Ya Ta Hey!
2008-02-24, 12:58 AM
WARNING
The following game content may not be suitable for certain audiences, especially those with little appreciation for the nuanced beauty of fiery death, high speed crashes, and the chance to build and race your very own hovering, thousand horsepower crotch-rocket.
Harsh people want harsh entertainment, which is exactly what they get in the form of hoverbike racing. Fiercely competitive, legally shakey, and apallingly dangerous, it is the perfect escape for spectators and participants worldwide. Where racing was once a dull, overly contrived event, all the pomp and circumstance have been distilled out of this modern incarnation leaving behind pure competition.
Events are organized by any number of proprietors for reasons ranging from charitable fundraising to cheap product testing. Three major racing clubs, all sponsored by hoverbike manufacturers, dominate the racing scene while dozens of smaller local outfits scamper in their shadows.
Only table scraps of the underground industry go to individual drivers, which ensures that the competitors remain young and stupid. The few who do make a career out of it are snapped up by one of the racing clubs, who are always eager to tack their name on the next big star while he lasts.
Over the years, organizers have learned what kind of races yield paying crowds. The most common are drags, short jaunts through a typically urban circuit but also have been known to occur in the country. These are the most visually spectacular, but are necessarily short due to their casual nature and extreme risk. Day racing involves a fairly long circuit thats set in the most difficult terrain available, and is known as the most physically taxing event for individual riders. These are usually the races to which organizers will attach gimmicky rules to add to the excitement. The rarest events are marathons, exclusive point-to-point races that can take weeks and add an entirely new dimension of navigation and survival to the competition. Marathons are heavily publicized and sponsored by big names, so the course is kept secret in order to maintain the element of self sufficiency.
No matter where the race is held on this jagged planet, you can be sure that it will pit you gaainst only the worst conditions, territory, and competitors possible. Just keep telling yourself: You're having fun.
Fluff:
This sucks.
Draped over the seat of your hoverbike, your pulse drums in your ears as you hang your head upside down, flashlight in one hand and pliers in the other. You reach inside and feel along the surface of the jet engine, desperately trying to squeeze out a hair-fine adjustment on the fuel injection's master timing bolt.
The three minute warning wails insistently, and you try to breathe away the aggravation as you feel the pliers bite deep into the soft aluminum bolt, turning it into a gnarled mess. Rain trickles down the back of your weatherproof racing suit, obnoxious music clips interspersed with commercials blare through the speakers, and you can't goddamn breathe like this.
A seeming instant later, the one minute warning goes off. Hoping for the best, you abandon the last minute emergency and scramble to get organized and up to the starting line, snarling bad words under your breath. You heave the bike into position, only noticing the fact that you have to take the worst possible starting place with a subliminal annoyance.
Without even indulging in a sigh as you plop into the seat, you throw the clutch and hit the ignition pedal just as the stone faced referee consults his watch and raises his gun. Your bike shudders and gives a throaty howl as it starts, which recedes to its typical rumble; when you hear the ragged undertone of blow-back, you realize that your fine tuning made the original problem worse. This race could easily be your engine's last.
You take a second to glance around at the loose scatter of helmets ahead of you. You'll have to finish seventh if you want to avoid sinking any deeper into de--
The gun goes off with a jarring bang, and the front line traffic is so bad that you spend a full second helplessly watching people ahead shriek off to victory, until it finally clears out with you in last place and zero momentum. Arms shakey from tension, you make your best effort to gently squeeze the accelerator and your bike leaps airborne.
Almost immediately you stiffen when a pilot nearby bursts into flames, tumbling violently into the ground with a spray of wet sod. He clipped an exhaust wake, you assume and then discreetly avert your eyes as you whisk by the ragged body. Just another of many reasons why this morning's artificial nutrition bar could be your last meal ever, which the coroners would find pleasently sprayed over the inside of your trousers. Its much nicer to just be vaporized in a fuel burst and wow, you abruptly realize what a stupid hobby you've chosen.
You remember to tug your visor down and suddenly realize that you're abreast with another racer and are thus commited to a pass attempt. On pain of losing a point you don't have, you gun your ailing bike and are rewarded when the column of racers folds into a turn, with you on the inside. You easily slip by, and a digital "1" appears on your dashboard.
The first beacon zips by and then the course aligns itself on a meandering creek, the line of racers slithering along the hilly landscape like a big, jet powered snake. This sport is all about crowd pleasing, so if the event organizers decided to fashion the route after something this mundane, its because there's a canyon or a bridge or something equally sadistic up ahead.
Surely enough, the banks of the creek steepen and then rise up around you, turning into a narrow corridor of rock through which the water gushes spiritedly. Bare stone rushing by on either side, things become extremely cozy and tense as the manuevering forces other racers into passing position and the heated fight for the score begins. Some recklessly charge ahead while the less adventurous drop behind and sacrifice a point in the interest of maintaining the air cushion that keeps them afloat.
Having finally overcome your initial fluster, you notice an inviting gap between two racers open up dead ahead. With an impish chortle, you thumb open the protective hood of a little red button on your handlebar and press it. Inertia tugs at you as your bike surges ahead and through the gap, rewarding you with an easy two points. Flawlessly, you thread your way around the pair and into a sturdy lead, smoothly angling into the next turn. You're going to tell everybody about this! This is the best sport ever!
You immediately release the afterburner and the thrust fades, letting you fall smugly back to cruising speed--just in time for a white hot exhaust column to scythe past your head! A previously unseen biker flips you the bird as he jets in front of you, robbing you of one of your points.
You grunt when you see he is riding a 'baby trike', a bargain model hover that is the hallmark of a newcomer. You're about to let it go when he drives himself into a tight spot and abruptly rears back, hitting the airbrakes right in front of you. With a gasp, you throw the hoverbike in the only direction you can: down.
You dive below the massed bellies of racers with a furious blast of wind, now compressed between the churning, rock studded river and the massed undercarriages of other racers. Fighting the lift that could easily throw you head over ass and desperately manuevering around the deck, you feel the bike begin to shake from eddys forming in the all-important air cushion. The jerking becomes more violent, and you lay on the emergency horn. The new guys butt above you doesn't even twitch at the yield signal, and you blast again. Nothing, and there's nothing you can do; barely clinging to the bucking, luching bike, you wrench the steering column toward the edge of the river.
A sandbank, a fleeting patch of tan, rushes up to meet you, and you're committed. You level your bike's pristine, newly waxed belly toward the dirt and grit and clench...
Ugh.
Your eyes flutter open and there's a falsetto ring tickling the edges of your hearing. You're on your back, piled limply on a mound of something, your once skintight suit now crinkled and baggy after emergency inflation. Loopily, you raise your head and when you remember how to move, curl stiffly up on all fours. Sharp pains perforate the stiffness as you manage to crawl for a little bit before tumbling over and, with a few heaving breaths, wait for the world to stop spinning. Amazingly, your only real injury is a single gash on your thigh where it looks like a footpeg carved its way past.
You reach for the battered remains of your bike, steaming in the rain, for your saddlebag and then you make a small whine in despair. You didn't have time to break camp in the rush. The river babbles on as you sit up; its just you and the clothes on your back...
In game and d20 rules:
Hoverbike racing is patently dangerous, and despite tight universal restictions governing the conduct of the racers, injuries and deaths are common. As the sport grew from a localized passtime to an international phenomenon, the insurance liability and legal attention mounted, ultimately giving rise to this final codified system of regulations. Agreement with these rules is the defining factor in a racing event's legitimacy, and its suggested that competitors always look for the "FairPlay" certificate on any application.
Racing rules:
1. Any hoverbike whose nose passes the rear fender of an adjacent bike ahead of them is considered to be passing. A successful passing manuever earns one point. A failed passing manuever loses a point. Being passed loses a point, but successfuly evading a pass attempt does not gain a point. The maximum number of points that can be earned by a single manuever is two. Racers have 12 seconds (2 rounds) to complete a pass.
2. Placing at the finish earns points equal to (Total number of racers - Position) plus the number of points earned by passing.
3. The winner is the racer with the most points. Further conditions for victory may be imposed on a case by case basis.
4. No racer can intentionally collide with another or in any way intentionally injure or damage the rider or the rider's equipment. Point penalties may be imposed for each incident. In addition, the following practices are strictly forbidden:
*Intentionally distracting a referee.
*Directly influencing the trajectory of an opponent's vehicle through any manner of physical manipulation.
*Using any means to disrupt the proper technical functioning of an opponents vehicle.
*Deliberately reckless manuevering that forces an opponent to give up their position in the interest of safety.
*Abusing the emergency signal during normal circumstances
*Use of any part of the hoverbike or accessory to create aerodynamic turbulence
*Use of any part of the hoverbike or accessory to interfere with an opponents ability to compete through sensory disruption.
*Use of weaponry or any part of the hoverbike or accessory as a weapon.
5. A racer may signal for an emergency yield, which will be obeyed by all adjacent racers under penalty of violating rule 4. This must be a genuine emergency.
6. Any racer presenting allegations of misconduct must provide visible, conclusive evidence thereof to collect a reward.
7. A racer who climbs, dives, or otherwise changes clearance with respect to the ground by more than five feet is considered pasing against all racers within a ten foot radius except for those behind their rear fender or those who are at the same ground clearance. All parts of rule 1 apply. Re-entering the original plane of travel constitutes a failed pass attempt on any competitors ahead within this radius.
8. All hoverbike designs must be approved by the organizer. Specific rules may be implemented.
9. All actions taken during a race are considered legitimate until officially determined otherwise. All actions determined illegal will be treated as such. Referees have the final say.
********
D20 translation:
A hoverbike is somewhere between an aircraft and street vehicle in function. Most are powered by a gas turbine jet engine, and ride on a circulating current of air that allows them to remain airborne at low speeds, with additional lift generated by stub winglets that also aid the vectored thrust nozzle with manuevering. While any competent biker can learn to use a hoverbike, racing requires special attention to controlling lift, thrust, drag, and the art of manuevering without traction.
GENERAL
Each hoverbike has the following stats
*Manuever: The vehicle's inherent ability to change direction, in game terms it is the maximum ability bonus that a player can apply to Drive checks. Manuever scores also provide a Drive check bonus of +1 for every 2 points.
*Top speed: The vehicles maximum base speed, excluding afterburners and detracted by weight.
*Engine Output: The total thurst provided by the engine, determining its maximum speed and ability to increase speed, as well as climb.
*Hardness/Hit Points: Theses determine the vehicles ability to resist damage and the rigors of normal operation, and coincides directly with the vehicles mass.
*Tech Level: The relative sophistication of a hoverbike's technology and the quality of its workmanship. In game terms, it is an estimate of the machines overall effectiveness Generally determined by the chasis material, engine design, and manuever system but can be influenced by certain parts.
*Expansion slots: The amount of free space in or on the superstructure of the bike to accommodate upgrades and accessories, all of which either improve the vehicles stats or grant it a new ability, and thus should be treated as equivalent to Feats. The size of an upgrade will determine how many slots it occupies.
RACING
*Normal, low speed manuevers do not require a drive check unless there are adverse conditions or obstacles.
*Manuevering in the presence of other biker traffic or while engaged in a turn requires a drive check of 1d20+Ability Stat+drive skill bonus+ Manuever. The player's roll result must be within four numbers of the target number (10 +/- severity score + players speed category ) for them to maintain their relative position. The player chooses their preference of two rolls after all declared bonuses are factored in.
Exceeding the number will cause the bike to turn too sharply and drift toward the inside of the turn, while coming up short will cause the player to drift toward the outside. The player may choose how much of their ability bonus and drive bonus to apply to a roll from the max down to -3, but cannot change their hoverbike's manuever bonus. A player may not take 10 on this roll but they may take 20 or 0, both of which results in an airslide (see below) in the coinciding direction. On straightaways, a drive check is not required unless another hoverbike is adjacent, in which case low numbers turn left, and high numbers turn right, and the DC is 11+ the number of vehicles adjacent.
If the dice range is not met and the bike changes its lateral position, take the difference between the target number and the roll value as the number of squares that the bike moves in the appropriate direction, counted against the bikes move for that turn. If this number exceeds the bikes move by 1.5x, then the bike is in an airslide.
*Entering another bike's square results in a collision unless the interloper succeeds a reflex save, where they may choose to climb, dive, or brake at the cost of one speed category. Braking puts them next to the rear fender of the other bike, while climbing and diving puts them above or below, respectively.
When bikes collide, the damage to both bikes is counted with one d6 per square of directional movement that preceded it. Both players may choose to deduct that from their rider's hitpoints, the bike's hit points, or both in equal division; however, the bike's hardness only applies to bike damage.
*Entering the square directly behind another bike is entering the critical temperature zone of the machine's superheated exhaust wake. Players may make the same reflex save with the same penalties as in collisions to avoid this. On a failed save, the rider and bike suffer 2d6 fire damage and the rider will remain on fire for d4 rounds, taking d6 fire damage each round. After the initial burst, the bike and rider swerve clear of the wake into a square of the players choice. If the rider took a full 12 damage, then the bike is in an airslide.
*An airslide is a dangerous but also useful state where the bike is in a controlled stall as its lateral velocity has exceeded its forward velocity. It can result from overly sharp manuvering, loss of control, or an intentional manuever As this interferes with the bikes aerodynamics and engine compression, the bike travels in the direction of its previous momentum, losing one speed category and five feet of ground clearance per turn until it crashes (the air cushion erodes under these conditions.)
However, an intentional airslide that resulted from taking 20 or 0 gains a circumstance bonus for every two points that the original score exceeded 20 or 0 on all vehicle turning stunts in the direction that the nose is pointing. A vehicle also needs to be in an airslide to fullstop.
VEHICLE CREATION
Few companies have the resources to produce hoverbikes that are fully optimized for racing, and thus chances are good that there is a way to squeeze further performance out of a hoverbike with the right modification. However, like any industry, the aftermarket tuning business is rife with unscrupulous vendors who sell useless or even damaging parts. Let the buyer beware.
*Every hoverbike must have a chasis, body, maunevering system, and engine. Accessories take up free space inside or on the body of the hoverbike and detract from the top speed. The room to accomodate such parts is measured in 'slots', which are determined by the chasis and body.
*Manuevering systems have many different ways of taking pilot input, and differing ability scores coincide to drive checks made with these hardwares. Manuevering systems can be bought that employ STR, DEX, CHA, and INT.
*Almost any part of a hoverbike can be interchanged. The chasis is the basic frame of any hoverbike and in radical modifications it is treated as the original machine. The chasis is always custom fitted to a certain engine model and only in rare cases can an engine be exchanged for a different design. A damaged engine may be replaced with one of the same model.
*Hoverbikes are massively expensive machines built with state of the art technology, and even old models can carry prices comparable to a home. Thus, the outright purchase of a hoverbike has a DC of 25+Tech level. Hoverbikes are more typically paid with a monthly mortgage that reflects the bike's tech level, more advanced bikes having a higher cost. Every game week, players must pay 100+50*Tech Level credits toward their monthly mortgage, or make a Wealth check of DC 10+Tech Level. Some advanced hoverbikes can only be leased.
*Players may generate and their own hoverbike model for play. The bike's Tech Level may not exceed the player level by more than 1. The player chooses the bike's Tech Level, and then rolls to generate the following:
Manuever: The player adds the bike's Tech Level + 10, and then rolls 3d6. If the roll exceeds that first number, then the difference is subtracted from the next roll. If the roll falls short of the number, the difference is added.
The manuever score's bonus to drive checks is the (number - 10)/2.
Hardness: The player rolls 3d6 and any applicible bonus or penalty. The result is then divided by two, rounding down, to derive the hardness. The roll value itself is the bike's hit points.
Engine Output: This is equal to 10 + Tech Level, and the top speed is 10x that number minus d20 plus 4d5.
Expansion Slots: 2d4 - Tech Level + size modifier
SPECIAL MANUEVERS
*Passing: Passing is a simple comparison of two competing vehicle's movement points. While engaged in a turn, special tapered scale maps are used to account for the difference in circumferential distance traveled so that vehicles on the inside have to cover less distace to complete the turn. Changing lateral or vertical position takes 2 move per square, except for diving which only takes 1 move.
*Filming: The need may occasionally arise for a player to record something of interest for posterity. This may be flight data, a photograph, or even a video recording. Recording flight data is a standard action. Photography and Video recording is treated like a projectile weapon attack roll, with photography being a standard action and Video recording being a full round action.
*Afterburn (reheat): The process in which the a second fuel injection mechanism is activated in the later stage of the engine cycle, resulting in higher thrust and thus, top speed. Hoverbikes can increase two speed catagories per turn while in this state and have 150% top speed. However, The maximum manuever bonus allowed in this state is +1
CHEATING
While a violation of FairPlay rules, the following tactics nevertheless do take place during races and have in-game provisions made for their execution. Use these tactics at your own risk. For all actions except those involving sleight of hand and bluff checks, the referees gain a +1 circumstance bonus on all Spot checks against the player for every point that the illicit action's check has succeeded.
*Draw/Activate weapon: Requires a Sleight of Hand check and a Standard action, with a circumstance penalty for every size category above Small and a circumstance bonus for built-in hoverbike weapons.
*Fire weapon: A typical ranged (presumably) attack roll with one exception: failed attacks go unnoticed unless the target decides to make a WIS check, while successful attacks are more likely to be spotted.
*Ram: An intentional collision. The player makes the appropriate manuever check on which they cannot take 20 or 0. Damage is resolved the same way as in a collision situation except that the attacker chooses the damage location for him and his target.
*Shove: Placing the hull of one's own hoverbike against another and then displacing them. This is a comparison of 2d4 + Engine Output + Manuever. The winning hoverbike either displaces the other by 1 square or retains their position, as the case may be.
*Air blast: Using the bike's air cushion to create massive turbulence in the air. The racer must succeed a manuever check of 1d20+manuever+Ability stat with DC equal to the engine output. On success, the racers behind suffer a -2 circumstance penalty on drive checks for every ten points of engine output.
*Distract referee: To attract the referee's attention away from something else. This is a simple bluff check, with a success most likely resulting in an official penalty of points, but allows a friend to accomplish something.
*Chuck: To throw debris into the compressor intake of an opponent vehicle. This requires two Sleight of hand checks as the motion is quite obvious, followed by a thrown weapon attack roll. The target's hoverbike instantly suffers 2d6 ability damage to engine output and goes into an airslide.
*Fake Emergency: A player blows the emergency horn, forcing other racers to move out of your proximity. A bluff check DC18 is required to prevent you from being identified as the perpetrator. Referees often differ in their idea of what entails an emergency.
Hoverbike examples
JPERL-21: Once the definitive hoverbike model, the '21 is now known as the quintessential newcomer's machine for its low cost and design simplicity. While this simplicity allows it to be completely user-serviceable and ultimately is responsible for the outdated machine's persistence, it also makes it incompatible with modern technology, meaning that its low performance cannot be mitigated. However, the machine does have its niche uses in events where stability and rugged design are paramount.
JPERL-211: Despite its unflattering reputation as a 'baby trike', the venerable JPERL-21 carries an aura of nostalgic brand loyalty that JPERL could not resist tapping into. To emphasize their devotion to the '21's immortal image, the modern reinvention of the design was released under the same model series as its ancestor. If the original '21 had been more receptive to upgrades, the end result would essentially be the 211, for better or for worse.
JPERL-411: As the 211 breathed new life into its most popular design, JPERL's 40 series fell into disfavor on the professional circuit after its IGRL rival's 'Flash' began to dominate. To combat this, JPERL released an early prototype of their next generation racer, the 50 series. While already touted as a technological marvel, it is actually just a 403 chasis with a different body and some minor upgrades, the only real difference being the butterfly tail. This is reportedly to protect the secrecy of the real innovations that the 55 will feature.
JPERL-55: The highly anticiapted next generation racing machine, whose production has stalled twice as JPERL awaits the completion of its custom engine design and more thoroughly evaluates their competition from C&I. Very little information has been released in order to stoke public mystique.
IGRL "Flue": Crudely dubbed the "Tickler" for its appearance, this is another example of an old machine surviving into modern times. The "Flue" still boasts one of the highest thrust to weight ratios of any terrestrial vehicle ever conceived, but suffers from notoriously poor handling and an uncomfortable ride. However, like all IRGL designs, it is built with a minimalist philosophy to encourage customization.
IGRL "Flash": The most familiar model fielded by this company, the "Flash" is a versatile and easily upgraded machine. The latest model variant, designed by IGRL before it was acquired by Thompson International, took the customizing one step further by introducing a completely modular design that promised to beget the next generation of personal hotrods. Unfortunately, this design philosophy has died with IGRL, as Thompson's engineering department has largely replaced the original team of "geniuses".
Thompson Intl. "Flyer": Thompsons attempt at appeasing the public over its unpopular takeover of IGRL, the Flyer was a colossal market failure. Although it improved on the "Flash" and showed no glaring flaws, the "Flyer" deviated sharply from the faceted, no-nonsense design aesthetic IGRL customers knew, and not in an attractive way. While the "Flyer" design no longer supports customization, it does have a more up to date manuevering system and higher speed than most IGRL machines, and its enthusiasts do exist.
Thompson Intl. "Swift": The company's obligatory response to JPERL's next-generation hoverbike, Thompson differs from its rival in the very open design process, in which they are soliciting input from customers themselves. It goes without saying that the sorely missed modularity design will be resurrected, but despite Thompson's best efforts to redeem itself in customers eyes, the "Swift" is victim to some of the least favorable publicity of any hoverbike.
C&I Type-1: C&I is an engineering lab with strong ties to IGRL's former technical staff, and hearsay has it that the Type-1 originated with a physicist's research in experimental propulsion. The Type-1 itself is known as the "Death Pony" for its frail design and very high thrust, a combination that often results in user fatalities. For those who master the unruly machine, however, the opposition becomes just a part of the background.
C&I Type-2: A rumored successor to the Type-1's overnight fame as the paragon of racing performance, the much speculated Type-2 would presumably overcome its predecessor's poor survivability, high maintenence operation, and steep learning curve.
Tora Itani 5.6: Tora occupies one of the many niche markets for exotic hoverbikes, expensive symbols of prestige that rarely see an actual race but nonetheless boast peerless characteristics. The Itani 5.6 is their 'public' model, which undergoes a cosmetic redesign every year and while its clearly a rich mans toy, it is still a formidable hoverbike in its own right. The 5.6 chasis is associated with some legendary custom hotrods, but it is notoriously difficult to modify.
Tora Itani-R: The R is called "the bike that's worth more than your life", a vehicle so exclusive that customers must wait for Tora to approach them before they can even discuss the price and one's successful purchase is celebrated with a fully catered luncheon. This racing purebred represents the collective talent of Tora's own design team distilled into a handful of machines, each individually machined to tolerances that are rare even in the world of science. Actual performance data is closely guarded and the chances of seeing one at a public race are nil, so how well one would compete against a more familiar machine is a matter of speculation.
Caballista 2344 Durastre: This bankrupt company's flagship design is all but extinct for lack of product support. The 2344 had the smallest engine of any production hoverbike known, but amassed the same output as an device one and a half times its displacement. The 2344 used to be a favorite among hotrodders due to its simple but powerful design and the impressive grassroots support network, but this came to an end when Caballista's successor company filed suit for patent violation. The hoverbike is now a rare but welcome sight on the tracks, and its always somewhat tragic when one is wrecked.
Luca "Balderdash": A compact hoverbike mainly reserved for hip young urbanites, the custom racing versions of these toy-like vehicles reflects the duality of their target market's night life; restrained by day, unbridled when no one's looking. While bringing this vehicle up to racing standards can get expensive, the machine has the potential to humiliate hoverbikes twice its size and engine output.
DeBoldt Hypera GT: DeBoldt is a consumer electronics company known for its cheap products, and its initial forays into the automotive world suffered from consumer skepticism. Their recent hoverbike release was the Hypera, the GT being a limp grab at the racing market. Unfortunately, the GT offers more style than substance as a competitive machine, but does feature a very light chasis.
DeBoldt Hypera 350: DeBoldt's much preferred street model, featuring a more practically sized engine and much lower price tag, this machine is roughly comparable to a JPERL 211. The best part is that due to DeBoldt's lack of production infrastructure, the only unique part of the 350 is the chasis! As the rest of the machine is just an assembly of generic parts, it has become an instant customizer's favorite.
So I'm throwing this out there for anyone who thinks it might be fun. This is meant for more casual gaming and I've kept it pretty nonspecific about certain things, such as specific bike stats, vehicle modding DC's and even the specific equipment. While this is geared toward short, fast paced pbp games in the vein of Arena Tounry, there's no reason why this couldn't be a full campaign mirroring the careers of your players as they compete to make a name for themselves.
Use your imagination when deciding on these things, and make it fit your game; all the balancing game mechanics are in place for you to control twinking and maxing. Notice that there's no reason why DnD characters couldn't be included except that it would be incongruous, but I politely advise against casters unless you want a lot of people falling asleep at the wheel. In that case, if you have players other than Medium size, just scale down a hoverbike for them. 25% stat difference should be plenty for the sexy shoeless god of racing.
My recommendation is for complex, single lap races for short games and fairly lax character creation rules as the d20M crash mechanics do apply, which will take more than a cleric to fix if they wipeout. And it isn't fun when one player's prize winning hero dies before he can amass enough winning to pay for his blind orphan sister's operation. A wide spread of NPC opponents that can be easily pseudo gamed is smart, too.
Longer races should involve NPC's that are more closely matched with the players in skill and hardware, including some cheaters; players aren't going to survive too many obstacles before they roll natural one and can't pull out of the stall, so the only way to keep races long is to nerf the consequences or ramp up the competition. Another alternative is to
During gameplay, whenever the player makes a manuever check? Just have them include a reflex save every time. They come into play a lot because if there's any risk of something killing people or breaking things and your player is heading for it, they get a reflex save. If they need it, then that saves you a post and having to wait for a reply. If not, then the forum roller just used a few more kilobytes of RAM somewhere.
Most importantly, watch those Action Points. They gain one for every opponent they pass (the "points" in the racing rules), which can be saved for the end when their score will determine victory, or spent in an emergency. Since the roll enhancement is so important now, let the players add the 1d6 after they see the roll; they're paying more than enough for each one that there's no need to make it a guessing game unless you are really hardcore. Also, remember that action points can be used for d20M talents, and some of them might be abused.
Okay. Have fun, and I'm washing my hands of it.
The following game content may not be suitable for certain audiences, especially those with little appreciation for the nuanced beauty of fiery death, high speed crashes, and the chance to build and race your very own hovering, thousand horsepower crotch-rocket.
Harsh people want harsh entertainment, which is exactly what they get in the form of hoverbike racing. Fiercely competitive, legally shakey, and apallingly dangerous, it is the perfect escape for spectators and participants worldwide. Where racing was once a dull, overly contrived event, all the pomp and circumstance have been distilled out of this modern incarnation leaving behind pure competition.
Events are organized by any number of proprietors for reasons ranging from charitable fundraising to cheap product testing. Three major racing clubs, all sponsored by hoverbike manufacturers, dominate the racing scene while dozens of smaller local outfits scamper in their shadows.
Only table scraps of the underground industry go to individual drivers, which ensures that the competitors remain young and stupid. The few who do make a career out of it are snapped up by one of the racing clubs, who are always eager to tack their name on the next big star while he lasts.
Over the years, organizers have learned what kind of races yield paying crowds. The most common are drags, short jaunts through a typically urban circuit but also have been known to occur in the country. These are the most visually spectacular, but are necessarily short due to their casual nature and extreme risk. Day racing involves a fairly long circuit thats set in the most difficult terrain available, and is known as the most physically taxing event for individual riders. These are usually the races to which organizers will attach gimmicky rules to add to the excitement. The rarest events are marathons, exclusive point-to-point races that can take weeks and add an entirely new dimension of navigation and survival to the competition. Marathons are heavily publicized and sponsored by big names, so the course is kept secret in order to maintain the element of self sufficiency.
No matter where the race is held on this jagged planet, you can be sure that it will pit you gaainst only the worst conditions, territory, and competitors possible. Just keep telling yourself: You're having fun.
Fluff:
This sucks.
Draped over the seat of your hoverbike, your pulse drums in your ears as you hang your head upside down, flashlight in one hand and pliers in the other. You reach inside and feel along the surface of the jet engine, desperately trying to squeeze out a hair-fine adjustment on the fuel injection's master timing bolt.
The three minute warning wails insistently, and you try to breathe away the aggravation as you feel the pliers bite deep into the soft aluminum bolt, turning it into a gnarled mess. Rain trickles down the back of your weatherproof racing suit, obnoxious music clips interspersed with commercials blare through the speakers, and you can't goddamn breathe like this.
A seeming instant later, the one minute warning goes off. Hoping for the best, you abandon the last minute emergency and scramble to get organized and up to the starting line, snarling bad words under your breath. You heave the bike into position, only noticing the fact that you have to take the worst possible starting place with a subliminal annoyance.
Without even indulging in a sigh as you plop into the seat, you throw the clutch and hit the ignition pedal just as the stone faced referee consults his watch and raises his gun. Your bike shudders and gives a throaty howl as it starts, which recedes to its typical rumble; when you hear the ragged undertone of blow-back, you realize that your fine tuning made the original problem worse. This race could easily be your engine's last.
You take a second to glance around at the loose scatter of helmets ahead of you. You'll have to finish seventh if you want to avoid sinking any deeper into de--
The gun goes off with a jarring bang, and the front line traffic is so bad that you spend a full second helplessly watching people ahead shriek off to victory, until it finally clears out with you in last place and zero momentum. Arms shakey from tension, you make your best effort to gently squeeze the accelerator and your bike leaps airborne.
Almost immediately you stiffen when a pilot nearby bursts into flames, tumbling violently into the ground with a spray of wet sod. He clipped an exhaust wake, you assume and then discreetly avert your eyes as you whisk by the ragged body. Just another of many reasons why this morning's artificial nutrition bar could be your last meal ever, which the coroners would find pleasently sprayed over the inside of your trousers. Its much nicer to just be vaporized in a fuel burst and wow, you abruptly realize what a stupid hobby you've chosen.
You remember to tug your visor down and suddenly realize that you're abreast with another racer and are thus commited to a pass attempt. On pain of losing a point you don't have, you gun your ailing bike and are rewarded when the column of racers folds into a turn, with you on the inside. You easily slip by, and a digital "1" appears on your dashboard.
The first beacon zips by and then the course aligns itself on a meandering creek, the line of racers slithering along the hilly landscape like a big, jet powered snake. This sport is all about crowd pleasing, so if the event organizers decided to fashion the route after something this mundane, its because there's a canyon or a bridge or something equally sadistic up ahead.
Surely enough, the banks of the creek steepen and then rise up around you, turning into a narrow corridor of rock through which the water gushes spiritedly. Bare stone rushing by on either side, things become extremely cozy and tense as the manuevering forces other racers into passing position and the heated fight for the score begins. Some recklessly charge ahead while the less adventurous drop behind and sacrifice a point in the interest of maintaining the air cushion that keeps them afloat.
Having finally overcome your initial fluster, you notice an inviting gap between two racers open up dead ahead. With an impish chortle, you thumb open the protective hood of a little red button on your handlebar and press it. Inertia tugs at you as your bike surges ahead and through the gap, rewarding you with an easy two points. Flawlessly, you thread your way around the pair and into a sturdy lead, smoothly angling into the next turn. You're going to tell everybody about this! This is the best sport ever!
You immediately release the afterburner and the thrust fades, letting you fall smugly back to cruising speed--just in time for a white hot exhaust column to scythe past your head! A previously unseen biker flips you the bird as he jets in front of you, robbing you of one of your points.
You grunt when you see he is riding a 'baby trike', a bargain model hover that is the hallmark of a newcomer. You're about to let it go when he drives himself into a tight spot and abruptly rears back, hitting the airbrakes right in front of you. With a gasp, you throw the hoverbike in the only direction you can: down.
You dive below the massed bellies of racers with a furious blast of wind, now compressed between the churning, rock studded river and the massed undercarriages of other racers. Fighting the lift that could easily throw you head over ass and desperately manuevering around the deck, you feel the bike begin to shake from eddys forming in the all-important air cushion. The jerking becomes more violent, and you lay on the emergency horn. The new guys butt above you doesn't even twitch at the yield signal, and you blast again. Nothing, and there's nothing you can do; barely clinging to the bucking, luching bike, you wrench the steering column toward the edge of the river.
A sandbank, a fleeting patch of tan, rushes up to meet you, and you're committed. You level your bike's pristine, newly waxed belly toward the dirt and grit and clench...
Ugh.
Your eyes flutter open and there's a falsetto ring tickling the edges of your hearing. You're on your back, piled limply on a mound of something, your once skintight suit now crinkled and baggy after emergency inflation. Loopily, you raise your head and when you remember how to move, curl stiffly up on all fours. Sharp pains perforate the stiffness as you manage to crawl for a little bit before tumbling over and, with a few heaving breaths, wait for the world to stop spinning. Amazingly, your only real injury is a single gash on your thigh where it looks like a footpeg carved its way past.
You reach for the battered remains of your bike, steaming in the rain, for your saddlebag and then you make a small whine in despair. You didn't have time to break camp in the rush. The river babbles on as you sit up; its just you and the clothes on your back...
In game and d20 rules:
Hoverbike racing is patently dangerous, and despite tight universal restictions governing the conduct of the racers, injuries and deaths are common. As the sport grew from a localized passtime to an international phenomenon, the insurance liability and legal attention mounted, ultimately giving rise to this final codified system of regulations. Agreement with these rules is the defining factor in a racing event's legitimacy, and its suggested that competitors always look for the "FairPlay" certificate on any application.
Racing rules:
1. Any hoverbike whose nose passes the rear fender of an adjacent bike ahead of them is considered to be passing. A successful passing manuever earns one point. A failed passing manuever loses a point. Being passed loses a point, but successfuly evading a pass attempt does not gain a point. The maximum number of points that can be earned by a single manuever is two. Racers have 12 seconds (2 rounds) to complete a pass.
2. Placing at the finish earns points equal to (Total number of racers - Position) plus the number of points earned by passing.
3. The winner is the racer with the most points. Further conditions for victory may be imposed on a case by case basis.
4. No racer can intentionally collide with another or in any way intentionally injure or damage the rider or the rider's equipment. Point penalties may be imposed for each incident. In addition, the following practices are strictly forbidden:
*Intentionally distracting a referee.
*Directly influencing the trajectory of an opponent's vehicle through any manner of physical manipulation.
*Using any means to disrupt the proper technical functioning of an opponents vehicle.
*Deliberately reckless manuevering that forces an opponent to give up their position in the interest of safety.
*Abusing the emergency signal during normal circumstances
*Use of any part of the hoverbike or accessory to create aerodynamic turbulence
*Use of any part of the hoverbike or accessory to interfere with an opponents ability to compete through sensory disruption.
*Use of weaponry or any part of the hoverbike or accessory as a weapon.
5. A racer may signal for an emergency yield, which will be obeyed by all adjacent racers under penalty of violating rule 4. This must be a genuine emergency.
6. Any racer presenting allegations of misconduct must provide visible, conclusive evidence thereof to collect a reward.
7. A racer who climbs, dives, or otherwise changes clearance with respect to the ground by more than five feet is considered pasing against all racers within a ten foot radius except for those behind their rear fender or those who are at the same ground clearance. All parts of rule 1 apply. Re-entering the original plane of travel constitutes a failed pass attempt on any competitors ahead within this radius.
8. All hoverbike designs must be approved by the organizer. Specific rules may be implemented.
9. All actions taken during a race are considered legitimate until officially determined otherwise. All actions determined illegal will be treated as such. Referees have the final say.
********
D20 translation:
A hoverbike is somewhere between an aircraft and street vehicle in function. Most are powered by a gas turbine jet engine, and ride on a circulating current of air that allows them to remain airborne at low speeds, with additional lift generated by stub winglets that also aid the vectored thrust nozzle with manuevering. While any competent biker can learn to use a hoverbike, racing requires special attention to controlling lift, thrust, drag, and the art of manuevering without traction.
GENERAL
Each hoverbike has the following stats
*Manuever: The vehicle's inherent ability to change direction, in game terms it is the maximum ability bonus that a player can apply to Drive checks. Manuever scores also provide a Drive check bonus of +1 for every 2 points.
*Top speed: The vehicles maximum base speed, excluding afterburners and detracted by weight.
*Engine Output: The total thurst provided by the engine, determining its maximum speed and ability to increase speed, as well as climb.
*Hardness/Hit Points: Theses determine the vehicles ability to resist damage and the rigors of normal operation, and coincides directly with the vehicles mass.
*Tech Level: The relative sophistication of a hoverbike's technology and the quality of its workmanship. In game terms, it is an estimate of the machines overall effectiveness Generally determined by the chasis material, engine design, and manuever system but can be influenced by certain parts.
*Expansion slots: The amount of free space in or on the superstructure of the bike to accommodate upgrades and accessories, all of which either improve the vehicles stats or grant it a new ability, and thus should be treated as equivalent to Feats. The size of an upgrade will determine how many slots it occupies.
RACING
*Normal, low speed manuevers do not require a drive check unless there are adverse conditions or obstacles.
*Manuevering in the presence of other biker traffic or while engaged in a turn requires a drive check of 1d20+Ability Stat+drive skill bonus+ Manuever. The player's roll result must be within four numbers of the target number (10 +/- severity score + players speed category ) for them to maintain their relative position. The player chooses their preference of two rolls after all declared bonuses are factored in.
Exceeding the number will cause the bike to turn too sharply and drift toward the inside of the turn, while coming up short will cause the player to drift toward the outside. The player may choose how much of their ability bonus and drive bonus to apply to a roll from the max down to -3, but cannot change their hoverbike's manuever bonus. A player may not take 10 on this roll but they may take 20 or 0, both of which results in an airslide (see below) in the coinciding direction. On straightaways, a drive check is not required unless another hoverbike is adjacent, in which case low numbers turn left, and high numbers turn right, and the DC is 11+ the number of vehicles adjacent.
If the dice range is not met and the bike changes its lateral position, take the difference between the target number and the roll value as the number of squares that the bike moves in the appropriate direction, counted against the bikes move for that turn. If this number exceeds the bikes move by 1.5x, then the bike is in an airslide.
*Entering another bike's square results in a collision unless the interloper succeeds a reflex save, where they may choose to climb, dive, or brake at the cost of one speed category. Braking puts them next to the rear fender of the other bike, while climbing and diving puts them above or below, respectively.
When bikes collide, the damage to both bikes is counted with one d6 per square of directional movement that preceded it. Both players may choose to deduct that from their rider's hitpoints, the bike's hit points, or both in equal division; however, the bike's hardness only applies to bike damage.
*Entering the square directly behind another bike is entering the critical temperature zone of the machine's superheated exhaust wake. Players may make the same reflex save with the same penalties as in collisions to avoid this. On a failed save, the rider and bike suffer 2d6 fire damage and the rider will remain on fire for d4 rounds, taking d6 fire damage each round. After the initial burst, the bike and rider swerve clear of the wake into a square of the players choice. If the rider took a full 12 damage, then the bike is in an airslide.
*An airslide is a dangerous but also useful state where the bike is in a controlled stall as its lateral velocity has exceeded its forward velocity. It can result from overly sharp manuvering, loss of control, or an intentional manuever As this interferes with the bikes aerodynamics and engine compression, the bike travels in the direction of its previous momentum, losing one speed category and five feet of ground clearance per turn until it crashes (the air cushion erodes under these conditions.)
However, an intentional airslide that resulted from taking 20 or 0 gains a circumstance bonus for every two points that the original score exceeded 20 or 0 on all vehicle turning stunts in the direction that the nose is pointing. A vehicle also needs to be in an airslide to fullstop.
VEHICLE CREATION
Few companies have the resources to produce hoverbikes that are fully optimized for racing, and thus chances are good that there is a way to squeeze further performance out of a hoverbike with the right modification. However, like any industry, the aftermarket tuning business is rife with unscrupulous vendors who sell useless or even damaging parts. Let the buyer beware.
*Every hoverbike must have a chasis, body, maunevering system, and engine. Accessories take up free space inside or on the body of the hoverbike and detract from the top speed. The room to accomodate such parts is measured in 'slots', which are determined by the chasis and body.
*Manuevering systems have many different ways of taking pilot input, and differing ability scores coincide to drive checks made with these hardwares. Manuevering systems can be bought that employ STR, DEX, CHA, and INT.
*Almost any part of a hoverbike can be interchanged. The chasis is the basic frame of any hoverbike and in radical modifications it is treated as the original machine. The chasis is always custom fitted to a certain engine model and only in rare cases can an engine be exchanged for a different design. A damaged engine may be replaced with one of the same model.
*Hoverbikes are massively expensive machines built with state of the art technology, and even old models can carry prices comparable to a home. Thus, the outright purchase of a hoverbike has a DC of 25+Tech level. Hoverbikes are more typically paid with a monthly mortgage that reflects the bike's tech level, more advanced bikes having a higher cost. Every game week, players must pay 100+50*Tech Level credits toward their monthly mortgage, or make a Wealth check of DC 10+Tech Level. Some advanced hoverbikes can only be leased.
*Players may generate and their own hoverbike model for play. The bike's Tech Level may not exceed the player level by more than 1. The player chooses the bike's Tech Level, and then rolls to generate the following:
Manuever: The player adds the bike's Tech Level + 10, and then rolls 3d6. If the roll exceeds that first number, then the difference is subtracted from the next roll. If the roll falls short of the number, the difference is added.
The manuever score's bonus to drive checks is the (number - 10)/2.
Hardness: The player rolls 3d6 and any applicible bonus or penalty. The result is then divided by two, rounding down, to derive the hardness. The roll value itself is the bike's hit points.
Engine Output: This is equal to 10 + Tech Level, and the top speed is 10x that number minus d20 plus 4d5.
Expansion Slots: 2d4 - Tech Level + size modifier
SPECIAL MANUEVERS
*Passing: Passing is a simple comparison of two competing vehicle's movement points. While engaged in a turn, special tapered scale maps are used to account for the difference in circumferential distance traveled so that vehicles on the inside have to cover less distace to complete the turn. Changing lateral or vertical position takes 2 move per square, except for diving which only takes 1 move.
*Filming: The need may occasionally arise for a player to record something of interest for posterity. This may be flight data, a photograph, or even a video recording. Recording flight data is a standard action. Photography and Video recording is treated like a projectile weapon attack roll, with photography being a standard action and Video recording being a full round action.
*Afterburn (reheat): The process in which the a second fuel injection mechanism is activated in the later stage of the engine cycle, resulting in higher thrust and thus, top speed. Hoverbikes can increase two speed catagories per turn while in this state and have 150% top speed. However, The maximum manuever bonus allowed in this state is +1
CHEATING
While a violation of FairPlay rules, the following tactics nevertheless do take place during races and have in-game provisions made for their execution. Use these tactics at your own risk. For all actions except those involving sleight of hand and bluff checks, the referees gain a +1 circumstance bonus on all Spot checks against the player for every point that the illicit action's check has succeeded.
*Draw/Activate weapon: Requires a Sleight of Hand check and a Standard action, with a circumstance penalty for every size category above Small and a circumstance bonus for built-in hoverbike weapons.
*Fire weapon: A typical ranged (presumably) attack roll with one exception: failed attacks go unnoticed unless the target decides to make a WIS check, while successful attacks are more likely to be spotted.
*Ram: An intentional collision. The player makes the appropriate manuever check on which they cannot take 20 or 0. Damage is resolved the same way as in a collision situation except that the attacker chooses the damage location for him and his target.
*Shove: Placing the hull of one's own hoverbike against another and then displacing them. This is a comparison of 2d4 + Engine Output + Manuever. The winning hoverbike either displaces the other by 1 square or retains their position, as the case may be.
*Air blast: Using the bike's air cushion to create massive turbulence in the air. The racer must succeed a manuever check of 1d20+manuever+Ability stat with DC equal to the engine output. On success, the racers behind suffer a -2 circumstance penalty on drive checks for every ten points of engine output.
*Distract referee: To attract the referee's attention away from something else. This is a simple bluff check, with a success most likely resulting in an official penalty of points, but allows a friend to accomplish something.
*Chuck: To throw debris into the compressor intake of an opponent vehicle. This requires two Sleight of hand checks as the motion is quite obvious, followed by a thrown weapon attack roll. The target's hoverbike instantly suffers 2d6 ability damage to engine output and goes into an airslide.
*Fake Emergency: A player blows the emergency horn, forcing other racers to move out of your proximity. A bluff check DC18 is required to prevent you from being identified as the perpetrator. Referees often differ in their idea of what entails an emergency.
Hoverbike examples
JPERL-21: Once the definitive hoverbike model, the '21 is now known as the quintessential newcomer's machine for its low cost and design simplicity. While this simplicity allows it to be completely user-serviceable and ultimately is responsible for the outdated machine's persistence, it also makes it incompatible with modern technology, meaning that its low performance cannot be mitigated. However, the machine does have its niche uses in events where stability and rugged design are paramount.
JPERL-211: Despite its unflattering reputation as a 'baby trike', the venerable JPERL-21 carries an aura of nostalgic brand loyalty that JPERL could not resist tapping into. To emphasize their devotion to the '21's immortal image, the modern reinvention of the design was released under the same model series as its ancestor. If the original '21 had been more receptive to upgrades, the end result would essentially be the 211, for better or for worse.
JPERL-411: As the 211 breathed new life into its most popular design, JPERL's 40 series fell into disfavor on the professional circuit after its IGRL rival's 'Flash' began to dominate. To combat this, JPERL released an early prototype of their next generation racer, the 50 series. While already touted as a technological marvel, it is actually just a 403 chasis with a different body and some minor upgrades, the only real difference being the butterfly tail. This is reportedly to protect the secrecy of the real innovations that the 55 will feature.
JPERL-55: The highly anticiapted next generation racing machine, whose production has stalled twice as JPERL awaits the completion of its custom engine design and more thoroughly evaluates their competition from C&I. Very little information has been released in order to stoke public mystique.
IGRL "Flue": Crudely dubbed the "Tickler" for its appearance, this is another example of an old machine surviving into modern times. The "Flue" still boasts one of the highest thrust to weight ratios of any terrestrial vehicle ever conceived, but suffers from notoriously poor handling and an uncomfortable ride. However, like all IRGL designs, it is built with a minimalist philosophy to encourage customization.
IGRL "Flash": The most familiar model fielded by this company, the "Flash" is a versatile and easily upgraded machine. The latest model variant, designed by IGRL before it was acquired by Thompson International, took the customizing one step further by introducing a completely modular design that promised to beget the next generation of personal hotrods. Unfortunately, this design philosophy has died with IGRL, as Thompson's engineering department has largely replaced the original team of "geniuses".
Thompson Intl. "Flyer": Thompsons attempt at appeasing the public over its unpopular takeover of IGRL, the Flyer was a colossal market failure. Although it improved on the "Flash" and showed no glaring flaws, the "Flyer" deviated sharply from the faceted, no-nonsense design aesthetic IGRL customers knew, and not in an attractive way. While the "Flyer" design no longer supports customization, it does have a more up to date manuevering system and higher speed than most IGRL machines, and its enthusiasts do exist.
Thompson Intl. "Swift": The company's obligatory response to JPERL's next-generation hoverbike, Thompson differs from its rival in the very open design process, in which they are soliciting input from customers themselves. It goes without saying that the sorely missed modularity design will be resurrected, but despite Thompson's best efforts to redeem itself in customers eyes, the "Swift" is victim to some of the least favorable publicity of any hoverbike.
C&I Type-1: C&I is an engineering lab with strong ties to IGRL's former technical staff, and hearsay has it that the Type-1 originated with a physicist's research in experimental propulsion. The Type-1 itself is known as the "Death Pony" for its frail design and very high thrust, a combination that often results in user fatalities. For those who master the unruly machine, however, the opposition becomes just a part of the background.
C&I Type-2: A rumored successor to the Type-1's overnight fame as the paragon of racing performance, the much speculated Type-2 would presumably overcome its predecessor's poor survivability, high maintenence operation, and steep learning curve.
Tora Itani 5.6: Tora occupies one of the many niche markets for exotic hoverbikes, expensive symbols of prestige that rarely see an actual race but nonetheless boast peerless characteristics. The Itani 5.6 is their 'public' model, which undergoes a cosmetic redesign every year and while its clearly a rich mans toy, it is still a formidable hoverbike in its own right. The 5.6 chasis is associated with some legendary custom hotrods, but it is notoriously difficult to modify.
Tora Itani-R: The R is called "the bike that's worth more than your life", a vehicle so exclusive that customers must wait for Tora to approach them before they can even discuss the price and one's successful purchase is celebrated with a fully catered luncheon. This racing purebred represents the collective talent of Tora's own design team distilled into a handful of machines, each individually machined to tolerances that are rare even in the world of science. Actual performance data is closely guarded and the chances of seeing one at a public race are nil, so how well one would compete against a more familiar machine is a matter of speculation.
Caballista 2344 Durastre: This bankrupt company's flagship design is all but extinct for lack of product support. The 2344 had the smallest engine of any production hoverbike known, but amassed the same output as an device one and a half times its displacement. The 2344 used to be a favorite among hotrodders due to its simple but powerful design and the impressive grassroots support network, but this came to an end when Caballista's successor company filed suit for patent violation. The hoverbike is now a rare but welcome sight on the tracks, and its always somewhat tragic when one is wrecked.
Luca "Balderdash": A compact hoverbike mainly reserved for hip young urbanites, the custom racing versions of these toy-like vehicles reflects the duality of their target market's night life; restrained by day, unbridled when no one's looking. While bringing this vehicle up to racing standards can get expensive, the machine has the potential to humiliate hoverbikes twice its size and engine output.
DeBoldt Hypera GT: DeBoldt is a consumer electronics company known for its cheap products, and its initial forays into the automotive world suffered from consumer skepticism. Their recent hoverbike release was the Hypera, the GT being a limp grab at the racing market. Unfortunately, the GT offers more style than substance as a competitive machine, but does feature a very light chasis.
DeBoldt Hypera 350: DeBoldt's much preferred street model, featuring a more practically sized engine and much lower price tag, this machine is roughly comparable to a JPERL 211. The best part is that due to DeBoldt's lack of production infrastructure, the only unique part of the 350 is the chasis! As the rest of the machine is just an assembly of generic parts, it has become an instant customizer's favorite.
So I'm throwing this out there for anyone who thinks it might be fun. This is meant for more casual gaming and I've kept it pretty nonspecific about certain things, such as specific bike stats, vehicle modding DC's and even the specific equipment. While this is geared toward short, fast paced pbp games in the vein of Arena Tounry, there's no reason why this couldn't be a full campaign mirroring the careers of your players as they compete to make a name for themselves.
Use your imagination when deciding on these things, and make it fit your game; all the balancing game mechanics are in place for you to control twinking and maxing. Notice that there's no reason why DnD characters couldn't be included except that it would be incongruous, but I politely advise against casters unless you want a lot of people falling asleep at the wheel. In that case, if you have players other than Medium size, just scale down a hoverbike for them. 25% stat difference should be plenty for the sexy shoeless god of racing.
My recommendation is for complex, single lap races for short games and fairly lax character creation rules as the d20M crash mechanics do apply, which will take more than a cleric to fix if they wipeout. And it isn't fun when one player's prize winning hero dies before he can amass enough winning to pay for his blind orphan sister's operation. A wide spread of NPC opponents that can be easily pseudo gamed is smart, too.
Longer races should involve NPC's that are more closely matched with the players in skill and hardware, including some cheaters; players aren't going to survive too many obstacles before they roll natural one and can't pull out of the stall, so the only way to keep races long is to nerf the consequences or ramp up the competition. Another alternative is to
During gameplay, whenever the player makes a manuever check? Just have them include a reflex save every time. They come into play a lot because if there's any risk of something killing people or breaking things and your player is heading for it, they get a reflex save. If they need it, then that saves you a post and having to wait for a reply. If not, then the forum roller just used a few more kilobytes of RAM somewhere.
Most importantly, watch those Action Points. They gain one for every opponent they pass (the "points" in the racing rules), which can be saved for the end when their score will determine victory, or spent in an emergency. Since the roll enhancement is so important now, let the players add the 1d6 after they see the roll; they're paying more than enough for each one that there's no need to make it a guessing game unless you are really hardcore. Also, remember that action points can be used for d20M talents, and some of them might be abused.
Okay. Have fun, and I'm washing my hands of it.