If, for example, I have a ranged projectile weapon with capacity 18 and usage 3, every time I make a single attack, I expend 3 rounds. I get six such attacks before I need to reload.
When I make those attacks, am I actually firing three rounds? Or is it an abstraction, and I purchased and fired 1 round that is three times more expensive than your average round? If it's The latter, what happens if I move The ammo to a different kinetic firearm?
The capacity rules make sense for powered weapons, but seems weird to me with kinetic weapons. Can I really not change my rifle from 3-round burst to single fire like in real life?
Is my weapon's ammo really so awefully expensive?
Seems to me that, with a few exceptions, nearly all kinetic weapons should have a usage of just one.
My understanding is that weapons with discreet ammunition (rounds, shells, mini-rockets) and usage greater than 1 are expending that number of ammunition units each time they fire.
The vast majority of non-heavy projectile weapons do have a usage of 1, and the exceptions seem to have an explanation built in (i.e. they're named dual- or quad-). For some, the weapon description might hold relevant information.
To your point about single shot, the autotarget rifle, which is automatic, does fire a single round normally. The machine guns seem to use a few rounds, but that seems to fit the theme to me.
If you're thinking of, say, I dunno, random example here, a rail cannon, I'm not sure whether you'd think of it firing a burst or multiple round simultaneously. (either way, they might go through walls)
I really don't want to keep track of more ammo types, so... it's a locked in 3 round burst.
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I think we are being to literal with an abstract concept. In our world, guns fire single rounds or bursts of single rounds. They have components brought together which constitute a round.
In Pathfinder, what if there was "generic" ammunition that was somehow able to be tailored to the weapon once it's loaded.
Instead of thinking of a magazine loaded with X rounds.. think of a magazine loaded with X material. And your gun, kinetic, fires a bullet so big it needs more of X material to create and use as round.
In this manner you could use ammunition from a shotgun in a pistol as long as you can change the magazine with this "material".
Same for energy weapons.
Anyways, it's how I tend to think of this games ability to swap and keep rounds interchangeable.
That's certainly an interesting way of looking at it, Magyar5, and would solve the conceptual issue. :)
(Magyar) Energetic weapon fusion and a battery or manufacturing weapon and UPBs ...first option is better
and to the original question I believe you do fire the number of rounds it says ...there's a cost issue to consider and I think they were already pretty nice in letting all rounds of same type be interchangeable