Rules for crafting ammunition

I need my players to have something to use all the junk they find on so I created some rules for crafting ammunition

Crafting ammo

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I would not allow players to Craft ammo from scratch.

I would allow them to Reload ammo. This requires them to recover shell cases and provide other materials.

Reloading should require Gun Nut 1 for most ballistic ammo if the PC has all the components. Crafting Bullets Gunpowder and Primers would need Gun Nut 2 with the later 2 adding Science 1.

Make a Repair + INT skill test with Difficulty 2 taking 1 hour. Reloads up to 20 cartridges of a single caliber.
AP may be spent to reduce time to 30 minutes or reload an additional 10 pieces of the same ammo type.
Any complications on the skill test will make the entire batch Unreliable. Passing a DC 2 Repair + PER test will reveal your mistake but discard 2 CD of cases from the batch.

Crafting the Bullets/ Gunpowder and Primer would use skill tests (DC 3 for primer) and produce 20 - 2 CD in components. Materials depend on caliber.

Energy ammo should have about the same difficulty but require Science 2.

Nukes and Fusion cores would require Science 3, DC 5, 6 hours and specialized workbenches. AP spent would reduce time by 1 hour or add 1 additional charge to a FC.
AP

Thank you for your feedback. For my rules they were based on the Ammo crafting rules in Fallout 76. I wanted to keep the rules consistent with the crafting rules in the rulebook so I added the Tinkers workbench (from Fallout 76). I considered adding Gunpowder as a required material for ballistic bullets but decided against it. Maybe I’ll add it at a later date if I find that it is to easy for the pc’s to acquire ammunition this way.

I would definitely add Gunpowder as a requirement, even '76 requires it.

In FO76 you need to be able to craft ammo, too many mobs are bullet sponges.

If ammo is too easy to get players will use full RoF every time. At low levels this could be near 50% increase in damage. At high levels with commando perk and heavily moded guns it could be insane.

I would argue that gunpowder is included in the required materials. The reason I wanted ammo crafting is because my players wanted it and I want them to have more stuff to use junk for. IME after the playtest players using lots of ammo never really seemed to be a problem as enemies can be quite the bullet sponges here as well, especially with high DR. My Campaign is also leaning towards lots of exploration in the wilderness with scarce resources so my players can’t really rely on buying ammo. This is also just a first draft so I might change the rules after seeing them in play if they seem broken or unbalanced. Edit: I updated the rules to include gunpowder FalloutammocraftingV.2.0

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I like your ammo creation rule. I would let my players know that I wouldn’t stand for them to make 1000’s of rounds. If they don’t make it where would a person get it, in old stockpiles? Probably all picked through. At a trader, then where did he get it. So I see no problem as long as it’s used with control.

The balance will be time and available components. You could also use complication to make things more difficult like making bad batches increasing the chance of misfires etc. Carrying a lot of gunpowder could also be hazardous if it caught fire.

The wasteland is a dangerous place. Not unlikely that someone camping for the night in a ruined house might hide some of their ammo. Most Raiders know you can only rob a dead man once.

I agree most stockpiles are already looted. That is why I suggested reloads rather than full new manufactured ammo. Although there may be some Bullet-tron Ammo on Demand kiosks still operating.

You could even let players get their hands on pre war ammo that adds 1 CD to damage. But due to stronger powder increases the complication range.

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The rules have been updated. They can be downloaded using the original link at the top of this thread.

Updates:

-Added new perk “Hand loader” as a requirement for crafting ammunition

-Added Small Arms ammo from Fallout New Vegas. Rules for New Vegas weapons can be found in my Fallout New Vegas armory New Vegas small arms

-Added rules for special ammunition

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Thanks for the post. My campaign will have the players making ammunition. It’s nice to use somebody else’s house rule, or adapt it to my needs.
In my saga early on some random loot resulted in a Gauss Rifle. They later found 6 rounds (dang Scrounger perk) for it. It changed a whole combat later, so adjust your play balance appropriately.

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