BASIC Vehicle Rules
Vehicles are ruled by 5 basic statistics, using the acronym "BASIC": Body, Armor, Speed, Instruments,
and Control. These attributes are rated between 0 and 10, and determine other statistics relevant to
gameplay. They may also be used in place of the PCs SPECIAL stats for certain tests.
Body - This attribute describes the size, heft, and sturdiness of a vehicle. Vehicles have HP equal to 10 x
Body. Vehicles suffer an Injury when they take damage equal to 5 + Body in a single hit (after DR).
Vehicles can also typically carry a number of passengers (including the driver) equal to Body/2 (rounded
up).
Armor - This attribute describes how resistant the vehicle is to damage. The vehicle itself has DR and ER
in all locations equal to double the Armor rating, and provides the same protection to anyone riding inside
(take the higher of the vehicle's DR/ER, or the PC's). If taking cover behind a vehicle (or firing from
windows/gun ports), it grants cover dice equal to ⅓ the Armor rating (rounded up).
Speed - Speed is a measure of how quickly a vehicle can travel. A vehicle's top speed is typically 10 mph
x Speed. Use Speed + Pilot for tests involving racing or chases on relatively smooth terrain.
Instruments - Instruments is a measure of advanced systems used to pilot or maintain a vehicle. Most
commercial vehicles have a rating of 0 or 1. This rating is used in place of a PC's Perception when
piloting a vehicle remotely, and can be used with Repair to diagnose malfunctions or assess damage.
Control - Control is a measure of how well a vehicle handles. Use Control + Pilot for tests of precision
driving or races through rough terrain. Always use the lower of Control or the pilot's Perception.
Special Rules
Muscle-powered vehicles
For items like roller skates and bicycles, use Athletics instead of Pilot. You may also use END + Athletics
for any test to reduce travel time over long distances.
Races and Chases
Determine how many zones separate the vehicles to start. Each round, the pilots make an opposed
Speed + Pilot test (in very difficult terrain where high speed is not an option, such as a hazard-laden
death race, the GM may substitute Control for Speed). The winner may then spend AP to add to or
reduce the zones of separation between the vehicles. If the separation is closed to 0, the winning driver
may optionally take a second Major Action (according to normal rules) to make a ramming attack.
Ramming
When ramming a target with a vehicle, the attack roll is Control + Pilot against the target's Defense (if an
individual), or, if targeting another moving vehicle, an opposed check against the target's Control + Pilot.
Against a moving target, the damage dice of the attack is equal to the Body + the number of zones of
distance closed that round. As a melee attack, the pilot may spend up to 3 additional AP to deal extra
damage. Against a stationary target, instead use Body + 1/10 the vehicle's current speed in mph. Most
accelerate at a rate of ⅓ their top speed per round.
Hit Locations and Injuries
Vehicles take injuries just like creatures, but have different hit locations with different effects. Not all
vehicles will have all of the hit locations listed. Injuries are inflicted when a single hit does damage of at
least 5 + Body.
Body: Reduce the Armor rating of the vehicle by 2.
Wheels/Treads: The vehicle's Speed and Control are halved. Tires have only half the DR/ER of the rest of
the vehicle.
Propulsion: The vehicle's Speed is halved.
Pilot: Inflict an injury to a random location on the pilot.
Fuel Tank/Reactor: The vehicle catches on fire! The vehicle suffers (Body) dice of damage each round
until someone makes an INT + Repair check (following the rules for healing robots). The difficulty may be
increased in a moving vehicle, or require AP or an additional Athletics check to reach the site for repairs.
If a vehicle is reduced to 0 HP while on fire, it explodes, dealing 3 x Body dice of damage to any
occupants (this damage is Vicious for anyone completely enclosed in the vehicle).
Weapons: A specific mounted weapon is broken and cannot be used until repaired.
Example Vehicles
Bicycle - 1/0/1/0/6
Off-road bike - 1/0/1/0/8
Motorcycle - 2/1/7/1/6
Sporty 2-seat coupe - 3/2/8/2/7
Family sedan - 4/2/7/2/5
Heavy-duty pick-up - 5/3/6/1/5
Garbage truck - 8/5/4/1/3
Armored personnel carrier - 7/6/5/3/5
Tank - 9/7/4/4/6
Vertibird - 9/3/10/8/7
Vehicle Modifications
All mods use the Repair skill to install.
Vehicle Mod Complexity Required Perk Effect
Armor Mods
Junk Armor Plating 2 - +1 Armor (up to 6), -1 Speed
Heavy Armor Plating 4 Armorer 2 +2 Armor (up to 8), -2 Speed, -1 Control
Armor Spikes 3 Blacksmith 1 -1 Control, Ramming attacks gain
+2[CD] and Piercing 1
Reactive Armor 6 Armorer 4, Science! +2 Armor, -1 Speed, -1 Control, +4
4 DR/ER vs. Blast weapons
Wheel Mods
Off-Road Tires 3 +1 Control
Engine Mods
Hot-Rod Engine 3 Science! 2 +1 Speed, increase complication range
of Speed or Control checks by 1.
Nitro Booster 4 Science! 3 (for Consume a number of fusion cell
fusion-powered charges (uncommon materials for
vehicles), Chemist combustion engines) equal to Body to
(for combustion gain +2 Speed for 1 Pilot check, but
engines) increase the complication range by 2 on
that check as well.
System Mods
Fine-Tuned 2 Reduce complication range on all Speed
and Control checks by 1.
Sensor Suite 4 Robotics Expert 1 Gain an Instrument rating of 6
Diagnostic Module 5 Robotics Expert 2 Gain an Instrument rating of 7 for the
purpose of performing diagnostics or
repairs.
Remote Pilot Module 6 Robotics Expert 3 Gain Instrument rating of 8. Vehicle can
be piloted remotely by anyone at a
designated computer terminal (or via
Pip-Boy at +1 difficulty).
A.I. Piloting Module 7 Robotics Expert 3 Gain an Instrument rating equal to the
INT score of a willing installed robobrain
or similar robot mind. The installed A.I.
may use its own Pilot skill for any
checks.
Weapon Mods
Heavy Weapon Mount 3 Gun Nut 2 Attach a large weapon to the chassis,
along with a seat for the operator.
Reduce any difficulty penalties for firing
from the moving vehicle by 1.
Gun Port 3 Armorer 1 Allow a small gun to fire from inside the
vehicle, while the user still benefits from
the full armor of the vehicle.
