“Ammunition” is any expendable resource a weapon eats to project force—physical rounds, rocket darts, chem tanks, batteries, or magitech cartridges. On the table, it plugs directly into Starfinder 2e’s capacity, usage, and reload rules; in-universe, it’s one more thing you can run out of in a bad part of the Rift.
Ammunition
Equipment type
Ammo Types
Projectiles: Bullets, flechettes, bolts, darts—bought in bundles (10 rounds per credit in playtest), loaded into a magazine.
Charges/Batteries: Energy and some powered melee weapons use batteries with a capacity (total charges) and usage (charges per attack/day).
Chems/Tanks: Flamers, sprayers, and some industrial kit use chemical tanks that behave like non‑rechargeable batteries.
Missiles: Single‑shot arrows, mini‑rockets, and shells, often with explode or special crit effects, usually loaded one at a time.
Special rounds: Alchemical and magical ammunition that adds persistent damage, conditions, or utility effects.
Capacity & Usage
Projectile weapons: capacity is magazine size; usage is usually 1 per attack. Typical baselines: 2 (sniper), 8 (small arms), 16 (longarms), 32 (heavy weapons).
Battery/chem weapons: capacity is total charges; usage is charges spent per attack or per time unit.
Many weapons gain larger capacity and sometimes increased usage at higher item levels, representing extended mags or hungrier emitters.
Reload X = number of actions to ready the weapon to fire again: slot a round, swap a mag, feed a missile, etc.
Reloading and drawing thrown ammo require a free hand; grip-switching is baked into the reload actions.
Special/Magical Ammunition
Alchemical ammo: Elemental or status‑inflicting rounds, often adding persistent and splash damage of a chosen energy type.
Magic ammo: Crafted for specific ammo types; uses the weapon’s fundamental runes for attack/damage, but its own description for extra effects.
If magic ammo has an Activate entry, it must be activated and then fired that same turn or its magic shuts off (but the round is not consumed until fired). Firing magic ammunition always consumes the magic, hit or miss.
Pricing Basics
baseline: 1 cinder buys 10 pieces of basic projectile ammo.
Alchemical/magical rounds are priced as consumables and bought in small lots.