ALTERNATE WEAPON MOUNTS FOR CAR WARS

Rules in Car Wars have covered both a “Chassis and Crossbow” style of environment and a high tech level that is the standard Car Wars atmosphere, but there are no rules for crossing over.  For instance a bad lands gang armed only with old metal armor and a few MG’s on pintle mounts ambush a TL 8 dueling vehicle.  Sure the weapons work the same, but the low tech pintle mounts of the gang actually cost and weigh more than the high tech cyber-slave mount of the dueling vehicle.   Even if these weapons were fixed mounts they’d still cost and weigh the same as CS mounts, which doesn’t seem right.  In order to rectify this situation I have rewritten some of the weapon mounts and added a few others.

These rules apply only to direct fire vehicle weapons and any deduction to cost and weight of the weapon are taken after any modifiers due to long barrels or other modifications and are applied to the empty weight of the weapon (round all fractions up).  If a rule for the weapon mount is not listed then it is assumed to follow the standard Car Wars listing for that entry.  Computer targeting can be added to any weapon mount as long as it is available.  Weapon types may be mixed on a vehicle, but one type of mount controls can not be used to fire another of a different type (i.e. CS and hydraulic mounts are mutually exclusive).  The weapons are in descending tech order.

Vehicle Mounts

  

Cyber-slave mount (CS):  (TL 8) This is the standard Car Wars weapon mount listed for reference.  No change in cost, weight, or use.

Cupola ( C):  (TL 8)  No change.

Turret (T):  (TL 8)   No change.

Remote Turret (RT):  (TL 7)  -50% to cost of turret.  This works the same as a standard Car Wars turret (T) except for the to hit penalties.  The driver fires this weapon at -2 to the front, -3 to the sides and -4 to the rear.  A gunner would fire this weapon at -1 if both he and the turret weapon were facing the same direction. -2 if firing the weapon to his left or right, and -3 if firing the weapon at a target behind him.  (Note that the front facing of the gunner may be different than the front of the vehicle and this should be noted on the vehicle sheet.)  These can be made pop up and/or universal.

Hydraulic mount (HM):  (TL 7)  -30% from cost.  The precursor to CS. It uses the same firing arcs.  This is the mount most of us would be familiar with.  It consists of a joystick, and primitive HUD linked to the weapons.  Either the driver or a gunner may use any hydraulic mounted weapons in the vehicle subject to the following modifiers.  The driver is -1 to fire a weapon mounted to the front, -2 to either side, and -3 for rear firing weapons.  The gunners direction of facing must be stated when the vehicle is designed and an arrow used on the vehicle diagram must show this direction.  The gunner suffers no modifier for shooting a HM in the direction he (not the vehicle) is facing.  He suffers a -1 to fire a weapon on his right or left side and a -2 to fire a weapon to his rear.

Early Cupola (EC):  (TL 7)  -$500 from cost of regular cupola.  This mount still gives a +1 to hit like the standard cupola, but only turns to cover two firing arcs per turn. (Example: The player designates that the EC is covering the front and right firing arcs of the vehicle, thus if a vehicle showed up on the left or back arc the gunner would have to take one second to switch to either of those firing arcs during which no firing is possible. Pop up is not available on this or lesser tech cupolas, but universal mounting is.

Late Ball Turret (LBT):  (TL 6) -$1500 from regular C.  This mount does not give a +1 to hit but  turns like an EC.

Ball Turret (BT):  (TL 5) -$2500 from regular C.  This mount does not give a +1 to hit and only rotates one firing arc per second during which the gunner can not fire.  (Example:  If the BT was aimed out the back it would take one second to switch to the left or right and two seconds to aim to the front.  No weapons fire is allowed during this switch.)

Ring Mount (RM):  (TL 4) Cost $500. Weight 100 lbs. 3 Spaces.  The cost and weight as originally presented for this item seemed too high.  This weapon can only change facing by one firing arc per second during which it can not fire (as BT).  Remember the gunner is exposed when firing RM weapons.

Pintle Mount (PM):  (TL 2)  Do not add any extra cost or weight for this item when mounting it. Just state that the weapon is pintle mounted on the record sheet and use it accordingly.  (I never did understand why this item costs more than a CS mount when it can only be used by one person and they are very vulnerable to weapons fire.  I also never understood how a short metal pole could cost and weigh more than CS mounts.)

Swivel Mount (SM):  (TL 2) Reduce the cost of the weapon by 40%.  Do not add extra weight.  This weapon can only be fired by one crew member location which must be designated when the weapon is added.  A driver fires this weapon at -1 all others at +0.

Fixed Mount (FM):  (TL 1) Reduce cost by 50% and weight by 10%.  (For simplicity I only allow these weapons to be front or back mounted, but feel free to mount them any direction if you can agree on firing arcs.)  These weapons fire in a straight line out the front or back and are treated as being in lock-down mode for purposes of targeting  (i.e. they can not be aimed at tires or other vehicle components).  Front mounted weapons are -2 to hit while rear mounted weapons are -5 to hit.  The driver may add his driving skill to the to hit roll.

Infantry Weapons Mounted on Vehicles

Of course your players will want to mount hand held weapons on their vehicles.  These weapons may only be fixed, swivel, or pintle mounted.  In this case increase the cost and weight of the hand weapon as follows (always round up).  Fixed:  +20% weight. +20% cost.  Swivel:  +30% weight. +50% cost.  Pintle: +30% weight. +50% cost. No hand held rocket or rocket launcher of any type may be vehicle mounted.  All fixed or swivel mounted hand weapons take up one space.  Only pintle and swivel mounted hand weapons get bonuses for being braced, and then only if the vehicle is stopped.  When a hand weapon is mounted to the vehicle use the to-hit penalty for the type of mount instead of the standard Driver -3, Gunner or passengers -1 for non-mounted hand weapons.

Infantry Weapons

  

IMG:  This weapon always seemed too wimpy to me.  In order to beef it up I assume it has an integral bipod and thus can be set up to receive the bracing bonus and if it has a long barrel, to receive the aiming bonus for that as well. (Long Barrel IMG -1 per 12” to target.  See firearms rules for its use.)

IVMG:  These weapons can not be braced unless they are tripod mounted or attached to a man portable brace.  They can not be made long barreled.

Man Portable Brace:  I think rules for these have been written somewhere before, but I can’t find them.  Use whichever you like.  Add 10% to the cost of the infantry weapon and 10 lbs.  This allows the firer to take a braced shot (but not an aimed shot) any time he is stationary.  Available for IMG and IVMG only.

  

Alternate Control Rolls in Car Wars

Though these rules still need more play testing I present them as they first appeared on my original website.

CAR WARS CONTROL ROLLS

Vehicles revised

This set of rules eliminates the handling class marker, control table, and crash table rolls (except for control lose caused by hazards) by creating one roll for control lose and basing any crash results on the amount the roll was missed by.  It also makes the driver skill a little more valuable by adding the skill bonus to the control roll.

The basic control roll is 2 or higher on 2d6.  This control roll is made every time a vehicle makes a maneuver or suffers a hazard.  A unmodified roll of 2 is always a failure.

Add to the dice roll the handling class of the vehicle, plus the skill of the driver as follows.  (The maximum skill bonus is +3.)

No skill:                    -2

Driver: 0                   +0

Driver: 1 or 2           +1

Driver: 3 or 4           +2

Driver: 5 or higher  +3

Subtract the difficulty of the maneuver, or hazard.

Modify the roll up or down by the speed of the vehicle as follows.

Vehicle Speed	Control Roll Modifier
5-10	+3
15-20	+2
25-30	+1
35-40	+0
45-50	-1
55-60	-1
65-70	-2
75-80	-2
85-90	-3
95-100	-3
105-110	-3
115-120	-4
125-130	-4
135-140	-4
145-150	-5
155-160	-5
165-170	-5
175-180	-6
185-190	-6
195-200	-6
205-210	-7
215-220	-7
225-230	-7
235-240	-8
245-250	-8
255-260	-8
265-270	-9
275-280	-9
285-290	-9
295-300	-10

Crash Results

Crash results created by maneuvers are determined by how much the control roll was missed.

Control roll missed by 0:  Trivial skid.

Control roll missed by 1:  Minor skid.

Control roll missed by 2:  Moderate skid.

Control roll missed by 3:  Sever skid.

Control roll missed by 4: Spin out.

Control roll missed by 5:  Side flip.

Control roll missed by 6:  Flip and burn.

Control roll missed by 7 or more:  End over end.

Crash results for hazards are determined below.

Missed roll by 0 or 1:  Minor fishtail.

Missed roll by 2, or 3:  Major fishtail.

Missed by 4, or  5:  Minor fishtail and roll on crash table.

Missed by 6 or more:  Major fishtail and roll on crash table.

Example 1:  A vehicle with a HC of 3, controlled by a Driver 0, going 80 mph, pulls a D6 90 degree bend.  The roll would be a base of  2; +3 +0 -2 -6 = 7 or better to maintain control.

A 7 or better has a 58.33% chance of occurring on 2 d6.  Compare this to the control table which gives a 3 or better to maintain control.  A 3 or better has a 66.66% chance of occurring on 1 d6.  The difference is only 8.33.

Example 2:  HC of 6, Driver 0, going 100 mph, pulls a D6 bend.   Base 2 +6 +0 -3 -6= 5 or better.  This yields a 83.33% chance of maintaining control.  Compare this to the control table which gives a 0% chance of crashing.  (A 90 degree bend in 1/5 of a second at a hundred miles per hour and no chance to crash?  I don’t like it.)

Why do it this way? 

When performing mass combats using Car Wars it is very difficult to keep track of the changing HC of up to 20 cars every phase of every turn, not to mention consulting the control table, and possibly the crash table every time on of them makes a maneuver, plus the fact that HC goes back up at the start of each turn.  This way the HC remains constant and the maneuver and speed modifiers are subtracted from it.  Also I wanted the driver skill to affect the control roll more directly.   Finally I can’t stand the fact that cars in Car Wars can perform outrages maneuvers with no chance for lose of control.  This way a control roll is necessary even for a D1 hazard or maneuver.

Which brings me to the one draw back I have found in this procedure.  Dice must be rolled every time the vehicle maneuvers or suffers a hazard.  However, I don’t feel this is a big concern, because we simply substitute the dice roll for changing the handling track and don’t have to worry about bits of paper blowing off the record sheet or running out of room to write a new handling class.

As a final note, after comparing the percentage chances of losing control using these rules with the rules in GURPS for losing control I found that this new system still allows the cars to perform way above reality.  I have worked out new speed modifiers based on GURPS, but haven’t play tested them.  I’ll try to send them after I fool with them a bit more.

I know you guys have these probability charts, but if your like me it’s too hard to dig them out, so I’ll print them here for your convenience.  This way you can compare my system to the old Car Wars system and see that the percentage chance for losing control is almost the same at lower speeds while a little less forgiving at higher speeds.  Let me know what you guys think of this.

2d6

Dice Roll	Chance of this number or higher
2	100%
3	97.22
4	91.67
5	83.33
6	72.22
7	58.33
8	41.67
9	27.78
10	16.67
11	8.33
12	2.78

    

1d6

Die Roll	Chance of this number or higher
1	100%
2	83.33
3	66.66
4	50
5	33.33
6	16.66

Tales from the "good ole days".

The following is a post I made on a message board back in the late 90's. It sums up my gaming experience in general and my Car Wars experience specifically. As I've gotten older I've moved to simpler systems, but still enjoy mixing role-playing and strategy gaming.

CAR WARS THE GREATEST STRATEGY/ROLEPLAYING GAME EVER MADE

I first discovered wargames in 1979.  Browsing the magazine section of a hobby shop in Boise, Wargamers Digest caught my eye.  Collecting military miniatures was already a hobby of mine and now I had a chance to use these models to recreate battles.  Oh joy!  Oh rapture! 

The year after that a new kid in school found out I played wargames and asked if I had ever role played.  I was intrigued, and soon my hundreds of dollars worth of WW II miniatures was collecting dust as I embarked on a much more personal experience.

I became the game master for the numerous games we played.  I liked the level of detail players could experience by role playing an individual character or even 2 or 3, but the grand scope of play was missing.  There were no good rules to run an organization, kingdom, or army.  Some games would mention it in passing, but their rules were never clear or complete enough to work.  I fooled with my own ideas, but didn't develop anything beyond the play testing stage.

Somewhere in these early years I discovered micro games.  These were cheap enough for a high schooler to afford and some of them were pretty good.  (I thought Hell Tank was a way better game than Ogre.)  When Car Wars showed up in my hobby shop I thought it was a joke.  A spoof game based on Star Wars that wasn’t worth a second glance.  Yet, I did continue to glance.  And read reviews. And read the back of the game again, and again, and again.  Finally I decided to plunk down the $3 (or was it $4) and take a chance.

The rules were a dream come true.  This was the first set of rules that actually tried to model vehicle maneuver as well as combat, and even let you design your own cars.  Oooh joy!  Oooh Rapture!  Of course I was confused by a few things.  Were the power plants gas engines?  What did they use for fuel and how much was needed?  The list goes on.

This did not stop me from playing, and I soon created a small arena and ran a duel.  We dueled in the arena about 4 times and on the road twice.  Then got bored and went back to Villains and Vigilantes.  I tried to design my own city streets, but the scale was all wrong.

The Convoy scenario was what really put the spark back in the game for me.  I ran it solo.  I ran it for my group.  I ran it for several groups when I went to college.  I ran it and the one where the players must get the Mormon leader down to California into the ground.

To me this was what Car Wars was all about.  Missions in the wastelands, living in a campaign world that went way beyond the arena.  The challenges would come from new situations, not bigger and more deadly weapons or equipment.

I then proceeded to try to run a campaign or 2 outside the arena, but the lack of concrete rules left me writing homemade rules more than writing adventures.  A lot of people were willing to play the game, but the work was too much.  Especially when there were other RPG’s with campaign rules already fleshed out.

Sure there were the AADA survival guides coming out around this time, but they were to disjointed, vague, and disappointing to be of much use.  Steve Jackson Games also put out numerous arenas and vehicle designs, but these were only met with yawns.  Without a comprehensive campaign to fit these into they lost most peoples interests after only 1 try. 

The first successful Car Wars campaign that was ran was one created and ran by my roommate.  Myself and one other guy played rival warlords.  We had a map of our territory, and were given some skill points and money to buy characters and equipment.  We used a lot of homemade rules and began spying on each other.  Shortly after the campaign began, aliens landed right between us and began to shoot up both sides with anti-grav vehicles and lasers.  We proceeded to fight the aliens, but never joined forces and the aliens were able to complete their nefarious experiments and win.  We actually had to start this campaign over once because we had too many troops and vehicles  to play the large scale battles out successfully.

Next I tried a campaign based on rival trucking companies trying to make a profit.  It flopped, because the rules I had written were too sparse and the campaign not that exciting.  However, with everything I had learned Car Wars campaigns now took on a new meaning, and it was all I would play.

My last few years in college (I was on the 6.5 year party plan) were a time of few classes and fewer responsibilities.  Thus I could devote more time to a game that had become my favorite.  Car Wars.  I wrote campaign rules late into the night and refereed it all day.  We would have up to 8 people playing at one time, and not an arena was ever touched.  In fact after my first 4 arena plays in high school I only played in one other arena.  It was a duel track designed by my friend, and was only a back drop to a story of murder and betrayal on an Indian reservation in the Southwest.

Since college I have ran campaigns involving individuals as well as organizations.  Most of my games are set in a post apocalyptic earth with magic and alien technology.  My players go on small party quests, lead company size armies into battles, and even rule small kingdoms.  The diversity I am able to achieve using Car Wars as the base set of rules is incredible.   

The biggest factor in making my games a success was the set of campaign rules I made up over the last 18 years of play.  These rules allow characters to interact with and explore a post apocalyptic landscape using the Car Wars rules as the base reference.  I am particularly proud of my rules for running organizations and hope to have them ready to be printed in CWIN by the year 2000.

Car Wars helped set the frame work for a set of rules that allows me to combine the best of role playing, character interaction and development, with wargamings grand maneuvers and leadership.

I want to applaud all the hard core Car Wars fans who have kept the game alive all these years.  There are a lot of good campaigns out there and I encourage those of you who still use Car Wars as just a set of rules for arena combat to take a look at some other avenues of play.  All the people I ever got interested in the game wanted to play in campaigns where they could command a group of warriors to do their bidding.  Even at game conventions where one shot adventures are the king, people would rather make up a character and go explore a cave or get in a wargame and command hundreds of troops than to play out an arena combat.

In order to attract and keep new players, the focus must switch from arenas to campaign worlds.  There is a reason that interest in Car Wars has dropped off while games like Battletech continue to thrive.  Some will say, “It’s the complicated rules.”  But thousands who already took the time to learn the rules are no longer playing.  Other say, “It’s lack of Steve Jackson Games support.”  But SJG turned out numerous arenas, counters, and vehicle rules and designs.  Steve Jackson pumped out plenty of supplements but after a while nobody bought them.  Battletech, AD & D, and several other successful games also pump out supplement after supplement, that get bought off the shelves as soon as they hit the store.  Why are these other games still selling while Car Wars is not?  Because they have campaign rules and worlds.  They have a place where the exploits of the character mean something in a bigger picture.  Where the challenge and enjoyment comes not just from bigger guys with bigger guns, but also in the exploration and conquering of lands, the interaction with NPC’s, and the immersion  of the player characters in a living environment. 

New players might come for the vehicle combat and arena duels, but they’ll stay for the campaign environment.

CAR WARS CHARACTER GENERATION TABLES

CAR WARS CHARACTER GENERATION TABLES

 Here are some tables you can use to quickly generate characters or NPC’s for a Car Wars role-playing campaign.  All characters start out at 15 years of age with one skill level roll and gain one new skill roll for every 2 full years of age after that.  Any player who chooses to have a character older than 25 years must roll once on the mishap table for every year over 25.

The first thing you need to find out is where you come from:  Country, Small Town, or City.  After that you can determine your social standing and starting wealth.  Next you roll to see if you can gain skills and these rolls are modified both by where you came from and your social standing.  Finally, roll on the benefits table one time and then roll again for every 2 full years over the age of 15.

  

TABLE-1          Social standing and area of origin

First roll 1d6 and consult the top part of the chart.  If you rolled a 1 or 2 you come from the country,  3 or 4 from a small town and 5 or 6 from the city.  Next take 2 six sided dice and roll them, then look under your area of origin and find the number.  Look to the left side of the table to determine your social standing.  Once you have found that, cross reference it with the column labeled Money.  Now roll 1d6 and multiply it by the monetary amount listed in the column.  Do this once for each year of age your character has including your starting age of 15. This is your starting wealth.  If your character is over 25 years of age you now need to roll for the number of mishaps that may have occurred to him in his later years. (This is done to reflect the hazardous world of Car Wars and to prevent people from creating 60 year old supermen).  Roll once for every year over 25.  You must roll the number listed or higher on 1 six sided die to avoid a mishap.  If you roll less than the number required refer to the mishap table at the end of this section.

	Country (1-2)	Small Town (3-4)	City (5-6)	Money	Avoid Mishap
Scum	2	2	2	1d6 X $1	5 or higher
Poor	3-6	3-5	3-6	1d6 X $10	4 or higher
Middle Class	7-9	6-9	7-8	1d6 X $100	3 or higher
Upper Class	10-11	10-11	9-11	1d6 X $1000	3 or higher
Elite	12	12	12	1d6 X $5000	2 or higher

  

TABLE-2       Mishaps

If you acquired any mishaps from the first table roll one six sided die for each one and consult the table below.  An explanation of all results is listed after the table.  All results are cumulative and may result in your characters death.

1	Lose ½ starting wealth
2	Acquire 1 enemy
3	Acquire 1 dependent
4	Lose 1 skill roll
5	Lose 1 benefits roll
6	Lose 1 hit point

 
Explanation of results from mishap table:

Lose ½ starting wealth: Divide starting wealth in ½ and round down.  If you receive this result again divide remaining wealth in ½ again.  Once you reach $0 ignore all future wealth reduction rolls.

Acquire one enemy: This enemy will be of equal or better social standing and can be rolled up on this table or assigned by your referee.  This person feels you have wronged them some time in the past and will show up to harass you at the game masters discretion.  Multiple rolls of this effect mean more people are out to get you.

Acquire one dependent: You have an important person in your life that relies on you for protection.  This may be a wife, child, old parent, or other such person you are required to look after.  If any thing happens to this person you will suffer great social consequences, such as lose of social status, job, wealth, or other undesired event.  The exact penalty is up to the GM.  Multiple rolls on this event can be treated as more members of  your family.

Lose one skill roll: You now have on less chance to earn a skill.  If this effect is rolled more than once it is possible to have been left with no skills what so ever.

Lose one benefits roll: Benefits are special things you have acquired in your life like a job, friends, extra vehicles, etc.…. This is the last table you roll on and it is possible to lose all of these rolls.

Lose one hit point: You suffered a serious wound that never healed right or a disease that left you crippled. Either way you’re down one hit point.  If you receive this roll twice your character is dead and you need to start rolling up a new one.

  

SKILL TABLES

The skills listed here are from the Car Wars Compendium, Tanks, and Aeroduel.  The mechanic skill can be for any type of vehicle but must be designated as soon as it is rolled.  The airplane piloting skill can also be for any type of plane or even jet pack if the player wishes.

Procedure:  The tables are divided into general skill areas.  The player is allowed to choose one general table to roll for at age 15 and one more for every full 2 years after that.  In order for a player to roll on a table he must first make the entry number or more on 2 six sided dice.  For example, to enter the physical skills table an 8 or higher must be rolled.  This roll may be further modified by the characters social background and place of origin.  Example:  People from the country have a +1 to enter the physical table while people from the city are at -1.  Once a successful entry roll has been made the player then rolls 2 more 6 sided dice and cross references the number rolled with the general skill column to find out what skill they acquire (this roll may also be modified by a characters background).  The first time a skill is received it starts at level 0.  Any further rolls that result in the same skill raise it one level even if it was acquired under a different general skill table.  It is possible that your character might miss all his attempts at skill rolls and end up with none.  If this happens continue on with the remaining steps any way.  In most Car Wars campaigns it is a good idea to start with at least 3 characters so even if one or two have no skills at all you can still make use of their benefits rolls.

Since these tables can be confusing the first time they are used I have included several sample characters at the end of this article with a step by step on how they were rolled up.  Please refer to them before using these tables if you have any questions.

Abbreviations for social and geographical standings:  S = Scum, P = Poor, M = Middle Class, U = Upper Class, E = Elite.  C = Country, T = Town, B = City.  Modifiers that affect the entry roll will be listed next to the entry number.  Modifiers affecting the skill acquisition roll will be listed in the line corresponding to the table roll modifier.  Treat all rolls less than 2 as 2 and all rolls above 12 as 12.

  

 TABLE-3     Skills

	Physical skills	Weapon skills	Piloting skills	Tech skills
Entry number	(8+) C +1, B -1	(7+) S +1, P +1, M +1	(7+)	(8+) S -3, P -2,  M +2
Table roll modifier			S -3, P -3, M -1	B +1,  C -1
2	acrobatics	archery	cycle	animal husbandry
3	acrobatics	martial arts	cycle	animal husbandry
4	climbing	martial arts	cycle	navigation
5	climbing	blade	car	survival
6	swimming	handgun	car	mechanic
7	swimming	handgun	car	mechanic
8	body-building	handgun	truck	mechanic
9	body-building	handgun	boat	paramedic
10	running	gunner	helicopter	paramedic
11	running	gunner	airplane	hobbies
12	running	gunner	hovercraft	journalist

  

TABLE-4     Skills

	Covert skills	High-tech skills	Social skills	Military skills
Entry number	(10+) S +3, P +2	(9+)  S -3,  P -2, U +2,  E +3	(8+)	(7+) S -3, U +1,  E +2
Table roll modifier	B -1,  C +1		S -3, P -2
2	streetwise	communications	luck	airplanes
3	streetwise	communications	fast talk	artillery
4	espionage	communications	fast talk	artillery
5	theft	computers	fast talk	gunner
6	security	computers	law	gunner
7	stealth	computers	leader	handgun
8	stealth	engineer	leader	handgun
9	stealth	engineer	teach	handgun
10	explosives	science	teach	electronics
11	search	science	teach	tank
12	search	science	politics	tank

BENEFITS TABLE

This table represents the things most people accumulate as they become an adult.  These include jobs, friends, connections, etc.  An explanation of each benefit is given after the table. All rolls are cumulative.

Procedure:  One roll is allowed on this table at age 15 and then one more roll for every 2 full years above 15.    If a character has a tech skill he adds +1 to rolls on this table.  If a character has a high tech skill he adds +2 to rolls on this table.  If a character has more than one tech or high tech skill only one of the highest modifiers apply.  The level of the skill doesn’t matter for this roll.

	Scum	Poor	Middle Class	Upper Class	Elite
1	Luck	Luck	Weapon $300	Weapon $500	Good Job
2	Survival	Survival	Gang	Job	Connection
3	Bodybuilding	Gang	Weapon $500	Connection	1d2 loyal bodyguards
4	Gang	Bodybuilding	Connection	Loyal Bodyguard	High Connection
5	Connection	Connection	Vehicle $5000	Comm. Respect	Comm. Respect
6	Weapon $200	Vehicle $2000	Job	Good Job	Good Job
7	Gang	Job	Job	Good Job	Great Job
8	Job	Job	Good Job	Great Job	Excellent Job

 

Explanation of benefits roll results:

Luck- This result imparts one level of luck on the character.

Weapon $XXX- Roll 1d6:  on a 1-4 receive the dollar amount toward the purchase of a weapon.  On a  5-6 receive one skill level in a weapon skill you already have, or if you have no weapon skill roll for one on the weapon skill table.

Bodybuilding- Receive one level of Bodybuilding

Gang- You are part of a gang and can call on them to assist you on a 7 or better on 2d6.  Roll 1d6 +1 to determine how many members are in the gang.  Each member has 20 points to spend on skills and $1000 to spend on weapons and equipment.

Connection- You know one person who has access to information or items that are difficult to get.  Examples would be:  a drug dealer, a police informer, a fence for stolen merchandise, a seller of high tech items, or a military arms dealer.  They can acquire basic items or information for your character on a 7 or higher on 2d6.  The game master must decide if your request is reasonable and may penalize or disallow a roll for anything he deems to powerful or unacceptable.

Survival-  Receive one level of survival skill in the area of your choice.

Vehicle $XXXX-  Roll 1d6: on a 1-4 receive the dollar amount listed toward the purchase of a vehicle.  On a 5-6 receive a level increase in one piloting skill or if you have no piloting skills receive one level in either motorcycle, car, boat, or truck.  Remember even if you have no skill level you can still pilot these vehicles but at a penalty.

Loyal Bodyguard(s)- This can represent anyone from a good friend or spouse to a paid protector.  This person is totally loyal and his expenses are considered included in your characters living expenses if you’re not using the optional living expenses rules.  The bodyguard has 30 character points to spend on skills and $500 to spend on weapons and equipment but can receive more money from you to purchase better items.

Comm. Respect- Community respect. You are considered an important person. On any social roll you make in the area where you live you receive a +1.  This includes requests for aid or information as well as political favors. You are however subject to backlash if you abuse this privilege, mistreat a dependent or perform some other nefarious deed.

High Connection-  You know people at the top.  This may include a mayor, police chief, business leader, or other higher up.  On an 8 or higher they can provide you with information and special items or treatment that other people can not get.  This benefit is more potent than a regular connection but is still subject to any limitations your game master wishes to put on it.

Jobs: The first time you roll this benefit you receive a job of that category type.  Any further job rolls of the same type allow you to increase one tech or high tech skill that you already have.  If you roll a better job type later you must take the better job but gain no skill increase for this roll.  If you have no tech or high tech skills, or have increased the mechanic skill to level 3 and have no other skill to put points in, instead of increasing your skill you receive one weeks worth of pay to add to your starting wealth.  All jobs pay a base weekly income which will be doubled for every 20 points you have in tech or high tech skills.  This income is take home pay and all living expenses must be deducted from it, or you can just assume to save 10%-30% every week (roll 1d3 X10 for percentage saved).  You decide what you do for a living but the game master has the final say.

Job- You work at least 40 hours a week and bring home $100 a week.  Your job sucks but at least you have one.

Good job- You work 40 hours a week and bring home $200 a week.  You’re looking for something better but realize you have it better than most folk.

Great job- You work 20 to 30 hours a week and bring home $400 a week.  Not many people have it this good and you know it.

Excellent job- You work 20 hours or less a week and bring home $800.  This is the life!

CHARACTER EXAMPLES

Here are the steps to generate 3 player characters.  In the violent world of Car Wars I recommend starting with 3 characters per player.  One character should be the main focus and the other 2 secondary.  Consider all of them to be good friends with each other but the game master shouldn’t allow them to exchange wealth or use each others connections or other benefits.  All characters are assumed to have a base level of 0 in running, search, and area knowledge of their local area.

Character 1:  First we consult Table 1 the social and origins table. Rolling 1d6  and checking the top line to determine origin. A 5 is rolled indicating this person is from a city.  Next rolling 2 d6 and consulting the side column we get a 2.  Cross referencing this with the city column yields a result of Scum.  Now we determine the age of the character.  One look at the mishap column shows that Scum characters don’t survive well into old age needing a 5 or better on 1 d6 for every year beyond 25 to avoid a mishap. We will make this character 21 years of age to avoid a mishap.  (Yes, we could have made him 25 and received 2 more skill rolls but this was a role-playing decision on my part to vary ages).  Next is wealth.  Scum characters don’t get much starting wealth.  We receive 1 roll at age 15 and 1 for every year beyond that for a total of 7 six sided dice.  These seven rolls result in a combined total of 28 which we then multiply by the wealth amount of $1 for the grand amount of $28.  This can be used to purchase equipment or saved as cash with this small amount it hardly matters.  No mishap rolls are needed so we go right to skill acquisition.

Dog Boy as I have decided to call this character receives one skill roll attempt for age 15 and one for every 2 years of age after that for a total of 4 attempts. Since he is scum he probably lives in a bad area and thus would need to defend himself so the first skill we will try for is a weapons skill.  Consulting Table 3 we find the weapons skill column.  Looking down the column we find that the entry number needed is (7+) so a 7 or higher must be rolled on 2 d6 to get onto this table.  Since Dog Boy is a scum which is abbreviated as S we see that he gets a +1 to his entry roll, so he only needs to roll a 6 or better.  The dice roll is 8 which makes it even before the +1 is added to the roll.  It is now time to see what kind of weapon skill he gets.  Rolling 2 d6 again to get a 7 and cross referencing this with the weapons chart shows that he receives the handgun skill at level 0.

Next Dog Boy wants some covert skills to help him survive on the bad side of town.  Table 4 has the covert skill column which requires a 10 or better to get on.  Scum get a +3 to enter this table and Dog Boy’s roll of 9 +3 for a 12 easily puts him over the necessary number.  Now we roll 2 d6 to find out what skill he knows.  Since he is from the city he is at -1 to this roll (B -1).  He rolls an 8 which when we subtract 1 gives a result of stealth, so he gains the stealth skill at level 0.   Next he goes for a piloting roll on Table 3 in hopes that he will get the motorcycle skill.  He rolls a 5 however which is less than the 7 or better that is required and thus loses that chance to gain a skill.  Dog Boy has 1 more skill roll left and decides to go for the piloting skill again.  This time he makes it by rolling a 7.  Now that he is on the pilot column he must subtract 3 since he is scum (S -3).  This is O.K. with Dog Boy as that gets him closer to the motorcycle skill.  A roll of 9 is made and even after subtracting 3 gives him a 6 which is the car piloting skill  at level 0.

Now to see what Dog Boy has acquired in his short life time we go to the benefits table.  He gets 1 roll age 15 and one for every 2 full years after for a total of 4.  Taking 1 six sided die he rolls a 1 and cross referencing that with the scum column gives him Luck at level 0.  Next he rolls a 2 giving him survival (which we will chose as urban) at level 0.  Another 2 is then rolled which ups his urban survival skill to level 1.  Finally he throws a 5 which gives him a connection.  For this he decides that he has a girlfriend who is in the local gang.  Because of this he can stay in the area without fear of them and can fence the cars he steals to them.  Now a brief history and we’re done.

Dog Boy has grown up in the ruins next to a large city.  He has had to make ends meet the hard way and makes a living stealing cars (thus his skills in stealth and driving).  He currently lives in an abandon building with his girlfriend hoping for a change in his miserable existence.

Character 2:  The process for rolling these last 2 characters will be the same but I won’t go into as much detail.  Origins roll is a 4 indicating a small town.  Status roll is a 7 which is middle class.  We’ll make this character a 25 year old female named Mary Kay.  Mary’s age  means we roll 11 d6 for her starting wealth which gives us a total of 26 points times $100 or $2600.  25 years is the cut off date so no mishaps will need to be rolled for.

Mary will have 6 rolls to attempt to get skills.  First is weapons.  Mary is middle class so gets a +1 to entry and her roll of 7 plus one equals 8 and puts her on.  Next she rolls a 7 and acquires the handgun skill at level 0.  Next roll is for pilot. An 8 gets her on and then a 7 minus 1 for middle class gives her a 6 and the car driving skill at level 0.  Now she wants a tech skill so she can make money.  An 8 is needed but middle class (M) gets a +2 bonus. A roll of 7 +2 = 9 and gets her on.  Since she comes from a town there is no modifier to this roll and a 7 gives her the mechanics skill at level 0.  She rolls for this column again getting on with an 11+2=13 which rounds back to a 12.  She then rolls for the type of skill and rolls an 8 which is the mechanic skill again and raises this skill to level 1.  After that she goes for a social skill for which she needs an 8 or higher to get.  A 12 puts her on this column without a problem.  The skill roll is a 5 which gives her fast talk at level 0.  Her last roll she goes back to the tech column and gets a 9+2+11.  Her roll for the skill is a 6 which is mechanic again giving her a total skill level of 2. Mary now receives 6 rolls for benefits, and because she has a tech skill all of these rolls will be made at +1.  First roll is 6 +1 which is 7.  This is a job roll and since it is her first she now has a job earning her $100 X 2 (for her mechanic skill level of 2) every week. She probably works for someone as an auto mechanic. Second roll 2+1=3 is a weapons roll.  Rolling 1d6 we get a 2 which means she will have $500 over her starting wealth which she must use to purchase a weapon.  If she had rolled a 5 or 6 she would have raised her handgun skill up by 1 level.  Third roll: 5+1=6 Job.  Since Mary already has a job at this level she can raise on of her tech skills 1 level.  Mechanics is the only tech skill she has so it goes to level 3 (note that since this now gives her 40 character points in her tech skill she will now be earning $400 a week from her job). Fourth roll: 3+1=4.  This is a connection which Mary will have be the garage where she works.  She can use the tools for free and gets a 40% discount on all auto parts. Fifth roll: 2+1=3 weapon.  Rolling 1d6 we get a 3 which gives us another $500 to spend on a weapon.  The sixth and final roll is 4+1=5 vehicle.  Now we roll 1d6 and get a 6 which means her driving skill goes up by 1 to level 1.

Character history:  Mary works for a small town garage.  She is the best mechanic in town and because of this the owner pays her well lets her use the shop for free and gets her a good discount on auto parts.  Mary doesn’t own her own car yet and is always on the look out for a good deal.  This is how she met Dog Boy as he tried to fence a stolen car to her.  Though she didn’t approve of his thievery she liked him and has kept in touch with him, bringing him food and clothing whenever she goes into the big city.

Character 3:  Origin roll of 1 is country.  Status roll of 9 is middle class.  This character will be Fred Johnson.  He will be 31 years old which will give him 9 chances for skills.  This is also 6 years over 25 so he will have to roll for a possible mishap 6 times.  Starting wealth rolls, 17. Total 57X$100= $5700 starting wealth.  Rolling for mishaps 6 times on 1d6 yields: 2, 5, 5, 4, 2, and 6.  Both 2’s are below the 4 and up limit so Fred has had 2 mishaps in his life.  We now consult Table 2 and roll 1d6.  The first roll is a 4 which is a loss of 1 skill roll so now our character only has 8 instead of 9 chances for a skill.  The next roll is a 3 which gives Fred a dependent.  We’ll have this be his son that he cares for all alone now that his wife has died.

Fred has 8 chances for skills.  First roll-weapons.  10+1=11 gets him on and a roll of 8 gives him handgun 0.  Second roll-pilot. 7 gets him on. 4-1=3 gives him the cycle skill.  Third roll: tech.  6+2=8 so he’s on and a roll of 6 -1 for country origin gives him survival which he’ll take as desert. Fourth roll: covert.  12 gets him on and a 9+1 for C gives him a 10 which is explosives 0.  Fifth roll: tech.  10+2=12 puts him on and 9-1+8 for a mechanics 0 skill.  Rolls six and seven are on the high tech column but Fred rolls an 7 and 6 so he fails both those chances.  The eighth and final roll will be on the military column, but a roll of 4 fails to get us on.

Benefit rolls.  All benefit rolls get a +1 because Fred has tech skills and these are automatically included in the numbers shown below.  First roll: 7. Job: earning $100 a week, but he has 10 character points in mechanic and 10 in survival which equals 20 and that is enough to double his base salary to $200 a week.  Second roll: 4. Connection: For high-explosives. Third roll: 5. Vehicle: a roll of 2 gives him $5000 to spend on a vehicle.  Fourth roll: 6. Job: this second job roll he uses to raise his mechanics skill to level 1 (he could have  chosen instead to raise his other tech skill, survival by 1, but hopes mechanic will be more useful). Fifth roll: 2.  Gang: though at his age they don’t call it that.  There are 2 other people in this “gang” each with 20 skill points an $1000 in gear but Fred will figure them out later.  Sixth roll:4.  Connection:  Military hardware.  Seventh roll:4.  Connection:  Vehicles at 25% off regular price.  Eighth roll:4.  Connection:  Fred and the GM have agreed to let him save this one to set up at a later date when he meets someone interesting to do business with.  Ninth and final roll:5.  Vehicle: a roll of 3 gives another $5000 to spend on a vehicle.

Character history:  Fred lived on a farm most of his life until bandits attacked his place and killed his wife.  He then moved to the city and has been doing odd jobs to keep him and his son Bobby fed.  Fred is a likable guy and has connections in many places.  He and Mary know each other from way back and he often stops in to visit her when he makes deliveries to her town.  Fred’s not too fussy on where he gets his stuff and has dealt with Dog Boy on a number of occasions.  With at least $10,000 spend on a vehicle (probably a cycle since he has the skill)  Fred will probably be doing a lot of courier jobs that keep him close to home where he can watch his kid.

Campaigns 

It will now be up to the player and game master to tie all of these characters into a main plot.  It is best to have the story center around just one of the characters with the others as second interests.  Hopefully this will provide for a wider variety of characters than your typical Handgun: 0,  Driver: 0, Gunner: 0 that you often get with the normal way of creating characters.

  

OPTIONAL RULES

 Living Expenses

I recommend using the simple method listed in the job descriptions, of saving 10 - 30% of your weekly salary and ignore the details.  Characters without jobs are still considered to make ends meet out of the money they earn adventuring.  If the character has no job and no adventures  then they will be on the street starving and need to sell $50 a week in equipment just to survive.   For those who want more detail, the following rules should help.

Living expenses include the following:  Shelter, food, clothing, minor entertainment (movies, a little partying, etc. . .).  It does not include: vehicle maintenance of any sort, major social functions, special equipment for adventuring, weapons, or hired individuals including any “bodyguards” from the advantage above.

Living Expenses By Class 

Scum:  In the chaotic world that the scum character lives in it is impossible for him to know what his costs will be.  Will he have to bribe someone to stay alive?  Pay more for untainted food?  Lay down some cash for 1 decent nights sleep?  To represent this unknown simply roll 1 d6 + 3 x 10%.  This will yield the percentage of income (from 40 to 90%) the character must spend just to stay alive.  Of course 40 to 90% of nothing is still nothing.  Dependents at this level cost no extra money.

Poor:  Poor folk are required to spend a minimum of  $30 a week plus 1 d6 x $10 more.  If this results in more expenses then the character has money then that character is out on the street and starving. Dependents at this level cost 1 d6 x $5 each.

Middle Class:  At this level $50 plus 1 d6 x $10 must be spent.  If this amount is missed for one week the character can make it up the next.  If however the amount from two weeks has piled up without being paid the character is out on the street.  If three or more weeks are behind the character is starving and needs to sell some equipment to survive.  Dependents at this level cost 1 d6 x $10 each.

Upper Class:  Here’s where things really start to get costly.  Better homes, better home security, finer foods, nicer clothing, you’ve got to have it to stay on top.  Expense start at $50 plus 1 d6 x $20.  Dependents at this level cost 1 d6 x $20.  Loyal body guards cost $100 per week.  If a character misses one week of living expenses it can be made up the next.  If two weeks are missed social status drops, this gives a -1 on all request rolls.  If three weeks are missed the character is out on the street with a -2 to all request rolls. Four or more weeks means the character has lost all respect in the community.  Request rolls are at -4 and the chance of losing employment becomes a possibility.  Job loss is equal to 1 on 1 d6 roll this every month until job is lost or expenses are recovered.  Once upper class status is lost it is very hard to regain.  How this can be accomplished will be left up to the GM.  Loyal body guards will stay on with the character but may simply starve to death if their costs are not met.

Elite: Money flows away like rain at this level.  Expenses are 2 d6 x $50 each week.  Dependents cost 1 d6 x $30.  Loyal body guards cost the same as above.  Failure to pay expenses has the same repercussions as for upper class people.

Note: In all instances dependents must be paid for before anything else.  Failure to do so will have negative consequences that the GM will decide.  These consequences should be sever.

Near Death Experiences

When a character reaches 0 hit points that person is normally dead.  This rule seems too brutal for role playing so I have adjusted it.  Any character at 0 hit points has 1 hour in which to receive paramedic attention.  At the end of that hour roll 2 d6.  If an 8 or better is rolled that character lives for another hour at which time another roll is necessary.  Continue this until a paramedic arrives or the character rolls a 7 or less and dies.  Characters below 0 hit points also roll like this but subtract 1 from the roll for every point below 0 they are at and must make their first attempt within 10 minutes rather than an hour.

Paramedic skill works the same as described in Car Wars with the following exceptions:  Every paramedic working on the victim makes a roll.  As long as at least one makes it the victim is saved, provided no natural 2’s were rolled, in which case nothing can save the victim, who dies immediately.  Paramedics working on a person below 0 hit points must subtract 1 from their roll for every point below 0 to a maximum of -5.  No victim can survive below -5 hit points.

Wound Recovery 

Injured characters recover wounds at the following rates:  (1) In a tech. level 8 hospital under doctors care;  1 point every 2 weeks.  (2) Receive doctor care at but not in hospital; 1 point every 3 weeks. (3) Receive no doctor care; 1 point every 4 weeks.  Each tech level below 8 increases the recovery period by ½ a week, while each TL above 8 decreases it by ½ a week.

Permanent Damage

When a character goes to 0 or less hit points there is a chance they may never fully recover.  A 6 or better must be rolled on 2 d6 -1 for every point below 0  to avoid this.  The following modifiers for treatment apply:  Received treatment as (1) above;  Add doctors skill plus 2.  As (2) above add doctors skill.  As (3) above subtract 2.

If the roll was not successful roll on the following table.

		INJURY
1		Lose 1 HP
2		Lose use of 1 arm
3		Leg hurt
4		Lost an eye
5		Lose 1 HP
6		Hideous scar

Explanation of results

Lose 1 HP:  Permanently lose 1 hit point.  If this happens twice to a character the second time they receive this they die.

Lose use of arm:  No 2 handed weapons or other devices may be used.  All piloting and other skills that may require 2 hands are at -1.  Skills like acrobatics and climbing are at -3.

Leg hurt:  Half all movement.  -2 to climbing  acrobatics and other skills that may require 2 good legs.

Lost an eye:  All weapon, piloting, and other skills that require depth perception are at -1.

Hideous scar:  Any social request rolls that rely on looks are at -1.