Armor Piercing
The critical table for armor piercing rounds — hardened penetrators that pass clean through, trading raw trauma for holes in things that matter. It does the least gross damage of the ballistic tables and the most lasting damage per point of it, and every result strips the armor it went through. Sized against the RMU core Puncture table (Core Law p. 233), in that table's own location-band layout, with Weapon Law: Firearms 6.1 (book p. 119) as the historical starting point. Roll d100 (not open-ended) and cross-index with the critical's severity. This table reads whenever the round reaches flesh — a bare target, armor at or under the caliber's penetration rating, or a location heavier armor does not cover. Only where armor actually stopped the round does the hit read Ballistic Impact instead, because a bullet that did not penetrate is blunt trauma. The full ammunition rules — penetration ratings, the half-hits cost of over-penetration, and the breakage an AP round inflicts on the armor itself — live with the ballistic body armor rules on Combat.
| Roll | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head1 | AThe round crosses foe’s scalp without touching it and is still travelling when it leaves the district.+1H(-25) | BThe round drills the rim of foe’s ear. A neat hole, and he barely feels it go.+3H(-25) | CThe round scores a line along the temple, too fast and too hard to do more than part the skin.+4H(-25) | DThe round strikes the brow at an angle and skates off the bone without slowing. Foe’s head is snapped aside by the touch of it.+8H, (-25) | EThe round punches a clean hole through the meat of foe’s cheek and is gone. Two small openings, front and back, that will not close.+2H, 1(-25) |
| Chest2 - 3 | AThe round goes through foe’s coat, his shirt and the wall behind him without noticing any of the three.+2H(-25) | BThe round grazes a rib on its way past. The bone is scored to the depth of a fingernail and holds.+4H(-25) | CThe round clips the muscle over the ribs and keeps going. There is a hole in foe and a matching hole a long way behind him.+7H, (-25) | DThe round drills through the meat of the chest and out the back. The channel is the width of a pencil and just as straight.+3H, 1(-25) | EThe round strikes the breastbone square, punches a hole in it, and does not stop for the conversation.+1H, 1(-25) |
| Abdomen4 - 5 | AThe round goes through foe’s belt buckle and out the far side of the room. The buckle is ruined; foe is not.+3H(-25) | BThe round furrows the flank in a straight line. It has already left before the blood arrives.+2H, 1(-25) | CThe round drills the soft tissue above the hip, in and out, missing everything that would have made it interesting.+3H, 1(-25) | DThe round strikes the wing of the pelvis and bores straight through the bone rather than turning on it.+4H, (-25) | EThe round crosses the belly on a shallow angle, opening a narrow tunnel under the skin from one side to the other.+1H1[-25], (-25) |
| Leg6 - 10 | AThe round passes through the thigh and takes almost nothing with it. Foe’s leg buckles more from surprise than damage.+3H, (-25) | BThe round drills the calf front to back. Two small holes, and a boot that fills faster than the wound looks capable of.+3H, 1(-25) | CThe round bores clean through the thigh bone without breaking it. There is now a hole in a bone that has never had one.+2H-5(-25) | DThe round crosses the back of the thigh and cuts a tendon on its way past, in a channel no wider than a finger.+3H, 1-5, (-25) | EThe round drills the length of the calf rather than the width, and everything along that line is now on a list.+4H, 2-5(-25) |
| Arm11 - 15 | AThe round passes an inch from foe’s arm and the pressure of it stings the skin. Nothing more.+6H(-25) | BThe round drills the point of the elbow and exits the far side. The joint still moves, and now it clicks.+3H-5, (-25) | CThe round bores through the bicep in a straight line. A hole going in, a hole going out, and remarkably little in between.+4H, 1, (-25) | DThe round passes between the bones of the forearm and severs a tendon in transit.+3H, 1-5, (-25) | EThe round drills the upper arm lengthwise and clips the nerve running with the bone. The arm is intact and no longer entirely his.+3H, 1-10(-25) |
| Head16 - 20 | AThe round furrows the scalp in a straight line and is gone before foe flinches.+5H1[-25](-25) | BThe round drills through the jaw at the back, taking a molar with it and leaving the bone standing.+2H-5, (-25) | CThe round passes through the bridge of the nose and out the side. Foe will breathe through the new opening as readily as the old ones.+2H1[-25], -5(-25) | DThe round bores through the skull at a tangent, in and out through the bone without ever reaching what it protects.+3H, 1, (-25) | EThe round drills the jaw hinge and comes out below the far ear. Foe cannot close his mouth, and cannot make himself understood about it.+3H, 1-10(-25) |
| Chest21 - 25 | AThe round bores through a rib and stops for nothing. The bone has a hole in it and is otherwise unbothered.+1H-5(-25) | BThe round passes between two ribs and out the back between two more. Four small wounds and one straight line.+2H1[-25], -5(-25) | CThe round drills below the collarbone and exits under the shoulder blade, having ruined only what lay on that exact line.+3H, 1-5, (-25) | DThe round crosses the chest cavity and punctures a lung twice — going in and coming out. Both holes are small and neither will close.+4H, 2-10(-25) | EThe round passes through the chest and out through the shoulder blade, and the second hole is as neat as the first.+5H, 11[-25], -10(-25) |
| Abdomen26 - 35 | AThe round drills the belly wall front to back. Foe has two wounds and cannot decide which to hold.+4H, 2(-25) | BThe round crosses the flank and takes a bite out of the hip bone in passing.+2H, 1-5, (-25) | CThe round punctures the bowel twice on one straight line, entering and leaving without widening once.+4H, 11[-25], -10(-25) | DThe round drills through the gut and out the back, and everything it crossed on the way is leaking into everything else.+2H, 2-10(-25) | EThe round bores a straight channel through the liver and keeps going. The organ closes on nothing and bleeds inward.+5H, 2-15(-25) |
| Leg36 - 45 | AThe round crosses the front of the thigh in a straight line, in one side and out the other.+3H, 1, (-25) | BThe round bores through the thigh bone and leaves it standing with a hole through the middle. It will not stay standing under load.+2H-5, (-25) | CThe round drills the thigh and clips the vein alongside the bone. The channel is narrow and it does not clot.+5H, 2-15(-25) | DThe round passes through the knee joint without stopping, taking a core of cartilage out with it.+3H, 3-15, (-25) | EThe round drills the shin lengthwise and severs the nerve that runs beside it. The leg holds weight and reports nothing.+5H, 2-20(-25) |
| Arm46 - 55 | AThe round drills the forearm between the bones, in and out, nicking an artery on the way past.+2H, 2-5(-25) | BThe round passes down the inside of the arm and opens the vessels running there in a straight line rather than a wound.+3H, 4-5(-25) | CThe round bores through the upper arm bone. The bone does not shatter; it simply has a hole through it now, and that is enough.+4H, 1-10, (-25) | DThe round drills the elbow joint front to back and takes the working parts of it out through the exit hole.+3H, 2-15, (-25) | EThe round crosses the wrist and severs the nerve on its way through. The hand is undamaged and will never work properly again.+5H, 1-20(-25) |
| Arm56 - 65 | AThe round bores through the shoulder blade and out the front, leaving a hole in the bone you could pass a pencil through.+2H-10(-25) | BThe round drills the shoulder and clips the nerve bundle behind it. The arm answers slowly, then not at all.+2H, 1-15(-25) | CThe round passes through the upper arm and out through the ribs beyond it, having gone through two of foe at once.+4H, 2-20(-25) | DThe round crosses the shoulder joint and takes the head of the bone out through the back in fragments no bigger than gravel.+4H, 3-20, (-25) | EThe round drills the armpit and cuts the nerve trunk running through it. The arm is whole, warm, and finished.+5H, 3-30(-25) |
| Abdomen66 | AThe round bores through the hip joint and leaves it perforated rather than broken. It will bear weight until it does not.+3H, 2-20(-25) | BThe round crosses the groin on a straight line and takes the vessels there with it. What it did not touch is unharmed, which is no comfort at all.+4H, 31[-50], -30(-25) | CThe round drills the pelvis through the middle. The bone stays in one piece, holed front and back, and stops being load-bearing.+5H, 4-35, (-25) | DThe round crosses the abdomen and takes both kidneys on one line — the only line that could have managed it. Foe folds, and the bleeding is somewhere no hand can reach. Foe is dying. +8H, 51[-50], -60(-25) | EThe round drills the spine from the front and continues out the back, leaving foe standing on legs that no longer receive instructions. Foe is dying. +6H, 4-60(-25) |
| Leg67 - 75 | AThe round drills the calf lengthwise and cuts the tendon at the end of its run.+3H, 1-15(-25) | BThe round bores through both bones of the lower leg on one pass, leaving each holed and neither broken.+2H, 2-15(-25) | CThe round crosses the knee and takes the ligaments out through the back of it, in a channel the width of a straw.+4H, 2-15, (-25) | DThe round drills the thigh bone lengthwise. It does not shatter — it splits along the line the round drew, which is worse.+3H, 2-20(-25) | EThe round passes through the thigh and clips the artery deep inside. The entry wound is the size of a pea, and foe is on the floor inside a minute.+5H, 3-30, (-25) |
| Chest76 - 80 | AThe round bores through a rib and the muscle behind it and out the back, drawing a straight line through foe.+4H, 1-15, (-25) | BThe round enters under the collarbone and exits below the shoulder blade, and every structure on that line has a hole in it.+4H, 2-20(-25) | CThe round punctures a lung front and back. The holes are small, they do not close, and the chest fills through both.+5H, 3-20(-25) | DThe round crosses both lungs on one line and leaves through the far side. Foe breathes and hears himself doing it in stereo.+6H, 5-35(-25) | EThe round drills the great vessels above the heart and continues into whatever was standing behind foe. The bleeding is inside and total.+5H, 4-40(-25) |
| Head81 - 85 | AThe round bores through the jaw and out the other side. The hinge is holed on both sides and foe cannot use it.+4H-15, (-25) | BThe round crosses the throat beside the windpipe, in and out, missing the artery by the width of the channel it drew.+4H, 2-20, (-25) | CThe round drills the skull at a tangent — in through the bone, along beneath it, and out again, never entering the vault.+5H, 3-25(-25) | DThe round passes through the orbit and out behind the ear. Foe keeps everything but the eye, and the eye was on the line.+6H, 3-35(-25) | EThe round crosses the neck and severs the cord without touching the vessels beside it. Foe is upright, conscious, and no longer connected to himself.+5H, 4-35(-25) |
| Arm86 - 90 | AThe round drills the forearm lengthwise and takes the tendons out along the channel. The hand hangs open.+3H, 2-20(-50) | BThe round bores through the hand between the bones and out the wrist beyond it, stitching the whole of it on one line.+4H, 4-30(-50) | CThe round passes down the arm from elbow to shoulder inside the limb, and everything it crossed is severed at a point.+5H, 5-30(-50) | DThe round drills the shoulder joint and exits through the blade behind. The arm is attached by tissue that no longer does anything.+4H, 3-35, (-50) | EThe round crosses under the collarbone and takes the artery and the nerve trunk together, then leaves through foe’s back. Nothing about the exit wound suggests what it did on the way. Foe is dying. +6H, 4-40(-50) |
| Leg91 - 95 | AThe round bores through the ankle and out the far side. The joint is perforated in four places and holds in none of them.+4H, 2-25(-50) | BThe round crosses the knee and takes the artery behind it on the way through. The wound is small and the leg is finished.+5H, 4-30(-50) | CThe round drills the thigh from hip to knee inside the leg, and every structure along that line is cut once, cleanly. Foe goes down as though the leg had simply been switched off.+6H, 5-40, (-50) | DThe round crosses the thigh and severs the artery deep against the bone. There is almost nothing to see and nothing at all to be done. Foe is unconscious before he lands. Foe is dying. +8H, 5-55, (-50) | EThe round drills the hip joint and continues up into the abdomen behind it, doing on the way what it did to the joint. Foe is dying. +6H, 5-60(-50) |
| Abdomen96 - 97 | AThe round crosses the abdomen and punctures the bowel in five places on one straight line.+5H, 4-30(-50) | BThe round drills the hip and exits through the far side of the pelvis, holing both walls of it.+6H, 5-40(-50) | CThe round bores through the liver and out foe’s back. The channel does not close and the organ empties along it. Foe is dying. +5H, 4-40(-50) | DThe round crosses the abdomen and drills the great artery lying against the spine, front wall and back. Foe has a wound you could cover with a thumb and perhaps a minute to think about it. Foe is dying. +8H, 6-60(-50) | EThe round enters low, runs upward inside foe, and leaves at the shoulder — one line through everything that keeps him working. Foe is dying. +6H, 5-65(-50) |
| Chest98 - 99 | AThe round drills two ribs and the lung between them and leaves through the back. Foe stays standing and should not.+6H, 5-35(-75) | BThe round crosses the chest and punctures heart, lung and the vessels between on one line, then carries on into the dark. Foe is dying. +7H, 5-40(-75) | CThe round drills a lung and the great vessels beside it, front to back. The holes are small and there are six of them. Foe is dying. +5H, 6-60(-75) | DThe round bores through the heart and out through the spine behind it. Two neat holes, and foe is gone between them. Foe is dead. +10H, 4-70(-75) | EThe round drills the aorta lengthwise where it leaves the heart. There is a hole in foe the size of a pea and nothing left inside him to lose. Foe is dead. +8H, 8-105(-75) |
| Head100 | AThe round enters under the jaw, crosses the base of the skull and leaves through the crown. Foe stands there with two small holes and nothing behind his eyes. Foe is dying. +8H, 41[-50], -40(-75) | BThe round drills the temple and exits the far one, having crossed everything in between without widening once. Foe is dying. +6H, 5-55(-75) | CThe round passes through the skull front to back on the long axis. The entry and exit are the same size, which tells you all of it. Foe is dead. +8H, 5-90(-75) | DThe round bores through the base of the skull and takes the cord with it on the way out. Foe drops without a sound. Foe is dead. +10H, 6-95(-75) | EThe round enters above the nose and leaves through the back of the skull, and it is still travelling when foe reaches the ground. Your next action this round takes +25. Foe is dead. +8H, 6-110(-75) |
+XH: additional hits · ♦X: bleeding, X hits per round until healed · X✹[-Y]: stunned X rounds at penalty -Y · N×✳: staggered, loses N AP (1 if unnumbered) · -X: injury penalty until healed · ⇘: knocked prone · ⚒(-X): armour this round struck makes a breakage check at -X — nothing to check against a bare target, or where the armour does not cover the location hit · ☠: dying or dead — stated in the cell. Attacker bonuses are given in the text.