Standard Palladium modern weapons rules list the number of shots that are fired in a burst as a percentage of a magazine. This means that for the purpose of bursts, you will fire a different number of rounds with your M-16 by having a 10 round post Brady bill magazine or having 99 round snail magazine. A better system is to list a number of rounds fired instead of a percentage of rounds. The system is based on considering a magazine to be twenty rounds for an automatic or semi automatic pistol or rifle and a magazine of a hundred rounds for a full machinegun. This means that a short burst from an M-16 would be 4 bullets instead of 20% of magazine. This of course means that you cannot do what was entire magazine bursts with a ten round magazine. This numbers are for game purposes because a short burst averages four rounds but may be three or five rounds. Machinegun damages have been revised further to attempt represent them more accurately. These rules may be used for energy weapons if the game master and players wish to and is recommended by the author.

Special Bursts:

Double Tap: Most Law Enforcement Officers are taught a technique called the double tap. This technique involves firing two rounds in rapid succession from a semi-automatic pistol or a double action revolver. This is an effective combat technique that is also very conservative on ammunition. This can be applied to all semi automatic and fully automatic weapons. This includes automatic rifles, automatic pistols, and double action revolvers. The strike uses the strike bonus for a burst, not for a single shot and a -2 penalty is given for the second round. Roll damage once if one round hits and roll twice if both rounds strike their target. This uses up one attack even though it fires two round

Three Round Burst: Several weapons, including later M-16 models, have been designed to fire three round per trigger pull. There are huge advantages with this. This conserves ammunition and makes shooting more accurate. The damage is the same as a short burst (one round x 2) but has the bonuses for single shot instead of burst. Some of the weapons that can fire three round bursts cannot fire fully automatic bursts. This uses up one attack even though it fires three rounds

Bursts from Fully Automatic Weapons (Pistols, Rifles, and Submachinegun):

Short Bursts: Fires 4 rounds per burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 2 and costs one attack even though it uses four rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Long Burst (One Target): Fires 10 rounds in a burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 5 and costs one attack even though it uses ten rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Long Burst (Spray): Fires 10 rounds and is directed at multiple targets. The damage is one round x 1 and costs one attack even though it uses ten rounds. The person firing has no bonuses and has a -9 penalty if the character does not have a weapon proficiency in the weapon being used. Roll 1D4 to determine how many targets will be hit and there is a 20% chance of striking an innocent bystander if there is one in the firing area.

Extended Bursts (One Target) [was Entire Magazine]: Fires 20 rounds in a burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 10 and costs two attack even though it uses twenty rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Extended Bursts (Spray) [was Entire Magazine]: Fires 20 rounds in a burst and is directed at multiple targets. The damage is one round x 2 and costs two attack even though it uses twenty rounds. The person firing has no bonuses and has a -9 penalty if the character does not have a weapon proficiency in the weapon being used. Roll 1D4 to determine how many targets will be hit and there is a 50% chance of striking an innocent bystander if there is one in the firing area.

Bursts from Full Machineguns:

Short Bursts: Fires 4 rounds per burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 2 and costs one attack even though it uses four rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Medium Burst (One Target)[Was Short Burst]: Fires 10 rounds in a burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 5 and costs one attack even though it uses ten rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Medium Burst (Spray)[Was Short Burst]: Fires 10 rounds and is directed at multiple targets. The damage is one round x 1 and costs one attack even though it uses ten rounds. The person firing has no bonuses and has a -9 penalty if the character does not have a weapon proficiency in the weapon being used. Roll 1D4 to determine how many targets will be hit and there is a 20% chance of striking an innocent bystander if there is one in the firing area.

Long Burst (One Target): Fires 30 rounds in a burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 10 and costs one attack even though it uses thirty rounds. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Long Burst (Spray): Fires 30 rounds in a burst and is directed at multiple targets. The damage is one round x 2 and costs two attack even though it uses thirty rounds. The person firing has no bonuses and has a -9 penalty if the character does not have a weapon proficiency in the weapon being used. Roll 1D8 to determine how many targets will be hit and there is a 50% chance of striking an innocent bystander if there is one in the firing area.

Extended Bursts (One Target) [was Entire Magazine]: Fires 100 rounds in a burst and only is directed at one target. The damage is one round x 20 and costs all attack for that melee. The person firing has standard burst bonuses.

Extended Bursts (Spray) [was Entire Magazine]: Fires 100 rounds in a burst and is directed at multiple targets. The damage is one round x 2 and costs all attack for that melee. Roll 2D8 to determine how many targets will be hit and there is a 70% chance of striking an innocent bystander if there is one in the firing area.

By Mischa and Kitsune