PDA

View Full Version : Best crunchy vehicle rules?



CharonsHelper
2016-08-08, 06:29 PM
As the title indicates, what do you guys think the best RPG vehicle rules are? Not in abstract systems (which get to skip all of the difficulties) but in a reasonably crunchy system.

Also - this is for RPGs which aren't primarily about vehicles, and mecha don't count. (Mecha can basically just have rules like infantry on a larger scale.)

I haven't found any that I really like.

Mutazoia
2016-08-09, 12:23 AM
As the title indicates, what do you guys think the best RPG vehicle rules are? Not in abstract systems (which get to skip all of the difficulties) but in a reasonably crunchy system.

Also - this is for RPGs which aren't primarily about vehicles, and mecha don't count. (Mecha can basically just have rules like infantry on a larger scale.)

I haven't found any that I really like.

Chech out the old GURPS Car Wars/Auto Duel rules.

Khedrac
2016-08-09, 04:17 AM
If you like crunch (as in really, really like real-world physics) check out 'Marc Miller's Traveller' (a.k.a. 4th Ed), the vehicle design rules are extensive (as are the physics equations for how well they perform).
Make sure you get the errata for the equations book though, the so-called publisher's proof was in a different font to the final version and it destroyed over half of the equations.

CharonsHelper
2016-08-09, 07:07 AM
If you like crunch (as in really, really like real-world physics) check out 'Marc Miller's Traveller' (a.k.a. 4th Ed), the vehicle design rules are extensive (as are the physics equations for how well they perform).
Make sure you get the errata for the equations book though, the so-called publisher's proof was in a different font to the final version and it destroyed over half of the equations.

Lol - that sounds too crunchy to be playable. Needing an 'equations book' to play sounds a bit much.

Joe the Rat
2016-08-09, 10:23 AM
Second on the Car Wars. Great on maneuverability, gas engine rules are good, but the cars are made of aerogel. There's no structure to damage, just the armor and components. It is a game about shooting people while riding in cars, so what do you expect? Lots of features (mostly weapon-related), vehicle performance a factor of mass, power plant, and various tweaks and features. Game scale is on small-time (fractions of seconds), which makes it difficult to do those cool talky scenes in a fight. The tack-on/merge with GURPs gets you back to "not all about cars". Also, boats and helicopters

Old Palladium has decent vehicle rules, ramming rules, collision damage tables, component damage tables, loss of control tables, semi-abstracted dogfighting and air maneuverability, control and diagnostics options, and the ability to install a soda machine and coffee maker in the back seat. As they were a flat add-on to the existing system, it should be fairly easy to port into another system. I prefer Road Hogs over the other recopies, but the prices can be a bit janky, what with the post-apocalyptic setting. But if you want to Mad Max it... You can also find rules for aircraft, spacecraft, lighter-than-air vehicles (Blimps Down Under!), and so on in its various iterations.

Ashtagon
2016-08-10, 01:24 AM
As the title indicates, what do you guys think the best RPG vehicle rules are? Not in abstract systems (which get to skip all of the difficulties) but in a reasonably crunchy system.

Also - this is for RPGs which aren't primarily about vehicles, and mecha don't count. (Mecha can basically just have rules like infantry on a larger scale.)

I haven't found any that I really like.

If you want to build your own GURPS Vehicles remains the best (better even that Traveller's Fire, Fusion, and Steel, which overestimated groundcar sizes massively). RPG Object's d20-based Blood and Circuits also had a vehicle design system, albeit somewhat lacklustre.