Vehicle Combat

Combat between vehicles works much as combat between people does. Each vehicle counts as its own side for rolling initiative and all passengers act on its turn. The driver must spend a Main Action each round maintaining control of the vehicle. If they can’t and no one can grab the wheel, the driver must make a Luck save or crash. A successful save results in a safe halt.

Each vehicle requires a gunner for each mounted weapon, and firing them requires a Main Action from the gunner. Firing personal weapons out the window is done at a -4 hit penalty while the vehicle is moving.

Vehicles have their own Armor Class applied to both melee and ranged attacks against it. A stationary vehicle takes a -4 penalty, while a moving one adds its driver’s Drive skill to its AC. Vehicles may also have an Armor rating, which is subtracted from all damage done to it. A GM may rule that some weapons have no feasible way of harming some vehicles.

Vehicles reduced to zero hit points are destroyed, and any passengers take crash damage.

Vehicle movement is abstracted, and it’s assumed that all vehicles participating in a fray are close enough to shoot at each other. If one or more wishes to flee and the others try to follow, the pursuit rules from section 2.6.2 are used.

Vehicle Destruction

A vehicle that crashes or is reduced to zero hit points is destroyed. Any occupants take damage as if they were also hit by whatever took out the vehicle, with a Luck save for half. Thus, if a rocket launcher inflicted 18 points of damage on a car and blew it to pieces, the passengers would also take 18 points of damage, with a Luck save to halve it.

Vehicle Crashes

If the vehicle was moving at combat speeds at the time it was destroyed or goes out of control, the passengers also take crash damage. Each passenger rolls both a Physical save and a Luck save. If they make both, they survive largely unscathed. If they fail one, they take half their maximum hit points in damage, which may leave them Mortally Wounded. If they fail both, they are Mortally Wounded and will suffer a Major Injury if they survive.

Vehicles and Traumatic Hits

Some weapons can reasonably inflict Traumatic Hits on a given vehicle, at the GM’s discretion. Each vehicle type has its own Trauma Target, never less than 6 and often much higher.

A vehicle that takes a Traumatic Hit from such weapons takes the multiplied damage as usual. If the damage is enough to destroy the vehicle, the unlucky passengers are also subject to this multiplied damage when making their Luck saves.

Vehicle Maneuvers and Ramming

A driver who wants to accomplish a stunt can do so as part of the Main Action they spend controlling the vehicle for the round. These maneuvers may be an attempt to open up a route of escape, to get cover from enemy fire, to cut off a specific enemy vehicle, or to jump Snake River Canyon. This is normally resolved with a skill check at a difficulty set by the GM. Checks made against a driver, such as an attempt to skid out of a vehicle’s line of fire, may be made as opposed checks.

Ramming a human-sized target is generally only possible in confined areas such as narrow streets. The driver and target make opposed Dex/Drive and Dex/Exert skill checks. If the driver wins, the target must make an Evasion save or take the vehicle’s maximum HP in damage, with a Trauma Die of 1d12/x3. Ramming a vehicle also takes an opposed check, albeit with no Evasion save allowed. The ramming vehicle also takes damage as if the target vehicle rammed it in turn.