[jerryme]

Dear potential friends,

I am currently working on a character focusing on pistols and am looking for ways to add flavor to the gameplay, such as qualities/power/gear/'ware/mods/actions or anything that might open up new possibilities for or increase the viability of a pistol-character.

I am not looking to get a super high dice pool. A pool of 15 is easy to get and more than enough for my group. However if you know a trick, feel free to share.

Here is what I have so far:

Actions:

• Called Shots: Not only to increase damage; also nice roleplaying options (shoot to disarm, impress people with trick shots)
• Multiple Attacks: Not really viable, but could be cool in some scenarios

Qualities:

• Ambidextrous: More pistols
• Hawk Eye: Reduces range penalty (does not stack)
• Perfect Timing: Another free action - good for called shots, faster reloading
• Sharpshooter: Reduces Called Shot penalty
• Strive for Perfection: ditto
• Martial arts: Potentially useful if you also go melee

Adept Powers:

• Rapid Draw : Summons Cthulhu
• Nimble Fingers: Use free actions for reloading

'ware:

• Bilateral Coordination Co-Processor: Basically Ambidextrous as cyberware
• Tremor Reducer: Allows you to take aim some more

Gear:

• Pistol: duh
• Quick-draw holster: Lower threshold for quick-draw test
• Vision Magnification: Reduces range penalty, but requires aim-action (does not stack)
• Armor with Gear Access mod: Potentially faster drawing/reloading
• Reloading Rail: Reload in a free action
• Reloading Slide: ditto

Weapon Mods:

• Improved Range Finder: Reduces range penalty (does not require aim-action, does not stack)
• Extended Clip: Less reloading
• Tactical Lamp: Potentially reduce darkness penalty

Lastly I would like to show you my baby:
Savalette Guardian

• Smartlink
• Gas-vent 3 for RC of 6
• Extended clip II for 24 shots (4x burst fire)
• Personalized Grip
• Tactical Lamp: low light
• Improved Range Finder
• Stick'n'Shock ammo
• Couple o' spare clips

Do you know of anything else?
Thanks for your time,
jerryme

Edit: Found some more

[firebug]

Using a hidden arm slide (found in the core book as a weapon accessory) to conceal small pistols like holdouts can be a cool way for your character to be always armed.  The Streetline Special holdout is basically as good as a light pistol, and can be relied upon in a long fight, especially if your character already excels with pistols.

Also, making liberal use of the ammo-based and location-based called shots from Run & Gun can give you a huge amount of options if you have the dice pool.  A lot of these are powerful options for disabling and harming the opponent at the same time, beyond the just pure cool-factor of what you can do with them.

If your pool is high enough, you can even combine called shots with multiple attacks if your GM allows it, basically focusing on battlefield control over damage (however, this would realistically require a dice pool of around 20+).

[Rooks]

Improved ability (pistols) upto 1.5 of your skill (wheather that means you can take it 3 times when your skill is 6 for effective skill pool of 9 or enough times to add +9 to your skill pool)

Items
Laser Sight doesnt say it doesnt work with multiple pistols
Holographic sight if you dont want your target have red dots painted on their body
Smartgun system (yes ok you cant use the bonus if you are using 2 guns but the eject clip change firing modes etc as free actions are worth the price of admission pretty sure you can send signals over dni on two devices, Shooting a gun around a corner)
Gecko grips so your guns dont get shot out of your hand
Melee Hardening not sure if this is a thing in 5e still (yes its in hard targets but doesnt tell us what it does mechanically)
Easy break down to hide your guns
Longbarrel +1 accuracy
Electronic firing +1 RC -1 hearing the shot fired
Periscopes To shoot around corner if you dont use smart gun

Reloading Rails
Reloading Slides so you can reload with your hands full

Silencer Suppressor for when you need to do a silent take down

Tracker incase your guns are taken away from you

Safe targeting system So you dont accidentally shoot your own teammates or the gang banger cant use your gun they shot out of your hand against you (if you dont get the gecko grips)

Ammo skip system When you want to take down your target alive but dont care about wheather the guards around him live or die

Qualities
Sharpshooter disarming shot so you can shoot guns out of your enemies hands

Martial Arts
Some moves let you use pistols in martial arts like Fire Fight Gun Kata

Ammo types
Capsule for the non lethal take down
Stick N Shock for the Armor piercing and matrix damage against electronic devices like drones and cyberdecks
Frangable when you are fighting in an airplane and dont want to put holes into the body of the plane to lose cabin pressure
Capsule good for pepper punch or dmso nacro jet delivery system

Tips n tricks
carry a normal size clip for having a loaded weapon in your weapon for when you are conceal carrying hide the extended clip 2s on other parts of your body like a back pack or have someone toss it in when the lead starts to fly

if you are ambidex consider having one gun loaded with lethal rounds and the other to have less than lethal so you can shoot the one gun to take out the target you need alive and shoot apds rounds at the ones you dont

[firebug]

In all likelyhood, the adept power is meant to be able to add "+50%", so maximum 3 rating at the beginning (or 4 if you get Aptitude and bring the skill to 7 ranks).  It fits with the theme that adepts use magic to enhance their own existing abilities and attributes, rather than relying entirely on magic or using it as a crutch to replace genuine skill.  If the adept could have more levels of Improved Ability than they did points in the skill, that wouldn't fit.  More importantly though, it would be terribly unbalanced if an adept could start the game with such a significant boost to a skill, even if it would cost most of their PP.

Even if you were able to take 1.5x your skill in levels of the power, all adept powers have a cap of (MAG), so you couldn't get more than 6.

If you think it's something that is genuinely too unclear, then I'll mention it to the rest of the errata team.

[忍]

How do y'all feel about a Specialization in Called Shots?

[Reaver]

How do y'all feel about a Specialization in Called Shots?

No.

Calling a shot is not a skill, its an action....
Specializations can only be on skills.

[jerryme]

How do y'all feel about a Specialization in Called Shots?

No.

Calling a shot is not a skill, its an action....
Specializations can only be on skills.

Not sure if you're trolling, but I think Nin is talking about a specialization like "Pistols (Called Shots)".

[firebug]

Did you have a brain fart there, Reaver?  He meant like "Pistols Specialization: Called Shots", similar to how there's the Longarms specialization for Long-Range Shots.

It's, strictly speaking, less efficient than just specializing in the kind of pistol you use since Semi-Automatic is such a huge percentage and specializations don't stack.

[忍]

The trade off however is versatility. Switching between a shotgun to a sniper rifle could still benefit from it. This could be more reason to take sharpshooter. (Iirc)

[jerryme]

The trade off however is versatility. Switching between a shotgun to a sniper rifle could still benefit from it. This could be more reason to take sharpshooter. (Iirc)

Really? First page and already off-topic... The most versatile specialization is still "Pistols(Attacks)"

[忍]

ways to add flavor to the gameplay, such as qualities/power/gear/'ware/mods/actions or anything that might open up new possibilities for or increase the viability of a pistol-character.
. . .
Actions:

• Called Shots: Not only to increase damage; also nice roleplaying options (shoot to disarm, impress people with trick shots)

Qualities:

• Sharpshooter: Reduces Called Shot penalty

Really? First page and already off-topic... The most versatile specialization is still "Pistols(Attacks)"

My posts weren't off topic. I simply used Longarms as an example to explain my suggestion. Also, I'm fairly certain you cannot specialize in "Attacks".

[jerryme]

I was just kidding. It was a joke based on my idea of "versatile specialization" being an oxymoron.
Your explanation completely made sense to me. I just found it funny that you fell back to longarms, presumably because you though it would not make much of a difference with pistols. Therefore I joked about it being off-topic.

I'm just a funny guy  and I enjoy your freedom to write anything you like.

Greetings

[adzling]

Ahoi!

my main is a pistol / face adept as well.
you've got the right adept powers and qualities for dualing pistols, congrats!

here's his load out:

In his Hidden Arm Slide:
Fichetti Executive Action: [10] 10P v -1  <----hand-loaded EX-EX rounds
Recoil Compensation: 6
Modifications: Chameleon Coating, Electronic Firing, Gas-Vent System (3), Gecko Grip, Melee Hardening, Personalized Grip,
Smartgun System
Internal Accessories: Weapon Personality
Ammo: EX-EX hand-loaded for damage

In his Biopocket:
PSK-3 Collapsible Pistol: [8] 8P v -1 <----Hand-loaded Hi-DS rounds
Recoil Compensation: 4
Modifications: Ceramic/Plasteel Components (6), Electronic Firing, Folding Stock, Melee Hardening, Personalized Grip
Accessories: PSK-3 Silencer, Slide Mount, Smartgun System
Ammo: Hi-DS rounds hand-loaded for damage

In his quickdraw holster on his hip:
 Ruger Super Warhawk Ammo Usage: 6 (cy): <-----various hand-loaded rounds for specialized uses
Recoil Compensation: 2
Modifications: Personalized Grip, Smartgun System, Internal, Ammo Skip System
Ammo: Capsule, AgHexHex, Capsule, Ekyelebenie Venom, Flare, Stealth Tag Tracker, Wood Pulp Rounds (all hand-loaded for damage)

In his concealable quickdraw holster in his armpit:
Savalette Guardian: [10] 11P v -2 <---- hand-loaded ex-ex rounds
Recoil Compensation: 7
Modifications: Advanced Safety System [Explosive Self Destruct], Chameleon Coating, Electronic Firing, Gas-Vent System (3), Gecko Grip, Longbarrel, Melee Hardening, Personalized Grip, Smartgun System, Internal [Vision Magnification, Electronic, Thermographic Vision, Flare Compensation, Image Link, Low Light Vision]
Accessories: Improved Range Finder
Ammo: EX-EX hand-loaded for damage

Given your qualities I would consider switching to dual Fichetti Exec Actions (only 1 damage point less than Savalette) in hidden arm slides.
You'll draw quicker, have both weapons in your hands at once, can interchange between the two of them without pause (different ammo in each perhaps) and they have high inherent ammo capacity (that extended mag on your savalette will make it really hard to hide).