This is a quick cheat sheet for how burst fire attacks work.
| Burst | Bonus | Targets | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | +1 | One* | 3 |
| Medium | +2 | 1-3*† | 10 |
| Long | +3 | 1-5*† | 20 |
* Also roll against anyone in close combat with the target.
† Also roll against anyone within 1yd of or in-between the designated targets.
Roll separately for each target. All rolls are penalized by -2 for every target. People near the chosen target become targets themselves as described above and increase the penalty on all rolls as normal.
Targeted attacks, like aiming for a limb, cannot be used with a burst attack. The level of precision needed is just not possible.
For example, Tommy wants to mow down a bunch of gangsters with his machine gun. There are three of them in the room as he steps through the door, with a hapless accountant standing in between the leftmost pair of gangsters. Tommy wants to target the three gangsters, but must also fire at the accountant to do so, because the accountant is standing between two of his targets. This brings the total number of targets to four, requiring Tommy to unlaod a Long Burst into the room.
Tommy must roll his Dexterity + Firearms + Weapon Damage four times, once for each target. Every one of those rolls suffers a -8 penalty (-2 for each of the four targets).