Asset: Vehicles

This page goes into detail on specific rules regarding vehicles in this TTRPG system.

A vehicle is anything that you ride, drive, sail, or pilot.

Vehicle Stats Table

Vehicle Class

The number rating of the vehicle class.  This rating determines the base stats of the vehicle, as well as the buy cost for the vehicle asset.

Class Examples

A real world example of the sort of vehicle that fits in the vehicle class.  References are naval, not car models.

Speed

Speed is the number of spaces per simple action that a vehicle or character can move.  A person on foot has 1 speed.

Speed only applies when entities of different speeds are involved in the fight.  If everyone in the fight has 2 speed, just treat it as if everyone has 1 speed.

Max Passengers

The number of passengers the vehicle can carry.

The pilot of the vehicle does not count toward the passenger max.

You may exchange passenger room for cargo room at a rate of 1 passenger for 10 tons of cargo.  This exchange cannot be undertaken in the blink of an eye; your vehicle will need substantial work to convert cargo space into passenger space.  For example, on a class 4 vehicle with max passengers = 50, you could opt to have 30 passengers and 200 tons of cargo space.

Size

The size of the vehicle. This affects the vehicle’s maximum health, and defenses.  Size has major effects in combat.

Total Health

The amount of health the vehicle has.

Size has already been factored into this value.

Maneuverability

This is a modifier that is added to any Mental + Pilot Skill rolls made by the pilot.

Follow normal math rules: adding a negative number means you subtract that number of dice from the dicepool.

Vehicles Outside of Combat or Chase Scenes

Common sense is your best guide here.  There’s little point in providing a detailed explanation of how a wagon, car, boat, or star ship works.

If you want fuel and/or maintenance to be a concern outside of combats or chases, subtract energy from the vehicle every so often.

Vehicles In Combat

The pilot of a vehicle can both maneuver the vehicle, and operate the vehicle’s mounted weaponry.

Vehicles follow the same combat movement rules as everyone else, but they usually have more speed, and can carry passengers.

Vehicle Energy

All vehicles have a maximum of 5 Energy.

You can increase this amount with mods.  The Technopath power can allow you to spend your own energy in lieu of your vehicle’s.

Vehicle Defenses

Vehicle defenses are very similar to normal defenses, with a few exceptions detailed below.

The pilot of a vehicle may choose which defense to apply to any given attack.  However, their options may be somewhat limited due to the poor maneuverability of the larger vehicles.

Pilots and passengers may not be targeted directly by attacks (unless the exploding consoles plugin is being used).  Instead, an attacker must simply target the vehicle.

Soak Defense Dicepool

(Mental) + (Pilot) + (Armor) +/-modifiers

Vehicles utilize the pilot’s piloting skill instead of the Protection skill.

Vehicle Maneuverability is not a factor in a vehicle’s Soak Defense.

If using the Useful Passengers/Crew plugin, a passenger can utilize their Soak Defense  on behalf of the vehicle.

If a vehicle has a larger size than an opponent, the vehicle receives the Flawless Defense trait for all Soak Defense rolls.

Dodge Defense Dicepool

(Mental) + (Pilot) + (Armor) + (Vehicle Maneuverability) +/-modifiers

Vehicles utilize the pilot’s piloting skill instead of the mobility skill.

Vehicle maneuverability always applies as a modifier to this dicepool.

Parry Defense Dicepool

(Mental) + (Close Combat) + (Armor) +/-modifiers

Most vehicles will not have a parry defense.  A melee weapon must be purchased as an Asset for the vehicle to gain access to the parry defense.

If using the Useful Passengers/Crew plugin, a passenger can use their Parry Defense on behalf of the vehicle.

Damage To Vehicles

Vehicles have health, and take damage in exactly the same way as characters.

Wound Penalties

Vehicles suffer from wound penalties, just like all characters.

Vehicle Repairs

Biological Vehicles

Biological vehicles, such as pack animals, heal at the same rate as characters: 1 damage per week, or 1 non-lethal damage per 10 minutes.

Biological vehicles can benefit from the Medicine skill & related powers being used on them to aid their healing.

Biological vehicles, like people, can suffer from ailments such as infected wounds.

Mechanical Vehicles

Mechanical vehicles don’t typically regenerate health on their own.  They must be repaired.  Repairs require logistics: parts, materials, tools, labor, etc.

GMs should bear in mind that the logistics needed to repair an aircraft carrier are exponentially greater than the logistics needed to repair a motorcycle.

If there are no logistical issues preventing you from making repairs, the vehicle will have 1 health regenerated per day without the need for any special powers.  They will also reduce their wound penalties by 1 per day.  There are a number of Pilot skill linked powers which can aid in repairs.

Passengers

Passengers &  pilot get moved automatically when the vehicle moves.

Passengers don’t ever have to spend energy on movement.

Passengers can move around within the vehicle’s internal volume.

Bailing Out

Jumping out of a moving car is possible, though dangerous.

Safely parking and then exiting the vehicle is not what “bailing out” refers to.  Bailing out means you’re exiting the vehicle despite the fact that it’s still moving. Passengers can choose to bail out of a vehicle during the passenger’s turn.

Bailing out is a Simple Action.

The bailing character must make a contested roll of (Physical + Mobility) vs ((Vehicle Speed – Character Speed) X 5))

Bailing out may not be the only danger you face when exiting a moving vehicle.  You may also have to contend with falling damage, drowning, or suffocation, depending on the environment.

Parking

Safely stopping a vehicle so that everyone can exit safely is a Complex Action undertaken by the pilot of the vehicle.  Exiting safely after parking is a simple action.

Boarding Actions

Boarding an enemy vehicle requires a few things:

• Occupying a space that the vehicle you’re boarding also occupies.
  • This may require stealth or speed to accomplish.
• An opposed roll against the pilot or crew of the vehicle you’re boarding.
  • If you’re undetected, you roll unopposed.
  • (Physical + Mobility)  vs (Physical + Pilot)
  • (Social + Leadership) for troops attempting to board.
  • 1 net hit by the boarding party is enough to successfully board the vehicle.

Succeeding at boarding does not mean that you now control the vehicle.  You may have to fight passengers within the vehicle you’ve just boarded.

Internal Vehicle Combat

It is possible to have a battle within a vehicles internal volume.

The GM sets the number and shape of spaces for that internal volume.  A moderately sized boat might be 3 spaces long on the deck, with another 3 spaces below deck.

A vehicle cannot direct its mounted weapons to fire on a character that is within the vehicle’s internal spaces.

Sabotage

An enemy within the vehicle’s internal volume can sabotage the vehicle’s operations.

Sabotaging the vehicle requires you to be at some crucial location within the vehicle: the pilots chair, the engine room, etc.

Sabotage is a contested roll.

Test: (Mental) + (Pilot) vs (Mental) + (Pilot)

If there is no opponent to contest the roll, you simply roll unopposed.

Spend net hits on the effects in the table below:

Vehicle Destruction

When a vehicle takes damage exceeding its maximum health, the vehicle ceases all operations and is effectively destroyed.

Survivors

The GM must rule on whether or not any passengers could have lived through the vehicle’s destruction.  This decision is entirely up to the GM on a case by case basis.  The GM can rule that some individuals survived, while others did not.  The GM should factor in things like pressure, altitude, escape pods, armor worn by individuals, and more.

If surviving the vehicle’s destruction is possible, bailing out may still require a roll.

Salvage

Whether or not there’s anything left of the vehicle to salvage is also up to the GM.  Certain powers linked with the pilot skill can miraculously make a dead vehicle function again, if only temporarily.

When Combat Is Not Possible

Sometimes combat isn’t possible, no matter how much your players might want it to be.  Vehicles are often involved in these situations.

A jet at 30,000 feet cannot be engaged by a guy on the ground with a rifle.  It is too far, and it is too fast.  Most bullets won’t go above 10,000 feet, and won’t be accurate at that range.  In real life, specialized anti-aircraft weapons can overcome these issues.  In this system, those anti-air weapons are covered by powers in the ranged combat skill, and power-limiters. Do not feel bad about saying “No” to combat in these cases.

When A Vehicle Ends Combat

Sometimes a chase scene ends at a vehicle.  The bad guys reach their jet and get away.  The Millennium Falcon flies out of the hangar bay while Darth Vader watches.  Any intervention to prevent the escape has to take place before they get their vehicle moving.  It is ok for the GM to rule that this is the case, even when the attacking force might have a chance at destroying the vehicle.

Plugin: Useful Passengers/Crew

Many games suffer from vehicle scenes being boring for everyone but the pilot.  This plugin changes that.

Each character adds substantial mechanical abilities (skills & powers) to the vehicle they occupy.  If the character is within the vehicle, and able to man their station, they may use their skills & powers to affect the vehicle and all within it.  A few examples are below.  These examples are not meant to be an exhaustive list of possibilities:

• A character with the stealth skill effectively adds a cloaking device to their vehicle.
• A character with the protection skill effectively adds deflector shields to their vehicle.
  • The pilot can opt to use their defense values instead of his own when the vehicle is attacked.
• A character with ranged combat may fire the vehicle’s mounted weapons, and use their special range combat powers.
• A character with close combat may use the vehicle’s mounted melee weapon, and use their special close combat powers.
• A character with physical or spiritual awareness skills effectively adds a sensor device to their vehicle.

A vehicle not customized for your crew may be lacking stations & equipment to enable everyone to use their skills & powers.  A stolen vehicle might not be perfectly equipped for your crew, but they can always customize it later on.

Sub-Plugin: Exploding Consoles

Each station manned by a player character counts as a subsystem.  These subsystems may be targeted by enemies.  The character manning the console for the targeted subsystem has the full benefit of the vehicles defense rolls by the pilot.  Each subsystem has a health maximum equal to the character manning it.  The character manning the subsystem takes half the damage that the subsystem takes.  If the subsystem is destroyed, any damage that overflows the subsystem’s health is applied to the character. This is a sub-plugin because some people hate this trope.

Vehicles At Character Creation

The player will choose how many points to invest in their vehicle asset.  These points can be used to purchase a vehicle, and/or add mods to their vehicle.  The point cost for a vehicle with no special mods is equal to the Vehicle Class in the Vehicle Stats Table.  If the player has more vehicle asset points available, they may spend them on vehicle mods.

GM Granted Party Vehicle

The GM may wish to grant a single vehicle for the party at or near the start of the game.  Often times you can make the acquisition of a vehicle the focus of an early game session.  We encourage this option if a vehicle is going to be massively important for the majority of the campaign.

Party Bought Vehicle Mod Assets

Multiple players may want to spend their Asset points on improvements for the party’s primary vehicle.  This is usually fine, but may require some restrictions.  Allowing the players to break the asset rating cap of their tier should be done with caution.

Vehicle Mods

Required Vehicle Mods

You are required to select 1 of the following 3 mods.  If you wish to select more than 1, there will be an additional cost.

Ground Vehicle

Cost: 0 or 4

The vehicle functions on the ground.

The 0 point version cannot also function in water or fly.

The 4 point version may be added to vehicles that operate in air or sea.

Aquatic Vehicle

Cost: 0 or 4

The vehicle functions in water.

The 0 point version cannot also function on the ground or fly.

The 4 point version may be added to vehicles that operate in air or ground.

Flying Vehicle

The vehicle can fly.

If space travel is common in your setting, the vehicle can operate in space.

Cost: Variable cost, set by GM based on setting.

0 points if in setting with very common flight; star wars, star trek, etc.

4 points in modern settings with airplanes & helicopters.

10+ points in settings which lack flying technology.   Requires GM approval.

Optional Vehicle Mods

Armored

Cost: Equal to armor rating

The vehicle is armored for combat.  Select the armor from the armor table & pay asset points equal to the armor rating.

This armor can be further enhanced via the magic armor asset or by power limiters.

Armed

Cost: Equal to weapon rating

The vehicle is armed for combat.  Select the weapon from the Weapons table.

The asset buy cost is equal to the weapon’s rating.

This weapon can be further enhanced via the Magic Weapon asset. 

Weapons mounted on vehicles may be used by the pilot, or by a passenger, or both.

These weapons are mechanically treated as if they were omni-directional, even if they do not cosmetically reflect this.

If a close combat (melee) weapon is selected, the vehicle may use the parry defense.

Bear in mind that obvious weaponry may have legal &/or social implications in some settings.

Use the normal concealment mechanics for vehicle weapons.

Maneuverability Mod 1

Cost: 2

Use the maneuverability rating for a vehicle 1 class lower than the vehicle.

Maneuverability Mod 2

Cost: 4

Use the maneuverability rating for a vehicle 2 classes lower than the vehicle.

Extra Fuel

Cost: 2

Adds 1 Energy to the maximum for the vehicle.  May be purchased multiple times.

Efficient

Cost: 1

The vehicle need not worry about fuel or maintenance when outside of combat.

Exotic Environment

Cost: 1 per environment

The vehicle may go into an extreme place.

This mod is very setting dependent, and ruled on by the GM.  A submarine would be very exotic in the 1600s, and perhaps even today.  However, a space ship is not exotic in a setting like Star Wars.

There are always more extreme environments, though. A Star Wars space ship might need this mod to enter the atmosphere of a gas giant, or similarly hot & high pressure places.

Extra Passengers 1

Cost: 1

Go up 1 Class for the purposes of passengers or cargo.

Extra Passengers 2

Cost: 3

Go up 2 Classes for the purposes of passengers or cargo.

Escape/Ejection System

Cost: 1

Characters who are bailing out of the vehicle do not need to make a roll to reduce damage from bailing out.  Additionally, bailing out is an Interrupt Action.  Further, characters who bail out will have protection against environmental hazards common to the type of vehicle.  If it’s a boat, you have a life boat.  If it’s a space ship, you have an escape pod with air, pressure, etc.