[M&M 3E] Being hit by a vehicle

[SilverLeaf167]

Seemingly simple question for once: How do you figure out the damage of being rammed by a vehicle, and conversely, the difficulty of stopping one, either all at once or over several rounds? Harkening back to the classic "stopping a train" scenario, but the same should apply to anything else.

If a RAW answer doesn't exist... as I sure can't find one for some reason... have you figured out good houserules to deal with it?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Getting hit by a vehicle is almost certainly going to be a Slam Attack.

SLAM ATTACK

When you charge, you can charge right into your target, using your momentum to strengthen your attack, but potentially receiving some damage from the impact yourself. The damage rank for your attack equals your movement speed rank, or your normal damage rank, with a +1 circumstance bonus, whichever is higher. If you move your full speed before you charge, increase your damage by either means by an additional +1 circumstance bonus. The Gamemaster may limit your base slam attack damage (before applying circumstance modifiers) by the series power level.

Example: Your hero flies into a foe, moving at speed rank 10. His unarmed damage (Strength) rank is only 2, so he uses his speed rank of 10 for the damage. Since he also moved his full speed to build up momentum, he increases his damage by +1 for a total damage rank of 11. If a base damage rank of 10 is too high for the series, the GM may impose a lower limit on his slam attack damage, applying the +1 modifier for the full speed move to the lowered rank.

You suffer some of the impact of slamming into a target; make a Toughness resistance check against half the damage rank of your attack (rounded down).

Example: Your hero hits his target, and must make his own Toughness resistance check against damage rank 5: his slam attack damage of 11, divided by 2, which equals 5.5, rounded down to 5. Fortunately, his helmet provides him with an invisible electromagnetic field for protection and the hero manages to avoid the damage, hoping his opponent won’t be so lucky!

Bonuses to Toughness protect against slam attack damage normally. Immunity to slam damage you inflict is a rank 2 Immunity effect, while Immunity to all slam damage is rank 5 (see Immunity in the Powers).

As for stopping a vehicle, they have Strength scores by RAW, so an opposed check seems like the RAW approach there. If you wanted to do a dynamic thing (ie, the "slowly stopping a train"), maybe set a DC based on the vehicle's current speed, strength, and weight, and make repeated Str checks, with each success reducing its speed?

[Beleriphon]

Getting hit by a vehicle is almost certainly going to be a Slam Attack.


As for stopping a vehicle, they have Strength scores by RAW, so an opposed check seems like the RAW approach there. If you wanted to do a dynamic thing (ie, the "slowly stopping a train"), maybe set a DC based on the vehicle's current speed, strength, and weight, and make repeated Str checks, with each success reducing its speed?

If I recall, slowly stopping a train is in the Strength Power Profile and basically you compare ranks of Strength vs Speed and the moving object slows by the difference each round. Which in some cases might an abrupt stop. Another method would be to use mass ranks vs lifting strength in stead.