Round Types and Special
Effects or Rules
APERS: Short for Anti-Personnel, an
APERS round (also known, especially in the US, as Tactical Buckshot) is
analogous to a huge shotgun round.
As such, APERS rounds have a minimum range as well as following the rules of a
shotgun round as far as multiple targets in one blast.
The HVCC (High Explosive
Canister Charge) is a high-velocity version of the APERS round, fired from
NATO-compatible grenade machineguns and other launchers able to handle a NATO HV
round.
Flechette rounds are
basically the same idea as APERS rounds, but instead of steel balls, the
Flechette round breaks up into lots of small steel or tungsten darts.
The darts are small, but being hit by so many flechettes at once is
likely to shred opponents. They also have better aerodynamic and penetration
properties. Flechette rounds can damage their launcher due to scraping the
inside of the barrel’s walls; the chance is small, however (GM call here).
Barricade Penetrator: This round can
punch through closed windows, wooden doors, drapes, etc.
It is a rather long round, being over 15 centimeters long.
The penetrator itself is a heavy steel nose. After a short time delay
(which may be set to ˝ to 3 seconds), a small irritant gas follow-on grenade
begins to vent its gas. The round
is theoretically capable of causing physical harm if it strikes someone
directly; that is the bracketed number on the chart below.
Likewise, the first penetration number is against materials or an unlucky
light vehicle (it is capable of penetrating a windshield, car door, or damage a
radiator), the second is the penetration if a person is hit directly.
Baton: This round consists of
special casing with propellant, with the projectile fired being essentially a
short length of wood or plastic, striking the target with sort of a low-velocity
bullet. Penetration is not only
Nil; a heavy coat or suchlike will protect against the Baton.
Irritant Baton:
This round looks for the most part like a plastic Baton round; however, the
Irritant Baton opens in flight to reveal a petal pattern and a central portion
which splats the target with CS or concentrated Capsaicin. In addition to the
damage from a Baton round, the target gets a nice dose of irritant; this
irritant gas affects only the target.
Beanbag: This is pretty much what it
sounds like; when fired, the target is hit by a square bag about the size of a
paperback book. The bag is filled
with small items that are strong but allow the beanbag to “give” a little.
A Beanbag round can be filled with rocks similar to fish tank rocks,
plastic pellets, or some type of heavy powder such as iron filings – any such
material that has enough weight to fly.
CHEM: This is sort of a catch-all
for a variety of soft and hard
chemicals, ranging from tactical smoke to colored signal smoke, from irritant
gas to lethal chemicals. These
rounds typically have Concussion rating that causes actual damage, and a Burst
rating that is a measure of the radius of the cloud of chemicals.
For the most part, the Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules ably handle the use of
smoke and chemicals, but some chemicals and situations require additional
elaboration.
Irritant Gas rounds have the
standard effects in the Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules if the irritant gas used is CS.
If the gas is CN or an equivalent, difficulty rolls are one step harder.
If the irritant gas is concentrated capsaicin or an equivalent,
difficulty rolls are made at +3. Virtually all military irritant gas rounds are
CS-equivalent rounds; police forces also use CS-equivalent rounds, but the use
of capsaicin-type rounds is becoming more common in riot control, and police
forces rarely have access to CN rounds.
The Ferret round was
originally meant to provide a round with door penetration; however, it fell into
disuse due to poor performance.
However, it can still deliver a decent amount of Irritant Gas.
Flash-Bang
(sometimes called a Crash-Bang or Stun grenade)
is a round designed to stun and distract bad guys in a closed space, so they
cannot get shots off at friendlies before the bad guys get killed by the good
guys. They were first designed to stun hostage takers; though the grenade will
stun the hostages too; they will receive assistance from the rescue force
instead of bullets. Though a
Flash-Bang can be one big bang and flash, most Flash-Bangs use a string of 3-5
bangs and flashes, as it causes more severe and lengthy confusion to hostage
takers or rioters.
The
Fowling Control
round is a very unusual round.
It is designed for wildlife officers to catch birds like ducks and geese when a
pond or wetlands has become overpopulated with birds.
When fired, a weighted net quickly unfolds to trap the birds (hopefully)
before they can fly off. The net is
strong, yet lightweight and easy to pack in a shell (in a factory).
When the Fowling Control round is fired, there will be a bang as the
charge throws the net out of the launcher, but this is not harmful under most
circumstances. The net has a
six-meter diameter, and the net deploys over the course of one second, with a
minimum range of ten meters. Of
course, this round could be used to capture PCs or NPCs; in this case, the PC or
NPC gets a Difficult:Agility roll to avoid being caught.
If the roll is missed by two points or one point, the character is only
partially caught by the net, with the net entangling three adjoining body parts.
Catastrophic Failure has no practical special effects; Outstanding
Success has a special effect only if the character is within 2 meters of another
friendly character; in this case, the character is able to keep the net off one
other character who is within 2 meters.
HE (High Explosive) is a relatively
simple round, consisting largely of a warhead with an outer shell and an
internal explosive filler. However,
there is some fragmentation effect to the explosion.
Sometimes, the fragments result from the warhead jacket itself (often
specially-scored inside to increase fragmentation), but more normally, the round
will have a thickened jacket to produce more and heavier fragments.
The HVHE round is a high
velocity version of this HE round.
FRAG-HE (or simply FRAG) is
an HE round with a fragmentation jacket around the warhead explosive, in order
to produce more casualties.
Unfortunately, the fragmentation jacket tends to suppress the concussive value
of the grenade. Sometimes, a
Fragmentation round uses fragments embedded directly in the explosive, (usually)
with a specially-scored outer warhead wall.
The Hellhound FRAG-DP is one
of the new generation of medium-velocity grenades that are designed to be fired
from some launchers that normally launch 40x46mm low-velocity grenades.
However, these rounds can only be fired by launchers which are designed
to chamber the longer rounds. A
Hellhound FRAG-DP not only has a larger warhead, it has a fragmentation jacket
around the warhead. The Hellhound
also has a small shaped charged in it, giving it some small antiarmor value.
The unusual
Russian round commonly called the
Jumping Frag is sort of a grenade launcher version of a bounce mine – when
the round hits the ground, a secondary charge blows the main charge about 1
meter into the air, where it explodes in the same manner as the typical
fragmentation round.
The HEAB (High Explosive
AirBurst; also called the PP-HE-SD) round can use its full range of features
only when fired from a launcher equipped with a special sight module that tells
the grenade when to detonate via a radio or laser link.
This allows the grenade to detonate in mid-air over an enemy trench, dead
space that the enemy may be hiding in, or just beyond a wall that the enemy is
behind, for example. Without the
proper module, the HEAB round is treated as a simple HE round.
The HVHEAB is the same round, packaged to contain a larger high-velocity
propellant package.
The HESH (High Explosive
Squash Head) warhead consists mostly of explosive with a thin warhead shell and
a detonator. Damage to armor is a
little limited, but usually effective against APCs, IFVs, and light combat
vehicles. The HESH round is also
useful against building walls and some fortifications.
A
HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) round is essentially an HEDP round formed
fully into a shaped charge, giving it greatly enhanced penetration against
armor. This lessens the amount of
explosive for antipersonnel effects.
HEAT-T is the same round, but with a tandem warhead.
HEDP (High-Explosive,
Dual-Purpose) has the explosives inside the warhead shaped differently – the
warhead is a shaped charged that allows the round to penetrate light armor.
The HEDP round also has some blast and fragmentation value, and is still
has excellent antipersonnel effect.
The HE-HC (High Explosive
Hollow Charge) round, peculiar to the Romanian AGA-40 GMG, is similar in concept
to the HEDP round. However, rounds
for the AGA-40 are some of the longest grenade launcher rounds out there, and
this allows for not only a good-sized
shaped charge round (another name for a shaped charge is a hollow
charge), it allows for a decent explosive charge and a fragmentation jacket.
ILLUM (Illumination) rounds are
essentially very bright flares, designed to light up the battlefield for a short
time. These rounds typically have a
simple igniter and a thin casing, perforated in many places so that the
illumination compound can’t simply fall out of the round, but allow the
illumination compound to do its job.
The illumination compound is usually a metal-based compound which burns
at a high temperature and brightness, such as magnesium oxide or aluminum oxide.
The ILLUM round is designed to begin burning at the top of the round’s
arc; it then descends on a small parachute to slow its fall and increase its
useful time.
Flares are a subtype of ILLUM
rounds that are primarily used for signaling, and are usually not nearly as
bright as an illumination round.
Flares are almost always colored lights. They too are suspended on a parachute,
for the same reasons as above.
Star Clusters are themselves
a subtype of flares, as when they burst, they throw off several smaller flares.
They too are designed primarily for signaling.
I have often heard fellow soldiers say that they look a little like
fireworks.
For more information on these types of rounds, See Illumination
Devices.
Multiball
rounds are sort of a less-than-lethal version of a fragmentation round.
Instead of high explosives and steel balls, the Multiball round has
explosives and rubber balls inside.
Rubber Pellet rounds are the
same basic idea as Multiball rounds, but they use smaller balls of hard rubber,
producing a larger fragmentation pattern.
Stingball rounds are likewise
the same as Multiball rounds.
The
Muzzle Blast round is basically a
grenade packed with gunpowder or flash powder; it’s a powerful blank round.
No warhead is discharged with the Muzzle Blast round; instead, the round
causes temporary damage of 3D6 out to 10 meters in an arc of 25 degrees starting
at the muzzle of the launcher.
Slugs are what they sound like – a
solid lead or steel slug, very much like a shotgun slug.
They may sometimes be jacketed, and may sometimes have the slug scored to
increase the breakup effects. The
slug round behaves essentially like a big shotgun slug instead of a normal
grenade round. Sometimes slug-type rounds are used in riot control; these rounds
are generally made of rubber, and these use the temporary damage rules.
The Ballistic round used by
the Polish PALLAD grenade launcher is for the most part like a standard slug
round, but the slug is made of hard vulcanized rubber.
It still hurts just as much as a Slug round, though when a medic treats
the victim, he will find that there is more bruising, and possibly broken or
cracked ribs. (This is a GM call.) The Russian
Rubber Slug round is simply another
term for the same thing, as is the 25x40mm
Rubber Ball.
Thermobaric rounds do their damage
by overpressure; this overpressure is usually generated by forming a cloud of
highly-flammable gas or mist, after which a second detonator causes the gas or
mist to explode very violently.
This kills its victims by massive concussion and secondary flame effects.
The description I gave above is a bit windy, since the whole thing takes
less than a second for detonation and secondary detonation.
WP (White Phosphorus) rounds have
very little concussion effect when they explode, but they do spray the target
area with chunks of white phosphorus, which react in a pyrophoric manner with
oxygen. They will also react in
this manner with even the oxygen inside human issue or blood, and (as per the
Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules) they can
continue to cause burning damage until they are burned out or smothered with
compounds that do not react with the WP (a type of surgical jelly is designed
specifically for this use). The
White Phosphorus can also cause fires among flammable materials in the area.
Finally, White Phosphorus produces a sense cloud of white smoke, in the
same manner as a smoke grenade cloud of the same caliber.
(For this reason, they are often used by aircraft or helicopters to mark
targets that need a more comprehensive working over.) Eventually, White
Phosphorus burns into Red Phosphorus crystals, which are for the most part
stable and don’t burn unless heated to high temperature.
RP (Red Phosphorus) is more
stable than White Phosphorus, and somewhat less destructive in its effects.
(However, most of this less-destructive effect is difficult or impossible
to simulate using Twilight 2000 v2.2
rules.) The easiest thing to simulate using T2K rules is that RP does not react
so violently to bodily tissues, and the flame damage of a Red Phosphorus
fragment is spread over the course of 10 rounds for each fragment.
Igniting the Red Phosphorus requires a hotter primer or pre-explosive
charge, as Red Phosphorus requires ten times the temperature to ignite into an
explosion (30 degrees Celsius vs 300 degrees Celsius for Red Phosphorus). The
smoke cloud from Red Phosphorus is thinner and half the duration of White
Phosphorus. Other effects are the same as White Phosphorus.
As with White Phosphorus, Red Phosphorus turns into stable Red Phosphorus
crystals, though this takes only 20-30 minutes.
Categories below
are largely generic, instead of referring to the specific round made by one
company or another.
Some rounds have
a single number in parentheses. The parentheses around the Baton’s (and some
other rounds) indicate that the damage inflicted by the Baton is temporary
damage, with the exception of torso or head hits, which cause permanent damage
of 1 point if the chest is struck or 2 points if the target is struck in the
head.
25x40mm ATK Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
Door-Breaching
(HESH) |
0.25 kg |
$2 |
C1
B5 [2] |
6C |
Flechette |
0.15 kg |
$4 |
8 |
1-Nil |
HEAB – Airburst
Mode |
0.25 kg |
$4 |
C3
B14 |
Nil |
HEAB – Direct
Fire |
0.25 kg |
$4 |
C1
B6 |
2C |
HEAT |
0.25 kg |
$6 |
C1
B7 |
23C |
Non-Lethal – CS |
0.24 kg |
$2 |
C2
(B1) |
Nil |
Non-Lethal –
Stingball |
0.2 kg |
$6 |
C1
B7 |
Nil |
Non-Lethal –
Rubber Ball |
0.23 kg |
$3 |
(15) |
2-2-2 |
Thermobaric AB –
Airburst Mode |
0.29 kg |
$12 |
C8
B37 |
5C |
Thermobaric AB –
Direct Fire |
0.29 kg |
$12 |
C4
B14 |
5C |
26.5x80mm MM-1
High-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
APERS |
0.1 |
$1 |
1d6x10 |
Nil |
CHEM |
0.1 |
$1 |
C2
(B1) |
Nil |
HE |
0.1 |
$1 |
C1
B8 |
Nil |
HEDP |
0.1 |
$2 |
C1
B8 |
3C |
ILLUM |
0.1 |
$1 |
(B75) |
Nil |
Slug |
0.1 |
$1 |
3 |
2-Nil |
WP |
0.1 |
$2 |
C2
B5 |
Nil |
30x29mm Russian Medium
Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HE |
0.34 kg |
$2 |
C2
B9 |
Nil |
HEDP |
0.35 kg |
$3 |
C2
B9 |
4C |
30x34mm Russian BS-1 Low
Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HEAT |
0.25 kg |
$4 |
C1
B8 |
29C |
35x50mm Chinese
Medium-Velocity
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
|
HE |
0.24 kg |
$2 |
C2
B11 |
Nil |
HEAT |
0.24 kg |
$6 |
C2
B9 |
35C |
HEDP |
0.24 kg |
$4 |
C2
B11 |
4C |
35x75mm Swiss
High-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HE |
0.36 kg |
$5 |
C2
B9 |
21C |
ILLUM |
0.36 kg |
$4 |
(B110) |
Nil |
37x46mm South African
Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
Baton |
0.14 kg |
$2 |
(10) |
Nil |
CS |
0.2 kg |
$2 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
Flash-Bang |
0.16 kg |
$3 |
(C5) |
Nil |
ILLUM |
0.2 kg |
$2 |
(B170) |
Nil |
37x38mm Low-Velocity
(Rifled or Non-Rifled) or Arwen
Notes: Grenades
in this caliber were first designed (along with their launchers) in the late
1980s; police wanted a different caliber to further distinguish them from the
38mm rounds; 38mm grenade launchers were first meant to be the launchers to fire
less-lethal rounds, but later some lethal rounds were developed in this caliber.
The grenades such launchers fire will be a bit strange in the hands of a
soldier, though Military Police or civilian Police may be familiar with them.
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
Baton |
0.13 kg |
$2 |
(8) |
Nil |
Irritant Baton |
0.14 kg |
$4 |
(8)
C1 B1 |
Nil |
Barricade
Penetrator |
0.21 kg |
$8 |
C0
B2 [2] |
3 [2-Nil] |
Beanbag |
0.25 kg |
$3 |
(9) |
Nil |
Flare, ILLUM, or
Star Cluster |
0.18 kg |
$5 |
(B170) |
Nil |
Flash-Bang |
0.13 kg |
$2 |
(C4) |
Nil |
Fowling Control |
0.35 kg |
$8 |
Special |
Nil |
Irritant Gas |
0.21 kg |
$2 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
Multiball |
0.21 kg |
$3 |
C1 (B9) |
Nil |
Muzzle Blast |
0.22 kg |
$4 |
C2
(B Special) |
Nil |
Rubber Pellet |
0.22 kg |
$3 |
C0
B12 |
Nil |
Smoke |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
C0
(B3) |
Nil |
Short-Range
Smoke |
0.22 kg |
$1 |
C0
(B3) |
Nil |
Long-Range Smoke |
0.25 kg |
$4 |
C0
(B3) |
Nil |
38x38mm MM-1
Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
CHEM |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
HE |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
C3
B12 |
Nil |
HEDP |
0.22 kg |
$3 |
C3
B12 |
5C |
ILLUM |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
(B175) |
Nil |
WP |
0.22 kg |
$5 |
C2
B8 |
Nil |
40x44mm PALLAD
Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
Ballistic |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
5 |
Nil |
CHEM |
0.22 kg |
$2/$4/$8 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
FRAG-HE |
0.25 kg |
$2 |
C2
B16 |
Nil |
WP |
0.25 kg |
$5 |
C2
B8 |
Nil |
40x46mm NATO
Low-Velocity
Notes: First
designed just before the US involvement in Vietnam, the 40x46mm grenade (known
as the 40mm LV or 40mm NATO LV round after the adoption of the 40x53mm
High-Velocity grenade designed for use in automatic grenade launchers) was a
result of Project Niblick, and was
adopted in late 1960 for use with the M-79 grenade launcher.
The 40x46mm round has an interesting “high-low” firing system – the
initial propelling charge used high pressure, which bled into a low-pressure
chamber that actually propelled the grenade and lessened the felt recoil.
Later, the XM-148 and M-203 grenade launchers were designed to fit under
a rifle barrel, and the 40x46mm round has proliferated ever since, as have the
different types of rounds available.
Virtually all
40x46 rounds are low-velocity rounds, having an average muzzle velocity of
merely 76 meters per second.
Recently, as a result of experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, new, longer rounds
have become available, with improvements from range and explosive power to
innovative designs that employ a parachute-lowered camera to check out a
concealed enemy position. Most of
these improved rounds are longer than 46mm (most are 51mm long), are actually
medium-velocity rounds instead of low-velocity rounds, and will not fit into
underbarrel grenade launchers that slide forward to open.
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
|
APERS |
0.12 kg |
$2 |
13 |
Nil |
CHEM |
0.22 kg |
$2/$4/$6 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
Ferret |
0.17 kg |
$4 |
(B2) |
1-Nil |
Flash-Bang |
0.17 kg |
$3 |
(C5) |
Nil |
Flechette |
0.14 kg |
$4 |
13 |
1-Nil |
HE |
0.23 kg |
$2 |
C3
B13 |
Nil |
HEAT |
0.23 kg |
$6 |
C2
B10 |
41C |
HEDP |
0.23 kg |
$4 |
C3
B13 |
4C |
HEAB |
0.24 kg |
$6 |
C5
B15 |
Nil |
ILLUM |
0.22 kg |
$2 |
(B195) |
Nil |
WP |
0.22 kg |
$5 |
C2
B8 |
Nil |
Hellhound
FRAG-DP |
0.23 kg |
$12 |
C3
B20 |
8C |
40x47mm Russian
Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
CHEM |
0.27 kg |
$2/$4/$6 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
Flash-Bang |
0.25 kg |
$2 |
(C7) |
Nil |
HE |
0.25 kg |
$2 |
C3
B13 |
Nil |
HE-FRAG |
0.26 kg |
$3 |
C2
B16 |
Nil |
ILLUM |
0.27 kg |
$2 |
(B195) |
Nil |
Jumping FRAG |
0.29 kg |
$8 |
C2
B20 |
Nil |
Thermobaric |
0.29 kg |
$12 |
C8
B12 |
9C |
40x53mm NATO
High-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HVCC |
0.32 kg |
$8 |
14 |
1-Nil |
HVHE |
0.37 kg |
$4 |
C3
B13 |
Nil |
HVHEDP |
0.34 kg |
$6 |
C3
B13 |
5C |
HEAB |
0.4 kg |
$24 |
C5
B22 |
5C |
40x74.5mm Romanian
High-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HE-FRAG |
0.49 kg |
$4 |
C2
B16 |
Nil |
HE-HC |
0.49 kg |
$6 |
C3
B12 |
23C |
43x44mm Russian
Low-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
Baton |
0.32 kg |
$2 |
(11) |
Nil |
CS |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
C2
(B2) |
Nil |
Thermobaric |
0.32 kg |
$12 |
C8
B12 |
9C |
Flash-Bang |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
(C7) |
Nil |
FRAG |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
C3
B16 |
Nil |
HE |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
C4
B13 |
Nil |
HEAT |
0.32 kg |
$5 |
C2
B11 |
45C |
ILLUM |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
(B225) |
Nil |
Rubber Slug |
0.32 kg |
$2 |
(11) |
Nil |
Star Cluster |
0.32 kg |
$3 |
(B45) |
Nil |
45x82mm Russian
Medium-Velocity
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
APERS |
0.65 kg |
$7 |
1d6x12 |
Nil |
Concussion |
0.65 kg |
$7 |
C7 |
Nil |
ILLUM |
0.65 kg |
$7 |
(B250) |
Nil |
50x200mm Scorpion RAM
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HEAT |
1.02 kg |
$32 |
C4
B13 |
55C |
HE |
1.02 kg |
$22 |
C5
B16 |
3C |
HEDP |
1.02 kg |
$22 |
C5
B16 |
7C |
HEAT-T |
1.02 kg |
$48 |
C4
B13 |
44C/55C |
HESH |
1.02 kg |
$44 |
C5
B16 |
31C |
FRAG |
1.02 kg |
$22 |
C4
B20 |
Nil |
Thermobaric |
1.02 kg |
$88 |
C10
B12 |
28C |
55x150mm Russian Medium
Velocity
Notes: HE rounds
of this type produce double concussion damage at double the range underwater.
Flare rounds come exclusively in white.
Round |
Round Weight |
Round Price |
Damage |
Penetration |
HE |
0.93 kg |
$9 |
C6
B17 |
1C |
Flare |
0.93 kg |
$9 |
(B102) |
Nil |