Low on Ammo!

Our group seems to roll A LOT of doubles during game play. This causes many aircraft to run out of ammo and hence creates less than a perfect gaming experience. We've tried a house rule or two to address the frequency of our doubles conundrum, but haven't used them on a consistent basis. In all my reading, where there are certainly instances of running out of ammunition, or at least some guns running out while others still had rounds, it did not seem to happen as habitually as it does in our games. I was looking at the Ammo Depletion table recently, trying to figure out a way to reduce the amount of out of ammunition results while factoring in crew experience. What follows is a chart that I plan to try at a few upcoming games that I host.

When a second set of doubles has been rolled (or after the first fire box has been checked), it triggers an ammunition check. Using the same parameters for aircrew quality as on the Ammo Depletion table (meaning that a skilled aircrew has to check on doubles of 4 or higher, a veteran on 5 or higher, etc.), based on pilot skill the player will take an aircrew check and using the following table to determine the outcome. The numbers under each weapon type are the minimum numbers to roll in order to maintain that weapon type's ammunition supply. There are no die roll modifiers as aircrew quality has already been factored into the chart.

Example One: A veteran P-38 jock rolls his second set of doubles for the game, this time a pair of fives. This triggers an aircrew check on the table. The player rolls a 7 on his 2d6. Checking the Veteran row, this would result in his 20mm cannon being out of ammo, but his four .50 caliber HMGs are good to go. 

Example Two: A poor Chinese MiG-15 pilot has rolled his second set of doubles which triggers a check on the table. He rolls his 2d6 and the result is an 8. All guns are out of ammo. Had the result been an 11, then the two 23mm cannon would still be available, but the 37mm Sabre buster would be out of rounds.

Any check would be dependent upon what guns were used in the firing attack. If the type of gun(s) were not used, they are not impacted by a failed crew check.

Also, additional doubles means another aircrew check on the table, not an automatic out of ammo result. Therefore a plane could roll multiple doubles during the course of a game, but could continue to pass the checks and have some or all of its guns available.