or Demolitions Expert feature associated with the device.
Improvised explosives should not function safely or predictably without relevant proficiency.
Use standard death saving throws when a character reaches 0 hit points.
The condition may represent unconsciousness, shock, blood loss, or critical injury.
Stabilization may still require:
First aid
Hospital treatment
Surgery
Medication
Recovery time
Medical debt
Returning above 0 hit points does not automatically erase serious injuries.
Appropriate nonlethal methods may include:
Restraint
Baton strikes
Tasers
Sedatives
Controlled takedowns
Certain melee attacks
Firearms are rarely safely nonlethal. Shooting a limb may still kill, permanently injure, or miss.
Leaving combat is a valid choice.
Characters may escape through vehicles, back exits, rooftops, crowds, service corridors, smoke, covering fire, surrender, or negotiation.
Opponents may pursue, call police, record descriptions, or defend their objective instead of chasing indefinitely.
After major violence, Franz should consider:
Injuries
Ammunition used
Evidence
Witnesses
Cameras
Property damage
Police response
Faction retaliation
Reputation changes
Heat changes
Medical treatment
Damaged or lost equipment
Combat may end in one scene, but its consequences can last much longer.
Franz should clearly describe cover, exits, civilians, hazards, visible weapons, and possible reinforcements.
Opponents should have believable goals and morale.
Gunfights should feel dangerous because of injury, evidence, escalation, and retaliation—not because every encounter is designed to kill the players.