Jump to content

Team vehicles


dsatow

Recommended Posts

Does your super team have a vehicle?  I've been wondering about team vehicles and real life politics.  For example:

 

  • Does your team vehicle have a weapon?  And if so, do foreign countries allow the entry of an armed aircraft into their air space?
  • Does it have a cloaking or radar prevention device?  Will a government allow a cloaked vehicle which can possibly penetrate secure military areas undetected?
  • Does it go supersonic and does the public mind having lots of sonic booms?
  • Is it powered by exotic matter or radioactive elements?  If so, how does the country react to that?  I mean, whether there is pollution from the energy source is one thing, but the vehicle is in the vicinity of supervillains, any of which might be able to destroy said vehicle and cause an environmental crisis.  I've always wondered what the background radiation was in the Batcave of Batman in the '66 serials.
  • How does one go about registering said super vehicle?  What happens when the ambitious meter maid gives the vehicle a ticket?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For my Justice Foundation campaign, we have two aircraft and staff members have their own vehicles. 

 

The senior team flies around in a prototype supersonic VTOL known as the TurboJet.  It's just for transportation, about the size of a Learjet 75, and, according to my math, can hit mach 9.85.  It's pilot doesn't fly it that fast within the city.

 

The junior team flies around in an unmodified Aircus Helicopters H135.  It's top speed, according to Wikipedia, is 178 miles per hour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dsatow said:

Does your super team have a vehicle?  I've been wondering about team vehicles and real life politics.  For example:

 

  • Does your team vehicle have a weapon?  And if so, do foreign countries allow the entry of an armed aircraft into their air space?
  • Does it have a cloaking or radar prevention device?  Will a government allow a cloaked vehicle which can possibly penetrate secure military areas undetected?
  • Does it go supersonic and does the public mind having lots of sonic booms?
  • Is it powered by exotic matter or radioactive elements?  If so, how does the country react to that?  I mean, whether there is pollution from the energy source is one thing, but the vehicle is in the vicinity of supervillains, any of which might be able to destroy said vehicle and cause an environmental crisis.  I've always wondered what the background radiation was in the Batcave of Batman in the '66 serials.
  • How does one go about registering said super vehicle?  What happens when the ambitious meter maid gives the vehicle a ticket?


    As to points 1&2, if you have a really good cloaking device, other countries won’t know you’re there or what weapons you have.   So bwah-ha 😜 on them! 

    As to the questions about Batman ‘66,  the Batcave was powered by the enormous Bat-Diamond. (Don’t ask me how.)  The real problem would be the Batmobile.  Remember Robin always saying “Atomic Batteries to power.” Turbines to speed.”  Then Batman says “Let’s move out.”  After of course buckling their seatbelts.  Safety first you know.

  And to your final point when the vehicle’s Artificial Intelligence fires the wave motion gun mounted on the roof and vaporizes lovely Rita Meter Maid.  No ticket, no trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Team vehicle which looks sort of like a modified space shuttle. It's one of the things which I'm wanting to write up for the Champions WikiWorld project.

 

It's armed but countries don't have a problem with it.

 

It isn't conventionally powered so it can fly under radar or hover. It can spoof air traffic control systems.

 

It's a comic book world. Sonic booms only happen when it's convenient to the story. :D 

 

The guy who installed the engine said it works due to "zero point energy" and is very safe. Used to use conventional fuel which he said was much less safe.

 

The vehicle's A.I. is considered a "person" in at least one territory. Registered as a vehicle in others. Where it's considered a vehicle, the team would be responsible for the ticket...then argue it isn't responsible for the ticket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The team vehicle is a supersonic V/STOVL blended wing design. 
- In addition to the stealth technology incorporated into the design, it has on board avionics specifically designed to further hide it from radar.

- it is armed but it’s not a problem, since normally nothing is obvious.

- sonics booms are the sound of freedom. Ask any SR-71 pilot.

- it it conventionally powered, if on the exotic end. 

- I have no idea about parking tickets.... that implies it’s parked in somewhere meant for cars, etc. I don’t know how that would apply to an aircraft.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, DusterBoy said:

The team vehicle is a supersonic V/STOVL blended wing design. 

- I have no idea about parking tickets.... that implies it’s parked in somewhere meant for cars, etc. I don’t know how that would apply to an aircraft.

 

 


  I just had the image of a Quinjet sitting in a parking lot across from some superhero battle with a Handicapped parking tag hanging from the rear view mirror.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tjack said:


  I just had the image of a Quinjet sitting in a parking lot across from some superhero battle with a Handicapped parking tag hanging from the rear view mirror.


I suppose. I guess I’m not thinking about this is genre-appropriate terms. Also, I mind that the British Harrier could land and take off from a motorway, so I guess if it was a parking lot big enough, then yes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, DusterBoy said:


I suppose. I guess I’m not thinking about this is genre-appropriate terms. Also, I mind that the British Harrier could land and take off from a motorway, so I guess if it was a parking lot big enough, then yes.


   Well, VTOL capability is pretty standard for superhero aircraft.   Besides, I’ve seen Walmart parking lots that you could use to land small planes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m still trying to work out how a blended wing could be V/STOVL without relying on genre handwaves (since I do like level of realism). 
 

Parking tickets would have to be dealt with as they came, or you could posit that registered superhero vehicles on legitimate business don’t get ticketed. I do enjoy the image of a zealous meter attendant giving such a vehicle a ticket, though and an exasperated superhuman trying to get it dealt with, or explain that it’s exempt. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, DusterBoy said:

I’m still trying to work out how a blended wing could be V/STOVL without relying on genre handwaves (since I do like level of realism). 
 

Parking tickets would have to be dealt with as they came, or you could posit that registered superhero vehicles on legitimate business don’t get ticketed. I do enjoy the image of a zealous meter attendant giving such a vehicle a ticket, though and an exasperated superhuman trying to get it dealt with, or explain that it’s exempt. 

 

Most large airplanes don't have a windshield wiper which is accessible by a meter attendant who is standing on the ground so one could wonder how he would leave the ticket on the plane.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see anything remotely large flying at Mach 10 towards a slightly paranoid country being shot down as a missile unless there was something to prevent it from happening.

 

I can also see meter maids taping tickets on super vehicles and the vehicle itself trying to argue it wasn’t parked there. :D  

Vehicle: “You don’t think I’m handicapped?  Let see if I can’t fit through the door of the court to challenge the ticket.”

Meter Maid: “No license plate, no placard.  Not disabled.  $500 fine.”

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, dsatow said:

I can see anything remotely large flying at Mach 10 towards a slightly paranoid country being shot down as a missile unless there was something to prevent it from happening.

 

I can also see meter maids taping tickets on super vehicles and the vehicle itself trying to argue it wasn’t parked there. :D  

Vehicle: “You don’t think I’m handicapped?  Let see if I can’t fit through the door of the court to challenge the ticket.”

Meter Maid: “No license plate, no placard.  Not disabled.  $500 fine.”

 

 

 

That's gives me an idea....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, dsatow said:

I can see anything remotely large flying at Mach 10 towards a slightly paranoid country being shot down as a missile unless there was something to prevent it from happening.


That’s why IFF transponders exist. Gotta squawk the right codes early enough, is all.

 

Which of course raises questions about a recognised system of codes that a superhero vehicle uses, and the results of a country that refused to recognise them shooting down an aircraft moving at such a speed. Especially if the.response afterwards was effectively just “Oops”.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/30/2020 at 5:09 PM, DusterBoy said:

I’m still trying to work out how a blended wing could be V/STOVL without relying on genre handwaves (since I do like level of realism). 


   The same way Iron Man has a fusion generator in his chest and Superman flies.  Magic superhero physics.  Realism is wonderful and useful when understanding the difficulties of doing a particular thing or dealing out consequences of actions but somethings just can’t be done any other way in this genre.   Pick your battles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In a past Champions campaign I ran, the team "acquired" a vehicle by taking it from invading aliens.  It has weapons (turreted plasma cannons) and a stealth field, and was capable of Mach speed and FTL.

 

Gryphon_01.jpg

 

They didn't tend to use it much for local travel - it was generally parked at a nearby US Army base - and was mainly used when they needed to go into space.  We never got into what powered it - I just figured it was some sort of anti-matter engine and they had enough to operate it during the years of that Champions campaign.  We also never worried about licensing.  That team had a fairly decent relationship with the government.

 

In a more recent campaign, the heroes (a different super-team) kept some supervillains from stealing that vehicle while the original super-team was MIA, and the new team decided to keep the vehicle for themselves.  (They parked it in orbit, since one of the heroes was a teleporter.)  Since they never paid points for it, however, I eventually decided that "what the GM giveth, the GM can taketh away" and had the original super-team show up - incognito - to take it back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...