This section covers the wide variety of vehicles available to adventurers of all sorts. This will go though all the standard civilian vehicles such as bikes, cars, and planes. While it will also include military units such as tanks, and finally advance hover vehicles as well.
Wheeled
Majority of the vehicles in the colonial worlds are wheeled. They are easy to create and are in complete abundance in most worlds. As you get closer to the old ones you start to see gravity
Air/Rafts
An “air/raft” is the gravitic equivalent of the personal ground car. They are slow, and can become rather difficult to handle in high or turbulent winds. They are open-topped, and can be covered with a cloth or plastic canopy, but cannot be sealed against vacuum. Air/rafts can be used for surface- to-low-orbit flights, although the trip can take several hours and requires that the passengers wear vacc suits. A standard air/raft has a capacity of one driver, three to five passengers, and four tons of cargo. Air/rafts are often carried by small starships as auxiliary craft; they take up four 1d tons of space in a vehicle bay or hangar.
Speeders
Speeders are large, overpowered gravitic vehicles, sacrificing passenger and cargo space for streamlining and speed. They are sealed against high winds and vacuum, and can easily be used for surface-to-orbit travel. A standard speeder can carry a driver, one passenger, and up to 200 pounds of cargo. They are sometimes carried by starships as auxiliary craft, although
their lack of cargo capacity makes them unpopular in this role. They take up six 1d tons of space in a vehicle bay or hangar.
G-Carriers
G-Carriers are heavy cargo vehicles, with handling characteristics similar to those of a large air/raft. They are usually designed for light troop transport duties, carrying heavier armor and often mounting a light infantry-support weapon in an open gun mount. They are sealed, but are too slow for travel beyond low planetary orbit. A standard G-Carrier can carry a driver, a gunner, and up to 12 passengers, with two tons of cargo. GCarriers are sometimes carried by military starships as auxiliary craft; they take up eight dtons of space in a vehicle bay or hangar.
Vehicle Statistics
The tables in this section give statistics for common vehicle types, and note the skills required to operate them. Some vehicle systems, such as sensors or weapons, may require additional skills not listed here.
ST/HP: The vehicle’s ST and HP. These are equal for a powered vehicle: the vehicle’s mass determines both how powerful its engine must be (ST) and how hard it is to destroy (HP). For an unpowered vehicle, this score is marked with a †, and represents HP only; ST is 0. Unpowered vehicles have Injury Tolerance (Homogenous); others have the Machine meta-trait (p. 263), which includes Injury Tolerance (Unliving).
Hnd/SR: The first number is Handling; the second is Stability Rating. See Control Rolls (p. 466) for details.
HT: The vehicle’s HT, a measure of reliability and ruggedness. Fragile vehicles have an additional code: “c” for Combustible, “f” for Flammable, or “x” for Explosive.
Move: The first number is Acceleration and the second is Top Speed, in yards/second (double this to get mph). These statistics are equivalent to a character’s Move and his top speed with Enhanced Move. For ground vehicles, a * indicates a roadbound vehicle, while a ‡ indicates one that must follow rails. For spacecraft, divide Acceleration by 10 to find it in Earth gravities (G), and note that c means the speed of light (186,000 miles/second).
LWt.: Loaded Weight, in tons (1 ton = 2,000 lbs.), with maximum payload and a full load of fuel. Actual weight is often lower.
Load: The weight, in tons, of occupants and cargo the vehicle can carry, including the operator. To find cargo capacity, subtract the weight of occupants (for simplicity, assume 0.1 ton/person, including gear). To find “curb weight” (with fuel but no other payload), subtract Load from LWt.
SM: The vehicle’s Size Modifier.
Occ.: The number of occupants the vehicle can carry in reasonable comfort, given as “crew+passengers”; e.g., 2+6 means two crew and six passengers. “A” indicates a vehicle built for long-term accommodation, with room to sleep, cook, etc. If the vehicle affords the occupants special protection, there is an additional code: “S” for Sealed (p. 82), “P” for Pressure Support (p. 77), or “V” for Vacuum Support (p. 96).
DR: The vehicle’s DR. Some vehicles have different DR on various faces or locations. The table lists the two most important DR scores – for ground vehicles, this is usually the front DR and the average of side and rear DR.
Range: The travel distance, in miles, before the vehicle runs out of fuel. For unpowered or exotic vehicles,
“–” means only provisions (food and water) limit range. “F” means the FP of the rowers or draft animals, and stored provisions, limit range. Spacecraft either omit this statistic or use the entry to give faster-than-light drive capabilities.
Cost: The vehicle’s cost, in $. “K” means thousands; “M” means millions.
Basic Movements
When adventurers use a vehicle for transportation, it is usually enough to know how fast it can move (Top Speed, in yards/second) and how far it can travel (Range, in miles). The rules below are for those occasions when the details become important.
Long-Distance Movement
When covering significant distances, the following factors can be more important than Top Speed and Range.
Cruising Speed: Travel conditions, safety considerations, and the need to conserve fuel or energy mean that in practice, ground and air vehicles typically use only 60-70% of Top Speed when traveling long distances. An animal- drawn or rowed vehicle can only use its Top Speed for a few minutes – for the beasts or rowers, this is as fatiguing as running! The highest sustainable speed is about 75% of this, which is as fatiguing as hiking. If the beasts or rowers drop below 1/3 FP, halve Top Speed.
Endurance: Divide Range in miles by cruising speed in mph to determine endurance in hours for situations where “loiter” capability matters more than range. The vehicle must carry provisions in order to take advantage of endurance in excess of one day. Food and water are about 12 lbs. per person per day, but won’t keep for more than a month before TL5 (at TL5+, canned goods and similar rations are available).
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Control Rolls
A vehicle operator must make a “control roll” – against Boating, Driving, Piloting, etc., as appropriate – in any potentially hazardous situation. The GM may require a roll every few hours in an ongoing situation such as a fierce storm, or every few seconds in combat!
Modifiers: The vehicle’s Handling (Hnd) statistic modifies all control rolls. For sudden deceleration or tight turns, see Pushing the Envelope (p. 395). Visibility modifiers (-1 to -9 for darkness, fog, etc.; -10 for total darkness) apply if there is risk of collision; they aren’t important when trying to weather a storm at 30,000 feet or in the mid-Atlantic, but they’re crucial if you’re zigzagging through mountains, landing or taking off in an aircraft, sailing just off a rocky coast, etc. See the relevant vehicle skill for other modifiers. The GM may assess situational modifiers as he sees fit.
On a failure, the operator does not perform the maneuver properly, or fails to avoid the hazard. Failure by no more than the vehicle’s Stability Rating (SR) is a minor problem; e.g., a car skids off the road, or a ship loses a
few hours of travel. More severe failure means a major problem; e.g., a crash. The GM may allow a second control roll, at a hefty penalty, to keep a major problem from becoming a total disaster; the modifiers should depend on the exact action(s) the operator takes. On a critical failure, disaster is inevitable!
Large vehicles may require a roll against both the master’s Shiphandling skill and the crew’s average Crewman skill. Use the average margin of success or failure.
Ground Travel
A ground vehicle moves on wheels, runners, tracks, or legs, as indicated by the notation in its Locations entry. The average speed it can sustain on a journey depends on the terrain and the weather. See Hiking (p. 351) for
definitions of terrain and weather conditions.
Terrain: Figure cruising speed in mph from Top Speed in yards/second as follows:
• Very Bad (deep snow, swamp): Top Speed x 0.1 mph on wheels or runners, Top Speed x 0.15 mph on tracks, Top Speed x 0.2 mph on legs.
• Bad (hills, woods): Top Speed x 0.25 mph on wheels, Top Speed x 0.5 mph otherwise.
• Average (dirt road, plains): Top Speed x 0.5 mph on wheels, Top Speed x 1 mph otherwise.
•Good (paved road, salt flats): Top Speed x 1.25 mph.
For a road-bound vehicle (e.g., a normal car), use Top Speed only when traveling on a road. Off road, use the lower of Top Speed and 4 x Acceleration in these formulas.
//Example: A luxury car with Move 3/57 gets an average travel speed of 57 x 1.25 = 71 mph on a paved road (Good). On a dirt road (Average), it could manage 57 x 0.5 = 28 mph. But off road in Average terrain, it would drop to 3 x 4 x 0.5 = 6 mph!
For a vehicle that follows rails (e.g., a locomotive), treat the rails as Good terrain. However, the vehicle cannot move at all off the rails!
These rates assume sustained travel at a safe cruising speed. A vehicle going flat out can move up to 60% faster (e.g., Top Speed x 2 mph over Good terrain, like a road), but the GM may require hourly control rolls to avoid a mishap, such as a collision.
Weather: This affects ground vehicles just as it does hikers. Treat sleds and snowmobiles as skates on ice and as skis on snow.
Water Travel
A powered vessel moves at Top Speed x 2 mph. A sailing craft moves at Top Speed x 2 mph in ideal wind conditions; actual speed can drop to a fraction of this – or even zero – depending on wind direction and strength. A rowed vessel can only sustain a speed of Top Speed x 1.5 mph (and even this will eventually fatigue the crew). Currents can increase or reduce speed directly typically by a few mph, depending on the current. Heavy seas (caused by high winds) usually reduce speed. An unpowered vessel faced with a storm may require Shiphandling and Seamanship rolls by captain and crew to avoid being blown off course or worse.
Draft: “Draft” is the distance between the vessel’s waterline and its keel. In water shallower than this, it will run aground. Re-floating it requires waiting for a change in tide, or jettisoning ballast or payload. In waters of unknown depth, it is best to
proceed slowly and cautiously! (Roll against Area Knowledge to recall depth, or against Navigation (Sea) to read charts.)
Air Travel
An aircraft’s cruising speed is about Top Speed x 1.6 mph. Powered aircraft can reach Top Speed x 2 mph at the cost of burning 50% more fuel, reducing Range. Supersonic aircraft (Move 360+) can only use their full Top Speed at high altitudes where the air is thin (15,000’ and above). At low altitudes, Top Speed rarely exceeds 350-400 (700-800 mph).
The GM should require control rolls for landings during bad weather or visibility, and when traveling at high speeds at very low altitudes or through mountains. Winds and storms affect balloons and airships much as they do sailing vessels.
Space Travel
It takes about (0.10 ¥ velocity in yards/second)/(Acceleration in G) seconds to reach a given cruising velocity. A spacecraft moving at that velocity takes roughly (0.5 ¥ distance in miles)/velocity hours to travel a given distance. For comparison, the moon is around 0.25 million miles from Earth, and Mars is 34 million miles away at its closest approach.
Example: To accelerate to a velocity of 90,000 yards/second in a spacecraft with an acceleration of 1.5G would take (0.1 x 90,000)/1.5 = 6,000 seconds, or about 1.7 hours. At a velocity of 90,000 yards/second, you would reach Mars in (0.5 x 34,000,000)/90,000 = 189 hours
It is common to give interplanetary distances in “astronomical units” (AU). One AU is 93 million miles, the average distance from the Earth to the Sun. Interstellar distances are often given in light-years (5.865 trillion miles) or parsecs (3.26 light-years). Earth’s nearest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, is 4.3 light-years away.
For a spacecraft that uses a Newtonian reaction drive (e.g., any real-life rocket), Top Speed is really
“delta-v”: the maximum change of velocity it can perform before running out of reaction mass (rocket fuel, etc.). Each acceleration or deceleration “costs” a fraction of this delta-v.
To lift into low Earth orbit requires Move 8,700. To achieve planetary escape velocity and leave orbit requires
an extra Move 3,600. For other planets, multiply these velocities by the square root of (M/R), where M is planetary mass in Earth masses and R is planetary radius in Earth radii. In addition to having sufficient delta-v, the spacecraft’s acceleration must exceed the planet’s gravity (1G, for Earth).
Travel through interplanetary space requires using up the required delta-v to achieve the desired velocity, coasting as described above, then using delta-v to slow to the velocity needed to enter orbit at the destination.
Example: A spacecraft in Earth orbit has a delta-v of 200,000. It uses 3,600 to break orbit and 90,000 to accelerate to a cruising velocity (Move 90,000). It drifts at that speed for 1.5 hours to reach the moon, and then use another 88,500 to decelerate to the moon’s orbital velocity. Its remaining delta-v is 200,000 - 3,600 - 90,000 - 88,500 = 17,900.
Some superscience space drives don’t have to worry about delta-v – the spacecraft can accelerate constantly! The only requirement for such a spacecraft to leave a planet is that its acceleration exceeds the planet’s gravity.
When it travels long distances, it requires time in hours equal to the square root of (50.8 ¥ distance in millions of miles/Acceleration in G) to complete the trip.
If a spacecraft is capable of faster than- light travel, its performance depends on what kind of superscience exists. The GM should design a drive to suit his campaign. See the
Vehicle Combat
“Vehicle combat” is any combat that involves handheld weapons fired from within a vehicle (e.g., bank robbers shooting from a getaway car), weapons mounted on a vehicle (such as a fighter jet, tank, mecha, or spy car), or attacks that use the vehicle itself as a weapon (ramming, punching and kicking with the arms and legs of a mecha, etc.).
In the rules below, a vehicle’s “operator” is the person at the controls. A “control skill” is the skill the operator uses to direct his vehicle; e.g., Driving or Piloting. An “occupant” is anyone in or on the vehicle – operator, crew, or passenger.
Maneuvers
Treat a vehicle as an extension of its operator. It moves on the operator’s turn, at his place in the turn sequence (as determined by his Basic Speed). To control his vehicle, the operator must take a Move or Move and Attack maneuver on his turn but it’s the vehicle that moves or attacks, while the operator remains at the controls. If the operator takes any other maneuver, or is stunned or otherwise incapacitated, his vehicle plows ahead with the same speed and course it had on the previous turn.
The vehicle’s other occupants take their turns at their place in the turn sequence. They may use vehicle systems, provided they are stationed next to the appropriate controls and take a suitable maneuver: Concentrate to use instruments or electronics, Attack or All-Out Attack to fire vehicular weapons, etc.
Bailing Out of a Moving Vehicle: Anyone who jumps or falls from a moving vehicle and hits the ground suffers a collision with an immovable object, at the vehicle’s speed. If the vehicle was flying, add falling damage as well. For details, see Collisions and Falls (p. 430). To jump between two moving vehicles, make a DX or Jumping roll. Apply the penalty for relative speed given on the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 550).
Movement During Combat
As explained under Vehicle Statistics (p. 462), a vehicle’s Move score is split into two numbers: Acceleration and Top Speed. Acceleration functions just like Basic Move for a character; at this speed or less, the vehicle has no special restrictions on movement. At higher speeds – anything up to Top Speed – use the High-Speed Movement rules (p. 394), but substitute control rolls (see Control Rolls, p. 466) for DX rolls.
Acceleration: A vehicle can accelerate up to its Acceleration each turn. A diving flyer may add 10 ¥ local gravity in Gs (1G on Earth) to this.
Deceleration: A powered, wheeled ground vehicle can decelerate by 5 yards/second per turn. An animaldrawn or tracked, walking, or slithering ground vehicle can decelerate by 10 yards/second per turn. Most air and
water vehicles can decelerate by (5 + Handling) yards/second per turn (minimum 1 yard/second). These rates assume safe deceleration. It is possible to decelerate further with a successful control roll, as explained under Pushing the Envelope (p. 395); failure means a loss of control.
Control Rolls
Control Rolls
The operator must make a control roll whenever he attempts a risky maneuver or encounters an obstacle, and whenever his vehicle suffers knockback or major damage. On a failure, he loses control of the vehicle. If you are using a rulebook that supplies a “crash table” for that type of vehicle, roll on the table; otherwise, see the applicable paragraph below. In addition to these results, a failed control roll always erases any accumulated bonuses for Aim maneuvers, and gives a penalty equal to the margin of failure to any attack from the vehicle until the operator’s next turn.
Air Vehicle: Failure by the vehicle’s Stability Rating (SR) or less means the vehicle loses 5 yards of altitude and
decelerates by 10 yards/second. If it was flying dangerously low or slow, it could hit the ground or stall; otherwise, it just blunders ahead. Failure by more than SR, or critical failure, means an uncontrollable dive, tailspin, etc. If the vehicle was climbing, it stalls, then starts to fall; otherwise, it dives at Top Speed each turn. Either way, on subsequent turns, the operator must make a Piloting-5 roll to pull out!
Ground Vehicle: Failure by SR or less means the vehicle skids and fails to go in the intended direction if you were trying to turn – or veers randomly left or right otherwise. The GM determines if it hits something. Failure by more than SR, or critical failure, means it rolls or spins out and crashes. It skids or rolls for a distance equal to 1/3 its current velocity before coming to a stop, and suffers falling damage based on the velocity it had when it lost control
Space or Underwater Vehicle: Failure by SR or less means the vehicle charges ahead or veers randomly instead of performing the intended maneuver; if it was trying to avoid an obstacle, it fails to do so. A submarine also loses 5 yards of depth, which might lead to a crash. Failure by more than SR, or critical failure, results in severe stress. Make a HT roll for the vehicle; on a failure, it suffers stress-related damage: a leak, engine failure, etc.
Water Vehicle: Failure by SR or less means exactly what it does for a ground vehicle. In addition, anyone standing on an open deck must make a ST or ST-based Seamanship roll to hold on or be washed overboard. Failure by more than SR, or critical failure, means the vehicle capsizes! Those on deck are tossed overboard automatically. An “unsinkable” vehicle like a surfaced sub, rubber raft, or canoe can be righted. Other vehicles simply sink.
Attack
Mounted Weapons: Vehicle occupants can attack with the vehicle’s built-in weapons, provided they are manning weapon stations. At TL6+, many armed vehicles have targeting systems (optical sights, radar, computers, etc.) that add a bonus to the gunner’s effective skill, just like a telescopic sight. Most of these systems only work if the gunner takes an Aim maneuver. A good TL6 optical sight might add +2 to skill. A typical TL7-8 system, with computerized laser- or radar-directed fire control, would give +3.
Ramming: The vehicle operator can use the vehicle itself as a weapon; see Collisions and Falls (p. 430)
Melee Attacks: If the vehicle has arms or legs, the operator can use it to punch, kick, grab, etc. as if it were an extension of his body.
Handheld Weapons: The viability of handheld weapons depends on the vehicle and the situation. Shooters in or on open vehicles, like jeeps and motorcycles, can fire in almost any direction. Occupants of enclosed vehicles must shoot through or lean out of an open window, door, hatch, port, or firing slit. Shots fired through a glass windscreen “star” it, rendering it opaque; it takes a Ready maneuver to clear away the broken glass. Shooting through a window is unwise if the vehicle is sealed, pressurized, or has vacuum support – it may result in a leak or explosive decompression!
If the operator fires a handheld weapon, he must take a Move and Attack maneuver. This gives him -2 to hit or a penalty equal to his weapon’s Bulk, whichever is worse – his attention is divided between driving and shooting. Do not apply this penalty to mounted weapon attacks, ramming attempts, or vehicular melee attacks.
Defense
A vehicle’s operator may maneuver evasively to avoid attacks on his vehicle. Treat this as a dodge; see Dodging
(p. 374). A vehicle’s Dodge score is (operator’s control skill/2) + vehicle’s Handling, rounded down. For example, a biker with Driving (Motorcycle)- 14 on a motorcycle with Handling +1 has a Dodge of 14/2 + 1 = 8.
The GM may require Dodge rolls to avoid other hazards, such as baby carriages and potholes, or to maneuver through tight spots. These could be instead of control rolls, or to avoid disaster after failed control rolls!
Occupants who are free to move (not strapped in, etc.) may dodge attacks specifically targeted on them, but they get no defense against stray shots or attacks that penetrate the vehicle and go on to strike them.
Collisions
For the purpose of attack and defense rolls, any attempt to use a vehicle as a weapon is a slam (see Slam, p. 368), with the operator rolling against control skill to hit. If the intent is to ram, calculate collision damage normally. If the intent is to force another vehicle off the road, assess damage for a “side-on” collision, but damage is knockback only. For details, see Collisions and Falls (p. 430).
Who’s at the Wheel?
There are usually dire consequences when a vehicle’s operator is taken out of action (killed, fell off, abandoned the controls, etc.). A oneor two-wheeled vehicle, or a mecha walking on two or three legs, rolls over as if it had lost control. Other types of vehicle just charge ahead until they hit something – but roll 1d each turn. On a 6, or any roll greater than the vehicle’s SR, the vehicle goes out of control. Someone else can regain control, but may need a few seconds to reach the controls, depending o
Leaking
A leak occurs when a floating vehicle suffers penetrating damage to the body below its waterline, a balloon or airship takes any penetrating damage to the body, or a submerged vehicle takes penetrating damage to any location but an external mount. Use the Bleeding rule (p. 420), but replace the First Aid roll to stop bleeding with a Crewman roll to patch the hole.
There is a wide variety of electronic gadgets in most TL6+ game worlds. Among the most important of these – for adventurers, at least – are communicators, sensors, and computers.