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I propose to allow a model to shoot a number of times equal to their base attack characteristic.
So a champion would be able to fire twice, a hero three times and a lord 4 times.
Move or Fire weapons would be able to move, but reduce the number of shots by 1. So a champion could fire a crossbow twice or once while moving.

Even with the BS boost you rarely see characters with ranged weapons. I think this would go a way to changing that.

Exergy wrote:I propose to allow a model to shoot a number of times equal to their base attack characteristic.
So a champion would be able to fire twice, a hero three times and a lord 4 times.
Move or Fire weapons would be able to move, but reduce the number of shots by 1. So a champion could fire a crossbow twice or once while moving.

Even with the BS boost you rarely see characters with ranged weapons. I think this would go a way to changing that.

Great plan. I've got 15 leadbelchers. That's 45 D6 Shots!
Sniper maneaters with 6 shots each would be sweet.
Elf lord with 4 shots at S6 D3 wounds no armor save? Awesome.
Hell, even my dreadlord would be happy with 16 S3 shots from his brace of handbows.
It works out fine for S3/S4 single shot weapons, but really brakes down with any decent weapon.

-Matt

HawaiiMatt wrote:

Exergy wrote:I propose to allow a model to shoot a number of times equal to their base attack characteristic.
So a champion would be able to fire twice, a hero three times and a lord 4 times.
Move or Fire weapons would be able to move, but reduce the number of shots by 1. So a champion could fire a crossbow twice or once while moving.

Even with the BS boost you rarely see characters with ranged weapons. I think this would go a way to changing that.

Great plan. I've got 15 leadbelchers. That's 45 D6 Shots!
Sniper maneaters with 6 shots each would be sweet.
Elf lord with 4 shots at S6 D3 wounds no armor save? Awesome.
Hell, even my dreadlord would be happy with 16 S3 shots from his brace of handbows.
It works out fine for S3/S4 single shot weapons, but really brakes down with any decent weapon.

-Matt

I suppose there would need to be some balacing

Nearly all ranged is designed around, shoot until the enemy closes ranks, and then go melee. And they are worse at melee than a straight melee unit, making up for the free round(s) of attacks. If you got the same attacks at range as melee, ranged weapons would have to cost insane amounts of points. And really, why would anyone who could use one ever bother fighting melee?

(Necrolis Collosus with its 4 bolt thrower attacks a round)

It's too sweeping to base it off attacks, which was never designed for that. If you want to modify units, give them a new weapon. Like TK Bow of the Desert or handguns or leadbelchers or whatever. That way you can put it where it belongs. If an elfy hero should get 5 shots, give him 5 shots.

Also woodelves have a item that lets them do it..... Yay lets shaft Woodies more

Johnny-Crass wrote:Yay lets shaft Woodies more

If that's what you're into

Savage Big 'Uns with bows... yikes.

Johnny-Crass wrote:Also woodelves have a item that lets them do it..... Yay lets shaft Woodies more

You mean
Hello, my name is LorenLord, I have 25 S3 shots a turn that ignore armour and hit on a 2+ and 5 S4 sniper shots that hit on a 3+
Now prepare to die.

Krellnus wrote:

Johnny-Crass wrote:Also woodelves have a item that lets them do it..... Yay lets shaft Woodies more

You mean
Hello, my name is LorenLord, I have 25 S3 shots a turn that ignore armour and hit on a 2+ and 5 S4 sniper shots that hit on a 3+
You Murdered my borther. Now prepare to die.

Fixxed

Johnny-Crass wrote:

Krellnus wrote:

Johnny-Crass wrote:Also woodelves have a item that lets them do it..... Yay lets shaft Woodies more

You mean
Hello, my name is LorenLord, I have 25 S3 shots a turn that ignore armour and hit on a 2+ and 5 S4 sniper shots that hit on a 3+
You Killed my Father, prepare to die.

Fixxed

Fixxed the Fix.

-Matt

The issue here, primarily, is that the attacks stat is one of the measures of how fearsome a character is in close combat. There is simply no reason to assume that just because a character is a skilled melee combatant that he would be able to launch two or three times as many shots in the same time as a more modest soldier.

Indeed, no matter how skilled a soldier is, he isn't going to be firing at a markedly higher rate than other soldiers. He will be more accurate, but not fire that much more often.

Really, if we really wanted more characters with potent ranged weapons, it'd be easier just to make more deadly, multi-shot ranged weapons more common. Giving Empire characters access to repeater handguns for a modest price would see them taken, without any change in the overall rules structure.