Vehicles

Vehicles

Vehicles are complex, highly useful machines, ranging from nimble motorbikes to titanic battletanks. They can be powered by a motor or reactor or sometimes just by human exertion. For those who know how to use them, they can be critical items.

In this first section, we will:

  • Outline the anatomy of a vehicle: its characteristics, qualities, and other values
  • Define how a vehicle is operated and maneuvered

Anatomy of a Vehicle

Vehicles are divided into the following parts: Characteristics, Skill, Crew, Movement Modifier, Facings (and Facing Armour), Integrity, Traits, Special Equipment, Entrance Points and Weapons.

In order…

Characteristics represent the innate qualities of the vehicle. These values work the same way as for a normal character. However, because a vehicle is a blend of both the crew's expertise and its own values, working out a vehicle's characteristic line has some special rules.

  • If a vehicle's Characteristic is represented as a full number (eg '40', '50',) then these characteristics are not changed by the Operator, but are a constant of the vehicle. Most commonly, these will be Strength, Toughness and Agility. If a vehicle is ever in a situation where a test in these characteristics is triggered, then it rolls against this value. Operators who make tests with the vehicle that also fall under a 'full number' characteristic must also use these characteristics; for example, when making an Operate test in a vehicle with an Agility of '40', you would test against 40, not your own Agility. Your skill modifiers still count, however, so if you have +20 Operate, you'd roll vs 60 (40+20).
    • Vehicles reduce damage by their Toughness Bonus as normal, and they also calculate their speed using their AB+Movement Modifier.
  • If a vehicle's Characteristic is represented by a dash (eg, '-') then use the a crewmember's Characteristic for all intents and purposes. This most often covers Intelligence, Willpower and Fellowship.
  • If a vehicle's Characteristic is represented by an additive or subtractive value (eg '+10', '-20'), then for that characteristic the crewmember uses their own value, modified by the vehicle's bonus or penalty when using their vehicle's equipment, weapons or are somehow unable to rely wholly on their own senses. For example, if a vehicle's BS is +10, and the crewmember has a BS of 40, then when making BS tests with the vehicle's weapons the operator would test vs. 50.
  • If a vehicle's Characteristic is represented by a flat zero, then the vehicle is incapable of making tests with that characteristic; for example, a vehicle with Agility 0 is immobile, cannot move or do anything requiring an Agility or Agility Skill test.
    • Similarly, if a vehicle has a 0 for WS or BS, then it means it lacks weapons in that category and cannot make attacks of that nature. However, this doesn't apply to the crewmember's personal weapons; a car might be BS 0, but the operator is free to lean out the window and make normal shots with their own gun.

Skill represents the skill needed to successfully pilot the vehicle, most usually an Operate specialisation of some kind. Characters with the appropriate skill can operate the vehicle. Characters without the skill may attempt to pilot, but suffer major penalties and are likely to crash almost instantly.

Crew represents the various crew positions a vehicle maintains. It also maintains a limit on how many people can be in the vehicle at once. A vehicle can contain more people than its crew limit (usually up to the limit plus another three), but for each person in the vehicle past the limit, any WS, BS, and Agility tests made by those inside the vehicle take a -10 penalty.

  • Commanders are those who direct the vehicle. There's no requirement that they do anything, and they may fill a second slot if they wish. However, all crew within a vehicle act on the Commander's initiative, not their own. All vehicles with more than 1 crewmember must have a Commander, and if the Commander is incapacitated then a different crew member must take the role.
  • Operators are those who pilot the vehicle; they make the Operate tests and decide which maneuvers the vehicle is going to use. Operators are the only ones who can use their Piloting talents to affect the vehicle.
  • Assistant Operators assist the Operator in piloting the vehicle; this crew slot is used only for very complex vehicles. For each empty Assistant Operator slot, the Operator takes a -10 penalty to Operate tests.
  • Gunners are those who control the vehicle's weapons, usually one per weapon. If a vehicle has more weapons than gunners, then any excess weapons are controlled by the first gunner; if an armed vehicle has no gunners at all then the Operator controls the weapons systems. They may apply their WS and BS talents to their weapons as normal.
  • Loaders are crewmembers who load the vehicle's weapons. They may use the Reload action on any weapon they like. Any talents that affect reloading apply here.

Movement Modifier (MM) is a number that is added to the vehicle's Agility Bonus; the sum is then used to calculate the vehicle's speed, which is calculated using the same movement chart as normal characters on foot; that is, a vehicle with AB4 and MM 4 is as fast as a normal character with AB8.

  • Vehicles use the same movement scales as on-foot characters, in the sense that they use Half Move, Full Move, Charge and Run speeds. However, the implementation is rather different: for vehicles, these represent 'speed bands'.
    • Firstly, the speed bands are divided into four groups: "Slow", "Cruising", "Fast" and "Maximum", corresponding to Half Move, Full Move, Charge and Run respectively.
    • Vehicles may move a certain distance each round dependent on the speed band in which they're operating. A vehicle in motion (ie one that is not at a complete stop) must move at least as far as the value of the next speed band down, and may move up to the value of their current speed band.
    • A vehicle moves at the same speed as it did last round unless acted on by a maneuver or status effect. It may do this speed at the end of all the Operator's turn (if the vehicle somehow doesn't have an operator, then it happens at the end of all crews' turns instead; if somehow there's no crew left, then the vehicle moves like this at the start of each round.)
    • The speed of the vehicle determines certain test modifiers: Slow or Stationary at +10, Cruising at +0, Fast at -10, Maximum at -20. These modifiers apply to: Maneuver tests made with the vehicle, attacks made against the vehicle, attacks made from the vehicle,
      • Example: A standard Federation Battletank has 40 Agility (AB4) and MM 6, and so calculates its total speed as though it had AB10. This means it has a Slow speed of 10dm, a Cruising speed of 15dm, a Fast speed of 20dm and a Maximum speed of 30dm. On the first round, the Operator uses the Steer maneuver as a Half Action and decides to accelerate by one speed band, pushing the Battletank's speed from 'None' to 'Slow', allowing it to move between 1dm and 10dm; the Operator chooses 6dm. Next round, the Operator does nothing; at the end of his turn, the tank moves another 6dm in the same direction of its own volition. The round after that, the Operator uses the Floor It maneuver, which increases the tank's speed by up to two bands so long as the Operator passes an Operate test first. Because the tank is at Slow speed, the Operator takes a +10 bonus to the test; the Operator passes, pushing the tank up to Fast speed, allowing it to move between 15-20dm each round. This time the Operator chooses 20dm. An enemy then shoots at the tank; because of the tank's speed band, the attack takes a -10 penalty. However, the attack hits, and the Operator makes a Jink test as a reaction; this is also at a -10 penalty, because the speed band penalty affects maneuvers as well.

Facings. Facings represent the four sides of the vehicle- front, back, the left side and the right side. Each facing has its own AP value, and which facing an attack hits determines on the location of the attacker relevant to the vehicle- for example, a character firing a gun at the back of a car calculates damage using the car's 'Rear AP' value.

  • If the vehicle takes an attack to the top, count it as 'side'. Attacks to the bottom, however, count as 'rear'.
  • Vehicles also have four 'body locations': Hull, Motive Systems, Weapon and Turret (Although not all vehicles will have these locations).
    • Hull represents the main chassis of the vehicle, including where the crew sit as well as the engine, electronics and ammo stores.
    • Motive Systems represents the system the vehicle uses to move- for example, wheels, tracks, anti-grav engines, legs.
    • Weapon represents the exposed weapons of a vehicle attached to the hull (not the turret), for example a sponson, a hull-mounted machine gun or the like.
    • Turret represents, for vehicles which have them, the rotating turret that sits upon the chassis and contains the main gun. Turrets are special; attacks against them always use the vehicle's Front armour value.

Integrity. Integrity acts like Wounds, but for vehicles. Whenever a vehicle takes damage in excess of its TB and AP, it reduces Integrity by the excess amount. Once its Integrity is depleted, hits begin causing Critical Damage.

Traits. Traits act similarly to character traits, in that they inform many of a Vehicle's most distinctive features. Traits are various and assorted and cover many fields, but every vehicle has a Size trait of some kind as well as a trait relating to their type (Wheeled, Tracked, Skimmer, Walker, etc)

Special Equipment. Vehicles can be upgraded with special equipment, which give them special bonuses. They operate similar to traits, but can be changed, exchanged, etc. The type of equipment a vehicle can take depends on its type, whilst how much it can take depends on outfitting and resources.

Entrance Points. Every vehicle has at least one entrance point, which is how the crew enter the vehicle. By and large, this has little effect on things unless the entrance point is blocked somehow.

Weapons. This details a vehicle's weapons, if any. Vehicles rarely have just one dedicated weapon but rather have weapon 'hardpoints', where one of various weapons can be installed. Each hardpoint has the following details:

  • Name. This is the name of the hardpoint in question.
  • Mounting. This is the type of mounting the vehicle uses, which often determines the weapon's firing arcs; it can also determine some hit location results.
  • Facing. This represents on which side of the vehicle the weapon sits. This is used to determine weapon firing arcs, but also hit location results (if a vehicle takes a hit on the left side, the hit can't damage the right side after all).
  • Configuration. This represents what sort of weapon the Vehicle is allowed to take. Usually it offers one Design keyword (Ground, AC, Air etc) and one Class Keyword (Secondary, Basic, Heavy). It may also offer other keywords. A weapon hardpoint may have multiple configurations available; you must choose only one of them.
    • A weapon listed as 'Double-x', for example, Double-Basic, means that the weapon gains either the Storm or Twin-Linked quality, depending on your preference.
    • A weapon listed as 'Slaved (x)' has other weapons slaved to it, listed as X; this means the gunner of the listed weapon can also fire X in place of their weapon, or as part of the same attack (rolling to hit separately). For example.
    • Example: A vehicle has a main gun, with the configuration "Ground Double-Basic, Slaved (Sponsons 1 and 2)". This means the weapon may be a Basic Weapon of the Ground design, and may gain either the Storm or Twin-Linked Quality. Furthermore, the gunner of this gun may also fire the sponson weapons either by themselves or alongside his own weapon, rolling to hit separately for each.

Here we have an example of a vehicle sheet, breaking each component down.


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Operating a Vehicle

When it comes to operating a vehicle, each crewmember may spend their full and/or half actions as per usual, but they may also use special actions related to the vehicle, known as Maneuvers. These are the integral actions that allow a vehicle to really act. Each Maneuver has the following details:

  • Name. Name of the Maneuver.
  • Type/Subname. The type or subname of the Maneuver, such as for example "Attack" or "Concentration". A Character may only perform one Concentration Subtype Action per turn and one Attack Subtype Action per turn. Reactions with this subtype may still be undertaken, as Reactions are considered to exist outside of the normal Turn Order.
  • Crew Type. The type of crewmember(s) allowed to perform this action. If a crewmember is not in this position then they may not perform the action. If the entry lists "Crew+Crew", then it requires both crewmembers to make the action cost (although if one crewmember is occupying both positions, as is possible for some vehicles, then they only need to do the one Full Action).
  • Vehicle Type. The type of vehicle allowed to perform this action, for example 'wheeled'.
  • Action. The action cost it takes to perform the action, measured in Half Actions, Fulls, Frees or Reactions.
  • Test. The characteristic or skill used to make the Action.
  • Description. An outline of the action's effects.

A critical component of maneuvers is vehicle movement. As noted above, vehicles move differently to on-foot characters. The major differences are noted here:

  • Constant movement. As noted, vehicles will, unless acted on by an outside source or by the Operator, move at the same speed they did last round. However, a vehicle may only move once per round; if an Operator performs two maneuvers that both say they move the vehicle, then the vehicle moves on the first action.
    • Flying and Skimmer vehicles that the Operator uses a Movement maneuver on may also raise or lower their Altitude by one bracket, to a minimum of Hovering Altitude.
  • Turning. Due to the speed at which they move and their sheer mass and size, vehicles are often incapable of turning as quickly as a person on foot. Instead they follow this rule: if a vehicle is moving (and has an Operator who uses a Maneuver that has the Movement subtype), then the vehicle may make one 90 degree turn after moving at least its own length (roughly 1m at Size 5 and below, 2m at Size 6, 4m for Size 7, 6m at Size 8, 8m at Size 9 and 10m at Size 10), plus another 2m per speed band above Slow. So a Size 5 vehicle moving at slow may make a turn after every 1m, whilst a size 5 vehicle moving at Cruising may make a turn after every 2m. A vehicle may make multiple turns per movement so long as the proper length has been moved.
    • For P-Scale battles which use dm, there's not much need to pay attention to such minutiae; vehicles may make a turn at the start of movement, then another turn for every 1dm moved.
    • In regards to the 90 degree turn, it's acceptable for a vehicle to turn 45 degrees, travel in that direction for a short distance, then turn another 45 degrees.
    • Finally, instead of turning, a vehicle may instead decide to 'drift' to the left or the right, up to a number of metres equal to their Movement Modifier (or just 1dm in strategic maps).
Name Type/Subname Crew Type Vehicle Type Action Test Description
Attack w/Vehicle Weapon Attack Gunner Any Varies WS or BS You perform an Attack Action as per normal, using one of the vehicle's weapons; this attack action may be, for example, Burst or Standard Attack or Called Shot. Follow all the rules as standard for that attack action. Apply the speed modifier to the test as normal. Some attacks behave differently with vehicles: see below.
- Charge Operator+Gunner Walker Full Action WS Your vehicle moves toward an enemy at its current speed, although the Operator may push it one speed band faster if they like. On reaching the enemy, you make a melee attack with a +20 bonus. This attack ignores the speed modifier on tests, and gains +2 damage for every speed band above 'Slow'.
Hit and Run Attack, Melee, Movement Operator+Special (see desc.) Any Full Action WS Your vehicle moves at its current speed, although the Operator may push it one speed band faster if they like. If the vehicle passes adjacent any enemies, then one crewmember may attack the enemy; if the vehicle is open-topped, then the crewmember may use a personal melee weapon (and thus by anyone), otherwise it must be a vehicle equipped with a melee weapon (and thus must be the gunner in charge of said weapon). On a success, you inflict one hit on the target. Special: If the attacker has the Whirlwind of Steel talent, then they may make a single attack test against a number of passed enemies equal to their WSB.
Run Down Attack, Movement Operator Any Full Action Operate skill Your vehicle moves at its current speed, although the Operator may push it one speed band faster if they like. The Operator angles the vehicle to try to hit hapless targets in its way. Any creatures in its path are hit, and may either make a dodge reaction (after which they get out of the way) or they may make a free attack action before the vehicle hits them; they may not do both. Assuming your vehicle survives, you may make an Operate skill test; on a success, you deal damage to the targets as per the 'Collision' result. If you fail the test, then you deal damage to the targets as per the 'Collision' result, but halving your total Penetration value and using the Impact Bracket below your usual result. If you strike an object that is as large or larger than your Vehicle, then you also are treated as having taken a Collision.

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Vehicle Combat

This section covers how vehicles perform in combat. Vehicles in combat work off the same principles as usual for the most part, with a few differences.

In this section, we will cover:

  • Attacking and damaging with and against Vehicles
  • Vehicle Status Effects
  • Vehicle Collisions
  • Damage Conditions

Vehicle Attacks

Vehicle attacks act in much the same way as usual, with the following differences:

  • Attacks from Vehicles are subject to Speed Modifiers, and so take a +10 bonus at Slow or slower, a -10 penalty at Fast and a -20 penalty at Maximum.
  • Passengers in the vehicle may make attacks with personal weaponry only if they are in a position to do so, for example if the vehicle is open-topped or has windows or vision slits that could be used as firing positions.
  • A character is assumed to be trained in a vehicle-mounted weapon so long as they possess the Operate skill specialty for that vehicle type.
  • All weapons mounted on a vehicle are assumed to be braced. Personal weapons fired by passengers and crewmembers that require bracing must be braced as normal before use.

Collisions

When vehicles strike objects, the result is almost always highly ugly, especially if the object happens to be a hapless vehicle. When an object is struck by a vehicle, that object suffers a 'Collision' and takes damage. The amount of damage depends on the size of the vehicle as well as the speed it was moving when it struck. Consult the chart below to see the results.

Note that vehicles that strike targets do not necessarily take damage themselves. If a vehicle strikes a target belonging to a size below its own, then it keeps moving. If, however, it strikes a target of a size equal or larger than itself, it also suffers collision damage and its speed band drops by one; if the aggressing vehicle takes damage from a collision with such a target, however, it comes to a complete stop.

  • Moveable objects struck by a vehicle in this way are pushed back 1m per point of damage (so 1dm per 10 points of damage).
  • Immoveable objects (buildings, walls, etc) are not pushed back, but obviously a vehicle might be capable of punching straight through them.
    • For the purpose of walls etc, it is often more useful to judge size based on thickness rather than sheer height, but the actual size of a piece of cover is GM's discretion.
  • If a vehicle strikes a target of size equal or higher than itself, then it too suffers 'collision' damage. Use the chart below to calculate damage to the aggressing vehicle.
    • If the target is not a vehicle, then make the following changes: ignore speed damage modifier. Add the object's TB to Penetration (Penetration doesn't benefit from speed).
Size Damage Speed Damage Modifier Penetration
Size 1 to 4 1d10 +1 per speed band above Stationary Equal to AP of vehicle's hit facing, +1 at Fast, +2 at Maximum
Size 5 to 6 2d10 +2 per speed band above Stationary Equal to AP of vehicle's hit facing, +2 at Fast, +4 at Maximum
Size 7 to 8 3d10 +3 per speed band above Stationary Equal to AP of vehicle's hit facing, +3 at Fast, +6 at Maximum
Size 9 or 10 4d10 +5 per speed band above Stationary Equal to AP of vehicle's hit facing, +4 at Fast, +8 at Maximum

Attacking Vehicles

The first step to attacking a vehicle is to work out which of a vehicle's four Facings- one of the vehicle's sides- you are going to hit with your attack. All vehicles have four Facings- front, rear, left side and rear side- and each Facing has its own AP value. Each side corresponds to roughly a 90 degree angle. The image below maps out how facing calculation works out.

VehicleArc_zps7df08523.png

Attacking a vehicle works in much the same way as usual: you roll an attack test, applying modifiers from vehicle speed and size. On a success, you score a hit (or multiple hits as appropriate).

  • If you can draw a line of sight to an individual in a vehicle, then you may attack them as normal, but doing so also incurs the vehicle speed modifier (but not the size bonus). Usually however, individuals in vehicles are not in line of sight unless the vehicle is 'Open Topped' or they are crewing an externally-mounted weapon.

After you have struck a vehicle, you must now determine which of the vehicle's Locations has been hit. This is mostly to determine Critical Damage results, but in some situations there may be other differences- for example, Turrets always use Front AP values- so it's always worth rolling. Roll a 1d100 for each hit and compare it to the chart below.

  • Called Shots may also be made against vehicles as normal, in which case you select the location you wish to hit. Hull and Turret are a -10 penalty, Motive Systems are -20, and Weapon is -30.
  • Cone and Blast attacks always strike the Hull.
Roll Location Description Special Notes
1-10 Crew Strikes one of the Crew, resolving as a normal hit against them. Open-Topped only; if not Open-Topped, treat as Hull instead. In the case of multiple crew, roll randomly (1dx, where x is crew number) to determine struck crew.
11-50 Hull Strikes the hull of the vehicle, potentially damaging important fuel stores, control mechanisms or the ammo. -
51-60 Weapon Strikes one of the vehicle's weapons attached to the Hull. Hull-based weapons only. You may only strike a Weapon if it is mounted on the Facing you hit. If there are multiple valid weapons, roll randomly (1dx, where x is weapon) to determine struck weapon. If the Facing has no valid weapons, count as a Hull hit instead.
61-80 Turret Strikes the rotary turret atop the vehicle. Always uses Front AP value. If the vehicle has multiple Turrets, strike the one closest to the attacker. If the vehicle has no turret, count it as a Hull hit instead.
81-100 Motive Systems Strikes the vehicle's motive systems, potentially crippling its ability to move. If the vehicle has no motive systems, count it as a Hull hit instead.

Once hit location has been determined, roll for damage, reducing the total by the vehicle's TB and AP as normal. Any excess reduces the vehicle's Integrity by that amount. Righteous Furies work as normal.

  • If an attack pushes the vehicle below 0 Integrity then it suffers Critical Damage, just like a normal character. The charts for Critical Damage are below.

Critical Damage Tables

Critical Damage Effect
1 The vehicle jolts to one side with the force of a strong hit, forcing all aboard to grab onto something to stay in their seats. Any crewmember who is not strapped in or otherwise secured must make a Toughness+10 test or be Stunned for 1 round.
2 An internal gas line bursts, unleashing an opaque but non-lethal cloud within the crew compartment. Until the leak is sealed, the crew suffers a –20 penalty on all tests to take actions in the vehicle. Anyone inside the vehicle can spend a Full Action on their turn to close the leak without a test.
3 A jarring blow tosses the vehicle around, throwing things about the interior. Any crewmember who is not strapped in or otherwise secured must make a Toughness+10 test or be Stunned for 1d5 rounds. Anyone aboard the vehicle suffers a –10 penalty to ranged attacks until the end of the next round.
4 Some electrical cabling or power coupling is blasted loose by the impact, raining a sudden shower of sparks down on a member of the crew. A randomly selected member of the crew suffers 1 level of Fatigue and a single hit for 1d10+6 Impact damage to the Body location.
5 Several hull plates buckle and fall away, weakening the vehicle. Reduce the Armour points of the facing struck by the attack by 1d10 until the vehicle is repaired.
6 A small explosion rips through the crew compartment, damaging internal systems and wounding the crew. Each character in the affected section of the vehicle (as determined by the GM) suffers 1 level of Fatigue, suffers a single hit for 1d10+6 Explosive damage to the Body location, and must make an Agility test or catch fire.
7 The hit tears through the vehicle’s armour, leaving only useless shards of metal. Reduce the Armour points of the facing struck by the attack by half (rounding up) until the vehicle is repaired. If the hit came from a ranged attack, roll 1d10 for each crewmember. For each result of 1 or 2, the affected crewmember is hit by a single hit with the same damage type as the hit that caused this effect, for an amount of damage equal to one quarter of the original damage (rounded up). In addition, the vehicle suddenly gains the Open Topped Vehicle trait, which could be a problem if the vehicle is in a poisonous atmosphere, underwater, or in a vacuum.
8 As above, but the vehicle also catches fire and is now Burning.
9 A short, sharp explosion flares outward from the vehicle. Armour panels fall off, weapons are blasted free, and the vehicle’s drive mechanisms are ruined, causing it to stop dead. The vehicle is now a shattered hulk and suffers the Vehicle Destroyed damage condition. Roll 1d10 for each remaining weapon on the vehicle; on a result of 5 or lower, the weapon in question suffers the Weapon Destroyed damage condition. Each character inside of the vehicle suffers 1d10+6 Explosive damage to a randomly determined Hit Location, and must make a Toughness-10 test or become Stunned for 1d10 rounds. Skimmers and Flyers automatically crash.
10 The vehicle’s ammo supply, reactor or fuel supply takes a direct hit, and the vehicle erupts from within. Shards of molten metal are sent flying in every direction as the vehicle is reduced to a smoking crater. The vehicle is destroyed and cannot be repaired. No equipment from within the vehicle can be salvaged. Each character inside suffers 2d10+10 P8 Explosive damage to a randomly determined Hit Location. Anyone within 2d10 metres of the vehicle suffers 1d10+6 Explosive damage from the blast. If the Vehicle has the Open-Topped or Bike vehicle trait, passengers or crew may make a Challenging (+0) Dodge test to bail out at the last second. Anyone who succeeds at this test instead suffers the 1d10+6 damage from the vehicle’s explosion.

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Vehicle Status Effects

Many damage effects or specific weapons inflict status effects unique to vehicles, causing it to act in dangerous or uncontrollable ways. This section lists those effects.

Out of Control

The operator loses control of the vehicle for a brief time, sending it careening in an uncontrolled and dangerous manner. The vehicle must be in motion to suffer Out of Control.

Note: Vehicles react to Out of Control in different ways. Tracked and Wheeled vehicles use the rules below, but other types of vehicles incur different effects when they suffer Out of Control:

  • Flyers and Skimmers suffer Freefall instead.
  • Walkers suffer Falling Over instead.

Out of Control. When a vehicle becomes Out of Control, then the Operator may make no Movement maneuvers with the vehicle until the end of the vehicle's next round.

  • At the start of the vehicle's next round, before any crew may act, the vehicle may turn in a different direction: roll a 1d10, and compare the roll to the results below:
    • 1-4: Vehicle turns 45 degrees to the left
    • 5-6: Vehicle moves straight ahead
    • 7-10: Vehicle turns 45 degrees to the right
  • After the 1d10 has been rolled, the vehicle then moves in that direction a number of metres equal to its speed band's minimum speed, plus 2d10 metres (up to a maximum of that speed band).
  • The vehicle is treated as using the 'Run Down' action on anything it hits although it's treated as failing the Operate test. If this results in the vehicle suffering a Collision, then resolve as normal.
    • If the vehicle does suffer a Collision due to the above, then all crew must make a Toughness test or be stunned for one round.
  • Once all this is over, the crew may then take actions.

Notes: Out of Control applies to the vehicle's next round, even if the Out of Control was triggered by the Operator during their round.

Falling Over

The Walker loses balance and collapses in a most humiliating- and possibly dangerous- manner. Walkers do not need to be in motion to suffer Falling Over.

Falling Over. When a walker Falls Over, roll on the scatter diagram to determine the direction in which it falls; this determines which Facing the walker lands on as well.

  • The walker takes 1d10 damage (via the Facing it landed on), ignoring AP.
  • If the vehicle somehow falls a dangerous distance, then it takes Falling Damage instead of the 1d10 above.
  • All crew within the Walker must make a Toughness test or be stunned for one round.
  • Assuming its motor systems are still functioning, a Walker may rise as a Full Action.

Freefall

Vehicles that are hovering or flying (including flying AC Suits) can start a Freefall, a terrifying descent that can very easily end in a terrible death for all involved.

Freefall. When a vehicle enters Freefall, then the vehicle immediately drops a single altitude band and turns to face a random direction, determined by rolling on the scatter diagram.

  • If the vehicle is within the Ground altitude band, then it instantly crashes into the ground, incurring the results below:
    • The vehicle travels a distance equal to its speed band's minimum in its current direction.
    • If the vehicle was travelling at the Stationary, Slow or Cruising speeds, it instantly takes 1d5 Critical Damage to the hull; if it was travelling faster it takes 1d10 Critical Damage to the hull instead.
      • If the vehicle was travelling faster than Cruising, then roll a 1d10; on a result of 6 or higher the vehicle flips onto its roof, takes an extra +4 Critical Damage to the Hull, and may not be used until it is given a full, extensive repair.
    • The vehicle is treated as using the 'Run Down' action on anything it hits although it's treated as failing the Operate test. If this results in the vehicle suffering a Collision, then resolve as normal.
      • If the vehicle does suffer a Collision due to the above, then all crew must make a Toughness test or be stunned for one round.
  • If the vehicle is within the Low altitude band, then it instantly crashes into the ground- incurring the far more disastrous results below:
    • The Operator has a single chance to make an Operate-30 test.
      • On a success, the vehicle crash-lands: it is destroyed, and anyone in or on it take 2d10 Impact damage (roll once for all involved), ignoring AP, and are stunned for a number of round equal to the damage they took after soak.
      • On a failure, the vehicle crashes, which is treated equal to the 'Ground altitude crash' as above, except that the vehicle is always treated as having been moving at Fast or higher speeds, and so takes the 1d10 critical damage result with a risk of flipping onto the roof.
  • Characters may bail out of a freefalling vehicle, but they are treated as falling from whatever Altitude band the vehicle was on before dropping.

Burning

Vehicles that catch on fire can very rapidly become a deathtrap for those inside.

Burning. Burning has an X value that starts at 1 and increases by 1 for each full turn the vehicle spends being on fire.

  • Fire Explosion: At the end of each round, roll a 1d10; if the result is equal or lower than X, the vehicle takes 1d10 damage to the hull, ignoring AP. The vehicle also gains the Fire Damage Damage Condition.
  • Everyone in a burning vehicle takes a -20 penalty to all tests.
  • Crewmembers may make a Full Action Agility test (with the above penalty) to put a fire out.
  • Under certain circumstances, a fire may spread to a crewmember, who act as normal for being on fire. If the vehicle is not on fire, but has a burning crewmember, roll a 1d10 at the end of each round; on a 10, the vehicle catches fire.

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Damage Conditions

During battle, vehicles inevitably take damage, but not all damage is equal; some may be light, whilst others might render the vehicle completely unsalvageable. Furthermore, unlike living creatures, vehicles don't regenerate with time and must be repaired, with sometimes hours of work done on a vehicle that may have only seen ten minutes of action.

This section, then, catalogues the various types of damage a vehicle may take, but it also lists what is required to repair a vehicle's damage.

  • Vehicle Repairs. Repairing a vehicle is a single skill test, but the type of skill depends on the damage condition in question. However, instead of it being just a single skill, characters may use one of a variety of skills to make the test.
  • A character attempting to repair any vehicle damage condition must have at least basic proficiency in one of the following skills, known as Essential Repair skills:
    • Lore (Engineering)
    • Lore (Vehicles)
    • Lore (Military)
  • A character does not necessarily need to test one of these skills when making a repair test, but they must be proficient in them.
  • Furthermore, each damage condition may have other skill prerequisites, listed on their profile. In this case, the character must also possess the skills in order to make the test, but they do not need to make the test in that skill; they may make the test using that skill or one of the Essential Repair skills if it would be more beneficial.
  • Each damage condition also has a repair difficulty, which lists how difficult this particular type of damage is to fix. Often, characters may get bonuses to difficulty if they possess multiple skills related to the test; for example, a repair test might be +0, but grant a +10 if the character also knows Tech Use.
  • Each damage condition comes with a repair time, which lists how long it will take to repair the damage. Failing this test usually delays repairs rather than negates them. Scoring well or badly may decrease or increase this time or even cause extra damage.
    • Characters may also elect to do a Rush Job on repairs, which halves the listed time but adds a -30 penalty to the test.
    • Conversely they may choose to make a Careful Repair, which increases the listed time by half (so 12 hours becomes 18 hours) but adds a +30 bonus to the test.
  • A vehicle counts as Lightly Damaged if it has lost up to half of its Integrity (rounded up). So if a vehicle has 40 Integrity, then it counts as Lightly Damaged if it has taken between 1 and 20 damage.
  • Lightly Damaged vehicles suffer no penalties for being Lightly Damaged.
  • Characters need only make a single repair test to repair all the integrity damage of a Lightly Damaged vehicle.
Skill Requirement Essential Repair
Repair Difficulty Flat. +10 if the character has one of the following skills: Tech Use, Trade (Armorer)
Repair Time 1 hour per point of Integrity repaired
Success Modifiers -10 minutes per DoS, to a minimum of 10 minutes. (Per point repaired)
Failure Modifiers +10 minutes per DoF, to a maximum of 2 hours. (Per point repaired)
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