I was unemployed and much younger when I wrote this next bit.
The skill listings in the Car Wars Compendium were a welcome
addition for those of us with role playing campaigns set in the Car Wars
universe. I will now expand on that list
with new skills and revise a few others.
My reasons for this are to create a list that will be useful to players
who are trying to set up organizations in Car Wars, and to set the frame work
for my later articles on organizations.
Note : TL stands for Tech Level and usually refers to the technology
level of the device being made or the skill level of the individual performing
a task. The tech levels of the campaign
and the characters in the campaign are decided by the GM and may vary depending
on location and any special circumstances the GM creates. (See my article on tech levels as a guide to
the ones used here.)
NEW SKILLS
Administration: This is the skill of running a non-military
organization. At 0 level the character
understands group dynamics as well as basic business functions. This skill also allows the character to lead a
number of other leaders equal to his leadership score (see the expanded
leadership skill) in any non-military type function. For every level above 0 double the number of
people/leaders the character may lead.
This skill is necessary for running a business, religious organization,
political campaign, or any other non-military group or function. If no one in
the organization has this skill then there is no one to lead and the
organization falls apart. Even warlords
and gang leaders should have this skill at 0 level since they won’t be under
combat conditions all the time.
Agriculture: This skill is the ability to grow food. Either by planting crops in the ground,
harvesting fungus from a nutrient tank, or synthesizing food from waste,
depending on the tech level and the means available. The number of people one “farmer” can feed in
one year is determined by the following formula. (If this is too much work use the table
listed after.) If an item being used is
of a higher tech level than the farmer in charge it will drop down to the his
tech level in effectiveness.
(Farmers skill) X (TL of farmer) + (number of field hands) X
(TL of farmer) + TL of the fertilizer used + TL of the weed and bug spray used
+ (TL of the equipment used) X (number of pieces) + (TL of the vehicles used to
transport) X (the number of vehicles) + TL of the food storage area = number of
people fed that year.
Example: A TL 7
farmer of skill level 2 (14), with 4 field hands (28), using no fertilizer (0), TL 8 weed and
bug spray – used as tech level 7 because farmers tech level is lower than 8 --
(7), 2 TL 7 pieces of farm equipment (14), 2 TL 6 ten wheeled trucks (12), and
storing the food in a TL 5 cellar (5).
Will feed 14 + 28 + 0 + 7 + 14 + 12 + 5 = 80 fed people that year.
Any extra food can be stored for (TL of the storage
facility) X 2 months or sold for (TL of farmer) X $150 per person. Each 1 year supply weighs 2100 lbs and takes
up 15 spaces.
Cost : Farming
operations aren’t cheap. Here is the
breakdown of prices for a start up organization. Fixed costs items will be listed first. These are items that once you acquire them
you never need to buy them again unless they are lost, destroyed, or
stolen. Next will be variable cost
items. These are paid for once at the
beginning of each year, every year.
Fixed Costs
Equipment: (TL) X 2,000 per piece. At lower tech levels these are horses, hoes,
and plows. At higher tech levels
tractors, plows, combines, nutri-tanks, etc.
Transport: (TL) X
3,000 per piece. At lower tech levels
these are pack animals, hand carts, or wagons.
At higher levels 10 wheeled trucks.
(A driver with the appropriate skill level of 0 is included in
maintenance costs.)
Storage: (TL) X
1000. This can be an earthen cellar,
stone granary, or refrigerated warehouse, depending on tech level.
Variable Costs
Fertilizers: (TL) X
200 once each year. This represents the
lowest tech levels (dead fish, animal
dung) to the highest (nitrates, and advanced chemical compounds)
Weed and Bug Control:
(TL) X 300 once a year. This can
be people paid to pull weeds and swat bugs on up to nano-tech devices designed
to attack individual bugs and weeds.
Hired Field Hands:
(TL of farmer) X 500 per person each year.
Farmers Fee: (TL of
farmer) X 600 + (TL of farmer) X 500 per
level above 0 per year.
Maintenance Costs:
Starting at tech level 4 these are equal to ½ fixed costs and are paid
once every year. This represents gas,
spare parts, electricity, and other things need to keep high tech farms
running.
Listed below is a simplified chart to save on
calculations. (This chart also shows the
maximum number of people that can be fed at each tech level. This number can not be exceeded using the
above equation. Any excess is
lost.) The following assumptions were
made. All items and knowledge are of the
same tech level and include the following:
A farmer with skill level 2, 4 hired hands, fertilizer and sprays, 2
pieces of equipment, one storage unit and 2 transport units.
Tech Level
|
# of People Fed
|
Fixed Costs
|
Variable Costs
|
1
|
30
|
11,000
|
4,100
|
2
|
40
|
22,000
|
8,200
|
3
|
55
|
33,000
|
12,300
|
4
|
70
|
44,000
|
38,400
|
5
|
92
|
55,000
|
48,000
|
6
|
111
|
66,000
|
57,600
|
7
|
130
|
77,000
|
67,200
|
8
|
148
|
88,000
|
76,800
|
9
|
166
|
99,000
|
86,400
|
10
|
185
|
110,000
|
96,000
|
Disasters: By now
you’ve probably compared the variable costs to the amount of $150 X (TL) paid
on the open market for each person fed and have added it up to a nice juicy
profit. Well before you hang up your
dueling helmet to sit on a tractor, talk to a few farmers. They’ll be the first to tell you, “Every year
is a crap shoot.” Bad weather, bugs,
fires, and floods are the natural losses.
Then there are strikes, bandits, and poor market conditions as well as
many other problems. To simulate this
roll 2 d6 at the end of each harvest. On
a roll of 2 lose the entire crop, on a roll of 3 or 4 lose ½ the crop rounded
up, on a roll of 5 lose ¼ the crop rounded up.
On any other roll the crop is fine.
Note that even if some or all of the crop is lost the variable costs are
still accrued. Also GM’s may bring acts
of man or nature in at anytime to confound the players and force them to work
out a solution that saves the harvest.
Also if the full variable costs can not be met reduce the final amount
of food produced by the percentage of costs not met.
Farms at tech level 5 and higher need a number of power
units per day equal to their TL X 20.
This is normally part of the variable cost if the farm is connected to a
main power grid. However, if a farm is
not connected to the main grid, and cannot average this amount on a daily
basis, reduce the number of people fed by the percentage of power missing,
rounding up. Example: A tech level 6 farm requires 120 PU’s each
day to function. If the farm was only
able to receive an average of 80 PU’s through out most of the year then it’s
final crop yield would only be 80/120 = 67% of 111 or 75 people fed.
Chemist: This skill is considered a science
skill. Listed below are different
substances that a chemist can put together based on the tech level available (
see my article covering tech levels). TL
1: Charcoal, pitch (a sticky flammable
substance--treat as flaming oil). wine,
beer. TL 2: Greek Fire (this is made
from several compounds including wine, sulfides, and olive oil that burns when
it contacts sea water (treat as flaming oil).
TL 3: Black powder, grain
alcohol. TL 4: Nitroglycerin, dynamite (made from 1lb of
nitro), smokeless powder, mercury filament caps, refined crude oil (treat as
flaming oil). TL 5: Gasoline (made from 2 times it’s weight in
refined crude oil), methanol, ethanol, rocket propellant. TL 6:
Plastic explosives, better rocket propellant. TL 7: Napalm, advanced rocket propellant. TL 8:
High tech rocket propellant, advanced forms of bullet propellant.
A chemist can create any items on this list that are equal
to or lower than his tech level. To do
this he must have a lab worth at least TL X $1000 and $250 X TL in chemical
supplies of equal or greater tech level (see supplies at end of article) and
roll a 9 or higher on 2 d6. If a lab is
available add 2 to the roll. If a
kitchen or other makeshift lab items are available add only 1. If a few items are available there is no change
to the roll. If no lab items are
available subtract 2 from the roll. A
failed roll means the chemical supplies are ruined and nothing more can be
tried that time period. When mixing explosives if a 2 is rolled re-roll one
die. If the result is a 1, then an
explosion doing 1 d6 in a 2” blast radius has occurred.
Combustibles:
Here is the amount of each combustible listed above that is required to
do the same amount of damage as flaming oil ( 1 d6 -2) in a 1” radius. This is also the amount of each one that can
be make in one 8 hour period. Each batch requires one success roll from a
chemical supply cache in order to find the proper ingredients and one
successful Chemist roll to mix correctly.
Pitch, 50 lbs. Greek fire, 20
lbs. Flaming oil 2 lbs.
Explosives:
This is the amount of each explosive listed above that is required to do
1 d6 damage in a 1” radius in Car Wars.
This is also the amount of each one that can be made in one 8 hour
period. Except for methanol and ethanol
which must be distilled over a 24 hour period (more on these liquids at the end
of this article). Each batch requires
one success roll from a chemical supply cache in order to find the proper
ingredients and one successful Chemist roll to mix it correctly. Black powder, 4 lbs. Smokeless powder, 3 lbs.
Dynamite, 2 lbs. Gasoline, 2 lbs.
Methanol, 8 lbs. Ethanol, 6 lbs. Nitro,
1 lb. Plastique, 1.25 lbs. Napalm, 1 lb.
Advanced gun powder, 2 lbs. The
amount used is based on the GURPS explosives chart on page 18 of the High-Tech
supplement with the base weight being the quarter brick of plastique as found
in the Car Wars Compendium page 47.
Remember nitro is extremely volatile and the GM should have the players
make luck rolls to transport it safely.
Consumables:
Beer, wine and grain alcohol all need time to ferment before they can be
consumed. I don’t know the exact times
but I usually allow 5 days for beer, 3 days for grain alcohol, and 1 month for
wine. Beer and wine are produced 2
gallons a time and require 4 lbs of food products per gallon. Grain alcohol is distilled one gallon at a
time and requires 6 lbs of food products per gallon. All require one success roll from a chemical
supply cache. A still may be substituted
for a lab in the case of grain alcohol.
This will still provide a +2 bonus to the chemists roll and also allows
for larger amounts to be made. Beer is
at +2 and wine is at +1 to the chemists chances to make. Beer sells for $2 a gallon, wine for $8 a
gallon and grain alcohol for $5 a gallon.
If the Chemist has the room he can have a number of batches of beer and
of wine going equal to 2 plus his skill level above 0 times 5.
Rocket Propellant:
This is the amount of propellant needed to move a 1 d6 damage warhead to
its target. This is also the amount that
can be made in one 4 hour period and requires 2 success rolls from a chemical
cache. TL 5 propellant, 4 lbs. TL 6, 3 lbs. TL 7, 2 lbs. TL 8, 1 lb. Warheads are assumed to be the best explosive
type of the tech level currently available.
Gun Powder and primers: Black powder will provide 100 rifle shots per
pound. Smokeless powder will provide 200
rifle shots per pound. Advanced gun powder provides 250 shots per pound. 10 rifle shots are equal to 1 MG or LMG
shot. 15 rifle shots equal one VMG
shot. 3 rifle shots equal 1 SMG or AR
shot. Primers are made at the rate of
(TL of chemist) X 10 in a lab per 4 hour shift and require one success roll per
batch from a chemical supply cache.
Electrical
Engineer: This skill is
available at tech level 4 or higher. An
Electrical engineer can create windmills, or waterwheels, the generators they
turn, and storage batteries. They can also make gas powered generators at tech
level 5, hydrogen fuel cells at tech level 7, and solar powered generators at tech
level 8. In addition this individual can
set up the lines to run machines and appliances as well as change the voltage
and current of an item. When combined
with the Chemistry skill this character can also make storage batteries and
vehicle power plants. See the new equipment at the end of this article for time
and material to create storage batteries.
Finally an electrical engineer can repair any electrical device, but at
one skill level lower then his normal level (at 0 level he is at -1 to all repair
rolls made at the 0 level mechanic skill on the repair chart).
Leadership: The description in the C.W. Compendium will
be superseded by this one. Leadership
allows a character to control a number of characters equal to 4 at level 0 and
increasing by 4 for each level above 0.
Level 1 is 8 people, level 2 is 12, etc.
These people must all be in the organization the character is part of,
or willing to be lead under the immediate circumstances and can not be leading
people themselves. These NPC’s will
follow all reasonable requests and should only make a moral check if asked to
do something stupid and/or suicidal. The
exact nature of this is left to the GM to decide. This skill alone is not sufficient to lead an
organization bigger than a small gang or to run a business.
The effectiveness of this skill can be increased by the use
of 3 other skills. Administrative for
the non-military organization and Strategy and Tactics for military
operations. The Administrative skill
allows the character to lead others who are leaders, thus creating a
hierarchy. Each level of Admin. skill a
character has above 0 doubles the number of people he can lead and allows him to lead up to this amount in
leaders who are also leading people (including other leaders). The Tactics skill doubles the number of
people that the character can lead in a combat situation, but does not allow
the character to lead leaders. The
Strategy skill doubles the number of people that can be lead in a combat
situation and also allows leaders to be lead.
If Strategy and Tactics are combined the number of people/leaders that
can be lead is quadrupled for each level above 0.
Examples: 1). A
character with Leadership of 1 and an Admin. skill of 2 can lead a total of 32
people and/or leaders in a business venture.
2). A character with Leadership
1, Tactics 1, and Strategy 2 can lead a total of 64 people and/or leaders in a
combat situation.
Politics: In addition to the description in the
Compendium this skill also adds +1 on any request roll for every level above
0. (Request rolls are rolls made to
acquire items, information, or help from an NPC. See my character generation and tech level
articles for more information on this type of roll.)
Scouting: This skill includes all the skill bonuses
listed under the Search skill and supersedes it on the list of military
skills. In addition to the search
bonuses this skill allows characters to set up and detect ambushes and track
people and animals and avoid hazards when searching ruins.
Detecting Ambushes: A
person without the Scout skill detects ambushes on a 12 or higher on 2 d6. Someone with the Scout skill detects ambushes
on a 9 or better +1 per level above 0. A
roll to detect an ambush is allowed once for every alert character as soon as
the group is within detection range. If
one or more characters make their roll the ambush is detected. If they all miss they get no other chance to
detect the ambush and must walk into it. The roll is modified as follows.
Modifiers
+3 if no one in the ambushing group has the Scout skill.
+1 for every 5 people, rounded down, in the ambushing group
within 100 yards of the ambush site that don’t have the scout skill at any
level.
+1 for every enemy vehicle or 2 riding animals within 100
yards of the ambush site.
+0 if light cover is available. Small trees or shrubs, or minor hills. (This is what the base detection roll is
based on.)
-1 for each level above 0 of the single highest Scout skill
of the persons setting up the ambush.
-1 if trying to detect an ambush while in a moving vehicle.
-1 for every full 20 mph the vehicle is moving.
-2 if trying to detect an ambush while driving (cumulative
with moving vehicle penalties).
-1 for medium cover.
Like woods, boulders, and the occasional building.
-2 for heavy cover.
Like buildings, lots of little hills, or dense jungle or forests.
Detection Distances
Open terrain:
Deserts, parking lots, flat lands.
2 d6 X 100 yards.
Light hills or ground cover:
Plains, scrub lands. 1 d6 X 100 yards.
Medium ground cover:
Forests or hills. 1 d6 X 50 yards
Heavy ground cover:
Dense woods or jungles. Towns or
cities. 1 d6 X10 yards.
Tracking
Tracking men or animals over terrain requires a 9 or higher
on 2 d6.
Modifiers
+1 for every level of the Scout skill or a hunting skill
above 0 of the tracker.
-1 for every level of the Scout skill or a hunting skill of
the person being tracked.
+2 for each person being tracked doesn’t have the Scout
skill, a hunting skill, or the Survival skill.
+3 if tracking a vehicle.
+2 if tracking in damp conditions, but not raining. If it is raining subtract 2 instead.
+3 if tracking in snow, but not snowing. If it is snowing subtract 2 instead.
-1 for every 4 hours the trail has lain cold.
A new tracking roll should be made every 10 to 30 minutes
depending on the conditions. In order to
make a tracking roll the scout must be on foot and take about 10 minutes to
survey the scene.
Avoiding hazards:
Finally this skill provides a bonus of +2 when attempting to avoid
injuries while searching dangerous places like ruins or caves. (See future article on post-apocalyptic
living for details on searching ruins.)
Strategy: This is the art of leading and maneuvering
military forces. First of all a 0 level
or higher provides the character with the a working knowledge of military
movements and supply at a grand scale.
Second for every skill level above 0 this skill doubles the number of
people/leaders that the Leadership skill allows a character to lead when engaged
in military activity. And finally
Strategy has other benefits which that be detailed in the Car Wars Mass Combat
system which is still in the works.
Example: A character with
Leadership 1, Tactics 1, and Strategy 1 would be able to command a total of 32
leaders and/or non-leaders.
Survival: In addition to the listing in the Compendium
I would like to add the following rules.
A person with this skill may roll a 7 or higher each day to find food
for himself and others. The character
must roll a 7 or better for each person he wants to provide food for. If any one of these rolls is unsuccessful the
character can make no more food gathering rolls that day. If he wishes he may try to gather more food
than there are people to feed and store the rest for later. However, as soon as
the first roll is missed no more food may be gathered that day. Food gathered in this manner weighs 8 lbs.
per day and can be stored for several days depending on the tech level of storage
devices available. Finding water is
handled in the exact same way, but can be stored for several weeks if
containers are available. Bonuses to
this roll may be given at the GM’s discretion if game is plentiful, a fresh
water stream is near by, a rifle and/or traps are used, or any other good idea
the players can come up with. Penalties
may also be assessed for barren or radiated areas, time of year, and number of
recent searches made in the area.
This skill also provides a +1 bonus per level above 0 when
searching ruins, buildings, caves, or other areas for useful items.
Tactics: Every level above 0 doubles the number of
people the Leadership skill allows this character to lead in a combat
situation. When combined with the
Strategy skill it quadruples the number of people/leaders that can be
lead. This skill also provides a +1 to
the initiative of anyone directly under this individuals command in a tactical
battlefield setting for every level above 0.
Other benefits of this skill will be listed in the mass combat rules.
Example: A character with Leadership 1,
and Tactics 1 would be able to control 16 non-leaders.
Weapons Smith: With this skill a character can repair any
hand held or vehicle weapon by using the mechanics table. (When using this skill as a repair skill the
maximum bonus allowed is skill level 3.)
He can also convert semi-auto weapons to full auto in 1 hour (parts
costs are equal to TL X $5, or make 1 success roll from the weapons repair
cache), create a silencer or flash
suppresser in 2 hours (parts costs are equal to weapon cost divided by 4, or
make one success roll from the weapons parts cache). And considering his tech level, make melee
weapons or homemade fire arms in 1 to 30 days depending on the weapon. All these require a roll of 7 or better on 2
d6. When combined with the Chemist skill
this character can make grenades, rockets, mines, and ammo for vehicle weapons
at the rate of 10 lbs per 8 hour period.
(Each round requiring ½ its costs in parts or 1/5 its weight rounded up
in success roles from a weapons repair cache as well as its damage dice in the
appropriate tech level and type of explosives, rounded up. Example:
A TL 8 recoilless rifle shell weighs 5 lbs and does 2 d6 damage, so 1
success roll from a weapon repair cache and 2 pounds of rocket propellant and 2
lbs plastic explosive are needed.) He
can also attempt to customize a hand held weapon in order to give it a +1 to
hit. This last process is difficult, costly
and time consuming. All customizing
rolls are done at -2, and take 2 d6 weeks to complete. Cost is equal to 5 times the original cost of
the weapon or require 5 successful rolls from a weapons repair cache (see end
of article). Only small arms and melee
weapons can be customized in this fashion.
If the roll is unsuccessful the parts from the cache are used up, and
roll 1 d6. On a 1 or 2 the weapon is
ruined and must be scrapped. On a 3 or 4 the weapon still functions but can
never be customized. On a 5 or 6 the
weapon smith can try again with this same weapon.
Length of work periods: Normal characters can not safely work past 12
hours a day. If someone tries to push it
past that time start subtracting one from his skill rolls for every 4 full
hours beyond 8 (i.e. -1 at 12 hours, -2 at 16 hours, -3 at 20, etc.). There are rare individuals who can work 16 to
20 hours a day for months on end. These
people tend to be workaholics with no social life. If players wish to have these people in their
group, then this ability must be taken as a skill by each “workaholic”
character. At level 0 this person can
work to 12 hours with no penalty.
Increase this time by 2 hours for every level above 0 to a maximum of 20
hours. A person with this skill can
maintain this level for 1 month, plus 2 months per level above 0. Characters who want to avoid work penalties
must rest for 6 hours, before going back to work.
NEW EQUIPMENT
Gas Engines:
These are not new pieces of equipment but can be used in combination
with a generator to create power units that can be stored in a battery. Cost and weight of these engines are each 50%
less, rounded up, because there is no transmission, large cooling system, or
other items necessary to run a vehicle.
This also means that these engines can not be used to run vehicles. To determine the number of power units (PU’s)a gas engine produces, take its power
factors (PF’s) and divide by 20,
rounded down. This is the number of PU’s
produced each hour. To determine the
number of gallons consumed each hour take the MPG of the gas engine and divide
it into 80, round up to one decimal point.
Example: A TL 8 10 c.i. engine
uses 1 gallon and produces 15 PU’s per hour.
A TL 8 150 c.i. engine uses
1.777777 gallons (rounded up to 1.8) and produces 95 PU’s, and a TL 8 700 c.i.
engine uses 8 gallons and produces 650 PU’s per hour. Engines that are already in vehicles can be
turned into generation units by having their wheel run a belt attached to a
generator. To set this up takes 2 hours
and a successful Electrical roll.
Engines set up in this manner are only ½ as efficient, rounded down at
generation PU’s.
Generators:
Are needed to harness the power created by windmills, waterwheels and
gas engines. Windmills and waterwheels
may use the same type of generator but gas engines need a separate type. When creating power, a generator of equal or
greater tech level to the power source must be used. Anything of a lower tech level will be burned
out after 1 d6 hours of operation. One
generator is required for each windmill, waterwheel, or gas engine being
used. Any Mechanic or Electrical engineer
can tell the type, tech level and maximum PU input of a generator just by looking
it over for 5 minutes.
Generators for wind or water: Weigh (15 - TL) X 20 lbs. Cost TL X $20. Spaces are equal to the weight divided by 50
rounded up. To build one from scratch
requires a successful Electrical engineer roll and one success roll from an
electrical supply cache plus the weight in scrap parts. The amount of time need to make this type of
generator is equal to ½ it’s tech level in days rounded up.
Generators for internal combustion engines: Weight is equal to the maximum output of PU’s
the generator can handle in one hour plus (15 -TL) X 5 lbs. Cost is equal to maximum PU’s handled plus TL
X $20. Spaces are equal to weight
divided by 50 rounded up. To build one
from scratch requires a successful Electrical engineer roll and 2 successful
rolls from an electrical supply cache plus the weight in scrap parts. The number of days needed is equal to the
tech level of the generator. Generators
hooked up to gas engines that produce more power units than the generator can
handle will burn out after 2 d6 hours of use.
Example: A tech level 7 generator
that can handle an output of 25 PU’s per hour would weigh 65 lbs. Cost $165 and take up 2 spaces in a
vehicle. This could handle a tech level
7 or lower engine with power factors totaling 500 or fewer without fear of
burning out. Any engine of a higher tech
level and/or putting out more than 500 power factors would burn the generator
out in 2 d6 hours of use.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells:
Hydrogen fuel cells create electricity through the chemical combination
of hydrogen and oxygen. The best fuel
for these cells is straight hydrogen which will allow the fuel cell to generate
PU’s equal to the TL of the unit X 3 per gallon, per hour. Next is hydrocarbons such as gasoline or
natural gas which will generate TL X 2 PU’s per gallon, per hour (methanol will
generate ¼ this amount rounded up and ethanol will generate 1/3 this amount
rounded up). Finally at tech level 9 or
higher water itself may be used and generates power equal to ½ the TL of the cell
rounded down per gallon per hour.
Hydrogen cells weigh (15 -TL) X 100 lbs and cost TL X $2,000. To build one from scratch takes a number of
days equal to twice the units tech level and requires a successful Chemist and
Electrical roll and the weight in scrap parts.
Also a number of success rolls equal to the TL of the cell are required
from an electronic cache and 6 X the TL in success rolls from a chemical cache!
Hydrogen fuel cells can be turned on and off at will and
don’t need to store their power in a battery.
(Though to recharge a power plant faster than the above rates the energy
would have to be stored in a battery.)
Labs, Workshops, tool kits, and Garages: In order for an individual to make proper use
of a supply cache they must have the appropriate tools. Labs, workshops and garages all give +2 to
any repair or creation rolls when working on the devices they were designed
for. (Examples: Garages for cars, chemical
labs for Chemists, weapon work shops for Weapon smiths, etc. Some of these work stations can be
substituted for others with no penalty, such as a garage being used as a
weapons smith. Others, like a Chemist
lab can not be substituted for except in rare circumstances. The GM will have the final say in this.
) They each cost TL X $1000 and suffer a
-2 penalty per difference in tech levels when used on devices of higher
tech. Tool kits can be bought for weapon smiths, and
electronic repairs at the same cost and bonuses to rolls as mechanics tool
kits. The “Mini Mech” is the same and
functions the same no matter what it’s used for. At tech level 5 or higher each of these work
stations require power to operate at full efficiency. If they are unable to receive the amount of
power they need, then they function at the same equivalency as a tool kit (i.e.
no +2 bonus) of the same tech level. The
amount of power required is equal to (the tech level of the lab) X 2 in power units per hour that it is in use. (Optional rule: Portable shops of tech level 7 or higher also
require that the tools in them be charged with power to gain the +1 bonus. This requires 1 PU per case and is good for 1
month.)
Scrap Parts:
These consist of metal and plastic pipes, sheet metal, aluminum siding,
or other odds and ends of useful junk and are usually found in ruins or taken
from other projects or groups. They
will be of a specific tech level and can be used to make items of that tech
level or less with no penalty. Items of
higher tech levels can not be made.
Scrap parts take up 1 space for every 50 lbs rounded up. If scrap parts can not be found they may be
purchased at $1 per 10 lbs, per tech
level. Example; Tech level 7 scrap would
go for $7 per 10 pounds.
Stills: Are a
special type of lab used to create methanol, ethanol, and grain alcohol. They are cheaper than a lab and don’t require
power units (only a fire), but still provide a +2 to a chemists roll to make
any of the above. They also allow for
larger batches to be cooked up with each success roll. Ethanol and grain alcohol can be made from
the same type of still, but methanol requires a separate type of still. This still has the same characteristics as
the stills below but is only good for making methanol. All stills take up space in a vehicle equal
to their weight divided by 10 rounded down.
To construct a still requires one successful chemist or engineer roll as
well as the time and items listed below.
Small Still:
Weighs [15 -(TL of the still)] X 5 lbs (the older the tech level the
heavier). Cost TL X $50 or to build one
from scratch requires one day of time, and a number of success rolls from a
general building supply cache equal to 1/4 the tech level rounded down, plus
the weight of the still in scrap parts.
This still will produce 2 gallons of methanol or ethanol in one day or 2
gallons of grain alcohol in 3 days.
Example: A tech level 8 small
still would weigh 35 pounds, cost $400 and take up 3 spaces in a vehicle.
Medium Still:
Weighs [15 -(TL of the still)] X 10 lbs.
Costs TL X $100 or to build one from scratch requires 2 days of time,
and a number of success rolls from a
general building supply cache equal to 1/2 the tech level of the still rounded
down, plus the weight of the still in scrap parts. This still will produce 9 gallons of methanol
or ethanol in one day or 9 gallons of grain alcohol in 3 days. Example:
A tech level 7 medium still would weigh 80 lbs, cost $700, and take up 8
spaces in a vehicle.
Large Still:
Weighs [15 -(TL of the still)] X 50 lbs.
Costs TL X $500 or to build one from scratch requires 7 days, and a
number of success rolls from a general building supply cache equal to the tech
level, plus the weight of the still in scrap parts. This still will produce 100 gallons of
methanol or ethanol in one day or 50 gallons of grain alcohol in 3 days. Example:
A tech level 6 large still would weigh 450 lbs, cost $3000, and take up
45 spaces on a flat bed trailer.
Storage Batteries:
These items hold electricity created by generators to be released at a
latter time. Each battery can have a
number of generators simultaneous supplying it power, equal to its tech
level. They all weigh 3000 lbs and take
up 10 spaces in a vehicle, but their storage capacity is based on their tech
level as follows; Power units stored
equal 1000 at tech level 8. Half this
amount at every level below tech 8 and double it for every level above 8. Examples;
A tech level 6 battery will only hold 250 PU’s. A tech level 4 battery will hold 62
PU’s. Cost equals PU X $15. When putting one together from scratch, both
a successful Chemist and an Electrical roll are necessary. It also requires a number of success rolls
equal to its tech level from an electronics cache and 5 times its tech level in
success rolls from a chemical cache with the weight being made up of scrap
parts. The number of days to complete
this project is equal to the tech level of the battery. PU’s are released from this unit at the rate
of up to 200 PU’s per 10 minutes. Half
this amount of time for every tech level above 8 and quadruple it for every
level below 8. These storage batteries
may never be used to move vehicles directly, only to recharge their power
plants.
Supply Caches:
Characters in isolated areas can’t always run down to the nearest Uncle
Al’s every time they need to fix the gears on their bike. The same holds true in a post-apocalyptic
world where the nearest store might be the ruins down the road. Here is a simple way for characters to keep
spare parts and other items around without having to detail every nut and bolt.
Supply caches all have the same general
characteristics. They weigh 100 lbs.,
take up 2 spaces in a vehicle and cost TL X $250 when bought at the appropriate
store. Caches can also be scavenged from
ruins or stolen from rival groups.
Each supply cache must be designated a specific type and
tech level. For instance a chemical
cache at TL 6 would have all the ingredients to make plastic explosives and
anything of a lower tech level. A car
parts cache at TL 8 would allow a mechanic to repair power plants, gas engines,
turrets, and other vehicle components, but not electrical devices, or
weapons. These would each need their own
supply cache. Armor is a special case, see below. Other possible types of
supply caches would be truck, boat, helicopter, motorcycle/trike, airplane,
hovercraft, or general building supplies for fixing structures. Anything that needs to be repaired or made
will have its own supply cache. More
than one supply cache of the same type may be kept on hand but they all must be
kept separate.
How to use the supply cache:
When a character needs to repair or make an item he must have a supply
cache and tools of the appropriate type and tech level available. He then must roll a 7 or better for each success roll required to find the
necessary parts in the cache (this roll is never modified by skill
levels). If the rolls are successful he
has found what he needs and can begin work.
If a roll is not successful he may roll again. Each time a roll is made to find parts
whether successful or not, make a mark by the side of this cache. After every 5 marks reduce the chance of
finding a part in this cache by 1. After 25 attempts, whether successful or
not, this cache is used up, ceases to exist, and no further rolls may be made
on it.
Example 2: A Chemist
and an Electrical engineer are making a tech level 8 hydrogen fuel cell. They would need to make 8 successful rolls of
7 or better in an electrical supply cache as well as 64 success rolls of 7 or
better in several chemical caches to find the items they need. If a supply cache is depleted before all the
rolls are successful (or even made), the characters can move on to another new
cache without penalty. In the above example
the characters will have to go through at least 3 chemical supply caches, since
25 rolls per cache is the maximum that can be made whether successful or not.
Optional rule: In the
above example 64 success rolls is a lot to make, especially considering a
little under 50% may be failures. In
order to save time the GM can simply double the number of rolls to subtract
from all the same type of supply caches and declare all the necessary parts
found. Example 3: The above 64 rolls would be doubled to 128
and then applied to 6 full chemical supply caches. 5 of these caches would be used up completely
and the 6th would have a total of 3 rolls taken off of it. No rolls would have to be made and the
players would have all the parts they need.
In order to use this rule all the supply caches required must be full
and available for immediate use. (This
can only work if all the supply catches are of the same TL as the unit being
worked on).
Characters can use a higher tech supply cache to repair or
make lesser tech items, but suffer a -1 on their chance to find useful parts
regardless of difference in tech levels.
Anyone trying to use a lower tech cache to repair a higher tech item
suffers a -2 per tech level difference to find useful parts as well as a -2 per
level to their repair rolls. No items of
a higher tech level than the supply cache can be made only repaired.
Minor items that can be made from supply caches are; Any chemicals listed under the Chemist skill
provided the tech level of the cache and the chemist are high enough. Small arms, and melee weapons can be
fashioned by a weapons smith from an arms repair cache, but these will be very
crude, and take from 1 to 30 days. This
uses up 3 rolls for melee and muscle powered weapons and 5 rolls for firearms. If non-working fire arms are also available
these can be made into reasonable semi-auto and even fully auto guns at the
rate of 2 every 4 hours, using up 3 success rolls per gun for full auto, 2 for
semi-auto and 1 roll to have the weapon fire single shots. (As inspiration-- During the Cuban revolution
gun smiths converted lever action Winchesters into full auto submachine guns
using only a screwdriver and file. Each
rifle yielded enough parts for at least 2 submachine guns.) Electric caches can turn out short range
radios, bugs, bug detectors, and other small items at the rate of 1 every 4
hours. These will have only about ½ to
2/3 the power of the regular device and be much more prone to break downs when
used under combat conditions.
Vehicle Armor:
Is not kept in caches but rather in sheets, and later in tubes. Regular plastic armor cost TL X $1 per 5 lbs
and usually come in 100 lbs sheets that take up 5 spaces in a vehicle. Other armor types simply multiply the base
cost as normal. This type of armor is
heat formed and fitted to the vehicle and then glued on in early tech 8. Later in tech 8 it comes in a tube and spray
can that only takes up 3 spaces but costs and weighs the same. First the plastic is squirted from the tube
and molded into place. It will stay soft
and pliable for up to 5 days until sprayed with the nano tech items in the
spray can. Within 30 minutes after
applying the nano devices the plastic hardens into an armored patch. Don’t touch the patch while the nano tech is
working or you could end up with a nasty burn.
Metal armor and AFV armor can not come in this form until tech level 9.
Crude metal armor can be made from scrap parts. It takes 4 hours per point and a successful
Mechanic or Metal Working skill roll.
Each point weighs 10 times the weight of regular plastic armor and uses
twice the crude metal armors weight in scrap parts of TL 5 or higher.
Waterwheels:
Waterwheels are placed in fast moving streams or waterfalls to generate
electricity. They must be combined with
a generator and then to a storage battery to save the power for future
use. Weighs (15 -TL) X 10 lbs. Cost TL X
$5. Spaces are equal to weight divided
by 10. To build one requires an
Electrical engineer roll as well as one success roll from an electrical cache
and one roll from a general building cache plus the weight in scrap parts. The project takes ½ the tech level rounded up
in days to complete. A waterwheel will
create a number of PU equal to its tech level every hour.
Windmills:
Harness the wind to create power. They must be combined with a generator
and then to a storage battery to save the power for future use. Weighs (15 -TL) X 10 lbs. Costs TL X $10. Spaces are equal to weight divided by
10. To build one requires an Electrical
engineer roll as well as one success roll from an electrical cache and 2 from a
general building cache and the weight in scrap parts. The project takes a number of days equal to
the tech level of the windmill. A wind
turbine will produce a variable amount of power every hour, but on average it
will produce ½ its tech level in PU’s rounded up in calm conditions. Its tech level in PU’s in average conditions,
and twice it’s tech level in windy conditions.
Anything stronger will destroy the unit.
ALTERNATE FUELS
In my campaigns gas is not quite as scarce as the world of
Car Wars and only costs $5 a gallon.
Also the grain blight never happened so alcohol fuels are readily
available. Methanol costs $1 a gallon
and ethanol $2 a gallon. Pure hydrogen is $15 a gallon. All weigh 6 lbs per gallon. Storage drums are typically 55 gallon
barrels. T hey weigh 20 lbs and take up
3 spaces in a vehicle. These can be
found in most industrial ruins or purchased at $10 each. These barrels have 2 DP’s and will be holed
and begin to leak after taking only 1 pt of damage as per the gas tank
rules. When one of these barrels is hit
there is a 4 in 6 chance it will catch fire.
Once a storage barrel that’s not in a vehicle is on fire it has a 2 in 6
chance of exploding. Barrels that are in
a burning vehicle add an extra +2 to the chance of the vehicle exploding. Exploding barrels will do damage equal to 1
d6 for every 10 full gallons of gas to a 1” radius and half that amount rounded
down in a 2” radius. If you wish to have
better storage devices, construct them using the same rules as vehicle gas
tanks.
Ethanol: This
fuel requires 6 lbs of grain crops per gallon.
It can be drank as a liquor but will cause blindness after prolonged
use. Because ethanol doesn’t burn as hot
as gasoline, when figuring the fuel efficiency of ethanol divide a gas engines
miles per gallon by 3 and round up. This lower MPG is used whenever the vehicle
is running on ethanol.
Gasohol: This
is roughly a 50% mixture of gas and ethanol.
It gets half the MPG of gas, but only costs $3 per gallon.
Hydrogen:
Hydrogen can be created by the breakdown of water into hydrogen and
oxygen. This requires a lab, a
successful Chemist roll and 4 hours of time per gallon. The hardest part is storing this volatile
fuel until it is needed. The equivalent
of a racing gas tank is needed to store it safely. Storing hydrogen in anything else causes 10
to 60% of it to evaporate every day. This release of flammable vapors means
there is also a good chance of an explosion occurring. The exact nature of this problem is left up
to the GM. Hydrogen should always have
at least a +1 chance to catch fire or explode over and above any other
modifiers.
Methanol: This
fuel can be created from many items, including but not limited to, wood chips,
corn stalks, pig dung, and most other scraps from vegetable matter. 6 lbs is required per gallon. This fuel can not be drank as it is a poison
that will cause blindness and death.
When figuring the fuel efficiency of methanol divide the engines miles
per gallon by 4 rounded up.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Most of these skills and rules were created and play tested
over the course of the last 15 years.
The figures for stills and alternate fuels are based loosely on
information gathered from the RPG Twilight: 2000 and various articles from
Popular Science. The information on the
Chemist and Weapon Smith came from GURPS, Living Steel, Twilight: 2000,
articles from Popular Science, The Anarchist Cook Book, and various other
sources. The amount of food a farmer can
feed at tech level 7 has been quoted in several sources as being between 130
and 150. I went with the lower
figure. Crops are a generic term and can
stand for any type of food stuffs you want.
The rules for power generators and consumption are the least researched
and I welcome anyone’s comments and suggestions to improve these.
Why go to all this detail?
Because my games are usually set in a post-apocalyptic setting where
stores, manufacturing facilities, and transportation systems rarely exist. My players have to reload their own ammo,
create explosives, make fuel for internal combustion engines, create power, and
feed the people they lead. Playing
organizations in the ruins of civilization requires a lot more large scale
planning than playing individuals, however the reward of conquering and running
your own kingdom can be worth it.
In future articles I will be expanding on these campaign
ideas with information on searching ruins, more new skills, how to learn new
skills, ransoming people instead of killing them, running large organizations,
and several other rules additions. I
would also like to present information on my groups current campaign. It is set in the wastelands of New Idaho and
includes mutants, lots of ruins to search, and many powerful enemies and
allies. Hopefully this article will
inspire other Car Wars enthusiasts to look beyond arenas and road duels to a
new way of playing the game. Please
E-mail me with any comments or suggestions you may have regarding these rules. They are a work in progress and always subject
to improvement.
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