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So as i have alluded to in many past posts, I'm writing a satirical comedic homebrew. I'm floating two ideas at present;

1. Would a factory that produces Heavy Bolters with non-fully automatic settings (ie, semi-auto and/or burst) be too lore-breaking?

2. If a Devastator Marine (for example), liked to line up his shots with his Heavy Bolter and squeeze off single shots as opposed to just hosing something down, would he get reprimanded 'for not using his weapon correctly'? (i'm not saying he is sniping people at long range, but rather, he actually takes aim with his Heavy Bolter and minimises ammunition expenditure)

the-gentleman-ranker wrote:
So as i have alluded to in many past posts, I'm writing a satirical comedic homebrew. I'm floating two ideas at present;

1. Would a factory that produces Heavy Bolters with non-fully automatic settings (ie, semi-auto and/or burst) be too lore-breaking?

2. If a Devastator Marine (for example), liked to line up his shots with his Heavy Bolter and squeeze off single shots as opposed to just hosing something down, would he get reprimanded 'for not using his weapon correctly'? (i'm not saying he is sniping people at long range, but rather, he actually takes aim with his Heavy Bolter and minimises ammunition expenditure)

Heavy Bolters from the Deathwatch have selectors, so they can fire semi-auto or single shot.

I'd assume it varies by Forgeworld, some probably lost the schematic or machinery for a selector switch, some may use progressive triggers (where how hard the user pulls the trigger determines if it's single shot or auto) etc.

If a marine minimizes ammo usage (provided it doesn't end up putting other marines in danger from lack of covering fire, failure to take down a xeno etc) they would probably be praised for saving resources.

A marine probably has the reflexes to fire single shots even without a selector. Maybe the Codex Astartes has whole chapters on when single shots out of support weapons are appropriate.

Heavy Bolters, like all Imperial Technology, aren’t a homogenous design. Different patterns will have different traits.

A shot selector, especially for Astartes does seem like a sensible addition. Because sometimes a burst or fusillade might be a waste of limited ammunition.

Plus, time was Hellfire Shells were a common upgrade. As well as a nasty mutagenic acid, they’re individually loaded. Which further supports that at least common patterns of Astartes Heavy Bolter have shot selection/limitation to assist.

So, yeah. There’s wiggle room for you to include it, or to exclude it. Just invent your own sub-pattern and you’re golden.