''Killer Crosshairs'', subtitled "What Gun Control Was Meant To Be!", is the first product published by

Biohazard Games Biohazard Games is a company located in Columbia, Missouri that publishes role-playing games, most of them designed by Jeff Barber and Jim Heivilin. The company tends to work closely with Fantasy Flight Games. History Many Biohazard employees o ...

, a role-playing game supplement released in 1995.

Description

''Killer Crosshairs'' is a hit-location system intended to be used for any role-playing game system. The supplement contains two transparent plastic overlay grids, and a 24-page rulebook. Included in the rule book are ten silhouettes of various targets from men and women to horses and cats. Before making a missile attack against an opponent using any weapon from a thrown axe to a modern firearm, the attacker places one of the plastic overlay sheets over the silhouette that most closely matches the target. After making a die roll for an attack, the player consults the Systems Conversion section of the rules for the particular role-playing system being used to determine a location value. The player then uses the location value on the plastic overlay sheet to determine exactly what part of the body the missile, weapon or bullet hit.

Publication history

Biohazard Games of

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

was started after

Pagan Publishing Pagan Publishing is a role-playing game publishing company founded by John Scott Tynes in 1990. It began by publishing a '' Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game fanzine, '' The Unspeakable Oath''. In 1994, the company moved from Columbia, Misso ...

made the decision to move from Columbia to Seattle. Some of those who chose to stay in Columbia, including

Jeff Barber Jeffrey Barber is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Jeff Barber was a gamer from Columbia, Missouri, who joined the volunteer staff of Pagan Publishing and collaborated with John Scott Tynes on early adventu ...

, founded Biohazard Games. Biohazard's first product was ''Killer Crosshairs'', a 24-page saddle-stapled softcover book designed by Jeff Barber, with artwork by Barber, Domenic di Ciacca, and Chip Martin.

Reception

In Issue 231 of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (July 1996),

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pre ...

called ''Killer Crosshairs'' "the Oddball of the Month", but then admitted that it was "quick, accurate, and disturbingly realistic." Although Swan nitpicked that the system did not make any adjustments for moving targets, he concluded by recommending it, saying, "If you’re a marksman who absolutely, positively has to know if you skewered that pussy cat's paw or just nicked its whiskers, this is a must."

Other reviews

*''

Shadis ''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games. Publication history Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepen ...

'' #26 (April, 1996)

References

{{reflist Role-playing game books Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1995