Hollowpoint Rounds, and Shrapnel Removal

[Nanako]

After a particularly stressful round where i was the only surgeon during a time of uzi-armed syndicate borgs gunning people down, i have come to the opinion that bullets are annoying. Specifically, that shrapnel removal surgery always involves the whole process of cutting open the chest and ribcage.

It gets to the point where it would be easier and quicker to just let the patient die and clone them, i don't think thats a good thing.

For this reason, amongst others, i've come to the following idea:

1. We implement hollowpoint rounds. For those not in the know, hollowpoint bullets expand inside the victim in such a way that makes them very difficult to remove, far more damaging to internal organs, and thus far more deadly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow-point_bullet

Hollowpoint ammunition will behave more or less as bullets do right now, but with a few differences:

-they'll have increased chance of embedding in the victim

-they will do more damage against unarmored targets, but less if the target has armor at the hit location

-When embedded in a victim, they'll cause damage to the body slightly faster

2. For lethal, non-hollowpoint rounds, we change how shrapnel removal surgery works. It will be possible to fish the bullets out of the wounds with a hemostat, without cutting the patient open.

Removal of hollowpoint rounds will function as all bullets do now, requiring open chest surgery to remove the shrapnel carefully

3. Most places where lethal rounds are available, will have a smaller supply of hollowpoints available too. Syndicate borgs will fire normal lethal rounds

Why? I believe this would have the following effects:

1. Reduce the ability of random gunmen to overstress medical so much, and bring bullets a little more in line with energy weapons in terms of medical costs.

2. Add realism. Open surgery isnt always necessary for removing bullets that don't expand or fragment

3. Add a little more thought to ballistic weapons - choose your ammo type depending on your objective. Hollowpoints are overall more effective at murder, but less effective in combat against a properly armed and defended opponent.

Thoughts?

[Guest]

Well firstly, if you can't get shrapnel out of someone in due time, you need to get good at surgery.

Let me explain.

 

Specifically, that shrapnel removal surgery always involves the whole process of cutting open the chest and ribcage.

It gets to the point where it would be easier and quicker to just let the patient die and clone them, i don't think thats a good thing.

 

 

You will notice this contains some of the surgery proceedings to fix someone's crushed ribs. When it comes to ballistics, ribs are usually the first to crack. You'll end up getting here as well if some of the important internal organs are damaged as well.

So you can do three things before tying it all up:

0.) Acquire scan read-out.

1.) Removal of shrapnel, because by golly wouldn't it be annoying if you fixed the organs first and then the shrapnel jostled back when you were done and damaged the organs again? It wouldn't do that mechanically, but RP-wise it'd be a legitimate concern.

2.) Patch up the organs.

3.) Fix ribs, cauterize.

A quick surgeon will get this done between 2-5 minutes. I will personally get that done in record under 2 minute time. Super easy.

Regarding HP: No, I don't honestly think we need more ammunition designed to kill non-security crewmembers. Pls no.

Secondly, you would be incredibly hardpressed to extract a bullet several inches deep embedded into someone's chest. A pair of tweezers stuck into someone's fresh, gaping bullethole will not help matters any, and it'd be incredibly painful if you even remotely feather a bone with that. Incisions allow the surgeon to precisely open a wound and more accurately extract rounds. There are certain portions of med that could viably be made easier, but surgery is perfect the way it is as of now.

We also don't need more easy-acquisition murder tools than what we already have. Alberyk's brought us more than enough in that regard. Ballistics has always been king versus security, whose armor has very little actual resistance against bullets than it does against lasers.

[Nanako]

You will notice this contains some of the surgery proceedings to fix someone's crushed ribs. When it comes to ballistics, ribs are usually the first to crack. You'll end up getting here as well if some of the important internal organs are damaged as well.

 

In about 4/5 cases yesterday, the patients had no other damage to their chest except the shrapnel there. They were all civilians who got clipped by 1-2 weak shots

 

Regarding HP: No, I don't honestly think we need more ammunition designed to kill non-security crewmembers. Pls no.

 

Its a tradeoff. For your better murder potential, you sacrifice some ability to handle a fair fight, and are more likely to lose to security.

The flipside of this is, if you want to be effective against people in armor, you pick the normal rounds which cause less collateral damage. I'd theorise this will decrease civilian wounds a bit

 

Secondly, you would be incredibly hardpressed to extract a bullet several inches deep embedded into someone's chest.

ITs difficult and requires great eyesight and a steady hand, qualities that a surgeon should have. This kind of thing is done commonly IRL

You avoid open surgery wherever possible, because of higher risks for complications, infection and death

it'd be incredibly painful if you even remotely feather a bone with that.

The patient should of course be under anaesthesia or at least heavy painkillers

And as a failure for this surgical step, you nick an organ or something and cause internal damage

 

We also don't need more easy-acquisition murder tools than what we already have. Alberyk's brought us more than enough in that regard. Ballistics has always been king versus security, whose armor has very little actual resistance against bullets than it does against lasers.

 

This would actually be a nerf to normal bullets, making them easier to remove from patients without any additional buff at all