Car Wars Compendium
Car Wars Compendium Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Getting Started
- 2. Movement
- The Movement Chart
- Straight-Line Movement
- Maneuvers and Speed Changes
- Using the Movement Chart
- Acceleration and Deceleration
- Handling Class
- The Handling Track
- The Control Table
- Maneuvers
- Hazards and Road Conditions
- Jumping & Falling
- Falling
- Fishtails
- The Crash Tables
- Collisions
- Debris and Obstacles
- Off-Road Duelling
- Pedestrian Movement
- Trailer Movement
- Oversized Vehicles
- Hovercraft Movement
- Boat Movement
- Weather
- Helicopter Movement
- 3. Combat
- 4. Characters
- Pedestrians
- Pedestrians and Vehicles
- 5. Cars
- 6. Cycles and Trikes
- 7. Car Trailers
- 8. Oversized Vehicles
- 9. Boats
- 10. Hovercraft
- 11. Helicopters
- 12. Racing Cars
- 13. Weapons
- 14. Accessories
- 15. Sample Vehicles
- Vehicle Record Sheets
- Abbreviations
Introduction
Chronology
Car Wars is set 50 years in the future. The "now" of the Car Wars world moves ahead as the real world does. It was 2031 when the game was first published. As these words were written, it is late 2040. It's a rough world . . . and "Drive Offensively" is its motto.
2000: Federal government moves to nationalize dwindling supplies of oil and natural gas production. Legislatures in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana react by seceding, and move to nationalize these resources themselves. Pitched battles with federal forces follow, resulting in the destruction of several oilfield sites on both sides of the newly-established border.
2003: U.S. forces stopped in the hills of central Texas, ending bloody "Gulf or Bust" campaign. Rebel forces begin to retake lost territory.
2004: Texarkana Accords are signed, ending the Second Civil War. Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana become three separate sovereign nations, referred to as the Free Oil States.
2012: Grain blight breaks out in Nebraska, spreading rapidly to neighboring areas. A simultaneous blight takes root in the Ukraine. Accusations fly, charging deliberate biological war, followed by nuclear warheads. To everyone's surprise, satellite defenses stop most of the missiles. Meanwhile, the world's stock of grains, excluding barley and sesame, has been devastated. Severe food shortages spring up across the globe. The U.S. is in better short-term shape than most, since the blight apparently has no effect on foods with preservatives in them.
2016: The Food Riots. "Fortress" towns develop. National government fails to keep order throughout much of the U.S.
2018: Gangs rule most of the U.S. outside of the fortress towns. Country real estate becomes worthless; algae farms make up lost food production.
2020: Many large cities totally abandoned. National government regains authority but enforcement decentralized. Economy weak but stable, with food rationed and unemployment at 37%.
2022: Supreme Court decision decriminalizes manslaughter in arena games. "Death sports" become popular. Television becomes nation's number-two industry, just after food production.
2023: "Crazy Joe" Harshman wins Fresno destruction derby by mounting a surplus .50-caliber machine gun in his Chevy. Term "autoduelling" first used by sportswriters.
2024: Armadillo Autoduel Arena opens on site of former shopping mall in Austin, Texas.
2025: Autoduelling becomes most popular TV sport, edging out combat football and private wars. Eight more autoduel arenas open in North America. The American Autoduel Association (AADA) is formed.
2026: Utah autoduellists form vigilante group to counter Badlands cycle gangs. AADA holds first sanctioned "National Championship" in Austin, Texas. AADA also begins issuing area advisories and helping duellists organize against cycle gangs and other hazards, upsetting local police forces.
2027: Police admit inability to deal with duellist-armed vehicles in highway use. Informal duels increase in numbers.
2028: Many localities legalize vehicular weaponry of a "defensive nature" — very loosely defined. Duelling outside city limits now legal in 14 states and tolerated in most others.
2029: A variety of weapons becomes available as "factory options" on all U.S. makes of cars and several imports.
2030: Statistics show "smash-and-grab" cycle and car gangs much reduced. Rural real estate begins to rise in value. Law-enforcement officials credit vehicular weaponry of private citizens, but most point out that "The gangs that are left are now better armed than we are . . . ." Autoduelling now legal in 39 states, as well as the Free Oil States.
2033: Autoduel Quarterly, "The Journal of the American Autoduel Association," is first published. Autoduelling now legal in all 47 states in the U.S., as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, most Canadian provinces, the Republic of Quebec, Australia and Mexico.
2036: Gas-powered racing and duelling events begin to grow in popularity.
2037: People living on the coasts begin to arm and armor their boats. Piracy rises dramatically but drops again by the end of the year as more and more boats have "defensive" modifications added.
2038: AADA recognizes boats and other watercraft events.
System Support
With over 200,000 copies of Car Wars sold since its 1981 release, the game has a large base of players. Steve Jackson Games provides several different kinds of support for the world of Car Wars, and we are always interested in your suggestions.
Nearly 50 different Car Wars supplements have been published, including both "straight" rules materials and the American Autoduel Road Atlas and Survival Guide roleplaying series. While some supplements are out of print, many are still available. Check your local hobby store.
Autoduel Quarterly is the Car Wars magazine. It appears four times a year. If you can't get it at your hobby store, write Steve Jackson Games for subscription information.
Errata for Car Wars products are freely available from Steve Jackson Games; please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope with your request. If you locate new errata, please let us know!
For computer users, SJ Games runs a bulletin board with an active Car Wars discussion area. The number is 512-447-4449; you can log on at 300, 1200 or 2400 baud.
The American Autoduel Association is an international network of official Car Wars clubs. Check Autoduel Quarterly for a list of existing chapters you can join, and information on starting one of your own. The AADA has two yearly World Championship events: duelling, with the finals at Origins, and racing, with the finals at GenCon. Any AADA member can enter.
1. Getting Started
In order to play Car Wars, you will need a rules set (such as this book); game maps and counters (from Deluxe Car Wars or any of a number of expansion sets); several 6-sided dice; pencil and paper; and a table big enough to play on.
The game can be played solo, but is more fun with an opponent. It is probably best with 4 to 6 players. A game with over 8 players can take a very long time.
Dice
Car Wars uses 6-sided dice only. These rules use abbreviations to indicate what dice are to be rolled. For instance, "2d" means "2 dice." "2d-1" means "roll 2 dice and subtract 1 from the result." "3d+2" means "roll 3 dice and add 2." And so on.
Some weapons do "½d" of damage, or a "half-die." This means to roll one die and divide the result by 2, rounding up.
Beginning the Game
To start playing Car Wars:
(a) Lay out your road sections, spread out one of the maps, or draw up a map of your own.
(b) Select your vehicles. Make a record sheet for each car and pick a counter to represent it.
(c) Roll for each driver's reflexes (see Handling Class, p. 8). Reflexes of characters other than drivers do not count in this game.
(d) Place all vehicles in starting position — and go!
Laying Out the Game Board
For highway scenarios, place two or three road sections end to end. When the cars leave one end of the map, pick up the section on the other end and put it in front of them so they don't run out of road.
For city battles, many different Car Wars maps are available. For other fixed-area scenarios (like arenas, parking lots or obstacle courses), draw the whole layout on ¼" graph paper and tape it to the table. Such a layout should show roads, curbs, debris, etc., and the nature of off-road terrain (shoulders, sidewalks, buildings, etc.). This will be important when cars leave the road (see Off-Road Duelling, pp. 8-9).
Vehicle Selection
The "stock car shopping list" (see Chapter 15, Sample Vehicles) gives specifications and prices for a number of standard vehicles. Several "options" (tradeoffs, with or without differences in cost) are listed for each vehicle. All vehicles have been worked out according to the vehicle construction rules (see Chapter 5, Car Design). Vehicle design is complex. You will want to use "stock" cars the first few times you play.
Sample Specifications
Hotshot: Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 puncture-resistant tires, driver, 2 MGs linked front, 2 FTs linked back, 1 FT right, 1 FT left, Armor F20, R10, L10, B20, T10, U10. Fire ext. Accel. 5, top speed 100, HC 3; 6,600, $14,600.
Options: Flamethrower Replacement
Options: Remove any or all flamethrowers and replace with MGs. Each FT replaced by an MG saves enough weight to allow an extra 30 points of armor. For each FT replaced by an MG and 30 points of armor, the cost goes up by $1,350. One rear FT may be replaced by a minedropper and 30 points of armor, at an extra cost of $850.
Explanation: Car size is given first; then chassis, suspension, power plant and tires. Next, the number of people the car can hold is specified. Then weapons are listed, with the position in which each is mounted. Next is Armor. Acceleration is explained in Chapter 2; handling class affects maneuverability, and is also explained in Chapter 2. Weight is a vehicle's total weight, with all seats filled and a full load of ammunition. The price is the vehicle's "sticker cost," and includes a full load of ammunition. Options and changes a player can make in a car without special reference to the Car Design section; an option already checked is free. If no price differential is given, an option does not change a car's cost. Note that some changes (e.g., targeting computers, different suspensions) affect only a car's price — not its weight or available space — and may be added to any vehicle by paying the cost shown on the Accessories sheet, without other calculations.
After a car is selected, make up a record sheet for it as shown below. The record sheet below shows a Hotshot (stock, no options) after a brief combat. All the armor on the right side has been destroyed, and the right FT has taken 1 hit of damage. The right front tire has taken 3 hits, and the front tire has taken 4 hits. There is no other damage. The driver has no body armor, and has taken damage from being shot (shown by tally marks) — therefore he is shown with only three damage boxes.
2. Movement
The Movement Chart
The road sections and maps used in Car Wars are marked with a square grid to control movement. The scale is 1/180; one inch equals 15 feet. The heavy lines are 1" (15 feet) apart. Each turn represents one second. Each turn is divided into five "phases" of ⅕ second each.
A vehicle's speed determines how many times it will move each turn and when it will move, as shown on the Movement Chart to the right. There are five "phases" during each turn. During each phase, vehicles of certain speeds may move. For instance, vehicles going 30 mph will move 1" during phases 1, 3 and 5, as shown by the "1"s on the chart.
If a car is moving at an "even" speed (10, 20, 30 mph, etc.) below 60 mph, then all its moves will be "ordinary" 1" moves during which it may maneuver. These are shown by a "1" on the chart.
If a vehicle is moving at an "odd" speed (5, 15, 25 mph, etc.), then one of its moves each turn will be a "half-move." The vehicle must move straight ahead ½", and cannot maneuver. (Exception: See Pivot, p. 8.)
Vehicles traveling in excess of 50 mph will move more than 1" in some phases. In the phases marked by a "2" on the chart, a vehicle must move 2". A vehicle traveling at an "odd" speed greater than 50 (55, 65, 75 mph, etc.) must make a half-move during the phase indicated by a "½," in addition to its other movement during that phase.
Movement Chart
| Speed | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | Phase 5 | Ram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | |||||
| 5 | 1/2 | 1d−4 | ||||
| 10 | 1 | 1d−2 | ||||
| 15 | 1 | 1/2 | 1d−1 | |||
| 20 | 1 | 1 | 1d | |||
| 25 | 1 | 1 | 1/2 | 1d | ||
| 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1d | ||
| 35 | 1 | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 2d | |
| 40 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3d | |
| 45 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1/2 | 1 | 4d |
| 50 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5d |
| 55 | 1 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6d |
| 60 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7d |
| 65 | 2 | 1 | 1 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 8d |
| 70 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9d |
| 75 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 1/2 | 10d |
| 80 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11d |
| 85 | 2 | 1 1/2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12d |
| 90 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13d |
| 95 | 2 |
Straight-Line Movement
The basic move in Car Wars is a straight line — usually 1". Since the maps are gridded, it is easiest to figure movement when the cars travel in straight N-S or E-W lines. However, a vehicle's straight-line movement can be calculated precisely, even if it is moving at an angle to the grid lines. This is because each car counter is exactly 1" long (the distance normally moved in one phase), while each cycle counter is ½" long. By setting one counter in front of another, you can determine where each vehicle will go on a straight course — even if the vehicle isn't following N-S or E-W lines. A ruler, or the Turning Key (see p. 7), can also be used to keep a car going straight.
Maneuvers and Speed Changes
A vehicle may only make one maneuver per phase (see p. 6). This replaces 1" of ordinary forward movement. If a vehicle is moving more than 1" per phase, the owner determines during which 1" move (if any) it will take this move.
Once per turn, at the beginning of a phase, a vehicle may either accelerate or decelerate any amount up to its maximum. This is done before any movement is made; the speed change is immediate. All control rolls are made before movement as well; all Crash Table results are handled in this phase.
Using the Movement Chart
The referee should have a copy of the Movement Chart and a control marker representing each vehicle. This control marker is placed along the edge of the Movement Chart, at the number representing the vehicle's speed, and moved whenever the vehicle changes speeds. A marker is then placed at the top of the chart at Phase 1 and moved along. When a mark appears in the row for a vehicle's speed, that vehicle moves in that phase. The referee keeps track of this, calling out the moves; i.e., "Phase 3. Car 12 moves, then 6, then 10."
If a vehicle is moving at an uneven speed (e.g., 12.5 mph), its control marker is put between the bracketing speeds. It moves on the line below it, but goes only ¼" in the half-move phase.
Often, vehicles of different speeds will move during the same phase. For instance, all cars traveling 45 mph or faster will move in Phase 4. When vehicles move during the same phase, the faster one moves first. For vehicles traveling the same speed, the one whose driver has the faster reflexes (see Handling Class, p. 5) may choose when he wants to move.
When vehicles are moving at high speeds in close quarters, it may be desirable to move the cars as if each phase's movement is done at once. Keep in mind that each vehicle is still limited to one maneuver per phase.
A vehicle must move when the Movement Chart tells it to, and may never move at any other time.
Acceleration and Deceleration
At the beginning of each phase, any vehicle that has not accelerated or decelerated during previous phases of the turn may change speeds. A vehicle may only change speeds once per turn.
Acceleration: A vehicle's maximum acceleration is determined when it is built; see p. 55. Acceleration is not a hazard unless Rocket Boosters (p. 91) are used.
Deceleration: Any vehicle can decelerate up to 10 mph each turn without a hazard. Greater deceleration is possible, but risky (Heavy Duty Brakes help). If control of a vehicle is lost due to rapid deceleration, roll on Crash Table 1 to determine effects.
Deceleration of 15 mph: Difficulty 1 (D1) maneuver (see Maneuvers, p. 6).
Deceleration of 20 mph: D2 maneuver.
Deceleration of 25 mph: D3 maneuver.
Deceleration of 30 mph: D5 maneuver.
Deceleration of 35 mph: D7 maneuver, and each tire takes 2 hits of damage (see Recording Damage, p. 30).
Deceleration of 40 mph: D9 maneuver, and each tire takes 1d damage.
Deceleration of 45 mph: D11 maneuver, and each tire takes 1d+3 damage.
Deceleration of more than 45 mph in one turn is impossible without special devices. Continue the pattern for progression of difficulty ratings.
Handling Class
Each vehicle has a handling class (HC) which determines how maneuverable it is. The higher the handling class, the easier it is for the driver to keep control. A vehicle's basic handling class is determined by its suspension (see p. 51). Some tires and accessories can change HC.
Handling class is modified as follows:
Reflexes: Any vehicle driven by a character with very good reflexes will have an improved handling class. At the beginning of each combat, every driver of a vehicle rolls 1 die. This is called a reflex roll. On a 5 or a 6 indicates exceptional reflexes. On a 5, the HC of the vehicle is raised by 1 for the duration of that combat; on a 6 (or higher), the HC goes up by 2.
Skill: The reflex roll can be modified by the skill of the character driving the vehicle (see Driver, p. 40). A Driver +2, for example, would get to add 2 to the die roll. The Cyclist skill is used for driving a two-wheel vehicle, big rig or bus. Helicopter Pilot skill is used when piloting a helicopter. Boat Pilot is used when driving a boat, or Hover Pilot is used to fly a hovercraft. Attempting to drive a vehicle without the proper skill results in a penalty to the handling class (see specific skill descriptions). A helicopter cannot be flown at all without Helicopter Pilot skill.
Lost tires or wheels: Not only is losing a tire a hazard (see below), but it affects the vehicle's class permanently. All damage done to tires by maneuvers, debris, obstacles, spikes, mines, enemy gunfire, etc., is assessed the damage points of the tire. If the final damage that destroys the tire comes from mines, grenades or enemy gunfire, then the entire wheel is considered lost.
Any vehicle that loses all its wheels in one position (usually just one wheel, but oversized vehicles can have two or four) has its HC reduced by 3 permanently, after starting on the next turn. If only the tire(s) are lost, HC drops by only 2. The number of tires recovered each turn on the Handling Track.
Any vehicle that loses wheels on two corners (or any trike or cycle that loses one wheel) goes to Crash Table 1. It can no longer steer, accelerate or brake. It must decelerate by 30 mph each turn.
The Handling Track
Each vehicle record sheet includes a Handling Track. A counter is placed on the Handling Track to show the vehicle's current handling status. This is a measure of how "in control" the vehicle is at that moment.
At the beginning of each turn, the "handling" counter starts at that vehicle's handling class, as modified by the driver's reflexes. Each maneuver or hazard causes the marker to move down. And each time the marker moves down, the player must roll on the Control Table (see below) to see if he loses control.
If he loses control, he will have to roll on one of the Crash Tables (see p. 10).
Thus, frequent maneuvers, as much as extreme ones, lead to danger.
Regaining Handling Status
Each vehicle's handling status is adjusted upward at the end of each turn — that is, once per second. This simulates the driver's ability to regain control of a vehicle over time. Move the handling counter upward by a number of boxes equal to the modified Handling Class of the vehicle (see previous section — p. 51) plus the bonuses or penalties listed above. Thus, a vehicle with Handling Class 2 and a Driver +1 would regain 3 points of handling status at the end of each turn.
Each vehicle will always recover at least 1 point on the Handling Track at the end of each turn. However, a vehicle's handling status can never be adjusted above its starting handling class, as modified by skill and reflexes.
The Control Table
| Speed | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | −1 | −2 | −3 | −4 | −5 | −6 | Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-10 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | −3 |
| 15-20 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 3 | −2 |
| 25-30 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 4 | −1 |
| 35-40 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 45-50 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | +1 | |
| 55-60 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | +1 |
| 65-70 | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | safe | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | +2 |
| 75-80 | safe |
Whenever a vehicle makes a maneuver or undergoes a hazard that moves its handling marker downward, a control roll may be necessary. Refer to the Control Table above. Cross-index the handling status of your vehicle with its current speed. Handling status cannot get worse than −6, but a vehicle at −6 must still roll on the Control Table for each new maneuver or hazard.
The table will give one of three results: "Safe," "XX," or a number.
"Safe" means the vehicle is still safe; no roll is necessary.
"XX" means all control is unavoidable. Go directly to the appropriate Crash Table. Crash Table 1 is used for maneuvers; Crash Tables 3 through 6 are used for special types of vehicle.
If the table shows a number, that means the driver may be able to keep control. Roll 1 die; if the number shown or higher, you keep control of the car. If you roll lower, you lose control; go to the appropriate Crash Table.
Crash Modifier: The last column on the Control Table is the "modifier" column. If you lose control of a vehicle for any reason, and go to the Crash Table, refer to this column to get the Crash Modifier for your speed. The Crash Modifier will be added to your Crash Table roll. Low speeds have a negative Crash Modifier; high speeds are much more dangerous and have a positive Crash Modifier.
Example: During one turn, a car traveling 60 mph attempts three maneuvers. Its handling class is 2, so the marker starts at 2. The first maneuver is a "drift" (Difficulty 1, or D1). Subtract 1 from handling status, moving the marker to 1. Cross-indexing 60 mph and status 1, we see that no roll is required for control.
The second maneuver is a "steep drift," which is D3. Subtracting 3 from handling status moves it to −2. The table shows that a control roll is required; the player must roll a 2 or better.
The third maneuver is another drift — D1 again. Subtract one more from handling status and roll again; this time a roll of 3 or better is needed.
Maneuvers
Any change of vehicle direction is called a maneuver. Each maneuver has a Difficulty Class, expressed as D1 for Difficulty 1, and so on. The more difficult a maneuver, the more it will reduce the vehicle's handling status, and the more likely the vehicle will skid, flip, etc. Maneuvers at low speed are easy. As speed goes up, the danger increases.
Any time vehicle weapons are fired on the same phase as a maneuver, the D value of the maneuver is subtracted from the to-hit roll.
Figures 1 through 7 show basic maneuvers. Where no separate cycle diagram is shown, the same diagram, with the square cycle counter in place of the front half of the car.
Bend
The vehicle moves 1" forward, and then angles to one side, keeping one rear corner in the same place. Figure 1 shows bends from 15° to 75°. A 90° bend, of course, is a right-angle turn.
Bends are a D1 maneuver for speeds of 15" or less of the bend, as shown below. See Figures 2b and 2c for examples of bends performed with a Turning Key.
Up to 15° — D1
16 to 30° — D2
31 to 45° — D3
46 to 60° — D4
61 to 75° — D5
76 to 90° — D6
Drift
The vehicle moves 1" forward and ¼" (or less) to either side, while facing the same direction. This is a D1 maneuver. A vehicle can also do a Steep Drift, moving 1" forward and between ¼" and ½" to one side. This is a D3 maneuver. See Figure 3.
Figure 2a shows a drift performed with a Turning Key.
Swerve
The swerve is a ¼" drift, followed by an angle turn as for a bend, all in the same phase. The bend must be in the opposite direction from the drift, plus 1. A swerve has the difficulty of the equivalent bend, plus 1.
Figure 4 shows a swerve made up of a drift to the right followed by a 30° bend to the left.
Controlled Skid
To perform a controlled skid, make any bend or swerve in the regular manner, and then immediately declare how far you wish to skid. Assess the difficulty of the combined maneuver (see below) and make a control roll if necessary.
If control is maintained, perform the skid on your next move. Start by "skidding" the chosen distance: without changing the direction in which the car is going, move it in the direction it was traveling before the original maneuver. If the bend was less than 1", move the rest of the inch straight ahead. For example, on a ¾" skid, you would skid for ¾", then move ¼" straight ahead. See Figure 5.
Deliberate skids increase the difficulty of the bend or swerve that begins the skid. They also cause weapons-fire modifiers, slow down the vehicle and can damage its tires.
¼" skid — Adds +D1 to the difficulty of the bend or swerve, -1 to aimed weapons fire, no tire damage.
½" skid — +D2 difficulty, -3 to aimed weapons fire, -5 mph deceleration, no tire damage.
¾" skid — +D3 difficulty, -6 to aimed weapons fire, 1 point damage to each tire.
1" skid — +D4 difficulty, aimed weapons fire prohibited for the rest of the turn, -10 mph deceleration, 2 points damage to each tire.
The tire damage is applied immediately after the skid. Handling class is reduced and a control roll is made (if necessary) after the maneuver but before the skid. Any deceleration is applied at the beginning of the next phase.
The weapons-fire modifiers are lower on this chart because this is a controlled (instead of uncontrolled) skid.
Bootlegger Reverse
This is a special maneuver — the old moonshiner's trick of using a controlled skid to reverse direction. Police departments call it the "J-turn." It works, but it's dangerous.
To attempt a bootlegger reverse, a vehicle must start the turn at between 20 and 35 mph. It can't slow to 35 and then try a reverse, all in one turn.
Figure 6 shows the bootlegger reverse. On the phase that a vehicle starts the reverse, it skids from A to B. This is a D7 maneuver, and does 1 point of damage to each tire. If the vehicle makes its Control Roll, it will automatically go to C on its next movement phase, and stop (speed goes to 0), facing the way it came. Properly executed on a road, the J-turn leaves you in the correct lane for your new direction.
If it goes out of control and/or loses a tire, it will roll or skid sideways next phase, in the direction shown by the heavy arrow, and will lose speed only as dictated by the roll or skid result.
Once a vehicle begins a J-turn, it cannot fire aimed weapons until it stops moving (the occupants are too busy). Cycles and oversized vehicles cannot try this maneuver. No other maneuvers (skids, swerves, etc.) can be combined with a bootlegger.
T-Stop
This is an extreme maneuver used for emergency deceleration. It consists of rotating your car 90° to either side and moving forward one inch — identical to beginning a roll. See Figure 7.
The car then continues skidding sideways until it slows to a halt. The vehicle decelerates 20 mph per inch of movement. Each tire will take 1 point of damage for every full 20 mph of speed lost, immediately after each movement phase. The difficulty of this maneuver is a D1 for every 10 mph of deceleration, and the control roll is made when the maneuver is begun.
If the control roll is missed, add 1 to the Crash Table roll for every 20 mph (or fraction thereof) of deceleration — in addition to the regular speed modifier (based on the vehicle's original speed) on the Control Table.
Pivot
This maneuver can be made only by a vehicle moving at 5 mph. To pivot, a vehicle (a) moves ¼" in a straight line, and (b) keeps one rear corner fixed at the same point, while pivoting about that corner any amount in any direction. This is a D0 maneuver, due to the low speed. A vehicle traveling 5 mph may choose between this maneuver and the normal ½" half-move in a straight line.
Deceleration
Rapid deceleration counts as a maneuver. The Handling Track is adjusted at the beginning of the turn — when the deceleration is announced — and the control roll is made at the original speed. All this must happen before the vehicle can move or fire on that turn.
Evening-Out
After coming out of a maneuver parallel to the grid lines, a counter may be moved a fraction of a square in any direction (owner's choice) to get it exactly on the grid lines. This does not affect speed or handling, and is a D0 maneuver.
Movement in Reverse
Any vehicle except a cycle may move in reverse at up to ⅓ of its top speed. A vehicle cannot go from forward to backward speed (or vice versa) without stopping for one turn. Acceleration rules are the same as for forward movement. Any maneuver may be made in reverse; the difficulty class is one higher.
A cycle may be pushed backwards by the cyclist at 2.5 mph.
Fishtail
A fishtail cannot be chosen as a deliberate maneuver, for two reasons. One is that a fishtail combined with a bend is very similar to a tighter bend, and is virtually identical to a swerve. The second is that a 90° bend combined with a major fishtail can result in a controlled 120° turn — not very reasonable. Thus, only fishtails are Crash Table results.
To perform a fishtail on the square grid, hold one front corner still, and move the opposite rear corner ¼" or ½", as appropriate, on the opposite direction. See Figure 8a.
To perform a fishtail using the turning key, line the vehicle up with the 15° bend (for a ¼" fishtail) or the 30° bend (for a ½" fishtail). Keeping the front corner motionless next to the key, pivot the vehicle so it lines up with the next angle of the turning key. See Figure 8b; position A is the original location of the car, and position B is its location after the fishtail, lined up with the turning key along the dotted line.
Hazards and Road Conditions
Hazards are outside events (enemy fire, for instance) that can affect vehicles. They are treated like maneuvers — each one has a difficulty rating.
Each enemy attack produces a separate hazard. If a vehicle is struck by three weapons in one turn, each attack would move the handling marker down and require a separate die roll on the Control Table. Mines are "enemy fire." Spikes, debris, obstacles, etc., are not.
Road conditions (like oil, ice or rain) present no danger in themselves but add to the difficulty of any hazard or maneuver the vehicle undergoes. A few road conditions (such as banked curves) can reduce the difficulty of maneuvers.
Hazards
Hitting curb, obstacle or pedestrian: D3.
Hitting loose debris: D1.
Enemy fire does 1 to 5 hits of damage: D1.
Enemy fire does 6 to 9 hits of damage: D2.
Enemy fire does 10+ hits of damage: D3.
Driver injured or killed: D2.
Hazards to Oversized Vehicles
Striking an obstacle counter: D1
Enemy fire does 13 to 21 hits: D2
Enemy fire does 22+ hits: D3
Trailer released while tractor is in motion: D2
AT gun fired to side: D1
Tank gun fired: D2
Cycle steamrollered: D1
Tire Blowouts
Losing the first wheel or tire of a pair is a D2 hazard.
Losing the second and successive wheel or tire of a pair, as long as there are intact tires on that corner of the car, is a D3 hazard.
Losing the last wheel or tire on a corner drops the vehicle's handling status to -6 immediately. Handling class drops by 2 if only the tire(s) are lost, or by 3 if the whole wheel was lost. If the vehicle has more than one wheel at that corner, all wheels must be intact, or handling class is reduced by 3.
Any vehicle that loses wheels on two corners (or any trike or cycle that loses one wheel) goes to Crash Table 1. It can no longer steer, accelerate or brake. It must decelerate by 30 mph each turn.
Road Conditions
Off-road: adds D1 to any maneuver.
Light rain: adds D1 to any hazard or maneuver.
Heavy rain: adds D2 to any hazard or maneuver.
Gravel on road: adds D1 to any hazard or maneuver. Note that many roads have gravel on the shoulder.
Oil on road: adds D2 to any hazard or maneuver.
Light snow: adds D2 to any hazard or maneuver.
Heavy snow: adds D3 to any hazard or maneuver.
Ice or packed snow: adds D4 to any hazard or maneuver.
Banked Curves
Many racetracks and arenas include turns that are specially banked to ease driving around them. Such slopes reduce the difficulty of any bend or swerve made towards the inside edge of the turn by -D1; bends or swerves made towards the outside edge are increased by +D1. Drifting outward is at a -D1, while drifting inward is at +D1. Very steep curves reduce inward maneuvers by -D2, but increase outward maneuvers by +D2.
Jumping & Falling
With a good takeoff angle (20° to 40°), a vehicle will fly 15 feet for every 10 mph of takeoff speed over 20 (30 mph yields 15 feet of flight, 40 mph results in a 30-foot flight, etc.). A flatter or steeper angle (15° to 19° or 41° to 45°) will cut the distance traveled in half. Inclines flatter than 15°, or steeper than 45°, cannot be used to launch a jump.
Landing is a D1 hazard; +D1 for every full 30 feet of flight. Thus, a 15-foot jump is a D1 hazard, a 30- to 59-foot jump is a D2 hazard, a 60- to 89-foot jump is a D3 hazard, and so on. Subtract 1 from the hazard if you land on a downward slope (because all your wheels will hit at about the same time). Add 1 to the hazard if you land on an upward slope. On landing from a jump, roll 1 die for each tire except solids, off-road solids or plasticores. On a 1, 2 or 3, that tire takes 1 point of damage.
Falling
Whenever a land vehicle drives off a cliff, curb or crevasse, it will begin to fall. If the vehicle drove off an upward slope, it will jump, rather than fall, as per the jumping rules above; if, at the end of the jump, the vehicle has not contacted solid ground, it falls anyway. Obviously, vehicles cannot accelerate, decelerate, maneuver or jump while in flight.
| Height | Time | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| ¼" | 2 phases | 1d-2 |
| ½" | 3 phases | 1d-1 |
| ¾" | 4 phases | 1d-1 |
| 1" | 1 turn | 1d |
| 1 ¼" | 1 turn, 1 phase | 1d |
| 1 ¾" | 1 turn, 2 phases | 1d |
| 2" | 1 turn, 2 phases | 1d |
| 2 ¼" | 1 turn, 2 phases | 1d |
| 2 ½" | 1 turn, 3 phases | 1d |
| 2 ¾" | 1 turn, 3 phases | 2d |
| 3" | 1 turn, 3 phases | 2d |
| 3 ¼" | 1 turn, 4 phases | 2d |
| 3 ½" | 1 turn, 4 phases | 3d |
| 3 ¾" | 1 turn, 4 phases | 3d |
| 4" | 2 turns | 3d |
Height is the height from which the vehicle began the fall. Time is the elapsed time after which the vehicle will land. This time is counted beginning with the phase in which the last portion of the vehicle left the ground; the vehicle takes damage at the beginning of the first movement phase after it lands.
Example: A 1" fall takes 1 second. If a vehicle moving 20 mph exits completely off the cliff at Phase 3 of a 1" cliff, it will drive completely off the cliff and 2" of forward movement, at the beginning of phase 4 of the next turn. Finally, Damage is the collision damage assessed to the vehicle.
Fishtails
Dropping one corner over an edge has the same effect as losing all tires on that corner, except that all penalties are removed as soon as the corner is back on the ground.
If a vehicle skids, fishtails or drifts so that both corners of one side (the front or back) are unsupported, it will roll over the edge. It continues at its original speed, on that movement phase. When it lands, assess the damage to that side (or to each tire if it lands on its wheels). Reduce handling status to -6, and make a control roll at the vehicle's original speed. If control is regained, the vehicle stops. If control is not regained, the vehicle stays out of control, and it continues its normal life normally. On a roll of 4 to 6 on 1 die, it also catches fire.
If a vehicle drops its two front or back corners off an edge, it continues at its original speed, flipping one facing per turn (it progresses from underbody to front to top to back to underbody). Once it lands, assess damage to the proper side. If the vehicle landed on its front, the very next phase it will fall forward, landing on its front (and taking 1d damage to that side).
The Crash Tables
If a vehicle rolls on the Control Table and misses its roll, it has gone out of control. The six Crash Tables show the different things (all bad) that can happen. A Crash Table roll is made on 2 dice. The higher the roll, the worse the result. Results may range from mild (a light skid) to disastrous (vehicle rolls and burns).
If a car or cycle loses control during a maneuver, it uses Crash Table 1. If it loses control because of a hazard, it uses Crash Table 2. Crash Tables 3 through 6 are used for oversized vehicles, helicopters, boats and hovercraft, respectively.
If during the course of resolving a Crash Table result a vehicle is again required to roll on the tables, he only suffers the worst result rolled.
Example: Wildman Al starts to spin out due to an encounter with a Flame Cloud, and is hit by enemy fire. He rolls for control and fails; he now rolls a Minor Skid on the Crash Table. All Al does is keep spinning.
Crash Table Modifiers
Skill bonus: The driver's Driver skill (or Cyclist, Pilot, or other appropriate skill) bonus is subtracted from all Crash Table rolls.
Difficulty of maneuver or hazard: The difficulty of the maneuver (or hazard) that caused the loss of control plays an important part in determining a crash result. Take the modified Difficulty rating of the hazard or maneuver, subtract 3, and add the result (negative or positive) to the Crash Table roll. Thus, a D4 maneuver gives a +1 to the roll, while a D1 maneuver gives a -2.
Speed: Loss of control at high speed is more dangerous. When you go to the Crash Tables for any reason, add or subtract the number in the Control Table "modifier" column from your speed — i.e., at 20 mph, you would subtract 2 from your roll on either Crash Table.
Crash Table Results
The result of a Crash Table roll is applied at the beginning of the next phase in which a vehicle moves. A vehicle that fishtails may move normally after it fishtails. A vehicle that skids must move straight ahead for the rest of that phase — i.e., if it skids ¼", it must move ¾" forward (the direction its nose is pointing) after the skid. If a vehicle is on its half-move, it cannot skid more than ½".
A vehicle that encounters a hazard while skidding or fishtailing must make another control roll, and may lose control again, affecting it on the next phase it moves. No vehicle may skid more than once per phase.
A vehicle that loses control will suffer a penalty on any aimed weapon fire for the rest of the turn, as shown by the asterisks on the Crash Table entries:
* Any further aimed weapon fire from this vehicle on this turn will be at a -3 to hit.
** Any further aimed weapon fire from this vehicle on this turn will be at a -6 to hit.
*** No further aimed weapon fire permitted from this vehicle this turn.
Crash Table 1: Skids & Rolls
2 or less — Trivial skid. The vehicle keeps the same orientation, but moves ¼" in the direction it was going before the maneuver in which it lost control. Therefore, it may skid in a direction other than the one it is pointing. *
3, 4 — Minor skid. As above, but the vehicle skids ½". Speed is reduced by -5 mph. **
5, 6 — Moderate skid. As above, but the vehicle skids ¾", and each tire takes 1 point of damage. Speed is reduced by 10 mph. It then performs a trivial skid on its next move. **
7, 8 — Severe skid. As above, but car skids 1" and each tire takes 2 points of damage. Speed is reduced by 20 mph. On its next move, it performs a minor skid. ***
9, 10 — Spinout. Vehicle spins, rotating 90° and moving 1" in the direction it was previously traveling (before the maneuver or hazard which caused the spinout) per phase of movement required. All rotations must be in the same direction. If the vehicle fishtailed into the spinout, the rotations are in the same direction the fishtail took; otherwise, roll randomly. Each tire takes 1d of damage at the start of the spinout. The vehicle decelerates 20 mph/turn, and the spin stops when the vehicle comes to a halt. A driver may try to recover from a spinout. To do so, roll for control at HC -6. If the roll is successful the spinout stops. If the roll is missed the spinout continues normally. If control is regained, and the vehicle is facing the direction it is moving, movement continues on as usual. If the car is facing sideways it must perform an immediate T-stop. It may discontinue a T-stop by turning "into" the direction of the skid and then continue the turn. If the vehicle is facing backward and is traveling faster than its reverse top speed, it must slow down by at least 5 mph per turn until it is under its normal top speed for reverse. ***
11, 12 — Car turns sideways (as in a T-stop) and rolls. The driver is no longer in control. The car decelerates at 20 mph per turn. Each phase it moves, it goes 1" in the direction it was traveling and rolls ¼ of a complete roll — e.g., in the first phase it moves 1", turns sideways, and rolls onto its side; the next phase it moves, it goes 1" and rolls onto its top, etc. It takes 1d damage to the side (top, etc.) rolled onto each phase. When the bottom hits, each tire takes 1d damage. After all tires are gone, the bottom takes damage when it hits. Occupants may jump out at any time, or stay inside and hope that no damage reaches the interior. A car or trike may be driven after it stops rolling if it is right side up and has tires on at least three corners. A cycle won't be drivable after a roll. ***
13, 14 — As above, but vehicle is burning on a roll of 4, 5 or 6 on 1 die. (For more information on burning vehicles, see Fire and Explosion, pp. 31-32.) ***
15 or more — The vehicle vaults into the air by the side (or front) tires, the tires doing the vaulting taking 3d of damage. The vehicle will then fly through the air for 1 to 6 inches (roll 1 die) in the direction the vehicle was traveling before the crash result, revolving two sides for every inch traveled. When it lands, the side that hits takes collision damage at the vehicle's initial speed. If the attempted maneuver was a tight bend or a hard swerve, the vehicle will flip end over end. Upon landing, the vehicle will continue to roll as per result 11 on this table. All occupants take 1 point of damage automatically. Body armor does not protect against this damage.
Crash Table 2: Fishtails
1-4 — Minor fishtail. Roll randomly to see if fishtail will be left or right. If, for instance, it is left, keep vehicle's right front corner in the same square, and move the left rear corner 1 square left. Reverse for a right fishtail. *
5-8 — Major fishtail. As above, but rear corner moves 2 squares. **
9, 10 — Execute a minor fishtail and roll again on Crash Table 1. ***
11-14 — Execute a major fishtail and roll again on Crash Table 1. ***
15 or more — Execute a major and a minor fishtail (for a total of 3 squares movement in one direction) and roll again on Crash Table 1. ***
Crash Table 3: Car Trailers and Tractor-Trailer Rigs
-1 — Trivial skid. The tractor moves ¼" in a "trivial skid" as per Crash Table 1. The trailer follows as per a normal maneuver. *
0, 1 — Minor fishtail. The tractor does not move; the trailer fishtails ¼". Treat as a regular maneuver; roll randomly for right or left and move the rear of the trailer ¼" in that direction, keeping the kingpin over the fifth wheel. *
2, 3 — Minor skid. The tractor does not move; the trailer skids ½"; the trailer follows normally. *
4 — Major fishtail. The tractor does not move; trailer fishtails as for result 0 above, but moves 1". **
5, 6 — Major skid and fishtail. As for result 2, 3 above, followed by result 4. **
7, 8 — Extreme skid. The tractor stays still, the trailer fishtails 1". ***
9, 10 — Extreme skid and fishtail. Tractor skids 1"; trailer follows fishtails 1". ***
11, 12 — Extreme skid and fishtail. The trailer comes loose. The tractor's fifth wheel takes 1d-2 damage. A further D2 hazard!***
13 — Kingpin breaks. The trailer comes loose, and the trailer's fifth wheel takes 1d-2 damage. A further D2 hazard!***
14, 15 — As result 13, but the trailer rolls into a spin.
16 — As result 13, but the tractor rolls. It catches fire on a roll of 4, 5 or 6 on 1 die. ***
17 — As result 16, but the trailer rolls, too (catching fire on a 4, 5 or 6).
18 — As result 16, but the tractor or towing vehicle flips as in result 15 on Crash Table 1.
19 or more — As result 18, but the trailer rolls too (catching fire on a 4, 5 or 6).
Crash Table 4: Helicopters
0-2 — Involuntary drift. The helicopter performs a drift maneuver in the direction it was maneuvering toward, and loses ¼" altitude. (If it was flying straight, roll randomly for the direction of the drift — 1 to 3 left, 4 to 6 right.)
3-5 — Involuntary veer. The helicopter executes a veer maneuver in the direction of its last maneuver (if flying straight, roll randomly as above) and loses ½" altitude.
6-8 — Severe veer. The helicopter executes a veer maneuver down and in the open is lost overboard. A capsized boat may be righted with the same equipment that gets one unstuck (and the same cost). ***
9-11 — Diving veer. The helicopter executes a veer maneuver in the direction of its last maneuver. It loses 1½" of altitude and is considered diving at 10 mph. In addition, on the following movement phase of the helicopter, it must perform a drift in the direction of the veer or it will automatically continue the veer. The handling difficulty due to that drift will not count against handling. Check for rotor failure, as described below. ***
12-18 — Spinout. The vehicle turns 90° to its flight-path at the end of the phase, in the direction of its last maneuver. Check for rotor failure. On its next phase, the helicopter will automatically go into a diving veer. ***
19 or more — Rotors fail automatically. Helicopter falls.
Rotor Failure — Roll 2 dice:
2-7 — No effect. Rotors are still in working order.
8-10 — Rotors damaged. Roll on this table every turn before Phase 1, and consider any result of "rotors damaged" to mean "rotors fail."
11, 12 — Rotors fail. Rotors drop like a stone. Bon voyage.
Modifiers
Helicopter is moving 80-120 mph: +1
Helicopter is moving 121-160 mph: +2
Helicopter is moving 161-200 mph: +3
Helicopter is moving over 200 mph: +4
Engine damaged: +1
Rotor damaged by weapons fire: +4
Crash Table 5: Boats
0-2 — Fishtail. Executed just like the result on Crash Table 2; back corner of boat moves 2 squares.
3-5 — Minor swamping. Boat takes on 1 space of water, and speed is immediately reduced 10 mph. In addition, the engine stops on a roll of 1 on 1 die; it takes 3 turns to restart. *
6, 7 — Major swamping and Fishtail, as above. **
8-10 — Major swamping. Boat takes on 1d spaces of water, and speed is reduced 10 mph for every space taken on. In addition, the engine stops; it restarts on a roll of 1 on 1 die (this roll is made at the end of each turn). **
11, 12 — Fishtail and Major Swamping (as above). **
13-15 — Capsized. Boat turns and rolls like a car, but only taking ½d of damage each time it rolls on water. Boat decelerates at 20 mph/turn until it comes to a stop. Any material not tied down and in the open is lost overboard. A capsized boat may be righted with the same equipment that gets one unstuck (and the same cost). ***
16 or more — Disaster. Boat breaks apart and completely sinks. All occupants and components take ½d of collision damage. Boat's component parts continue skipping across the waves, decelerating at 40 mph/turn. People below deck have 10 turns to get to an open part of the boat in order to jump out — otherwise, they automatically drown.
Crash Table 6: Hovercraft
0-2 — Minor fishtail. Executed as on Crash Table 2; back corner moves 1 square.
3 — Rotate. Hover rotates 45°. Roll randomly for direction. *
4, 5 — Major fishtail. Back corner moves 2 squares. *
6, 7 — Rotate. Hover rotates 90°. Roll randomly for direction. **
8-10 — Spinout. Hover rotates 90° each time it moves, decelerating 5 mph per turn until it stops. ***
11-14 — Plenum Blowout. Plenum chamber collapses. Hover rolls, as result 11, 12 on Crash Table 1. ***
15 or more — Plenum Blowout. Plenum chamber collapses. Hover executes a vault as result 15 or more on Crash Table 1. ***
Collisions
When a vehicle counter touches a fixed object or another counter, a collision has occurred. Even though all Car Wars vehicle counters are a minimum ½" wide (7½ feet in game scale), the referee should use common sense when determining whether a collision has occurred. A motorcycle can squeeze into tighter spots than a truck, even though the counters are the same width. If a player wants to take his motorcycle down a four-foot-wide alley, let him. The driver of a van can't do it.
Collision damage is based on the type of collision, the weight of the vehicles involved, and their relative speeds. To find the result of a collision, determine the type of collision (T-Bone, Head-On, Rear-End or Sideswipe) from the collision diagrams. Every collision can be classified as one of these four types. When a vehicle is driving in reverse, rolling over, etc., designations of "front," "side," etc., are sometimes inappropriate. A rolling car can have a "head-on" collision in which a side strikes first, for example. If a car is doing a bootlegger, consider the leading side as its "front," moving at 15 mph. In general, use common sense in determining the type of collision. Then follow the instructions for that type, and the steps below, to find damage, final speed, and final position for both vehicles.
-
From the Collision Damage Table (below), find the Damage Modifier (DM) corresponding to your vehicle's weight. A Shogun 100 (800 lbs.) has a DM of ⅓. A Killer Kart (2,300 lbs.) has a DM of ⅔. A Piranha (5,995 lbs.) has a DM of 1. A tractor-trailer rig weighing 62,000 lbs. has a DM of 15. (Figure weight at the beginning of a trip; don't bother recalculating every time you expend a shell.) A pedestrian has a DM of ⅕.
-
When a collision occurs, determine the collision speed according to the formula given under each type of collision. The number of dice of damage a collision of that speed will cause can be found in the far right column of the Movement Chart (see p. 4), under the heading "Ram." Multiply the "ram" damage rolled on the dice by your vehicle's DM. That is the damage you cause to your opponent. The damage you sustain is the product of his DM multiplied by the same base damage rolled.
Example: A Killer Kart (DM ⅓) collides with a Piranha at a net speed of 40 mph. A 40-mph collision results in 3d damage, and a 14 is rolled. The Kart gives the Piranha (14 × ⅓) = 9 points of damage (rounding down). The Piranha gives the Kart (14 × 1) = 14 points of damage.
Example: A Shogun 100 (DM ⅕) collides with the semi-trailer rig we mentioned above (DM 15), at a net speed of 10 mph. One die is rolled above (DM 15), at a net speed of 10 mph. One die is rolled and 2 points are subtracted, so that the result will be 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. In this case, the result is 3 points of damage. The Shogun gives the rig (3 × 15) = 1 point of damage. On the other hand, the rig impacts the cycle for (3 × 15) = 45 points of damage. Even at 10 mph, a big rig can smash a cycle.
Collision Damage Table
| Vehicle Weight | Damage Modifier |
|---|---|
| 0-2,000 | 1/3 |
| 2,001-4,000 | 2/3 |
| 4,001-8,000 | 1 |
| 8,001-12,000 | 2 |
| 12,001-16,000 | 3 |
| 16,001-20,000 | 4 |
| 20,001-24,000 | 5 |
DM increases by 1 for every additional 4,000 lbs.
Collision Types
A Head-On collision occurs any time one vehicle collides with another from within the 90° shaded arc directly ahead.
A Rear-End collision is similar to a Head-On, except that the two vehicles are heading in roughly the same direction.
A T-Bone collision occurs when one vehicle collides with another from within the 90° shaded arc to the side.
There are two types of Sideswipe. In one case, the vehicles are traveling in the same direction, nearly parallel to each other (i.e., within the 45° shaded arc). The second type is similar, except that the vehicles are going in opposite directions, but still nearly parallel to one another. Fishtails are a major cause of both types of Sideswipe.
"Conforming" Movement
When one vehicle pushes another one out of the way, the second vehicle is "conforming" to the first. A vehicle conforms to another by pivoting on one corner until, through regular movement, the two vehicles are no longer in contact. The driver of the conforming vehicle selects an appropriate pivot corner from the choices available. In each case, V2 is "conforming" to V1. During its own movement phase, V2 does not pivot; it moves normally as its driver maneuvers it (or as required by the Crash Table, if it is out of control).
If a vehicle is shattered by the collision (see the optional Confetti rule, p. 36), the ram is treated as if the surviving car had hit a fixed object; it takes as much damage as it took to confetti the other vehicle, and follows the fixed-object rules above to determine its future motion.
Head-On Collisions
-
A Head-On collision affects the front armor of both vehicles.
-
Collision speed is that of V1 plus V2; apply damage at this speed, as modified by each vehicle's DM.
-
(a) Compute the "Temporary Speed" for V1 and V2 from the Temporary Speed Table (TST) on p. 14.
(b) Subtract the speed of the slower vehicle from the speed of the faster vehicle. The faster vehicle is now moving at this new speed; the slower vehicle now has speed 0.
(c) Adjust the markers on the Movement Chart.
(d) If the phasing vehicle is still moving, complete this movement phase.
(e) The slower vehicle (now at 0 mph) "conforms" itself to the faster one.
-
Check for concussion effects (see p. 14).
-
Reduce the handling status of each vehicle by 1 for every 10-mph change in speed (rounding up) and make a control roll for each one at its original speed. Apply at least a D1 hazard to each one, even if it lost no control.
Rear-End Collisions
-
A Rear-End collision affects V1's front armor and V2's back armor.
-
Collision speed is that of V1 minus V2; apply ram damage at this speed, as modified by each vehicle's DM.
-
(a) Compute "Temporary Speed" of V1 and V2 from the TST. This becomes its actual speed after the collision; adjust its marker on the Movement Chart. Both V1 and V2 are now moving at this speed.
(b) Add these two speeds together. Both V1 and V2 are now moving at this speed.
(c) Adjust the markers on the Movement Chart.
(d) If V1's DM is higher than V2's DM, complete its movement for this phase. Otherwise, do not complete its movement.
-
Check for concussion effects (see p. 14).
-
Reduce the handling status of each vehicle and make a control roll for each one as described for Head-On collisions.
T-Bone Collisions (Figure 9c)
-
A T-Bone collision affects V1's front and V2's side armor.
-
Collision speed is that of V1; apply ram damage at this speed, as modified by each vehicle's DM.
-
(a) Compute V1's "Temporary Speed" from the TST; adjust its marker on the Movement Chart. V2 does not change speed as a result of this collision, even though its direction may be shifted by V1's subsequent movement.
(b) If V1's new speed is above 0, and it was making its move when the collision took place, it completes this phase's movement, and V2 "conforms" to V1's movement. If V2 was making its move when the collision took place, and if V2's DM is higher than V1's DM, complete V2's movement for this phase. Otherwise do not complete V2's movement.
-
Check for concussion effects (see below).
-
Reduce handling status for both vehicles and make a control roll for each one as described for Head-On collisions.
Sideswipes (Figures 9d and 9e)
-
A Sideswipe affects the side armor of both vehicles.
-
(a) Determine the net speed of the collision. (If both vehicles are going in the same direction (Figure 9d) subtract the lower speed from the higher. If they are going in opposite directions (Figure 9e), add the two speeds.
(b) Divide net speed by 4, rounding up to the nearest 5 mph. This is the collision's "Swipe-Speed."
-
Apply ram damage at the "Swipe-Speed," as modified by each vehicle's DM.
-
If the phasing vehicle's DM is lower than the other vehicle's, it finishes its movement by sliding along the other vehicle.
-
Reduce the handling status of each vehicle by 1 for each 10 mph of "Swipe-Speed," and make a control roll for each.
-
If either vehicle fishtails as a result of this control roll, the fishtail will be in the direction away from the collision which just occurred.
-
A Sideswipe does not affect the actual speed of either vehicle.
Concussion from Rams (Optional)
When any vehicle is involved in a collision, all occupants must roll for concussion effects from the ram. Take the speed change that resulted from that ram (in T-Bone collisions, take the speed change of the ramming vehicle) and apply it to both vehicles, then speed roll by 10 (thus, a 35-mph speed change from a 70-mph T-Bone would yield a 4) and roll 2 dice for each crew member involved. If the roll is equal to or higher than that number, the crewman is unaffected. If the roll is lower, the crewman is stunned (unable to do any firing actions or operate any vehicle controls) for as many phases as he missed the roll by (at least to the end of the turn). Safety seats add +1 to the roll, as do Impact Armor and Roll Cages. Stunning a driver adds a D2 to the total collision hazard.
Trailers in Collisions
When a car and trailer or a big rig is in a collision, there is a chance the trailer hitch/kingpin or tongue being destroyed.
First, assess the collision normally, using the total weight of the tower-trailer combination to determine the DM. If the combination slowed down in the collision, then find the amount by which the pair decelerated. Apply ram damage at this speed to both the tongue and the hitch. Excess hitch damage goes to the towing vehicle's back armor; excess tongue damage goes to the front armor of the trailer. Hitch armor will not protect against this damage, though it will absorb the excess damage before other armor.
Fixed Objects
A fixed object will cause exactly as much damage as it takes, up to the point at which the fixed object breaks. All fixed objects have a DP rating, which is the number of Damage Points they can take before they are destroyed.
Example: A 20-point tree gets in the way of a luxury car going 40 mph. The "ram" damage at 40 mph is 3d, and a luxury car's DM is usually 1. A 12 is rolled on 3 dice, and multiplied by 1 for a result of 12. That's how much damage the car does to the tree, and it's also how much damage the tree does to the car.
Now, let's send the same car into the same tree at 80 mph. The "ram" damage at speed is 11d, and this time the total is 41. The tree only has 20 DP, so it is destroyed. But the car also takes 20 points of damage.
For each collision, determine the collision type — Head-On or Sideswipe — and apply damage and hazards accordingly. Of course, in a Head-On, if the obstacle is not destroyed or breached, the vehicle stops. If the obstacle is destroyed or breached, the vehicle's "Temporary Speed" becomes its new speed. If a Sideswipe does not destroy or breach the obstacle, the vehicle finishes sliding along the obstacle.
Note: A building breach is generally ¼" wide (see Buildings, p. 37). A vehicle ramming a building or wall must, in effect, create two such breaches in order to break through. Thus, ramming a 6 DP building, a vehicle must do 12 points of damage to create a double breach and continue through. In addition, each ¼" section of wall will return damage, up to its full DP total.
Temporary Speed Table
Find your vehicle's Damage Modifier (DM) on the left and cross-index it with the opposing vehicle's DM (or obstacle's DM across the top). The result (1, ¾, ½, ¼, 0) is a preliminary indication of how your speed was affected. Multiply your original speed by this number, rounding up to the nearest 5 mph. This is your "Temporary Speed."
| Your DM | ⅓ | ⅔ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⅓ | ½ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ⅔ | ¾ | ½ | ½ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | ¾ | ½ | ½ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | ¾ | ¾ | ¾ | ½ | ½ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | ¾ | ¾ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ |
| 4 | 1 | ¾ | ¾ |
Debris and Obstacles
A "road debris" counter may represent any sort of junk on the road. Debris can be part of a scenario (appearing already drawn onto the road) or it can appear as a result of combat.
A debris counter is ½" × ¼". It may show its squares in two or in one, so it may be shown either straddling grid lines or fitting within a single square. Place it on the board so that its squares align with those on the map, showing exactly which map squares contain debris.
Hitting Debris
A vehicle hits debris the first time any part of the vehicle counter touches a debris square. Debris can be hit only once per phase, regardless of how many debris squares are entered. If a vehicle starts the phase on top of debris, that debris does not affect it if it has already been hit.
Debris affects all of a vehicle's tires. Roll 1 die for each tire, and subtract 3 from the result, to find the damage to that tire. Thus, on a roll of 1 to 3, the tire is undamaged. Hitting debris is a D1 hazard.
Producing Debris
When a car takes 10 or more points of damage during one phase, pick one debris counter randomly. Place it next to the car, at the point hit. (A car is not affected by its own debris even if it drives back through it.) Debris for top/bottom damage goes behind the vehicle. If a car explodes, then drop five random debris counters, and drop them onto the board from a height of one foot over the explosion site. (If one misses the board, or hits, drop it again.) Align counters with the road as closely as possible so that the debris fall where they fall. Debris and other obstacles (below) remain until the game ends.
Hitting Obstacles
An obstacle counter represents a pothole, loose gravel or other larger road hazard. Striking an obstacle is a D3 hazard. Determining whether or not an obstacle is struck is done in the same way as for debris. An obstacle does the same damage to each tire as debris does. A vehicle hit more than one obstacle in a phase, and must roll for each.
Producing and Moving Obstacles
If a car loses a wheel (not just a tire) or takes 20 or more hits during one phase, one or more pieces of metal armor, an obstacle is placed as described above for debris. In some scenarios, debris or obstacles may be thrown by buildings, vehicles, etc. Note that an obstacle is bulky, equivalent to one space in size, and no vehicle will be able to carry very many.
A pedestrian may move any obstacle that can be moved; potholes, for example, can't be moved. It takes one turn to move an obstacle up and back one square with unwieldy while carrying it. A pedestrian cannot drop an obstacle to an obstacle. A typical obstacle will weigh between 50 and 100 lbs.
Off-Road Duelling
Many of the most demanding combat situations take place away from roads and arenas. A beach battle, with cycles and buggies flying over the dunes . . . a cat-and-mouse hunt in a Louisiana swamp . . . a Badlands hunt, with pickups swooping down from the hills to intercept a convoy . . . all of these and more, are possible in the world of off-road duelling.
All maneuvers (but not hazards) off-road are at an additional D1 difficulty. All Crash Table rolls are at a -3, due to the vehicles' tendency to slide and skid well off-road. This applies to all vehicles except hovercraft.
The only significant advantage to driving off-road is that the ground is softer than cement. Thus, in a "bail-out" situation or a roll, cars and drivers are more likely to survive.
Off-Road Vehicles
Off-road suspension (see p. 51) is available for 4- and 6-wheeled vehicles, to lift the underbody off the ground and cushion it from shocks. Hovercraft, since they are not in contact with the ground, are natural off-road vehicles. They suffer no penalties for off-road travel.
Penalties for Unmodified Vehicles
Any vehicle can go off-road without modifications — but the handling class of an unmodified vehicle is reduced:
Motorcycle (with or without sidecar): -2 HC
Trike: -1 HC
Car (4 or 6 wheels): -3 HC
Oversized vehicle: -2 HC
The handling bonus for radial and racing slick tires does not apply while going off-road. Special off-road (OR) tires are available (see p. 54).
In addition, most vehicles are subject to damage when going off-road. Every turn a standard car, van or oversized vehicle is off-road and traveling faster than 10 mph, roll 2 dice. On a 2 or 3, the underbody takes 1 point of damage. On a 4 or 5, one tire (roll randomly to see which one) takes 1 point of damage. If the vehicle is going over 30 mph, roll twice per turn; over 50 mph, roll 3 times; and so on. Once the underbody is gone, the internal components do not take further damage.
Exceptions: racing slicks take double damage from traveling off-road, as well as cycles and trikes, are built higher off the ground and do not take underbody damage.
Off-Road Terrain
Off-road should not be taken to mean the dirt on the edge of the road; the shoulder of the road is usually no great hazard. "Off-road" means open country — fields, desert or park.
Grass and open fields: This is the standard off-road terrain. No extra penalties apply — just the normal +D1 difficulty for off-road travel.
Trees: Small ones are a D2 or D3 hazard. Larger ones would be fixed barriers and could have 8 to 20 DP, or more.
Boulders: Small ones (about a foot across) should be treated as obstacles. Those 1 to 2 feet across are fixed barriers with a DP as much as 25 DP. Boulders are usually knocked out of the way (rather than destroyed) if they take more than their DP value from a collision. Larger boulders would have greater DP values — a four-foot boulder would be worth at least 50 DP.
Ditches and Gullies
Small ditches (less than 2 feet across) are a D3 hazard at 20 mph or less, but only a D1 hazard at greater speeds — vehicles fly right over them. Ditches between 2 and 4 feet across are impassable at less than 20 mph — if a vehicle tries to cross one, it will fall in and collide with the far wall at full speed, taking full damage for its speed. At 25 to 40 mph, such a ditch is a D3 hazard; at 45 mph, it is a D1 hazard; any wider ditch should not be jumped without a ramp (see above). Very wide gullies, unless they are full of water, can be crossed by driving down one side and up the other.
Water
Vehicles without off-road (OR) suspension cannot cross water deeper than 1½ feet. Vehicles with OR suspension can take on water up to 3 feet deep. Vehicles in deeper water drown out and stop working — the effect is the same as if the power plant had been destroyed. The plant takes no actual damage, though — once the vehicle is out of the water (how you get it out is your problem), it will dry out and be usable again in 10 hours.
Hitting standing water deeper than ½ foot is a D2 hazard. Traveling in water decelerates a vehicle 5 mph per turn per ½ foot of water — you must accelerate by 5 mph just to stay at the same speed. Vehicles with OR suspension decelerate 5 mph per turn for water over 1½ feet deep.
Radical maneuvers are impossible in water — no maneuver with an original, unmodified difficulty over D3 can be performed. There is no additional penalty for those maneuvers which can be performed.
Dropped weapons may be used in water, to mixed effect. Oil will not be effective; flaming oil will ignite, but it will also disperse and be ineffective; icedroppers will form a thin sheet of ice that acts as floating debris; spikes and mines will be hidden under the water. Every time a dropped weapon is used in water, roll 1 die. On a 1 or 2, water backs up into the system where the port is open, and the weapon takes 1d-3 points of damage.
Tires cannot be targeted in over a foot of water; they are at an additional -2 to hit when in over 6" of water.
Jumping Out of Vehicles
Anyone jumping out of a vehicle, or off a cycle, when off-road will take reduced damage. Figure the damage as though the driver has been hit by a sideswipe from the car traveling 30 mph slower than the speed at which he actually hit the ground.
Rolling
When a vehicle rolls in an off-road situation, each side that hits the ground takes 1d-2 damage, instead of 1d of damage. Tires, likewise, take 1d-2 damage in an off-road roll. It is quite possible to roll a vehicle on soft ground and drive it away afterward — if you can get it upright.
Pedestrian Movement
Most pedestrians move at 12.5 mph on every phase. Pedestrians with the Running skill (see Running, p. 42) can move faster.
Pedestrians may move into any adjacent square, including those which are diagonally adjacent, in their move. They may change direction any time without having to bother with control rolls or handling class (though things like oil and spikes can hamper movement). For details on pedestrians, see pp. 44-46.
Trailer Movement
Trailers are represented, like any vehicle, by rectangular counters. The counters vary in length, depending on the trailer length, and have an additional triangular area simulating the trailer tongue. All counters are ½" wide. The tongue triangle has a base and height of ½".
| Trailer Type | Counter Length |
|---|---|
| Mini | ¼" |
| 6' | ½" |
| 10' | ¾" |
| 15' | 1" |
| 20' | 1½" |
| 25' | 1¾" |
| 30' | 2" |
Each trailer is attached to a vehicle by a hitch. The hitch point is marked by a dot in the center of the towing vehicle counter's back edge. See Figure 11.
Acceleration and Deceleration
Acceleration for a trailer-towing vehicle is determined normally, but the trailer's weight must be included. A trailer's weight doesn't count against the vehicle's chassis-weight limit. Any trailer-towing vehicle that decelerates more than 30 mph in a turn goes immediately to Crash Table 3, and all the tires (including the trailer's) take 2d of damage.
Straight-Line Maneuvers
Vehicles pulling trailers are represented by two counters — one for the towing vehicle and one for the trailer. A trailer cannot accelerate by itself, and usually crashes if it comes loose during movement (see Loose Trailers, p. 18).
Place the trailer counter so that the point of the tongue touches the hitch point of the towing vehicle, as in Figure 11.
The combined counter moves forward 1" or more during every phase in which the Movement Chart indicates it should move. Angling the trailer is a maneuver (see below).
Maneuvers
A vehicle towing a trailer maneuvers the same way a car does, except that it cannot attempt a bootlegger.
The trailer follows the towing vehicle in a very interesting way — it is separate, joined by a hitch. During a maneuver, the two counters are moved one after the other, and will be separated briefly. At the end of each maneuver, the end of the trailer's tongue must be directly over the hitch-point of the towing vehicle. The towing vehicle can never make more than a 90° angle with the trailer; if it does, the rig has jackknifed (see below).
To maneuver a trailer, first move the towing vehicle, as per the maneuver chart or turning key. Next, move the trailer counter as follows:
First, move it in a straight line along its long axis (see Figure 12) the same distance the towing vehicle moved. If the maneuver moved the vehicle forward an inch, the trailer moves forward an inch.
Second, hold one rear corner of the trailer counter in place, and pivot the trailer until its tongue is as close as possible to the hitch point of the towing vehicle.
Third, move the trailer (usually forward ⅛" to ¼") until the tongue is exactly over the hitch point.
If the trailer is now touching a wall or other counter, a collision has occurred. However, if the trailer happened to overlap something during the first two steps of its movement, no collision took place.
In Figure 12, the shaded positions are the original ones; the outlined positions are the final ones after execution of a steep drift. The double-ended arrow shows where the trailer was located at an intermediate position; it moved forward one inch, exactly covering the old position of the tractor. The tractor went from A to B. The trailer went from X to an "imaginary" position at Y, and then pivoted to reach its final position at Z.
Arrows also show the long axis of the trailer before and after it moved. If a rig is towing a second trailer, move the towing vehicle first, then resolve movement for the first trailer, then do the same for the second trailer as if the first trailer was the towing vehicle.
Backing Up
Reverse movement is handled just like regular movement. Move first the towing vehicle to its new position. Then move the trailer counter backwards in a straight line along its long axis. When the tongue is as close to the hitch point, hold one corner of the trailer down and pivot it until the tongue is once again over the hitch point. As with forward movement, a collision takes place only if the trailer ends its movement in contact with another object.
A vehicle towing a trailer may attempt to back up at up to 20 mph, but backing up can cause a trailer to jackknife. It is not wise to back up at more than 5 mph; 2.5 mph is safer yet.
Regardless of the player's skill in manipulating counters, the character must have the proper skill to back up safely with a trailer. The skill needed depends on the towing vehicle — Driver for cars, Cyclist for cycles, etc. If a non-skilled character tries to back up a vehicle/trailer combination in a straight line, he must roll 1 die on every phase of movement. On a 1, the rear of the trailer swerves 1 square (¼") out of line (roll randomly for direction). If the vehicle/trailer combination is being backed in any way except a straight line, the trailer will swerve on a 1, 2 or 3. The swerve will always be in the direction that tends to jackknife the trailer, rather than to straighten it out.
Jackknifing
A trailer is in a jackknife position whenever the side of the trailer touches the trailer's rear — that is, whenever the side of the tongue triangle makes parallel contact with the towing counter's back edge, the trailer has jackknifed.
When a trailer jackknifes due to a hard fishtail, roll 1 die. On a result of 1, 2 or 3, the tongue or hitch (whichever has fewer DP) breaks and the trailer is loose. If the jackknife occurred due to a maneuver, the roll is not made until this jackknifed position is held for two consecutive movement phases. See Figure 13.
Loose Car Trailers
When a tongue or hitch is shot off or breaks, or a trailer is deliberately released, there will be a loose trailer on the road. There is no way to control a loose trailer. The tongue hits the ground, taking 1 die of damage for every 10 mph the trailer was traveling. Excess damage passes to the vehicle's underbody armor. The trailer then makes a control roll at HC -1, and goes to Crash Table 2 if it fails. If it does not lose control, it continues to move in a straight line 15 mph per turn and taking damage at its new speed at the end of every turn. The trailer starts to roll automatically if it hits a hazard or obstacle while loose. There can be no further fire possible from any gunners inside a rolling trailer until it stops, and then only if it stops right side up.
Crashes and Collisions
Cars or cycles towing trailers must roll on Crash Table 3 when they lose control. Cars and cycles towing trailers are affected normally by debris, obstacles and other road hazards. Losing the first tire of a pair is a D2 hazard. When all tires on one side of a car trailer are lost, go to Crash Table 3. HC goes to -3 in this case.
When a vehicle/trailer combination is in a head-on or rear-end collision, use the combined weight of the towing vehicle and trailer when determining damage. If a vehicle/trailer combination is hit from the side, use the weight of the part (either vehicle or trailer) that was hit to determine collision damage.
Oversized Vehicles
Movement for oversized vehicles follows the principles of the basic vehicular movement rules, with certain changes.
Handling Class
Oversized vehicles don't handle easily. The handling class of a tractor without a trailer is 0. Addition of a trailer makes the whole rig HC 1. Buses and RVs are also HC 1. Further increases in handling class can come only from good reflexes, aided by the Trucker skill (see p. 42).
Acceleration and Deceleration
Big rigs and buses use the same acceleration rules as ten-wheeled trucks (see p. 60). Any big rig decelerating uses the same chart as cars, but they lose control they lose control roll on Crash Table 3. Ten-wheelers that lose control due to braking roll on Crash Table 2.
Straight-Line Movement
Buses are represented by single long counters. Counters for tractor-trailer rigs, though, have two components — the tractor and the trailer. These are combined to form a "rig." A trailer cannot accelerate by itself, and usually crashes if it comes loose during movement — it is better but its handling class is worse.
To use the tractor and trailer counters, place the trailer so it overlaps the back of the tractor. The black dot on the front of the trailer represents its "kingpin." The black dot on the back of the tractor represents the "fifth wheel." The kingpin fits into the fifth wheel; therefore, the dot on the trailer must be directly over the dot on the tractor at the end of each maneuver.
Maneuvers
Ten-wheelers, buses and tractors maneuver in the same way cars do, except that a tractor-trailer rig cannot attempt a bootlegger. The car pictures should be assumed to represent the front inch of the oversized vehicle.
Tractor-trailer rigs maneuver and back up in the same way as vehicles towing car trailers — see Figure 12. Substitute the rig's "kingpin" for "tongue," and "fifth wheel" for "hitch." At the end of each maneuver, the black dot on the back of the trailer (the kingpin) must be directly over the black dot on the tractor (the fifth wheel). The tractor can never make less than a 90° angle with the trailer; if it does, the rig has jackknifed. Roll 1 die. On a 1, 2 or 3, the kingpin breaks and the trailer comes loose.
Ultra-Slow Movement
A truck making a complicated maneuver in a tight space (e.g., parking or entering a fortified area) will move very slowly. In real life, it might move at only 1 mph. For game purposes, 2.5 mph is the slowest possible speed. This translates to one ¼" square per turn, moving in Phase 1.
A rig moving at this speed should place its speed marker on the line between 0 and 5 mph on the record sheet. On each turn, the tractor may move as follows:
(a) ¼" straight forward, or
(b) ¼" straight forward and pivot, as per the regular vehicle pivot, or
(c) pivot without any forward movement at all.
The trailer will follow the tractor as per normal movement.
Loose Trailers
When a fifth wheel is shot off, a kingpin breaks, or a trailer is deliberately released, the trailer will come loose.
If the loose trailer is a true trailer, with wheels in front, treat it like any other uncontrolled vehicle. It moves forward in a straight line, decelerating at 5 mph each turn. It cannot maneuver. Treat it as having a handling class of 1. If it encounters a hazard, roll as for any other vehicle, and a "loss of control" result will send it to Crash Table 2. As long as it does not lose control, any gunners in the trailer may fire the trailer's weapons (except lasers, which require the tractor's power plant).
Semi-trailers, with no front wheels, crash immediately if released by a moving tractor. The front of the trailer hits the ground, the underbody front armor takes 1d of damage for every 10 mph it is going when it hits, and the semi goes to Crash Table 3. If by chance it does not "lose control" at that point, it moves in a straight line, decelerating by 15 mph at the beginning of every turn and doing more damage, as above, at the beginning of every turn until it comes to a stop. It has a handling class of -1. If it stays uncontrolled, it will have gunners in the trailer will fire their weapons, but until it comes to rest it is right-side-up.
When a semi hits the ground, the kingpin breaks, so it can't be reattached to a tractor until the kingpin has been replaced.
Debris and Obstacles
Buses and tractor-trailer rigs treat debris and obstacles the same way as ten-wheeled trucks. The road and combat hazards that affect two-wheeled trucks (such as losing tires, taking damage from enemy fire, etc.), are also the same as those that affect ten-wheeled trucks (see p. 9).
Crashes and Collisions
Buses and tractors without trailers use the same Crash Tables as cars if they lose control. When a tractor-trailer rig loses control for any reason, it goes directly to Crash Table 3.
Steamrollering
When a ten-wheeler or larger vehicle hits a motorcycle in any way but a sideswipe, it "steamroller" it — that is, run right over it — due to the difference in heights. Roll 1 die. On a 1 or 3-6, a normal collision occurred. On a 1 or 3-6, the cycle was steamrollered.
When this happens, reduce the speed of the cycle to zero. The large vehicle simply runs over its counter. This is an extra D1 hazard, and the vehicle collision damage, evenly spread among all components. A cyclist who is about to be steamrollered had better jump — any chance is better than none!
Where the ten-wheelers can only steamroller cycles, the big rigs and buses can also steamroller subcompacts, and light and medium trikes. Steamrollering a car or trike is a D3 hazard; other vehicles are a D1.
Hovercraft Movement
Since a hover can rotate while traveling in a straight line, it will often be facing in one direction while moving in another. Therefore, a new counter is required to move hovercraft. A Vector Arrow (a 1" × ½" counter with an arrow on it) indicates which way the hover is moving.
The hover counter and Vector Arrow are always connected to each other corner-to-corner: either the left-rear corner of the arrow with the left-front corner of the hover (Figure 14a), the right-rear corner of the arrow with the right-front corner of the hover, or (if the hover and its Vector are pointed in exactly the same direction) both rear corners of the Vector Arrow to the corresponding front corners of the hover counter (Figure 14b).
If the hover is facing in the opposite direction of its movement (and thus in the opposite direction of its Vector Arrow), the possible connections are similar: either the left-rear corner of the arrow with the right-rear corner of the hover, or the right-rear corner of the arrow with the left-rear corner of the hover (Figure 14c), or, again, both rear corners of the Vector Arrow to the corresponding rear corners of the hover (when it is pointing in exactly the opposite direction of the arrow — Figure 14d).
Note that the right-rear corner of the hover is never connected to the left-front or right-rear corners of the arrow, nor is the left-rear corner of the arrow ever connected to the right-front or left-rear corners of the hover. The front corners of the arrow are never connected to any corner of the hover. See Figure 15.
The Vector Arrow moves very similarly to a car's arrow. It performs bends and drifts just as cars do. It cannot perform any other maneuvers. The hover counter follows the Vector Arrow, always maintaining corner contact, as described above. When performing a bend, move the Vector Arrow through the bend. Then, keeping the hover counter pointed in the direction it began the phase, move it until it is once more in contact with a corner of its arrow. (This looks very much like the hover counter is performing an unusual drift.) See Figure 16.
The maneuvers described so far move allow a hover to change the direction it is facing. There are two ways for it to do so. First, a hover may rotate up to 90° in a phase. It may perform no other maneuvers when doing so. To rotate, keep the Vector Arrow out of the way, but keep it pointed in the direction it began the phase. Next, rotate the hover counter up to 90°, keeping the arrow so that it is back in contact with the corner of the vehicle. (It will not move back to its previous location on the map, since the same direction, but this will still be pointing in the important direction.)
Finally, move the arrow 1" straight forward (i.e., in the direction in which it is pointing) and then move the hover counter so that the two counters are once more in legal contact. This is a D2 maneuver; a vertical stabilizer reduces it to a D1. See Figure 17.
Note that a hovercraft cannot rotate and perform any other maneuver at the same time.
The second way for a hover to change the direction it is facing is for it to begin the phase flush with the arrow (i.e., with the arrow's rear corners connected to the counter's front corners). Then, if you perform a bend, you may maintain this flush contact with the arrow at a penalty of +D1 to the maneuver. See Figure 18.
Other restrictions on hover maneuvers are as follows:
One-Man and Small Hovers may perform any allowed maneuver at no additional penalty.
Standard Hovers may perform D1 through D5 maneuvers normally; D6 or greater maneuvers are +D1.
Large Hovers may perform D1 and D2 maneuvers normally; D3 maneuvers are +D1, D4 and greater are +D2.
Small Cargo Hovers may only perform D1 or D2 maneuvers normally; D3 maneuvers are +D2, and more difficult maneuvers cannot be performed.
If not on a transparent sheet, cut out the center 1" × ½" area labelled "Vector Arrow lies completely in the area labelled 'Forward,'" your acceleration is Forward. If it lies completely in the area labelled "Backward," your acceleration is Backward. If it lies partly in either Side Forward area and partly in the Forward area, your acceleration is Side Forward. If it lies partly in either Side Backward area and partly in the Backward area, your acceleration is Side Backward. If any of it lies in the gray area, your arrow is illegally placed and needs to be moved. Probably it should shift to another corner of the hover counter.
For oversized counters, use the appropriate corner of the center slot up with the corner of your hover counter which is in contact with the Vector Arrow.
Hovercraft Acceleration
When a hover is facing exactly the same direction its arrow is pointing, simply add your desired acceleration to your current speed. When it is facing the opposite direction its arrow is pointing, find the difference between acceleration and speed (subtracting the smaller from the larger). When a hover isn't facing in either direction, acceleration can be tricky.
First, use Figure 20 to determine whether your acceleration will be Forward, Side Forward, Side Backward or Backward. Treat deceleration in any direction as acceleration in the opposite direction.
The rectangular template in Figure 21 is useful for hover acceleration. (It can be copied onto a transparent sheet.) It quickly indicates whether your acceleration is Forward, Side Forward, Side Backward or Backward.
Forward
If your acceleration is Forward, simply add your acceleration to your current speed. Example: your current speed is 25 mph, and you accelerate 10 mph forward. Your new speed is 35 mph (25 + 10). Unless your acceleration is 5 times as large as your current speed, or your current speed is more than 5 times as large as your acceleration, rotate the arrow so that its angle is in half (see Figure 22a). If the angle is 15° or less, or "even out" the arrow, placing it flush with the hover.
If acceleration is 5 times greater than current speed, rotate the arrow so it points in the direction of the hover's acceleration (Figure 22b).
If current speed is more than 5 times greater than acceleration, don't change the direction of the arrow (see below).
Gradual Continued Acceleration
When, over a period of several turns, neither the arrow nor its arrow have changed direction, combined acceleration may add up to more than ⅓ of original speed each turn. In such instances, rotate the arrow halfway toward the direction of the hover's acceleration, as in the second paragraph above.
Example: Current speed is 100; acceleration is 10. Don't change the direction of the arrow. At the beginning of the next second, current speed is 110 and acceleration is 5. Over the 2 seconds, acceleration totals 15 mph, still not ⅓ of the original 100 mph speed. At the beginning of the third second, current speed is 115 and acceleration is 10. Over all 3 seconds, total acceleration has been 25 mph — more than ⅓ of the original 100 mph. Rotate the arrow halfway toward the direction of the hover's acceleration. See Figure 22c for another example.
Side Forward
If your acceleration is Side Forward, again compare your acceleration to your current speed. Your new speed becomes the sum of the faster plus half of the slower. Examples: you are traveling 30 mph, and accelerate 10 mph sideways. Your new speed is 35 mph (30 plus half of 10). If you are traveling 20 mph, and accelerate 30 mph sideways, your new speed is 40 mph (half of 20, plus 30). Round up to the nearest multiple of 2.5 mph. If acceleration equals current speed, simply take half of one and add the other.
To determine your new direction of travel (i.e., in which direction your Vector Arrow is now pointing), find the ratio of acceleration to current speed and refer to the following table. Swing the Vector Arrow toward the direction of the hover's acceleration by the angle listed in the table (but never swing it past a flush facing). See Figure 22d.
| Acceleration / Current Speed | Change in Vector Arrow |
|---|---|
| Less than ⅓ | 0° |
| At least ⅓, but less than ⅔ | 15° |
| At least ⅔, but less than 1 | 30° |
| At least 1, but less than 2 | 45° |
| At least 2, but less than 3 | 60° |
| At least 3, but less than 5 | 75° |
| At least 5 | Place the arrow flush with the direction of the hover's acceleration. |
If current speed is 5 times greater than acceleration, don't change the direction of the arrow at all unless continued acceleration over several turns exceeds ⅓ current speed.
Side Backward
If your acceleration is Side Backward, again compare your acceleration to your current speed. Your new speed becomes the difference of the faster minus half of the slower. Examples: You are traveling 30 mph, and accelerate 10 mph sideways. Your new speed is 25 mph (30 minus half of 10). If you are traveling 20 mph, and accelerate 30 mph sideways, your new speed is 20 mph (30 minus half of 20). Round up to the nearest multiple of 2.5 mph. If current speed and acceleration are equal to each other, halve either one and subtract it from the other (or, more simply, your new speed is half the previous speed).
To determine your new direction of travel (i.e., in which direction your Vector Arrow is now pointing), find the ratio of acceleration to current speed and refer to the following table. Swing the Vector Arrow towards the direction of the hover's acceleration by the angle listed in the table (but never swing it past a flush facing). See Figure 22e.
| Acceleration / Current Speed | Change in Vector Arrow |
|---|---|
| Less than ⅓ | 0° |
| At least ⅓, but less than ⅔ | 30° |
| At least ⅔, but less than 3⁄2 | 60° |
| At least 3⁄2, but less than 3 | 90° |
| At least 3, but less than 5 | 120° |
| At least 5 | 150°; place the arrow flush with the direction of the hover's acceleration. |
Backward
If your acceleration is Backward, again compare it to your current speed. Your new speed is the sum of the faster plus half of the slower. Side Forward acceleration, etc. If no thrust is put into acceleration, or simply maintaining speed, a hover will decelerate by 5 mph/turn.
Hovers may, in desperate situations, decelerate by dropping their skirt(s) to the ground and dragging. This is hazardous and damages the skirts. For an extra 5 mph/turn deceleration, a hover drops only the trailing edge of the craft. This inflicts 1d damage to the trailing skirt(s) and each of the two adjacent skirts. This is a D4 hazard. If the situation is sufficiently desperate, a hover can get an extra 15 mph of deceleration by taking 1d damage to all skirts. This is a D6 hazard.
Turning off all power causes the hover to drop to the ground and take 2d damage to all skirts and 1d damage to the underbody. It decelerates by 15 mph at the beginning of each turn. Turning off all power at a spinout is a D7 hazard.
Angle to the side of your current direction of travel entails a hazard similar to the hazard of firing a large gun to the side of a moving vehicle. If a hover executes either Side Forward or Side Backward acceleration, but the acceleration is under 10 mph, there is an immediate D1 hazard.
If the acceleration is at least 10 mph, but not 20 mph, it is a D2 hazard.
If it is at least 20 mph, but not 30 mph, it is a D3 hazard.
If it is at least 30 mph, it is a D4 hazard.
Deceleration
Since hover fans are immediately reversible, hovers may decelerate as easily as they accelerate, without having to spend a turn at 0 acceleration. Deceleration of any kind can thus be treated as a type of acceleration. Forward deceleration becomes Backward acceleration, Side Backward deceleration becomes Side Forward acceleration, and so on.
Angles and How to Figure Them
Hovercraft movement relies heavily on angles, especially during acceleration. There are two ways to measure a specific angle.
Turning key: For angles up to 90°, you can use the turning key. To rotate an arrow 30° toward the front of a hover (for example), follow these steps (Figure 23): (a) Hold the turning key over the arrow and its arrow so that the point marked "30°" on the key is at the point where the two corners meet. Hold the key so that the rear of the arrow is flush with the edge of the key. (b) Move the rear of the arrow around the corner of the key, keeping it flush with the key. (c) Maintaining the arrow's new direction, move it back into legal contact with the hover counter. (This might require that the arrow be moved to a new corner of the hover counter.)
The key can also be used for angles over 90°, but the process is more difficult (Figure 24). (a) First, find the turning key angle which corresponds to the angle you want to figure — 60° corresponds to 120°, and 30° corresponds to 150°. (b) To rotate an arrow 120° toward the direction of the hover's acceleration, hold the turning key over the hover and its arrow so that the arrow is at the point marked "60°" on the key so that the side of the arrow is flush with the edge of the key. (c) Swing the arrow around the corner of the key, keeping it flush with the key. This requires that the arrow completely overlap the key, so be sure to keep the arrow in its proper new position while removing the key when you have finished. (d) Maintaining the arrow's new direction, move it so that it is once more in legal contact with the hover counter. (This will require that the arrow be moved to a new corner of the hover counter.)
Protractor: The protractor (see Figure 21) can be used to measure any angle. It is marked in 15° intervals.
(a) To swing an arrow 45° (for example, see Figure 25), hold the protractor over the hover and its arrow so that the center point of the protractor is at the point where the two corners meet. Hold the protractor so that the side of the arrow is flush with the edge of the protractor.
(b) Swing the arrow (under the protractor) until it has rotated 45°.
(c) If necessary, move the arrow so that it is once more in legal contact with the hover counter.
This same protractor can be used to measure boat bends by following the procedure for Vector Arrows outlined in (a) and (b), above. Be sure to position the center point of the protractor over the proper point of the boat — the rear of dinghies and speedboats; the marked position on rowboats, cruisers and yachts (Figure 26). Also note that this procedure results in slightly different movement for boats 1" long and shorter. Make sure all players agree on the system before play begins.
(4) The protractor can also be copied onto a transparent sheet and cut out, making it easier to see what you're doing.
Hazards
Hovers collect hazards just as cars do, except that hovers do not take any hazard from debris, obstacles or other low-lying objects such as curbs. Hovers use maneuver just the same (with no handling penalties) whether they are on road, off road or on water. Hovercraft may jump just as cars do; however, on landing, each skirt takes 1d damage and the hazard is at +D2. Large cargo and cargo hovers collect hazards from enemy fire as other oversized vehicles.
Losing Control
Hovers use the same Control Table and speed modifiers that all other vehicles do. However, when a hover loses control, whether from a maneuver or a hazard, roll 2 dice and consult Crash Table 6 — Hovercraft, adding any appropriate modifier.
Boat Movement
Movement for boats is handled as for cars, with a couple of exceptions. First, the larger the boat is, the fewer difficult maneuvers it can perform.
Yachts can only perform D1 or D2 maneuvers normally; D3 maneuvers may be performed, but they are at +2 difficulty; and more difficult maneuvers cannot be performed.
Cruisers can perform D1 or D2 maneuvers normally; D3 maneuvers are at +D1; D4 and greater maneuvers are at +D2.
Speedboats can perform D1 through D5 maneuvers normally; D6 or greater maneuvers are performed at +1 difficulty.
Dinghies, aquabikes and rowboats can perform all maneuvers through D6 normally.
A D6 maneuver in a Speedboat with a spoiler is still a D6 (+1 for size, -1 for the spoiler).
Boats can only perform bends, drifts and pivots.
The other difference is in the way boats move is subtle but important. When changing direction with a bend, a land vehicle will move forward 1", and then pivot on a back corner to change directions. This is because the steering mechanism is in the front of the vehicle. Boats are steered from the back — so when a boat changes direction, the pivot must be done first, and then the boat is moved 1".
These turns can still be accomplished using a turning key, but they are a little trickier. For 1" counters, place the inside corner of the key against one front corner of the counter. Then move the counter forward, rotating it until both corners on the counter match the pair of marks on the key corresponding to the turn's difficulty. Finally, move the counter 1" forward. In Figure 27a, a Rowboat is making a D3 bend.
For boat counters longer than 1", place the marked point of the boat counter against the marked point on the key, making sure the counter is parallel to the first half of the turn. Then pivot the counter into the key until it touches the edge — that's the turn. Then, move the counter straight ahead one inch and the maneuver is completed. In Figure 27b, a cruiser is shown having been placed on 1"-long counters, so that they can use the same turning key marks as the 1" boats. Do not use this double-length counter for figuring arcs of fire, line of sight, etc. Use only the front half of the counter — the back half is simply an aid for maneuvering. For another method of measuring angles, see Angles and How to Figure Them (p. 22).
Boat Deceleration
Acceleration is covered in Power Plants (p. 65). Boats naturally decelerate at 5 mph/turn. In addition, the propellers or jets can be run in reverse to create an additional deceleration equal to half the boat's acceleration.
For example, a boat with an acceleration of 10 can decelerate up to 10 mph/turn, a boat with an acceleration of 5 can decelerate up to 7.5 mph/turn, and so on.
The exception to this is Jet Drives, which cannot reverse themselves for braking action.
Boats have one other option — dropping anchor. Anchors are standard equipment on all boats, included in the initial cost and weight, and permanently attached by a 10' cable or chain. (If the anchor cannot reach the bottom because the water is too deep, then the anchor cannot help with deceleration.)
When an anchor is dropped, it descends at the rate of ¼" per phase; when it hits bottom there is an extra deceleration of 15 mph/turn. For every turn the boat continues to move, roll 2 dice; on a 2 or 12, the cable or chain breaks, and the anchor (and its deceleration) is lost. Replacing an anchor costs 2% of the boat's cost to attach.
Hazards
Many of the hazards listed for land vehicles also apply to boats — especially the ones for taking damage. Some modifiers, however, are changed in water:
Hitting debris: no hazard.
Hitting obstacle or swimmer: D1.
Colliding with smaller boat: D2.
Colliding with boat of the same size or larger: D4.
Colliding with fixed object: D4.
Scraping soft bottom: D2.
Scraping hard bottom: D4.
Running Aground
In many instances, it's very important to keep track of just how deep the water is, in order to avoid running aground. Water depth is usually measured in game inches, as is the "draft" of all boats. Draft is the distance below the surface that the underbody of the boat extends to. A boat cannot enter water shallower than its draft.
Aquabikes and Rowboats have no appreciable draft, and can operate in any depth of water.
Dinghies have a draft of 0", which lets them operate in all but the shallowest waters.
Speedboats have a draft of ¼".
Cruisers have a draft of ½".
Yachts have a draft of ¾".
If a boat enters water of a depth exactly equal to its draft, it scrapes bottom. This is a hazard (see above), and the hazard's D value is assessed every turn. If a hard bottom is scraped (concrete, coral, rocks, etc.), also roll 1 die. On a 1, the underbody armor takes the damage of a sideswipe collision. This damage roll is also made every turn when a soft bottom (mud, sand, carpeted jump ramp) is scraped.
Boats may intentionally "run aground" in order to jump. The jump angle must be between 15° and 45°. Boats jump like cars, with this addition: a grounded boat decelerates by 15 mph immediately (and its jump distance is figured on this reduced speed). Note that "running aground" against a fixed barrier angled at greater than 45° is not a sideswipe with the boat's underbody — it is a collision with the leading edge of the boat.
Every subsequent turn in which the boat continues moving aground, it decelerates an additional 30 mph (as in water). Neither propellers nor jets affect this.
When a boat hits water of a depth insufficient for its draft, assess collision damage according to the underbody of the boat, based on the speed the boat was going aground. (Subtract 1 or more points per die of damage rolled if the boat grounds on a particularly soft bottom; add 1 or more points per die of damage when a boat grounds on a particularly hard bottom.) At the beginning of every turn in which grounding continues while aground, assess new damage at the boat's new speed.
If the underbody armor takes damage from either scraping or hitting bottom, roll another die: On a 1 to 3 (but not a jet drive) also takes damage the same amount of damage as the underbody armor took.
If the referee has kept enough track of tides or other factors, getting unstuck may be simple as "waiting it out." If the boat's propellers or jet are still in water, you may attempt to get the boat out on its own power. This requires a roll of 10 or better on 2 dice, adding 1 for having two propellers. LeGrande takes dice in hand, and rolls a 7, which is modified to an 8 — not good enough. An hour later, he can try again . . .
The following modifiers apply:
Aquabike: +3
Rowboat: +2 (aground when it runs out of water)
Dinghy: +1
Yacht: -1
Two propellers: +1
Props damaged (one or both): -2
A boat may make an attempt to get unstuck on its own power once an hour. If an unmodified 12 is rolled, quit trying — the boat will never come free without outside help.
If outside help is required to unground a boat, the operation will take one hour and cost $1,000 for every 5,000 lbs. of boat weight (round up). The equipment needed to do the job is very specialized and expensive, and its operators will not enter an active battle area, no matter how much money they are offered. Fiendish referees may also want to consider the possibility that such specialized services are just not available in the vicinity of the wreck, and that it may take a day (or two, or three . . .) for the equipment to arrive, with a commensurately higher price.
Example: Chasing a dinghy full of tobacco-smugglers, Capt. LeGrande of the Louisiana Coast Guard bears down in his high-powered cruiser at 130 mph. The smugglers know this particular bay very well, however, and dart up an inlet where the water is only ¼" deep. LeGrande follows, and before his sonar man can shout a warning, plows into the muddy bottom, immediately slowing down to 115 mph. The underbody armor of the cruiser takes collision damage at 35 mph — ¼ of 130, rounded up. LeGrande, is soft, subtracts 1 per die, and because the bay bottom is soft, subtracts 1 per die, and the underbody armor takes 6 points of damage. Then LeGrande rolls 1 die to see if his propellers are damaged, and gets a 3 — bad news! LeGrande has two propellers, each of which has 8 DP, but only are protected by 10-point propeller guards. For the first propeller, LeGrande rolls 2 dice, gets 6, subtracts 2 for the soft bottom, then rolls a 4 on 1 die (to see if the propeller guard takes the damage) — so the remaining 4 points of damage are absorbed by the propeller guard. For the second propeller, LeGrande rolls a 9, subtracts 2, then rolls a 2 — so the remaining 7 points of damage are absorbed by the other propeller guard.
The cruiser continues, taking additional damage rolls at the beginning of each turn, at 85 mph, 55 mph, and 25 mph. Unfortunately, the cruiser was unable to find a deeper channel during these three seconds, so it is finally stuck.
LeGrande now tries to get his cruiser unstuck. It takes a roll of 10 or better on 2 dice, adding 1 for having two propellers. LeGrande takes dice in hand, and rolls a 7, which is modified to an 8 — not good enough. An hour later, he can try again . . .
Optional Wake Rule
Boats leave a wake in the water which can be hazardous, especially to lighter boats. The edges of the wake (the dangerous lines where a hazard can occur) follow the two lines dividing the rear arc of fire from the side arc of fire. To calculate their length, divide the boat's speed by 10 (rounding up). The two lines of the wake extend that many inches from the boat.
For Rowboats, the wake begins in the middle of the boat, not at the end, and follows the same lines as Dinghy or Speedboat wake follows. See Figure 28 for examples of boat wakes. It is recommended that this rule only be used with a referee, because it is difficult to define the expanding location of the wake behind a turning boat.
To determine the hazard (if any) of crossing a wake in your boat, compare the weight of your boat to the weight of the boat causing the wake:
| Your wt./wt. of boat creating wake | Hazard |
|---|---|
| Less than ¼ | D6 |
| At least ¼, but less than ½ | D4 |
| At least ½, but less than 2 | D3 |
| At least 2, but less than 4 | D2 |
| At least 4 | No hazard |
| Crossing last half of wake | -D1 |
Losing Control
Boats use the same Control Table as land vehicles do, with the same modifiers for speed. When a boat loses control, whether from a maneuver or a hazard, roll 2 dice and apply the appropriate speed modifier and the appropriate weather modifier (below), and consult Crash Table 5 — Boats, p. 12.
Weather
Rough seas can make water travel very difficult. Bad enough weather can even endanger the boat itself. The roughness of the environment is rated as follows:
Calm seas: Either no waves, or gentle, rhythmic ones. No modifiers.
Choppy seas: All weapons fire — hand and vehicular — is at -1. No other modifiers.
Rough seas: All weapons fire at -2. All maneuvers and hazards are at +D1.
Stormy seas: All weapons fire at -2. All maneuvers and hazards are at +D1. Also, add 1 to all rolls on Crash Table 5 — Boats (Rowboats add 2).
Major Storm: A lake squall, or perhaps an ocean thunderstorm. All weapons fire at -4. All maneuvers and hazards are at +D2. Add 2 to all rolls on Crash Table 5 (Rowboats add 6, Dinghies add 5, Speedboats add 4).
It is up to the referee to decide the weather for a particular area and time. Changes should be slow (by Car Wars standards, at least) in developing — at least ten minutes in a phase before advancing to the next one. And weather must move through the phases in the order listed; conditions cannot go from choppy seas (for example) to major storm in one instant.
Helicopter Movement
Helicopter movement is more varied than ground movement — there are three dimensions to keep track of two. For each helicopter, you must keep a scratch-pad record of the chopper's altitude, measured in ¼" in game scale. This height designates where the bottom of the helicopter is at any given time (0" being on the ground).
Acceleration and Deceleration
A hovering helicopter (that is, one that is not attempting to change its altitude up or down) moves on the phases shown for its speed — just like a car. Helicopters accelerate on the straightaway like cars. Two rates of acceleration are available to helicopters — 5 mph or 10 mph. A helicopter can accelerate more quickly by diving (see below).
A helicopter may decelerate 5 or 10 mph per turn safely. It may also decelerate 15 mph in a turn, but must immediately roll on Crash Table 4 (see pp. 11-12).
In order to take off, a helicopter must (a) spend three turns warming up, kicking the rotors up to flight speed; (b) go through one turn at 0 while starting the liftoff; and (c) go to whatever speed its acceleration indicates to start the liftoff. If the acceleration is 5, the vehicle may only climb ¼" the first turn. If the acceleration is 10, the vehicle may climb ½" and move ¼", or move forward ½" and climb ¼". A helicopter on the ground in its warm-up mode, or ground — but not switched off — may stay in its warm-up mode, and thus only take one second at speed 0 before taking off.
Climbing and Diving
In order to climb, a helicopter sacrifices ½" of forward movement to climb ¼". That is, a helicopter which has the option of moving 2" forward could instead move 1 forward and climb ¼", or move ¼", or move 1" forward and climb ¼". A helicopter may not climb at more than ½" per turn. To climb straight up, a helicopter should set its speed at 10 mph, and then convert that 1" of forward movement into ¼" of climbing each turn.
A helicopter can lose altitude by a regular descent (not a dive) at the rate of ½" per turn. Such a descent does not affect the chopper's speed at all, and is not a hazard.
A helicopter can descend more quickly, and accelerate at the same time, by diving. A too-steep dive can have disastrous effects, but a shallow dive can safely increase a vehicle's speed. A helicopter must spend a full second diving, moving as many inches as its current speed indicates. The player specifies how much altitude will be lost during a turn, within certain limitations (described below). For every ½" of forward altitude lost, the helicopter picks up 5 mph of forward speed immediately.
A helicopter must accelerate into a dive — the pilot can't simply go from level flight to a 60-foot dive and pick up 40 mph of speed, all in one second. A helicopter can pick up 10 mph/turn of acceleration while diving, above and beyond the helicopter's normal acceleration. Keep track of how much speed is picked up during diving, as this will have to be offset when the chopper pulls out of the dive.
A helicopter pulls out of a dive by applying some of its forward movement speed toward increasing altitude — with ½" movement lifting the vehicle ¼". However, a helicopter which has been diving for speed must offset the dive rate before beginning to climb. The dive rate is reduced by 5 mph for every ½" of "climb." Note: forward speed slows the chopper pull out of a dive.
Example: A diving chopper has gained 35 mph of speed because of the dive, losing 3½" of the dive. But he can't just "stop diving" — he has to "gain altitude" to offset the dive. Pulling out of the dive all in one turn would put too much stress on the copter and tear it apart. A diving helicopter can only pull 1" of movement per turn toward climbing — thus, on a 30-mph dive at the end of the first second, 25 mph at the end of the second, 20 at the end of the third, and so on until it is at level flight at the end of the seventh turn.
Maneuvers
In terms of game mechanics, maneuvering helicopters is just like maneuvering cars. During each of its movement phases, a helicopter player must specify a maneuver for the craft. Each maneuver has its own difficulty class, and reduces the handling status for the turn.
A helicopter's initial handling class is determined by the size of the helicopter, and is modified by the pilot's reflex roll, which is in turn modified by the Helicopter Pilot skill. Pilot +1 adds 1 to the reflex roll, +2 adds 2, etc. Without this skill, a character cannot even start a helicopter, much less fly it. The base HC of a helicopter, plus any bonus the chopper's handling skill is advanced at the end of each turn, just as for other vehicles.
A helicopter can make the following maneuvers:
Move straight ahead. This can be done while climbing or dropping; HC is not adjusted.
Dive. This is a D1 maneuver in any phase during which the chopper moves 2" or more.
Coordinated Turn. This is exactly like a "swerve" for cars, and is a treated like that maneuver.
Veer. This is like a "bend" for cars (see Figure 29; see also Figure 1, p. 7), and can be up to a D3 maneuver.
Shift. This is like a "drift" for cars, and is a D1 maneuver.
Drift. This is also a D3 maneuver, and is similar to the car's "steep drift" (see also Figure 3, p. 8).
Rotate. This is a D2 maneuver for turning in place. It is a fast means of turning around. It can only be done if the chopper is moving 20 mph or less. On each movement phase, the helicopter must move in the direction it had been previously moving, but may rotate it up to 90°. At the end of two phases, it is facing the opposite direction to its original movement (see Fly Backward, below). Helicopters moving 0 mph and 5 mph may as well, rotate 90° each phase.
Fly Backward. This has few tactical advantages except for aerial maneuvering and takeoffs in uncomfortable situations. A helicopter may fly backward up to 20 mph; a helicopter flying backward may perform the same maneuvers described above, at +D1 at 5 or 10 mph, and +D2 at 15 or 20 mph.
These are the only maneuvers helicopters are allowed to attempt. A helicopter cannot do any maneuver greater than a D3.
Tighter maneuvers would subject a helicopter to too much stress and tear it apart.
Helicopters check for control in the same way as other vehicles. Cross-index the handling status of the chopper with its speed on the Control Table. If a control roll is called for, roll the die. If you lose control, add the appropriate modifier from the Control Table and roll on Crash Table 4 (see pp. 11-12).
Hazards
Hazards affect helicopters immediately, as they occur, decreasing the chopper's handling status. Some sample hazards:
Colliding with another aircraft or vehicle: D4.
Enemy fire, doing 1 to 5 points of damage: D1.
Enemy fire, doing 6 to 9 points of damage: D2.
Enemy fire, doing 10 or more points of damage: D3.
Stabilizing rotor destroyed or failed: D4.
Pilot injured or killed: D4.
Crashing
Helicopters crash in two ways. One is simply to lose control; the other is to run into something (whether flying horizontally or falling vertically). Crash Table 4 — Helicopters refers to the first. (Of course, you will eventually hit something!)
Free-Fall Damage Table
| Time Elapsed | Distance | Total Distance | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st second | 2 ¼" | 2 ¼" | 20 mph |
| 2nd second | 4 ¼" | 6 ½" | 45 mph |
| 3rd second | 6 ½" | 13" | 65 mph |
| 4th second | 8 ½" | 21 ½" | 85 mph |
| 5th second | 10 ¾" | 32 ¼" | 110 mph |
| 6th second | 12 ¾" | 45" | 125 mph |
| 7th second | 15" | 60" | 150 mph |
| 8th second | 17" | 77" | 170 mph |
| 9th second | 19 ¼" | 96 ¼" | 190 mph |
| 10th second | 21 ¼" | 117 ¼" | 215 mph |
It is highly unlikely that a helicopter will be higher than 117", but if it happens, extrapolate from the chart. Note that unless a helicopter is flying level or climbing when it enters free fall, there will be additional downward speed in the collision. If a chopper was already diving 3½" a turn (35 mph), when the free fall collision speed is figured, round to the lower speed if the distance fallen between two of the "Total Distance" numbers.
Example: Trying to pull out of a too-steep dive, a helicopter fails its control roll badly and loses its rotors. At the moment the rotors were lost, it was traveling downward at a speed of 30 mph and was 14" off the ground. On the table above, "14" is between 21 ¼" and 13", so we use the "13"" line — when the chopper hits the ground, it will have a free-fall speed of 65 mph. Then and in the chopper's downward speed of 30 mph, and we get a collision with the ground at 95 mph. This is likely to hurt!
Rotor Failure
Any time a helicopter crashes or performs a stressful maneuver as indicated on Crash Table 4 (pp. 11-12), a Rotor Check must be made. There is the possibility that the rotors will fail — breaking, in the case of a maneuver, or snapping off, in the case of a collision. A spinning rotor blade will do 4d damage to whatever it hits.
If a helicopter's engine fails but its rotors are still intact, it has a chance of descending safely. Forward momentum slows by 5 mph/turn, and the copter drops ½"/turn. The helicopter player must roll on Crash Table 4 at the beginning of every turn.
3. Combat
Combat may occur during any phase, after movement. To attack, a player simply announces that he is firing, and names the weapon being fired and its target.
Results of all attacks during a phase are applied simultaneously. The referee may wish to have players declare fire secretly, by writing their fire/no fire order down on a slip of paper and handing it to him, or by some other method.
A given weapon may never fire more than once per turn. A given character may never fire more than once per turn, unless he does so by triggering linked weapons.
Rate of Fire
Usually, the above restrictions mean that each vehicle will only fire once per turn. Exceptions occur when (a) a weapon is on "automatic," (b) a vehicle has additional occupants, such as gunners, who may also fire, or (c) linked weapons are used.
General Combat Procedure
Briefly, the procedure for resolving a normal weapon attack is (a) make sure that there is a line-of-fire from the weapon to the target; (b) roll 2 dice to see if the weapon hits (see Determining Hits, below); (c) if the weapon hits, determine damage location and amount (see Damage, p. 30); (d) alter the vehicle's handling status and/or place debris or obstacle counters if required. Dropped weapons are an exception to the above and are discussed on pp. 32-33. All damage for the phase is resolved simultaneously at the end of the phase.
Line of Fire
To fire at a given target, there must be a line of fire (LOF) from the firing counter's center (for a turret weapon) or middle of the side where the weapon is located (for other weapons) to some part of the counter representing the target. Buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, etc., block LOF; debris and obstacles do not.
Furthermore, the LOF must be traced within the arc of fire for that weapon position. Arcs of fire for vehicle weapons are shown in the diagram below. Pedestrians and turret weapons have a 360-degree arc of fire. Hand weapons fired from a car, truck or sidecar have a right or left arc of fire, depending on which side they're fired from; hand weapons fired by a cycle passenger have a 360-degree arc of fire.
Car Targeting
Targeting is choosing what you're going to shoot at — whether it's this side of a vehicle or a specific part, like a tire.
A car has front, back, right, left, top and underbody "sides." When you fire at a vehicle, you can only hit a side that is facing you. Unless the target car is lined up exactly perpendicular to you, you will be able to choose between two sides. However, if you are at a particular side's arc of fire you may attack that side with no penalty. If the firing vehicle is on the dividing line between two of a target vehicle's arcs of fire, you may target either side without penalty. If you target a side which you have line of fire without being in the target side's arc of fire, you suffer a penalty of -2 to your to-hit roll. If you choose which side you wish to target. If you score a hit, any damage you do will be taken by that part of the vehicle (see Damage Location, p. 30).
You can never target a vehicle's underbody with normal weapons (note: underbody is a relative term — if a car has rolled and is sitting on its left side, that side is now the "underbody"). The underbody is automatically the target of a mine.
A vehicle's tires may be targeted. Each tire is a separate target; subtract 3 from the to-hit roll when shooting at tires.
A vehicle's turret may be targeted. All top armor protects weapons in the turret. If a vehicle has no turret, the top can only be hit if something is dropped (or fired) from above or if the vehicle rolls. Targeting a turret is at a -2.
Cycle Targeting
Compared to a car, a cycle is a small target, but every part is exposed. Therefore, after firing on and hitting a cycle, roll on the table below. Only one component of a cycle can be hit in each attack — the rest the damage passes through the sides and has no effect, unless it has a sidecar on the opposite side. In this case, roll 1 die. If the number rolled is equal to, or less than the number of spaces the sidecar has, it is hit. Otherwise the damage passes out harmlessly.
Attacking from front or rear — Roll 2 dice. On 2 to 10, hit armor (if the armor is gone, roll against the "side" table below for remaining damage). On an 11 or 12, hit the exposed wheel.
Attacking from the side — Roll 2 dice. On 2 to 5, hit the driver; 6 or 7, the power plant; 8 to 10, a weapon. Roll randomly if the cycle has more than one weapon; roll again if there are none. On 11 or 12, hit a tire — roll randomly to see which one.
Sidecar targeting — A sidecar can only be hit from the side on which it is mounted. Imagine a line running lengthwise down the center of the cycle counter — if you're on the same side of the line the sidecar is on (or on the line), you can shoot at it. If you're not, you can't. Targeting a sidecar carries a -2 penalty to your to-hit roll. If you're just shooting at the cycle as a whole and you are on the sidecar side, roll 1 die. On a 1 to 4, the cycle was hit; use the tables above. On a 5 or 6, the sidecar was hit.
Treat a sidecar as a tiny automobile, with armor in front, back, underbody, and both sides. It has one wheel (plus some small coaster-type wheels for stability if it ever rolls free), maybe one or two weapons, and possibly a rider. Once armor on part of the sidecar is lost, any further hits on the exposed area has an equal chance of hitting each of the interior components.
Trike Targeting
Because trikes are low to the ground, their tops can be fired upon. Any attacker can choose to fire at the top of a trike if he has a line of sight on the front or either side. (A trike's top cannot be hit from behind, but its turret can be targeted.) Because the top is steeply sloped, any attack at the top is at an additional -2 to hit. Thus, for example, a shot at the top of a light trike (see table, p. 29) from the front would be at a -5, plus a minus any other modifiers that may be in effect. However, if a trike has a turret, any successful hit on the top armor strikes the turret automatically with no further penalty.
When a trike is struck in the front by armor fire, roll 2 dice. On 11 or 12, the front wheel is hit. Any remaining damage after the armor is destroyed will affect internal components in the same way as cars are affected (see Damage Location, pp. 30-31).
For reversed trikes, all the above holds true — just reverse "front" and "back." The only exception is that an attacker still cannot hit the top of a reversed trike from behind, as the back is still the highest part of the trike.
| Firer is in Target's | Front arc | Back arc | Side arc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front arc | ½ Target Speed | ½ (Target Speed - F Speed) | ½ Target Speed |
| Back arc | ½ (Target Speed - F Speed) | ½ Target Speed | ½ Target Speed |
| Side arc | Target Speed | Target Speed | Target Speed - F Speed* |
* If cars are moving towards each other, the modifier is the target speed. If a vehicle is in more than one arc, rule in the defenders' favor.
Vehicle Targets
Compact or Subcompact: -1
Car: -1 from front or rear
Motorcycle or Sidecar: -2 from front, side, -3 from front or rear
Trike (any size): -2 from top
Light Trike: -3 from front/back, -2 from side
Medium Trike: -2 from front/back, -1 from side
Heavy Trike: -1 from front/back, -1 from side
X-Heavy Trike: -1 from front/back, no penalty from side
Ten-Wheeler Carrier: -2 from front
Ten-Wheeler Cab or Carrier: +1 from side
Mini-Bus or Tractor: +1 from side
Trailer or Bus: +2 from side
One-Man Helicopter: -1 from front/back, +1 everywhere else
Small Helicopter: -1 from front/back, +1 everywhere else
Standard Helicopter: +2 from top, bottom or side
Transport Helicopter: +2 from top, bottom or side
Rowboat: +2 from side, -3 from back, -4 from front
Dinghy: -1 from back, -2 from front
Speedboat: -1 from front
Cruiser: +1 from back
Yacht: +3 from side, +1 from front/back
One-Man Hover: -1 from side, -2 from front/back
Small or Standard Hover: -1 from side
Large Hover: +1 from side
Small Cargo Hover: +2 from side, +1 from front/back
Cargo Hover: +3 from side, +2 from front/back
Specific Target
Pedestrian: -3
Pedestrian in water (head and shoulders above surface): -5
Pedestrian swimming: -4
Vehicle Tire: -3
Hover Fan or Skirt: -2
Turret: -2
Motorcycle Rider (from side only): -3
Tractor's Fifth Wheel: -5
Legs of a Semi-Trailer: -6
Lamppost: +10
Building: +10
Helicopter Skid or Winch Cable: -3
Helicopter Pontoon: -3
Helicopter Rotor: -3
Searchlight: -3
Tongue on Unattached Car Trailer: -5
Tongue on Attached Car Trailer: -3
Unattached Hitch to Pull Car Trailer: -5
Attached Hitch to Pull Car Trailer: -7
Radar- or Wire-Guided Missile in flight: -6 for target vehicle, -10 for everyone else
Ejection Seat during launch: -6
Ejection Seat landing via parachute: -2
Determining Hits
When a normal weapon (anything but a dropped or gas weapon) is fired, the attacking player rolls 2 dice to see if his target has hit. He must make the to-hit roll to hit or better for that weapon (see Weapon List, pp. 34-35). To hit with a machine gun, a player would need to roll a 7 or better on 2 dice.
Targeting Modifiers
Accuracy is affected by a number of factors, including the skill of the firer, range, weather, and size and speed of the target. Consult the following list, and add all the factors that apply to the to-hit roll. All modifiers are cumulative.
For example, a machine gun has a base to-hit roll of 7. If the firer was using a targeting computer (+1) at point-blank range (+4) and was trying to hit the tire (-3) of a cycle (2) at night (-3), the firer now needs to roll a 10 or better. No matter what the roll needed, a roll of 12 is not an automatic hit. If, after all modifiers, a target needs a 13 or higher to hit, he cannot hit the target, but may still fire for sustained fire bonuses.
If a driver has made a maneuver or suffered a hazard in the phase he fires a weapon, the difficulty rating of the maneuver or hazard is subtracted from his to-hit roll.
When trying to hit a vehicle with a weapon's burst effect, or trying to place a burst of fire in front of a vehicle, the attacker suffers the speed penalty as if the attacker were targeting at the vehicle itself. Use common sense; the referee has the final say. If the to-hit roll is missed while targeting the ground or wall near an enemy, use the grenade scatter rules to determine where the shot actually hit.
Targeting Modifiers Table
Range
Point Blank (less than 1" away): +4
Long Range: -1 for every full 4"; that is, 4" to 7.99" is -1, 8" to 11.99" is -2, 12" to 15.99" is -3, etc.
Movement
Target is not moving: +1
Firer is not moving: +1
Firing pedestrian is braced against solid object: +1
Target is moving between 30 and 37.5 mph: -1
Target is moving between 40 and 47.5 mph: -2
Target is moving between 50 and 57.5 mph: -3
Target is moving between 60 and 67.5 mph: -4
Target is moving between 70 and 77.5 mph: -5
Target is moving 80 mph or faster: -6
Visibility
Firing through smoke or paint: -1 per ½"
Rain: -2
Heavy rain, fog or night: -3
Target under cover of rubble: -4
Firer blinded by searchlight: -10
Miscellaneous
Targeting Computer used: +1
Hi-Res Computer used: +2
Cyberlink used: +3
Gunner Skill: equal to skill level bonus
Handgunner Skill: equal to skill level bonus
Laser Scope: +1 when mounted on a hand weapon
Firing while on Oil, Gravel or Bad Road: -1
Sustained Fire: second consecutive shot in as many turns at same target with same weapon: +1; third and subsequent shots: +2
Attacking vehicle is Remote-Controlled: -3
Attacking vehicle does a Trivial Skid or Minor Fishtail: -3 for the remainder of the turn
Attacking vehicle does a Minor or Moderate Skid or Major Fishtail: -6 for the remainder of the turn
Attacker not in arc of fire of target side: -2
Hazard or maneuver in same phase: penalty equal to D rating
Damage
When a weapon hits, calculate the amount of damage by rolling the number of dice shown on the Weapon List (pp. 34-35). The result is the number of hits taken by the target.
Burst Effect
Weapons that do additional burst-effect damage are identified on the Weapon List. In addition to the listed damage to whatever was hit, burst-effect weapons do 1d damage to any pedestrian under cover (behind an intact wall or vehicle) within 2" radius (armor, tires, etc.) in a ½" radius. No other burst-effect weapon will affect walls or vehicles (including tires) with its burst effect. Reason: The other burst-effect weapons are shaped charges, exploding upwards (in the case of a mine) or into the target (in the case of other weapons), and the burst effect is merely a bonus, not strong enough to harm armored vehicles or vehicular components.
Area Effect
Weapons which may be used against pedestrians in an area effect are identified on the Weapon List. These are weapons that can sweep an area. When using such a weapon against several pedestrians within 1" of one another, the firer may attempt to hit several at once. He must make as many to-hit rolls as there are intended victims. This determines how many he hits, but not who — that is determined by the defender, who must pick pedestrians who are standing next to each other. If the potential victims belong to more than one player, they must agree which victims are hit. If they cannot agree, the attacker chooses the victims!
Those who are hit take half the damage rolled for the weapon (round up). Exception: The flamethrower and heavy-duty FT do full damage against all targets!
Example: Four pedestrians are standing in a line 1" long; people this dim should be removed from the gene pool, an intrepid duellist decides to deep-fry them with his laser. He fires, and rolls two hits and two misses. The duellist player controlling the pedestrians designates the two on the right. The duellist rolls a 13 on 3 dice, so each victim receives 7 points of damage (half of 13, rounded up) and is torched.
Recording Damage
Each vehicle component can take a certain amount of damage, shown as "DP" (damage points) on the Weapon List, Accessories List and Vehicle Design List. Armor is lost a point at a time; if you start with 12 points of armor on the front of your car, and it takes 7 hits, you have 5 points left. Other components work at full efficiency until they take their full amount of DP — then they're gone. A machine gun (3DP) can take 2 hits and still work, but the hits are recorded in the boxes on the Vehicle Record. When that gun takes a third hit, it is destroyed. You can repair damage yourself, using the Mechanic skill (see pp. 41-42), or you can pay for repairs (see p. 55).
Damage Location
The location of weapon damage is controlled by the part of the vehicle that was hit. Damage is taken by the components in that part of the target, outermost first. Armor is destroyed first. When all armor is gone, the next component inward is hit, and so on. Components in each area of a car or truck, in the order they are hit by an attack from that side, are:
Front: Front armor; (front-firing weapons); front motor; (driver or gunner); cargo; back motor; (back-firing weapons); back armor.
Back: As above, but in reverse order: Back armor first, etc.
Right: As above, but in reverse order: (right-firing weapons); (gunner, driver, cargo or motor); (left-firing weapons); left armor.
Left: As above, but in reverse order: Right armor, left armor, etc.
Underbody: Underbody armor; (motor, driver, gunner or cargo); turret weapons; top armor. Tires may also take damage.
Top: As above, but in reverse order.
Turret: Top armor, then turret weapons. If the turret is targeted, the fire pass over the car, hitting nothing else.
Tires: Targeted tire/wheel only. "Leftover" hits have no effect.
Many vehicles will not have every component listed. If a component is not present, just skip it! Few cars will have both front and rear power plants (motor); many will have no gunner, turret or cargo. Passengers count as cargo. For a more complete guide, refer to the Vehicle Record Sheet example on p. 3, which has components in most of the possible locations. In case of a dispute, the referee's decision is final.
After going through armor and weapons mounted to the appropriate sides, there are three (and only three) possible internal locations. These are crew compartment, power plant, and cargo. Power plant is your primary power plant or gas engine. Crew compartment is any driver, gunner or passenger — any human being in the car. Cargo is everything else. These three locations may be placed in any order from front to back (not side by side). The locations of drivers, gunners and passengers must be stated for determining their firing arcs.
When a weapon penetrates from the front and back, the damage goes to each internal location in order. Only one actual item in each location can be damaged by a single shot. When a weapon penetrates from the side, roll randomly to see which of the three locations is hit. Re-roll for any nonexistent location. A location that is destroyed (such as a destroyed PP) is still a location which damage can hit and pass through it. A car with unused space does have a cargo location, even if it doesn't have any actual cargo. A cupola gunner is not the turret gunner, and is hit for their firing arcs.
For vehicles with ten armor locations, each section (front and back) may have a separate cargo and crew compartment area.
Note that some weapons cannot be hit by certain attacks. There is no way, for example, to damage a front-firing weapon by an attack from the right — though you can hit it from behind by shooting through the car. Corner-mounted dropped weapons are considered to be on both applicable sides.
Where two or three components are listed in parentheses, only one will be hit by each attack. Roll randomly for each separate attack to see which one is hit.
Example: A mine explosion that penetrated the underbody armor would affect either the motor, driver, gunner or cargo — but only one. If that component took enough hits to destroy it completely, further damage from that explosion would go directly to the turret weapon or, if there was none, to the top armor. A subsequent mine explosion might get a previously-unhit target, or the last in the same place, bypassing the other internal targets, and hits the turret or top again.
Similarly, if a vehicle takes "front-weapon" damage and has two or more front weapons, roll randomly for each attack to see which of the weapons is hit. If there are more front weapons than weapon slots, each attack goes "inward," not "sideways" to other front weapons.
Collision Damage
Damage from a collision is handled differently. It is divided evenly among all exposed (i.e., "outside") components on the affected side. For instance, if a car with two front MGs had no front armor left, and took 3 points of damage from enemy fire, you would roll randomly to see which MG took the 3 hits. However, if that same car took 3 points of collision damage to the front, it would be divided evenly between the exposed systems (the weapons) — 2 hits on one and 1 on the other. Thus, collision damage cannot penetrate to the interior of a vehicle until all armor on that side, and all components "outside" on the side are affected, have been completely destroyed. Corner-mounted dropped weapons are considered to be on both applicable sides. A rear-right-corner armor/screen would count toward right-side and rear-end collisions when determining damage.
Metal armor is 3 times more effective than the listed value against collision damage; 1 point of armor is lost for every 3 points of damage absorbed (rounded up), and the most points the armor can lose on that side is half the total on the side involved in the wreck (rounded up).
Example: A vehicle with 8 points of metal armor hits a brick wall at a pretty good clip, and 7d of damage are rolled, yielding 29. The armor will stop up to 3 times its value in the interior of the vehicle for the collision, so if the car survives, it will still have 4 points (half the original value of armor on the front). In a collision from the front or the back, damage is divided by the number of individual items in that internal location (power plant, crew or cargo) and applied separately. Any remaining damage goes to the next location. In a side collision, the damage is first divided by the number of internal locations and then is divided equally among the items in each location. Empty cargo space (or a previously destroyed location) counts as a location — all of its damage just passes through to the opposite side.
Combat Results
Injury to Drivers
Most humans have 3 DP; they are wounded by the first hit, knocked unconscious by the second, and killed by the third. Standard body armor, when worn, also has 3 DP. Body armor takes damage first, effectively doubling a character's hit points.
Hits taken by a driver's body armor are no hazard, but if a vehicle's driver is wounded or killed, it is a D2 hazard. A wounded crew member's skills are at -2. When a vehicle's driver is unconscious, dead or stunned, all Driver skill and reflex bonuses are lost until the driver recovers (if possible).
Uncontrolled Vehicles
If a motorcyclist's driver is killed or knocked unconscious, the cycle goes to Crash Table 1 immediately, and 4 to its roll. Any passengers must jump or suffer the consequences of the roll. Any other vehicle (including a cycle with a sidecar) will continue in a straight line if the driver is incapacitated. It decelerates 5 mph each turn, moving in a straight line until it stops or hits something.
Substitute Drivers
If a cycle's driver is incapacitated, a sidecar passenger can steer the cycle, but cannot use the brakes or accelerate. He is any way, but not on any turn that he steers the cycle.
If a larger vehicle's driver is incapacitated, a front-seat passenger or gunner may attempt to take control. (Note: No vehicle may have more than two seats in front.) He may operate vehicle controls, or the weapons, but not both in the same time. Each maneuver he makes has an extra D2 of difficulty.
If a driverless vehicle can be stopped, it will take 5 turns (25 seconds) to push the late driver out or off and move any other occupant of the vehicle in as a new driver. On the 6th turn, the new driver may start to accelerate and/or fire.
Fire and Explosion
A vehicle which crashes may catch fire (see Crash Tables, Chapter 2). A vehicle hit in combat may also catch fire from certain weapons (see below), or on a 2 in 6 chance on any turn that the vehicle's power plant is destroyed, flamethrowers or flaming oil jets are hit by enemy fire, 4 in 6 chance if those items take damage from laser, flame, incendiary, incendiary ammo or flaming oil jet fire.
Vehicular Fire Table
| Weapon | Fire Modifier | Burn Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Flamethrower | 4 | 3 |
| Heavy-Duty Flamethrower | 5 | 3 |
| Portable Flamethrower | 3 | 2 |
| Light Flamethrower | 2 | 3 |
| High-Temp FT Ammunition | +1 | 1 (only) |
| Flaming Oil Jet | 3 | 2 |
| Heavy-Duty Flaming Oil Jet | 3 | 2 |
| Machine Gun Incendiary Ammo | 2 | 1 |
| Rocket Launcher Incendiary Ammo | 3 | 2 |
| MML Incendiary Ammo | 2 | 1 |
| Incendiary Mini-Rocket | 1 | 0 |
| Incendiary Light Rocket | 2 | 1 |
| Incendiary Medium Rocket | 3 | 2 |
| Incendiary HR/WGM/RGM/Stinger | 4 | 3 |
| Incendiary MFR | ½ (6) | 1 |
| Light Laser | 0 | 0 |
| Medium Laser | 0 | 0 |
| Laser | 1 | 0 |
| Heavy Laser | 2 | 0 |
| Twin Laser | 1 | 0 |
| Napalm Mine | 4 | 3 |
| Flame Cloud Ejector | 3 | 1 |
| Heavy-Duty Flame Cloud Ejector | 3 | 1 |
| Flame Cloud Gas Streamer | 3 | 1 |
Gas-burning vehicles are likelier to ignite. They catch fire on a 1 in 6 if the engine takes 5+ points of damage on a single turn; 2 in 6 chance if the engine takes more than half its total DP in a single turn; 2 in 6 on a "Fuel System" result from the Engine Critical Damage Table (p. 53); 3 in 6 if an economy or heavy-duty gas tank is breached; 2 in 6 if a racing or duelling gas tank is breached. Add 1 to these if the damage came from an incendiary weapon, ammo or flaming oil.
If a vehicle has a fire extinguisher, there is a 3 in 6 chance the fire will go out at the end of each turn (4 in 6 if the vehicle has an improved fire extinguisher). If the extinguisher does not put the fire out at the end of the turn, the fire does one hit of damage to each occupant (body armor will take damage), tires, and each vehicle component (including tires), and the armor on each part of the car. If the car has a gas engine, the chance of a fire extinguisher putting out the fire is 2 in 6 for a fire extinguisher, 3 in 6 for an IFE, or 1 in 6 for a portable fire extinguisher.
A burning vehicle may explode if it contains a gas engine, any type of flamethrower, flaming oil jet, any type of rocket or missile system, AT gun or tank gun. If the fire is not extinguished, roll 1 die at the end of each turn. On a roll of 1, the vehicle explodes, scattering debris. All occupants are killed immediately. Pedestrians or vehicles within 2" take 1d damage to the exposed side (if there are two exposed sides), the owner picks which side takes the damage). If the vehicle has both a gas engine and any of the volatile weapons mentioned above, the chance of explosion is 2 in 6.
If a vehicle's fire catches on fire, but the vehicle has FP armor, the car will not catch on fire. The fire will continue to burn, however, and fire extinguishers (except a PFE) have the normal chance of putting the fire out as outlined above.
The sequence of rolls is as follows. If the vehicle has taken damage that could cause a fire, roll at the end of the turn to see if fire breaks out. If fire breaks out, and the vehicle has a fire extinguisher, then roll to see if the fire extinguisher succeeds at this point, no damage is taken from the fire. If the fire extinguisher fails (or the target didn't have one), each vehicle component takes one hit of damage as outlined above. If the fire is still burning after the roll, then make one more roll for possible explosion as outlined above.
Starting Fires
Every weapon that has a chance to set a vehicle on fire is rated on the Vehicular Fire Table (p. 31) for two factors: "Fire Modifier" and "Burn Duration." Fire Modifier is the number the attacker must roll (or roll under) to set the target vehicle on fire. Burn Duration is the number of turns after the initial hit the Fire Modifier is in effect. Any hit to a gas engine adds +2 to the Fire Modifier, and any breach to a gas tank adds +3. All Fire Modifiers are cumulative.
Example: On turn one, our intrepid duellist shot on fire, using the FT has a fire modifier of 4, so the attacker must roll 4 or less on 2 dice to set the target vehicle on fire. He rolls 11, which isn't very close. The next turn, the flamethrower misses, but our hero gets hit by a laser. The laser has a fire modifier of 1, but this is also the first turn of the flamethrower's 3-turn burn duration — that's 4 more for a total of 5. The attacker, needing a 5 or less to start a fire, rolls a 6 — tough luck.
On the third turn, the flamethrower misses again, but the laser hits for the second time, and our hero drives through some flaming oil. The modifiers are 1 (for the laser) plus 3 (for the FT's burn duration), for a total of 8. The attacker, needing only to roll 8 or less, comes up with a 7. Our hero's on fire — let's hope he has a fire extinguisher!
Fireproof armor (p. 50) remains just that — fireproof — under these rules. If fireproof armor is breached and damage is taken by a power plant, flaming oil jet, or flamethrower takes damage, determine the chance of fire as above.
Odds and Ends
Automatic Fire
If a weapon is placed on "automatic," it will fire each turn until it runs out of ammo or is taken off automatic. Putting a weapon on automatic is firing a action, so it takes all firing action. Letting it fire during the intervening turns is not a firing action. If you have a weapon on automatic that turn, you may fire an additional weapon that turn.
This advantage, however, is offset by the inaccuracy of automatic fire. A weapon on automatic is not being aimed by the driver or anything else. It fires straight ahead (or behind, or to the side, depending on where it's mounted). A weapon in a turret cannot be put on automatic. A weapon on automatic can not target an opposing vehicle's tire, turret or any other specific target, nor does it benefit from targeting computers. Putting a weapon on automatic breaks sustained fire, and subsequent automatic-fire shots do not get a sustained fire bonus.
When a vehicle lays down automatic fire, calculate the attack from that weapon at the end of all movement for that turn. Draw an imaginary line straight out from the middle of the side the automatic weapon is on. If a target (vehicle, pedestrian, building) crosses that line, figure all the standard modifiers and roll the dice. Putting a weapon on automatic is very effective for doing property damage and dealing with large groups of opponents; if you're duelling just one or two other vehicles, automatic fire is probably a waste of ammo. Dropped and gas weapons are very useful as automatic fire (see below).
Dropped Weapons
Minedroppers, Spikedroppers, Oil Jets, and Flaming Oil Jets are dropped weapons. Dropped weapons do not require to-hit rolls. The counter is aligned with the car. Where the front of the counter is placed depends on where the weapon is mounted.
Front: Centered, aligned with the front of the car.
Front-Corner: As front, but ½" off to the side.
Underbody: Centered, with the counter from the center of the car.
Top: Same as underbody.
Side: As underbody, but ½" off to the side.
Back: Centered, aligned with the rear of the car.
Back-Corner: As back, but ½" off to the side.
If the car is moving in reverse, reverse the "front" and "back" designations above.
If the car is stationary, rear-mounted weapons remain the same, side-mounted weapons are placed straight out from the side of the car, front weapons are placed straight out from the front of the car, top/underbody weapons are centered on the car, and corner-mounted weapons are placed diagonally out from the corners.
If the weapon is in a turret, the counter may be placed as if it were mounted in any of the above locations.
The smoke cloud from the flamethrower is always aligned along the line of fire.
A gas streamer on automatic is placed straight out from its location, or at a 45° angle for a corner mount. A gas streamer in a turret may fire at any angle.
If a dropped weapon is put on automatic, a counter of the appropriate type is placed behind the vehicle every phase the vehicle moves. It will continue to do this until it runs out of ammo or is taken off automatic. If a vehicle is not moving, a dropped weapon on automatic will not fire once per turn.
The counters for mines and spikes show approximately where they are. If a vehicle crosses a tire-spike counter, roll 1 die. On a roll of 1 to 4, each tire takes 1d damage. If a vehicle crosses any square adjacent to the counter (see diagram on p. 32), roll 1 die; on a 1 or 2, the tire takes 1d damage. Spikes will stay on the road until they are picked up, or the vehicle drives away from spikes thrown.
Mine counters work the same way, except that if any wheel of a vehicle crosses the counter, the mines will go off on a roll of 1 to 4. If the vehicle only crosses an adjacent square, the mines explode on a 1 or 2. Each tire within 1" of any edge of the mine counter takes 1d damage, and the underbody of the vehicle that set the mines off takes 2d damage. The Spear 1000 mine works the same way, except that tires only take 1d-3 points of damage, while the underbody takes 2d+3! After a quantity of mines has been set off, the counter is removed.
Mines may also be remote controlled, by radio or by cable. Setting off mines in this way counts as firing action, and the mines go off when you want them to. If you want mines that will go off either by remote control or when they're run over, double the cost.
An oil slick is defined by the edge of the counter. When any part of a vehicle crosses an oil slick counter, it adds D2 to the difficulty of any maneuver attempted; it also adds D2 to the severity of any hazard encountered (such as enemy fire). It is not a hazard in itself. Flaming oil slicks are a D1 when driven over and add a D2 to any maneuver or hazard and also cause damage to the underbody and tires, as described in the individual weapon descriptions. Oil slicks last indefinitely, but flaming oil disappears after five turns.
Each vehicle checks only once for each counter — on the phase it first runs over the counter, or (if it's just going to touch the adjacent square area) the first phase it enters an adjacent square. Of course, if the vehicle returns to the counter's location, it will have to roll again.
For dropped liquids and dropped gases that do damage to a vehicle, roll for damage to the vehicle every five phases that the vehicle remains in contact with the damaging substance.
Paint and Smoke
Paint and smoke may be delivered by rear-mounted or side-mounted weapons (see diagrams below). Do not try to line up a cloud with the grid lines. Orient it according to the vehicle's position. Smokescreens and paint clouds remain stationary. The life of a smoke cloud is once a minute (or your paint spray is once a second). Remove it at the end of the turn after the shot is fired.
Any vehicle trying to trace a line of fire through paint or smoke must subtract 1 from its to-hit roll for each ½" of cloud in the way. Lasers cannot fire through smoke or paint at all.
When a smokescreen or paint spray is placed on automatic, it fires once every phase the vehicle moves, or once every other phase for HD devices. This produces a continuous line of paint or smoke counters. It will continue to do so until it runs out of ammo or is taken off automatic. If the vehicle is not moving, a smokescreen or paint spray on automatic fires once per turn.
Tear gas can be loaded in a smokescreen (CPS 50, WPS 1). Tear gas affects targeting the same way regular smoke does, as well as having serious effects on any unprotected pedestrians (for a full description of tear gas, see the Grenade rules on p. 48).
Any vehicle which comes into contact with a paint cloud gets paint on its windows. The vehicle will make all to-hit rolls at a -2 for the rest of that turn and any more turns after that; the windshield washers will have cleaned it off. Both paint and smoke are available in just about any color.
Linked Weapons
Another way to get more firepower per turn out of your vehicle is to link weapons. A weapons link costs $50, and has no space or weight requirements. Two or more identical weapons firing from the same side (or in a turret) may be linked, aimed, and fired together. It is not necessary for linked weapons to be fired together — a link is essentially a third button, in addition to the first two, but then both weapons fire simultaneously. You can still press one of the first two buttons for a single weapon, if you want.
When linked weapons are fired, make a separate to-hit roll for each linked weapon. All modifiers — negative or positive — that affect one linked weapon affect them all, including targeting computers, gunner skill and range.
Links can themselves be linked, provided all the weapons are identical. Four heavy rockets, linked in pairs that are also linked, gives the firer a number of options — fire any one, either of two pairs, or fire them all — at any time. Only identical weapons may be linked and aimed together. Weapons of the same family (a machine gun and a Vulcan MG, or a heavy rocket and a medium rocket) cannot be linked for full effect.
Weapons that are not identical can be linked, but only can be aimed together. The other weapon(s) are treated as if they are on automatic (except they fire when the button is pushed, and not at the end of the turn). The firer can pick which weapon he wishes to aim, and to aim, and the second weapon will be treated as automatic (above the rules on automatic fire). If two identical weapons are linked together, and the third is dissimilar, when the third is targeted, it will be treated as if it were on automatic.
Weapons with a turret cannot be linked and aimed together in the main body of the vehicle, or in another turret, unless the weapons are smart-linked ($500). Any type of dropped weapon or paint/smoke weapon can be linked with anything, with no penalty, but they do not require to-hit rolls.
A common tactic is to link a number of minedroppers and smokescreens together to discourage pursuit.
Any number of weapons can be linked together with one link. For example, a pair of rear-mounted minedroppers can be linked to a spikedropper mounted on the sides, all to fire at the same time as the turreted machine gun. This requires a single link; when it is triggered, all five weapons must fire. If you just want the two spikedroppers to fire, that requires another link. The same is true for the two minedroppers.
Weapon List (Quick Reference)
Columns: Abbr. (abbreviation) — Effect — To Hit — Dam. (damage) — DP (damage points) — Cost — Wt. (weight) — Spc. (space) — Shots — CPS (cost per shot) — WPS (weight per shot) — L.$ (loaded cost) — L.Wt (loaded weight) — Mag.$ (magazine cost) — Mag.Wt (magazine weight).
Small-Bore Projectile Weapons
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Gun | MG | area | 7 | 1d | 3 | 1,000 | 150 | 1 | 20 | 25 | 2.5 | 1,500 | 200 | 550 | 65 |
| HD ammo | — | — | — | 1d+1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 50 | 5 | 2,000 | 250 | 1,050 | 115 |
| Incendiary | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 20 | 37.5 | 2.5 | 1,750 | 200 | 800 | 65 |
| Antipersonnel | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 20 | 125 | 2.5 | 3,500 | 200 | 2,550 | 65 |
| Explosive | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 20 | 25 | 2.5 | 3,000 | 200 | 1,050 | 115 |
| ¼" radius | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vulcan MG | VMG | area | 6 | 2d | 3 | 2,000 | 350 | 2 | 20 | 35 | 5 | 3,400 | 450 | 750 | 115 |
| HD ammo | — | — | — |
Large-Bore Projectile Weapons
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bomb | B | 2" radius | 9 | 4d | 2 | 100 | 100 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 100 | 100 | — | — |
| Cluster Bomb | CB | 3" radius | 9 | 2d | 2 | 200 | 150 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 200 | 150 | — | — |
| Starshell Launcher | SL | — | — | 500 | 100 | 1 | 5 | 50 | 25 | 750 | 125 | 300 | 40 | ||
| Spike Gun | SG | 1" × 1" | 7 | 1d | 2 | 750 | 150 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 10 | 1,150 | 250 | 450 | 115 |
| Grenade Launcher | GL | 2" radius | 7 | 1d | 2 | 1,000 | 200 | 2 | — | 4 | 1,000+ | 240 | 50+ | 55 | |
| Anti-Tank Gun | ATG | 2" radius | 8 | 3d | 5 | 2,000 | 600 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 10 | 2,500 | 700 | 550 | 115 |
| HEAT ammo | — | — | — | 3d+3 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 75 | 10 | 2,750 | 700 | 800 | 115 |
| APFSDS ammo | — | — |
Rockets
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini Rocket | MNR | ½" radius | 9 | 1d-1 | 1 | 50 | 20 | ⅓ | — | — | — | 50 | 20 | * | * |
| Light Rocket | LtR | 1" radius | 9 | 1d | 1 | 75 | 25 | ½ | — | — | — | 75 | 25 | — | — |
| Medium Rocket | MR | 2" radius | 9 | 2d | 2 | 140 | 50 | 1 | — | — | — | 140 | 50 | — | — |
| Heavy Rocket | HR | 2" radius | 9 | 3d | 2 | 200 | 100 | 1 | — | — | — | 200 | 100 | — | — |
| Anti-Power-Plant Rocket | APPR | 1" radius | 9 | 1d-1* | 1 | 500 | 100 | 1 | — | — | — | 500 | 40 | — | — |
| Surface-to-Air Missile | SAM | 2" radius | 6/11 | 4d | 3 | 500 | 150 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 500 | 150 | * | — |
| Radar-Guided Missile | RGM | 2" radius | 7 | 3d | 1 | 3,000 | 100 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 4,000 | 200 | * | — |
| Wire-Guided Missile |
Lasers
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeting Laser | TL | — | 6 | — | 1 | 1,000 | 50 | 0 | — | — | — | 1,000 | 50 | * | * |
| Light Laser | LL | area | 6 | 1d | 2 | 3,000 | 200 | 1 | — | — | — | 3,000 | 200 | — | — |
| Medium Laser | ML | area | 6 | 2d | 2 | 5,500 | 350 | 2 | — | — | — | 5,500 | 350 | — | — |
| Laser | L | area | 6 | 3d | 2 | 8,000 | 500 | 2 | — | — | — | 8,000 | 500 | — | — |
| Twin Laser | TwL | area | 6 | 2d+6 | 3 | 10,000 | 750 | 2 | — | — | — | 10,000 | 750 | — | — |
| Heavy Laser | HL | area | 6 | 4d | 2 | 12,000 | 1,000 | 3 | — | — | — | 12,000 | 1,000 | — | — |
| Infrared (all but X-ray) | IR | — | — | * | — | ×2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pulse (all but X-ray) | — |
Flamethrowers
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Flamethrower | LFT | area; max 5" | 6 | 1d-2 | 1 | 350 | 250 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 500 | 295 | 150 | 65 |
| High-Temperature Ammo | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 10 | 60 | 4.5 | 950 | 295 | 500 | 60 |
| Flamethrower | FT | area; max 10" | 6 | 1d-2 | 1 | 500 | 450 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 5 | 750 | 500 | 300 | 65 |
| High-Temperature Ammo | — | — | — | 1d+2 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 100 | 7.5 | 1,500 | 525 | 550 | 90 |
| HD Flamethrower | HDFT | area; max 15" | 6 | 2d | 2 | 1,250 | 650 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 10 | 1,750 | 750 | 550 | 115 |
| High-Temperature Ammo | — | — | — | 2d+4 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 200 | 15 | 3,250 | 800 | 2,050 | 165 |
Dropped Gases
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smokescreen | SS | ½" × 1" | — | — | 4 | 250 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 350 | 75 | 150 | 65 |
| Tear Gas | — | — | — | * | — | — | — | — | 10 | 20 | 5 | 450 | 75 | 250 | 65 |
| Paint Spray | PS | ½" × 5" | — | — | 2 | 400 | 25 | 1 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 650 | 75 | 300 | 65 |
| Gas Streamer | GS | ½" × 5" | — | — | 2 | 1,100 | 50 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smoke | — | — | — | * | — | — | — | — | 2 | 50 | 25 | 200 | 100 | 150 | 35 |
| Paint | — | — | — | * | — | — | — | — | 2 | 50 | 25 | 200 | 70 | 150 | 35 |
| Tear Gas | — | — | — | * | — | — | — | — | 2 | 100 | 25 | 300 | 100 | 250 | 65 |
| Flame Cloud Streamer | FCGS | ½" × 5" | — | 1d-1 |
Dropped Liquids
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oil Jet | OJ | 1" × 1" | — | — | 3 | 250 | 100 | 1 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 500 | 75 | 300 | 65 |
| HD Oil Jet | HDOJ | 1" × 1" | — | — | 4 | 500 | 50 | 3 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 900 | 130 | 450 | 215 |
| Flaming Oil Jet | FOJ | ½"/1" × 1" | — | 1d-2 | 3 | 300 | 300 | 2 | 25 | 35 | 2 | 1,175 | 80 | 925 | 65 |
| High-Temperature Fuel | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 25 | 140 | 3 | 3,805 | 100 | 3,550 | 90 |
| Heavy Flaming Oil Jet | HFOJ | 1" × 1" | — | 1d-2 | 4 | 550 | 60 | 3 | 25 | 140 | 8 | 1,950 | 145 | 1,450 | 95 |
| High-Temperature Fuel | — | — | — | 1d | — | — | — | — | 10 | 560 | 12 | 6,180 | 380 | 5,650 | 135 |
| Ice Dropper | ID | ½" × 1" | — | — | 3 | 750 | 50 | 2 | 25 | 20 | 2 | 1,250 | 100 | 550 | 65 |
Dropped Solids
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaff Dispenser | CD | ½" × 1" | — | — | 2 | 300 | 100 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 400 | 45 | 150 | 35 |
| Spikedropper | SD | ½" × ½" | — | 1d | 1 | 200 | 100 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 300 | 250 | 250 | 65 |
| Explosive Spikes | — | 1d+1 (1d-1) | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 50 | 5 | 600 | 75 | 550 | 65 | |
| Drop-Spike Plate | DSP | ½" × ½" | — | 2d (1d) | 4 | 200 | 50 | 1 | 10 | 20 | — | 200 | 50 | — | — |
| Large DSP | LDSP | ½" × ½" | — | 2d (1d) | 6 | 350 | 100 | 1 | — | — | — | 350 | 100 | — | — |
| Junk Dropper | JD | ½" × 1" | — | 1d-3 | 4 | 50 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 50 | 125 | 10 | 5 |
| Minedropper | MD | ½" × ½" | — | 1d/2d | 3 | 500 | 150 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1,100 | 200 | 1,050 | 115 |
| Napalm |
Dischargers
| Weapon | Abbv. | Effect | To Hit | Dam. | DP | Cost | Wt. | Spc. | Shots | CPS | WPS | L.$ | L.Wt | Mag.$ | Mag.Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flechette | FD | — | 0 (1d) | — | — | 50 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smoke | SkD | ½" × 1" | — | — | 50 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Point-Defense | PDG | 2" radius | — | ½d (1d) | — | 150 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Paint | PD | ½" × 1" | — | — | 40 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tear Gas | TGD | ½" × 1" | — | — | 75 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Flame Cloud | FCD | ½" × 1" | — | 1d-1 | — | 150 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oil | OD | ½" × 1" | — | — | — | 50 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Flaming Oil | FOD | ½" × 1" | — | 1d-2 | — |
Abbreviations: Dam. — number of dice of damage; DP — damage points; Wt. — weight; Spc. — space; CPS — cost per shot; WPS — weight per shot; L.$ — loaded cost; L.Wt — loaded weight; * — see rules for additional information. See Chapter 12, Weapons, for more details.
Confetti (Optional)
A vehicle can take only so much damage at one time, regardless of its construction. If a vehicle takes 1/50 of its weight in damage (1 point per 50 lbs.) in a single phase, either by collisions or a tremendous volley of gunfire, the vehicle has shattered and is replaced by a generous handful of debris and obstacle counters — one for every 200 lbs. of shattered vehicle, dropped from 4" above the table.
Hand Weapons
Any character (driver, gunner, passenger or pedestrian) may use a hand weapon any turn he or she does not fire a vehicle weapon. For game purposes, hand weapons take up no weight or space. However, no character may carry more than six grenades or grenade-equivalents of equipment. A pistol counts as a grenade-equivalent; a rifle, shotgun or SMG counts as two. As cargo, a box of 12 grenades weighs 50 pounds and takes up one space. For complete stats on hand weapons, see p. 47-48.
Hand weapons do not get bonuses for computer aiming, but all other modifications for vehicular weapons apply. Handgunner skill is used with hand weapons, instead of the Gunner skill.
Hand weapons have little effect on vehicles — vehicle components are too heavily built. Most hand weapons do little damage to vehicles (see Hand-to-Hand Combat on p. 44). A few hand weapons are effective against vehicles; see p. 47-48.
Submachine guns do full 1d damage only on humans; on other targets, they do half damage (rounded down). Other hand weapons affect only tires and people.
Range
A grenade may be thrown up to 5" (see below for more on grenades). Other hand weapons have a maximum range of 20" for game purposes.
Firing Penalties and Bonuses
The driver of a moving vehicle must subtract 3 from his to-hit roll with any hand weapon. Gunners or passengers subtract 1. Pedestrians or stationary characters fire at the listed values. In certain situations, pedestrians may get bonuses for firing from a non-moving position. Firing from inside a moving vehicle is not considered as being stationary, but firing from a stopped vehicle is.
Grenades
Grenades come in a number of types, but all share some similarities. They have a simple time-delay switch (1 to 5 seconds), and an activation switch. Setting the time-delay switch, second, but they can be set ahead of time. Changing the time delay also takes 1 second. The timer will be replaced with an impact fuse, which sets the grenade off the instant it lands.
To throw a grenade, simply start the timer by pressing the activation switch, and throw it. The grenade will go off at the end of the turn in which the timer runs out. If you set the timer at 1, it will go off at the end of the turn after the timer is in which you press the switch. Grenades fired from vehicular or hand-held launchers are automatically activated upon firing.
Thrown and launched grenades take exactly 1 second to reach or impact their target; if you fire a grenade launcher in turn 1 on phase 3, it will hit the ground on phase 3 of turn 2.
The to-hit roll for a thrown grenade is 9 or better on 2 dice. But that's misleading, because even a successful roll will put the grenade in the exact square you were aiming for, unless you roll a natural 12. On a 12, the grenade lands in the exact ¼" square you were aiming for. Any other die roll is a miss of one degree or another.
Any grenade toss that is less than the best possible (a 12), will deviate from the intended target. This deviation has two components — Direction and Distance. Or, to put it another way, which way did it go, and how badly did you miss?
Direction — Roll 1 die, and consult the following:
1 — Off to the right.
2 — Off to the left.
3 — On line, but short.
4 — On line, but long.
5 — Off to the right, and long or short (roll randomly).
6 — Off to the left and long or short (roll randomly).
Distance — How far the grenade lands from the intended spot depends on how badly you missed your to-hit roll. If your grenade was both off line and long/short, roll separately for each distance.
Made your roll or higher but rolled less than 12 — 1d-3 ¼" squares in each direction called for by the direction roll.
Missed by 1 — 1d-1 (treat a 0 result as 1) squares in each direction called for.
Missed by 2 — 1d+1 squares in each direction called for.
Missed by 3 — 2d-2 (treat a 0 result as 1) squares in each direction called for.
Missed by 4 or 5 — 2d+3 squares in each direction called for.
Missed by 6 or more — 3d squares (8 squares minimum) in each direction called for.
If the line of flight for the grenade is diagonal to the grid lines, just remember that each square is ¼", and use a ruler to determine the final location of the grenade.
Example: George thinks an enemy vehicle is about to slip out a side alley, so he wants to toss a grenade into the open area where the alley intersects the street. George picks a target square and rolls the dice. He needs a 9 or better to hit, but rolls an 8. Not bad, but a miss. Next George rolls on the Direction Table, and gets a 5 — off to the right, and either short or long. He assigns "evens" to long, and rolls another 5 — indicating the grenade came up short, too.
Next, George consults the Distance Table — "missed by 1" means the grenade is off 1d-1 squares in each direction called for. George rolls for the first by 5, and the roll comes up rolled separately. George rolls a 3 to the right and a short of 3 squares (2-1) so the grenade ends up one square (2-1) to the right, and two squares (3-1) short of the intended spot.
If a grenade hits a large solid object — like a building or a car — while in flight, roll 1d-1 squares and stops. If the grenade hits the angle at which the direction is determined by the size of the solid object. If the grenade hits the object squarely, it is thrown straight back toward the thrower. If it strikes at an angle, it will bounce off at the same angle, away from the thrower. Grenades with impact fuses will not bounce; they will blow up at the point of impact.
The maximum range for a thrown grenade is 5", and standard range penalties apply — that is, if your intended spot is 4" to 5" away, there is a -1 penalty to hit, and if your intended spot is less than 1" away, there is a +1 bonus. If you cannot miss by more than two squares in any direction. If no — if the distance "short" is greater than the thrower's height, place the grenade end up behind the thrower. If not, place it in front, ahead of the thrower's height. Also, a grenade thrower may place a grenade end up on any adjacent square without having to roll to hit at all.
A grenade may be thrown from a moving vehicle at -2. There is no "automatic" hit for adjacent squares, and the +4 point-blank bonus would apply. A grenade dropped or thrown from inside a vehicle could go in any direction. A roll of 2 or 3 indicates disaster — the grenade is dropped inside the vehicle and rolls under the seat — or something equally nasty.
Buildings
Breaches and Collapsing Buildings
A building is at +10 to hit. It's big and doesn't move (so the +10 takes the "stationary" bonus into account). Each building has a DP value indicating the strength of its walls. Any weapon doing at least this much damage will produce a "breach." Lesser damage has no effect.
Example: A building has 10 DP. A weapon result of 10 points damage or more would produce at the affected spot. However, any number of smaller hits may accumulate without causing harm — there is no need to keep track of building damage that does not create a breach. A breach, once created, is identical to a door or window for game purposes.
When a building accumulates breaches equal to its DP value, it will collapse. (A DP 10 building falls after four breaches. The DP 10 mentioned above will take ten breaches before it collapses.) It does not matter where the breaches are. When a building falls, it creates rubble (see below).
Everyone and everything inside a falling building suffers as many dice of damage as the building has DP. For example, a 6 DP building will do 6d damage to anyone and anything inside.
Cars will take this damage as though the vehicle's top armor if any top armor is left after the people inside the car will be safe — trapped, but safe. They won't be able to get out for as many turns as the building had DP. They'll still have to deal with the rubble as pedestrians before they escape from the car.
Some buildings will have two different DP numbers, the second one in parentheses. The first number will be the number of damage points required to create a breach, and the second will be the number of breaches needed to collapse the building. For many buildings, this will be the same number and only one number will be used. An example is a barn — only a few damage points will create a small collapse. A barn like this will be described as having 4(15) DP — it only takes 4 damage points to create a breach, but it won't collapse until 15 breaches are made.
When a building collapses, all one-square building sections, or five damage points, it becomes rubble. No vehicles may enter after a building collapses. Pedestrians may move through rubble at half normal speed, or moving one square per second — moving only on Phase 1 of a turn. Rubble takes up the same squares that the building did.
Rubble continues to block line-of-sight between roads, just as if the building were still there. The firer or the target is in an elevated position, however, rubble can be sighted over, however. A pedestrian in rubble can fire as though the rubble was not there; he is considered "braced" and gets the +1 bonus to hit. If a pedestrian in rubble may be fired on, but the attack is at -4.
Collapse of a building will also scatter debris. When some other buildings collapse, take a dozen debris counters and drop them onto the disaster site from a height of one foot, redropping any that fail to land on the street.
Cover
A line of sight may be traced through any door, window or breach. Therefore, a pedestrian may stand inside a building and fire outside. He must, however, be adjacent to the door or window for this line of sight to be traced.
A pedestrian leaning around an edge of a door or window presents a very small target. Therefore, although he may be fired at, he is not likely to be hit unless the wall is breached.
Example: A pedestrian is leaning out a window, looking for a good shot, when a duellist with a laser tries to take him out. The duellist needs an 8 to hit, and gets it. The wall has 6 DP. The duellist rolls 10 points of damage on his laser. The wall takes 6 points (breaching it); the other 4 go to the pedestrian. The wall had not been breached (if it had 12 DP, for example), the pedestrian would have been unhurt.
However, a very good shot can go right through a door or window. If the roll to hit is at least 2 better than needed (in the above example, if the duellist had rolled a 10), then both the pedestrian and the wall take full damage.
Height Modifications
Situations may arise where duellists want to shoot at pedestrians on rooftops; or a pedestrian gun battle may involve exchanging shots across a street into buildings. Firing at any target that is on a higher level than you is at a -1 for every ten feet of height difference. Firing downward is at no penalty, but throwing things (like grenades) is at a -1 for every ten feet of height difference. Each level of a multi-story building is assumed to be ten feet high. Some heights — a third-story rooftop, and fourth floor or higher — cannot be hit by regular vehicular weapons from street level, unless the firing vehicle is farther away from the target than the target is high. Universal turrets (used to fight helicopters; see p. 84) and hand weapons are the only way to fire on them.
Missing
In most cases, a missed shot rockets off into the stratosphere, never to be seen again. In a scenario involving buildings, this is clearly inappropriate. A missed shot fired horizontally goes in a straight line until it leaves the map or hits an obstacle, a building. If another vehicle or pedestrian is in the exact line of fire, you can roll to hit, taking into account any additional range penalties and another -2 because you weren't aiming at him. When a "miss" does hit something, it does standard damage.
For shots fired upward, roll 1 die. On a 1 or 2, the shot goes one story higher than intended; on a 3 or 4, it hits two stories higher; on a 5 or 6, it misses everything and is gone.
For shots fired downward, a miss will overshoot the intended target by 1 to 6 inches.
If you try to put a grenade through a window and miss, the grenade lands at the base of the building below the window in question.
Burning Buildings
If a building is set on fire (a 50% chance every time it is hit by a laser, a flamethrower or flaming oil), place an "on fire" marker on it. Since most Car Wars battles last less than a minute, the effects on play will be minimal — but for long-term campaigns, it can be significant. The variant fire rules mentioned above can be used for this as well.
Helicopter Combat
Helicopter combat is the same as ordinary vehicular combat — with the added complication of a third dimension, of course.
Location of Damage
As with cars, helicopters can take damage in a number of locations. If front armor is hit, the front armor takes damage, then whatever was behind it, then whatever was behind that, and so on. To determine what is behind helicopter armor in the various locations, check the following lists:
Front: Front armor; front-firing weapons; (pilot or co-pilot/gunner); motor; cargo; back weapons; back armor.
Back: As above, but in reverse order.
Right: Right armor (door); right-firing weapons; (pilot, co-pilot/gunner, motor and cargo); left-firing weapons; left armor (door).
Left: As above, but in reverse order.
Bottom: Bottom armor; bottom weapons; (cargo, motor, pilot or co-pilot/gunner); top armor.
Top: As above, but in reverse order.
Skids, pontoons, main rotors, and stabilizing rotors must be targeted individually. They will never be hit as part of an attack on a copter.
Skids are -8 to hit, and pontoons are -3. If one or both skids or pontoons are destroyed, the helicopter will tip gracelessly over on one side (1d damage to that side) when it lands, and the main rotor will break.
The stabilizing rotors and main rotors are at -6 to hit. If they are hit, roll 1 die. On a 6, the rotor takes 2 hits of damage. Otherwise, it takes 1 — no matter what weapon was used. This is because most of the effect of any weapon attack upon a rotor will go into empty air. If the main rotor is destroyed, the helicopter drops. If the stabilizing rotor is destroyed, incendiary series of counter-clockwise Rotate maneuvers, which will only cease when the helicopter lands. The pilot must make a Control Roll during the first movement phase of every turn, and the helicopter's rotating maneuvers do count against its handling class.
Arcs of Fire
In combat, a helicopter may target anything within its arc of fire. It may be targeted by an attacker who is within the theoretical line of fire of one of its sides, and on that side only. In other words, if a helicopter can target a vehicle with its right side, the target vehicle can fire upon the helicopter's right side in return.
If the helicopter can target with both its underside and left side, the target may target from both underside and left side, as it chooses.
Ground vehicles suffer some arc-of-fire problems when attacking helicopters. For example, a front-mounted weapon can not target something directly overhead. Vehicular weapons can target any object that is farther away than the difference in their altitudes. That is, if Helicopter A is in Car B's normal arc of fire, and is 5" away and 4" up. If, however, it is 4" away and 5" up, Car B cannot hit it. If two vehicles are at different altitudes, add their two range modifiers together to get the correct range modifier for the shot. The point-blank range modifier is only used if both ranges are point blank.
Examples: If the target is 7" away (-1 range modifier to left and right), and 6" up (also -1), the total range modifier is -2. If the target is 10" away (-2) and 6" up (-1), the total range modifier is -3. If the target is 4" away (no mod.) and ½" up (point blank), because both ranges are not point blank, ignore the one point-blank result and change it to "no modifier." The total range modifier is 0. If the target is 1" away (point blank) and ¼" up (also point blank), then because both ranges are point blank, the point-blank modifier is in effect: +4.
Hand-held and tripod-mounted weapons effectively have no arc-of-fire limitations — they may be pointed at any target, no matter what the angle of fire.
If the vertical distance between a ground vehicle and a helicopter is greater than the horizontal distance — 7" up and only 2" away, for example — the car could only fire hit the bottom of the helicopter, and with a top-mounted weapon or a weapon in a universal turret. The helicopter could only target the car's top, and could use bottom-mounted weapons or weapons in a bottom-mounted universal turret.
Bombs
Dropping a bomb is essentially a random attack. If the to-hit roll is missed, it could land almost anywhere. Use the grenade scatter rules to determine where the bomb actually landed.
Dusting
A helicopter can also "dust" a ground vehicle. If a helicopter drops to within 1" of a ground target over any terrain but the most scrupulously clean arena asphalt, the area is "dusted" — the blades kick up a nasty cloud of dust, gravel, trash and other materials, with the basic effect of a very large smokescreen. But a smokescreen counter directly under the helicopter over ½" by 1" area. This cloud stays under the helicopter as long as it's within 1" of the ground, moving wherever it moves, and is otherwise like a smokescreen except ½" from the ground.
Destroying Smoke and Paint Clouds
Any helicopter larger than one-man size can dispel a smoke or paint cloud by flying close to it. See p. 73.
4. Characters
Car Wars characters are identical in many ways. They all take up 2 spaces as vehicle crew members, and they all have 3 damage points and weigh 150 pounds (except bodybuilders — see below). Characters can be differentiated in three categories: skills, prestige and wealth.
Skills
Many different skills are available for characters. Some of these skills (Driver, Gunner, Cyclist, and so on) are useful in any Car Wars game. Others (Espionage, Fast-Talk, Streetwise and so on) will be important only in a campaign with a heavy roleplaying element. Should such a skill be suddenly called for in a campaign where none of the characters have taken roleplaying skills, the GM should fall back on "roll 2 dice and pray."
A character with a skill at the base level can perform that skill with no penalties or bonuses. Most skills can be attempted, at a penalty, even by those with no training; see below.
With extra training and experience, a character with a skill at base level can improve it — for example, ("Driver") can improve it to "Driver +1," and eventually "Driver +2," "Driver +3," and so on. In the course of adventures, you will gain "skill points." Some skill points can only be spent on particular skills, while others can be spent on any skill.
Beginning Skills
When you first create a character, you get a few base skills automatically. Each character starts with base-level skills in Running, Climbing, and Area Knowledge for his home town.
Each character also gets a total of 30 skill points to spend as you wish. Each base level skill acquired during character creation costs 10 points. Each additional skill level costs 10 points up to Skill +3. Higher levels aren't possible with the beginning 30 points
You can spend the 30 beginning points to acquire three base skills, or you can get one base level at base level and a second at +1. You could even sink all 30 points into buying one skill at +2, but your character would be pretty one-dimensional. You can also use some of your initial points to improve your Running skill.
Earning Skill Points
Every time a character drives a vehicle into combat and survives, one skill point is earned toward improving the ability for that vehicle — Driver, Pilot, Cyclist, etc. (Combat is defined as an incident in which a vehicle exchanges fire with two enemies.)
The driver of a vehicle that scores a "kill" in combat gets an additional point toward that vehicle ability.
A "kill" is scored when an enemy vehicle can no longer move or fire, either because of a direct attack, a crash resulting from combat, or other circumstances. Killing a helpless enemy is not a kill. Killing a building drivers or the occupants do not have to die.
If the crew abandons a vehicle or surrenders, that counts as a kill. If a damaged vehicle escapes to safety, that does not.
Entering combat as a pedestrian is worth a general skill point (see below). If a pedestrian escapes another (or knocking him out), he earns a point for the skill used in the combat; scoring a kill against a vehicle is worth 5 skill points! If you are firing hand weapons from a vehicle, no skill points are awarded except, possibly, as a referee award for heroic or miraculous shots!
Use of other skills, as per the skill descriptions, can earn points toward improving those skills. If no specific rules are given for a skill, the referee should simply award a point whenever it is used successfully in a combat or stress situation.
General Skill Points
In addition to the specific skill points awarded for skill use, the referee should award general skill points at the end of each adventure. These points may be applied for any skill, or saved to acquire a new skill at base level. Some suggestions for general skill point awards:
Winning an arena event: +3
Surviving an arena event: +1
Conspicuous bravery: +2
Risking your life to save a teammate or friend: +2
Using an unusual tactic: +1
Escaping an ambush alive: +1
Successfully knocking out a vehicle so it can be salvaged: +1
Winning a highway duel: +1
Winning a highway duel when you're outnumbered: +2
Completing a mission or adventure: Depends on the length and complexity of the task, but anywhere from +5 to +15 would be appropriate.
This list is far from complete. Spectacular escapes against overwhelming odds, brilliant tactics, or just plain lucky breaks could be situations with extra skill points. While the players and even spectators are welcome to offer suggestions on how many points should be awarded, the referee's decision is final.
Spending Points to Improve Skills
To increase an existing skill up to Skill +3, spend 10 points; this improves the skill by one level. Higher skill levels cost 20 points each up to +6, 30 points each up to +9, etc.
To acquire a brand-new skill at base level, you must spend 10 points and pay $1,000 — and take 3 months off (in game time) for training. The only exception is the Mechanic skill (see below).
Using Skills
From time to time, the referee may call for a skill roll to see if a character can succeed at some feat. If you have a skill at your level, you succeed on a roll of 7 or more; otherwise, you fail.
The higher your skill, the easier it is to make a skill roll. Add your skill bonus to your die roll. Thus, if you have Mechanic +1, you would succeed on a natural roll of 6, because 6+1 = 7. However, a natural 2 always fails.
A character who does not even have a base skill level (that is, did not spend at least 10 points on that skill) gets a -4 on any skill roll. He will not succeed except on an 11 or 12.
Depending on the relative ease or difficulty of a task, the referee may require some rolls to be made at a penalty or bonus.
Vehicle skills (Driver, Cyclist, Pilot, etc.) are handled differently. In most cases, your vehicle skill simply affects any control rolls you must make. Occasionally, when a control roll does not seem appropriate (especially in a roleplaying situation), the referee may require you to roll against a vehicle skill. In this case, your vehicle's handling class affects your skill. If you have a HC 2 (average) vehicle, roll normally. If its HC is lower than 2, subtract the difference from your skill roll. If it is above 2, add the difference to your skill.
So a HC 3 vehicle, for instance, gives you a +1 to your skill. A HC 2 vehicle gives no bonus or penalty; a HC1 vehicle gives you a -1 to skill, and so on.
Contests of Skill
When two characters compete in some way, the referee may call for a Contest of Skills. Each character makes a skill roll as above, adding any modifiers the referee feels are appropriate. If both players make or fail their rolls, then the contest is inconclusive and should continue if the situation or common sense warrants. If both players make their rolls, but one makes it by 5 more than the other, he wins. Obviously, if one player makes the roll and the other doesn't, the player who made his roll wins.
Some situations may call for a quick contest of skills. In a quick contest, after a long and protracted road combat, sail into the protection of a ghost town. Larry (Driver +2), unwilling to give up the fight, spins through town attempting to find Curly's (Driver +1) car. Rather than play it out in a complicated double-blind fashion, the referee calls for a Contest of Driver Skills. Curly has been through this town before (Area Knowledge +1), so the referee gives him a +1 on his Driver Skill. Larry has played this town for years. Larry gets a 9 (+2 for his Driver skill bonus), poor Curly gets a 5 (+1 for his Driver skill bonus, +1 for his Area Knowledge), Thus, Larry wins the contest, and Larry gets the drop on Curly. The referee decides Curly's vehicle cut out in the open, travelling at a reasonable urban speed, and Larry is free to place his car anywhere nearby, moving at any speed.
General skill points may be used to improve these skills; so can any points earned by particularly successful or imaginative uses of the skill itself.
Skill Descriptions
Acrobatics — Gives the character the ability to jump farther (an extra ¼" per two levels of skill) and perform spectacular physical feats such as swinging from chandeliers, swinging from tree to tree or somersaulting over an oncoming car.
A failed Acrobatics roll means the character simply failed to perform the stunt, and stays in the same place he was when he attempted the stunt. If he missed by 5 or more, he hurt himself and takes 1d-4 damage.
Acrobatics makes a character harder to hit. When a character with Acrobatics is fired on, subtract half of his to-hit roll (round down) from the to-hit roll.
When a character attempts to board a moving vehicle, his Acrobatics skill bonus is added to the die roll.
Animal Husbandry — The care and handling of domestic animals, from gerbils to horses. This skill can be used to train animals. Roll once per week; on a failed roll, the animal didn't learn anything, while a mild roll means 5 days were required, while a mild roll means 5 days were spent working with the animal. The time to train, and modifiers based on familiarity, complexity of task and other variables, are up to the referee. When a character fights an animal, his skill bonus is a positive to-hit modifier (since the animal's behavior is predictable to an expert).
Area Knowledge — Used to get around in a particular city, state, duel circuit or patch of untamed wilderness. A successful Area Knowledge roll means the character can answer detailed questions about the area known; where to find someone or something, where to best set an ambush, etc. The amount of detail will decrease as the area known increases, of course.
All characters are assumed to have this at base level for their hometown. Improvements to the skill add other areas or more detail about a known area, at the referee's option.
Archery — This is the ability to use bows of all types, from crossbows to longbows. Each level above base level adds +1 to the to-hit roll of the Archer. Each combat entered with a bow is good for 1 point toward improving it.
Blade — This is the ability to use edged weapons in combat. Each plus gives a +1 to hit with the weapon. This skill covers everything from pocket knives to machetes and axes. Blade skill (and an appropriate blade) can be used to parry other blade attacks; the defender attempts his own skill roll, but subtracts the amount by which the attacker made his to-hit roll. (A sword costs $75, weighs 3 lbs. or 2 GEs, has a to-hit of 7, and does 1d-3 damage to pedestrians and tires alike.)
Boat Pilot — This is the ability to control a boat. It is otherwise identical in all ways to the Driver skill (see below).
Bodybuilding — This is a character's specialty; this skill at base level, everyone gets this skill at base level. At base level, everyone gains this skill at base level. At base level, everyone gains this skill at base level, and adds 25 pounds of equipment gains the ability to carry 25 pounds of equipment (for the alternate encumbrance system). At level +1 the character gets an extra 1 DP, and at +2 he gains 25 lbs. of weight. This sequence is repeated for levels +3 to +5, and so on. A Bodybuilder +4 will weigh 175 lbs., be able to lift up to 70 lbs. without penalty and have 5 DP; a Bodybuilder +7 will weigh 200 lbs., be able to lift to 95 lbs. without a penalty and have 6 DP.
Climbing — Like Running, everyone gets this skill at base level. Climbing skill is used to climb trees (at -1 to skill), fences (-2), some buildings (-3 to -5), etc.
Communications — Anyone can use a radio. Communications skill covers both the use and repair or design of radios and similar equipment. The most likely game use of Car Wars involves jamming and breaking through jamming (a contest of skills either way). More advanced equipment will give bonuses to a Communications roll.
Computer Tech — Most computer systems in the Car Wars world are very easy to use, and no roll is required. Computer Tech is the computer equivalent of Mechanic, and is used to program a system, break through a computer's defenses (a Contest of Skill between the hacker and the computer's defensive programming), etc.
Cyclist — This is the ability to drive any size motorcycle or trike. Anyone without this skill is at -3 on the handling class of any cycle he tries to ride. The skill is otherwise like Driver (below).
Driver — This is the ability to drive a standard car, pickup, van, etc. — anything with four or six wheels — or a reversed trike. Someone without this skill may attempt to drive such a vehicle, but always subtracts 2 from his handling class. At the base level, the character is an average driver. Each additional plus adds to his reflex roll. At the beginning of each combat, every driver makes a reflex roll. On a 5, the HC of the vehicle is raised as a result; on a 6, the HC goes up by 2. A Driver +2, for example, would get to add 2 to the die roll. For example, each additional plus also added to the base HC of the vehicle to determine how many points are recovered on the Vehicle Record Sheet at the beginning of each turn.
A good driver is better at keeping his vehicle under control. Whenever a vehicle is forced to roll on a Crash Table, subtract the driver's Driver skill bonus from his roll.
Engineering — This covers design and construction of vehicles, vehicular components and other technical equipment. Engineering can also be used to create traps, alarm systems, etc. from available materials. Requires Mechanic at base level or better.
Espionage — The tricks of covert and criminal operations, including but not limited to smuggling, counterfeiting, and the gathering and interpretation of intelligence. Of course this includes counter-intelligence — defeating all of the above.
Explosives — This covers the planting and detonating of explosives that require more talent than just pulling a pin or lighting a fuse. It includes the knowledge of storing and caring for explosives so that they don't become inert (or explode spontaneously) and a general knowledge of explosives and detonators, both manual and remote.
Successfully planting and detonating an explosive device requires an Explosives skill roll. If the roll is failed, immediately roll 2 dice and consult the following table:
2 — The explosive goes off as the character is setting/placing it. Assess damage and scrape up what's left . . .
3, 4 — The explosive goes off earlier than intended. How much earlier depends on how long a delay was intended and should be determined by the referee.
5, 6 — Explosion only does half the intended damage.
7-9 — The explosive doesn't go off. It's a dud.
10, 11 — The explosive goes off later than intended. How much later depends on the length of the delay and should be determined by the referee.
12 — The explosion does twice the intended damage.
Fast-Talk — The skill of weaseling one's way out of a situation by getting someone else to make a snap decision in one's favor. To fast-talk a potential sucker, a character rolls against his Fast-Talk skill, adding any modifiers the referee feels are appropriate (an enemy in a firefight will be more resistant to a pitch). Fast-Talk may also be used to resist someone else's attempt to fast-talk skills is more often quick contest of skills.
Gunner — This is the ability to use the targeting system common to all vehicles, and to fire any vehicular or tripod weaponweapon. A character without this skill has a -3 to hit with any vehicular weapon, -2 with a tripod weapon. Each plus adds 1 to the gunner's to-hit roll: character with Gunner +3 adds 3 to any to-hit rolls he makes. Entering a combat while manning a weapon in which he has a Gunner skill point; each kill scored is worth 1 in Gunner and in Driver — for the kill.
Handgunner — The ability to use hand weapons and grenades. Anyone without this skill has -2 to hit with any hand weapons and grenades, but may throw grenades with penalty. This skill plus gives a +1 to hit with all hand weapons and grenades.
Helicopter Pilot — The ability to fly a helicopter. Characters without this skill can't even start a chopper, much less fly it on the ground. This skill is in all ways analogous to Driver.
Hobbies — Covers skills studied for their own sake or for recreation or aesthetic appreciation, such as musical performance, woodcrafting, sports, photography and other fine arts.
Hover Pilot — This is also exactly like Driver for hovercraft (see above), except that it relates to hovercraft.
Journalism — The ability to conduct an interview, retrieve data and use journalistic equipment (videocams, word processors and the like). This skill also covers professional writing and broadcasting.
In an interview situation, a failed roll means having to start over; a badly failed roll means the interviewee, possibly violently. A very successful (+5 or better) roll uncovers the real dirt — or at least a clue to where the real dirt lies.
Law — Provides a knowledge of general law, with specific knowledge of local laws and legal process. A successful Law roll will get the character out of court, should he find himself there. Given the frontier nature of justice in the 2040s, this may not be all that likely . . .
Leadership — The practical ability to command a group of people effectively. A successful roll is required to lead non-player characters into a dangerous situation. A badly failed roll could get the character lynched; a really successful one inspires the troops to the point where they'll follow him anywhere.
Luck — Each level of Luck adds 1 in favor of the catch-all "roll 2 dice and pray" method for handling odd situations. Luck will not help if there is another skill that can do the job.
Martial Arts — This is the ability to fight more effectively with hand to hand combat (see p. 45). Characters with the base HC +1, they get +1 to their to-hit roll; at +3, the character gets an additional attack per turn; at +4, he gets an additional damage point; and so on to-hit roll; at +5, he gets an additional damage point; and so on.
The cycle repeats beyond that: at +3, the character gets an additional attack per turn; at +4, he gets an additional damage point; and so on-to-hit roll; at +5, he gets an additional damage point; and so on.
Mechanic — This is the ability to repair vehicles and components. It then takes to repair something (if it can be repaired at all) is a function of the character's Mechanic skill, as well as the difficulty of the job and the tools that are available.
Repair Chart
| Level | Trivial | Easy | Medium | Hard | Very Hard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No skill | 2 | 11 | X | X | X |
| Mechanic | 1 | 9 | 11 | 12 | X |
| Mechanic +1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Mechanic +2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 |
| Mechanic +3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 |
To perform a given repair job, a Mechanic must roll 2 dice, and get the number shown on that skill level (or higher). He may try once per hour (every 30 minutes for a Mechanic +3). An "x" means this is impossible at that skill level. These numbers assume the mechanic has basic tools. If he is working with improvised tools (pocket knife, chewing gum, baling wire), subtract 2 from all rolls. If he has a portable shop (see p. 90), subtract 1. If he is working in a regular garage, add 2. A successful roll repairs 1 point of damage to armor (or repair one item being repaired), or successfully installs/dismounts/salvages the item in question.
Any number of mechanics can work on the same vehicle, but no more than one can work on the same item at once. Each one rolls separately for success.
Difficulty of Repair Jobs
Impossible (cannot be attempted): Repair damaged tires, repair computer.
Very Hard: Jury-rig rocket, missile or laser; repair copter rotor.
Hard: Jury-rig other components; repair laser, rocket, missile, radio or power plant.
Medium: Repair any weapon other than laser, rocket or missile; reweld or patch armor; remount kingpin on tractor-trailer rig; repair fifth wheel on tractor; salvage radio, power plant, or computer from a wreck.
Easy: Replace weapon link; salvage other items from a wreck.
Trivial (even someone with no Mechanic skill can do this): Reload ammunition; replace or salvage tire; salvage spare magazines and unused ammunition from a wreck.
Repair
Repair is the process of fixing a damaged part. Each time a successful roll is made, one DP is restored to the item (or for 3 points of armor). If a component is totally destroyed, it cannot be repaired — only jury-rigged.
Jury-Rigging is a temporary repair job. If the proper roll is made, the jury-rigged component regains 1 DP, putting it back in service. A jury-rigged component can never be properly repaired, and if it is damaged again, it cannot be jury-rigged a second time. Some items will be destroyed so totally that they cannot even be jury-rigged — like what's left of a cycle after a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler.
Salvage — The removal of a part from a wreck. A mechanic must make the appropriate repair roll to salvage any given part.
Installation is the opposite of salvage — putting a new part in to replace a destroyed one. The old part must first be "salvaged" (that is, removed), even if it was totally destroyed. The roll to install any part is the same as the roll to repair it — see the chart above. When the roll is successfully made, the part is installed.
Learning the Mechanic Skill
The only way to learn or improve this skill is to spend game time as a full-time mechanic at a duel arena, truck stop or garage. Since this is not especially thrilling, most high-level mechanics will be the referee's characters, or player characters that started by taking Mechanic +1 or +2. If a character decides to drop out of duelling to become a mechanic, it takes a year (during which he also earns $6,000 above living expenses) to get the basic skill. It takes 2 more years (clearing $8,000 a year) to get to +1, 3 more years (clearing $10,000 a year) to get to +2, and 5 more years (clearing $15,000 a year) to get to +3. A mechanic +3 has a fairly safe life and earns $20,000 a year above living expenses. Mechanics may rise no higher than +3.
Paramedic — This skill helps save injured victims.
If a character is at 0 DP but not below, and the medic can get to him within 20 turns of the fatal injury, a successful roll will save the character's life. He will remain at 0 DP, but be alive. DP are healed at the rate of one every 2 weeks of game time, or fails his roll (only one chance), the victim is dead. Every successful use of the Paramedic skill is worth 2 skill points toward improvement of the skill.
If a victim has 1 DP left (that is, he's unconscious), a successful Paramedic roll will revive him for a few minutes (long enough to get some important information, for example).
Navigation — Use of stars, charts, satellite relays, nav computers and other tools to determine position and plot courses.
Politics — The techniques of winning votes, diplomacy, bootlicking and other social graces, as well as the administrative functions of office. This also covers etiquette and savoir-faire.
Running — Everyone starts with this skill at its base level. Each plus adds 2.5 mph to a character's speed — with Running +3, you move at 20 mph and Sprint at 25 mph! No character may move faster than 25 mph (even while Sprinting). There is no way to earn points specifically in Running, but general skill points may be spent to improve this skill.
Security — The knowledge of security systems — techniques and methods of construction, and ways to disarm or fool them.
Science — This is broken into specific areas of study (biology, genetic design, astrophysics, psychology, mathematics, etc.) and indicates a character's knowledge in that field. A successful Science roll allows a character to remember or find valuable information related to the subject, or solve a complex problem.
Stealth — The ability to avoid detection on foot. This skill is only usable on foot, and cannot be attempted while under direct observation. Standard bonuses/penalties are:
good lighting: -5
average lighting: -3
fair lighting: -1
poor lighting: no modifier
appropriate camouflage gear: +2
forest, jungle, etc.: +2
plains, desert, etc.: -3
Streetwise — This skill allows a character to get around in the underworld, get a piece of the action and make the contacts he needs. Successful use of Streetwise lets you find out where any sort of illegal activity is going on, who can (or must) be bribed, and so on.
Survival — A character with this skill has been trained in survival techniques in all different environments (forests, deserts, city ruins, etc.). Higher levels of Survival make it easier to find food, water, shelter, etc.
Swimming — Anyone with base level in Swimming, or Swimmer +1, can swim at 2.5 mph. A Swimmer +2 or +3 swims at 5 mph. A Swimmer +4 or more could swim at 7.5 mph (but only with fins, — see p. 47).
Anyone without base skill can still tread water if carrying no more than 3 GEs (or 10% of their body weight, if you are using the alternate encumbrance system).
Swimmers can only carry 3 GEs of equipment (or 10% of their body weight) without penalty. Anyone carrying more is slowed — 4 to 6 GEs (20% of body weight) slows a swimmer by 2.5 mph, 7 to 9 (30% of body weight) slows by 5 mph, and any more slows to 0 mph (barely able to float). Anyone slowed below 0 mph is no longer swimming, but sinking; drop some encumbrance or die. Body armor, fire retardant suits, and other such "clothing" can be worn in water, but count as 2 GEs of equipment in water. Improved Body Armor counts as 3 GEs.
Swimmers can change direction up to 90° each time they move.
Swimmers can swim underwater for up to 30 seconds, plus 10 seconds for every Swimming skill level above base level.
Teaching — The ability to instruct another character in the use of a skill. Takes 6 weeks per level. A teacher can train someone up to one level below his own in a particular skill; naturally, the teacher must have the skill in question.
Theft — The fine arts of electronic lockpicking, sleight of hand, picking pockets, breaking and entering, shadowing and other illicit talents. A failed roll means the thief didn't get what he wanted; a badly failed roll means he got caught. Further events are up to the referee.
Theft and Espionage overlap to some extent; which skill to use in a situation should be determined by the referee. Sometimes both are appropriate; for instance, a character might use Theft to pick the lock to an office, where he would use Espionage to determine whether anything there is valuable enough to steal, and then use Theft again to take possession of the material.
Trucker — This is the ability to drive any oversized vehicle: a bus, RV, ten-wheeled truck, or tractor-trailer rig. A non-Trucker subtracts 2 from HC when trying to drive an oversized vehicle — a -4 if he doesn't have the Driver skill either! Otherwise, the skill is treated like Driver.
Prestige
This is a character's status among other autoduellists and the millions of TV autoduel fans. Prestige increases a character's possible arena winnings and decreases his expenditures for new cars, parts, repairs, etc.
Each character starts with 0 prestige. Arena combat always counts for prestige; road combat sometimes affects prestige. There is a 2 in 6 chance that any road combat will have been witnessed or filmed by helicopter TV crews, in which case it scores normal prestige. Otherwise, you're an unsung hero for that fight — no prestige. In some situations (inside a city, in an area with competing TV stations that devote more time to autoduelling, etc.), the chance of a witnessing TV crew may be higher. That decision is up to the referee.
An ace is a character who has participated in five confirmed kills — that is, arena kills or road kills that were witnessed. A double ace is a character with ten confirmed kills.
Scoring
Prestige is scored as follows:
For entering combat: +1
Winning an event: +2
For each kill your vehicle scores: +2
Your vehicle "killed" but you survive unhurt: -1
You leave your vehicle while it can both move and fire: -2
You attack with hand weapons while outside a vehicle: +1
You kill a vehicle occupied by a character with prestige of 15-20: +1
You kill a vehicle occupied by a character with prestige over 20: +2
You become an ace: +5
You become a double ace: +10
A character may earn up to 3 extra prestige points per game for excellent play, lucky shots, or survival against bad odds. These points are awarded by majority vote of the players and onlookers during that game. The referee breaks ties.
Being killed lowers prestige: -1 for a heroic death, -2 for an ordinary combat death, -3 for a mundane death, -5 for a cowardly death.
Advantages of Prestige
In any arena combat where cash prizes are offered, a character with prestige of 10 or better earns a percentage bonus equal to his prestige; that is, a prestige of 17 earns a 17% bonus. In addition, a character with prestige of 15 or better earns and repairs (for his own use only) discount on all new parts and repairs (for his own use only); prestige of 25 or better earns a 50% discount. This is in return for the champion's sponsorship of various brands of ammunition, autos, weapons, etc.
Wealth
Each character begins with 0 wealth. He can get started in a number of ways. He could enter an "Amateur Night" arena scenario in which the network supplies vehicles for aspiring drivers, or he could be hired as a mercenary for a highway convoy. However a character gets started, there are several ways he can earn money:
Selling cars: A car may be sold for salvage after it has been used. Most arena contests give a survivor the right to salvage his kills, too.
Arena prizes: This is the big money. The referee for a continuing arena campaign may set cash prizes. A typical prize would be from ½ to 1½ times the total value of the vehicles competing.
Road salvage: You can earn money the way the cycle gangs do: pick a fight on the road, and strip your kill for salvage.
Perform missions: Many adventures involve doing something hazardous (deliver an item or person to another city, protect a person, steal an item) for pay. These can be very profitable, but the risk is high and the characters should be well-equipped and experienced. This is not for beginners.
Transactions with other players: Car sales, used equipment, side bets, and whatever else you think of.
Other than car repairs and ammo purchases, the only expense a continuing character has is $150 per week for food, lodging, and stay and power plant recharges. A character with no money and no car is obviously afraid to enter the game, so his prestige drops to zero and he's out of the game.
Staying Alive
An adventurous character can have a very short life. This can be frustrating if you spend a half-hour working up a character, and he dies in 15 minutes. There are three ways around this. The first, of course, is to run for home when the bullets start flying. This is safe enough, but not too interesting.
Organizations
Instead of playing an individual, you can play a whole group. Instead of playing a trucking company, bus line, cycle gang, local police department, autoduelling club, vigilante group, hijacking ring, or truck stop. When an individual character dies, you can replace him — and the group goes on. You can standardize cars and equipment . . . and if someone gets killed, his savings go to the organization. A good campaign can have several such groups, sometimes cooperating and sometimes fighting, with plenty of room left for people who want to play individual characters.
Gold Cross
This is a real life-insurance plan, made possible by the miracles of medicine available to the wealthy in the 2040s. If referees wish to ignore this section and make their campaign a little (or a lot) more deadly, feel free.
Basically, Gold Cross is a clone bank. A few cells from your body are quickly grown into a mature clone. The clone will be in perfect health, and will seem about 25 years old. Should anything happen to you, your clone can be activated — and you live again! Your new body will be legally recognized as "you," and will have access to your bank account, ownership of your material goods, etc.
Naturally, there are a few catches. This process is expensive (see fee schedule, below). When something happens to you, your body must be transported to the Gold Cross center where your clone is kept, and it must get there within 24 hours of your death — or within a week if the body is frozen within 24 hours of death. A totally burned body, or a body that took more than 10 hits damage, cannot be "read." If your body gets there in time, though, the clone can be programmed with all your memories, up to the moment of death, and all your skills.
As an alternative to rushing your body to Gold Cross after something happens, you can transfer your memories to your clone before anything happens to you — just to play it safe. This way, no matter what happens, your clone can be activated. A new memory transfer has to be made every month, or the clone mind will go blank. In the past, memories could only be programmed in the human brain. The year 2035 saw the development of a mechanical memory storage device (or MMSD).
The MMSD is a permanent repository for your memories, unlike the inactivated clone, which can be reprogrammed monthly. In the event you are no longer around, the MMSD can be used to program a clone's life. It's very expensive, and not very portable. MMSDs must be moved on wheeled dollies — they weigh 800 pounds and take up 6 spaces as cargo.
If you let more than a month go by without re-programming your clone (and you have no MMSD), and something happens to you, your own body is the only source of your memories — so if something permanent happens to you, you're really dead. Note also that if your clone is activated from an old memory transfer or an MMSD, the clone will have only the memories and skills that you had when you programmed it. Furthermore, it takes a month to grow a new clone. Unless you can afford to keep two clone bodies in storage or have an MMSD, don't get killed more than once a month.
In all cases, the donor (alive or dead) or his MMSD must be present to remember memories. The process takes less than an hour.
When something happens to you, Gold Cross will act as soon as they hear about it — preparing your clone for activation if your body is on the way, awakening a previously programmed clone if that is necessary, or transferring the memories from your MMSD to a clone body. In most cases, notification must come from the friends of the temporarily deceased character.
Gold Cross has offices in all major cities. Its services are available to everyone, though wanted criminals often have to pay a substantial bribe to a doctor or administrator. It's a mercenary operation, and might be expected of anyone selling new lives. Keep Gold Cross paid, and they are very reliable. Miss a payment, and your clone will get chopped up for organ transplants.
Gold Cross Fee Schedule
To grow a clone body: $10,000
First programming, a month after starting clone: $1,000
Each monthly reprogramming thereafter: $3,000
To program (or update) an MMSD: $25,000
Keeping clone alive if it is not reprogrammed monthly: $1,000/month
To read a dead body (or MMSD) into an unprogrammed clone: $5,000
To send refrigerated vehicle or helicopter for a body (on request): Variable, but always high! $5,000 for simple missions, lots more for long distances or hazardous travel.
Pedestrians
Not everyone has a car. Vehicles may face challenges from enemies on foot — or a driver may leave a wrecked vehicle and sprint for safety. A pedestrian is represented by a counter that is ½" × ¼". The larger counter is provided for ease of handling. Anyone firing on a pedestrian must trace a line of fire to the particular space the pedestrian is in, not just any part of the counter. Pedestrian counters should always be lined up with the map grid.
Movement
The base movement rate for pedestrians is 12.5 mph, or five ¼" squares per turn. You may elect to go slower, and there are ways of going faster (see below). To determine the phases in which you move, multiply your speed by 4 and read the appropriate line on the Movement Chart, p. 4. Move ¼" in each phase the chart indicates. For example, someone moving 17.5 mph would move ¼" in each phase indicated on the chart for 70 mph. Pedestrians go before cars moving at the same speed.
Going Faster
Spending points to increase your Running ability will increase your base speed. For short periods of time, you may also opt to Sprint. A Sprinting character increases his speed by 5 mph for up to 10 seconds. After the 10 seconds, he can continue to run, but only at his base speed, and only for a maximum of 10 more seconds. Then he must stop and rest. After Sprinting, a character must stop and rest for 1 second for every 2 seconds spent Sprinting; if he Sprinted for 6 seconds, he must rest for 3, for example. A character who is resting can do nothing except catch his breath. You cannot Sprint up a flight of stairs, and you cannot fire a weapon while Sprinting — but if you need to get under cover fast, the extra speed could save your life.
There is no limit to the number of direction changes a pedestrian can make — don't bother with handling classes, control rolls or Crash Table rolls.
Stairs
Stairways are marked on Car Wars maps as a series of squares, with every other square marked with a floor number. When a pedestrian reaches the numbered square corresponding to the floor he is on, he must stop. On phase 1 of the next turn, he may move one square up or down. On phase 1 of the turn after that, he may move again. This continues until he reaches the floor he wants. On the turn after reaching the numbered square on that floor, the pedestrian may move on that floor normally. The uppermost floor of many staircases is marked "R," and represents a hatch to the roof of the building. It takes one turn to move from the "R" square to any adjacent square — then movement continues normally.
The Running skill helps a pedestrian with climbing stairs. For each level of Running the character has above base level he can climb one additional square per turn, up to a maximum of 5. If a Runner +2 was climbing a set of stairs, he would climb one square on Phase 1 of the turn, then another on Phase 2, one on phase 3, and then again on Phase 1 of the next turn.
Equipment and Encumbrance
Pedestrians may carry up to six grenades, or six grenade-equivalents (GEs) worth of equipment; see the list on pp. 46-48. This does not affect their movement. Carrying a heavier load, except with a pack or similar item, is prohibited. For more realism, see the Alternate Encumbrance Rules on p. 49, in which encumbrance is measured in pounds and does affect movement.
Combat
Pedestrians can use hand weapons only. A complete list is on p. 47-49. A pedestrian can only fire once a turn. Once a pedestrian fires, he cannot move for the rest of the turn. A Sprinting pedestrian cannot fire at all.
Pedestrians have 3 Damage Points — the first hit wounds, the second knocks unconscious, and the third kills. They can wear body armor, which adds DP.
If a vehicle collides with a pedestrian, use the collision system in Chapter 2. Remember, pedestrians have a damage modifier of ⅕. The collision system can also be used if pedestrians run into each other.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
For one pedestrian to strike another, he must be in a square adjacent to his intended victim. He must roll a 2 or higher to hit, but all targeting modifiers (except for the point-blank range bonus) are in effect, including the -3 for targeting a pedestrian, so the net effect is that — most of the time — he will need a 5 or better on 2 dice. A human fist does 1d-5 damage. If the attacker has something heavy in his hand — a pistol, an unused grenade, or a rock (any debris marker will yield something appropriate), the damage roll is 1d-4. The Martial Arts skill (see p. 41) can also affect the results of hand-to-hand combat.
If a pedestrian has moved more than half his movement allowance in a given turn, he cannot attack hand-to-hand this turn.
A pedestrian may make a "hand-to-hand" attack against an adjacent vehicle. He must have something to hit it with — a bare-handed attack against vehicle armor is pointless. A pedestrian with a rock or other object may strike a vehicle once per turn (no to-hit roll is needed), for 1d-5 damage. A hand weapon used in this fashion will no longer be useful as anything but a club.
A hand weapon may also damage a vehicle in a more conventional way. Any hand weapon fired from point-blank range at a stationary vehicle hits automatically, doing 1 point of damage. A hand weapon that would ordinarily do more than 1 point of damage against a vehicle (such as the SMG) gets the higher damage.
Hand weapons take one turn to reload; this replaces one action for the magazine, one tube of a gyroslugger, etc. Nothing else can be done while reloading a weapon. When a pedestrian is hit by a weapon, he will always take a minimum of 1 point of damage from that weapon.
Dropping Prone, Crawling and Hiding
A pedestrian can drop prone instantly — this takes no time. A prone pedestrian can be in the open (an extra -1 to hit), or covered but not completely safe (behind a wall, for instance), or covered and completely safe (if he is prone in rubble, he is at a -2 for cover). Being immobile gives him a +1 to hit. A pedestrian who is safe from cover (such as behind a wall) but sticks his head out to fire is at a -2 for cover.
A prone pedestrian can crawl, moving in phases 2 and 4 only. He cannot fire while crawling.
It requires a full second to stand up from a prone or crawling position.
Spikes, Oil and Mines
It's possible for pedestrians to run afoul of the nasty surprises dropped on city streets and intended for vehicles. When a pedestrian enters a square covered by a spike counter (not the adjacent area, but the counter itself), he must roll 2 dice. On a 2 or 3, that pedestrian takes 1d-4 points of damage.
A pedestrian on oil is more likely to slip on a Keystone Kop than Clint Eastwood. When a pedestrian enters a square with oil on it, or is thrown by a weapon skid to hit or better to stay on his feet. He must roll 5 or better to stay on his feet. If he moves immediately with square with oil, he must roll a 7, and then an 11 for each subsequent square. If a pedestrian falls, he can either spend an entire second to stand up — which will still require a roll of 7 or better on 2 dice to accomplish — or crawl, moving only during Phases 2 and 4.
Flaming oil has the same effect as regular oil, and pedestrians also take 1 point of damage at the end of every turn they're in it. Body armor does protect against damage from flaming oil.
The weight of a pedestrian will not set off vehicle-type mines.
Pedestrians and Vehicles
A pedestrian must stand beside a cycle for one full turn (one second) to get on. The next turn, he is astride it. He must remain motionless for 3 seconds, while doing the time necessary to get a cycle running. After the 3 seconds, he can move normally.
A driver getting off a cycle (or out of a vehicle) must spend a full turn beside it coming to a complete stop (time to dismount) and then may run normally.
A driver or passenger may jump from a moving vehicle. Roll for damage as if the jumper were hit by a vehicle (with a damage modifier of 1) going 10 mph slower than the vehicle was going. The jumper lands in any adjacent square, and may move and/or fire beginning the next turn.
It would take about 30 seconds to pick up and restart a fallen cycle of any size. Most combats won't last that long.
To enter a larger vehicle, a pedestrian must stand beside it for one turn (opening the door). On the next turn, he may enter. The next turn he may close the door; if the side of the vehicle is hit while the door is open, treat that side of the car as if it had a sunroof (p. 92). If the vehicle is not moving, it will take 3 seconds to start it. If that's the case, it cannot move the fourth turn — but it may begin firing weapons immediately.
Boarding Vehicles
To climb onto the outside of a vehicle, he must make a roll, as follows:
Vehicle speed 10 mph or less: automatic success
15 mph: roll 4 or more on 2 dice
20 mph: roll 5 or more on 2 dice
25 mph: roll 7 or more on 2 dice
30 mph: roll 9 or more on 2 dice
35 mph: roll 10 or more on 2 dice
40 mph: roll 11 or more on 2 dice
45 mph or greater: impossible
A pedestrian trying to board a tractor reads the table at 5 mph higher than the vehicle's actual speed. In other words, a pedestrian trying to board a tractor moving 15 mph reads the table at 20 mph. A pedestrian trying to board any vehicle from the side reads the table at 15 mph greater than the vehicle's speed. These penalties are not cumulative (i.e., you don't add 20 mph when trying to board a tractor from the side). Use the worst applicable modifier. A pedestrian may attempt to board any vehicle any time the vehicle is in an adjacent square.
Being noticed: A pedestrian boarding an occupied bus or trailer will be noticed 5 out of 6 times. A pedestrian boarding an unoccupied trailer hitched to an occupied tractor will not be noticed 3 out of 6 times. You cannot board any other occupied vehicle without being noticed. These odds may be modified by the referee for weather, poor visibility, well-planned distractions, etc.
Dropping On: A pedestrian may also drop onto the top of any vehicle if it passes directly beneath him. Roll 2 dice:
4 or better to land on a bus or any trailer except a tanker.
5 or better to land on a tractor (double damage for failure)
6 or better to land on a tanker (the top is curved!)
6 or better to land on a pickup or van
7 or better to land on a luxury or mid-sized
8 or better to land on a compact or subcompact.
Subtract 1 from the roll if the weather is bad. Subtract 1 if the vehicle is going 20 to 30 mph, 3 if it's going 35 or 40 mph, and an additional 2 for every 10 mph faster. The same chance to be noticed as one who climbs aboard.
Vehicle-to-vehicle: A person on one vehicle may try to jump or climb to another while both are moving. If the vehicles are within ¼" of each other, use the climbing-aboard rules — determine the relative speeds of the two vehicles, and read the appropriate line. Because of the difficulty, subtract 2 from your roll. If the vehicles are more than ¼" apart, but less than ¾", use the dropping-on rules — again, subtract 2 from your roll.
Rules for being noticed are the same.
Failure: If you miss your roll, you hit the ground and take damage as if being rammed at (Vehicle Speed minus 10 mph).
Movement on top of a vehicle: A pedestrian can only move around an oversized vehicle or in a pickup bed. There is no place to go on a smaller vehicle! It takes one second to reach the top of a moving vehicle from the ground, or to stand up after dropping onto it. A pedestrian can safely move one square per turn (in Phase 5) while on top of a moving vehicle. Moving faster involves risks: Moving twice a turn (in Phases 1 and 5) requires a roll of 4 or better on 2 dice to stay on; moving three times (in Phases 1, 3, and 5) requires a roll of 6 or better to stay on. Moving any faster is not practical (or wise). A pedestrian who fails that roll is automatically noticed, and takes damage as above for jumping off a vehicle.
A pedestrian atop a vehicle can fire his weapon, throw grenades, etc., normally. He can also plant a limpet mine; no die roll is needed to succeed at this.
A pedestrian on a vehicle will be subject to fire from a turret on that vehicle, if he is at that turret's level. Use common sense to determine this.
Examples: A pedestrian atop a bus can be hit by a turret on the bus, or on another bus the same size. A man in the bed of a pickup cannot be hit by a turret on the pickup cab, unless he stands up. A pedestrian on a trailer cannot be hit by a turret on the tractor, since the trailer top is higher than the tractor. A pedestrian cannot hide behind or on top of a turret; he moves quickly enough that he would be thrown off.
A pedestrian on a vehicle can also attack its front-, side-, top- and back-mounted weapons, using his own hand weapon, if he can move adjacent to the appropriate side/end of the vehicle. He automatically hits, doing one point of damage; there is a 50% chance each time that damage will bypass the armor and hit the weapon directly.
Getting off: If a vehicle crashes with a person on top, it is assumed the pedestrian jumped clear, taking damage as described under Failure above, for hitting the ground. A person could also attempt to "swing down" from a moving vehicle. The chance of making it without injury, and of not getting noticed, is the same as for climbing aboard at the same speed.
Any hazardous event or maneuver may throw riders off the top of a vehicle. When a vehicle undergoes any D2 or greater hazard, or any D3 or greater maneuver, any person on board must roll to stay on. The roll is 3 or better on 2 dice, plus 1 for every 10 mph the vehicle is moving — e.g., 8 or better at 50 mph.
A trailer has clearance of only 2 feet above the ground. Thus, no normal vehicle can pass under a trailer. However, a pedestrian could move (or hide) under a stationary trailer, provided he crawled (moving in Phases 2 and 4 only).
Pedestrian Equipment
Ammo clips — $50 + cost of a full load of ammo for that weapon, ½ GE for most weapons, 1 GE for SMGs and GLs. Extended Ammo Clips are available for pistols, SMGs, and rifles. $80 + cost of ammo, holds twice as much ammunition as a standard clip. Extended clips take up 1 GE for most weapons and 2 GEs for SMGs and GLs.
Backpack — $40, no GEs. The pack carries 5 GEs' worth of hand weapons that do not count toward the 6 GE limit. It takes a firing action to remove or don a backpack, and items may be added to or removed only from a laid-down pack. It takes 1d seconds to add something to or remove something from the pack. If the pack is carried rather than worn, it counts as 5 GEs.
Battle Vest — $75, 3 GEs. Holds one pistol, two grenades of any type, two hand weapons magazines of any type, and one Bowie knife. Fits over body armor, but must be worn to gain benefits; if carried, counts as 6 GEs. Putting on or removing a vest costs one action, but adding something to the vest costs nothing.
Body Armor — $250. Gives the wearer 3 extra damage points, but does not protect from falling or collision damage.
Improved Body Armor — $1,500. Works like regular body armor, except that it has 6 DP instead of 3. If the wearer is in a burning vehicle, roll 1d each turn. On a 1 to 3, the armor takes no damage. On a 4 to 6 the armor takes the normal point of damage. Anyone wearing improved body armor must subtract one from their reflex roll because of the bulk, and pedestrians in IBA have their speed reduced by 5 mph (2 squares/turn). The IBA also includes a built-in gas mask, and reduces the amount a person can carry by 5 GEs.
Impact Armor — $2,000. Impact armor gives the wearer 6 additional DP and is fully effective against falls and collisions. Furthermore, any fall or collision damage is halved before applying it to the armor's DP. Naturally, once the armor is destroyed (by collision or weapons fire), these benefits are lost.
Impact armor has the same effects on carrying capacity, replay, rolls and running speed as IBA, but it doesn't give protection from fire or gas. This item cannot be combined with any other form of body armor except for a fireproof suit.
Blended Body Armor — $750 and up. Gives the wearer 3 extra DP, but just like regular body armor, but is indistinguishable from street clothes. Custom tailoring may cost more. Regular body armor of any type cannot be worn with this item, and fireproof suit will be obvious if worn. Improved Body Armor is also available in a blended version for $5,000 and up, but it does not offer protection from fire or gas (though its penalties still apply). Impact armor is not available in a blended version.
Spiked Body Armor — adds $100 to cost of any kind of body armor. Spiked armor inflicts an extra point of damage in hand-to-hand combat, through the use of spiked knuckles, knees, etc.
Fireproof Suit — $500, no weight or space. Worn under body armor, the suit will protect the wearer completely from vehicular fires for 30 turns — after that, the wearer takes 1 point of damage for every ten seconds exposed. The suit protects the same way against flaming oil and building fires. If the wearer is hit by any type of flamethrower fire, damage is halved (round down). The suit offers no protection from other weapons.
Folding Stock — $10. Adds 1 GE for pistols, and subtracts 1 GE for rifles, shotguns, gyroslugger or SMGs. Not available for other hand weapons. A folding stock give +1 to hit with pistols when unfolded, and -1 to hit for other weapons when folded. Folding or unfolding the stock counts as a firing action.
Gas Mask — $30, 1 GE. Gas masks protect against tear gas and other irritants. If exposed to gas, wearer has -2 to his to-hit rolls while in mask is removed.
Hollow-Point Ammo is available for light pistols, heavy pistols, SMGs, rifles, and assault rifles only. Regular cost × 2; adds +1 to damage against pedestrians and tires.
Infrared Goggles — $750, 1 GE. Operates like standard IR equipment (see Infrared Sighting System, p. 89), includes a battery pack that's good for 200 hours. Recharge time and cost are trivial. These may be combined with gas masks.
Laser Targeting Scope — $500, no weight or space. This scope may be attached to any weapon or tripod weapon. It gives a +1 to hit with any weapon it is attached to. User may "fire" the LTS instead of the weapon it's attached to in order to gain sustained fire bonuses.
The LTS (and laser rifle) can be used for laser guidance (see Laser-Guidance Link, p. 83) at the normal costs, and can guide tripod-mounted weapons, MPRL and PMML ammunition only. For laser-guidance purposes, the LTS has a to-hit of 6. When using the LTS for the laser guidance the weapon does not get another +1 to hit because of the scope.
Light Intensifier Goggles — $300, 1 GE. Reduces the penalty "to hit" for night combat from -3 to -1. A LIG/Gas mask combination costs $400, but is still only 1 GE. Not available in a no-parole version. Paint not only adds a -2 penalty, but also negates the goggles' bonus at night.
Limpet Mine — $60, 1 GE. A limpet mine can be used like a standard grenade, doing regular grenade damage. However, it can be armed with a delay up to 15 minutes and attached to another fairly smooth surface. It does not stick magnetically, but by a special glue in plastic beads that break and adhere. When an emplaced limpet mine goes off, it does grenade-type damage of everything within its 2" burst radius, plus 1d+1 to the armor below. If it is on a weapon port, the damage goes directly to the weapon! It must be placed against a weapon to be effective.
Medikit — $1,000. Counts as a pedestrian's full load when carried. When stored or carrying, it takes 2 spaces and has 3 DP. Gives +2 to bonus to any Paramedic rolls.
Mini-Mechanic — $50, 1 GE. When using this item for any sort of repair job, the penalty for using improvised tools (p. 41) is -1 instead of -2. Will fit a large a battle vest.
Plastique — $3,000 per brick, 1 GE. When used on a plastique explosive charge, burst radius is 1.5 × regular explosive damage; 1.5 × the explosive, and burst radius is 1.5 × regular explosive dice. A plastique explosive does full damage to pedestrians, half damage to armor, and internal components. A separate detonator is required for each brick of plastique; detonators can take up to 24 hours to arm.
Shaped Plastique — 1.5 × regular plastique cost; burst radius is halved, and is directional; damage is 1.5 × regular explosive dice, but 1.5 × damage against the item within the limpet-mine rules (see p. 46).
Plunger and Contact Wire — $100, 1 GE. It will always set off an explosive, provided that it has been connected with wire costs $25 and is 1 GE.
Portable Camera — $400, 1 GE. Not intelligent, but otherwise like the vehicular camera (p. 90). It holds one cube and can be hand-held, or, for an extra $200, helmet-mounted for no GE.
Portable Field Radio — $500, 3 GEs. This radio duplicates all the functions of the standard long-distance vehicular radio, including the 25-mile range. It can be worn as a backpack and has 1 DP. If a person wearing a PFR is hit, roll 1 die: on a 1, the PFR is hit first.
Portable Fire Extinguisher — $150, 20 lbs., ½ space carried as cargo, 3 GEs when carried. Puts out a vehicular fire on 2 to 6 (1d, or 1 for a gas burner). Can be "fired" 20 times before it must be refilled — which costs $20 and can be done at many truck stops, armories and hardware stores.
Portable Searchlight — $100, 2 GE. Internal battery holds enough charge for 4 seconds at full intensity (or 6 hours at low (flashlight) intensity. Charging cost — $5, no time.
Riot Shield — $750, 3 GEs. This transparent shield has 7 DP and acts like a wheelguard. When the pedestrian carrying it is hit from the front, roll 1 die; on a 1 to 4, the shield takes the damage first (with any leftover damage still hitting rope), and on a 5 to 6, the pedestrian takes full damage. The shield is made from vehicular plastic armor, and thus will take half damage from many hand weapons (not pedestrians on motorcycles) can use this item, and firing hand weapons while encumbered by the shield is at a -1 to hit.
Tinted Goggles — $20, no weight. Protects the wearer against searchlights slightly like a tinted windshield (see Tinted Windows, p. 92). These cannot be combined with LIG.
Tool Kit — $60, 6 GEs. Includes enough tools and spare parts to allow a mechanic to work in the field at no penalty. Has 2 DP; the first point of damage hurts the case, and the second point breaks the case and destroys or scatters the contents.
Tripod Weapons — Adds 10% to the weapon's cost, 5 GEs. May mount 10% to the weapon's cost, 5 GEs. May mount 10% of any vehicular weapon (or linked weapons) — they are placed on the ground next to the tripod's "spaces" — they are placed on the ground next to the tripod's "spaces." Weapons that require power (e.g., lasers) will require a battery.
A tripod gunshield can be added, adding 1 GE to the weapon's cost, and 10 and 4 lbs. per point of armor (max. weight 40 lbs.). The shield acts like a wheelguard: On a 1 to 4, the gunshield takes damage before the target. Gunshield armor is considered to be a vehicular component, and thus takes half or no damage from many hand weapons.
Tripod weapons cannot be used by a normal passenger in a vehicle. A passenger who wishes to use a tripod weapon takes up an additional space (i.e., a gunner would take up 3 spaces). Tripod weapons take up 2 spaces on a vehicle.
Walkie-Talkie — $250, 1 GE. This item works like a vehicular CB and has a 3-mile range.
Hand Weapon List
| Weapon | Abbrev. | GE | Damage | To-Hit | Cost | Shots | CPS | L $ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submachine Gun | SMG | 2 | 1d | 6 | $250 | 10 | $20 | $370 | a |
| Rifle | — | 2 | 3 hits | 7 | $120 | 20 | 1 | $140 | — |
| Anti-Vehicular Rifle | AVR | 3 | 1d | 8 | $600 | 10 | 5 | $650 | f |
| Heavy AV Rifle | HAVR | 4 | 1d+3 | — | $800 | 10 | 10 | $900 | f |
| Assault Rifle | AR | 3 | 1d+1 | 7 | $400 | 10 | 15 | $550 | a |
| Laser Rifle | LR | 2 | 1d | 6 | $4,500 | 2 | — | $4,500 | b, f |
| Gauss Rifle | GR | 2 | 1d | 6 | $1,500 | 20 | 15 | $1,800 | a, b |
| Gyroslugger (1 barrel) | GS1 | 2 | Special | 8 | $1,200 | Special | Special | — | c, f |
| Gyroslugger (2 barrels) | GS2 | 3 | Special | 8 | $1,500 | Special | Special | Special | c, f |
| Under-Rifle Grenade Launcher | URGL | 1 | Special | 7 | $1,200 | 1 | Special | Special | d, e |
| Under-Rifle Gyroslugger | URGS | 1 | Special | 6 | $120 | 1 | Special | $130 | k |
| Shotgun | StG | 2 |
Abbreviations: GE — Grenade Equivalent, a measure of bulk and weight that determines a pedestrian's carrying capacity. Pedestrians can normally carry 6 GEs of equipment. CPS — cost per shot. L $ — loaded cost.
Notes
a. Does half damage to vehicles.
b. This weapon requires a power pack ($1,000, 3 GEs) to function effectively. The laser rifle only gets two shots without it, but will get 20 more with the power pack. The Gauss rifle gets 60 shots' worth of power from the power pack, and the Gauss pistol gets 100 shots' worth of power from it. Note that the Gauss weapons still require ammunition.
c. The gyroslugger and under-rifle gyroslugger fire rocket shells of varying types. Reload shells are ½ GE each. The gyroslugger must be reloaded like a shotgun by breaking it open and inserting the shells; this takes one second per shell.
Standard — $100, 2d damage, burst effect.
Armor-piercing (AP) — $150, 2d+2 damage, no burst effect.
HESH — $250, 2d damage, removes 1 point of metal armor on every 4, 5 or 6 rolled, rather than just on a 5 or 6.
Incendiary — $300, 1d damage, burst effect, fire modifier 2, burn duration 1.
Flare — $50, ½d damage, fire modifier 1, burn duration 0.
Smoke — $50, creates a 1" × 1" cloud at the impact site, or a preset distance from the firer.
Paint — $100, similar to the smoke round. When fired at a vehicle, it is treated as if fired from a paint gun.
d. Under-rifle weapons may be attached to any rifle (rifle, AV rifle, HAV rifle, assault rifle, laser rifle or Gauss rifle) or gyroslugger, adding its GE to the weapon's cost. Either the rifle or the UR weapon may be fired in one turn, not both. Exception: If a gyroslugger has an URGS attached, both can be fired at the same time.
e. A wide variety of grenades are available for the discriminating duellist. When carried, they are all 1 GE each.
Concussion Grenade — $40. Does 1 point of damage to all pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 1" radius, has an additional effect on people within a 2" radius. Roll 1 die:
1, 2 — Victim unconscious for 10 minutes.
3 — Victim unconscious for 1 minute and stunned (unable to operate vehicle or weapon controls) for 2 more minutes.
4 — Victim unconscious for 10 seconds and stunned for 2 more minutes.
5 — Victim stunned for 30 seconds.
6 — Victim stunned for 10 seconds.
7 or more — No effect.
Characters inside a vehicle with intact armor between them and the blast are safe from the effects. Characters with a battle wall, or other solid object between them and the blast add 5. Characters in a doorway or window, or in a vehicle which has breached armor between them and the blast, add 3 to their roll.
Explosive Grenade — $25. Does 1d damage to all vehicles within a ½" burst radius. Does 1d damage in a 2" burst radius to non-vehicular items.
Fake Grenade — $5. Looks real, but is only plastic.
Flechette Grenade — $20. Does 1d damage to all pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 2" burst radius. No damage to vehicular components.
Flaming Oil Grenade — $75. Creates a ½" × ½" slick of oil which ignites after 1 phase, a timed FOJ slick.
Flash Grenade — $150. Any person within 2" of a thrown grenade when it detonates is blinded for 1 second at night. Effects are doubled if the victim is used in largely fog. Regardless, if a character cannot trace line-of-sight to the grenade, he is immune to its effects. For this purpose, smoke blocks LOS.
Foam Grenade — $30. If this grenade is thrown within ½" of a fire, it puts out the fire on a roll of 1 on 1 die. The foam grenade can also be used offensively, because it blocks visibility like paint when used on a target vehicle.
Impact Fuse — $50 per grenade. This replaces the timer and causes the grenade to explode on impact.
Paint Grenade — $20. Creates a 1" × 1" paint cloud that is standard in every other way. Also available in all colors.
Smoke Grenade — $20. Creates a 1" × 1" smoke cloud that is standard in every other way. Available in a variety of colors.
Tear Gas Grenade — $30. Effects on weapon and laser fire are the same as for smoke. Unprotected pedestrians and duellists must roll once each turn they are in a cloud. Multiple rolls don't produce cumulative results — just apply the worst result rolled so far:
1 — Victim is unconscious for 5 minutes.
2-4 — For 1 minute, victim is -6 to hit with any weapon, and can only crawl at 3 squares per turn.
5-6 — Victim is -2 to hit with any weapon for this turn and 3 more turns.
Thermite Grenade — $100. Thermite does 1d damage to all targets (including vehicles) in a ½" radius; has a burn modifier of 2/1.
White Phosphorus Grenade — $75. White Phosphorus does 1d damage to pedestrians, half damage to vehicles, within ½" of the blast. It creates a 1" × 1" smoke cloud on detonation; fire modifier 2; burn duration 1.
f. Does full damage to vehicles.
g. Spare bazooka shells are 1 GE each, and take 2 seconds to reload (1 second for two people). Characters reloading a bazooka cannot perform any other actions while reloading.
h. The Stinger is a one-shot weapon. To hit 7 against aerial targets or 11 vs. grounded ones. It has a 2" burst effect.
i. The PFT, when carried as cargo, weighs 75 lbs. loaded, 50 lbs. empty and takes up 1 space. The PFT will create a standard smoke cloud adjacent to the firing ped, pointed toward the target. A pedestrian carrying a PFT moves half as fast as other pedestrians. Should the wearer be hit, roll 1 die. On 1 or 2, the PFT is hit (as if it were a normal weapon); on a roll of 3, the PFT will explode if the wearer rolls 1 a to a second die roll. Explosions are instantly fatal to the wearer and create a standard smoke cloud, aligned right behind the PFT has a range of 5" and takes no time to set up or dismantle, since the user is wearing it as a backpack.
j. Only usable in hand-to-hand combat. When attached to the end of a rifle, it adds no GEs.
k. A double-barreled shotgun holds ten shells. One barrel or two barrels can be fired each turn. It uses the same ammo as the normal shotgun.
Alternate Encumbrance Rules
These rules are optional, and a bit more complicated than the grenade-equivalents system presented on p. 44. Feel free to use or ignore them.
A pedestrian can carry up to 200 lbs. of hand weaponry and other equipment. Several pedestrians can work together to carry heavier items (like tripod weapons) by dividing the weight among them. If you can get enough helpers, you can pull your car out of a ditch . . .
The amount of weight you carry counts against your vehicle's chassis limit (if you're in one), and affects your running speed:
| Weight carried | Running Speed penalty |
|---|---|
| 0-20 lbs. | None |
| 21-40 lbs. | -1 square |
| 41-60 lbs. | -2 squares |
| 61-120 lbs. | -3 squares |
| 121-200 lbs. | -4 squares (Anyone carrying this much weight must stop to rest every other turn.) |
In addition to weight, personal equipment is also classified as to how it's carried: no-handed (on a belt, clip, or otherwise attached to the wearer), one-handed (most weapons fall into this category), two-handed (large weapons and other bulky items), and backpack. A pedestrian can carry two two-handed weapons or accessory in his hands at one time, or two one-handed weapons. Any number of no-handed weapons may be carried at any time. For obvious reasons, a pedestrian may only wear one backpack item. Backpacks are no-handed items when worn.
A pedestrian can wear up to six holsters (for pistols and one-handed weaponry) and two slings (for rifles and other two-handed weapons). A weapon in a holster takes a turn to ready, while a slung weapon takes 2 turns to ready. Holsters and slings weigh ¼ lb. apiece.
Backpacks cannot be worn while driving, unless you're driving a motorcycle. Each backpack is assumed to take up ½ space when carried as cargo.
No-Handed Items
Armored Battle Vest: 5 lbs. Can carry up to 10 lbs. of one- or no-handed items.
Battle Vest: 5 lbs. Can carry up to 10 lbs. of one- or no-handed items.
Blended Body Armor: 5 lbs.
Blended Improved Body Armor: 10 lbs.
Body Armor: 10 lbs.
Fireproof Suit: 3 lbs.
Gas Mask: 3 lbs.
Goggles (any type): 1 lb.
Improved Body Armor: 25 lbs.
Laser Targeting Scope: 1 lb.
Life Jacket: 4 lbs.
Scuba Gear: 60 lbs.
Silencer/Flash Suppressor: ½ lb. for hand weapons, 2 lbs. for vehicular weapons.
Spiked Armor: +1 lb.
Swim Fins: 4 lbs.
Under-Rifle GS/GL: 8 lbs.
One-Handed Items
Ammo Clip: 20% of weapon's weight.
Bowie Knife: ½ lb.
Derringer: ½ lb.
Extended Ammo Clip: 30% of weapon's weight.
Gauss Pistol: 2 lbs.
Grenade (any kind): 1 lb.
Hand-Held Flare Launcher: 6 lbs.
Heavy Pistol: 3 lbs.
Limpet Mine/Beacon: 2 lbs.
Machine Pistol: 5 lbs.
Mini-Mechanic: ½ lb.
Pistol: 1 lb.
Plastique, per brick: 5 lbs.
Plunger/Contact Wire: 1 lb.
Portable Searchlight: 4 lbs.
Riot Shield: 25 lbs.
Two-Handed Items
Assault Rifle: 12 lbs.
AV Rifle: 25 lbs.
Bazooka: 20 lbs. (Shells weigh 2 lbs.)
Double-Barreled Gyroslugger: 20 lbs.
Double-Barreled Shotgun: 12 lbs.
Folding Stock: 3 lbs. to pistols (subtract same weight from two-handed weapons)
Gauss Rifle: 9 lbs.
Grenade Launcher: 11 lbs. + wt. of grenades.
Gyroslugger: 14 lbs. (Shells weigh 1 lb.)
Heavy AV Rifle: 30 lbs.
LAW: 20 lbs.
Laser LAW: 25 lbs.
Laser Rifle: 10 lbs. (w/o backpack)
Laser VLAW: 18 lbs.
Man-Portable RL: 35 lbs.
Man-Portable MML: 30 lbs.
Medikit: 50 lbs.
Personal Flamethrower: 50 lbs. (w/backpack)
Portable Camera: 8 lbs. (3 lbs. if helmet mounted)
Portable Fire Extinguisher: 20 lbs.
Rifle: 10 lbs.
Shotgun: 8 lbs.
SMG: 9 lbs.
Speargun: 5 lbs.
Stinger: 30 lbs.
Tool Kit: 40 lbs.
Tripod Gunshield: (Weight of the shield's armor)
Tripod Weapons: 25 lbs. + ½ weapon's weight.
VLAW: 10 lbs.
Backpack Items
Backpack: 5 lbs. (Holds up to 20 lbs. of one- or no-handed items)
Portable Field Radio: 15 lbs.
Portable Medikit: 25 lbs.
Laser Rifle Backpack: 30 lbs.
5. Cars
Building a new car is complicated — just ask Detroit. When you first design a new vehicle, don't be surprised if it takes a little while. You must work within several constraints: Space available in the body size you pick, weight that chassis can carry, and money available. You have to make sure the car has enough power for decent acceleration. Within all these limits, you want enough money and weapons to give you a chance to survive. And remember to allow money and weight for ammunition! When you come up with a good vehicle design, save it for later reference, or add it to the stock car list for your local arena.
Body Types
There are nine types of cars available to duellists, ranging from tiny subcompacts to large vans.
| Type | Price | Weight | Max. load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subcompact | $300 | 1,000 | 2,300 | 7 | 11/5 |
| Compact | $400 | 1,300 | 3,700 | 10 | 13/6 |
| Mid-sized | $600 | 1,600 | 4,800 | 13 | 16/8 |
| Sedan | $700 | 1,700 | 5,100 | 16 | 18/9 |
| Luxury | $800 | 1,800 | 5,500 | 19 | 20/10 |
| Station wagon | $800 | 1,800 | 5,500 | 14(+7) | 20/10 |
| Pickup | $900 | 1,600 | 6,500 | 13(+11) | 22/11 |
| Camper | $1,400 | 2,300 | 6,500 | 17(+7) | 30/14 |
| Van | $1,000 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 24(+6) | 30/14 |
Price is the dollar cost of the body without armor, but with headlights, trim, seats, doors, instruments, basic targeting system, head-up windshield visual display, etc. Weight is the weight of the body and frame — it counts toward the total weight of the vehicle. Maximum load is the total weight (including the body and frame) the vehicle is allowed. Maximum load can be altered — see Chassis, p. 51. Spaces are the number of spaces available in the vehicle for equipment, plus armor. Those vehicles with additional spaces listed in parentheses have cargo areas that can carry any number of small items (except for items used to hold cargo, e.g., Armored Beer Refrigerators, Cargo Safes, etc.), but must be used for cargo.
Armor Types
Armor cost/weight is the cost and weight of a single point of ablative plastic armor. Cars carry armor in six positions: front, back, left, right, top and underbody. You can put different amounts of armor in different locations, but the cost per point is the same, no matter the location. The cost and weight per point of armor does vary according to the size of the vehicle, however. There are also a few special types of armor available to duellists — that can affect the cost and weight of armor as well.
Fireproof Armor (FP) costs twice as much as normal armor, but weighs the same. As the name indicates, fireproof armor cannot be set on fire. It takes damage normally from weapons, including flamethrowers and lasers, but if the armor is all that is damaged, you do not roll for the possibility of fire — it can't happen. If the armor is breached and internal components are damaged, regular fire rules apply to the vehicle — the vehicle must be all fireproof for all regular. Repairing FP armor is at triple normal cost (see Repair and Salvage, p. 55).
Laser-Reflective Armor (LR) takes damage normally from all weapons except lasers. All types of lasers do half damage (round down) to reflective armor. Furthermore, laser-reflective armor will not take fire modifiers from lasers (though it will spread damage from flamethrowers and other fire weapons). Once the armor has been breached, internal components are vulnerable to normal chances of fire. Reflective armor costs and weighs 10% more than regular armor, and costs twice as much to repair as regular armor. Reflective armor cannot be mixed with regular armor.
Laser-Reflective Fireproof Armor (LRFP) combines the features of both types. It takes half damage from lasers (rounded down), and cannot be set on fire. It is 2½ times normal armor cost, weighs 10% more than normal armor, and costs four times as much to repair. It cannot be mixed with other armor types.
Radarproof Armor (RP) has twice regular armor cost, but the same weight. A vehicle with this armor is invisible to radar on a roll of 1 to 5 on 1 die; RGMs, radar-based ATADs, and other radar-guided weaponry cannot target the vehicle. On a 6+, the armor fails to shield, and the vehicle may be targeted normally. Add 1 to the roll for each facing of the car's armor (front, top, etc.) that is breached. Each vehicle trying to fire the target vehicle can roll once per turn as if radar contact is broken, to see if their own radar can still make contact and roll again.
All exterior armor on a vehicle must be radarproof, or the benefits are lost. Fireproof armor can be radarproof for twice its usual cost. Laser-reflective and metal armor cannot be made radarproof.
Metal Armor costs 2½ times as much as normal armor, and weighs 5 times as much. Normal armor is ablative — that is, it loses strength in excess of the armor value slightly above — any damage in excess of the armor value passes through to the interior of a vehicle, and the armor remains (more or less) intact.
If the damage rolled is greater than the value of metal armor at the location hit, damage in excess of the value pene-trates the armor to affect internal components. In addition, every 6 rolled on a damage die reduces the value of the armor by 1 point. Burst-effect weapons reduce the DP by 1 point for every 5 or 6 rolled on a damage die. The loss of metal armor is after any damage that has penetrated the armor. Metal armor is taken inherently fireproof. Metal armor can be polished and treated for a laser-reflective finish; this adds an extra 10% to the cost of the armor, but adds no weight.
Composite Metal/Plastic Armor means that a vehicle has two layers of armor; metal outside, and plastic (of any kind) underneath. Both layers of armor are treated normally; anything that gets through the metal will hit the plastic behind it. Composite armor is the only way to mix armor types, but only one kind of plastic armor may be underneath — any plastic accessories (wheelguards, spoilers, etc.) that have to match the car's armor type must match the plastic under the metal.
If any cost or weight calculations result in fractions of dollars or pounds, round up.
Modifications
Carbon-aluminum (CA) frame. Any vehicle body can have a carbon-aluminum frame. This alteration quadruples body cost, halves body weight, but does not affect maximum load. The CA frame modification is taken before chassis and suspension modifiers, and the chassis and suspension modifiers are based on the new body cost. A vehicle with a CA frame takes double damage in all rams, rolls and collisions.
Streamlining. Any vehicle body can be streamlined. It costs 50% of the body cost, weighs nothing, reduces interior space by 10%, increases speed by 10%, and reduces power consumption (for raises mpg) by 10%. To reduce spaces, treat cargo and regular spaces separately and deduct 10% from each, rounding up. It doesn't affect armor and suspension modifiers.
Armor can be sloped. This modification must affect the entire vehicle — you cannot have sloped armor in one location and non-sloped armor in another. Sloped armor doesn't add weight, but increases the cost by 10%. This cost is based on accessories like wheelguards, spoilers and the like.
Sloping a vehicle's armor reduces the spaces available for internal components by 10% (round up). Treat cargo space separately and deduct 10% from there, too. A vehicle with sloped armor is at -1 to hit, in addition to all other targeting modifiers. If a side which is breached (or nonexistent) armor is targeted, the penalty does not apply. Sloping armor protects tires, EWPs, rocket platforms or other exposed components; shots targeting these areas do not suffer the -1 penalty.
If a vehicle is both sloped and streamlined, subtract a total of 15% (rounded up) from the value of a vehicle's total.
Chassis
The chassis can be strengthened (or weakened) to allow a vehicle to carry more (or less) weight.
| Strength | Weight Modifier | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Light | -10% | -20% |
| Standard | none | none |
| Heavy | +10% | +50% |
| Extra Heavy | +20% | +100% |
The price modifier is a percentage of the original body price. For example, putting a Heavy chassis on a mid-sized car would increase the maximum load 10% — from 4,800 to 5,280 (that's 4,800 + 480) — but would cost 50% of the original body price — another $300. Chassis strength is not a factor in vehicle weight or interior space.
Any car larger than a compact may have a six-wheeled chassis. It costs an extra $100, plus the cost of the extra tires. Pickups and vans with Extra-Heavy chassis must have six wheels.
Suspension
Suspension determines a vehicle's beginning Handling Class (see Handling Class, p. 8).
| Suspension | Price | HC Van | HC | Sub HC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | no extra | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Improved | 100% of body cost | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Heavy | 150% of body cost | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Off-road | 500% of body cost | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Light suspension is standard. Better suspensions cost in relation to the original body cost of the vehicle — a Heavy suspension for a Luxury car would cost $1,200 (150% of $800). Suspension adds no weight and takes no interior space. The HC of a van (or of a pickup over 5,500 lbs.) is 1 less than that of a lighter vehicle with the same suspension. On the other hand, the HC of a subcompact is 1 higher than that of a larger vehicle with the same suspension. Off-road suspensions negate the off-road handling-class penalty for driving off-road.
Power Plants
There are two kinds of engine available in 2040: gas, electric. While gasoline unavailable in many areas of the world, multiple-fuel-cell electric power plants are far more common than the old-style internal-combustion engines. Power plants take up space and weight based inside the vehicle.
| Plant | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Power Factors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $500 | 500 | 3 | 5 | 800 |
| Medium | $1,000 | 700 | 4 | 8 | 1,400 |
| Large | $2,000 | 900 | 5 | 10 | 2,000 |
| Super | $4,000 | 1,100 | 6 | 12 | 2,600 |
| Sport | $6,000 | 1,600 | 6 | 12 | 3,000 |
| Thundercat | $12,000 | 2,000 | 6 | 12 | 5,700 |
DP are "damage points," the number of hits required to destroy the power plant. When the power plant is lost, a vehicle can no longer fire on or accelerate, but all other systems still work. The vehicle decelerates 5 mph per turn (more if you put on the brakes). Power Factors are used to compute acceleration and top speed, which is more fully detailed later in this section. Cost, Weight and Spaces should be self-explanatory.
Power Plant Accessories
Platinum Catalysts (PCs) increase power factors by 5% and cost 20% of the plant's cost.
Superconductors (SCs) increase power factors by 10% and cost 50% of the plant's cost. When combined with PCs, the set costs 70% of the plant's cost and increases power factors by 15%.
Extra Power Cells increase the cost and weight of any electric power plant by 25% (rounded up), and increase the plant's DP and spaces by 10% (rounded up). A plant with extra power cells has 50% more power units set for use (see Range, p. 52). Each set of extra cells adds as long and costs as much to recharge as the original plant. Extra power cells do not affect the plant's maximum load or top speed in an existing plant is a Very Hard task for a mechanic.
Improved Supercharger Capacitors (ISC) — $500, 1 space, 75 lbs., adds 1 DP to power plant. Each ISC will raise an electric vehicle's acceleration by 5 mph and add 20 mph to its top speed for three turns. Triggering the ISC is a firing action taken during the Acceleration phase. It cannot be used again until recharged (which takes two minutes, and costs $10). Triggering an ISC causes considerable damage to the power plant — divide the number of DP the plant originally had by three, rounding down, and give that much damage the plant's when the ISC is triggered. This damage will not cause a fire or hazard, and component armor does not protect against it. However, damage caused by ISCs costs half as much to repair as normal damage. Up to three ISCs may be linked together for cumulative results. A vehicle that is above its maximum speed when the ISC's charge is used up will decelerate by 10 mph/turn until at or below its maximum speed.
Range with Electric Power Plants
The subject of vehicle range has very little importance in the city or in the arena. But on the long stretches of highway between oases of civilization, running out of power is like signing your own death warrant.
Car, truck, helicopter and hovercraft power plants have a power capacity equal to their spaces times 50; cycle power plants have a power capacity equal to their DP times 25. These "power units" will last longer at lower speeds, and get eaten up quickly at higher ones. Power units (PU) are consumed at varying rates per mile, given by the formula (PU × Current speed)/(Maximum speed × 100).
On average, a vehicle will have enough power to travel 200 miles at its "cruising speed," which will be 60% of its top speed. At its top speed, it will have enough charge to travel 100 miles.
Speeds beyond the derived maximum for a given plant drain power even faster. Every turn spent over the maximum costs one power unit per full 10 mph over the limit. If a plant has a maximum speed of 90 mph, there is no additional penalty at 95, but it costs one power unit for each turn at 100 or 105, two power units for each turn at 110 or 115, and so on.
Laser fire also drains power plants. Every time you fire a light laser, it costs you one power unit. A shot from a regular laser costs two power units, and a shot from a heavy or twin-laser costs three power units.
Power plant recharges are readily available in towns, but on the highways they are usually available only at truck stops. A power plant recharge takes around ten minutes (most facilities can take two vehicles at a time) and costs $1 per five PUs.
Gas Engines
| Type | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Power | Base MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 cid | $400 | 60 lbs. | 1 | 1 | 300 | 80 |
| 30 cid | $750 | 115 lbs. | 1 | 2 | 500 | 70 |
| 50 cid | $1,250 | 150 lbs. | 1 | 3 | 700 | 60 |
| 100 cid | $2,500 | 265 lbs. | 2 | 6 | 1,300 | 50 |
| 150 cid | $4,000 | 375 lbs. | 3 | 9 | 1,900 | 45 |
| 200 cid | $5,500 | 480 lbs. | 4 | 12 | 2,500 | 35 |
| 250 cid | $6,500 | 715 lbs. | 5 | 14 | 3,200 | 28 |
| 300 cid | $7,500 | 825 lbs. | 6 | 16 | 4,000 | 22 |
| 350 cid | $9,500 | 975 lbs. | 7 | 19 | 5,000 | 18 |
| 400 cid | $10,500 | 1,050 lbs. | 8 | 22 | 6,300 | 15 |
| 450 cid | $11,700 | 1,125 lbs. | 9 | 24 | 7,800 | 13 |
| 500 cid | $13,000 | 1,200 lbs. | 10 | 26 | 9,500 | 12 |
| 700 cid | $19,000 | 1,275 lbs. | 14 | 30 | 13,000 | 10 |
Range with Gas Engines
How far a vehicle can travel on a tank of gas depends on two things — the efficiency of the engine and the size of the tank.
Engine Efficiency. Each engine has a "base mpg" rating; this is the number of miles per gallon the vehicle will deliver at its "cruising speed," which is 60% of its top speed. If you get full 10 mph of additional constant speed, reduce the mpg by 10% (round down).
For every full 10 mph of constant speed under its cruising speed, increase the mpg by 10% (rounding down). The best the mpg can get in any case is 120% of the base value.
Once the final mpg has been calculated for a given speed, multiply it by the gallon capacity of the gas tank. This will yield the range of the vehicle.
Gas Tanks. The gas tank is a separate component from the gas engine, and is drawn separately on the vehicle record sheet. A gas tank can hold any whole number of gallons — even one.
The number of spaces a gas tank takes up is the same for every type. A tank of 5 gallons or less takes up no space; 6- to 15-gallon tanks take up 1 space; 16- to 25-gallon tanks take up 2 spaces; 26- to 35-gallon tanks take up 3 spaces, and so on. If multiple gas tanks are used, calculate the space taken up using the total capacity of the combined tanks. Gas tanks are available in four types:
Economy Tank — Weighs one lb. per gallon and costs $2 per gallon of capacity. The economy tank has 2 DP.
Heavy-Duty Tank — Weighs two lbs. per gallon, and costs $5 per gallon of capacity. The HD tank has 4 DP.
Racing Tank — The racing tank utilizes compartmentalization and a sponge-like substance that holds the fuel and keeps it from sloshing and leaking. The result is that even if the tank is breached, fuel loss will be ¼ that of the economy or HD tank. Racing tanks weigh five lbs. per gallon and cost $10 per gallon of capacity. The racing tank has 4 DP.
Duelling Tank — This top-of-the-line tank is for duellists who want to take as few risks as possible. The duelling tank has the same internal safety features as the racing tank, and it's more heavily armored. The duelling tank weighs 10 lbs. per gallon and costs $25 per gallon of capacity. The duelling tank has 8 DP.
When gas tanks are hit, they take damage like any component. If a duelling tank (for instance) takes 5 hits of damage, it has 3 DP left. After the tank is fully breached, roll 1 die and multiply the result by 20% (5% for racing and duelling tanks) — that is the percentage of the tank's capacity that leaks out of the tank (see also Fire and Explosion on p. 31). If the tank is still holding fuel, it now has half the original tank's DP. If the breached tank takes damage in excess of its (new) DP again, it is automatically destroyed and all gas is lost.
Fuel — A gallon of fuel weighs 6 lbs. Fuel costs vary from region to region, but the average price per gallon is around $40, if it's available at all. The sample vehicles will assume a full tank of gas at $40 per gallon.
| Tank type | DP | Wt./gallon | $/gallon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 2 | 1 lb. | $2 |
| Heavy Duty | 4 | 2 lbs. | $5 |
| Racing | 4 | 5 lbs. | $10 |
| Duelling | 8 | 10 lbs. | $25 |
Gas Engine Accessories
Carburetor — Saves 25% of the engine cost, no weight or space. By taking out the fuel-injection system and replacing it with an old-fashioned carburetor system, you can save money. But the engine's power factors will drop by 15%, and base mpg goes down by 2 (only 1 if it started below 10). Installing a carburetor is a Medium job for a mechanic.
Multibarrel Carburetor — Saves 15% of the engine cost, no weight or space. Installing a multibarrel carburetor system drops engine power factors by 10%, and base mpg goes down by 1. Installing the multibarrel carb is a Medium job, but switching from a single carb to a multibarrel system is an Easy job.
Tubular Headers — Adds 20% of engine cost, no weight or space. Increases power factors by 5%.
Blueprinting — Adds 50% of engine cost, no weight or space. Increases power factors by 10%.
Turbocharger — $1,000 + $1 per added power factor, no weight or space. Increases power factors by 25%, and acceleration by 5 mph. It takes one turn at maximum acceleration to activate a turbocharger; this is known as "turbo lag." If a car slacks off the accelerator (even by 5 mph), the turbocharger bonus is lost until another turn of full acceleration. A variable-pitch (VP) turbocharger costs $2,000 + $1 per added power factor, and adds 25% to the engine's power factor system.
Supercharger — $3,000 + $1 added power factor, weighs 20% of engine weight, 1 space. Increases acceleration by 5 mph (good at all speeds), and increases power factors by 40%. Reduces mpg by 1. A supercharger cannot be installed on an engine smaller than 150 ci.
Nitrous Oxide — $500, 20 lbs., 1 space. Opening a tank of nitrous oxide counts as a firing action. An opened tank increases acceleration by 10 mph and top speed by 50%, for 5 seconds. Then one tank must be used at a time — that is, the effects are not cumulative. Once a tank is opened, roll on the Engine Critical Damage Table at -3 immediately.
After five seconds, the vehicle decelerates by 10 mph automatically until below its regular top speed. This deceleration does not count toward the hazard of excessive braking.
When adding accessories to a gas engine, all the power factor alterations are taken at base time. Thus, if you blueprint the engine (+10%), add tubular headers (+5%), a VP turbocharger (+25%) and a supercharger (+40%), its power factors will be raised by 80%.
Engine Damage
Internal combustion engines are much more complicated than electric fuel cells, and are therefore easier to damage.
Each engine has a set number of DPs — when an engine takes more damage than it has DPs, it stops working immediately. The vehicle decelerates 5 mph each turn.
Even a partially damaged gas engine may not function as well as an undamaged one. Every time the engine takes damage, immediately roll 2 dice, and consult the following table, adding 1 to the roll for every full 5 points of damage taken from that hit.
Engine Critical Damage Table (Roll 2 dice)
2 or less — Black smoke pours out of the engine compartment (not enough for a smokescreen, but enough to give a good scare).
3 — Minor damage, but no immediate effects. Roll again on this table (at -4) after each full hour that the motor is run. Repair is an Easy job.
4 — Not So Minor damage, but still no immediate effects. Roll again (at -3) after every ten minutes that the motor is run. Repair is a Medium job.
5 — Serious Damage, but no immediate effects. Roll again on this table (at a -1) every 2 minutes that the motor is run. Repair is a Medium job for a mechanic.
6 — Extensive damage. As minor damage, but re-roll (at -2) every 30 seconds. Repair is a Medium job for a mechanic.
7 — Hideous grinding noises come from the engine. Roll again on this table (at -2). If your engine gets "7" again, stop rolling. Also, ignore any results less than "7."
8 — Crack! The block is cracked, or a rod is thrown, or something else equally nasty. The car decelerates by 15 mph every turn (more if brakes are applied) until the car is at 20 mph. The car lurches along for another 5 seconds at that speed, and then the engine dies a horrible, permanent death. Turning it off early won't help. Repair is impossible; the engine must be replaced.
9 — Radiator! In ten seconds, your temperature gauge will be in the red. For every second the engine continues to run after that, roll 1 die on a 6, the engine seizes up and is totally ruined.
10 — Oil System! In 5 seconds, your oil pressure gauge goes in the red. Starting after 3 seconds, roll 1 die — on a 6, the engine seizes up and is totally ruined. If the car has a turbocharger, the engine will seize up in one turn if you got lucky and shut down the engine in time, repairs will cost 10% of the cost of the engine, and are considered a Medium job for a mechanic. In either case, place an oil slick immediately behind the vehicle — but only after the engine seizes up or runs on oil gauge drops — don't let the oil slick give the driver an early clue that there's a problem! See 12 (Disaster!) for the full effects.
11 — Fuel System! The car will shut down by itself in 1d+3 seconds (the engine is starved for gas), but otherwise, performance is unaffected. There is a chance the engine will catch on fire. Roll 2 dice every turn until the engine is shut off or runs out of gas. If there is a fire, the vehicle will leave a ½" × 1" patch of burning gasoline behind it (treat like an FOJ slick).
12 — Disaster! The block is cracked, or a rod is thrown, or something else equally nasty. The car decelerates by 15 mph every turn (more if brakes are applied) until the car is at 20 mph. The car lurches along for another 5 seconds at that speed, and then the engine dies a horrible, permanent death. Turning it off early won't help; the engine must be replaced.
13 or higher — FIRE! As 12, but the car is on fire as well.
Once he decides to slow down, he can decelerate 5 mph per turn just by taking his foot off the accelerator — and he no longer has to roll for plant damage, even if he's still at 100, because the plant is no longer under strain.
A power plant reduced to 0 DP by overwork will explode on the first phase of the next turn. All adjacent components (usually front weapons and the driver and gunner) take 1d-2 points of damage; there is a 50% chance that this will catch fire.
When pushing a gas engine, roll once on the Engine Critical Damage Table (see above), adding +1 to the roll for every 20 mph (or fraction of speed). As with power plants, no roll is necessary when decelerating.
Tires
To keep the bookkeeping as simple as possible, the weight of tires does count against the maximum load of the vehicle. A car's front tires must both be the same type, and the rear tires must be the same type (but tires needn't match front to rear) — handling class drops by 1 if this rule is broken.
| Tire | Price | Weight | DP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $50 | 30 | 4 |
| Heavy-Duty | $100 | 40 | 6 |
| Puncture-Resistant | $200 | 50 | 9 |
| Solid | $500 | 75 | 12 |
| Plasticore | $1,000 | 150 | 25 |
The plasticore tire is a special design, with a standard rubber exterior around a solid core of fireproof armor-quality plastic. After a plasticore tire has taken 4 points of damage, the rubber exterior strips off, revealing the plastic. As soon as any one tire on a vehicle carrying plasticore tires is reduced to bare plastic, its HC drops permanently by 1. Unavailable in radial or off-road versions, plasticore tires cannot be steelbelted.
Spare tires carried as cargo take up one space. Even though they all have the same cost and weight, a luxury standard spare tire (for example) will not fit on a subcompact car. In most cases, you cannot mix tires from different size vehicles. There are two exceptions: Luxury cars and station wagons use the same size tire, as do vans, campers and pickups.
Tires may be modified:
Steelbelting increases the cost and weight of any tire by 50%, and adds 25% to its DP (round down).
Radial Tires — Any car, cycle or trike with radial tires on all its wheels has its HC raised by 1. Adds 150% to cost, 20% to weight, and subtracts 1 DP. Radial modifications are applied after steelbelting.
Off-Road (OR) Tires — Any car, cycle or trike with off-road tires on all its wheels has its HC raised by 1 when off-road, and will not take damage from normal off-road terrain. OR tires confer no benefits on the highway. This modification adds 20% to cost and 5 lbs. to weight. Off-road benefits are applied after steelbelting. No tire may be both off-road and radial.
Racing Slick (RS) Tires — Any car, cycle or trike with racing slicks on all its wheels has its HC raised by 2. If they are only on two corners (front, back), then the vehicle's HC is raised by 1. The hazard for maneuvers on ice, oil, water and the like is at +D4. In addition, just hitting oil, ice or water is a D3 hazard. Racing slicks take double damage from spikes, debris and obstacles.
Any non-oversized vehicle can mount slicks, but these tires are most beneficial on a professionally-maintained, glass-smooth racetrack surface. On a regular city street or highway, racing slicks take 1 point of damage for every ten minutes they drive on open road, just from accumulated trash.
Making a slick a duel is a 300% to the cost, 100% to the weight, and adds 1 DP. An RS may be made fireproof or steelbelted, but not radial or off-road.
Fireproofing doubles the cost of any tire (after any other modifications), no extra weight.
Weapons
Weapons are usually mounted on the front, back, right or left. Technically, they can also be mounted on the top or bottom, but they're not nearly as useful in those positions. Weapons may also be mounted in turrets. Dropped weapons (only) may also be corner mounted. Up to two spaces' worth of dropped weapons (four spaces on oversized vehicles) may be corner mounted.
For complete information on weapons, see Chapter 3.
The Human Element
For game purposes, all humans are assumed to weigh 150 pounds, unless they have built themselves with the Bodybuilding skill, p. 40. A human takes up one space. Vehicle and weapon controls (and the freedom of movement to use them) also take one space. Therefore, two spaces are allotted for each driver or gunner. For more on people, see Chapter 4, Characters.
Each vehicle can have only one driver, but weapon slots are on either the right or left side (the player specifies at the time the car is built). The driver can fire any of the vehicle's weapons if he can also use any hand weapons. A gunner can also use hand weapons, or hand weapons. There can be more than one gunner. There can be more than one gunner. The driver and gunner cannot share a targeting computer; each must have his own if both are to get an aiming bonus.
A vehicle can carry passengers either in cargo space or regular space. A passenger seat (with or without passenger) takes no space and adds no weight — the passenger, of course, weighs 150 lbs. and takes up space. Passengers can use hand weapons but cannot fire vehicle weapons. A single passenger can ride behind a cycle's driver; he takes up no extra space but adds weight, and can use hand weapons only. Unless otherwise stated a passenger is located in cargo space.
Note that under the optional Encumbrance rules (p. 49), pedestrian equipment does count toward the vehicle's chassis weight limit.
Cargo
Likely cargo includes spare tires and ammunition (for yourself, or salvaged from a kill). In a campaign game, consult your referee about other "cargo" you want to pick up. Note that any vehicle can carry cargo if it has unused space, but pickups, vans and station wagons have a specific "cargo area" that can be used for nothing else. This means that no vehicular component can be placed in it except as cargo or salvage!
Computing Acceleration and Top Speed
Once you have determined what will go into your vehicle, you must compute its acceleration. This will be 5, 10 or 15 mph.
If the number of factors of a vehicle's power plant is less than ⅓ the vehicle's weight, it is underpowered and will not move. Throw something out, or get a bigger power plant.
If the power factors are ⅓ the weight but less than ½, the acceleration is 5 mph.
If the power factors are ½ the weight but less than the weight itself, the acceleration is 10 mph.
If the power factors are equal to or greater than the weight, then the acceleration is 15 mph.
Example: A luxury car weighing 5,500 lbs. needs a Medium power plant (which has 1,400 power factors). Since 1,400 is less than ⅓ of 5,500, the car won't move! So we decide to get a bigger plant, a Large (with 2,000 power factors). Of course, the larger power plant took up more space, weight and money than the old one, so some other things had to go to bring the cost the same — but that's the way things go when you're building a car. Because 2,000 is between ⅓ and ½ of 5,500, the car can now move with an acceleration of 5 mph per turn. If we could find some way to cut the weight down to 4,000 pounds (or if we could get a plant with at least 2,750 factors), the acceleration would go up to 10 mph per turn (since 2,000 is ½ of 4,000). Or, if a luxury car that weighed only 4,000 pounds would be so stripped down it would be nearly useless. So it goes . . .
Every car will also have a top speed, based on the following formula: 360 × power factors / (power factors + weight) for electric power plants, or 240 × power factors / (power factors + weight) for internal combustion engines, rounded down to a multiple of 2.5 mph. In the example above, the 5,500 lb. luxury car with a Large power plant (2,000 power factors) would have a top speed of 360 × 2,000 / (2,000 + 5,500) = 96, which rounds down to 95 mph. If the luxury had a 250 cid engine in place of the Large plant, it would have a top speed of 240 × 3,200 / (3,200 + 5,500) = 88.275, which rounds down to 87.5.
Placing Weapons and Armor
Now that you've chosen all your components and determined that your car has enough power to accelerate satisfactorily, you can fill out the vehicle diagram. Refer back to the example on p. 3. This diagram shows (a) what weapons the car has and where they are located; (b) how much ammo is in each weapon; (c) how much armor the car has in each location; and (d) what other components the car has, and where they are located. Note that the power plant can be either in front or in back.
Weapon location restriction: No more than ⅓ of the total spaces in a vehicle can be devoted to weapons that fire from any one side (round down). Motorcycles and sidecars are exempt from this restriction.
Dropped weapons and gas streamers can be corner-mounted. Only two spaces' worth of dropped weapons can be corner mounted on any corner of a car or hovercraft, and up to four spaces' worth may be mounted on any corner of an oversized vehicle. Helicopters, boats, trikes and cycles cannot corner-mounted weapons.
The vehicle diagram is used to keep track of ammunition expenditure and damage. Also located on the vehicle diagram are the Speed Track and the Handling Track (see Chapter 2).
Blank Vehicle Record Sheets for every type of vehicle in Car Wars are provided at the end of the book. You may photocopy them for personal use.
Repair and Salvage
In a continuing campaign, damaged vehicles will need repair. Damage to armor can be repaired at $50 per hit (multiplied by the armor's cost modifier — e.g., fireproof armor costs twice as much) — or the vehicle's entire armor can be replaced for its original cost (as per the vehicle building rules on pp. 50-51) plus 10%. A component that has taken only 1 hit can be repaired for 10% of its original price; 2 hits: 30%; 3 hits: 50%; and so on.
It's cheaper to replace a badly damaged power plant (for instance) than to fix it.
Body armor cannot be repaired. Medical care for injured characters is free. (You're insured.)
The prices above are for parts and labor. If you do the work yourself, cut ⅓ off the repair costs. Many repair shops will let you do your own work in their bays — for $50 an hour.
A vehicle or component may be sold for salvage. Salvage value is (original cost - repair cost). Damaged parts may be bought for this value, or sold for half that value. If you stop on the road to strip a wreck, you can easily get tires, extra magazines, unfired ammunition, hand weapons, and cargo. Other components can be salvaged, but it takes time and requires the Mechanic skill (see pp. 40-41). A burned wreck is worthless.
Modifying Vehicles
New weapons and accessories can be added to an existing vehicle between duels, as long as weight and space limits are observed. Old components may be saved or sold. Add 10% to the cost of any parts that vary from a car's original design — retrofitting is expensive.
Exceptions: New tires can be added at their regular cost, and chassis and suspension cannot be changed from their original design.
If any cost or weight calculations using the above instructions result in fractions of dollars or pounds, round to the nearest whole number.
6. Cycles and Trikes
Cycles
Building a motorcycle is very similar to building a car. A cycle can use almost any weapon or accessory a car does. A medium or heavy cycle can also pull a sidecar — for one passenger, for cargo hauling, or just to get some extra firepower.
| Frame | Price | Weight | Max. load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Cycle | $200 | 250 | 800 | 4 | 10/4 |
| Med. Cycle | $300 | 300 | 1,100 | 5 | 11/5 |
| Hvy. Cycle | $400 | 350 | 1,300 | 7 | 12/6 |
| Lt. Sidecar | $300 | 200 | 400 | 2 | 5/5 |
| Hvy. Sidecar | $450 | 350 | 750 | 3 | 5/6 |
The weight of the sidecar and contents does not count against the load on the cycle frame. Instead, both the sidecar and the cycle must meet their maximum weight requirements separately. The weight is added together, when computing acceleration and top speed (which is done the same way as for cars). A cycle can only pull one sidecar. Cycle and sidecar chassis cannot be modified to increase weight capacity.
Cycle armor can be placed front and rear only. A sidecar is treated like a little car with no top. Sidecars carry armor in all six normal locations. Cycle and sidecar armor can be made fireproof, reflective, both or metal. All the armor on a sidecar or a cycle must be made of the same type, but an attached sidecar can carry a different type of armor from a cycle.
Suspension
Suspension can be upgraded to improve the handling class of the cycle or sidecar. To determine the HC of a cycle/sidecar combination, add the HCs of the two separate items together.
| Suspension | Cost | HC |
|---|---|---|
| Light | no extra | 0 |
| Improved | 100% of frame cost | 1 |
| Heavy | 200% of frame cost | 2 |
| OR | 300% of frame cost | 2 |
Power Plants
Like car power plants, cycles use electric fuel cell systems. Like today's engines, they are more powerful for their size and weight than auto engines, but cannot be used in larger vehicles — they would burn up.
| Plant | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Cycle | $500 | 100 | 1 | 2 | 400 |
| Med. Cycle | $1,000 | 150 | 1 | 3 | 600 |
| Large Cycle | $1,500 | 175 | 2 | 4 | 800 |
| Super Cycle | $2,000 | 200 | 2 | 5 | 1,000 |
| Super Trike | $3,000 | 250 | 3 | 6 | 1,200 |
Cycle acceleration and top speed is determined in exactly the same way as for cars. Cycles can use gas engines.
Tires
Cycles need two tires; sidecars need one. The front and rear tires on a cycle must match, and if a sidecar is attached, its tire must match, too. Cycle tires cost the same and have the same number of DP as tires as car tires, but they weigh only half as much.
Weapon Placement
Weapons can only be placed on a cycle's front or rear, or the front or side of a sidecar. A weapon on a cycle cannot be linked to a weapon on a sidecar, unless both are dropped weapons. If the sidecar becomes detached, the link is broken and must be replaced.
Cycle Accessories
Cycle Wheelguards — $10/2 lbs. per point of plastic armor, maximum 20 lbs. each. Only one wheelguard is required per tire. If the tire is targeted and hit, roll 1 die. On a 1 to 5, the wheelguard takes the damage. Cycle wheelguards do not lower HC.
Cycle Turret Sidecar — All cycle turrets can fire in a 180-degree arc from straight forward to straight back on the side that they are mounted on. Universal versions that fire upwards as well are available for an extra $1,000. Turret weapons are protected by the sidecar's top armor, but you must put at least one point of armor in the other five areas. The turret can be targeted at -3 if the firer is in the turret's arc of fire.
The one-space CTS costs $1,500, weighs 250 lbs., has a maximum load of 550 lbs., and armor cost/weight is $5/5 lbs. Holds one space of weaponry in the turret, and one non-passenger space in the body.
The two-space CTS costs $2,500, weighs 450 lbs., has a maximum load of 800 lbs., and armor cost/weight is $6/6 lbs. Holds two spaces worth of weaponry in the turret, and one non-passenger space in the body.
Jetison Joining — $300, no weight or space. The joining's explosive bolts allow a desperate cyclist to ditch a damaged sidecar on the run. Triggering the joining is a firing action, but once they are fired, the sidecar becomes a separate counter travelling parallel to the cycle (place a ½" × ½" counter next to the cycle to represent the sidecar). If struck, treat the loose sidecar as an obstacle. The sidecar will decelerate 5 mph per turn, but must roll out of contact for Crash Table 1 with the appropriate speed modifiers. Not vehicular weapons on a detached sidecar cannot be fired, although hand-weapon fire is still permitted. Firing the joining is a D2 hazard for the cycle, and the cycle's HC may be permanently reduced as well, but the sidecar's acceleration and top speed may improve.
Cycle Windshell — $500, 50 lbs., no space, 2 DP. This can be mounted on any motorcycle, but cannot be combined with a sidecar. The windshell effectively streamlines a vehicle (see p. 51), but the cycle can still be streamlined again for increased benefits. The windshell adds 1 to the HC of any cycle going 60 mph or faster. In addition, the shell's DP acts as 2 points of armor, protecting against shots from the top, underbody and sides. The second point of damage destroys the windshell, leaving a debris counter behind. If the cycle is traveling faster than its normal top speed, it must slow down next turn.
A cycle can carry a passenger while using this item; weapon riders have their handweapon arcs of fire restricted to the right and left firing arcs. To get on or off, the shell must be unlatched and swung up; it takes two turns to close and latch the shell. The entire shell can be jettisoned in one turn; this destroys the shell and is a D3 hazard. The shell will destroy itself if opened while the cycle is traveling over 20 mph.
Cycle windshells can be armored, and add a 50 lbs. maximum weight. This effectively increases the windshell's DP. Windshell armor must match the cycle's armor type.
Cycle Blades — $50, 20 lbs., no space. These jagged blades add 2 points to the damage any pedestrian takes when hit by a cycle. If the cycle just passes adjacent to a pedestrian, there is a 50% chance the blades will hit, doing 1 point of damage per 20 mph of speed. Doing this successfully is a D2 hazard for the cycle. Cycle blades are destroyed if the vehicle rolls. Fake blades are available, at $20 for the set, no weight or space. They do no damage, but they're great for scaring pedestrians.
Trikes
Tricycles are designed like any other vehicles. A trike counter is 1" long, like that of a car. A trike's arcs of fire are different from those of other vehicles (see below); this should be taken into account when placing weapons and armor.
Construction
Trikes most closely resemble motorcycles in construction. They use the same tires and power plants as cycles, and use the same acceleration, top speed, and power consumption formulae as cars. Trikes can use gas engines.
A trike can have a Light, Standard, Heavy or Extra-Heavy chassis, at the same costs as for cars. Suspension works the same way as cycles — Light suspension is free and results in HC 0; Improved suspension costs 100% of the frame cost and results in HC 1; Heavy suspension costs 200% of the frame cost and gives a trike HC 2. Handling class for all size trikes is based on suspension.
| Body | Cost | Weight | Max. load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Trike | $250 | 300 | 1,600 | 8 | 11/5 |
| Medium Trike | $300 | 500 | 2,100 | 10 | 12/6 |
| Heavy Trike | $400 | 700 | 2,800 | 12 | 14/7 |
| X-Hvy. Trike | $550 | 950 | 3,500 | 14 | 16/8 |
Trikes carry armor like cars — that is, they have six armor positions: Front, back, left, right, top and underbody.
Trikes can use any weapon or accessory a car or cycle can, with a few exceptions. Trikes cannot have ramplates, and they cannot pull sidecars. Light trikes cannot carry turrets; medium trikes can only use one-space turrets. Larger trikes can carry up to two-space turrets.
Trikes can use wheelguards — car wheelguards on the back two wheels, and a cycle wheelguard on the front. Wheelguards do not reduce HC on a trike, but will reduce HC by 1 on a reversed trike. Retractable wheelguards can be used on a normal trike, or on the front tires of a reversed trike. A normal trike can use a spoiler, but not an airdam.
Reversed Trikes
The reversed trike design puts two wheels in front and one in the center of the back. This configuration provides greater stability than the traditional trike, but is not as efficient from a space standpoint. Reversed trikes come in the same body styles as regular trikes, but have one less space and cost an extra 50% for the chassis. HC for a reversed trike is one higher than for a regular trike (maximum HC is still 3). Reversed trikes can carry a ramplate, but in all other respects, they are the same as regular trikes. A reverse trike can use either a spoiler or an airdam, both.
Trike Combat
A tricycle is not just a fat motorcycle or a three-wheeled car. The successful trike duellist (or designer) must keep the differences in mind if he intends to survive. Trikes have some significant advantages, but they have disadvantages as well.
Arcs of Fire
Trike weapons can be located front, back, or to either side; they can also be turreted. Front and back weapons have the same arc of fire as a car's weapons do (see diagram below); turreted weapons, of course, have a 360° arc of fire.
Side-mounted trike weapons have a greater arc of fire than a car's side weapons do, because of the wedge shape of the trike body. A trike's side weapons can fire into the "normal" side arc, plus the front arc of fire of a standard vehicle (see below).
Any target in the front arc of fire can be hit by weapons mounted on both sides as well as the front! Right-side and left-side weapons can be linked together, or linked with front weapons, and aimed together for fire at targets in this front arc. The linked weapons must be of the same type, or only one can be aimed, and the rest are treated as if they were on automatic.
7. Car Trailers
Small trailers can be useful when you want to carry additional cargo or firepower. To differentiate them from the larger trailers pulled by tractors, they will be called "car trailers."
Body Types
Car trailers are little more than boxes with wheels — and, of course, armor and weapons. There are two basic types of trailer — the van and the flatbed. The van trailer has four sides, a top, and an underbody. Flatbeds are exposed — only underbody armor and wheelguards are allowed. A small armored box of up to 4 spaces is allowed on the back of a flatbed, with its own armor — the armor is $9 and $5 lbs. per point.
"Tongue DP" in the chart below refers to the damage points the trailer's tongue can take before breaking.
Trailers that are 20' long (or longer) have ten armor locations, not six like smaller vehicles. The ten "long side" of the trailer is split into a front and back half. The ten positions are: Front, back, front right, back right, front left, back left, front top, back top, front underbody, and back underbody. Flatbed trailers longer than 20' are armored in two positions — front underbody and back underbody. Trailers smaller than 20' are armored in the usual six positions.
Chassis Strength
A trailer's chassis, like a car's, can be strengthened to increase maximum load capacity. Costs and effects are the same as for cars. In addition, improving the chassis strength will increase the strength of the trailer's tongue. A trailer equipped with an Extra-Heavy chassis has its tongue DP doubled. Light and Heavy chassis decrease or increase (respectively) tongue DP by 50%, rounded down. See Tongues and Hitches, below, for more information.
| Trailer Type | Cost | Wt. | Load | Spaces | Tongue DP | Cost/Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-Van | $200 | 400 | 900 | 3 | 1 | 9/5 |
| 6' Van | $450 | 1,000 | 2,800 | 12 | 2 | 15/7 |
| 6' Flatbed | $300 | 700 | 3,700 | 8 | 2 | 15/7 |
| 10' Van | $700 | 1,600 | 4,700 | 20 | 2 | 19/10 |
| 10' Flatbed | $475 | 1,100 | 6,200 | 13 | 2 | 19/10 |
| 15' Van | $1,300 | 2,300 | 9,400 | 30 | 3 | 25/13 |
| 15' Flatbed | $675 | 1,500 | 9,500 | 19 | 3 | 25/13 |
| 20' Van | $1,900 | 2,800 | 9,400 | 38 | 3 | 30/16 |
| 20' Flatbed | $875 | 1,900 | 12,400 | 24 | 3 | 30/16 |
| 25' Van | $1,600 | 3,300 | 11,900 | 46 | 4 | 35/17 |
| 25' Flatbed | $1,075 | 2,200 | 15,700 | 29 | 4 | 35/17 |
| 30' Van | $1,900 | 3,500 | 14,100 | 54 | 4 | 40/18 |
| 30' Flatbed | $1,250 | 2,300 | 18,600 | 35 | 4 | 40/18 |
Tires
Car trailers generally use car tires. Any type can be used, but all tires on a trailer should match. A trailer with unmatched tires subtracts 1 from the towing vehicle's HC. An exception is the mini-van, which uses motorcycle tires, though, again, all must be of the same type.
The size of a trailer also dictates the minimum number of tires required. Minis, 6' and 10' trailers need one pair of tires; 15' and 20' trailers use two pairs, and all longer trailers must have four pairs of tires.
Any car van trailer can be modified:
Reefer — Increases van trailer cost by 60%, and weight by 15%, rounded up. Reduces interior space by 15%, rounded up.
Tanker — Increases van trailer cost by 150%, and weight by 60%, rounded up. Reduces interior space by 15%, rounded up. Tanker trailers must have at least 20 points of armor (or 4 points metal) in each location or its contents will begin to leak. For every 5 points of armor under 20 (or every point of metal less than 5) that it has, a tanker will leak 1 space of contents per mile. This is not enough to create an oil slick.
Dumper — Increases van trailer cost by 75%, and doubles weight. Interior space is unaffected, but a dump trailer can devote no more than ⅓ of its spaces to weaponry. It cannot mount a turret and has no top armor. A dump trailer is raised and lowered the same as a dump carrier (see Carriers, p. 61).
Tongues and Hitches
Car trailers are attached to their towing vehicles by a tongue and hitch system. Every trailer has a tongue; the number of damage points a tongue can take is listed on the chart to the left. Targeting a tongue is at -5, -7 if the trailer is attached to a vehicle.
The towing vehicle's hitch must be bought separately, and is rated by the amount of weight it can pull. Hitches are mounted externally, and are not protected by the towing vehicle's armor; thus they can be targeted in combat at -5, -7 if the trailer is attached.
| Hitch Type | Cost | Weight | Load Wt. | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | $250 | 10 | 2,000 | 1 |
| Standard | $350 | 20 | 6,000 | 1 |
| Heavy | $500 | 30 | 12,000 | 2 |
| Extra-Heavy | $650 | 40 | 20,000 | 3 |
Load weight is the maximum weight a hitch can pull without breaking. Weight is what the hitch and its bracing system weighs — the hitch's cost and weight must be figured into the total cost and weight of the towing vehicle.
For an additional cost, hitches can be purchased that allow the instantaneous release of the trailer. These can be triggered from the towing vehicle, or, if specified, the towed vehicle as well. Releasing a trailer in this way is a firing action, and if released while moving, the trailer becomes loose (see below).
Explosive hitches blow the trailer free in an emergency. They are one-shot systems, and a new hitch must be installed after each use. They increase the standard hitch cost by $400.
Quick-release hitches are like explosive ones, except that they can be reused. Quick-release hitches cost an additional $900.
The trailer hitch can be armored at $15 and 4 lbs. (max. weight 40 lbs.) per point. This armor completely protects both the hitch and the attached trailer's tongue. However, the towing vehicle cannot perform any maneuver more difficult than D3. Furthermore, anytime the trailer jackknifes, the armor is automatically and completely destroyed. This armor counts against the load of the towing vehicle and must match its, not the trailer's, armor type.
Weapons
Trailers that are 20' long or longer can mount weapons in "front" or "back" positions along each side. They can also mount two turrets, one on the front top and one on the back top. They have the same arc-of-fire limitations as turrets on 10-wheel trucks. If a trailer has two turrets, one must be designated as "higher" than the other. The higher turret has a full 360-degree arc of fire. The lower turret cannot fire in the direction of the higher turret. For trailers 20' or longer, weapons must be placed in the same way as armor. That is, not "right," but either "front right" or "back right." Each trailer this size has to show aiming points for these weapons; the arcs of fire are shown in the diagram on p. 64. Note that the arcs of fire overlap a great deal.
When an opponent fires at the top, underbody or side of a trailer this size, he must specify whether he is firing at the front or back half. He can only target a portion of the trailer at no penalty if he is in the arc of fire of that section of the trailer. Firing at a target within line of sight when the firer is not in that target's arc of fire suffers the usual penalty; because of the overlap of a trailer's arcs of fire, an attacker can often choose between targets with no penalty.
Smaller trailers (15' and less) mount weapons the same way cars do, and only mount one turret. There are also limits to the turret's size — no more than three spaces for the 15-footer, two spaces for the 10-footer, one space for the 6-footer, and the mini-van cannot mount a turret at all.
8. Oversized Vehicles
The roads are rough. Cycle gangs, highwaymen, barricade operators, random duellists . . . all take their toll. Most of the interstates haven't seen a repair crew in years. But somebody still has to take the big loads from city to city. And the big rigs are still rolling.
The truckers have quite a reputation. They're professionals. They're skilled with their weapons as they are with their rigs — or they don't last long. A trucker, they say, never takes the first shot — but he always gets the last one. (Not always true, but it makes for a good story.) The men who make their living on the dangerous inter-city runs aren't interested in starting fights — only in finishing them. It's not a good idea to mess with the 18-wheelers. And their cousins, the ten-wheelers and armored buses, are every bit as formidable.
Truckers belong to a loosely organized but very serious society known as the "Brotherhood," which exists to deal with road problems that threaten the lives and incomes of its members. Unfair law enforcement, highwaymen, price-gouging and trigger-happy road duellists are typical problems; the Brotherhood's response may range from a service slowdown in the affected area to — occasionally — a full-scale attack. More often, they simply circulate descriptions and license numbers of offenders. If every truck, bus or armed courier is your enemy, you'd better stay off the road!
However, truckers are usually very courteous drivers, if you don't make trouble for them. A truck or bus will often stop to help a driver in trouble, or even intervene to break up an unfair road duel. Warning: anyone who attempts to ambush a driver by taking advantage of his good nature will certainly be marked by the Brotherhood if they find out who he is. Sending a brother to Highway One in a fair fight is one thing; double-crossing a Good Samaritan is evil.
Oversized vehicles are formidable in battle for a number of reasons. They pack a lot of firepower, and they're just plain big — big enough to make a collision with one a losing proposition. There are many other differences between a truck and a smaller duelling car, and understanding these differences is crucial to dealing with them effectively.
Ten-Wheelers
Cabs
Ten-wheeler cabs have more spaces and a heavier chassis than most cars, but fewer spaces and a lighter chassis than big rigs. There are two types of cabs — the basic cabover and the bigger, heavier, more expensive longnose.
| Ten-Wheel Cab Type | Cost | Weight | Load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabover | $10,500 | 3,000 | 15,000 | 17 | $30/14 |
| Longnose | $12,500 | 3,200 | 16,500 | 20 | $32/15 |
The body price includes lights, standard CB, horns and other basics. Improved chassis strength can be bought for cabs. A Heavy chassis adds 10% to the cab's maximum load and costs an extra 50% of the cab's body cost, and an Extra-Heavy chassis adds 20% to the maximum load for an additional 100% of the body cost.
Improved suspension is not available for ten-wheeled trucks — they all have a handling class of 1.
Armor for cabs is bought in the standard six positions — front, back, right, left, top and underbody. If a cab has any carrier but a flatbed, however, armor is unnecessary. Cab underbody armor protects the cab only. Separate underbody armor is necessary to protect the carrier.
Cab armor is available in all five types, with the same restrictions as for normal vehicles.
Tires
A ten-wheeler must have the same type of tire in all ten locations. Radials and off-road tires are not available for ten-wheelers, but the standard five types are, and these tires (except for the plasticore type) can be steelbelted and fireproofed at the normal costs. Wheelguards do not affect HC on oversized vehicles.
| Tire | Cost/tire | Wt./tire | DP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $150 | 60 | 8 |
| Heavy Duty | $300 | 80 | 12 |
| Puncture Resistant | $600 | 100 | 18 |
| Solid | $1,500 | 150 | 24 |
| Plasticore | $3,000 | 300 | 40 |
Solid and plasticore truck tires are totally immune to both spike and debris damage, but are still affected by obstacles.
Power Plants
Power plants for ten-wheelers and other oversized vehicles do not have power factors like other vehicles in Car Wars. Instead, each plant is rated for the maximum amount of weight it can pull. Oversized power plants can push beyond their top speeds for short periods of time, with the same limitations and penalties as for car engines. The power plant is always assumed to be in front of the driver, even in a cabover.
| Plant | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Maximum Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $8,000 | 2,500 | 8 | 16 | 15,000 |
| Medium | $10,000 | 2,800 | 9 | 18 | 20,000 |
| Regular | $15,000 | 3,000 | 20 | 40 | 20,000 |
| Large | $20,000 | 3,500 | 13 | 26 | 60,000 |
| Super | $25,000 | 4,000 | 16 | 32 | 80,000 |
| Gas Engine | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Maximum Load | MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $12,000 | 1,500 | 6 | 18 | 18,000 | 12 |
| Medium | $18,000 | 2,000 | 8 | 24 | 25,000 | 10 |
| Large | $27,500 | 4,000 | 12 | 32 | 60,000 | 8 |
| Super | $35,000 | 6,500 | 14 | 38 | 90,000 | 5 |
Maximum speed for electric power plants and gas engines is found by this formula: 200 × Max. Load/(Max. Load + Vehicle Weight). Gas engines can use carburetors, blueprinting and tubular headers.
Oversized vehicles are never geared for anything but gradual acceleration and heavy loads. All oversized power plants and engines have an acceleration of 2.5 mph until they reach 25 mph. After they reach 25 mph, they will have an acceleration of 5 mph. There is one accessory for truck engines that can give it better performance:
Truck Turbo — $2,000, 50 lbs., 1 space, gas engines only. Oversized vehicles with this item accelerate at 2.5 mph/turn until they reach 10 mph; acceleration then increases to 5 mph/turn until they reach 40 mph; and acceleration increases to 10 mph/turn beyond.
Oversized-vehicle range is calculated the same as for cars.
Weapons
Weapons for cabs can be mounted on three sides — front, left and right. Because the carrier is usually taller than the cab, rear-firing weapons are not permitted, and turreted weapons cannot fire to the rear. The only exception is when a flatbed carrier is used, or no carrier at all. Cabs can use ramplates and any weapon available to any other oversized vehicles.
Extras
Doors can be installed on the back of a cab, allowing passage into a carrier from the cab. Obviously, if the carrier is a tanker, this isn't a good idea. Back doors cost $200, and take up no weight or space.
Carriers
Carriers are cargo areas for ten-wheelers. They are mounted and attached to the cab of the ten-wheeler.
| Carrier Type | Cost | Weight | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15' Flatbed | $1,100 | 750 | 20* |
| 15' Van | $2,300 | 1,350 | 30 |
| 15' Reefer | $3,800 | 1,350 | 25 |
| 15' Tanker | $6,150 | 1,900 | 25 |
| 15' Dumper | $4,000 | 2,300 | 30 |
There is no maximum load listing for carriers; that is determined by the chassis of the cab. Carriers are mounted directly on the cab, and do not use tires. They also do not have any suspension.
*Note that the "space" on a flatbed is an approximation. The higher cargo is stacked, the more a flatbed can carry. Twenty spaces of cargo is the maximum for safe hauling, but much more can be attempted. If more than 20 spaces' worth of cargo is loaded on a flatbed, roll 1 die every time the truck performs a D3 (or more difficult) maneuver or encounters a D3 or worse hazard. There is a 1 in 6 chance for every 5 full spaces over 20 that the load will fall off the trailer (2d spaces' worth of cargo will remain).
Example: A flatbed is loaded with 28 spaces of cargo, making the chance of disaster 1 in 6. After the mess happens, 2 dice are rolled, and come up, say, an 8 — that's how many spaces' worth of cargo is still on the trailer. It is up to the referee to determine what happens to cargo that hits the highway (20 spaces' worth, in this case). This should be based on how fragile the cargo was, how it was packed, and how fast the truck was going when the cargo hit.
A dump carrier can only devote 5 of its 30 spaces to weaponry — the rest must be used for cargo. A dump carrier has no top, and cannot mount turrets. The carrier can be raised to dump the contents. Controls are located on either side of the carrier; a duplicate set of controls in the cab allows the carrier to be raised from inside. It takes seven turns to raise the bed fully, and only five turns to lower it. Loose materials in the carrier will start to spill out after 2 seconds of elevation. The carrier will be completely empty after 10 seconds.
A tank carrier is required to have at least 20 points of armor in each location; a lighter tank would be in danger of leaking or exploding, even under non-combat conditions.
A "reefer" is a refrigerated carrier — similar to a van, except it carries perishable items.
Armor and Weapons
Armor is placed on a carrier in six locations — front, back, left, right, top and underbody. Normal carrier armor costs $30 and weighs 14 lbs. per point, no matter what type of carrier, and can be modified normally. A flatbed carrier, of course, only needs to buy underbody armor. A flatbed carrier can mount a small armored box on the back for carrying and protecting defensive weapons. The box can carry up to six spaces of defensive weaponry, and is armored in the usual six locations. Armor for this box costs $11 and weighs 5 lbs. per point, and can be modified at the standard cost and weight penalties.
Weapons can be mounted on a carrier to the left, right or back (not to the front). Carriers can mount a single turret of any size (which can fire to the front). Carriers can also use the rocket platform, but it would take the place of the turret. A flatbed, of course, cannot mount a turret.
The Big Rigs
Tractors
The "tractor" — the unit that pulls a trailer — is the single most powerful vehicle on the road. A complete tractor will have a body, motor, ten wheels, and a power plant. At the purchaser's option, it may have a reinforced chassis, wheelguards and various other items of equipment . . . plus, of course, weapons.
Body Types
Tractor bodies come in four styles. The body price includes lights, standard CB, loud horns, and fairly luxurious upholstery. It also includes the "fifth wheel."
| Body type | Cost | Weight | Load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Std. Cabover | $12,000 | 3,500 | 10,000 | 19 | 30/14 |
| Std. Longnose | $14,000 | 3,700 | 11,000 | 22 | 32/15 |
| Sleeper Cabover | $17,000 | 3,900 | 12,000 | 24 | 32/15 |
| Sleeper Longnose | $20,000 | 4,100 | 13,500 | 27 | 34/16 |
"Load," on the chart above, refers only to the total weight of the tractor body itself, not the amount of weight it can pull when the trailer is included. That is determined by the power plant used (see below).
The "fifth wheel" is the yoke on the back of a tractor — the hitch that allows a trailer to be attached. A fifth wheel has 8 damage points and can be hit in combat. If this happens, it can be rebuilt or replaced for $150 per point of damage. It will work until it is totally destroyed, but if it is destroyed while in use, the trailer will come loose. The fifth wheel must be located outside the armor, and can be attacked at a -6 to hit. If a trailer is rammed from the rear, the fifth wheel takes damage after the rear armor and before any rear-firing weapons.
Suspension
Suspension only comes in one type for the oversized vehicle: Heavy. Therefore, suspension cost is included in the body cost. Any tractor, by itself, has a handling class of zero. Any bus, RV or tractor-trailer rig has a handling class of 1.
Tractor armor is mounted in the same way as regular car armor — front, back, right, left, top and underbody — and use the same options.
Chassis
The strength of a tractor, bus or RV chassis can be increased to allow more weight to be carried. The Standard chassis is regular equipment — it gives no bonus and costs nothing extra. A Heavy chassis costs 50% of the body price and gives a 10% bonus to the weight allowed. The Extra-Heavy chassis gives a 20% bonus to the price allowed.
Power Plants
Tractors use the same power plants or gas engines as ten-wheelers, with two exceptions: the Small and Medium Truck power plants are not powerful enough to pull a big rig. The Regular, Large and Super plants all have the same acceleration (2.5 mph/turn up to 25 mph, 5 mph/turn thereafter) as they do in ten-wheelers. The plans can push beyond their maximum speed for short periods of time under the same rules as ten-wheelers. The power plant is always assumed to be in front of the driver and crew, even in a cabover.
Tires
A tractor must have the same type of tire in all ten locations. Tractors use the same tires as ten-wheeled trucks.
Personnel
Almost all tractors are designed for two people — one driver and one alternate driver or gunner. Some have space for three people. Two spaces and 150 lbs. must be allowed for each person sitting inside the tractor's cab. If a "sleeper style" cab has more space than a normal cab (see Body Types chart above). If this space is actually used for sleeping room (rather than weaponry), allow three spaces per sleeping area. This lets one person sleep while the rig is on the road, allowing very long hauls.
Weapons and Armor
Weapons and armor for a tractor are located as for regular vehicles. A tractor can have a turret of any size.
The tractor's fifth wheel can be armored. The fifth wheel guard costs $15 and weighs 10 lbs. per point of plastic armor, with a maximum weight of 200 lbs. This completely protects the fifth wheel, and does not interfere with special kingpin functions. A tractor with a fifth wheel guard cannot perform a maneuver of greater than D3 difficulty.
Trailers
A semi-trailer has eight wheels in back; a "full" trailer has eight in back and two or four in front. The front wheels on a trailer are tied into the steering system of the tractor to make maneuvering possible. When the trailer is disconnected (on purpose or by accident), the trailer's front tires automatically lock in a straight-ahead position. This allows the trailer to roll free, if necessary.
Each trailer must have a body and a kingpin. Armor is not required, but could be useful. Trailers can also have wheelguards, weapons and other accessories.
| Trailer Type | Cost | Weight | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40' Flatbed | $3,000 | 2,000 | 50* |
| 40' Dual-Level Flatbed | $4,500 | 3,000 | 70* |
| 40' Van | $6,000 | 3,000 | 80 |
| 40' Reefer | $8,500 | 3,500 | 75 |
| 40' Tanker | $16,000 | 5,000 | 60 |
| 40' Dumper | $11,000 | 6,000 | 70 |
No maximum weight is given for trailer capacity, because a rig's maximum load capacity is determined by the tractor's power plant.
*The "space" rating of a flatbed trailer is an approximation. Use the rules given for flatbed carriers (see Carriers, p. 61), with these differences: there is a 1 in 6 chance for every ten full spaces over 50 that the load will fall off the trailer, and 3d spaces worth of cargo will remain.
A flatbed trailer has no top or sides. It can carry a small armored box, no bigger than 6 spaces, to house defensive weapons. The box is armored in the standard six locations and the armor costs $11 and weighs 5 pounds per point. It can be made reflective, fireproof or both, at the standard penalties to cost and weight.
A dual-level flatbed trailer can carry 70 spaces of cargo safely — 50 spaces on the bottom level and 20 spaces on top. Additional cargo can be stacked according to the above rules. Both bottom and top levels can be armored as a standard flatbed, but only up to two weapons can be mounted.
A dump trailer acts just like the dumper carrier, except that it can devote up to ten points of armor to weaponry.
A tank trailer is required to have at least 20 points of armor in each location, just like the tank carrier on ten-wheeled trucks.
Armor
Armor on the big rigs is located in ten positions, not six. The ten locations are front, back, front left, back left, front right, back right, front top, back top, front underbody and back underbody. Essentially, the four "long" sides are divided into two target areas each (see Combat, p. 64, for a fuller explanation). Armor for all types of trailers costs $40 and weighs 18 lbs. per point.
Tires
Trailers use the same tires as ten-wheeled trucks. A semi-trailer must have eight tires (all of the same type), all on the back half of the trailer; they are paired two and two. (When shot at from the side, the outer tire always takes damage before the inner one.) A trailer splits up more (one on each side) or four more (a pair on each side) at its front end. Semi-trailers have legs that swing down and support the front when not attached to a tractor. These legs have 5 DP each, but cannot be attacked unless the trailer is resting on them, and are -5 to hit.
Kingpin
The kingpin fits into a tractor's fifth wheel, holding the two together. Each trailer must have one and only one kingpin. It cannot be fired at in combat, but can be destroyed voluntarily (see Explosive Kingpin, below) or as a result of a crash. There are three types of kingpin:
Standard Kingpin: Costs $100, adds no weight, uses no space. Cannot be released except from outside — about a five-minute process.
Explosive Kingpin: Costs $500, adds no weight, uses no space. Performs like a standard kingpin, but, in an emergency, it can be blown loose from inside the cab (this counts as a firing action). This releases the kingpin instantly (see Loose Trailers, p. 16). The kingpin must be replaced before the trailer can be attached to any tractor (assuming the trailer survives at all).
Quick-Release Kingpin: Costs $1,000, adds no weight, uses no space. Performs like an explosive kingpin except that it doesn't destroy itself when activated. Thus, the trailer can be reattached (if it doesn't crash after being released). It takes about 30 minutes to reconnect a quick-release kingpin.
Ramps
Wheel ramps can be installed on flatbed trailers (or, occasionally, van trailers) so small vehicles can be driven on board. Cost for a set of two ramps is $300. Weight is 200 lbs.; no extra space is required. The ramps are only destroyed if the trailer is wrecked.
An assault ramp can be installed on a van trailer (or bus or RV) to allow men, cycles, trikes or subcompact cars to get in and out quickly. It is essentially an extra door in the back, a full 7½-feet wide. It can be dropped in any phase, but takes a full second (5 phases) to close. Since the assault ramp is essentially the rear armor, once the vehicle's contents are exposed while the ramp is open. The ramp is destroyed if all the rear armor of that side is destroyed. An assault ramp costs $1,000, weighs 100 lbs. and requires one extra space for the opening/closing mechanism.
To determine how much cargo space a vehicle takes up, take the number of internal spaces (including cargo) the vehicle has. Then add ten for cars and for cycles, and two for sidecars. A luxury car, with 19 spaces, takes up 29 spaces as cargo. A heavy cycle, with seven spaces, takes up 11 spaces as cargo.
Personnel
Trailers don't have drivers. Space for gunners or passengers can be allowed for in a trailer. Each gunner takes two spaces; each passenger also takes up two spaces (rather than one as in a passenger space).
Weapons
Just as armor is divided into ten locations, weapons and turrets placed on a carrier can be located in any of ten locations. If there are two turrets (one on the front top, one on the back top), one must be placed higher than the other. The higher one has a has a 360-degree arc of fire, the lower one cannot fire in the direction of the first turret. It is up to the referee to settle disputes over what the lower turret and cannot hit.
Other Weapons Restrictions
Flatbeds cannot have turrets.
Tankers don't normally have turrets. (It is very rare for a tank trailer to have any weapons at all except defensive devices mounted on the rear, behind the tank, and antipersonnel grenades all around.)
No dropped weapons can be placed on the front half of a trailer.
No trailer can have a front-firing weapon (except those in turrets).
Buses and RVs
These are really two names for the same sort of vehicle — an RV is just a luxurious privately-owned bus. When the term "bus" is used in these rules, RVs are also included. Some buses are designed mostly for defense and are escorted by heavily-armed cycles or cars. Others mount more than enough weaponry to take care of themselves.
Body
A complete bus will have a body, a power plant, ten tires, armor and (probably) weapons. It can have a strengthened chassis, wheelguards and other accessories. Almost all such vehicles have large passenger compartments — they are built for carrying and protecting customers, not for duelling.
| Bus Size | Cost | Weight | Load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minibus | $4,000 | 3,000 | 12,000 | 35 | 32/14 |
| 30-foot bus | $5,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 45 | 35/17 |
| 40-foot bus | $7,000 | 5,500 | 21,000 | 60 | 40/18 |
Chassis strength, power plant and suspension are all chosen as for a tractor. The handling class of a bus is 1. Buses have ten tires — two in front and two pairs of two on each side in back. Any truck tire can be used, but all must match. Wheelguards can be added on to three per side) with no loss of handling class.
The minibus carries all armor in the usual six locations. Trailers, 30-foot and 40-foot buses are very long, and have ten positions which must be armored. Buses can carry any type of available armor, but all armor must match.
Personnel
These vehicles are designed for passengers. Space for luggage and aisles must be allotted — two spaces and 200 pounds per passenger.
Weapons
Weapons can be mounted on the front or back half of a bus counter's "long" sides. A bus can mount two turrets, but one must be designated as "higher" so it can fire over the other. Dropped weapons cannot be mounted on the front half of a bus.
Combat
Turrets on a tractor, trailer or bus follow the same restrictions as turrets on ten-wheeled trucks.
Note that the fifth wheel on a tractor is exposed — not protected by armor — and can be targeted at -6 by any opponent who can get a line of sight on the black dot on the counter, whether or not a trailer is attached. The fifth wheel will never be hit by gunfire unless it is being targeted.
The arcs of fire for a tractor are determined in the same way as regular cars, but the four arcs of fire are marked in the same way as regular cars, but the four arcs of fire are marked.
Trailers and buses have more complicated arcs of fire, using the black dots on the long edges of each counter. The arcs of fire are as follows:
Note that the side arcs of fire overlap. Anyone attacking a tractor-trailer rig or bus from the side may have a choice of targets without penalty, and must specify what he's shooting at.
A tractor takes damage the same way a large car trailer does (see p. 59). A bus takes damage the same way a large car trailer does.
Oversized Vehicle Accessories
Semi-Trailer Emergency Plate — $1,500, 800 lbs., 2 spaces, 8 DP. This can be mounted on any type of semi-trailer (for whatever reason), a larger skid plate springs down instantly, holding the fifth wheel up. The plate retracts when the tractor's fifth wheel reengages the kingpin (a process which takes ten seconds).
A detached trailer using this device is at HC -6 while moving, using Crash Table 2 as necessary; it cannot maneuver, and decelerates (without hazard) by 30 mph each turn. The plate takes no damage from the skid, but takes damage from obstacles as if it were a truck's solid tire and can be targeted at -5 when in use; when retracted, it is treated as an underbody-mounted weapon.
Windjammer — $500, 70 lbs., no space. This item is an airfoil that fits on the front part of the roof of the cab, directing airflow up and over the trailer. This improves the mileage of a tractor-trailer combination as follows:
| Speed | Power Units/10 Miles | Speed | Power Units/10 Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 7 | 80 | 14 |
| 55 | 8 | 90 | 16 |
| 60 | 10 | 100 | 18 |
| 70 | 12 | 110 | 20 |
The windjammer can be armored for $18 and 9 lbs. per point. The armor is the maximum, or any of the standard type of armor at normal cost. The windjammer takes damage before the top armor in attacks from above.
You can mount a turret on a tractor with a windjammer, but the turret can no longer fire into the front arc. For $200, 30 lbs., and 1 space, a device can be installed to raise and lower the windjammer from inside the cab. This is a firing action, and takes one turn for the mechanism to lower or raise the windjammer.
You cannot mount both a windjammer and a spoiler on the same tractor.
9. Boats
The coastal waters of 2040 are as dangerous as the roads — if not more so. Even very small boats may be armed. Five types of boat, from rowboat up to yacht, are described in these rules.
Boat Types
The four smaller boats are armored in five locations: front, left, right, back and underbody. The yacht is armored in eight locations: front, left back, left front, right back, right front, back, front underbody and back underbody. Armor can be of any type available to land vehicles, at the regular cost and weight penalties. As with land vehicles, armor types cannot be mixed.
The rowboat is represented by a ½" × ½" counter, with a ½" "wake" added for use with the turning key (see p. 17). The dinghy and speedboat use a 1" × ½" counter. The cruiser uses a 1½" × ½" counter, and the yacht uses a 2½" × ¾" counter.
| Boat size | Cost | Weight | Max. load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. | HC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowboat | $2,000 | 100 | 800 | 6 | $5/3 | 3 |
| Dinghy | $4,000 | 1,300 | 3,000 | 10 | $13/6 | 2 |
| Speedboat | $8,000 | 2,700 | 7,000 | 17(+3) | $20/10 | 2 |
| Cruiser | $20,000 | 5,400 | 15,000 | 25(+12) | $30/15 | 1 |
| Yacht | $45,000 | 10,000 | 40,000 | 40(+8) | $36/18 | 1 |
Boats cannot have their HC altered except with hydrofoils, an additional propeller, or a jet drive (see p. 66), and the maximum load cannot be modified at all. However, there is no maximum HC for a boat.
The cargo space listed in the larger boats is not necessarily in any one place; it also includes open space on deck and other places. Just remember that vehicular cargo cannot be put into cargo space — passengers and cargo can — and that cargo space won't absorb damage of any sort if it is empty.
Power Plants
Boats use special electric power plants that are lighter than car plants. Since propellers cutting through water offer much less resistance than a wheel pushing against the road, boat power plants are designed to produce very high rpm in the propeller motor, but not much torque. For this reason, boat power plants cannot be used in land vehicles, and land vehicle power plants cannot be used in boats.
Boats can use any gas engine, and turbochargers and nitrous oxide. They cannot use heavy-duty transmissions or overdrive.
Power Plant Table
| Plant | Price | Weight | Spaces | DP | Power Factors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | $400 | 200 | 2 | 4 | 500 |
| Small | $1,000 | 600 | 4 | 6 | 1,000 |
| Medium | $2,000 | 1,000 | 4 | 8 | 2,500 |
| Large | $5,000 | 2,000 | 8 | 16 | 5,000 |
| Super | $7,500 | 2,500 | 10 | 20 | 8,000 |
| Heavy-Duty | $10,000 | 3,000 | 13 | 26 | 14,000 |
Top speed and acceleration for electric plants, and acceleration for gas engines, are all calculated by comparing a power plant's power factors to the weight of the boat being moved; maximum acceleration is 20 mph unless the boat has jet drives. Top speed of a gasoline engine is figured using a variation of the gas engine top speed formula:
(160 × Power Factors) / (Power Factors + Weight). Round down to nearest 2.5 mph increment.
For electric motors the formula is:
(240 × Power Factors) / (Power Factors + Weight). Round down to nearest 2.5 mph increment.
Boat Power Factors Table
| Power Factors/Weight | Acceleration |
|---|---|
| 2 or more | 20 mph |
| At least 1, but less than 2 | 15 mph |
| At least ½, but less than 1 | 10 mph |
| At least ⅓, but less than ½ | 5 mph |
| At least 1/10, but less than ⅓ | 2.5 mph |
| At least 1/20, but less than 1/10 | 2.5 mph |
| Under 1/20 | 0 mph |
For example, if a speedboat weighing 4,980 lbs. carried a Medium power plant (with 2,500 power factors), it would fall in the at least ½, but less than 1 category (2,500 divided by 4,980 is just greater than ½) — the boat would have an acceleration of 10 mph and a top speed of 80 mph. The same boat with a 150 cid gas engine (1,900 power factors) has 5 mph acceleration and top speed of 42.5 mph.
A boat goes 200 miles on a charge, based on a constant speed of 20 mph. For every 10 mph of extra speed the number of "power units" consumed per ten miles traveled goes up by 2; at 30 mph, it costs 12 units to go ten miles, at 50 mph, it costs 16 units, etc. There is no power savings for going slower than 20 mph.
Boat power plants can exceed their maximum speed for short periods of time by "pushing" the plant. The rules for pushing are the same as for car power plants.
Boat power plants are always placed in the rear of the boat. If the boat is equipped with a deck (see p. 67), the power plant goes in the rear of the below-deck area.
Propellers and Jet Drives
Propellers drive the boat through the water. Boats with Mini power plants or 10 or 30 cid gas engines can have only one propeller; boats with Heavy-Duty plants or 500 or 700 cid engines must have two; the in-between sizes can have either one or two. Two propellers do not make a boat any faster, but they do make it more stable and they offer a measure of protection in case one is lost.
Boats with two propellers add +1 to handling class. However, if one propeller of a pair is lost, handling status drops to -6 immediately, and the boat's HC is permanently reduced by 2.
A damaged propeller does not affect a boat's performance in any way. If the last (or only) propeller is destroyed, the boat decelerates 2.5 mph/turn until it comes to a stop. Propeller armor can be bought — it costs $10 and weighs four lbs. per point (just like wheelguards) and protects just like wheelguards; on a 1 to 4 on 1 die, the armor takes any damage directed at the propeller, and on a 5 or 6 the damage skips the armor and goes directly to the propeller. No more than 10 points of armor of protection may be bought for a propeller.
Propeller Table
| Power Plant Size | Propeller Cost | Weight | DP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini; 10, 30 cid | 20 | 10 | 2 |
| Small; 50 cid | 50 | 15 | 4 |
| Medium; 100, 150, 200 cid | 75 | 25 | 5 |
| Large; 250, 300, 350 cid | 100 | 40 | 8 |
| Super; 400, 450 cid | 200 | 75 | 12 |
| Heavy-Duty; 500, 700 cid | 500 | 150 | 18 |
A jet drive costs $5,000 and weighs 200 lbs., taking 2 spaces. A jet drive replaces all of a boat's propellers, and increases calculated acceleration by 5 mph/turn and top speed by 20 mph. It adds +1 to HC, just as two propellers do. A boat's power plant must have at least half as many power factors as the weight of the boat before a jet drive will operate at all. A jet drive cannot be combined with turbochargers or jet ports.
Sinking
Sinking is easy. When the number of spaces of water taken on equals or exceeds the (empty) capacity of the boat, it's time to head for Davy Jones' locker. Every time armor other than Top or Deck armor is unarmored, there is a chance that water will come in. If a side of a boat is unarmored, and the breach will occur the first time the side is struck with weapons fire of any kind.
When the Underbody armor is breached, at least 1 space of water will be taken on per turn. Roll 1 die: on a 1-4, 1 space of water comes in; on a 5 or 6, 2 spaces of water comes in.
When the Side armor is breached, 1 space of water is taken on every time a maneuver is made to the side of the breach. For example, if a boat is breached on the right and makes a right bend, 1 space of water comes in. This will happen every time a drift or bend is performed; if the boat makes four right drifts in a turn, four spaces of water will come in.
When the Front armor is breached, 1 space of water is taken on every time the boat moves forward 1". (With ½" moves, take on ½ space.) This can sink a boat fast. If the boat is stationary or traveling in reverse, no water will come in from a breach front.
When the Back armor is breached, no water will come in unless the boat is moving in reverse. Then, 1 space of water will be taken on every time the boat moves backward 1".
Boats moving on their hydrofoils and aquabikes never take on water.
Each space of water added 500 lbs. of weight to the boat; this is important for computing acceleration. For game purposes, the water fills no spaces, but fills in the room between components.
When a boat has taken on ¼ of its total spaces in water, all maneuvers are at +D2, the power plant and engine will short out on a roll of 1 or 2 on 1 die (rolled once). When the boat has taken on ½ its total spaces in water, maneuvers are at +D3, and the power plant or engine will short out on a 1-4 on 1 die. When the boat is ¾ filled with water, the plant or engine shorts out and no more maneuvers are possible. When the boat is completely filled with water, it immediately sinks. Anyone below deck must roll a 1 or 2 on 1 die to escape; otherwise, they go down with the ship. Anyone above deck must roll a 3 or better on 2 dice, or the sailing or something else equally unfortunate occurs. Of course, simply escaping the sinking boat does not guarantee survival.
Weapons
All weapons available in Car Wars can be used on boats, though there are changes in the way some weapons perform on the water. In addition, new, boats-only weapons are also available. Here is a list of changes in weapons made necessary by naval warfare:
Anti-Tank Gun — These weapons cannot be mounted on a rowboat; they can only be mounted to front or back of a dingy or speedboat.
Explosive Grenade — When exploded underwater, a frag grenade shoots fragments for only ¼". However, it has the additional effect of a concussion grenade throughout a 10" radius underwater.
Spikedropper — Since the spikes sink immediately upon release, this weapon has no effect on boats.
Oil Jet — Oil has no effect on boats or anything else in the water, including swimmers.
Flaming Oil — Although it is not a hazard to a boat's handling, it does normal damage to underbody armor. It will also affect swimmers.
Smoke Weapons — The effect is normal above the surface. When fired below the surface, a normal-sized cloud is created. It remains totally below the surface and disperses in 15 seconds.
Paint Weapons — The effect is normal above the surface. A paint cloud will also work normally below the surface, but it will last ten seconds before the current disperses it. Underwater flame clouds don't ignite, but continue to act like paint clouds.
Ice Dropper — A sheet of ice acts as a debris counter, causing the equivalent damage (and hazard, if any). Once hit, it disintegrates.
Minedropper — Regular mines have no effect; they sink immediately, and will not detonate if they hit anything while sinking. Special amphibious mines are available at double the cost (regular mines only; not Spear 1000) and are fired from an unmodified minedropper. Amphibious mines float on the surface and are treated just like regular mines. They attack the underbody armor of boats.
Accessories
Most accessories available in Car Wars can be used on boats, the exceptions are accessories that improve a land vehicle's handling or maneuverability, such as anti-lock brakes, active suspension, etc. The only exception is the spoiler, which will reduce the difficulty of any Crash Table roll at 40 mph or higher by 1. A spoiler can only be mounted on speedboats and smaller craft.
In addition, some new, boats-only accessories are also available. Here is a list of those items made necessary by life on the water:
Bilge Pump — $500, 200 lbs., 1 space. On a roll of 1 to 4 on 1 die, a bilge pump will pump out 1 space of water, once per turn, at the end of the turn. Turning on a bilge pump is a firing action, but it can be left on for prolonged periods of time. Multiple bilge pumps can be installed for added safety.
Boat Top — A roof on a boat, completely enclosing the interior, costs 10% of the cost and weight of the basic boat body. A boat top can be armored (at the same cost as the rest of the boat), and can also mount a turret. For purposes of determining which turrets, platforms, EWPs, etc. each boat type can mount, treat a rowboat as a subcompact, a dinghy as a compact, a speedboat as a luxury, a cruiser as a van and a yacht as a bus. The yacht boat top is armored in two locations: front top and back top.
Deck — Not all boats have a deck; therefore, it's listed here as an accessory. A deck is a floor that is above the keel (the baseline, and lowest point, of the boat). A deck divides a boat into two sections, below deck and above deck, and has a hatch or stairway opening so crew, cargo and equipment can be moved between the two. The player can decide how many spaces of that boat's total are allocated to the two sections, but neither section can have less than ⅓ of the total. There's no restriction on cargo and non-cargo spaces; the below-deck spaces can be cargo and all the above-deck spaces non-cargo, or any combination. The deck itself takes up no weight or space, and is armored at the same cost as the rest of the boat. (A deck on a yacht is armored in two locations: front deck and back deck.) A rowboat cannot have a deck; cruisers and yachts must have one.
Depth Finder — $500, no weight, no space. The depth finder allows depth readings in a 2" radius around the boat, using the sonar rules below. It cannot spot anything but the sea bed.
Half Top — Although similar to the boat top, it only covers the front half of the boat, leaving the rear of the boat open to the sky. The half top costs and weighs half as much as a full top for the same boat. A half top can be armored at the regular cost, and can mount a turret (with the same restrictions as above, except a yacht with a half top can only mount a single turret). When attacked from above, determine which arc of fire the attack is coming from. If the attack is coming from the rear arc of fire, the half top is bypassed completely; from the side, the half top is bypassed on a roll of 7 or more on 2 dice; and from the front, the half top is bypassed on a roll of 11 or 12 on 2 dice. Remember, this is for attacks from above only.
Hydrofoils — Cost 100% of body cost, weigh 50% of body weight, 1 space. A boat with hydrofoils reaches 35 mph, the foils automatically lift the boat out of the water. The boat's draft to 0 when in use. Once out of the water, a boat's top speed is increased by 20 mph and its HC is raised by 1, though acceleration is unaffected. A boat's underbody can be targeted at -3 while the boat is on hydrofoils and any underwater turrets the boat has are exposed during this time. The hydrofoils themselves can be targeted at -6 and have 15 DP; if they are destroyed, the boat falls back in the water (taking a sideswipe collision with the water) and immediately rolls Crash Table 5 (p. 12) with a +2 modifier, in addition to any other modifiers for the boat's speed.
Hydrofoil armor costs and weighs the same as wheelguard armor, and has the same restrictions (see p. 86).
A metal hydrofoil costs 10% of body cost, weighs 10% as much as a plastic one, has 3 DP, and is damaged like metal armor.
Life Raft — $500, 25 lbs., no space. This is a four-man inflatable raft. Triggering the inflation device is a firing action; the raft inflates in three turns, and contains a radio transponder so searchers that can find the raft. They are compartments for storing other emergency items (food, water, first-aid kit, etc.), but these items must be bought separately. The life raft is treated as a rowboat for weather conditions, etc., and uses the same sized counter.
Oars — Oars can be used on rowboats and dinghies for emergency movement. They weigh 10 lbs., take up 1 space, and cost $25 for a pair. Rowers (crew) can make the boat go faster. Top speed is 2.5 mph per rower, up to a maximum of 15 mph total speed (rowers and power plant combined). Acceleration is always 2.5 mph/turn, no matter how many rowers are used.
Sea Anchor — $200, 10 lbs., 1 space, 1 DP. Deploying a sea anchor requires a firing action; once deployed, the boat decelerates by 10 mph at the beginning of the next turn and successive turn, in addition to any other deceleration. It takes ten seconds to retrieve an anchor, or it can be cut loose with a firing action. A sea anchor trails like a drag chute and floats when stopped. Hitting one is a D1 hazard.
Sonar — $4,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. Sonar operates like radar, except that it shows objects in and under the water, rather than above it. Sonar will detect boats, swimmers, underwater objects, and anything the size of a torpedo or larger. Sonar will also reveal the depth of water bottom to within ½" (roll 1 die — on a 1 or 2, the reading is ½" shallower than real depth; on 3 or 4, the reading is accurate, and on 5 or 6, the reading is ½" deeper than actual depth). Sonar has a maximum range of 1,000" (nearly three miles), and only yachts and larger vessels are that lucky. Cruisers can be
Aquabikes
Aquabikes are the sea-borne equivalent of motorcycles — small, fast, cheap and dangerous in numbers. Like Rowboats, Aquabikes cost 1"-long counters, but only occupy the first ½".
Aquabikes are powered by a tiny jet drive in back, and are steered by leaning the bike in the desired direction. All aquabikes have a base HC of 2. Riding an aquabike requires Cyclist skill.
| Frame | Price | Weight | Max. Load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | $300 | 50 | 350 | 4 | $7/3 |
| Medium | $400 | 75 | 750 | 6 | $10/4 |
| Heavy | $500 | 100 | 900 | 8 | $12/6 |
Construction
Aquabikes carry armor in three locations: Front, Back and Underbody. Aquabikes use boat power plants or gas engines, and can use Cycle Windshells, Cycle Blades and hydrofoils. They can be streamlined and sloped at the usual costs. Aquabikes cannot have turrets of any kind.
They use the Boat Power Factors Table (p. 65) to determine acceleration and top speed.
Combat
Weapons can only be placed on an aquabike's front or rear, but can ignore the ⅓ spaces restriction. The driver of an aquabike has a 360° arc of fire with hand weapons.
When an Aquabike is hit, use the cycle rules to determine damage location.
10. Hovercraft
In a world where roads between cities are deteriorating from lack of maintenance, and combat along those roads often requires that vehicles be able to operate outside their confines, the hovercraft is the answer to many travelers' prayers. It floats above the ground on a cushion of air forced under the craft by a large, internal lift fan. The air is in a hollow area called the plenum chamber, trapped by the plenum skirts, or simply skirts.
Since the craft has no contact with the ground, the condition of the surface means little to the hovercraft. This makes it possible to travel on the road, off-road or on water with equal ease.
However, lack of contact with the road does have its disadvantages. Hovercraft do not maneuver or decelerate as well as cars because the craft is pushed along and maneuvered with thrust fans mounted at the rear of the craft. The loss of one or more of these fans will further aggravate the poor handling.
But the real weak point of any hovercraft is the skirts. Theoretically, these skirts aren't necessary for a craft to hover. However, the engines and plants available aren't powerful enough to lift an armored craft without most of the skirts in place. Hovercraft have many other advantages and disadvantages that the advantages must be answered by each individual duellist.
Hover Types
The one-man, small, standard and large hovers are armored in six locations, just as cars are. The oversized hovers (small cargo and cargo) are armored in ten locations just like buses. The armor can be made of any of the standard types, at normal cost and weight penalties. Oversized hovers are treated like other oversized vehicles.
Each hover comes with a lift fan and two, three or four thrust fans (described on p. 70). These are standard equipment, and not additional cost or weight, or subtract space, from the numbers listed in the Hover Types Table.
The four smaller hovercraft are all represented by standard ½" × 1" counters. The small cargo hover is represented by a ¾" × 1½" counter, and the cargo hover by a 1" × 2" counter. Targeting the larger hovercraft is just like targeting a bus: each side has a front and a back section and must be specified to be fired at when declaring your shot.
Hover Types Table
| Size | Cost | Wt. | Max. load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. | HC | Fan DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-Man | $1,500 | 700 | 3,300 | 8 | $11/5 | 3 | 3 |
| Small | $2,300 | 1,400 | 5,300 | 14 | $16/8 | 3 | 3 |
| Standard | $3,000 | 2,600 | 7,600 | 20 | $20/10 | 4 | 3 |
| Large | $3,800 | 3,700 | 10,500 | 20(+7) | $26/13 | 2 | 4 |
| Small Cargo | $18,000 | 5,100 | 16,500 | 27(+14) | $36/16 | 2 | 5 |
| Reg. | $27,000 | 7,800 | 24,000 | 27(+24) | $40/18 | 1 | 6 |
The Fan DP column on the above chart refers to the DP of each of the three thrust fans and the lift fan used to inflate the skirt. Loss of these fans is not good — see Fans, p. 70.
Power Plants
Since the power requirements for boats and hovercraft are the same high rpm and low torque, hovercraft use the same power plants and engines as do boats (see p. 65).
Top speed for both gas and electric engines is calculated using the normal formula for cars (see p. 55). For acceleration, compare power factors to the weight of the hovercraft and refer to the table below.
Hovercraft Power Factors Table
| Power factors/Weight | Acceleration |
|---|---|
| 2 or more | 15 mph/turn |
| At least 1, but less than 2 | 10 mph/turn |
| At least ½, but less than 1 | 5 mph/turn |
| At least ⅓, but less than ½ | 2.5 mph/turn |
| Less than ⅓ | Hovercraft will not lift |
Hovercraft accelerations are lower than those of boats because the hover is pushing against air instead of water. Top speeds are higher for the same reason. Hovercraft require a higher power factor to weight ratio than boats because they must expend a portion of their power to simply stay off the ground.
For example, a standard hover weighing 7,600 lbs. has a Super power plant producing 8,000 power factors. Power factors divided by the weight of the hover is slightly more than 1. This falls into the At least 1, but less than 2 bracket, so the hover has an acceleration of 10 mph/turn and a top speed of 182.5 mph. The same 7,600 lbs. hover with a 500 cid engine (9,500 power factors) will also have acceleration 10, but its top speed will be 167.5 mph.
A hover can go 200 miles per charge at a constant speed of 55 mph. For every 10 mph over 55 the number of "power units" consumed per ten miles increases by 2.
Hovercraft cannot use heavy-duty transmissions or overdrive. They can exceed their maximum speed by pushing their plant in the same manner as cars.
Fans
Hovers have two types of fans: lift fans to keep it airborne and thrust fans to push it along.
Every hovercraft is equipped with two, three or four thrust fans. Damaging a thrust fan does not affect the hover's performance. However, the loss of a thrust fan reduces the hover's HC by 1 for each fan lost. If all thrust fans are lost, the hover cannot maneuver and will decelerate by 5 mph per turn until it comes to a complete stop (but can still hover).
If a hover loses its lift fan, it drops to the ground and begins skidding, losing 30 mph at the beginning of every turn. The fall causes 2d damage to every remaining skirt and 1d to the underbody. Dropping to the ground is, in itself, a D5 hazard.
All fans take damage as helicopter rotors (see p. 38): if a fan is hit by any weapon which can do vehicular damage, roll 1 die. On a 1 through 5 the fan takes 1 point of damage; on a 6 the fan takes 2 points of damage. (Fan DP is listed in the Hover Types Table.)
The lift fan is in the body of the hover and is protected by the armor of the hover. It is considered a vehicular component for the purposes of damage allocation; it must be placed in the vehicle between the driver/gunner position and the cargo space. Fans cannot be component armored, but they can use fan armor which costs $10 and 4 lbs. per point (maximum 10 points — cannot be metal), and effectively adds its DP to that of the fan. This armor need not match the rest of the armor on the hover, and can be made of any of the standard armor types.
Note that even though the lift fan is inferior component, its cost is to pull air from above the vehicle into the plenum chamber. Thus, it is just as susceptible to flame clouds, cloud bombs and other such damage as external components are.
A hover can be built with just two thrust fans, saving 10% off chassis cost and weight. This reduces the hover's HC by 1. Turreted hovers which originally had only two thrust fans can fire the turret weapon into the rear arc. Hovercraft can also be built with four thrust fans, adding 15% to chassis cost and weight. This adds 1 to HC. Thrust fans can be specifically targeted at a -2 on the to-hit roll.
A hovercraft can be equipped with turbofans for greater performance (+20% body cost, no space or weight). A turbofan adds 5 mph to acceleration and 20 mph to top speed. It is not compatible with turbochargers or superchargers.
Skirts
The skirts of a hovercraft help keep the air under the hover and keep it off the ground. The four smaller hovers require four skirts apiece, one for each side of the hover: front, left, right and back. The two larger hovers have eight skirts each: front right, front left, back right, back left. Skirts come in three types: standard, heavy and extra-heavy. These skirts can be mixed on a hover at no penalty to maneuverability. The Skirt Table below lists the cost, weight and DP of the skirts for all six hover types.
Skirt Table
| Size | Standard $/Wt./DP | Heavy $/Wt./DP | Extra-Heavy $/Wt./DP |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-Man | 250/60/12 | 375/90/15 | 500/120/18 |
| Small | 300/80/16 | 450/120/20 | 600/160/24 |
| Standard | 400/100/20 | 600/150/25 | 800/200/30 |
| Large | 500/120/24 | 750/180/30 | 1,000/240/36 |
| Small Cargo | 750/160/28 | 1,125/240/35 | 1,500/320/42 |
| Cargo | 1,000/200/32 | 1,500/300/40 | 2,000/400/48 |
Skirts can be made fireproof for double cost. Skirts can also have skirt guards which are similar to wheelguards, although HC is unaffected. Skirt guards cost $10 and weigh 4 lbs. per point, and can have a maximum of 10 points per skirt (2 points if metal). Skirt guards must be made from any standard armor type and must match the armor on the rest of the vehicle.
Losing a skirt (or all skirts on a side, for oversized hovers) has the same effect as losing a tire for a car. Handling status drops to -6 immediately, and HC is permanently reduced by 2.
Losing all the skirts on two sides collapses the plenum chamber and has the same effect as losing the lift fan, detailed under Fans (see p. 70). Skirts can be specifically targeted at -2 to hit ("skirt" for "tire." Skirts on one side of a hover can be targeted from the arc of either side of the hover (i.e., you cannot target the front skirts of a hover when your weapon is in the side arc of that hover, etc.).
Weapons
Hovercraft can use all weapons available to cars, subject to the ⅓ spaces per side limitation. In addition, a hover can use weapons designed for boats, subject to the same water-effect limitations. Also, since a hover does not touch the ground, it can mount dropped solid weapons on the underbody of the craft. Liquid or gas weapons are harmlessly dispersed by the lift fan. An AT gun can be side-mounted only on oversized hovers.
Accessories
Hovercraft can use all accessories available to cars — with the obvious exception of such things as active suspension, heavy-duty and anti-lock shocks, spoilers, airdams and other accessory that modifies the handling or maneuverability of cars, boats or helicopters. Hovers cannot use any of the special accessories for boats except oars, life rafts, and marine radios. Hovercraft can use pontoons (see p. 73) so that they can land on water. These pontoons are mounted behind the skirts of the hover and can retract the skirt is destroyed, or if the firer can shoot at the hover's underbody. Hovers cannot tow trailers.
A hovercraft can also use a vertical stabilizer ($1,000, 150 lbs.). It is destroyed when the top armor is destroyed. Even if a hover's top armor could not otherwise be targeted, a stabilizer can be targeted at -2 (just as a turret can be targeted). This destroys top armor. A hover using a vertical stabilizer cannot mount a turret, rocket platform, etc. (except oversized hovers — see below). At speeds of 60 mph or greater, a vertical stabilizer reduces the difficulty of any maneuver by 1. A vertical stabilizer must be mounted at the top back on oversized hovers.
For purposes of determining which turrets, platforms, EWPs, etc. each type of hover can mount, treat a one-man hover as a subcompact, a small as a compact, a standard as a luxury, a large as a van and a small cargo or cargo as a bus. Note that a hover's top-mounted weapons cannot fire into the rear arc if it has three or four thrust fans.
Combat
Hovercraft are treated just like cars for the purposes of targeting and hitting. They are floating on a cushion of air, but this cushion is not very thick — only a few inches. Thus, they get no bonuses or modifiers for height, unless they are oversized. Oversized hovers have the same handling in combat that any other oversized ground or sea vehicle does. However, dropped liquid weapons have no effect on hovercraft. Exception: the flaming oil jet which damages the hover normally (substitute "skirt" for "tire") but does not affect the handling of the hover in any way. Dropped solid weapons also have no effect on hovercraft, except radio-controlled mines can still affect hovers and proximity-fused mines are set off on the same rolls that normally set off regular mines. When allocating damage from these weapons substitute "skirt" for "tire."
In a collision, use a hover's actual weight for determining damage, but use only half its weight for determining speed after collision and conforming movement. Hovers are easier to shove around, because they don't have ground friction to help hold them on course.
11. Helicopters
Sleek, fast and powerful, helicopters cruise the skies of the 2040s. They're not practical for long-distance travel, but they're the premier attack and rescue vehicles of the age. Like their 20th-century counterparts, they're fast, versatile, maneuverable and have the potential for heavy firepower and armor. They're also less safe and more cantankerous than ground vehicles. They're also fairly expensive. But if you need to get somewhere fast, or need to go where no ground vehicle can cut it, a chopper is the way to go.
Construction
Helicopters follow construction rules similar to those for cars. The important factors are still cost, weight and space. To build an effective helicopter, these must be juggled with care.
Helicopters only have five basic types of components: body style (which also determines rotor diameter), power plant, weapons, armor and accessories. Helicopters do not have chassis, suspension or tires. The maximum weight of a helicopter is strictly a function of the power factors of the power plant (see below).
Body Types
Helicopters come in four basic types. Note that the base handling class goes down as the choppers get bigger.
| Body size | Price | Weight | Spaces | HC | Rotor DP | Armor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-Man | $10,000 | 500 | 13 | 3 | 3/3 | 16/8 |
| Small | $20,000 | 800 | 19 | 2 | 5/3 | 20/10 |
| Standard | $40,000 | 1,200 | 24(+6) | 2 | 6/4 | 30/14 |
| Transport | $80,000 | 2,000 | 24(+17) | 1 | 8/4 | 35/17 |
The numbers in parentheses under "Spaces" indicate the amount of cargo the chopper can carry. Spaces designated for cargo cannot be used for helicopter components (except where noted below).
"Rotor DP" indicates the number of damage points the helicopter's rotors have. The first number is for the main rotor; the second is for the stabilizing rotor.
The one-man helicopter can be purchased in a "stowaway" format. For an extra $1,000, you can purchase a one-man model that can be broken down into component parts. It has a hinged fuselage and folding rotors, and fits into any cargo area holding 13 spaces. The breakdown process takes a tool kit and 15 minutes. Assembly takes the same amount of time (and also requires a tool kit); it is an Easy job for a mechanic.
Power Plants
Helicopters use the same fuel-cell technology as cars, trucks and cycles. Helicopter power plants can only be used in helicopters — they are specifically designed for the types of power loads that flying demands, and are unsuited for other types of duties.
| Power Plant | Cost | Weight | Spaces | DP | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | $10,000 | 2,500 | 8 | 16 | 5,000 |
| Small | $15,000 | 3,000 | 10 | 20 | 8,000 |
| Standard | $20,000 | 3,500 | 13 | 26 | 14,000 |
| Super | $25,000 | 4,000 | 16 | 32 | 20,000 |
Acceleration and top speed for helicopters is computed differently than for cars, as a significant part of their power goes toward merely staying off the ground. If a helicopter power plant's factors are less than the helicopter's weight, it is underpowered and will not lift off; if the factors are at least equal to its weight but less than 1½ times its weight, its acceleration is 5 mph on the straightaway; if the factors are 1½ times its weight or more, acceleration is 10 mph on the straightaway.
Acceleration and top speed is computed as follows: (300 × power factors)/(power factors + weight). Helicopter power units are consumed at a rate given by: (PU × current speed)/(20,000 × (maximum speed/100)). An average helicopter can travel about 200 miles at 100 mph on a full charge.
Helicopters need armor in six locations: front, back, left, right, top and bottom. The main rotor and the stabilizing rotor are not protected by armor. All the usual types of armor are available for helicopters, and mixing types is not allowed.
Weapons
Weapons work for helicopters pretty much the same way they do for land vehicles. There are certain differences in mountings, methods of aiming, and so on, but all of the weapons available to ground vehicles are usable for helicopters. Two weapons — the bomb and the cluster bomb — are usable only by helicopters. Full stats appear with the rest of the weapons. Note that dropped weapons are not useful as well. Paint sprays and smokescreens operate normally, but a helicopter has to be within 7½ feet — ⅓ of the ground for oil sprays, spikedroppers and mines dropped out too much. Above 7½ feet, smoke and paint will not block LOS between ground vehicles.
Vehicular weapons can be mounted on a helicopter's front, back, sides and bottom. Turrets can only be bottom mounted. A turret can fire as a left-, right-, front-, or back-mounted weapon, and is protected by bottom armor. Side- and bottom-mounted weapons can be mounted in cargo space. Back-mounted weapons must be taken from cargo space, if the chopper has cargo space to begin with.
Arcs of fire must be considered three-dimensionally — see p. 38 for a full explanation.
Smoke and Paint — These weapons are rarely mounted on helicopters, because gusts of air from the rotors will disperse them. One-man chappoons do not have this effect. Small helicopters disperse any weapon so or paint cloud within 1". Standard helicopters disperse clouds within 2"; transports disperse clouds within 2". Double thick distances for a cloud directly below the helicopter. However, a chopper which distances a paint cloud is treated as though it had landed the helicopter under the paint is sucked down by the rotors and coats the windshield.
Accessories
A wide variety of special equipment is available for helicopters. Nearly every accessory listed in Chapter 14, Weapons, can also be mounted on a helicopter — with some obvious exceptions, like wheelguards. What follows is a list of accessories that can be used in helicopters.
Bomb Bay — $1,000, 1 space, 100 lbs. Bomb bays are bottom-mounted doors through which large equipment can be dropped. (Note that a helicopter does not have to have a bomb bay to use bombs. Bombs can be installed outside the chopper, or have their own little door — used only for that bomb.) The bomb bay doors are actually the helicopter's bottom armor; when they are open, the helicopter has no bottom armor. To open the bomb bay doors, one crewman must activate them (which counts as a firing action); at the end of the next turn's phase, they are open. The same sequence is used to close them.
Coaxial Counter-Rotating Blade System (CACR) — 20% of body cost, 400 lbs., 2 spaces. Both blades have the DP specified for the main rotor. The CACR increases maximum speed to 250 mph, and adds 1 to HC (the maximum HC is still 3).
Roll randomly to see which rotor is hit by an attack; one is destroyed, the effect is the same as if the stabilizing rotor were destroyed. The CACR blade system works like a stealth system at up to half speed and acceleration, except the range of hearing is 6" (90°) instead of 12" (180°).
Extra Rotor Blades — Each extra main rotor blade costs $1,000 and weighs 200 lbs.; each extra stabilizing rotor blade costs $250 and weighs 50 lbs. Unmodified helicopters are assumed to have two blades; up to two more can be added, for a total of five.
Each extra blade adds 1 DP to the DP of the rotors. In addition, any helicopter with four or more main and stabilizing rotors has its HC increased by 1, up to a maximum of 3. If this item is combined with CACR, the number of blades on each rotor must match, and there is no HC increase.
Improved Tail Assembly — 20% of body cost and weight. This assembly can be mounted on helicopters and cannot be retrofitted. It reduces the HC penalty of any hazard by 1 when the chopper is traveling 60 mph or below when its back armor is destroyed.
Maneuver Foils — Cost is 25 × the price and cost 10 × the weight of armor of the helicopter mounting them. They must match the armor type of the vehicle. If a helicopter mounts one set of maneuver foils, it gets +1 to its control roll and cannot go to all maneuvers done when traveling over 60 mph. More than two sets of maneuver foils have no additional effect.
Personal Parachute — $200, 2 GEs, 20 lbs. as cargo, 4 DP. Personal parachutes are used when people bail out of aircraft. (A person bails out by moving his counter to a square that is not considered floored — i.e., he steps out the door, or through the bomb bay.) Falling rates are described on p. 27. A parachute will not activate in time to save the wearer unless he bails out at an altitude of 20" (300') or higher. The parachute opens once the character has fallen 16" (240'), brakes the descent for the next 4" (60'), and then acts as a hang-glider (see p. 87). At an open parachute can only be damaged by a flamethrower; however, it is +3 to hit its large size.
Pontoons — $500, 50 lbs., no space, 7 DP. Pontoons are skid mounts which enable a helicopter to land on water. If one or both pontoons are destroyed, a helicopter that has landed on water has only three turns to take off again — after that the chopper will have sunk too far to pull itself out; it will be completely underwater in another ten turns. Pontoons are targeted at a -3.
Retractable Landing Gear — $1,500, 150 lbs., 2 spaces. This item, usable only on helicopters, replaces the chopper's regular skids with a set of three retractable wheels. Each wheel has 6 DP and is targeted at -6 when extended. When retracted, the wheels are protected by the helicopter's underbody armor and cannot be independently targeted; furthermore, the helicopter's top speed increases by 10 mph when the wheels are used. Extending or retracting the landing gear takes a firing action and one full turn.
Rotor Armor — This armor effectively increases rotor DP. The cost and weight are different for main and stabilizing rotors:
Main rotor — Armoring the main rotor is twice the cost, and half the weight, of a single point of the helicopter's regular armor. It is triple the usual cost to repair.
Stabilizing rotor — Armoring the stabilizing rotor is 1½ times the weight, and half the weight, of regular armor. It is double the usual cost to repair.
No rotor can carry more than 10 points of armor. This armor is available in all varieties except metal, and must match the chopper's armor type.
Skid Stretchers — No space, 25 lbs., $300, 2 DP. Skid stretchers are man-sized cylinders mounted to a helicopter's skids for the purpose of carrying extra cargo. Each one adds one space of room to a helicopter, but that space can only be used to house weapons. Skid stretchers are unarmored and thus defenseless, and are targeted as though they were pedestrians (-3 to hit).
Skids — No weight, space or cost. Skids are standard equipment on helicopters; all helicopters have a pair of skids for landing. Targeting a skid is at -8, and their DP varies — 8 DP each for a one-man or small chopper, and 12 DP each for a standard or transport helicopter.
Vehicular Parachutes — $1,500, 150 lbs., 3 spaces, 4 DP. Vehicular parachutes operate in much the same way as personal parachutes, but are used when dropping large crates of supplies or actual vehicles. Vehicles up to 2,000 lbs. can be dropped by vehicular parachute. The parachute can only be operated successfully from a height of 30" (450') or more, opening after 20" (300') of free fall, and acting like a hang glider until 10" (150'). They are +4 to hit with flamethrowers.
Winch — $500, 100 lbs., 1 space, 1 DP. Winches are mechanisms which haul up cargo and personnel on stout cables. The winch must be mounted on a side with a door (or in the bottom, in the case of a helicopter with a skid or bomb bay) and can only be used when that door is open. The machine consists of a revolving drum mechanism and a 90-foot (6" game scale) cord. The mechanism is capable of supporting 4,000 pounds. The mechanism safely reels out the cord at 1"/second; it will reel it in at 1"/second if the weight attached is less than 1,000 lbs., ½"/second if the weight attached is 1,000 to 1,999 lbs., and ¼"/second if the weight exceeds 1,999 lbs. The cable takes one person and three second (six seconds in the case of a vehicle or similar-sized object) to attach to the object in question.
Example: A hovering helicopter can lower one crewman 90 feet in 6 seconds. That crewman takes another 3 seconds to attach the cable to another character being rescued, and then the winch mechanism takes another 6 seconds to reel the two of them up. If he'd attached it to a heavy motorcycle, it would take longer to attach the cable.
The winch cable can only be hit by weapons that can make "area effect" attacks (that is, machine guns, flamethrowers and lasers). Under those circumstances, it has 10 DP, and is -8 to hit.
Grasshoppers
The Grasshopper is an uncommon combination of helicopter and automobile. It is a mid-sized, sedan or luxury car, a small or standard hovercraft, a dinghy or a speedboat, or medium or light trike body which is modified (for $15,000 extra) to accommodate special helicopter equipment. This consists of a sliding roof panel (the only kind of turret which can be mounted on a grasshopper is a pop turret underneath) from which emerges a folding rotor attachment.
The rotor attachment takes one full turn to activate, during which time the roof panel slides back, and the rotors emerge and snap out to their full length. The rotors must spin for 3 seconds; on the fourth second the grasshopper takes off, at the rate of acceleration determined by the helicopter motor vs. weight rules (p. 72). A grasshopper's ground acceleration and top speed are figured based on the plant's power factors. Grasshoppers can only use Mini or Small Helicopter power plants. The plant has the normal number of spaces, plus 1 space for the extra rotor equipment.
Driver skill is necessary to drive a grasshopper on land; Pilot skill is necessary for use in the air. Once in the air, the grasshopper behaves exactly like a helicopter; the rotor and stabilizing rotor (which pops out of the trunk) are at -6 to hit. The main rotor has 5 DP; the stabilizing rotor has 3 DP. The grasshopper has a HC of 2 in the air. The grasshopper can use helicopter maneuver foils, but cannot use CACR, extra rotor blades, or retractable landing gear.
A vehicle which can travel on land, water and air is called a "triphibian."
12. Racing Cars
There are many kinds of racing, some of which will require special vehicles. Racing vehicles tend to be lightly armed and armored — speed, not firepower, is of the essence. Many racing events are throwbacks to the days before autoduelling, when no combat was allowed at all! Of course, an occasional "accidental" bump could result in an unfortunate spin or wreck, clearing the path to victory . . .
Body Types
There are five types of racing vehicles available. These are seen only on the racetrack, and not in the arena or on the streets.
| Type | Price | Wt. | Max. Load | Spaces | Armor Cost/Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula One/Indy | $6,500 | 600 | 4,000 | 15 | $22/10 |
| Can-Am | $6,500 | 800 | 4,500 | 18 | $24/12 |
| Sprint | $5,600 | 300 | 3,200 | 10 | $15/7 |
| Funny Car | $6,600 | 700 | 4,500 | 20 | $26/13 |
| Dragster | $6,200 | 600 | 4,000 | 16 | $20/8 |
These cars use the same engines, armor, weapons, chassis, tires and accessories as normal Car Wars cars. The Formula One/Indy, Sprint, Funny Car and Dragster bodies are designed for a driver only — no gunners or passengers. The Can-Am can have one passenger or gunner, but no more.
All of the racing vehicles have racing suspensions that cannot be altered in any way. All the racing bodies except the Indy car have a base HC of 5; all the racing except the Indy body style has a base HC of 6. With racing slick tires, and other special equipment advantages, the base handling class or one of these devils could get up to 8 or more.
All racing bodies can mount up to a two-space turret.
The Formula One/Indy, Dragsters and Sprint car bodies cannot mount wheelguards, because the tires stick out beyond the body of the car. Armored wheel hubs can be used. The Can-Am and the Funny Car have no such restrictions, and can use wheelguards.
Funny Cars are hinged in the back, and the entire body shell is lifted off the frame hydraulically for easy access to the engine and weapons (which gives a +1 to all repair rolls). This is also the only way for the driver to get out of the car, since Funny Cars do not have doors. It takes a full 5 seconds to raise or lower the shell, during that time the car is considered to have no front or side armor.
Dragsters are a special case. They use a 1½" × ½" counter. This should pose few problems, however — they still move forward in the usual way. When using the turning key for maneuvers, line the key up with the front inch of the counter.
Acceleration for Dragsters and Funny Cars is calculated the usual way, with one addition: if the number of power factors the engine has is more than twice the weight of the Dragster or Funny Car in pounds, then it has an acceleration of 20 mph/turn.
Dragsters use motorcycle tires in front, and car tires in back.
Both the Funny Car and the Dragster can only have racing slicks on the back corners. Because of their odd shape, Dragsters can not perform any maneuver greater than an unmodified D1 difficulty if they are going 20 mph or faster. At less than 20 mph, they can go up to an unmodified D3. Dragsters can only perform an unmodified D3 or less if traveling 20 mph or faster; at a lower speed they can do any maneuver except the bootlegger.
Dragsters also have some weapon restrictions. No more than two spaces' worth of weaponry can be mounted in the front of the vehicle, due to the extremely narrow front end. The other restriction is with turrets. If the Dragster has the engine in the rear of the vehicle then the turret must be in front of the driver and cannot fire into the back arc. If the engine is in front of the driver, then the turret must be mounted behind him and cannot fire into the front arc.
Dragsters are a +1 to be hit from the sides, and a -1 to be hit from the front or back. This is in addition to any other targeting penalties that may apply.
13. Weapons
The following is a complete list of all weapons and munitions in Car Wars. They are arranged according to the following categories: small-bore projectile, large-bore projectile, rocket, laser, flamethrower, dropped solid, dropped liquid, dropped gas.
When describing your vehicle to other players, only the nature and location of the weapon's firing port must be revealed — the exact weapon remains unknown until fired. Thus, a front-mounted machine gun would be declared as a "small-bore projectile front," while a back-mounted flame cloud ejector (FCE) would be a "dropped gas back." The multi-fire rocket pod (MFR) and variable-fire rocket pod (VFRP) are both considered single weapons (rockets) for declaration.
Small-bore Projectile Weapons
Autocannon (AC) — To hit 6, 3d damage, 4 DP, $6,500, 500 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($75 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $7,250, loaded weight 600 lbs. Burst effect.
Flechette Gun (FG) — To hit 6, 1d+1 damage (see below), 2 DP, $700, 100 lbs., 1 space; 20 shots ($10 and 2½ lbs. each); loaded cost $900, loaded weight 150 lbs. Area effect. Has normal effect on pedestrians (even those in body armor) and tires, but no effect on vehicular armor or other components. Does full damage if fired at a motorcycle and the location result is "driver" or "tire."
Gauss Gun (GG) — To hit 6, 3d damage, 3 DP, $10,000, 300 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($50 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $10,500, loaded weight 400 lbs. The Gauss gun fires a stream of tiny, needle-shaped projectiles at high velocity by sending them through an electromagnetic mass-driver. Firing a Gauss gun drains ½ power unit from the power plant or laser battery per shot.
Machine Gun (MG) — To hit 7, 1d damage, 3 DP, $1,000, 150 lbs., 1 space; 20 shots ($25 and 2½ lbs. each); loaded cost $1,500, loaded weight 200 lbs. Area effect.
Recoilless Rifle (RR) — To hit 7, 2d damage, 4 DP, $1,850, 300 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($35 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,850, weight 350 lbs. Burst effect.
Vehicular Shotgun (VS) — To hit 6, 2 hits damage, 2 DP, $950, 90 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($5 and 1 lb. each); loaded cost $1,000, loaded weight 100 lbs. Does full damage to vehicles.
Vulcan Machine Gun (VMG) — To hit 6, 2d damage, 3 DP, $2,000, 350 lbs., 2 spaces; 20 shots ($35 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $2,700, loaded weight 450 lbs. Loaded costs $750 and weighs 115 lbs. Area effect.
Large-bore Projectile Weapons
Anti-Tank Gun (ATG) — To hit 8, 3d damage, 5 DP, $2,000, 600 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($50 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $2,500, loaded weight 700 lbs. Loaded costs $550 and weighs 115 lbs. Burst effect.
Blast Cannon (BC) — To hit 7, 4d damage, 5 DP, $4,500, 500 lbs., 4 spaces; 10 shots ($100 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $5,500, loaded weight 600 lbs.; loaded costs $1,050 and weighs 115 lbs.
Bomb (B) — To hit 9, 4d damage, 2 DP, $100, 100 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Bombs can only be dropped from aircraft.
Cluster Bomb (CB) — To hit 9, 2 DP, $200, 150 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Cluster bombs do 2d damage to the target, 2d burst damage to everything (including vehicles) within a 3" radius, and 1d burst damage (vehicles are not affected) within an additional 2" radius. They can only be dropped from aircraft.
Grenade Launcher (GL) — To hit 7, damage by grenade type (see p. 48), 2 DP, $1,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces; loaded cost holds 10 grenades (cost by grenade type, 4 lbs. each); loaded magazine costs $50 plus the cost of grenades and weighs 55 lbs. Different grenade types can be mixed in the magazine, but the player or referee must keep strict track of the order in which they are loaded.
Mine-Flinger (MF) — To hit 5 (no bonus for point-blank range), damage as per mine type, 3 DP, $2,250, 275 lbs., 5 spaces; 5 shots; loaded cost and weight per mine type. The device throws mines like flying discs, up to 2" away. (Use the grenade scatter rules, p. 36, to determine where the mines land.
The firing player can place any section of the mine counter of the target square.) A missed to-hit roll means the mines are scattered too thinly to do any damage.
Mines flung at a specific target have a to-hit roll of 9 (point-blank range bonus does apply). The mines detonate on a die roll of 2 or 1; otherwise, the shot as a missed roll. The mine-flinger cannot use Spear-compatible mines, TDX mines, or proximity fuses.
Oil Gun/Paint Gun (OG/PG) — To hit 5, no damage, 3 DP, $1,000, 250 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($25 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,250, loaded weight 300 lbs. It shoots a plastic bag of oil that bursts on impact, creating a 1" × 1" slick centered on the point of impact. If the weapon misses, it is assumed that the bag shredded before impact and the oil is too dispersed to have any effect. The to-hit roll applies when firing at a specific square; if the weapon is fired at a vehicle, use a -2 penalty in addition to any other bonuses or penalties that apply at each, in addition to leaving a normal-sized (1" × ½") slick under the target. The paint gun is essentially identical, but shoots a bag of paint. If a bag of paint strikes the front of a car, that car will suffer the penalty of driving through a paint cloud — but the penalty is doubled if it takes ten seconds for a car's automatic systems to remove this heavier dose of paint from the target.
Spike Gun (SG) — To hit 7, 1d damage (see below), 2 DP, $750, 150 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($40 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,150, loaded weight 250 lbs. Area effect. The spike gun fired like an oil gun at a specific square, leaving a ½" × ½" square of spikes that acts like a single normal spike counter. The spike gun can be fired directly at a target (at a -4 penalty), doing 1d damage to tires and pedestrians only. Weapons cannot use explosive-tipped spikes.
Starshell Launcher (SL) — 2 DP, $500, 100 lbs., 1 space; 5 shots ($50, and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $750, loaded magazine costs $300 and weighs 40 lbs. Fires an illumination flare which will fully illuminate the entire play area, negating any penalties for night fighting. When mounted in a vehicle, it must be mounted on top, and is protected by top armor. It need not be in a turret and does not preclude a turret from being mounted in addition.
Tank Gun (TG) — To hit 7, 8d damage, 10 DP, $10,000, 1,200 lbs., 10 spaces; 10 shots ($100 and 20 lbs. each); loaded cost $11,000, weight 1,400 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $1,050 and weighs 215 lbs. Tank guns can only be installed on oversized vehicles, and must face forward or aft.
Rockets
Anti-Power-Plant Rocket (APPR) — To hit 9, 1d-1 damage, 1 DP, $500, 40 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. If an electrical power plant is damaged by this weapon (even by a single point), the vehicle's electrical system short-circuits and the power plant immediately loses all power. It does not affect internal combustion (IC) engines or independently-powered devices, such as lasers with their own batteries. It does not drain batteries. A short-circuited plant can be recharged normally.
Heavy Rocket (HR) — To hit 9, 3d damage, 2 DP, $200, 100 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Burst effect.
Light Rocket (LtR) — To hit 9, 1d damage, 1 DP, $75, 25 lbs., ½ space; 1 shot. Burst effect.
Medium Rocket (MR) — To hit 8, 1d damage, 2 DP, $140, 50 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot.
Micromissile Launcher (MML) — To hit 9, 1d damage per rocket, 3 DP (point of damage destroys two active rockets), $750, 100 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($20 and 2½ lbs. each); loaded cost $950, loaded weight 125 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $250 and weighs 40 lbs.
Mini Rocket (MNR) — To hit 9, 1d-1 damage, 1 DP, $50, 20 lbs., ⅓ space; 1 shot. Burst effect.
Multi-Fire Rocket Pod (MFR) — To hit 9, 1d damage per rocket, 3 DP (each point of damage destroys one active rocket after firing, just like a heavy rocket. Firing the MFR releases rockets fire simultaneously — thus its nickname, "Six-Shooter." Roll separately to hit with each rocket, and treat each as a separate attack for building breaches and debris purposes, but treat it as one single attack for making a vehicle's control roll.
Radar-Guided Missile (RGM) — To hit 7, 3d damage, 2 DP, $3,000, 100 lbs.; 1 space; 1 shot. Burst effect. The RGM gets no point-blank bonus and the normal range penalties do not apply. Instead there is a -1 penalty for every full 4" the target is closer to the target than 24". The missile has enough fuel to fly for 5 seconds. RGMs suffer no penalties for visibility; on the other hand, gunner and computer bonuses do not apply. The firer must have line-of-sight (LOS) to the target at the time of firing; thereafter the missile must maintain LOS to continue tracking the target. The missile moves 4" per phase and should be represented by a separate counter. Do not roll to hit until the missile reaches the target. If the roll is missed, or if the missile loses line-of-sight to its target, the RGM hits the ground and explodes. RGMs can be placed on rocket platforms, rocket EWPs and in rocket magazines, and can be made armor piercing.
Rocket Launcher (RL) — To hit 8, 2d damage, 2 DP, $1,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($35 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,350, loaded weight 250 lbs. Burst effect.
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) — To hit 6 vs. air targets, 11 vs. ground vehicles, 4d damage, 3 DP, $500, 150 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Burst effect. SAMs can be mounted on rocket platforms and other accessories and can be armor piercing.
Variable Fire Rocket Pod (VFRP) — To hit 9, 1d damage per rocket, 5 DP, $3,050, 200 lbs., 30 spaces; 30 rockets ($55 and 7½ lbs. each); loaded cost $3,100, loaded weight 425 lbs., loaded magazine costs $1,100 and weighs 240 lbs. The VFRP can fire up to six rockets in one turn, declaring the number fired before rolling for any. A VFRP can fire a "ripple salvo," spreading its attack over several targets within its arc of fire (a curved VFRP must choose a single arc). Each rocket fired after the first has its cumulative to-hit penalty on the ground, use the grenade scatter rules (see p. 36) to find out where the shell actually landed. When a laser-guided VFRP is fired in a ripple salvo, the laser suffers the cumulative to-hit penalties.
Wire-Guided Missile (WGM) — To hit 6, 3d damage, 2 DP, $2,000, 100 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Burst effect. The WGM uses the same targeting rules as the RGM. Gunner and computer bonuses do apply, however, as do visibility modifiers. If the firer moves or loses line-of-sight to the missile, the WGM hits the ground and explodes. The WGM is in all other ways identical to the RGM.
Torpedoes
Standard Torpedo — 4d damage, 3 DP, $300, 100 lbs., 2 spaces. This is very similar to a heavy rocket, except that it travels at 50 mph, regardless of the speed or orientation of the firing vehicle. The torpedo travels ¼" below the surface of the water and will pass over objects deeper than that. Use a missile or pedestrian counter to represent the torpedo, and move it in a straight line. The torpedo cannot be detected visually by anything more than 4" away from it. If the torpedo counter collides with any other solid object of reasonable size, such as a rock or boat — not a beach ball — it hits automatically. Roll for damage. When a boat is hit by a torpedo, the underbody armor is affected. Torpedoes can be made armor piercing at the usual cost.
A torpedo can be dropped from a flying vehicle. It is treated as a bomb until it hits the water, where it continues as normal. If it lands on something, it does 1d damage to whatever it hit and is destroyed — it will explode. Guided torpedoes can be dropped as well. A torpedo can be fired on, at -6 to hit. Any damage destroys the torpedo.
Heavy Torpedo — 6d damage, 4 DP, $600, 200 lbs., 2 spaces.
High-Velocity Torpedo — Buy this at twice the base cost (before homing, wire guidance, or proximity fuses are added). It allows the torpedo to travel at 80 mph.
Homing Torpedo — These torpedoes add $350 to cost, +20% weight. Treat as a regular torpedo, but the torpedo travels in a straight line until a boat-sized object is detected in the torpedo's front arc, within a 24" range. If more than one object comes in range simultaneously, the torpedo picks the closer one. If objects are at equal distances, it picks the larger one. If the sizes are also equal, it chooses randomly. Once a target has been selected, the torpedo will home in on it, turning up to 15 degrees every phase it moves (i.e., a D1 bend bend), with no loss in control. If the target manages to escape the torpedo's front arc, or gets farther than 24" away, the lock-on is lost, and the torpedo resumes its straight-line motion until it finds another target. When the torpedo reaches the target, it hits automatically — roll on the target for damage. A homing torpedo will not lock on to the beach, a rock, or even a large fish, but only a boat-like object.
Mini Torpedo — 2d damage, 2 DP, $200, 75 lbs., ½ space.
Wire-Guided Torpedo (WGT) — This guidance system adds $200 to the base cost. A WGT is directed by the firing vehicle toward its target, turning up to 15 degrees per phase. The guiding wire is considered to be ¼" below the surface of the water; if a boat with a deeper draft crosses a line directly between the firing boat and its WGT, the line is cut, and the WGT continues in a straight line. If a boat crosses the wire while on hydrofoils, the wire has a 3 in 6 chance of being cut. A WGT can also have the Homing Option; when the wire is disconnected, the torpedo immediately reverts to Homing mode. WGTs cannot be fired by a ship moving faster than 50 mph.
Lasers
Blue-Green Lasers — Lasers tuned to the proper frequencies can fire more effectively underwater. Any normal laser can be tuned to a blue-green wavelength for +25% of the laser's cost. Firing a normal laser underwater is treated like firing an IR laser through smoke. Blue-green lasers have no such penalty. IR and X-ray lasers cannot be blue-green.
Heavy Laser (HL) — To hit 6, 4d damage, 2 DP, $12,000, 1,000 lbs., 3 spaces. Area effect. Drains 3 power units per shot.
Heavy X-Ray Laser (HXL) — To hit 7, 5d damage, 3 DP, $20,000, 1,500 lbs., 5 spaces. Area effect. Drains 5 power units per shot.
Laser (L) — To hit 6, 3d damage, 2 DP, $8,000, 500 lbs., 2 spaces. Area effect. Drains 2 power units per shot.
Infrared (IR) Lasers — Two times the cost of a normal laser. IR lasers can fire through smoke and paint, but suffer a -1 die of damage for every ½" of smoke or paint between the firer and the target. IR laser suffer a -1 to their damage die for a half inch of smoke — thus, an IR laser firing through 1½" of smoke will do 2d-3 (2d - 6 - 3) damage. An IR targeting computer cannot penetrate more than 1" of smoke.
Light Laser (LL) — To hit 6, 1d damage, 2 DP, $3,000, 200 lbs., 1 space. Area effect. Drains 1 power unit per shot.
Medium Laser (ML) — To hit 6, 2d damage, 2 DP, $5,500, 350 lbs., 2 spaces. Area effect. Drains 2 power units per shot.
Pulse Lasers — Multiplies the base cost and play area by 150% but leaves weight unaffected. It adds +1 to damage per die — thus, a heavy pulse laser does 4d+4 damage and a pulse TwL does 2d+8 damage. Pulse lasers have no area effect and cannot laser-guide rockets.
Targeting Laser (TL) — To hit 6, no damage, 1 DP, $1,000, 50 lbs., no space. It is usable with any type of rocket with a Laser Guidance link. It does not drain from the power plant.
Twin Laser (TwL) — To hit 7, 2d+6 damage, 3 DP, $10,000, 750 lbs., 2 spaces. Area effect. Drains 3 power units per shot. When reduced to 1 DP, one laser has been destroyed; damage drops to 1d+2.
X-Ray Laser (XL) — To hit 7, 4d damage, 3 DP, $15,000, 750 lbs., 3 spaces. Area effect. Drains 4 power units per shot. The beam of an X-ray laser is invisible. The target can tell the general direction an attack is coming from, but nothing more specific.
Flamethrowers
Flamethrower (FT) — To hit 6, 1d damage, 1 DP, $500, 450 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($25 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $750, loaded weight 500 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $300 and weighs 65 lbs. Area effect. Maximum range 10". When fired, any flamethrower creates a standard 1" × ½" smoke cloud, aligned along the line of fire.
Heavy-Duty Flamethrower (HDFT) — To hit 6, 2d damage, 3 DP, $1,250, 650 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($100 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,750, loaded weight 750 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $550 and weighs 115 lbs. Area effect. Maximum range 15".
Light Flamethrower (LFT) — To hit 6, 1d-2 damage, 1 DP, $350, 250 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($15 and 3 lbs. each); loaded cost $500, loaded weight 280 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $200 and weighs 65 lbs. Maximum range 5".
Dropped Gases
Cloud Bomb (CBSS) — To hit 6, 1 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 1 space; 1 shot. Point-blank bonuses do not apply. The cloud bomb creates a HDSS; after two phases, the "smokescreen" detonates, doing 2d damage to everything in or touching it (like a flame cloud) and 1d in a 2" burst radius (vehicular components are not affected). If the to-hit roll is missed, the chemicals is assumed to have dispersed, and the cloud does not form as a normal smokescreen.
Flame Cloud Ejector (FCE) — 2 DP, $500, 50 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($60 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,100, loaded weight 100 lbs. Creates a ⅓" × 1" cloud when fired. Flame clouds look like regular paint clouds and block fire in the same way. However, they will not stick (no lasting penalty for driving through the cloud). A cloud ignites after 1 phase; it burns for 2 turns, leaving behind a standard smoke cloud. All flame clouds, no matter what their size or source, do 1d-1 damage to any exposed vehicular component or armor location (side of it were a weapon hit), but components exposed before armored hubs, which take damage before frame rails; fifth wheel guards take damage before fifth wheels; trailer-hitch armor takes damage before trailer hitches and tongues. Components behind a breached armored location are not exposed (apply a single 1d-1 damage to it if it were a weapon hit), but components inward an unarmored location (side of a doorless vehicle, top of a roofless car) are exposed. Driving from open air into a burning flame cloud is a D2 hazard.
Flame Cloud Gas Streamer (FCGS) — 1 DP, $200, 100 lbs., 2 spaces; 2 shots ($300 and 25 lbs. each); loaded cost $800, loaded weight 150 lbs. It creates a straight 5" × ½" flame cloud when fired. Unlike other dropped weapons, gas streamers can be aimed like regular weapons.
Gas Streamer (GS) — 1 DP, $100, 50 lbs., 1 space; 2 shots (cost and weight depending on ammo). Creates a straight 5" × ½" smoke, paint or tear gas cloud out from the side the weapon is mounted on. Gas streamers can be armed like regular weapons. If so, it will fire immediately, and then once per turn, at the same phase in which the vehicle was originally activated.
Smoke loads: $50 and 25 lbs. each. Tear-gas loads: $100 and 25 lbs. each. Paint loads: $50 and 10 lbs. each. Ammo type in the streamer must be the same type — no mixing.
Heavy-Duty Flame Cloud Ejector (HDFCE) — 2 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($240 and 20 lbs. each); loaded cost $3,400, loaded weight 300 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $2,450 and weighs 215 lbs.
Heavy-Duty Paint Spray (HDPS) — 3 DP, $800, 50 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($40 and 8 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,200, loaded weight 130 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $450 and weighs 95 lbs. Creates a 1" × 2" cloud when fired.
Heavy-Duty Smokescreen (HDSS) — 4 DP, $500, 50 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($40 and 20 lbs. each); loaded cost $900, loaded weight 250 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $450 and weighs 215 lbs. Creates a 1" × 2" cloud when fired.
Paint Spray (PS) — 2 DP, $400, 25 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($10 and 2 lbs. each); loaded cost $650, loaded weight 75 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $300 and weighs 65 lbs. Creates a 1" × ½" cloud when fired.
Smokescreen (SS) — 4 DP, $250, 25 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($10 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $350, loaded weight 75 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $150 and weighs 65 lbs. Produces a 1" × ½" smoke cloud when fired.
Dropped Liquids
Flaming Oil Jet (FOJ) — 3 DP, $300, 30 lbs., 2 spaces; 25 shots ($35 and 2 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,175, loaded weight 80 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $925 and weighs 65 lbs. It drops a regular oil slick which bursts into flame 1 phase later. The burning slick is treated like a regular oil slick and does 1d-2 damage to the tires and underbody of vehicles that pass through the burning slick while it burns for 5 turns. Oil slick acts as a smoke cloud while it burns; once the FOJ slick has consumed itself, the counter is replaced by a standard smoke cloud of the same size.
Heavy Flaming Oil Jet (HFOJ) — 4 DP, $550, 60 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($140 and 8 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,950, loaded weight 140 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $1,450 and weighs 95 lbs. It creates a 2" × 1" flaming oil slick.
Heavy-Duty Ice Dropper (HDID) — 4 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($100 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $2,000, loaded weight 200 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $1,050 and weighs 115 lbs. It creates a 2" × 1" ice counter when fired.
Heavy-Duty Oil Jet (HDOJ) — 4 DP, $500, 50 lbs., 3 spaces; 10 shots ($40 and 8 lbs. each); loaded cost $900, loaded weight 130 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $450 and weighs 95 lbs. It creates a 1" × 2" slick when fired.
Ice Dropper (ID) — 3 DP, $750, 50 lbs., 2 spaces; 25 shots ($20 and 2 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,250, loaded weight 100 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $550 and weighs 65 lbs. The ice dropper drops a patch of water and endothermic chemicals to produce an instant 1" × ½" patch of ice. Any vehicle hitting an ice patch takes a D2 hazard for any maneuver performed on it. If an ice patch is hit by a flamethrower, flaming oil or exploding napalm mines, it will melt, turning to water (see p. 9).
Oil Jet (OJ) — 3 DP, $250, 25 lbs., 2 spaces; 25 shots ($10 and 2 lbs. each); loaded cost $500, loaded weight 75 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $300 and weighs 65 lbs. It creates a 1" × ½" slick when fired.
Dropped Solids
Chaff Dispenser (CD) — 2 DP, $300, 25 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($10 and 2 lbs. each); loaded cost $400, loaded weight 45 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $150 and weighs 35 lbs. Creates a 1" × ½" cloud of radar-reflective foil strips next to the firing vehicle. All radar-directed fire passing through the cloud is at -1 to hit for every ½" of chaff. The cloud lasts one second. Any vehicle driving through a chaff cloud takes a D1 hazard.
Drop-Spike Plate (DSP) — 4 DP, $200, 50 lbs., 1 space. The plate can be mounted on the underside of any vehicle except cycles, small trikes, reversed trikes, and subcompacts. The regular DSP measures ½" × ½". Dropping the plate is a firing action; when dropped, the plate appears directly beneath the dropping vehicle (the tires of the dropping vehicle are not affected unless the dropping vehicle is pushed onto the plate by a ramming vehicle). If any part of another vehicle touches the plate counter, all tires of the vehicle take damage — 1d damage for solid and plasticore tires, 2d for all others. The plate does not take damage by being run over.
Fake Drop-Spike Plate (FDSP or FLDSP) — 1 DP, $50 ($75 for a large one), 10 lbs., 1 space. The fake plate is indistinguishable from the real thing but doesn't affect tires at all; it's plastic with soft rubber spikes.
Heavy-Duty Chaff Dispenser (HDCD) — 2 DP, $600, 50 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($40 and 8 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,000, loaded weight 130 lbs. It creates a 1" × 2" cloud of chaff.
Junk Dropper (JD) — 4 DP, $50, 25 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots (no cost, 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $50, loaded weight 125 lbs. When the junk dropper is fired, it drops two randomly selected debris counters in one ½" × ½" square located as for a spike or minedropper.
Large Drop-Spike Plate (LDSP) — 6 DP, $350, 100 lbs., 1 space. The large plate measures 1" × ½", and can only be used by buses and semitrailers longer than 20', but is otherwise identical to the regular DSP.
Minedropper (MD) — 2 DP, $500, 150 lbs., 2 spaces; 10 shots ($50 and 5 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,000, loaded weight 200 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $550 and weighs 65 lbs. Burst effect. Does 2d damage to the underbody, and 1d damage to each tire within 1".
Spear 1000 Minedropper (SMD) — 2 DP, $750, 150 lbs., 2 spaces; 5 shots ($100 and 10 lbs. each); loaded cost $1,250, loaded weight 200 lbs.; loaded magazine costs $550 and weighs 65 lbs.
Spikedropper (SD) — 4 DP, $100, 25 lbs., 1 space; 10 shots ($20 and 5 lbs. each). They look just like the real thing, but just weighted plastic imitations.
Flaming Oil Ammo — Loaded in a regular oil gun; $90 and 5 lbs. each. This ammo lays a 1" × 1" oil slick just like the regular oil gun round (see p. 77), but one phase after the slick is produced, it ignites! The flaming slick is treated just like that from a FOJ. If this ammunition is fired directly at a car, it is treated just like a regular oil gun round — the oil is too dispersed to ignite. It can be mixed with normal ammo.
Glow-in-the-Dark Paint — Loaded in any paint-using weapon; CPS 4 × normal, WPS same. When targeting a vehicle that has been covered in glow-in-the-dark, nighttime penalties are reduced to only -1; if combined with LIGs or any other nighttime enhancer, the darkness penalty is fully eliminated. It cannot be mixed with normal ammo.
High-Density Ammo (HD Ammo) — Available only for MGs, VMGs and ACs. HD ammo costs and weighs twice as much for the same amount of damage as regular ammo, and is increased by 1 point for each die of damage the weapon would ordinarily do (MGs would do 1d+1, VMGs would do 2d+2). HD ammo is not available for hand weapons (except for tripod-mounted MGs and VMGs).
High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) Warheads — Loaded in RRs, ATGs, BCs and TGs; CPS 1½ × normal, WPS same. It does +1 damage per die — thus, 2d+2 for the RR on up to 8d+8 for the tank gun. There is no burst effect. HEAT can be mixed with normal ammo.
High-Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) Warheads — Loaded in RRs, ATGs, BCs and TGs; CPS 1½ × normal, weight same. HESH removes a point of metal armor for every 4, 5 or 6 rolled, rather than just on a 5 or 6.
High-Temperature (HT) Ammo — Loaded in any flamethrower or flaming oil jet; CPS 4 × normal, WPS 1½ × normal. It does +2 points of damage per die — thus, a FOJ with HT ammo does 1d and an FT does 1d+2. The fire modifier is increased by 1, while the burn duration is reduced to 1. It cannot be mixed with normal ammo. HT-flaming oil ammo will burn for 2 turns.
Ice Ammo — Loaded in a regular oil gun; $40 and 5 lbs. each. It lays a 1" × 1" patch of ice that acts just like that from an ice dropper. If this ammunition hits a vehicle directly, a ½" × 1" ice patch forms under the vehicle but there is no additional effect — the water is too thinly spread to form ice on the car itself. It can be mixed with normal ammo.
Incendiary Ammo — Costs 1½ times as much as regular ammo, weighs the same. Available for MGs, VMGs and ACs only. It does normal damage to metal, regular or reflective armor and 1 point less to fireproof armor. It does normal damage to pedestrians and internal vehicular components. It also adds a fire modifier of 2 and a burn duration of 1.
MML Incendiary — 1d+1 damage (1d to FP armor), CPS 35, WPS 6. For MMLs only. Used as regular incendiary ammo, but the fire modifier is 2 and the burn duration is 1.
Napalm Mines — Loaded in a normal MD; $60 and 5 lbs. each; 1d damage to underbody and tires. Loaded in a Spear MD; $150 and 10 lbs. each; 1d damage to tires, 2d to underbody. Unless a vehicle has both fireproof armor and tires, it will take a fire modifier of 4 with a burn duration of 3. Like flamethrowers, napalm mines are volatile, and a vehicle carrying them may explode. If napalm mines ever end a phase underneath the car, and ignited napalm mines or flame cloud, they immediately detonate.
Proximity Fuses — $100 per mine, no weight or space. These fuses automatically detonate mines if anything touches the counter. They detonate on a roll of 1 to 4 on 1 die when a vehicle comes within one square (¼") of the counter. Proximity fuses are not detectable. A proximity fuse will not arm itself until a certain number of phases (usually 2) after being dropped, to allow the firing vehicle to get clear. The arming time can be adjusted between combats; this is an Easy task for a mechanic. Different mines in a minedropper can have different arming times, but the player must keep track of the order in which mines are used.
Torpedo Proximity Fuses — The cost is $50 per torpedo. A torpedo with a proximity fuse hits when it comes within ¼" of the target — thus, it can damage hovercraft. Any damage a hover takes is applied to its nearest skirt (see p. 70), or, if it has no skirt on that side, to the underbody armor. Proximity fused torpedoes do not need to be armed.
14. Accessories
Many accessories are available to customize duel vehicles. Some are defensive in nature; some are decidedly offensive; others are just convenient. Restrictions apply to the use of many of these accessories, so read each description carefully.
Offense
Blow-Through Concealment — $100, 10 lbs., no space. This special armor patch covers one weapon's firing port, concealing it from view. When the weapon is first fired, the patch is instantly blown away with a small explosive charge. The patch must be replaced to conceal the weapon again; this is an Easy job for a mechanic. Blow-through concealment patches need not match the vehicle's armor type.
Body Blades — These are like cycle blades (p. 57), but the cost and weight is the same as 3 points of plastic armor for that vehicle. They need not match armor type. Fake blades are available for $20 (no weight or space).
Bomb Racks (BR) — These hold bombs externally on the underside of aircraft. Bomb racks cannot be mounted on a vehicle that has a bottom-mounted turret. They can cost $100 and weigh 50 lbs. per space of bomb capacity. The one-space BR will fit on small choppers and larger; the two-space BR will fit on small choppers and larger; the three-space will only fit on standard and transport helicopters; and the four-space BR will only fit on transport helicopters.
Brushcutter — $100, 20 lbs., no space. A front-mounted blade, this can be mounted with regular armor, but not with bumper spikes. It is destroyed when the front armor is destroyed, and adds 2 hits to damage done to any pedestrian in the front of the vehicle to mow down small trees (normally D2 or D3 hazard) with no ill effects, but has no effect on rocks, other vehicles, etc.
Bumper Spikes — Cost and weight equal to 5 points of armor for that vehicle, and must match that vehicle's armor. They can be mounted on or back only. Bumper spikes add 1d to all damage given in a collision, modified by the vehicle's DM (double damage to pedestrians). They cannot be mounted in conjunction with a ramplate or brushcutter. They are destroyed when all armor on that side is destroyed.
Cupolas — A cupola is a turret that carries a gunner outside of it with the weapon. A three-space cupola can hold a gunner and a one-space weapon (a machine gun, for example). The cupola gunner has a +1 to hit, but he can fire only into the cupola weapon (unless it is smart-linked to another weapon). If the top cupola is penetrated, the gunner takes damage before the weapon does. A cupola can be designed to be entered from outside or inside the vehicle, but not both. Pop-up cupolas work like pop-up turrets; see p. 84.
Three-space Cupola: $3,500, 400 lbs., 2 spaces.
Three-space Pop-Up Cupola: $4,500, 600 lbs., 5 spaces.
Four-space Cupola: $5,500, 500 lbs., 2 spaces.
Four-space Pop-Up Cupola: $6,500, 750 lbs., 6 spaces.
(The following table summarizes which vehicle types can mount which sizes of turrets/cupolas, rocket platforms, EWPs and bomb racks. See the original chart for full detail; broadly: small vehicles carry no or 1-space mounts, mid-sized vehicles up to 2-3 spaces, and oversized vehicles/transport helicopters can carry the largest 4-space mounts.)
Cyberlink — $16,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. This computerized helmet links the wearer to one particular weapon (like the SWCs, p. 84), and gives the wearer +3 to hit, with that weapon only.
Dual-Weapon Magazine (DWM) — $150, 50 lbs., 1 space. Like a normal magazine, but plus cost and weight of ammo. Must be attached to two identical linked weapons in the same facing. If one item holds the same number of shots as its weapon. However, this ammo is used by two weapons rather than one. If one weapon of the pair fires a shot from this magazine, the other must fire from it as well. The DWM adds no DP to either weapon and is destroyed the instant one of its weapons is destroyed. This item cannot be combined with normal magazines and magazine switches, but rocket magazines are not available in a dual-magazine version.
External Weapon Pod (EWP) — These pods come in four sizes, from 1 to 4 spaces of weaponry. A single pod can be mounted in place of a turret on top of a vehicle (or bottom of a helicopter). When mounted to the side of a vehicle, a second pod of the same size must be mounted on the opposite side to match. Pods can fire either to the front or rear, but the direction must be specified upon installation. Matched pairs must fire in the same direction. Front-firing pods have the same arc of fire as front weapons; back-firing pods have the same arc as back weapons.
Pod armor costs $10 and weighs 4 lbs. per point of plastic, and has a 40 lb. weight limit. Pod armor is universal — that is, there is only one location. The type of armor used on an EWP does not match the type of armor used elsewhere on the rest of the vehicle.
If the side of a vehicle with an EWP is hit by enemy fire, roll 1 die. If the number is equal to or less than the number of spaces the pod has (i.e., 2 or less for a two-space pod), the pod is hit: pod armor takes damage first, then the pod weapons, in the order the owner decides. Otherwise, the shot missed the pod and the vehicle takes damage normally.
weight of ammunition. An extra magazine for a weapon that holds the same number of shots as the weapon itself can. More than one extra magazine can be attached to a weapon. Each extra magazine adds 1 DP to the weapon. Extra magazines do not count against the space limitations of a weapon in a turret or cupola, but do count against a vehicle's space and weight limit.
Fake Turret — $250, 50 lbs., no space. Looks like any regular (but empty) turret — it even rotates. The "turret" can carry any number of fake weapons (at $100 and 20 lbs. each). If the turret is instantly destroyed when hit (and the top armor takes no damage).
Homing Anti-Radar Missiles (HARMs) — adds $100 per rocket (any rocket). They must be linked to a Radar Detector. When active, a HARM will automatically fire at any incoming radar source (vehicular radar, RGMs, radar jammers, etc.) with a +1 to hit for every 4" range past the first full 4", provided that the radar source is within the HARM's arc of fire, up to a total bonus of +4 (it uses the rocket's own to-hit number). If the HARMs are fired from a RL, MML or VFRP, the HARM system will keep firing so long as the radar source is in its firing arc. If HARMs are fired manually, they suffer a -2 to hit against non-radar-generating targets, and use normal range modifiers.
Laser Battery — 1 DP, $500, 100 lbs., 1 space. This is located adjacent to the power plant, and is destroyed after the power plant is destroyed. A laser battery is required if a gas-powered vehicle is going to fire lasers or run power-draining electronics (radar, IR, etc.). The laser battery can hold 100 power units — good for firing lasers, running high-powered electronics, and so on. A recharge costs $50 and takes two minutes.
Laser-Guidance Link (LGL) — $500 for the electronics and laser tuning, plus $200 per guided rocket; no weight or space. This link can be used with any rocket except SAMs, RGMs and WGMs. If used with multiple-shot rocket weapons (RL, MML, VFRP, MFR, etc.) the $200 must be paid per shell. The guiding laser and the rocket must be linked for both to fire; this is legal, since only the laser is assumed to be aimed. The LGL can guide any number of rockets at a time, if they come from the same vehicle and same arc of fire.
When a tuned laser and a modified rocket are linked and fired at the same target, roll 2 dice to hit with the laser. On a 4 or better, roll 2 dice without modifiers for each rocket. On a 2 or 3 it misses — the homing sensor lost track of the laser beam. If the laser itself misses, never reaches the target, or was not fired, the rockets have no chance of hitting — the guidance modifications make the rockets too inaccurate for unguided fire to be effective.
Link — $50, no weight or space. It links two or more pieces of equipment, so that they can both be activated by a single firing action. It is normally used on weapons, but can be hooked to other equipment. For a more complete discussion of links, see Linked Weapons, p. 33.
Magazine Switch — $250, no weight or space. A magazine switch allows the firer to select the source magazine for the shot being fired; this takes no time and does not count as a firing action. Shots in the selected magazine are still used to hit top to bottom, so if a magazine has a mixed load, you must still keep track of the order of shots fired, to determine when the weapon is destroyed.
Weapons set on automatic will fire all shots from one magazine until it's empty, then switch to another of the player's choice (assumed to be programmed before combat).
Pintle Mount — $150, 20 lbs., no space. This mount can hold any 1-space weapon; a mount that will hold a 2-space weapon costs and weighs twice as much. A pintle mount can be mounted adjacent to a sunroof or convertible top. It allows a 180° arc of the space designated when the pintle mount is installed. The gunner for the weapon must stand behind it and physically aim and fire the weapon. The weapon is not protected by armor, but can use the tripod gunshield. If a vehicle with a pintle mount rolls, the pintle and weapon will break off the vehicle when the vehicle rolls onto its top.
Ramplate — Cost and weight are in addition to the front armor of a car, truck, boat or reversed trike. 1½ times the cost of the front armor, and weight is half of all the front armor of a vehicle. A ramplate can only be mounted on the front of a vehicle. When in a collision involving the ramplate, first determine damage the normal way. Then, the other vehicle takes twice that amount, and the vehicle with the ramplate takes half that amount. A ramplate costs and weighs as much as 5 points of the vehicle's front armor, including modifiers for special design and lace, real and fake, are destroyed when the vehicle's front armor is destroyed; a fake ramplate has no effect on collisions.
Rocket EWP — Weight and cost are half that of a similar EWP. No armor can be carried, and the rockets are vulnerable to damage and vehicular fires. A rocket EWP carries single-shot rockets of any type.
Refer to the table on p. 82 for mounting restrictions.
Rocket Magazine — Available in 1-, 2-, or 3-space sizes. Each magazine will hold its capacity of any one rocket type (Heavy, Medium, Light, Mini, RGM, WGM, etc.). Type is chosen on installation. The magazine costs $50 and weighs 15 lbs. per space of capacity. A rocket magazine has 0 DP, and is destroyed when one rocket inside it is destroyed (or, if empty, is destroyed when the armor protecting it is breached). Rocket magazines allow a firer to gain sustained-fire bonuses with rockets. Rocket magazines cannot feed to rocket platforms, but can feed into turrets.
Rocket Platform — Available in three sizes: Mini ($75, 50 lbs., 1 space), Small ($100, 100 lbs., 2 spaces), and Large ($150, 200 lbs., 3 spaces). The rocket platform takes no space; it's mounted on a vehicle's top. It can mount 1, 2 or 3 spaces of single-shot rockets of any type and shape like a turret. There are size restrictions for these; see the Turret Table (p. 82) for details.
Rotary Magazine — $500, 10 lbs., no space. Added to any single weapon or magazine, it allows the firer to choose ammunition freely from a mixed load within a single magazine. Choosing the round does not count as a firing action.
Smart Link — $500, no weight or space. It acts as a regular link between two or more weapons. In addition, all weapons in one location are aimed and fired with weapons in a different location (for example, forward weapons smart-linked to a weapon in a turret). All weapons must be aimed at a target — and naturally must be able to aim at that target. Non-identical weapons cannot be linked together, but the smart link itself can be linked.
Targeting Computer — $1,000, no weight or space. +1 to all to-hit rolls for any single vehicular weapon (driver or gunner, but not both). It is destroyed when the power plant is destroyed. A hi-res version is available for $4,000; this model works the same way, but gives a +2 to-hit bonus.
A single-weapon computer (SWC) must also be set on installation to add to a single weapon type in a single position (VMG front, RR in turret, for example). Like a regular computer, it can only add to one weapon at a time, and which crew member benefits is also set at installation. The standard SWC costs $500, and adds +1 to the to-hit roll; the hi-res SWC costs $2,500 and gives a +2. Targeting computers cannot be combined with each other or with the cyberlink for higher bonuses.
Turrets — Turrets take up space in a vehicle, but in turn hold a number of spaces' worth of weapons that do not count against the vehicle's space limit. A pop-up turret hides inside the vehicle, possibly hiding an opponent into thinking you're lightly armed. Raising or lowering a pop-up turret is a firing action and takes 1 turn.
One-space Turret: $1,000, 150 lbs., 1 space.
One-space Pop-up Turret: $2,000, 300 lbs., 3 spaces.
Two-space Turret: $1,500, 200 lbs., 2 spaces.
Two-space Pop-up Turret: $2,500, 350 lbs., 4 spaces.
Three-space Turret: $2,500, 300 lbs., 2 spaces.
Three-space Pop-up Turret: $3,500, 450 lbs., 5 spaces.
Four-space Turret: $3,500, 400 lbs., 2 spaces.
Four-space Pop-up Turret: $4,500, 600 lbs., 6 spaces.
Universal Turrets, Cupolas and Rocket Platforms — Adds an extra $1,000, no weight or space. Ordinary turrets, etc. cannot fire higher than a 45° angle. A universal turret, cupola or rocket platform can fire straight up (or straight down if mounted on an aircraft).
Defense
Armored Beer Refrigerator (ABR) — 20 DP (fireproof), $250, 50 lbs., 2 spaces. It holds up to 60 cans of any brand of beer or other beverage. It includes its own backup battery good for 12 hours. It can also float up to three pedestrians hanging on.
Armored Minifridge (AMF) — 10 DP (fireproof), $100, 30 lbs., 1 space. This holds up to 24 cans and can only support one pedestrian, but is otherwise like the ABR.
Armored Wheel Hubs — $10 and 4 lbs. per point of armor, maximum weight 40 lbs. Hubs must match the car's armor type, like wheelguards. They can be mounted on any wheel (not the inner wheel of a pair). Armored hubs protect just like wheelguards — when the tire is hit, roll 1 die; on a 1 to 4 the hub takes damage first, and on a 5 or 6, the hub is bypassed and the tire takes damage directly. Armored hubs do not affect the HC of a vehicle in any way.
Armored hubs can be used with wheelguards for additional protection, but the wheelguards still affect HC as usual. Hubs and wheelguards are used on a tire, check to see if the wheelguard stops the damage first. If the damage bypasses (or blows through) the wheelguard, roll again to see if the hub stops the damage. Only if neither the wheelguard nor the hub stop the damage, the tire hit. Unlike the wheelguard, which damage from all sides, the armored hub stops damage only from the side (as defined by the vehicle's side arc of fire).
Cycles can use armored wheel hubs, but must buy two — one for each side.
Cargo Safe — $22,000, 12,000 lbs., 15 spaces. The safe holds 10 spaces of cargo, and has 100 points of fireproof plastic armor on each of six sides. It also comes with an electronic coded lock. An optional refrigeration unit costs $2,000; an oxy-gen rebreather (for live cargo) costs $4,500; and a self-destruct system (triggered from the cab or when all armor on one side is gone) costs $900.
Component Armor — Assigned to any one vehicular component, it costs $5 and weighs 2 lbs. per point taken up by the component being protected.
Examples: Protecting a super power plant — 6 spaces — costs $30 and weighs 12 lbs. per point; armor for a laser — 2 spaces — costs $10 and weighs 4 lbs. per point. If the protected component takes up less than 1 space, or no space, the cost and weight of the armor are the same as for a 1-space component. A component can have up to 20 lbs. of armor per space taken. The armor also takes up ½ space per point of component armor takes up ½ space on cycles.
Component armor is universal, providing full protection from all angles. It effectively increases the DP of the component in question. Extra magazines must be armored with the associated weapon, and laser batteries and other items attached to the power plant or engine must be armored with the plant/engine. It cannot be used to protect weapons in EWPs, but protect turreted weapons and anything else in a turret. Component armor does not have to match vehicular armor type.
Only one weapon per facing of a vehicle (front, right, top, etc.), along with its extra magazine(s), can be protected. Linked sets of identical weapons can also be protected — figure the cost and weight based on the total number of spaces of the linked weapons. Component armor cannot be placed in corner mounts.
Dischargers — Dischargers are one-shot weapons attached to the outside of a vehicle. They weigh 5 lbs. and take up no space. Only one discharger of any type can be mounted per vehicle facing. A car can mount 7½ feet (½") of vehicle facing, two left, two right, top, underbody and one back. They can be mixed on a standard cloud (or slick) exactly as if it were mounted normally.
Flame Cloud Discharger (FCD) — $150.
Flaming Oil Discharger (FOD) — $100.
Flechette Grenade (FD) — $50. It does 1d damage to pedestrians and exposed cyclists in a 2" burst radius, but no damage to tires or vehicular components.
Ice Discharger (IcD) — $75.
Oil Discharger (OD) — $50.
Paint Discharger (PD) — $40. Available in a glow-in-the-dark version ($160).
Point-Defense Grenade (PDG) — $100. It does 1d damage in a 1" burst radius, but no half damage to tires and vehicular components, though its tires are not affected (unless the grenade is mounted in the underbody).
Smoke Discharger (SkD) — $50.
Tear Gas Discharger (TGD) — $75.
Ejection Seat — $500, 100 lbs., no space. Installation involves putting in a special seat and cutting breakaway roof panels. It must be designated for one particular seat (driver, gunner or passenger) at installation. After ejection, the seat does not eject until 3 phases after the action is declared. Once declared, the ejection cannot be aborted, even if the ejectee is knocked unconscious or killed in the intervening 3 phases. After ejection, use $300 to replace the seat rocket and roof panel (if the car survives). After ejection, the vehicle is considered to have no top armor if it rolls or is attached from above.
However, if the vehicle has a turret, it will still be protected from attacks.
Once fired, the seat climbs at 1" per phase for 10 phases. It is -6 to hit at this time. After the 10 phases have passed, the seat becomes a hang glider (see below) moving at 20 mph in the direction the ejecting car was moving. Option 1 — save $100 by leaving off the hang glider. Option 2 — replace hang-glider wing with parachute. The parachutist descends 1" per turn and is -2 to hit (in addition to any other penalties). Upon landing, the 'chutist takes 1d-4 damage, -1 for each successful previous landing. Needless to say, few survive a ride in an ejection seat without a chute or glider; falling this far will do 3d+4 damage. Remember that body armor (except impact armor, p. 46) does not protect against falls, and that a body that takes more than 10 hits of "extra" damage cannot be read by Gold Cross.
Fake Weapons — $100 and 20 lbs. each, no space. False weapons look exactly like their real counterparts from greater than 1" (game scale).
Fake Wheelguards and Armored Hubs — $2, 1 lb., no space. They are destroyed by the first shot to hit them, but do not decrease the damage from going through them (i.e., a 7-point hit that destroys a fake wheelguard will still inflict 7 points of damage on the tire behind it). They need not match armor type. Fake wheelguards do not lower a vehicle's HC.
Fire Extinguisher — $300, 150 lbs., 1 space. Roll 1 die at the end of turn a vehicle equipped with this item is on fire. If the fire is put out. The fire extinguisher is destroyed when the power plant is destroyed.
Fire-Retardant Insulators — $150 and 25 lbs. per space of component protected, 1 space. Only internal vehicular components can be protected with this item. Crew members cannot be protected, and likewise, internal combustion engines cannot be insulated, though gas tanks can be.
Components with fire-retardant insulators take no damage from vehicular fires, and only half damage from flame weapons.
Volatile weapons so protected cannot cause a vehicle to catch fire or explode. The insulators provide no DP protection and cannot be combined with component armor.
Hang Gliders — $500, 60 lbs. as cargo, 1 GE when "carried," 1 space. Hang gliders are unpowered gliders which can hold one flyer. A pilot must take off from a height and dive in order to achieve the speed necessary to keep the glider moving. The glider pilot runs at full speed for the edge of a 50-foot (about 3½" in game scale) or higher cliff or building side and launches himself into the air. Along the straightaway, gliders fly at an average of 20 mph. They have HC 2. They observe the same climbing and diving rules as helicopters, but stall at 15 mph; a stalled glider must immediately dive again to achieve a safe speed. Gliders depend on updrafts to climb and stay in the air — it is up to the referee to determine where such updrafts will be, if they're there at all, and how strong they will be. Hang gliders can perform Veer and Drift maneuvers, but not the Rotate maneuver (see p. 27). If a chopper flies over a hang glider within a distance that would dispel a smoke cloud (see p. 73), the turbulence caused is a D6 hazard.
Heavy-Duty Shock Absorbers — $400, 5 lbs. per tire, no space. HD shocks must be mounted on all tires of a vehicle to be effective. They reduce all road hazards (obstacles, debris, weapons fire and so forth) by D1. D0 hazards will not force control rolls.
Improved Fire Extinguisher — $500, 200 lbs., 1 space. It will put out a fire on a roll of 1 to 4 (1 to 3 with a gas engine) on 1 die. Otherwise, it is identical to the regular fire extinguisher.
Laser-Reactive Web — $100 each, no weight or space. Each web is affixed to a single armor location (front, back, etc.) or other external item (wheelguard, EWP, etc.). The web senses any laser fire which scores a direct hit on that side; when fire is detected, the web sends a firing action to any items linked to it, including computer gunners. Any direct-fire weapons activated cannot be aimed. The return fire is resolved before any laser-guided rockets arrive, after damage from the laser itself is applied. If the LR web is linked to a smokescreen, for example, the laser would hit, and the smokescreen would fire, breaking the rocket's sensor lock. Each web location is destroyed along with the armor it covers.
Mini-Safe — Comes in two sizes. The small one costs $150, weighs 20 lbs., and takes up 1 space. It can hold ½ space (or 3 GEs) of reasonably square materials. Papers, computer parts, or jewelry will fit — a rifle wouldn't. The large one costs $700, weighs 150 lbs., takes up 4 spaces, and holds 2 spaces of cargo. Both have 30 points of universal FP armor. The options normally available on the cargo safe are not available on the mini-safe.
Retractable Wheelguards — $250, 50 lbs., 1 space/pair, plus the cost and weight of the wheelguard itself. The wheelguards do not affect HC when retracted. Raising or lowering is a firing action, and takes one second.
Roll Cage — $150 per vehicle facing, weighs as much as 1 point of vehicular metal armor times the number of armor facings the vehicle has; takes 1 space. Thus, for a cycle, a roll cage weighs the same as 2 points of metal armor and costs $300, a mid-sized car's would be 6 points of metal at $900, and a bus's would be 10 points at $1,500. It prevents internal components from taking damage in a roll, and internal components (only) take half damage (round up) from rams. Roll cages must be original equipment.
Safety Seat — $500, 25 lbs., no space. A safety seat can be installed in any vehicle except a motorcycle or a sidecar. It is specially padded, contoured seat which, combined with special restraining belts and nets, cuts the damage taken in collisions and rolls in half. For example, after the front armor, and power plant have already been obliterated in a head-on collision, 12 points of damage remain to be divided between the driver and the gunner. The gunner has a regular seat, he takes his full 6 points of damage. The driver, equipped with a safety seat, takes half damage — only 3 points (the other 3 are absorbed by the seat). The safety seat provides no protection from weapons fire. It takes 5 turns to get into a safety seat, and 3 turns to get out. If you don't engage the harnesses, it only takes one second to get in or out, but the protection is lost.
StealthKote Shield — This is bought for individual armor locations on a vehicle. Cost is ten times the cost of 1 point of vehicular plastic armor, and weight is the same as 1 point of plastic armor. It adds 1 DP to each armor location protected. When a vehicle side takes damage, the StealthKote Shield is destroyed by the first hit taken. It can be put over any armor or weapon; when taking fire or laser damage, the shield receives no special protection even if the armor is fireproof or laser-reflective. Accessories (spoilers, wheelguards, etc.) are considered covered at an additional cost or DP benefit with the appropriate side is covered.
Radar will not register a shield-covered vehicle, and a radar-based ATAD or radar-guided missile will not lock on. If the source of the radar has line of sight on any side of the vehicle that has had its shield destroyed (or never had it in the first place), the radar will lock on, and the benefits of the shield are lost. A vehicle with a shield must have the same top armor undamaged from ground-level radar, or it will be spotted.
Wheelguards — $10 and 4 lbs. per point of armor. Wheelguards must be bought separately for each tire location, and have a maximum weight of 40 lbs. When a tire is targeted and hit, roll 1 die. On a 1 to 4, the wheelguard is hit instead. Wheelguards can be made fireproof, reflective, both or metal at the standard increases in cost and weight. Wheelguard armor must be of the same type as that on the rest of the vehicle.
Miscellaneous
Active Suspension — $4,000, 100 lbs., no space. Adds 1 to the HC of any car, trike or cycle. The bonus doesn't apply off-road. If a vehicle loses a wheel, it suffers a D6 hazard instead of going to HC -6, and its HC drops by 2 instead of 3.
Amphibious Modifications — 4 DP, $6,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces, for cars, trikes and hovercraft only. Amphibious modifications allow a car to travel on the water, like a boat. It consists of a rudder/propeller arrangement that folds out of the trunk and a watertight seal around all the doors and wheel wells. An amphibious car is treated as a Dinghy, except its HC is only 1. An amphibious car uses a regular car power plant or gas engine and acceleration and top speed in the water are calculated by comparing the regular power factors of the plant to the vehicle's weight using the Boat Power Factors Table. It takes one turn for the rudder/propeller system to extend from the car.
A grasshopper can also be made amphibious (which is, for grasshoppers, "triphibious") at the same additional costs. Triphibians can only use mini or small helicopter plants; when moving on the water, they use the Boat Power Factors Table as above.
The Bollix drains 2 power units per minute of operation from the remote-controlled vehicles within one mile go out of control. Ranges may be increased at the referee's discretion; these are minimums.
Bollixes are illegal, except for government vehicles, in all North American states and nations.
Bulk Ammo Boxes — $50, 10 lbs., 1 space, does not include the cost and weight of the ammo itself. Bulk ammo boxes carry two complete loads of ammunition for any one type of weapon (MG, VMG, RL, FOJ, etc.) which must be specified when the box is purchased. An ammo box for one type of weapon cannot carry any other type of ammo. Differing ammo types (high density, armor piercing, incendiary, etc.) can be mixed freely in a single box as long as they can be mixed in the weapon itself. Transferring ammo from a bulk storage crate to a weapon or magazine is a Trivial task for a mechanic.
Bulk ammo boxes have 5 points of universal fireproof plastic armor and are damaged by hits to the cargo area of the vehicle. Volatile ammunition inside a bulk ammo box will not cause a burning vehicle to explode until the box is destroyed. If an ammo box is destroyed, its ammunition is scattered around the cargo area and becomes unusable in a weapon.
Bulk ammo boxes can be used for hand-weapon ammunition, in which case they hold 12 GEs worth of extra hand-weapon magazines.
Bumper Trigger — $50, no weight, no space. The trigger can be mounted on any side of a vehicle (front or back only on cycles), and more than one trigger can be mounted per side, attached to different weapons. Whenever a side with a trigger is involved in a collision, all weapons linked to the trigger fire immediately. Weapons that have already fired in that turn cannot fire; all fire is resolved as if the weapons were firing on automatic. Triggers can be activated or deactivated at will — doing so is a firing action for each trigger. A bumper trigger is destroyed if all the armor on the trigger-equipped side is lost. Damage from the trigger-linked weapons is applied before the damage from the collision that set the trigger off.
Camouflage Netting — $35, 20 lbs., ½ space (if carried as cargo) per 1" square. Camo netting is an open-weave cloth that makes things harder to find, especially from the air. It is available to match terrain types (woods, desert, snow, etc.) and is completely ineffective if it does not match the surroundings.
Camo net can be simply draped over an object or strung up on poles like a tent. Weights are sewn into the edges to anchor the net against blowing away.
Anti-radar netting is available for 3 × cost and 3 × weight of normal netting. It does not make the target invisible to radar, but confuses the echo, so that the target is not clearly identifiable.
Car-Top Carrier — This is usable only on cars and comes in three sizes. A 2-space carrier costs $100, weighs 50 lbs., armor cost/weight is $5/2 lbs. per point of plastic armor. A 4-space carrier costs $200, weighs 100 lbs., armor cost/weight is $7/3 lbs. per point. A 6-space carrier costs $400, weighs 150 lbs., armor cost/weight is $11/6 per point.
The size of a car-top carrier cannot be more than ⅓ the spaces of the carrying vehicle. The carrier reduces the maximum speed of a vehicle by 10% due to wind resistance, and cannot be streamlined or placed on turreted vehicles. The carrier is armored in five locations — front, back, left, right, and top. Carriers can only carry cargo.
Fake carriers may be bought to hide turrets, at half normal cost and ⅓ normal weight. Fake carriers can be armored. The fake carrier can be blown off by explosive bolts ($50) to reveal a turret underneath.
Computer Gunner/Autopilot Software — $2,500 for a package that gives +1 to HC or +1 to hit, no weight or space. If the power plant is hit (and the vehicle doesn't have a save protector), there is a 1 in 6 chance of the software being scrambled, and changing the +1 bonus to -2. It can be purchased with any number of personality types.
Computer Gunner — $6,000, 10 lbs., no space. Destroyed when the power plant is destroyed. The computer works as a Gunner with skill 0; it cannot use any targeting computer or an ATAD, and must be linked (for $50) to a single weapon or set of linked weapons.
The computer gunner never initiates combat; it must have its target designated by a character in the vehicle. This can be done verbally ("Shoot the blue car" or "Try for the turret on the car on the right") or by firing the computer gunner's weapon at the appropriate target. The computer starts firing when ordered verbally, and fires at the start of each subsequent turn until told to stop, or its target leaves line-of-sight, its arc of fire or the map. Verbal orders do not count as firing actions, but the player must tell the referee exactly what the computer is told.
If the verbal order is obviously confused ("Shoot!" "Fire at that tire," "Fire at the blue car" when there is more than one blue car around), or mistaken ("Shoot the nearest one" when the nearest one is a friend), roll 2 dice. On a roll of 8 or higher, the computer asks for clarification, which counts as that turn's firing action; on a 6 or less, the computer acts as the player ordered; on 7 exactly, it performs the most logically twisted wrong action that the opponents, referee and spectators can imagine (the referee's decision is final).
The computer's weapon can be fired twice or more in the same turn, so a character can't fire it if the computer has already used it, and vice versa.
Computer Navigator — $500, no weight or space. It displays a regional or local map, with your position highlighted. It requires a local (city) or regional (state) map card ($20, no weight or space), available at any truck stop. It ties into the satellite network and local transponders to determine exact positions — if access to these is cut off (say, by the city's transponders being sabotaged), or a town doesn't have transponders, the navigator will not function.
Convertible Hardtop — $1,500 ($2,500 to retrofit), 50 lbs., takes up ⅙ (round up) of the vehicle's spaces. It is not available for vans, station wagons, campers, buses, helicopters or cycles and only takes up 2 spaces on pickups. Raising or lowering the top is a firing action taken in the acceleration phase. It takes 1 full turn to raise or lower the top. When the top is down, the vehicle still has top armor, but the driver and any crew are not protected by it. Passengers and gunners can fire into any arc, and the driver can fire into any arc but forward. People in the car are targeted at -5.
Top armor is bought normally, but is limited to 20 points (plastic) for structural reasons. No top-mounted weapons or accessories (with the exception of a pintle mount) can be mounted with a convertible top.
Encoded Remote Ignition System (ERIS) — $500, transmitter is ½ GE, receiver is $100, no weight or space. It is started when the power plant is destroyed. The system starts or stops a vehicle, unlocks and opens its doors, honks its horn or flashes its lights at the user's behest. Transmitter range is 15". Sending a command is a firing action. Each ERIS has a special "password" encoded into the transmission so others can't activate your vehicle by accident (or on purpose) while activating their own.
Extra Driver Controls — $1,000, $50, 25 lbs., 1 space. Fully any one gunner (not passenger) station is converted to a backup driver's position. Switching from one driver to another is a firing action. The original driver's position has precedence for controlling the vehicle; even if the switch-over button has been hit (at the gunner position), the original driver controls will override the new controls. Of course, if the driver is incapacitated, his controls won't be there . . .
Fake Passengers — 1 DP, $50, 25 lbs., 1 space. Fully poseable, they can wear body armor and "hold" up to 6 GE. They can be equipped for limited movement (turning head, waving) for an additional $100.
Galley — $750, 150 lbs., 2 spaces. This is a small counter area — enough to cook reasonably small and simple meals. One week's worth of food can be stored here.
Heavy-Duty Brakes — $100 per wheel (must be bought for all wheels of a vehicle), no weight or space. This system increases safe deceleration by 5 mph, and each maneuver category of deceleration above safe levels is also raised by 5 mph. That is, HD brakes allow up to 15 mph deceleration without hazard; 20 mph deceleration is a D1 hazard; 25 mph is D3; 30 mph is D5; 35 mph is D7, and each tire takes 2 points of damage; 40 mph is D9, each tire takes 1d of damage; 50 mph in one turn is D11 and each tire takes 1d+3. Deceleration of more than 50 mph in one turn is impossible.
Heavy-Duty Transmission — Same cost as vehicle's body cost (including chassis modifiers), 300 lbs., 2 spaces. This transmission is for cars only and the vehicle must have a heavy or extra-heavy chassis; it effectively doubles power plant or gas engine's power factors (for purposes of maximum load the vehicle can carry or pull, but not maximum speed or mileage). However, the vehicle accelerates like a truck (2.5 mph/turn up to 25 mph, 5 mph/turn thereafter). The maximum load is doubled, but chassis strength is not increased. Not usable with a Thundercat power plant.
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) — $200, no weight or space. A personal model is also available — same price, ½ GE. When linked to an ATAD or computer gunner, an IFF will check a potential target before the ATAD fires the weapon. If the target also has an IFF, and has the proper password, he will not be fired on. If the target has the wrong password, or no IFF, the ATAD or computer gunner will fire normally. A sonar version is available for homing torpedoes (same cost), so that the torpedo will not home in on friendly boats.
Infrared Sighting System (IRSS) — $4,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. When using IRSS, a vehicle does not need to rely on its own or other vehicle's lights to perform combat or navigation; it operates as though it were in daylight, taking no nighttime modifiers for targeting and not revealing its position (unless it fires a weapon). IRSS only ceases to function when the vehicle's power plant is destroyed. It drains 20 power units per hour of continuous use.
Jump Jets — These are simply top or bottom mounted Rocket Boosters (see p. 91). When fired, they subtract or add, respectively, ¼" to a vehicle's rate of climb for every 10 mph of acceleration given by the booster. If a vehicle fires a booster while it has a 0" rate of climb on a flat surface, this acceleration will do not add to the rate of climb; this acceleration is lost countering the pull of gravity. Jump Jets are gyro-stabilized to point straight down, so a vehicle using Jump Jets will quit rotating when the Jump Jets are fired. If a vehicle has a pitch of more than 45 degrees, the Jump Jets will act as Rocket Boosters and vice versa.
Kamibombs — 2 DP per space, $100, 100 lbs. A kamibomb is a large explosive, usually destined for suicidal destruction. Its Blast Points (BP) are found by taking the number of spaces the explosive charge occupies. Thus, a one-space kamibomb has 1 Blast Point, a four-space kamibomb (or 4-space explosive) has 4 Blast Points, and a ten-space kamibomb has 10 Blast Points. When a kamibomb is detonated (usually by trigger fingers or a remote detonator (see p. 90), it has a blast radius equal to twice its Blast Points in inches, rounded to the nearest ¼". At ¼" range, the bomb does 4d × BP (round up), 2d × BP at ½" range, 1d × BP at 1" range, ½ damage at 2", ¼ damage at 4", and so on. For example, a 1-space kamibomb will inflict 4d damage to anything within ¼", 2d out to ½", and 1d to anything from ½" to 2" away from it. When used against a building check for damage for each ¼" of wall within range for purposes of breaching.
Long-Distance Radio — $600, no weight or space. It replaces a vehicle's standard CB, and has a 25-mile range.
Long-Range Radar — $10,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. It works like regular radar, but with a range of 15 miles. Note that as with regular radar, hills and other large terrain features block radar line-of-sight, limiting the usefulness of this item on ground vehicles. It drains 15 power units/hour of continuous use.
No-Paint Windshield — $1,000, no weight or space. Paint clouds have no effect on vehicles equipped with this windshield. Helmets and gas masks can be modified with this material for $100.
Nuclear/Biological/Chemical Shielding (NBC) — 2 DP, $60,000, 50 lbs., 1 space. NBC shielding provides an airtight seal, protecting the inside occupants of a vehicle from minor radiation and hazardous biological or chemical contamination. If the NBC-shielded vehicle's armor is penetrated, the shielding will no longer protect against fallout, disease, gas, etc. An air recycling and filtering system is included; it switches between filtered air and an internal air supply whenever the outside air becomes too dangerous. The internal air supply will last for 12 man/hours. Additional air bottles are available at $100, 50 lbs., ⅓ space for each additional 12 man/hours.
Overdrive — $100 per wheel of vehicle (must be bought for all wheels), no weight or space. It increases a vehicle's top speed by 20 mph when activated, but reduces acceleration by 5 mph (minimum 2.5 mph). Overdrive activation and deactivation counts as a firing action. If deactivated while above the normal top speed, the vehicle is forced to decelerate at least 15 mph per turn until at or below its maximum speed (figured before the overdrive was activated). Power consumption while overdrive is activated is figured as if the vehicle was going 20 mph slower. Installation is a Hard job for a mechanic. Overdrive cannot be used on hovercraft, boats or helicopters.
Paint Pellet Ammunition — $1 per shot, same weight as normal ammo. It is not available for tank guns, Gauss guns, lasers or flamethrowers. It does no damage nor does it affect targets like defensive paint. Single-shot paint rockets cost ½ their normal cost but are laser guided.
Passenger Accommodations — $500, 100 lbs., 2 spaces per passenger. Comfortable bunks which convert to daytime couch/lounging areas. Passenger accommodations can be placed in cargo space. They can only be used in a van or larger vehicle.
Portable Earth Station (PES) — 1 DP, $700, 150 lbs., 2 spaces. It's protected by top armor when not deployed, and cannot be mounted on a vehicle that has a turret, rocket platform, car-top carrier or other such item on the roof. When deployed, it automatically tracks the best available satellite for world-wide voice and data communications. It takes 2 turns to deploy, and can be targeted at -2 while deployed (since the PES is not protected by the top armor in its deployed position).
Portable Shop — 4 separate cases, each 2 DP, $1,000, 75 lbs., 1 space. Each mechanic working in the field with a portable shop adds 1 to all success rolls. If some of the shop cases are destroyed or missing, the chance of the mechanic finding the part he needs is equal to the percentage of cases left. For example, if three of the four cases are intact, there is a 75% chance that the needed part is still available — otherwise, the shop is useless for the particular repair attempted.
Radar Detector — $300, no weight or space. This item detects incoming radar signals and sounds an alarm when enemy radar locks on to the vehicle. It gives range and bearing to the enemy unit, and can distinguish between normal tracking radar and missile-homing radar. It can be linked to a chaff dispenser or other weapon for instant screening, for the usual linkage costs. It stops working when the power plant is destroyed.
Radar Jammer — $3,000, no weight or space. The jammer blocks radar aimed at the vehicle with a roll of 1 to 4 on 1 die; roll for each attempt to pick up the vehicle's location on radar, and each attempt to target it with radar-guided weaponry. RGMs and radar-and ATADs cannot target the vehicle if the roll is made.
The jammer drains 1 power unit per minute while in use, and the vehicle cannot use any radar-guided weaponry or devices while it is on. Turning the jammer on or off counts as a firing action. It is destroyed when the power plant is destroyed.
Radar — $2,500, no weight or space. A vehicle with radar can spot other vehicles within 3 miles under any visibility condition (night, fog, rain, etc.). It also reduces visibility penalties to hit by 1. Radar does not identify objects on the screen; they appear only as blips. Radar operates as long as the power plant works. It drains 10 power units per hour of continuous use.
Radio Detonator — $500 for the sending unit, 1 GE. Each modified detonator costs $50 extra. Radio-controlled mines can be set off by this item (assuming they are set to the proper frequency) for no extra cost. Sending unit must "hit" the detonator with a roll of 4 or better on 2 dice. Subtract 1 from the roll for every full 20" of distance between sending unit and detonator. For example, if the sending unit is 75" away, the roll would not be made at -3. If the roll is missed, the explosive does not go off. The detonator can be tried again every other turn.
Remote-Control Guidance System — Comes in two parts. The receiving set costs $2,000, no weight or space. The sending unit costs $2,000, weighs 200 lbs., and takes up 3 spaces. A remotely-controlled vehicle can do anything a manned one can do, but its HC is 3 less than usual and all to-hits are -3 as well. A single sending set will control all functions of a vehicle — steering, acceleration, weapons, etc. Sending sets can be modified to accommodate more than one crew member, but the controlled vehicle is subject to normal restrictions as to weapon fire — only one firing action per turn. Remote-control equipment is destroyed when the power plant is destroyed. The receiver drains 2 power units per hour, and the sender drains 5 power units per turn.
Rocket Boosters — $50 per 10 lbs., 1 DP and 1 space per 100 lbs., or fraction thereof. Volatile. Acceleration or deceleration gained by a vehicle using Rocket Boosters is calculated using the following formula:
(wt. of fuel burned × 1,000) / wt. of vehicle
This acceleration is applied in the phase that the rockets are fired, and firing a rocket booster counts as a firing action. A vehicle may only gain normal acceleration and rocket boost. This acceleration can only withstand each turn is determined by the chassis:
Light Chassis: 10 mph
Standard Chassis: 20 mph
Heavy Chassis: 30 mph
X-Heavy Chassis: 40 mph
Vehicles with Light and Standard chassis can fire for 10 mph boost over the limit; they have a 50% chance of bending the frame and making the vehicle undrivable (HC goes to 6 immediately and remains there for the rest of the game; this cannot be repaired). If these frames attempt to fire boosters more than 10 mph over the limit, they automatically ruin the frame as stated above. If vehicles with Heavy or X-Heavy chassis attempt to fire boosters 10 mph over the stated maximum, they have a 33% (2 in 6) chance of destroying the frame; a boost of 20 mph over the limit results in a 50% chance; boosts of more than 20 mph automatically destroy the frame.
Rockets can be purchased to burn for multiple turns; when a rocket is triggered, the car accelerates in that phase and in the same phase every subsequent turn until the rocket burns out. The weight of fuel burned per turn is set when the rocket is constructed and cannot be changed thereafter. Once triggered, firing rockets is a D1 hazard for acceleration or deceleration, gained (forward or back for most vehicles, any direction for hovercraft).
Booster Rockets must follow the ⅓ spaces per side rule and may be mounted in External Weapons Pods (not rocket pods). Rockets mounted in a pair of EWPs, on either side of a vehicle, must be of the same size, set for the same burn rate and fired together. If one of a pair of EWPs is destroyed while the boosters are burning, the acceleration gained must be recalculated for the reduced weight of fuel burned in a turn, and the Hazard for the uneven thrust. An Ejectable EWP may not be ejected until the booster has completed its burn. Example: A 5,000-lb mid-sized car is fitted with rocket boosters. Using the formula above, we find that 50 lbs. of rocket will accelerate the vehicle 10 mph per turn, and can devote up to 4 spaces to booster rockets (to the rear), according to the ⅓ spaces per side rule, therefore, the vehicle can have up to 400 lbs. of rocket. Assuming the vehicle was equipped with an Extra Heavy Chassis (as noted above), we could set our rocket to burn 200 lbs. of rocket per turn for two turns and get 40 mph of acceleration over each of two turns, 100 lbs. of rocket per turn for 4 turns, etc. The rocket could be divided up into a number of separate rockets which could be fired separately so that all the accelerations does not occur at once, but remember, a car may only gain acceleration from rockets on one phase per turn, so multiple rockets would have to be set off at once or, if additional acceleration is needed after the first rocket is burning, any additional rockets would have to be ignited in the same phase the first rocket was, on a subsequent turn (if the first rocket is still burning).
The minimum requirement for Rocket Boosters is 10 mph. Hazards for acceleration from boosters or jet is figured by rounding up. That is, if you have a booster which will accelerate your vehicle 15 mph per turn, the hazard would be a D2 for the higher 10 mph boost, plus half the D1 for a 10 mph boost.
Jump Jets are a special case of Rocket Boosters (see p. 89).
Searchlight — 1 DP, $200, 50 lbs., 1 space. A searchlight used on a moving object can track that object with a to-hit roll of 3 or more (plus all normal modifiers for range, target size and speed, etc, but not counting darkness modifiers); a crewman is required to operate the light. Any object thus tracked can be attacked with no penalty for darkness.
A searchlight can also be used to blind the driver and crew of another vehicle. With a to-hit roll of 6 or better (counting modifiers as above), the gunner can blind his target, and the target's player must turn away from the board and describe subsequent actions based on what he remembers while he is blind. He is blinded only as long as the searchlight hits him. A blinded character can still fire, but with a -10 modifier; all maneuvers are at +D3. Searchlights can be targeted at -3. Searchlights have no effect in daylight, and cannot blind people through smoke.
Armored Searchlight — 5 DP, $500, 75 lbs., 1 space. This searchlight functions just as above.
Side Door — $1,000, 500 lbs., no space. Side doors are standard equipment on helicopters; standard and transport helicopters come with one free side cargo door (on either the left or right side). However, if you want a second side door on the other side, or a smaller helicopter to have one, you may pay the $1,000 listed. Opening or closing the side door is a firing action at the end of the next turn. An open side door means the vehicle has no functioning side armor on that side. Vans, oversized vehicles and aircraft can use this item.
Solar Panel — 1 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 2 spaces. The panel is protected by top armor (but only when not deployed) and can be mounted on any vehicle that can mount a turret. When deployed, each panel automatically positions itself for top efficiency, recharging 20 power units per panel per hour during clear skies (half that under partly-cloudy skies). It takes 1 turn to deploy or retract and can be targeted at -2.
Sound Enhancement — 2 DP, $6,000, 150 lbs., 1 space. Sound enhancement is an aid to sneakiness. The crew of a vehicle using stealth and sound enhancement can listen the side of a car or through one building wall and hear what is being discussed. The crew can only "hear" through the building wall; the crew cannot hear through the wall that.
Sound System — 2 DP, $1,000, 100 lbs., 1 space. Sound systems have no combat use. They can be used as a public address system or to broadcast recordings or transmissions to people within a distance of many blocks. Appropriate music blasted toward targets can enliven any attack.
Spoilers and Airdams — Each costs 2 × the cost of 1 point of armor for the vehicle it is being put on, and weighs 10 × the weight of 1 point of armor for the vehicle. A vehicle with a spoiler or an airdam adds 1 to the HC when traveling above 60 mph. If a vehicle has one or the other, all maneuvers performed at 60 mph or faster have the difficulty reduced by one. Spoilers/airdams have the same cost modifications as normal armor (i.e., a metal spoiler would cost 62½ × normal armor cost and weigh 50 × normal armor cost of the vehicle). Airdams do not have to match the armor type of plastic and metal spoilers with a spoiler/airdam destroyed after 30 cumulative points of damage have been done to the front/back of the vehicle; otherwise they are destroyed when the armor on that side is destroyed.
Stealth — Available for helicopters and hovercraft ($16,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces), cars ($6,000, 150 lbs., 1 space), trikes and cycles ($3,000, 75 lbs., 1 space). When active, stealth reduces a vehicle's maximum speed and acceleration by half, and muffles the vehicle's drive systems so that it cannot be heard more than 2" (game scale) away, or through a wall, closed vehicle door, etc.
For land vehicles, stealth is less effective; it can't do anything about the squeal of tires on pavement. A truck, car, trike or cycle in stealth mode is audible a number of inches away from a total D4 hazard or maneuver taken. Thus, a D3 bend can be heard 3" away, 25 mph deceleration can be heard 3" (or 2" if the vehicle has antilock brakes), and a bootlegger reverse can be heard up to 7" away.
Stealth cannot be used by boats or oversized vehicles.
Sunroof — $500, 25 lbs., no space. It can be installed in any vehicle that can mount a turret — but can only be in place of a turret. It allows a passenger or gunner (not the driver) a full 360-degree arc of fire with hand weapons when open. Standing up or sitting down is a firing action taken in the acceleration phase. When the sunroof is open, all of all damage from area effect weapons (round up) taken to the top of the vehicle by the top armor bypasses the armor and is applied as internal hits. For other types of weapons, there is a 3 in 6 chance the damage will bypass top armor and be applied internally. Otherwise, the damage is applied to top armor. A person firing a hand weapon from a sunroof can be targeted at an additional -2 (don't forget the -3 for targeting a pedestrian, and any other targeting modifiers that may apply).
Surge Protector — $250, no weight or space. The surge protector disconnects fire extinguishers, computers and other fragile hardware when the power plant is destroyed, saving them from that fate. The hardware won't work without power, but it doesn't have to be replaced.
Tinted Windows — $500, no weight or space. These special windows contain a fast-acting polarizing agent that allows the owner to ignore searchlight effects after only one turn of exposure. The effects of the searchlight are felt for that first second, though, the protective polarization lasts for five seconds after the searchlight ceases to hit the vehicle, but the penalty for firing at night is increased by 1 at any time the windows are polarized.
Tow Bar — $500, 25 lbs., takes up 1 space as cargo. The tow bar hooks under the front wheels of a car, allowing it to be towed by another vehicle. The bar has 2 DP and is targeted exactly like a trailer tongue. The towed vehicle will break free if it loses one of its front tires.
Vehicular Camera — 1 DP, $1,500, 25 lbs., ½ space. This camera is used for recording and transmitting high-quality video. It is mounted as a weapon and equipped to voice direction (on/off, pan left, zoom in and track the red cycle, and so on). It can record up to six hours on one holocube ($50, no weight or space), splice and add special effects in-camera, or transmit locally (range depends on the vehicle's radio; two miles for a normal CB, 25 miles for a LD radio, even farther for a portable earth station). The camera is designed with two cube slots; 1-space cube costs an extra $200, and holds up to ten cubes.
Weapon Timer — $350, no weight or space. The timer can be set to fire a weapon at a predetermined time, or after a specified delay. The weapon fires on automatic. It can be set for a specific number of shots or fired until it runs out of ammo. It counts as a firing action.
15. Sample Vehicles
If you are just starting out, use one or more of these pre-designed vehicles. None of these are cut in stone, however; here are some simple changes that even a novice duellist can make:
Rearrange armor. As long as the total number of points of armor remains the same, you can change the distribution any way you like and it won't change the cost or weight of the vehicle. The exception to this is with ramplates. If the vehicle has a ramplate, do not move any armor from or to the front location of the vehicle.
Armor modification. Making regular plastic armor fireproof is simple — just double the cost without changing the weight. Converting normal plastic to normal metal is easy. Five points of plastic convert to one point of metal, reducing the cost by 50% of the plastic's cost; for FP plastic to metal, reduce the cost by 75%. To convert from metal to plastic, multiply armor points by 5 and double the cost of the metal. Making metal armor LR simply adds 10% to the cost of the metal.
Move the weapons. Take those rear-mounted weapons and put them to the front — it won't affect the weight or cost at all. Just remember that you cannot mount more than ⅓ of a vehicle's total spaces to weapons firing in one direction.
Add electronics. Since most electronic systems (computers, for example) have no weight and take no space, you can add one at any time for the price of the system. You can also remove them to save money.
Change weapons. Some weapons have identical weight and space requirements, so the only changes you'll need to make are the cost. For example, you can trade a flamethrower for a laser — it'll cost you $7,250. Or you can save that $7,250 by trading in a laser for a flamethrower. Other trades include replacing two HRs with an MD (costs $600 more), replacing a SD with a SS ($50 more), replacing a SD with PS ($350 more) and replacing a SS with a PS ($300 more).
A note about nomenclature: the descriptions on the next few pages quite a few abbreviations. The abbreviations for weapons and most accessories can be found on p. 112 or the item's description. The armor descriptions list the armor position and how many armor points are at that location — F5 means "five points of armor in the front position," R8/16 means "eight points of metal armor over 16 points of plastic armor in the right armor location," etc. Options will only list the changes in a vehicle. If an item isn't listed, that means it did not change.
All these vehicles assume 150 lbs. per crewman/passenger. If the alternate encumbrance rules are being used, some weight will have to be trimmed to allow for pedestrian equipment.
Cars
Killer Kart — Subcompact, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, medium power plant, 4 HD tires, driver, MG front, Armor: F5, R3, L3, B3, T2, U2. Accel. 10, top speed 135, HC 4; 2,300 lbs., $3,848.
Stinger — Subcompact, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, small power plant, 4 HD tires, driver, two linked MGs on front. Armor: F10, R5, L5, B8, T5, U5. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 4; 2,400 lbs., $5,268.
Option I — Replace MGs with one RR, add 10 points of armor anywhere. $4,178.
Option II — Replace one MG and the link with one HR, add 20 points of armor anywhere. $4,138.
Option III — Replace MGs with one RL, add 30 points of armor anywhere. $3,898.
Option IV — Replace one MG with smokescreen or spikedropper, add 25 points of armor. $4,293 with spikedropper, $4,343 with smokescreen.
Yellow Jacket — Subcompact, hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, small power plant, laser front. Armor: F5, R4, L4, B5, U0. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 4; 2,400 lbs., $9,998.
Shrimp — Subcompact, hvy. chassis, small power plant, hvy. suspension, 4 std. tires, driver, passenger, MML front, U0. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 4; 2,400 lbs., $3,331.
Popcorn Shrimp Option — Downgrade to std. chassis and lt. suspension. Replace MML with JD back. Remove all but 25 points of armor. Top speed 95; 2,170 lbs., $1,325.
Firecracker — Subcompact, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, medium power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, SD w/explosive spikes back. Armor: F30 (ramplate), R17, L17, B16, T5, U5. Accel. 10, top speed 122.5, HC 5; 2,675 lbs., $4,990.
Mini-Sherman — Compact, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 HD tires, driver, two linked MGs front, SS rear. Armor: F35, R20, L20, B23, T10, U10. Accel. 10, top speed 125, HC 3; 3,693 lbs., $8,334.
Option — Remove one MG and link and smokescreen, add one RL and five points of armor; $7,849.
Capricorn — Compact, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, medium power plant, 4 PR radial tires, driver, RL front, SS back, targeting computer. Armor: F45, R35, L35, B40, T37, U35, 4 10-pt. wheelguards. Accel. 5, top speed 110, HC 3; 4,437 lbs., $11,451.
Capricorn Plus — Replace RL with RR, add PR radials with regular solids, remove wheelguards; $11,551.
Spitfire — Compact, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, medium power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, VMG w/incendiary ammo front, FT back, hi-res targeting computer. FP armor: F35, L25, B35, T15, U15. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 3; 4,200 lbs., $14,900.
Duelbuggy — Compact, hvy. chassis, off-road suspension, medium power plant, 4 OR solid tires, driver, MG in turret, MFR front, brushcutter, car blades, spoiler, targeting computer. Armor: F30, R25, L25, B25, T17, U12. Accel. 10, top speed 120, HC 2 (3 off-road); 4,000 lbs., $13,000.
Sureshot option — Replace MG with light laser, add laser-guidance link and laser-guide the rockets, up grade the computer to hi-res. $22,588.
Xenon — Compact, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, VMG front, SD w/explosive spikes back, airdam. FP armor: F42 (ramplate), R34, L34, B34, T8, U12, 2 8-pt. wheelguards back, 2 8-pt. hubs front. Accel. 5, top speed 110, HC 3; 4,433 lbs., $14,395.
Joseph Special — Mid-sized, std. chassis, imp. suspension, large power plant, 4 HD tires, driver, ATG front, RL rear PS right side. Armor: F30, R15, L15, B25, T15, U15. Accel. 5, top speed 105, HC 2; 4,795 lbs., $10,340.
Joseph Special "T" — Replace AT, RL and PS with two linked MGs in turret, plus 4 HRs (two front, two back), add 3 points of armor; $11,238.
Messenger — Mid-sized, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, passenger, VMG in turret, FOJ back, spoiler, small mini-safe. Cargo capacity: 30 lbs., ½ space in mini-safe. Armor: F40, R35, L35, B40, T35, U30, 2 10-pt. wheelguards back, 2 10-pt. hubs front. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5, HC 3; 5,730 lbs., $14,865.
Marksman — Mid-sized, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, two RLs linked front, targeting laser front, laser-guidance link, FOJ back. Armor: F50, R40, L40, B45, T20, U22, 2 10-pt. wheelguards back, 2 10-pt. hubs front. Accel. 5, top speed 95, HC 3; 5,476 lbs., $19,497.
Mauler — Mid-sized, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, AC front, single-weapon computer on AC, spoiler, airdam. Armor: F55, R45, L45, B45, T26, U27. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5, HC 3; 5,734 lbs., $19,448.
Superzapper option — Remove AC, add turreted laser, upgrade computer to hi-res. Armor: F50, R40, L40, B45, T30, U23. 5,734 lbs., $24,998.
Rocket option — Remove AC, add VFRP and TL, add LGL, 2 8-pt. hubs front, 2 8-pt. wheelguards back, remove SWC. 5,737 lbs., $22,588.
Manslaughter — Mid-sized, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, GL in turret (loaded with concussive grenades, two extra magazines (one loaded with tear-gas grenades), magazine switch, FG right, FG left, brushcutter, car blades, bumper spikes front and back, spoiler, airdam. FP armor: F46, R40, L40, B40, T30, U30. Accel. 5, HC 3, top speed 92.5; 5,760 lbs., $19,840.
Cobra — Mid-sized, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant w/platinum catalysts and superconductors, 4 solid radial tires, driver, passenger, laser in universal turret, laser battery tool kit, radar, spoiler, overdrive. FP armor: F35, R30, L30, B30, T25, U12, 4 10-point wheelguards. Accel. 10 (5 w/overdrive), HC 3, top speed 122.5 (142.5 w/overdrive); 5,756 lbs., $33,684.
Cobra GT — Replace super power plant with sport power plant w/PCs & SCs, upgrade lasc to pulse, hi-res computer, ABS, HD brakes and airdam. Top speed 132.5 (152.5 w/overdrive); $49,184.
Harmon — Sedan, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, 2 RLs linked front, HDSS linked to MD back, SWC (RLs). Armor: F28, R25, L25, B22, T6, U5. Accel. 10, top speed 120, HC 3; 5,099 lbs., $12,748.
Agincourt — Sedan, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 solid tires, driver, 2 RLs (laser guided) front, TL (with LGL) front, SD w/explosive spikes back. Metal armor: F12, R9, L9, B10. FP armor: T10, U10, 2 10-pt. wheelguards back, 10-pt. component armor around each of driver, power plant and linked RLs and TL. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 3; 5,999 lbs., $19,340.
Miglia — Sedan, hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, 250 cid engine w/turbo headers, turbocharger, 15-gallon racing tank, 4 PR radial tires, passenger, 2 linked MGs w/HD ammo front, convertible top, overdrive, streamlining. Armor: F25, L25, B20, T10, U10, 2 10-pt. wheelguards. Accel. 10/15 w/overdrive engaged), 28 mpg at 70 mph (28 at 90 w/overdrive), HC 3.
Falcon — Sedan w/carbon-aluminum frame, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 PR tires, turreted VMG, FCGS back, laser mini-safe, airdam, overdrive. FP Armor: F35, R35, L35, B35, T20, U15. Accel. 10 (5 w/overdrive engaged), top speed 122.5 (142.5 w/overdrive), HC 3; 5,005 lbs., $25,064.
Hotshot — Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, driver, 2 linked MGs front, 2 linked FTs back, FT right, FT left, fire extinguisher. Armor: F20, R10, L10, B20, T10, U10. Accel. 5, top speed 100, HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $14,600.
Option — Any FT can be replaced with an MG and 30 points of armor, costing $1,350 extra per swap. One rear FT can be replaced with a MD and 30 points of armor for $850 extra.
Bodyguard — Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 solid tires, driver, 2 linked MDs (L and R), 3 linked OJs (L, R and B), 2 linked PSs (L and R), "panic button" link for all weapons. Armor: F20, R45, L45, B50, T20, U20. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 3; 5,925 lbs., $15,400.
Bodyguard Shadrach — Convert to FP armor, replace OJs with FOJs. Top speed 95; 5,440 lbs., $21,425.
Rommel — Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 solid tires, driver, gunner, turreted RR, HDFOJ back linked to 2 SDs (right and left). FP armor: F40 (Ramplate), R35, L35, B35, T35, U15. 10 points CA around driver. Accel. 5, top speed 100, HC 3; 6,595 lbs., $24,150.
Rommel-B — Remove gunner, replace SDs with MDs, remove 10 points of armor; $25,050.
Vlad the Impala — Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant w/superconductors, 4 steel-belted fireproof PR radial tires, driver, passenger, 2 ACs w/HEAT ammo back linked to HDFCU w/HT fuel back, spoiler. FP armor: F50, R40, L40, B40, T15, U30, 4 10-pt. wheelguards. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $53,500.
Intimidator — Station wagon, std. chassis, imp. suspension, super power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, laser in turret. Cargo capacity: 300 lbs., 11 spaces. Armor: F25, R15, L15, B25, T30, U15. Accel. 10, top speed 120 without cargo. Accel. 5 and top speed 115 with cargo, HC 2; 5,200 lbs., $17,400.
MG option — Remove turret and laser, add 3 pairs of linked MGs, upgrade chassis to x-hvy. Cargo capacity: 900 lbs., 7 spaces. Accel. 5, $17,850.
Comet — Station wagon, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 solid tires, driver, front, FCE back, 2 linked HRs on small rocket platform, fire extinguisher, hi-res targeting computer. Cargo capacity: 140 lbs., 6 spaces. Armor: F40, R30, L30, B30, T20, U20, 4 10-pt. wheelguards. Accel. 5, top speed 100, HC 3; 6,660 lbs., $25,000.
Buffalo — Station wagon, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 4 solid tires, driver, turreted TwL, laser battery, overdrive, HD transmission, HD trailer hitch. Cargo capacity: 9,000 lbs. FP armor: F30, R30, L30, B30, T30, U21, 2 10-pt. wheelguards back, 2 10-pt. hubs front. Accel. 2.5 to 25, 5 thereafter, top speed 120 without a trailer, 70 w/fully-loaded (9,000-lb.) trailer, HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $30,140.
Morgan — Pickup, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, Thundercat power plant, 6 PR tires, driver, turreted VMG w/HD ammo, SS back, hi-res computer, x-hvy. towing hitch. Cargo capacity: 735 lbs., 11 spaces. Armor: F25, R25, L25, B25, T25, U25. Accel. 10, top speed 175 without cargo, 165 w/cargo, Accel. 5, top speed 90 with a fully-loaded bed and trailer, HC 2; 7,065 lbs., $29,650.
Ventura — Pickup, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 6 plasticore tires, driver, front, turreted VMG, HD shocks, spoiler. LRFP armor: F40, R30, L30, B33, T25, U20. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 2; 7,794 lbs., $37,140.
Thumper — Camper, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 6 PRR tires, driver, gunner, turreted TwL, VFRP (laser guided) front, TL (LGL) front, FCGS back. Armor: F40, R30, L30, B30, T20, U4. Accel. 5, top speed 90, HC 3; 7,791 lbs., $39,140.
Waterloo — Van, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power plant, 6 PRR tires, driver, turreted VMG, HDFOJ and FCE back, FCE right, FCE left, all dropped weapons linked. Cargo capacity: 156 lbs., 6 spaces. FP armor: F22, R22, L22, B22, T20, U16, 2 8-pt. hubs front, 10 points CA around each of driver, power plant, VMG, rear weapons, right FCE, left FCE. Accel. 5, top speed 95, HC 3; 7,044 lbs., $29,210.
Cycles
Shogun 100 — Light cycle, hvy. suspension, small cycle power plant, 2 PR tires, cyclist, MG front. Armor: F6, B6. Accel. 10, top speed 120, HC 3; 798 lbs., $3,120.
Shogun 150 — Light cycle, hvy. suspension, medium cycle power plant, 2 PR tires, cyclist. Armor: F15, top speed 180, HC 3; 600 lbs., $2,000.
Shogun 200 — Medium cycle, hvy. suspension, super cycle power plant, 2 PR tires, cyclist, MG front. Armor: F10, B10. Accel. 15, top speed 180, HC 3; 1,000 lbs., $5,020.
Shogun 250 — Hvy. cycle, hvy. suspension, super twin power plant, 2 PRR tires, cyclist, RL w/AP rockets front (laser guided), TL (w/LGL) front. Armor: F24, B20. Accel. 15, top speed 180, HC 4; 1,199 lbs., $14,353.
Quasar — Hvy. cycle, hvy. suspension, super twin power plant, 2 PR tires, cyclist, LL front. LR armor: F15, B15. Accel. 15, top speed 180 (Accel. 10, top speed 142.5 w/sidecar) HC 3 (4 with sidecar); 1,198 lbs., $7,996.
Quasar sidecar — Hvy. sidecar, imp. suspension, 1 PR tire, LR (laser guided), LGL to LL (on cycle). LR Armor: F6, R6, B4, T1, U1. 744 lbs., $5,094.
Trikes
Sandcrab — Medium trike, std. chassis, OR suspension, large cycle power plant, 3 OR solid tires, cyclist, VMG front, RL back. Armor: F12, R12, L12, B15, T9, U15. Accel. 5, top speed 97.5, HC 2 (3 OR); 2,095 lbs., $9,450.
Survivor — Reversed hvy. trike, hvy. suspension, super cycle power plant, 3 solid tires, cyclist, passenger, laser in universal turret, fire extinguisher. Armor: F12, R12, L12, B12, T18, U9, 1 3-pt. cycle wheelguard, 10 points CA around each of driver, passenger and power plant. Accel. 5, HC 3, top speed 92.5; 2,794 lbs., $17,430.
PC Option — Replace laser with MG and extra magazine, downgrade turret, make all three tires plasticore. Add 25 points of armor. 2,796 lbs., $12,830.
Blastmaster — X-hvy. trike, std. chassis, hvy. suspension, super trike power plant, 3 solid tires, cyclist, 2 RLs linked right, 2 RLs linked left, link connecting all 4 RLs, fire extinguisher, targeting computer. Armor: F20, R20, L20, B14, T15, U6, 2 8-pt. wheelguards back, 1 7-pt. cycle wheelguard. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5, HC 3; 2,794 lbs., $17,430.
Ten-Wheelers
Flattop — 10-wheel longnose cab, x-hvy. chassis, medium truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, 2 RRs in turret, RR front, 2 SWCs (driver/front, gunner/turret), improved fire extinguisher. Cab armor: F40, R40, L40, B20, T40, U20, 6 10-pt. wheelguards. 15' flatbed carrier. Base cargo capacity: 5,780 lbs., 20 spaces. Carrier armor: U20. Top speed 115.7, 14,020 lbs., $69,940.
Maxim — 10-wheel longnose cab, x-hvy. chassis, medium truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, 4 HRs linked in turret, 4 1-space rocket magazines, improved fire extinguisher. Cab armor: F40 (ramplate), R35, L30, B30, T20, U20. 15' van carrier: 4 HRs linked in turret, 4 3-space rocket magazines, 3 OJs (linked left, right and back). Cargo capacity: 1,889 lbs., 13 spaces. Carrier armor: F25, R28, L28, B28, T30, U15. Top speed 105; 17,911 lbs., $79,310.
Laser-guided option — Add TL (with LGL) to each turret and laser-guide all rockets. Cargo capacity: 1,789 lbs. 18,011 lbs., $87,110.
Car Trailers
Bulldog — Mini-van trailer, imp. chassis, 2 PR tires, passenger. Cargo capacity: 30 lbs., 1 space. F25, R9, L9, B9, T3, U3, 2 5-pt. wheelguards. 870 lbs., $1,142.
Raven — 10' trailer, x-hvy. chassis, 2 solid tires, gunner, turreted RR, SD right, SD left, HDOJ, all dropped weapons linked. Cargo capacity: 1,010 lbs., 11 spaces. Armor: F25, R40, L40, B50, T20, U20. 4,630 lbs., $10,600.
Bunker — 10' trailer, x-hvy. chassis, 2 solid tires, gunner, turreted VMG w/extra magazine and HD ammo, MD right linked to MD left. Cargo capacity: 1,005 lbs., 11 spaces. Armor: F15, R26, L26, B26, T25, U18. 4,625 lbs., $13,384.
Scimitar — 15' trailer, x-hvy. chassis, 4 solid tires, 3 gunners, turreted VMG, HDFOJ left, FOJ left, MD w/napalm mines right, RL right, RL left, AC back, radar. Cargo capacity: 272 lbs., 3 spaces. Armor: F25, R45, L45, B50, T30, U21. 8,368 lbs., $33,375.
Permafrost — 15' trailer, x-hvy. chassis, 4 solid tires, ID back, HDID left and right, MD left and right, all weapons linked. Cargo capacity: 1,934 lbs., 18 spaces. Armor: F30, R44, L44, B44, T30, U34, 4 10-pt. hubs. 6,706 lbs., $17,650.
Black Ice Option — Add HDOJ left, OJ back, all in original link. Cargo capacity: 1,599 lbs., 10 spaces. 7,041 lbs., $20,150.
Truck Cabs
Economy — Std. cabover, std. chassis, regular truck power plant, 10 PR tires, driver, front, RL front, rocket platform w/2 linked HRs, fire extinguisher. Armor: F25, R20, L20, B5, T15, U15. Top speed 160; 10,000 lbs., $38,250.
Magnum — Sleeper longnose, x-hvy. chassis, super truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, laser in universal turret, 2 laser batteries, 2 ejection seats with parachutes, anti-theft system, 12 FDs, sleeping area. LR metal/FP plastic armor: F10/10, R8/8, L8/8, B8/10, T8/14, U8/7, 6 10-pt. FP wheelguards, 20-pt. fifth wheel guard. Top speed 116; 15,192 lbs., $103,409.
Annihilator — Sleeper longnose, x-hvy. chassis, super truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, 2 linked TwLs in turret, 2 linked RRs w/bumper trigger front, cyberlink to hi-res computer for driver. LRFP armor: F60 (ramplate), R30, L30, T20, U20, 6 10-pt. wheelguards. $150,190.
Semi-Trailers
Budget Box — 40' semi-trailer, 8 HD tires, 2 linked SDs (RB and LB), RL back, std. kingpin. Cargo capacity: 5,840 lbs., 16,190 spaces. Armor: 10 in all locations. 5,840 lbs., $14,600.
Tailgunner — 40' tanker semi-trailer, 8 solid tires, 3 linked MDs w/extra magazine (RB, LB), 3 linked PSs (RB, LB), HDOJ back, link for all weapons, std. kingpin. Cargo capacity: 45 spaces. Armor: 60 in all locations, 4 10-pt. wheelguards. 18,265 lbs., $60,150.
Hellfire — 40' van semi-trailer, 8 plasticore tires, 3 gunners, 4 HDFTs (2 turreted back and front, 2 linked back), std. kingpin. Cargo capacity: 64 spaces. Metal/FP plastic armor: 12/12 in each location, 4 10-pt. FP wheelguards. hubs. 23,070 lbs., $65,900.
Brotherhood — 40' van semi-trailer, 8 solid tires, 3 gunners, 2 linked TGs (each with 2 extra magazines) B, 4 linked RP (with LGL) linked RP, turreted GG (with extra magazine and searchlight, 8 laser batteries, 2 GSs (with smoke RB, LB), 3 cyberlinks, std. kingpin. Cargo capacity: 26 spaces. Armor: F100, sides 157 each, B144, UF75, UB75, TF100, TB100, 4 10-pt. wheelguards. 35,551 lbs., $199,930.
Cargo Brother — Remove gunners, cyberlinks and laser batteries, replace TwLs and TGs with fakes. Cargo capacity: 75 spaces. Downgrade to 40 points of armor in each location. 12,665 lbs., $49,200.
on front rocket platform, TL and LGL on platform, 4 hi-res computers. Cargo capacity: 2,330 lbs., 18 spaces. Composite metal/plastic armor: F16/20, RF15/20, LF15/20, RB15/20, LB15/20, B14/20, FD8/10, BD8/10, TF7/20, TB7/20, UF15/30, UB15/30. Accel. 2.5, top speed 20, HC 2; 37,670 lbs., $149,890.
Buses
Liberator — Minibus, x-hvy. chassis, small truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, 2 linked BCs front, 2 BC magazines, VMG w/2 extra magazines in turret, HDFCE w/2 extra magazines back, 10 points CA around each of two blast cannons, HDFCE, power plant and crew. Metal armor: F12, R10, L10, B10, T7, U8. Accel. 5, top speed 100, 14,370 lbs., $63,119.
Metro — 30' bus, hvy. chassis, regular truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, 2 gunners, 9 passengers, 2 RRs linked in turret, 2 ATGs linked front, HDSS back, fire extinguisher. Armor: F40, R35, L35, B30, T10, TB24, UF15, UB15. Top speed 137.5; 17,596 lbs., $63,490.
Pusher — 40' bus, hvy. chassis, regular truck power plant, 10 solid tires, driver, gunner, 16 passengers, ATG front, 2 linked HRs front, 2 MGs (RF, RB, LF, LB), RL back, fire extinguisher. Armor: F90, sides 60 each, B70, top and underbody 30 each, 6 10-pt. wheelguards. Top speed 122.5; 25,200 lbs., $76,000.
Boats
Skeeter — Rowboat, mini power plant, propeller, hydrofoil, pilot, MML front, SWC. Armor: F12, R8, L8, B7, T0, U20. Accel. 10, top speed 80, HC 3; 800 lbs., $6,145.
Horizon — Dinghy, small power plant, 2 propellers, pilot, RL front, 2 linked torpedoes back, fire extinguisher. Armor: F20, R20, L20, B16, T0, U10. Accel. 5, top speed 40, HC 3; 2,996 lbs., $8,518.
Archer — Speedboat w/boat top, medium power plant, propeller, pilot, turreted RL w/extra magazine, RL left, RL right, TL in turret, LGL, FCE back, link for all RLs and TL, spoiler. Sloped FP armor: F30, R30, L30, B30, T25, U14. Accel. 5, top speed 40, HC 3; 7,000 lbs., $36,595.
Remora — Cruiser w/boat top, super power plant, jet drive, hydrofoil, pilot, gunner, turreted VMG, 2 homing torpedoes (1L, 1R). FP armor: F30, R30, L30, B20, T20, U34. Accel. 20, top speed 100, HC 2; 14,990 lbs., $70,040.
Orca — Yacht w/boat top. Below deck: large power plant, 2 propellers (w/10-pt. prop armor each), 6 homing torpedoes (2B, 2FR, 2FL). Above deck: pilot, 3 gunners, TG front, 2 linked TwLs in rear turret, 3 linked HRs
Hovercraft
Skimmer — One-man hover, medium power plant, 4 standard skirts, pilot, 2 MGs linked front, turbofans. Armor: F40, R35, L35, B30, T12, U10. Accel. 10, top speed 170, HC 3; $9,582.
Mangler — Small hover, medium power plant with extra power cells, 4 hvy. skirts, pilot, vertical stabilizer, AC front. Sloped armor: F31, R25, L25, B25, T25, U15. Accel. 2.5, top speed 120, HC 3; 5,298 lbs., $18,520.
Sulacco — Standard hover, large power plant, 4 standard skirts, 2 linked RLs w/inc. ammo front, HDFCE back, 2 torpedoes back, fire extinguisher, HRSWC on RLs. Armor: F25, R20, L20, B25, T17, U10. Accel. 5, top speed 150, HC 3; 7,600 lbs., $18,990
Wasp — Cargo hover, hvy.-duty power plant, 6 hvy. skirts, vertical stabilizer, pilot, gunner, turreted AC w/2 extra magazines, 4 RGMs (2 front, 2 back), improved fire extinguisher. Cargo capacity: 3,910 lbs., 25 spaces. Armor: F30, RF20, LF20, RB20, LB20, B20, TF15, UF20, UB20. Accel. 5, top speed 150, HC 1; 20,090 lbs., $81,700.
Helicopters
Fly — One-man helicopter, mini helicopter power plant, pilot, VMG w/HD ammo front. Cargo capacity: 52 lbs., 1 space. FP armor: F39, R25, L25, T10, U35. Accel. 10, top speed 150, HC 3; 4,948 lbs., $25,896.
Garhawk — Small helicopter, super helicopter power plant, pilot, MG w/HD ammo in universal turret, 2 3-spc. rocket EWPs (ejectable), 6 SAMs linked in 3 pairs on EWPs front, improved tail assembly. FP armor: F90, R50, L50, B60, T30, U39. Accel. 10, top speed 200, HC 3; 10,000 lbs., $71,310.
Tristan — Small helicopter, small helicopter power plant, pilot, 2 pairs of linked bombs under, fire extinguisher, infrared, 2 hi-res computers. Armor: F25, R25, L25, T10, U35. Accel. 10, top speed 180, HC 2; 9,330 lbs., $103,800.
Plunge — Standard helicopter, std. helicopter power plant, pilot, gunner, 2 VMGs linked front, cyberlink from gunner to front VMGs, VMG in universal turret under, fire extinguisher, infrared, radar detector, anti-theft system, radar jammer, long-distance radio, radar detector, single weapon computer, low-jacket, single weapon computer, long-distance radio, radar detector, radar jammer, anti-theft system, 8 AP grenades, 2 space passenger lounge, velvet glove option. LRFP armor: F45, L40, R40, B45, U45, T35, 10-pt. normal main and stabilizing rotor armor. Accel. 5, top speed 150, HC 2; 8,000 lbs., $77,500.
Leviathan — Transport helicopter, super helicopter power plant, pilot, 2 linked lasers front, TG back, 2 VMGs linked in universal turret under, 3 bombs under, 2 hi-res computers, fire extinguisher. Armor: T70, 100 in all other locations. Accel. 5, top speed 150, HC 1; 19,940 lbs., $170,550.
Terminator — Transport helicopter, super helicopter power plant, pilot, 2 gunners, 8 GGs (3 linked R, 3 linked L, 2 [each with extra magazine] linked under U), CACR, 3 hi-res computers. Accel. 5, top speed 250, HC 1; 29,996 lbs., $237,865.
Racing Cars
Shooting Star — Can-Am, std. suspension, 300 cid engine w/variable-pitch turbocharger, 10-gallon duelling tank, 4 racing slick tires, driver, streamlined, 2 bottles of N2O, 6 PDGs (1F, 1B, 2L and 2R). Sloped FP armor: F45, R30, L30, B40, T8, U12, 4 10-pt. wheelguards, 10-pt. armored hubs, 10-pts. CA around each of driver and engine. Accel. 20, top speed 137.5, HC 7; 4,490 lbs., $38,218.
Firebug — Sprint, hvy. chassis, large power plant, 4 plasticore tires, driver, 2 linked MMLs front w/incendiary rounds, HRSWC, ISC, PDG (back). FP armor: F45, R30, L30, B35, T12, U15. Accel. 10, top speed 130 HC 5; 3,519 lbs., $24,810.
Flashing Steel — Formula One, hvy. chassis, 400 cid engine w/variable-pitch turbocharger, 10-gallon duelling tank, 4 racing slick tires, driver, MG w/explosive rounds front, HRSWC. LR metal armor: F11, R5, L5, B10, T5, U5. Accel. 20, top speed 165, HC 7; 4,400 lbs., $36,630.
Rinaldi 2040B — Dragster, hvy. chassis, 450 cid engine w/variable-pitch turbocharger and supercharger, 2 solid racing slick tires, 2 solid duelling tank, 2 solid racing slick tires (w/body armor), LFT (side), HRSWC, streamlined. Sloped FP armor: F40, Side80, B40, T19, U19. Accel. 30, top speed 177.5, HC 6; 4,396 lbs., $50,712.
Smiler — Funny Car, std. suspension, 400 cid engine w/variable-pitch turbocharger and supercharger, 2 solid duelling tank back, 2 solid front tires, 2 VMGs back (w/body armor), MFR (side), safety seat, improved fire extinguisher, streamlined, roll cage. Sloped FP armor: F25, Side64, T12, U12. Accel. 30, top speed 167.5, HC 6; 4,495 lbs., $48,021.
Special Vehicles
Stormhawk — Luxury triphibian w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis, OR suspension, 4 OR solid tires, small helicopter power plant, driver, 2 linked RLs front (laser-guided), TL (LGL), amphibious modifications. Armor: F40, R26, L26, B35 in air, U25. Accel. 15, top speed 195 on land, 5/162.5 in air, HC 2 (20/100 in water; HC 1 in water); 6,600 lbs., $72,010.
Police Cruiser — Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, sport power plant w/super conductors, 6 SB solid tires, driver, gunner, two passengers (prisoners), turreted RR w/HEAT ammo, 2 linked MGs w/anti-personnel ammo front, spoiler, overdrive, HD brakes, ABS. FP Armor: F25, R20, L20, B20, T15, U7, 10 points CA around each of driver, front MGs and power plant, 10 10-pt. wheelguards back, 2 10-pt. hubs front. Accel. 15 (10 w/overdrive), top speed 120 (140 w/overdrive), HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $34,155.
Vehicle Record Sheets
Blank record sheets, one for each vehicle type in Car Wars — Car, Cycle, Trike, Ten-Wheeler/Truck Cab, Car Trailer, Boat, Hovercraft and Helicopter — are provided at the end of the printed book, along with a blank Vehicle Construction Sheet for working out a new design's cost, weight and space budget. Each record sheet carries fields for the vehicle's name, driver/pilot and player names, size, weight, cost, chassis, suspension, HC, acceleration, top speed, cruising speed, power/mpg, driver and gunner skills, a weapon/to-hit/damage/ammo table, armor-by-location boxes, and a turn-by-turn Speed and Handling Class track (running from 7 down to -6) for recording the vehicle's handling status turn by turn. These are meant to be photocopied for actual play and carry no rules text of their own.
Abbreviations
ABR — Armored Beer Refrigerator
ABS — Antilock Braking System
AC — Autocannon
Accel. — Acceleration
AMF — Armored Minifridge
AP Ammo — Anti-Personnel or Armor-Piercing Ammo
AFPSDS — Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot Warheads
APPR — Anti-Power-Plant Rocket
AR — Assault Rifle
ATAD — Automatic Target Acquisition Device
ATG — Anti-Tank Gun
AVR — Anti-Vehicular Rifle
B — Back
BA — Body Armor
BC — Blast Cannon
BL — Back Left
BP — Blast Points
BR — Back Right
BR — Bomb Rack
CA Frame — Carbon-Aluminum Frame
CA — Component Armor
CACR — Coaxial Counter-Rotating Blade System
CB — Cluster Bomb
CBSS — Cloud Bomb
CD — Chaff Dispenser
CPS — Cost per Shot
CTS — Cycle Turreted Sidecar
d — die (6-sided)
D — Difficulty Rating
DP — Damage Points
DSP — Drop-Spike Plate
DStG — Double-Barreled Shotgun
DWM — Dual-Weapon Magazine
ERIS — Encoded Remote Ignition System
EWP — External Weapon Pod
F — Front
FCD — Flame Cloud Discharger
FCE — Flame Cloud Ejector
FCGS — Flame Cloud Gas Streamer
FD — Flechette Discharger
FDSP — Fake Drop-Spike Plate
FE — Fire Extinguisher
FG — Flechette Gun
FL — Front Left
FLDSP — Fake Large Drop-Spike Plate
FOD — Flaming Oil Discharger
FOJ — Flaming Oil Jet
FP — Fireproof
FR — Front Right
FT — Flamethrower
GE — Grenade Equivalent
GG — Gauss Gun
GL — Grenade Launcher
GP — Gauss Pistol
GR — Gauss Rifle
GS1, GS2 — Gyroslugger (one or two barrels)
HARM — Homing Anti-Radar Missile
HAVR — Heavy AV Rifle
HC — Handling Class
HD — Heavy-Duty
HD Ammo — High-Density Ammo
HDCD — Heavy-Duty Chaff Dispenser
HDFCE — Heavy-Duty Flame Cloud Ejector
HDFT — Heavy-Duty Flamethrower
HDID — Heavy-Duty Ice Dropper
HDOJ — Heavy-Duty Oil Jet
HDPS — Heavy-Duty Paint Spray
HDSS — Heavy-Duty Smokescreen
HEAT — High-Explosive Anti-Tank Warheads
HESH — High-Explosive Squash-Head Warheads
HFOJ — Heavy Flaming Oil Jet
HL — Heavy Laser
HP — Heavy Pistol
HR — Heavy Rocket
HRSWC — Hi-Res Single-Weapon Computer
HT Ammo — High-Temperature Ammo
HXL — Heavy X-ray Laser
IBA — Improved Body Armor
IcD — Ice Discharger
ID — Ice Dropper
IFE — Improved Fire Extinguisher
IFF — Identification Friend or Foe
Imp. — Improved
IR — Infrared
IRSS — Infrared Sighting System
ISC — Improved Supercharger Capacitors
JD — Junk Dropper
L — Laser
L — Left
LAW — Light Anti-tank Weapon
LDSP — Large Drop-Spike Plate
LFT — Light Flamethrower
LGL — Laser-Guidance Link
LIG — Light Intensifier Goggles
LL — Light Laser
LLAW — Laser LAW
LP — Light Pistol
LR — Laser Rifle or Laser-Reflective
LtR — Light Rocket
LRS — Laser Targeting Scope
LVLAW — Laser VLAW
MD — Minedropper
MF — Mine-Flinger
MFR — Multi-Fire Rocket Pod
MG — Machine Gun
ML — Medium Laser
MML — Micromissile Launcher
MMSD — Mechanical Memory Storage Device
MNR — Mini Rocket
MP — Machine Pistol
MPG — Miles Per Gallon
MPRL — Man-Portable Rocket Launcher
MR — Medium Rocket
N2O — Nitrous Oxide
NBC — Nuclear/Biological/Chemical
OD — Oil Discharger
OG — Oil Gun
OJ — Oil Jet
OR — Off-Road
PCs — Platinum Catalysts
PD — Paint Discharger
PDG — Point-Defense Grenade
PES — Portable Earth Station
PFT — Portable Flamethrower
PG — Paint Gun
PMML — Portable Micromissile Launcher
PR — Puncture Resistant
PS — Paint Spray
PU — Power Units
R — Radial (tire) or Right
Rev. — Reversed
REWP — Rocket EWP
RGM — Radar-Guided Missile
RL — Rocket Launcher
RP — Rocket Platform
RR — Recoilless Rifle
RS — Racing Slick
SAM — Surface-to-Air Missile
SB — Steelbelted
SCs — Super-Carburetors
SD — Spikedropper
SG — Spike Gun
SL — Starshell Launcher
SkD — Smoke Discharger
SMD — Spear 1000 Minedropper
SMG — Submachine Gun
SS — Smokescreen
StG — Shotgun
SWC — Single-Weapon Computer
T — Top
TB — Top Back
TDX — Two-Dimensional Explosive
TF — Top Front
TG — Tank Gun
TGD — Tear Gas Discharger
TL — Targeting Laser
TwL — Twin Laser
U — Underbody
UB — Underbody Back
UF — Underbody Front
URGL — Under-Rifle Grenade Launcher
URGS — Under-Rifle Gyroslugger
VFRP — Variable-Fire Rocket Pod
VLAW — Very Light Anti-Tank Weapon
VMG — Vulcan Machine Gun
VS — Vehicular Shotgun
WGM — Wire-Guided Missile
WGT — Wire-Guided Torpedo
WPS — Weight per Shot
XL — X-ray Laser
Anti-Theft System — $1,000, no weight or space. Must be linked to at least one discharger, no weight or space. The dischargers go off if anyone tries to enter a vehicle (or pry open a door, or dismantle a piece of equipment) without first turning off the system by key/combination. Disarming is classified as a very hard job for a Mechanic. The system won't operate while the motor is running.
Antilock Braking System (ABS) — $1,000, no weight or space. This system eliminates tire damage due to rapid deceleration and reduces hazards due to braking (rain, snow, ice, oil, gravel) by D1. It cannot be used on oversized vehicles.
Automatic Target Acquisition Device (ATAD) — $4,000 for the central logic unit and $1,000 for the sensor package for each weapon or set of linked weapons connected to the logic unit, no weight or space. User can choose between laser-, radar- or sonar-based units. Laser-based ATADs will not work through smoke and paint, while radar-based ATADs will not pick up targets shielded from radar. Sonar-based ATADs will only work if the target and ATAD are both in the water and have line of sight. Prior to combat, as a firing action, a character can designate a critical range (from 0 to 10 inches) for each controlled weapon. If any solid object larger than a basketball enters the critical range of the weapon and is in the weapon's arc of fire, the weapon will immediately fire at the object — treat it as a firing action, even though the firing character cannot be aimed straight out. A weapon hooked to an ATAD can be fired normally by a crew member, but the weapon cannot then fire on its own in the same turn. Conversely, a weapon fired by an ATAD cannot fire again, voluntarily or not, in the same turn.
Autopilot — $9,000, 50 lbs., 200 lbs., 2 spaces. Autopilots cannot be used on motorcycles, but can be used on a motorcycle/sidecar combination. They require radar or infrared to function and must be linked to a computer navigator. A vehicle under autopilot control loses 2 HC, and recovers HC at base level. To program, turn on the computer navigator, insert the map cube, mark the roads and turns to take, set speeds for passing, turning and normal driving, and activate. The autopilot is programmed to ask permission to pass others when necessary via voice synthesizer and radio, and move into the far right lane when asked to be passed. It will perform the least hazardous maneuvers for passing and turning, and try to remain at least ½" away from nearby objects.
The autopilot will alert the driver when the vehicle takes damage, its path is blocked by something that will force a control roll to drive around, and when it reaches the destination. For an extra $500, it can be linked to a computer gunner for instant response to hostile fire.
Bollix — 1 DP, $5,000, 200 lbs., 2 spaces. This device blocks all radio reception, limpet beacons, radar-based ATADs and radar sets within three miles; all radio-guided weaponry and
If you miss your roll by 2 or less, however, you still hit the vehicle. A miss by more than 2 misses just like a turret.
If a vehicle rolls, any pods (and weapons in them) that are mounted on a side that hits the ground are automatically destroyed (torn off). If the side of a vehicle with an EWP is involved in a collision, the pod weapons take damage first, then the vehicle (as usual).
A vehicle with one or more EWPs has its maximum speed reduced by 10% due to increased wind resistance.
For an extra $250, an EWP can be fitted with an ejection system. If a vehicle carries more than one side-mounted EWP, the EWPs may be linked and ejected simultaneously. Place an obstacle counter next to the ejecting vehicle's counter (treat as a "dropped weapon" counter in placing it).
If a vehicle, for whatever reason, has only one side-mounted EWP of a pair, its HC drops by 3 until the missing one is replaced, or the surviving one is removed.
One-space EWP: $500, 150 lbs.
Two-space EWP: $1,000, 250 lbs.
Three-space EWP: $2,000, 400 lbs.
Four-space EWP: $3,000, 600 lbs.
Extra Magazines — $50, 15 lbs., 1 space, plus the cost and
RL Flare Round — Loaded in a regular RL; $20 and 5 lbs. each. Can be fired directly at a target (to hit 10, 1d-2 damage, fire modifier 2, burn duration 0). If used for illumination, the round lights up a 20" radius area for five seconds, reducing the nighttime targeting penalty to -1. The round does not have to be fired straight up; the center of illumination can be placed anywhere within 15" of the firer. It can be mixed with regular ammo.
RL Incendiary Missile — 2d+2 damage (only 2d to FP armor); $60 and 11 lbs. each; loaded magazine costs $650 and weighs 125 lbs. Due to slight size differences, incendiary rounds cannot be combined with regular RL rounds in the same magazine. They can only be used in RLs. They add a fire modifier of 3 and a burn duration of 2.
Single-Shot Incendiary Rockets — 2 × cost, 1½ × weight of a standard single-shot rocket. It inflicts an extra point of damage per die against non-FP armor, and adds a fire modifier based on the rocket itself: 1/0 for a MNR, LRs get 2/1, MRs get 3/2, and HRs, WGMs, RGMs and Stingers get 4/3. Cost to make MFRs incendiary is the same, but each rocket in the MFR gets a fire modifier of 1 and a burn duration of 1. Incendiary rockets cannot be made armor piercing.
Smoke Rockets — Same cost and weight as regular rockets. Smoke rockets create a line of 1" × ½" smoke counters that number equal to twice the number of dice damage that a normal rocket would do (i.e., a heavy smoke rocket would create a 6" line, a medium rocket or RL would create a 4" line and an MFR would create six smoke 2" lines).
Spider Mines — Loaded in a Spear 1000 MD; $150 and 10 lbs. each. It does damage like a regular (not Spear 1000) mine. The range of detonation for a spider-mine is enlarged to ½" — 2 squares in any direction, instead of the usual 1". Spider mines are identifiable from a distance. They can be mixed with regular ammo.
Two-Dimensional Explosive (TDX) Mines — Can only be used in a Spear 1000 minedropper; $100 and 10 lbs. each. When detonated, the TDX mine does 1d+3 damage to tires, but only 1d-2 damage to the underbody of the triggering vehicle.
Tear Gas Rockets — Smoke rockets can be loaded with tear gas for twice the cost.
Tracer Ammo — This ammo is mixed with whatever type of ammo is already in the gun and has the same cost and weight as the ammo it's mixed with. Tracer ammo can only be used in MGs, ACs and VMGs. When tracer ammo is used, a third-turn sustained fire bonus of +3 is possible. Subtract 1 point from every die of damage done. (Regular MG ammo, for example, does 1d-1 damage instead of 1d when tracer ammo is mixed in.) The bonus is available only when using tracer ammo.
Munitions
Anti-Personnel (AP) Ammo — Available for machine pistols, SMGs, VMGs, heavy pistols, light pistols, and rifles. It does double damage to pedestrians and normal damage elsewhere. When used in area-effect weapons, AP ammo does full damage to all targets in the area of effect. AP ammo costs 5 × regular ammo, but weighs the same.
Armor-Piercing (AP) Rockets — 1½ × cost, normal weight, +1 per die of damage. No burst effect. AP are available for all