The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This review was originally written in 1993. It is being republished "as is."

Killer Crosshairs is a "visual targeting system" for use with any role-playing system; it's unique in that it can be useful whether or not the game system uses a percentile or success-based system.

The package contains a three-page set of rules, a "bullseye" transparency divided into 19 rings and 20 pie wedges, a set of ten silhouettes -- people and animals in various stances, and an injury effect table ala Rolemaster.

The crosshairs are placed over the desired location of the target silhouette and regular "to hit" dice are rolled. Depending on how well or poorly the roll succeeded, the shot will move inward or outward on the rings. It doesn't matter if the game system uses a d100, d20 or 3d6 for hit success; a conversion table is provided. Finally, a d20 is rolled to determine which slice the shot landed in.

If the game system has location-dependent injury rules, the injury table can be disregarded or tweaked to suit a referee's style. Killer Crosshairs uses a simple injury system wherein total hit points are divided into "injury levels." The seriousness of the injury will depend on how much damage is done in a single shot. 50% of the total hit points in one shot will do much more than an attack doing only 10%. This is one area where there's a slight weakness. In a game like AD&D, where a 10th level character could have 60 hit points, it will take 30 points of damage in one blow to do any serious injury; most characters at this level will still suffer from being "nicked to death."

That's basically it. The rules are simple and are explained in a little more space than this review. The rest is simply notes and suggestions on how to make the best use of the system.

Killer Crosshairs is a good idea that takes the middle ground between realism and playability. It works best with guns and arrows, but can be used with hand-held or natural weapons as well. The injuries are fairly descriptive (and gory!) but aren't so detailed that there's no room for referee improvisation. They're also much simplified over their I.C.E. counterpart.

Killer Crosshairs
Killer Crosshairs Capsule Review by Gilbert Pili on 07/08/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Killer Crosshairs is a "visual targeting system" for use with any role-playing system; it's a good idea that takes the middle ground between realism and playability. Product: Killer Crosshairs Author: Jeff Barber and John Tynes Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Pagan Publishing Line: Generic Cost: Page count: Year published: 1992 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Gilbert Pili on 07/08/02 Genre tags: Generic	This review was originally written in 1993. It is being republished "as is." Killer Crosshairs is a "visual targeting system" for use with any role-playing system; it's unique in that it can be useful whether or not the game system uses a percentile or success-based system. The package contains a three-page set of rules, a "bullseye" transparency divided into 19 rings and 20 pie wedges, a set of ten silhouettes -- people and animals in various stances, and an injury effect table ala Rolemaster. The crosshairs are placed over the desired location of the target silhouette and regular "to hit" dice are rolled. Depending on how well or poorly the roll succeeded, the shot will move inward or outward on the rings. It doesn't matter if the game system uses a d100, d20 or 3d6 for hit success; a conversion table is provided. Finally, a d20 is rolled to determine which slice the shot landed in. If the game system has location-dependent injury rules, the injury table can be disregarded or tweaked to suit a referee's style. Killer Crosshairs uses a simple injury system wherein total hit points are divided into "injury levels." The seriousness of the injury will depend on how much damage is done in a single shot. 50% of the total hit points in one shot will do much more than an attack doing only 10%. This is one area where there's a slight weakness. In a game like AD&D, where a 10th level character could have 60 hit points, it will take 30 points of damage in one blow to do any serious injury; most characters at this level will still suffer from being "nicked to death." That's basically it. The rules are simple and are explained in a little more space than this review. The rest is simply notes and suggestions on how to make the best use of the system. Killer Crosshairs is a good idea that takes the middle ground between realism and playability. It works best with guns and arrows, but can be used with hand-held or natural weapons as well. The injuries are fairly descriptive (and gory!) but aren't so detailed that there's no room for referee improvisation. They're also much simplified over their I.C.E. counterpart.