Bleeder Rounds

As discussed earlier what amounts to a "War Crime" is a bit more of a dubious era in AF10. This has led to the popularizing of a lot of technology of a military (and often, specifically anti-personnel) nature which would at the very least have raised eyebrows before The Fall if not been outright illegal. And in many habs with laws and formal governments, they remain illegal for private citizens to use. They may even be restricted from being used by the police. But, when things get bad these governments may often find they have a few of these tools in their back pocket. And, for members of technically illegal conspiracies who will stop at nothing to prevent a second Fall, fines and simulspace jail time for owning the "wrong" spec of ammunition seem like a small risk to take. Here's an example:

Bleeder Rounds: Related to Biter and Flayer (p. 338 EP) Smart Ammunition, the Bleeder round also alters it's shape and profile as it passes through a target. It can also alter its trajectory both in and outside the target when paired with a smartlink. However, the purpose of the Bleeder round is not just to cause more physical damage to the target, it is to specifically cause painful, incapacitating damage. The round shapes itself to make wounds more difficult to close up and prone to bleeding. It will adjust its trajectory to find joins, major organs or arteries, and nerve centers. If it passes through a region of vital anatomy it can fold, shape or sharpen to cut maximum numbers of blood vessels or sever nerves and ligaments. Or, if approached with a bone, it might harden, scrape or dig into the structure to cause more painful and inhibiting breaks. This means it causes +2 DV, and the target's Wound Threshold is considered 1 lower against the weapon using this ammo. Like Biter and Flayer, Bleeder rounds cannot be combined with other ammunition types. [Moderate]

Despite the name, Bleeders are just as effective against synthmorphs, targeting core mechanisms and internal components, though naturally the ability to filter pain makes synthetics more resilient. The primary saving grace against Bleeder rounds is that their high speed means they often have little time to adjust their trajectory or make dramatic repositions. They also have considerably less usefulness if something were to jam the Smartlink. The microcomputers on the Bleeder round when paired with a smartlink can make assumptions about the anatomy of the target and may even be linked with sensors to confirm - but against exotic morphologies such as aliens or entirely neogenetic creatures they may lack effectiveness. At their discretion the GM may decide that Bleeders have no additional effect on such a target. Luckily for Firewall operatives using them, that only includes some exsurgent types.

Bleeders were developed prior to the Fall, and almost immediately banned everywhere, and got a lot of media attention when they were illegally used, much like stories of "cop killer" bullets in the late 20th century. This did mean they were not thoroughly tested against the horrors of the Fall, and while many users swear by them, a single bullet can still only do so much on it's own. Even so, pop culture remembers the round a little, and restrictions on civilian and even law enforcement deployment exist in many polities. Even if not verboten, one can expect to get many angry messages and negative rep hits accidentally slinging the bullets around to hit an unintended target in a vital organ.