Sails, Steeds, & Starships
Vehicles follow the same creation rules as characters, with a few adjustments. Vehicles use four Traits instead of the nine, which work exactly like character Traits (including being capped at 10), but take on some different mechanical uses.
ENDURANCE: Damage absorption. Stay functional when a torpedo clips your ship's hull or a grenade detonates under your car's chassis.
MIGHT: Exert raw physical force. Ram through a blockade, haul a full cargo hold, or drag another vehicle to a stop.
POWER: Command weapons systems, advanced technology, or magical capabilities. Fire the truck's mounted minigun, or use your submarine's sonar. This Trait can be left at 0 if the vehicle has no special capabilities, and its 4 starting dice can be placed into other Traits instead.
SWIFTNESS: Move fast and respond precisely. Weave between blaster fire in an asteroid field or cut a hairpin turn on a rain-slicked road.
When creating a vehicle, start with a score of 4 in each Trait, then apply a Scale Bonus based on its size. Each vehicle begins with 3 Life Points before adding the bonuses provided below. For example, a Standard car begins with 9 Life Points.
| Scale | Example | Trait Bonus | Life Point Bonus | Approx. Occupants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Horse, Motorcycle, Rowboat, Hang Glider | +2 to One Trait | +3 | 1-2 |
| Standard | Car, Speedboat, Small Aircraft, Horse-Drawn Carriage, Single-Seater Starfighter | +2 to Two Traits | +6 | 4-5 |
| Large | Tank, Yacht, Steam Locomotive, Gunship | +4 to Two Traits | +10 | 5-20 |
| Massive | Warship, Helicarrier, Dreadnought, Space Station | +6 to Three Traits | +15 | 30+ |
Players can build vehicles the same way GMs build NPCs. Decide how powerful the vehicle needs to be for the story, then use the Scale table as a baseline. Key Traits should reflect the vehicle's purpose. A racing bike leans hard into Swiftness. A battleship prioritizes Endurance and Power. A cargo hauler maxes Might.
Traits can be raised no higher than 10. A Trait that reaches 10 becomes a Mastered Trait and gains Exploding Successes, exactly as it does for characters.
Vehicles in Combat
When combat begins, the pilot rolls 1d6 and adds whichever Swiftness score is lower (their own or the vehicle's). A skilled pilot in a slow vehicle is still bottlenecked by what it can do. A fast vehicle in unskilled hands is equally limited. Passengers who aren't piloting roll their own Initiative normally and act on their own turns.
Vehicles can be fitted with one type of armor plating. The tradeoff between protection and speed is the same as it is for characters:
| Armor Type | Endurance Bonus | Swiftness Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Light | +1 to Endurance | -1 to Swiftness |
| Mid-Grade | +2 to Endurance | -2 to Swiftness |
| Heavy | +3 to Endurance | -3 to Swiftness |
Vehicles can be fitted with up to four Weapons. These follow the same rules as character weapons: each uses the Close, Near, or Far range categories, deal 1 point of damage per success, and can be used to impose Tribulations. The Power Trait is used when utilizing a vehicle's weapons or technology. If the vehicle has no Power score, it cannot have mounted weapons and characters will need to attack with their own.
Crew & Piloting
Any roll the vehicle makes is made using the vehicle's Trait score, not a character's.
Each crew member assigned to a specific station (if any) gives the vehicle a +1 bonus to one Trait roll (while they're actively working in that position). A co-pilot adds +1 to Swiftness rolls. A gunner adds +1 to Power. An engineer adds +1 to Endurance rolls made to Endure. No single Trait can receive more than +3 from crew bonuses, and bonuses from crew can push the total dice rolled above the Trait cap of 10, just like item bonuses do for characters.
Any failed roll to Overexert made by the vehicle deals 1 point of damage to it from the strain.
Damage & Repairs
When a vehicle reaches 0 Life Points it's disabled; dead in the water, stalled out, systems offline, etc. When a vehicle takes damage on a roll of 4 successes or more, anyone aboard takes half that damage rounded down.
Repairs work like healing, but use Sage instead of Survival. A Sage roll restores 1 Life Point per success. A roll to Repair can only be made once per Round in combat, or once per Scene outside of it. Other crew members can assist each other with repairs, adding 1 die to the roll per helping hand.
Encumbrance
A vehicle's Encumbrance Limit is calculated by adding its Might and Endurance scores together. For example, a car with a Might of 5 and Endurance of 6 has an Encumbrance Limit of 11. These limits can be consumed by the Weight Values of the items below:
| Category | Weight Value (Per) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 1 | Fuel Canisters, Ammunition, Small Cargo |
| Standard | 2 | Weapons, Passengers, General Freight |
| Heavy | 3 | Heavy Equipment/ Large Cargo |
Passengers and crew always count as Standard weight. Mounted weapons and armor are already accounted for in the vehicle's Trait scores and don't count toward the limit.
A vehicle carrying more than its Encumbrance Limit is considered Burdened, taking a -2 to all Swiftness rolls and losing the ability to Dodge. Carrying more than twice the limit makes it Overloaded, applying a -4 to Swiftness and removing the ability to Dodge or Counter. Carrying more than three times the limit leaves it Immobilized, preventing the vehicle from moving under its own power.
Distance
Vehicles use the same Close, Near, and Far distance categories as characters, but cover ground on a different scale. What takes a person two actions to cross on foot, a motorcycle clears in one, and starship crosses in the blink of an eye.
In combat, a vehicle can reach anything Far in a single action, and moving to something Close is always a free action, regardless of Scale.
When two vehicles are engaged in a chase, both pilots roll Opposing Swiftness each Round. Whoever rolls more successes either closes or creates distance by one range category. A pursuer who closes to Close range can attempt to board, ram, or otherwise make contact. A target that opens distance beyond Far escapes entirely.