Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

[Erkenfresh]

Part 2: Vehicle Movement and Combat Rules

 

 

Vehicles fight pretty much like characters do. There are several main differences:

- Vehicles can’t turn on a dime like someone on foot can. In this game, the basic vehicle has a “Turn Mode” which means the vehicle must move forward a certain percentage of it’s speed before turning one hex side.

- In 5ER, Turn Mode allows a vehicle to turn 6 times in a single Phase. In this game, the base amount will be 3, but upgradable to 6 with better vehicle suspension. This will be called handling. More handling is better. With a handling of 3, you may turn one hex side at the beginning of the move, then one hex side one-third of the way through the move, then one hex side two-thirds of the way through the move. With a handling of 4, turn at every one-fourth of the move. Etc.

- In vehicles, most of the maneuvers (Block, Dive for Cover, etc.) can’t be done, with the exception of Dodge. A driver may Dodge to gain a +3 DCV bonus to the vehicle until his next Phase by making a Half Move and doing nothing else. The driver must succeed at a combat driving roll for the bonus to apply.

- The base rules allow vehicles to hold actions. This doesn’t make sense as that would mean the vehicle suddenly stops but then speeds up again when the held action is performed. Because of this, vehicles may not hold actions. The driver may wish to hold his action to fire a vehicular weapon or use a device in the vehicle in a Segment after the vehicle moves. If he does so, he may only perform a Half Move.

- A vehicle’s effective DEX and SPD are the lower of the driver’s DEX and SPD and the vehicle’s DEX and SPD.

- When another vehicle is hit during an attack (ramming and use of wheel spikes excluded), roll for hit location. You can either use the optional effect on page 192 of TUV or the following simple rules. Rolling a 3 indicates a hit on the front tires and an 18 on the rear tires. Use the wheel’s DEF and BODY to see if the tire pops. A roll of 10-12 indicates a hit on the driver of a motorcycle and a roll of 11 indicates a hit on the driver of other vehicles. Normal windows will provide no defense to the driver so such a hit could prove extremely lethal! Also use common sense. A vehicle shooting at another vehicle in front of him going the same direction is unlikely to hit the front tires so ignore such a roll in this case.

- If a tire is popped, that vehicle’s movement is scaled down according to the percentage of bad tires. For example, a car with three good tires and one popped tire would have a max speed of 75% it’s normal speed. The handling of the vehicle also decreases by 1 per tire popped. A motorcycle that gets a tire popped automatically crashes unless the driver makes a combat driving roll to avoid the crash. Even then, the motorcycle is undrivable until the tire is fixed.

 

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http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52256

[Manic Typist]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

I think that there could be ways to incorporate maneuvers such as Block and Dive for Cover.

 

You could use Block to represent a driver maneuvering his car in response to an attack by another car. For instance, if one car was about to ram another, the target car could "Block" by turning and instead of a direct collision, they merely scrape each other. Superficial damage, attack opportunity denied.

 

Dive for Cover- somebody is firing a heavy machine gun at your car. You grab the wheel and simply go beserk spinning it to the left. Essentially, you jack the car as hard as you can to one side. It fishtails dramatically and goes careening in a new direction. Of coure, you should make an additional roll to see if you can retain control of the vehicle after the maneuver, or to prevent it from flipping... but at least you didn't get shot, right?

[Erkenfresh]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

Those are good points. I don't think I quite understood the Block thing though. What you described sounds like a Dodge.

[SSgt Baloo]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

Those are good points. I don't think I quite understood the Block thing though. What you described sounds like a Dodge.

 

Actually, I thought it sounded more like a Chevy.

[/hijack]

 

Manic Typist: The first maneuver sounds something like rolling with the blow rather than a block. What are you blocking with? Is your vehicle equipped with hydropneumatic shock-absorbing fenders? JMO, but I think if you're blocking another car with your car, it's still a collision. If you're trying to limit the impact by swerving away from the other car, it makes sense. I would, however, try to avoid using this maneuver on narrow mountain roads. Especially if there aren't any guard rails.

 

I'm also not certain what to say about the "automotive dive for cover" you propose. Are you sure you meant exactly what you said? Depending on the speed you were travelling, you could easily wind up rolling your car and getting shot to pieces. Imagine telling your insurance man "He was about to shoot so I wrecked the car first!" Yeah, that'll show 'im!

 

On the other hand, if a driver wanted to turn the car before its normally-allowed direction change he might be allowed to do so if he makes a Combat Driving skill roll. I'm assuming there would be negative modifiers to the roll proportional to how many hexes away your next permissible turn is? The GM might want to make a list of different maneuvers that are possible with a successful driving roll.

 

Examples:

60° Turn:

Standard maneuver. Vehicle may change facing by up to 60 degrees. Automatic success if performed when normally allowed. If performed prematurely, calculate distance between current position to where the next turn would ordinarily be allowed. Refer to the range table and apply a penalty equal to the range penalty for that distance.

 

Lane change:

Standard maneuver. May be executed instead of a 60° turn. The vehicle continues straight ahead while shifting laterally (sideways) until it's in the next lane. Calculate penalties for premature execution the same as for a 60° turn.

 

90° turn

Nonstandard maneuver. May be executed automatically only when vehicle is travelling Turn Mode inches per phase. If travelling faster than Turn Mode inches per phase, subtract Turn Mode from current velocity. Refer to the range table and apply a penalty equal to the range penalty for that distance.

 

Bootleg Reverse:

Nonstandard maneuver. May not be executed automatically (Combat Driver skill check is always[/i] required. The vehicle travels [inches per phase]÷Turn Mode. Halfway through this maneuver, rotate the vehicle 180°. Roll ½d6K NND (defence is performing the maneuver on a slippery surface) and apply damage as if the tires had taken the hit. When this maneuver is complete, movement is ended for this phase, but DCV remains as if the vehicle were still moving at its previous velocity. At the vehicle's DEX (or the driver's if lower) in the next phase, the vehicle's DCV bonus for velocity drops to zero (it's just sitting there). The vehicle may accelerate from a standing start at this time. Penalty: compare [{inches per phase}-Turn Mode] to the range chart and apply the result.

 

Note that all of the above is off the top of my head. If you want to use it, go ahead, but it ought to be playtested & tweaked before making it an OFFICIAL part of your campaign.

 

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[Manic Typist]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

I'm just trying to find appropriate SFX for mechanical constructs, in this case the alternate forms of avoiding being hit: Block and Dive for Cover.

 

On the Dive for Cover bit- I agree. I was being mostly flippitant. A more realistic example would be a powerslide/handbrake maneuver, and yes, a roll would be necessary. However, it still achieves the same "feel" as a Dive for Cover, in my opinion. You have physically relocated yourself, changed direction, and might be vulnerable if things go poorly.

 

On the Block- while it is a collision, I would also call it a Block. After all, if I block your sword with my sword, that's a collision. The point is that I am preventing you from hurting me. I am only allowing contact on MY terms. Thus, your opportunity to damage me has been denied, which is the basic goal of Block.

 

Another car-Block example: two cars are racing side by side. Car A decides to sideswipe car B. Car B sees this is about to happen, and angles itself towards car A. This moves the cars closer together and prevents car A from successfully executing its maneuver. Yes, the cars will hit, by the damage will most likely be cosmetic. However, you can always make a roll to see if something worse happens, but if it does, it could easily happen to both cars rather than just one. Attack denied.

[Vondy]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

I think that there could be ways to incorporate maneuvers such as Block and Dive for Cover.

 

You could use Block to represent a driver maneuvering his car in response to an attack by another car. For instance, if one car was about to ram another, the target car could "Block" by turning and instead of a direct collision, they merely scrape each other. Superficial damage, attack opportunity denied.

 

Dive for Cover- somebody is firing a heavy machine gun at your car. You grab the wheel and simply go beserk spinning it to the left. Essentially, you jack the car as hard as you can to one side. It fishtails dramatically and goes careening in a new direction. Of coure, you should make an additional roll to see if you can retain control of the vehicle after the maneuver, or to prevent it from flipping... but at least you didn't get shot, right?

 

By that same token, shove and root could also be used to represent two drivers trying to run eachother off the road.

[Erkenfresh]

Re: Car hero, part 2 custom vehicle movement and combat rules

 

I think move throughs would handle shoving other cars off the road, assuming you move them far enough.

 

I like the ideas of making sharper turns using some skill rolls. TUV does mention the bootleg reverse, so there's already rules for that (if only I could remember which page). Now, there's this one maneuver in a recent James Bond movie, maybe Die Another Day, where he's driving on ice and does a 180 while simultaneously putting the car in reverse and maintaining full speed. What sort of penalty might that incur on the combat driving roll?