Call of Cthulhu 7e Firearms Guide

Introduction

Firearms in Call of Cthulhu 7e are fast, loud, and often decisive. That does not make them simple. Every shot announces danger, spends ammunition, changes who has cover, and can create a Major Wound before anyone has time to reconsider the plan. A gun is therefore best understood as a way to create an opening or prevent an immediate disaster, not as proof that an investigator should stand their ground.

This guide explains firearm attacks from range and initiative through aiming, cover, multiple shots, automatic fire, and malfunctions. Pair it with the Combat Rules guide for the wider combat procedure and the Damage, Armor, and Hit Points guide for what a successful shot can mean.

Hot Take

The best firearm turn is often the one that lets everyone stop using firearms next round. A carefully chosen shot that buys a retreat, breaks a lock, forces a pursuer behind cover, or keeps a creature away from an unconscious companion is worth more than emptying a revolver at a problem that will still be there when the cylinder clicks dry.

A Gun Changes the Scene Before It Fires

The presence of a firearm changes the fiction immediately. Witnesses may flee. A guard may hesitate. A creature may charge before the shooter can act. A report can draw police, enemies, or something that was listening in the next room. Establish those consequences before the first attack roll so a gun does not become a silent, consequence-free tool.

This does not mean every drawn weapon demands an initiative order. If an investigator has control of an ordinary, compliant situation, the Keeper can resolve a threat or intimidation attempt through roleplay and the relevant skill. Begin combat when several people have incompatible immediate goals and a shot, dive, or rush may decide who gets what.

Before firing, name the goal. "I shoot him" is legal but incomplete. "I fire once to keep him from reaching the switch," "I shoot the lock so we can get through the gate," and "I keep the creature away while Nadia gets into the car" tell the Keeper what success changes. A gun can kill, but it can also create time, force movement, or protect an exit.

The Firearm Attack Procedure

Use the same order for every shot:

1. Confirm the weapon is readied, loaded, and capable of firing.
2. Establish the target, the shooter's goal, and the range.
3. Set the difficulty level from range.
4. Add applicable bonus or penalty dice from the situation.
5. Roll Firearms using the correct specialization.
6. On a success, resolve damage, armor, and any extreme-success effect.
7. Describe the changed scene and account for ammunition, noise, cover, and any malfunction.

Firearms attacks are not opposed rolls. A target normally cannot fight back against or dodge a firearm attack in the way they can against a Fighting attack. The target may, however, dive for cover if aware of the shot, which makes the shooter's attack harder. That distinction keeps firearm turns quick while preserving an important defensive choice.

State the difficulty before the dice. "The target is at long range, so this is Hard; the rain gives one penalty die" is useful information. It lets players decide whether to fire, aim, move closer, or use a different plan. Do not reveal the result first and then construct the modifiers around it.

Readied Firearms and DEX Order

A readied firearm fires at the shooter's DEX plus 50 in combat order. This represents how quickly a trigger can be pulled compared with a swing, a grapple, or drawing a weapon. The firearm must already be in hand and ready; a gun still in a holster or pocket does not get the bonus. If a table uses the rulebook's optional DEX-roll initiative, a gun drawn mid-fight counts as readied from the start of the next round, and that character may re-roll DEX with a bonus die.

This timing makes preparation matter. An investigator who expects trouble may keep a revolver ready while opening a door, but that choice also affects how the scene reads. A cautious clerk may refuse to cooperate. A police officer may react. A frightened bystander may run. The Keeper should allow the tactical benefit and let the fiction respond naturally.

Readied does not mean untouchable. At point-blank range, the shooter can be targeted by melee attacks and may be disarmed with a successful fighting maneuver. A gun provides initiative, not a force field. If an enemy has already closed the distance, the better choice may be a maneuver, a retreat, or a companion's intervention.

Example: Prepared, Not Invincible

Ada opens a cellar door with her pistol ready. When a figure charges, she acts at DEX + 50 because the weapon was readied. If the figure reaches point-blank range after that shot, Ada cannot assume she has won the exchange. On the next turn, a desperate opponent may attack her or try to take the gun. Her fast shot was valuable because it created a moment, not because it ended every risk.

Range Sets the Difficulty

The weapon's base range sets the initial difficulty:

• Within base range: Regular difficulty.
• Up to twice base range: Hard difficulty.
• Up to four times base range: Extreme difficulty.

The rulebook's range bands stop at four times base range. Past that, the Keeper should decide whether it is impossible, requires an extraordinary circumstance, or simply cannot affect the current scene. Do not use a distant, low-probability shot as a replacement for pursuit, stealth, or investigation.

Each doubling above base range makes the task one step harder. Set this before adding environmental modifiers. A target at very long range may require an Extreme success to hit, and at that range only a critical result of 01 produces an impale. An ordinary Extreme success is a successful hit but not an impale at very long range.

Range is a player-facing fact. Describe it in useful terms: "across the room," "at the far end of the alley," or "two rooftops away." If the group needs a number, give one. The purpose is not to trap people in measurement disputes; it is to show the trade between getting a cleaner shot and staying safe.

Bonus and Penalty Dice

After range establishes the difficulty, add bonus or penalty dice for the rest of the circumstances. Common modifiers include:

• Point-blank range: One bonus die when the target is within one-fifth of the shooter's DEX in feet.
• Aiming: One bonus die when the shooter spent the previous round aiming and has not moved or taken damage.
• Target diving for cover: One penalty die after a successful Dodge roll.
• Fast-moving target: One penalty die when the target is moving at full speed, MOV 8 or more.
• Partial concealment: One penalty die when at least half the target is concealed.
• Target size: One penalty die for Build -2 or smaller, or one bonus die for Build 4 or larger.
• Multiple handgun shots: One penalty die on each shot in a rapid volley.
• Loading and firing one round: One penalty die.
• Firing into melee: One penalty die.

Use modifiers to express clear facts, not to make every shot fail. One bonus die and one penalty die cancel each other. The rulebook spells out what happens past two penalty dice for automatic fire: keep two penalty dice and raise the difficulty one step for each extra one. That keeps the dice readable while making a chaotic volley much harder.

Example: Make the Choice Visible

An investigator fires at a suspect running down an alley. The target is within base range, so the shot starts at Regular difficulty. The target is moving at full speed, adding a penalty die. If the shooter had spent the prior round aiming, that bonus die would cancel the movement penalty, but the target likely would have escaped the open lane in that time. The player can see the real decision: take a difficult shot now, or give up the shot and improve the position another way.

Aiming Is an Investment

To aim, declare the intention on the shooter's turn. The shot occurs on the same point in the order on the following round. If the shooter takes no other action before firing, they gain one bonus die for aiming.

The advantage is lost if the shooter moves or takes damage while aiming. Aiming grants no more than one bonus die. It is best when the target is predictable, the shooter has cover, and the group can afford one round of patience. It is poor when the target will immediately close the distance, disappear, or force the group to react to a new threat.

Players should narrate what makes the aim possible: bracing on a railing, waiting at a doorway, watching the one clear window, or holding a bead on a lock. Keepers should tell the player what can interrupt it. A creature is charging. The floor is shaking. The target is behind a moving truck. This turns aiming into a choice with visible risk rather than a free accuracy button.

Diving for Cover Is a Trade

A target aware of firearm danger can dive for cover by making a Dodge roll. On a success, the shooter receives one penalty die. The cover may be a real barrier, a floor-level dive, or a fast, erratic movement that makes the target harder to hit. The important point is that this response costs the target their next attack.

If the target has already attacked this round, they forfeit their attack in the following round. Until that lost attack has passed, their only option is to dodge further attacks. A character with multiple attacks gives up all of them, rather than one. This is why diving is a survival decision, not an automatic reaction to every shot.

It is often the correct decision. An investigator with a clue, an injured companion, or no meaningful way to hurt the shooter should probably take cover. The player is trading one turn of offense for a better chance to remain alive and make a different choice next round.

Cover, Concealment, and Shooting Through Things

Cover and concealment are related but not identical. Concealment makes a target harder to see and adds a penalty die when at least half the target is obscured. Cover may also physically stop or reduce damage. The Keeper decides how much protection a barrier provides. A wooden fence may hide a target without reliably stopping a bullet; a heavy table, vehicle engine, or stone wall may do more.

If a player wants to shoot through a barrier, say so before rolling. The Keeper should decide whether the projectile can pass through and, if so, whether the barrier has armor that reduces damage. This gives a useful middle ground between "the target is completely immune" and "all scenery is transparent." It also makes solid cover worth seeking.

Do not turn every location into a physics exam. Establish the important details once: the crate can stop a pistol shot, the thin office wall only conceals, the car body helps but its windows do not. Players can then act on reliable information.

What Cover Is For

Cover is strongest when it changes the next action. It lets an investigator aim, reload, attend to a wounded friend, retreat through a side door, or force an opponent to move. Treating it as a static bonus misses the point. A character behind cover who has no exit is still trapped; a character with an open route and a companion ready to move has a plan.

Multiple Shots and Reloading

Many handguns can fire two or three shots in one round. Each shot is rolled separately, and each receives one penalty die. This represents choosing speed over a steady, controlled shot. The extra attacks can be useful when one threat must be stopped immediately, but they consume ammunition and make every roll less reliable.

For most handguns, rifles, and shotguns, loading two shells takes one combat round. Exchanging a clip takes one round. A shooter may load one round into a chamber and fire it in the same round with one penalty die. Changing a machine-gun belt takes two rounds.

Track ammunition when it creates a decision. The exact count matters in a prolonged firefight, during a chase, when a weapon is nearly empty, and when characters have limited access to ammunition. In a short scene where the investigator fires one or two shots and then escapes, the Keeper can keep the count in the background. The goal is meaningful pressure, not paperwork.

Example: The Empty Cylinder

Walter has three shots left in a revolver and sees two figures at the far end of a boarding-house hall. He can fire three rapid shots with a penalty die on each, or fire one controlled shot and save ammunition for a retreat. The correct answer depends on the objective. If the group only needs the figures to stay back while the witness exits through the kitchen, one careful shot and a loud command may be better than an empty weapon and a closed door.

Automatic Fire Without Chaos

Automatic fire is powerful because it applies pressure over an area or against multiple targets, not because it produces one enormous attack roll. For a burst, fire two or three bullets as a volley. For full auto, declare the number of bullets before rolling, up to the weapon's remaining capacity.

Divide the bullets into volleys. A full volley contains up to one-tenth of the shooter's Submachine Gun or Machine Gun skill, rounded down, with a minimum of three bullets. Make one attack roll per volley or partial volley. The first uses ordinary firearm rules. Each later attack roll adds one penalty die or removes one bonus die. Once this would create a third penalty die, keep two penalty dice and raise the difficulty by one step for each additional penalty.

All targets must be within a reasonable arc of fire, roughly sixty degrees. Changing targets also expends ammunition, one bullet per meter or yard moved between them. Declare targets and quantities before rolling. This prevents a result from changing how much ammunition the shooter claims to have spent.

For a successful automatic-fire attack roll, half the bullets in that volley hit, rounded down with a minimum of one, and damage is rolled for each hit. On an Extreme success, all bullets hit and the first half, rounded down with a minimum of one, impale. Armor is subtracted from each bullet separately. If the volley's difficulty was Extreme, whether from range or from stacked penalty dice, the best possible result is a hit, not an impale.

Automatic fire can make an ordinary location suddenly lethal. Keepers should telegraph an automatic weapon before it is used when possible: the sound of a bolt, the shape under a coat, the ammunition drum, the gunman's stance. This gives investigators a chance to use cover, flee, or change the scene before dice make the point for them.

Firearms in Melee

At point-blank range, the shooter can be attacked in melee or disarmed with a successful fighting maneuver. This is where a firearm stops being a distant advantage and becomes an awkward object in a crowded struggle. The target cannot normally dodge or fight back against the shot itself, but they may use their turn to take the gun, knock it aside, or prevent the shooter from making a clean attack.

Firing into an active melee imposes one penalty die. On a fumble, an ally is hit; if more than one ally is in the line of fire, the ally with the lowest Luck is hit. This is a serious cost, not a colorful complication. Players should look for a clear angle, call to their ally, use a maneuver to separate combatants, or choose a different action.

The best answer may be not to fire. A gun is not automatically the safest tool at close range, especially when the person in danger is the person the investigator is trying to protect.

Malfunctions Are a Pressure Point

Every firearm has a malfunction number. If an attack roll equals or exceeds that number, the weapon does not fire. This is more than a miss: it changes the shooter's next decision and may leave them holding an expensive piece of evidence with no immediate use.

The exact malfunction depends on the weapon. A revolver, break-open gun, or bolt-action rifle has a dud round. A lever-action weapon jams, and the rulebook's warehouse example shows a submachine gun jamming the same way. Fixing a jam takes 1D6 combat rounds plus a successful Mechanical Repair or Firearms roll. The shooter may try once each round until they succeed.

If the malfunction roll is also a fumble, the Keeper can choose the malfunction or another suitable consequence, such as hitting an ally or injuring the wielder. Use this sparingly and only when it follows from the action. A fumble should make a dangerous scene change direction, not erase a player because the weapon table happened to have a number on it.

Player Guidance

Draw a gun with a reason. Decide whether the goal is deterrence, a clear shot, an exit, or buying a companion time. Say what happens after the shot, especially if it succeeds. "Then I move to the stairwell" is better planning than waiting to see whether the target falls.

Know your weapon's base range, ammunition, and malfunction number. You do not need to memorize a weapons table, but you should know when the weapon is empty, when a shot is becoming Hard or Extreme, and whether firing three times this round leaves you exposed next round.

Use cover as a route, not a bunker. Move from protection toward a car, a door, a witness, or a safer room. Aim only when the group can protect the round you spend aiming. Dive for cover when the alternative is becoming the next Major Wound, even if losing an attack feels frustrating.

Keeper Guidance

Make range, cover, and noise clear before rolls. Tell the shooter the difficulty and modifiers. Tell the target what diving for cover costs. The firearm rules are tense because they produce sharp tradeoffs, and tradeoffs require information.

Do not make every armed conflict a damage race. Let a shot break a padlock, shatter a light, make a pursuer pause, or force a villain to abandon a position when the fiction supports it. The effect should come from the declared goal and the scene, not from granting firearms a generic control power.

Track ammunition and malfunctions when they matter to the current choices. Telegraph powerful weapons and offer meaningful cover. A surprise automatic weapon can be frightening; a threat that no one could identify, avoid, or respond to is only arbitrary.

Finally, remember what the shot changes after combat. Neighbors heard it. The police may investigate. The cult knows the group has a gun. A frightened witness is less willing to talk. Firearms make scenes loud in more than one sense.

Firearms Checklist

Before firing:

• Confirm the correct Firearms specialization, ammunition, and whether the weapon is readied.
• State the target and the concrete goal for the shot.
• Set difficulty from base, long, or very long range.
• Identify cover, concealment, movement, aiming, and point-blank conditions.

For the attack:

• Apply bonus and penalty dice after setting range difficulty.
• Roll separately for each handgun shot or automatic-fire volley.
• Resolve armor and damage for each successful hit.
• Check the malfunction number on the attack roll.
• Account for the shot's noise, ammunition, and changed position.

Afterward:

• Decide whether to reload, aim, move, take cover, or leave.
• Reassess the objective before firing again.
• Treat a firearm as a way to create the next decision, not as a reason to remain in a losing fight.