Scratch:Vehicles

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Vehicles are similar to characters, but they cannot be healed by healing ability, and they do not automatically recover hit points between battles. Vehicles cannot do a basic attack, hold or throw object, but they can ram, which causes 5 damage. If the target of the ram attack has at least 10 but no more than 19 toughness, the attacking vehicle takes 1 damage. If the target has at least 20 toughness, the attacking vehicle takes 2 damage.

Vehicle Abilities[edit]

Toughness reflects a vehicle's size and armor. Tougher vehicles are usually heavier.

Stalking reflects a vehicle's stealth and observation features, including camouflage, radar and other sensors.

Swimming allows a vehicle to move on the water.

Sailing allows a vehicle to move on the water without using fuel unless the difficulty of sailing the route is greater than the vehicle's sailing ability.

Diving allows a vehicle to move underwater.

Quickness allows a vehicle to move on the ground.

Land sailing allows a vehicle to travel some ground routes without using fuel.

Flying allows a vehicle to move in the air.

Soaring allows a vehicle to travel some air routes without using fuel.

Spaceflight allows a vehicle to move in outer space.

Solar sailing allows a vehicle to travel some space routes without using fuel.

Range determines how much a vehicle can move before exhausting it's fuel. A vehicle has 1 point of fuel for each level of range ability. Outside of combat, parties of characters take turns traveling on routes that consume 1 point of fuel. These routes might be roads on a map or spaces on a grid. Range can be important if the routes lead to places where fuel is scarce. Vehicles without range cannot travel long distances but can still move like other vehicles during combat.

Repair allows vehicle to fix itself outside of combat. Vehicles usually have a chance to repair themselves between battles, typically at the beginning of each travel turn. A successful repair roll (difficulty 10) increases an injured vehicle's hit points to half of it's toughness (rounded down) plus 1. A successful repair roll restores a healthy vehicle to maximum hit points (toughness.)

Grapple allows a vehicle to do a shoving or boarding attack. Grapple can only be used to attack vehicles in the same group. A boarding attack allows any of the characters riding the attacking vehicle to board the target vehicle. A successful shoving attack delays a target until the end of it's next turn. Also, when a vehicle is shoved, roll a twenty-sided die for each character aboard the vehicle. If the roll is equal to or greater than the character's defense, the character takes 1 damage. A vehicle that is delayed from being shoved cannot be boarded. After an injured vehicle uses grapple it is delayed until the end of it's next turn.

Guns allows a vehicle to attack one vehicle or character in the same group, causing 5 damage if it is successful. After an injured vehicle uses guns it is delayed until the end of it's next turn.

Missiles allows a vehicle to attack one vehicle in the same group or another group, causing 5 damage if it is successful. After an injured vehicle uses missiles it is delayed until the end of it's next turn.

Bombs allows a vehicle to attack all of the vehicles in any group, causing 5 damage to each vehicle successfully attacked. After an injured vehicle uses bombs it is delayed until the end of it's next turn.

Countermeasures allows a vehicle to attack all of the enemy vehicles in the same group, delaying each enemy successfully attacked until the end of the enemy's next turn. After an injured vehicle uses countermeasures it is delayed until the end of it's next turn.

Autopilot allows a vehicle to maneuver without a pilot.

Targeting allows a vehicle to aim and fire it's weapons without a pilot.

Vehicle Crews[edit]

Characters with craftsmanship ability can attempt to repair one vehicle at the beginning of each travel turn (difficulty 10.) Successfully repairing an incapacitated vehicle restores it to 1 hit point. Successfully repairing an injured vehicle restores it's hit points to half of the vehicle's toughness (rounded down) plus 1, making that vehicle healthy. Successfully repairing a healthy vehicle restores it to maximum hit points.

Every vehicle needs either targeting ability or a gunner in order to use guns, missiles, bombs or countermeasures. A gunner is a character with shooting or blasting ability. The best of these two abilities is added to the vehicle's guns, missiles, bombs and countermeasures ability levels.

Every vehicle needs either an operator or autopilot ability in order to move, grapple or do a ram attack.

Driving ability allows a character to operate a ground vehicle.

Navigation ability allows a character to operate a water vehicle.

Piloting ability allows a character to operate an air or space vehicle.

The operator's driving, navigation or piloting ability level is added to the vehicle's grapple ability, the vehicle's stalking ability and the vehicle's movement ability. An operator with shooting or blasting ability can also be a gunner.

Gunners and operators give up their own turns to control the vehicle or it's weapons. When a vehicle uses it's guns, missiles, bombs or countermeasures the gunner is delayed until the end of his next turn. When a vehicle moves, evades or does a close range attack (grapple or ram attack) the operator of the vehicle is delayed until the end of his next turn. A gunner cannot fire a vehicle's weapons while he is delayed. An operator cannot control a vehicle while he is delayed.

Vehicle Combat[edit]

A vehicle's defense is either 10 plus the movement ability it is currently using or 10 plus the best ability level from the following list: stalking, autopilot, targeting and countermeasures. (Stamina is not used for vehicle defense.)

Combat involving vehicles takes place on a larger scale. Characters and vehicles can be separated into different groups that are too far apart for normal long range attacks like shooting and blasting. Vehicles can easily move between groups, but characters can only move between groups by riding vehicles or escaping.

At the beginning of it's turn, before performing any action, a vehicle can stay in it's current group, move to another group containing an ally or an enemy, or split from everyone else to form a new group by itself.

Characters can ride inside or outside vehicles. Characters cannot attack a vehicle with close range attacks like a basic attack, fighting, or knockout unless they are riding inside or outside of that vehicle. The hold action does not affect vehicles. Vehicles and characters outside of vehicles cannot directly attack characters riding inside vehicles. Characters cannot escape while they are riding inside or outside a vehicle.

Using firearms and explosives aboard a vehicle is dangerous. When a shooting attack misses aboard a vehicle, the vehicle takes 1 damage. A blasting attack aboard a vehicle causes 1 damage for each character targeted by the attack. A blasting attack aboard a vehicle that specifically targets the vehicle instead of characters causes 5 damage.

Vehicle Combat Example[edit]

The bounty hunters Chokestar and Flipfire pursue outlaws with the Sadisto - a War Bird 1000 which bears the scars of bounties it's crew has collected over the years. The Sadisto is a standard War Bird 1000, but Chokestar operates the vehicle, adding his piloting ability to the Sadisto's grapple, stalking and spaceflight abilities, and Flipfire is the vehicle's gunner, adding her shooting ability to the Sadisto's guns and missiles abilities.


Chokestar (13 defense, 1 stamina): bounty hunter who wears dark-colored gear that conceals his identity; likes to take his targets quickly and by surprise

2 piloting: also a spacecraft pilot

2 wrestling: non-lethal weapons expert with stun gun

3 stalking: crafty stealth techniques to bring in live bounties

3 toughness


Flipfire (12 defense, 2 stamina): medic and commando turned mercenary

2 shooting: bayoneted assault rifle

1 healing: medic training

2 fighting: acrobatic fighting style

1 acrobatics: leaps between fallen comrades as she attempts to revive them

4 toughness: light body armor.


Sadisto (15 defense, 8 stamina): civilian class security shuttle

1 stalking (3 with Chokestar as pilot): security sensors that detect unexpected activity.

1 grapple (3 with Chokestar as pilot): tow cable

3 spaceflight (5 with Chokestar as pilot): high speed thrusters and great maneuverability

3 guns (5 with Flipfire as gunner): gatling guns

2 missiles (4 with Flipfire as gunner): light homing torpedoes

2 range: life support capable of supporting three crew members for two months

16 toughness


The notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw Breakhelm X-19 uses the Final Horizon - A K90 Light Freighter he captured thirteen months ago - for piracy and smuggling. Aside from new secret rooms and compartments added for smuggling purposes, the Final Horizon is a standard K90 Light Freighter. Breakhelm X-19 adds his piloting ability to the vehicle's spaceflight ability and his shooting ability to the vehicle's guns ability.


Breakhelm X-19 (13 defense, 3 stamina): notorious mutant-cyborg outlaw, wanted for piracy and industrial sabotage

4 shooting: cyborg targeting provides deadly accuracy with his sidearm and ship weapons.

4 fighting: retractable blades for industrial emergencies and self defense

1 piloting: targeting system also helps pilot spacecraft

6 toughness: armored cybernetic body


Final Horizon (12 defense, 15 stamina): industrial-class cargo ship with artificial centrifugal-force gravity in most of the inhabitable areas

1 guns (5 with Breakhelm X-19 as gunner): small lasers for deflecting debris can also be used for self defense

1 spaceflight (2 with Breakhelm X-19 as pilot)

4 range: meant for transporting medium sized loads or large numbers of personnel for long range trips

30 toughness


Combat begins as Chokestar and Flipfire catch up with outlaw Breakhelm X-19. Each vehicle is in it's own separate group. The Sadisto rolls a 7 for initiative for a total of 37 after adding 10 times it's 3 stalking ability. The Final horizon rolls 13 and has no stalking ability. So the Sadisto goes first.

Instead of closing with the Final Horizon, Chokestar and Flipfire unleash a volley of torpedoes using the Sadisto's missiles ability. A die roll plus the Sadisto's missiles ability totals 12, high enough to get reach the Final Horizon's defense (which is 12, the Final Horizon's spaceflight ability plus 10.) This successful attack lowers the Final Horizon's hit points to 25.

The Final Horizon tries to escape by evading. This adds the Final Horizon's spaceflight ability to its defense until the next round. The Final Horizon's total defense is now 14. Its defense is normally 12 (10 plus spaceflight ability) but we add spaceflight again when the Final Horizon is evading.

On the Sadisto's turn it moves to the Final Horizon's group, opening fire with gatling guns. A die roll added to to the Sadisto's guns ability comes to 16, lowering the Final Horizon's hit points to 20. The successful attack keeps the Final Horizon from escaping on it's next turn.

The Final Horizon blasts away with its lasers. A die roll plus the Sadisto's guns comes to 19, high enough to reach and surpass the Sadisto's 15 defense, reducing the Sadisto's hit points to 12.

The Sadisto fires its grappling hook in an attempt to board the Final Horizon. The Sadisto adds a die roll to its grapple ability for a total of 9, which is less than the Final Horizon's defense, so the Sadisto fails this boarding attempt.

The Final Horizon attempts to continue pounding the Sadisto with laser fire. A die roll plus the Final Horizon's guns ability totals 14, barely failing to reach the Sadisto's defense of 15.

The Sadisto makes another pass with its grappling hook, again attempting to board the Final Horizon. A die roll plus the Sadisto's grappling comes to 14, so the Sadisto's crew storms onto the Final Horizon attempting to capture its pilot. The battle continues as described in the Combat Example in the Basic Rules section above.