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Vehicles


Twentieth Century Cars

A variety of cars are listed below for possible PC acquisition. Each one has a brief description, along with the Pep/Toughness ratings in parentheses after the name. At the end of each description is the wealth level appropriate for ownership. Instead of a wealth rating, some just say "restricted." That means that private citizens don't own these, except under the most extraordinary of circumstances. It should be noted that beginning characters only have a chance of owning a car if they're from the 1990s juncture. Earlier junctures obviously haven't invented them yet, and in 2056 personal vehicles are as rare as impartial government.

The Porsche 911 (11/14)

This car is so fast, they named an emergency response number after it. With a power peak at 5750 rpm, the 1995 Turbo model can go from 0-60 in a hair under four seconds and look good doing it. If you really want to piss off your fellow motorists, take a page from Doug Adams and slap on one of those "My other car is a Porsche!" bumper stickers. (Rich)

Mazda Demio (8/12)

A small "City" car. It's maximum speed is nothing to boast about, but it handles well, and is small enough to get out of many jams. There are a lot of similar little cars in urban areas everywhere. (Working Stiff)1987

Ford Escort (8/14)

Okay, I've never seen one of these in any cinematic car chase, but I owned one for nearly a decade and it was a good car. Maybe the two stroke, four cylinder engine wasn't a rampaging powerhouse, and maybe its boxy shape never turned any heads: but dammit, the '87 Escort had heart. It started in the winter when it was ten below, under eight inches of snow, it got good gas mileage and it never let me down when I needed it. I figure the least I can do is write it up here. When I sold that car, I felt like I was putting Old Yeller to sleep. Honest. This is the performance you get out of a typical big street car; it can be any nameless car you find in any nameless parking lot anywhere. (Poor)

Prowl Car (9/14)

This is your standard black & white police car with the radio in front, flares and a shotgun in the trunk, and gumball lights on top. (Working Stiff)

Lamborghini Countach (12/12)

This Italian fireball is for people whose need for speed borders on the pathological. The Countach has a top speed of 290 km/h, and can do a standing quarter mile in 12.9 seconds. More importantly, it looks like its going Mach 5 when it's still in park. Get one in candy apple red and you rule the road. Of course, a red Countach is a total cop magnet. Police pull these babies over on general principles, figuring that even if you aren't speeding now, you will be soon. It stands to reason: No one buys a Coutach to drive the speed limit, just like no one gets a satellite dish so they can watch PBS. (Rich)

1965 Restored Vintage Ford Mustang (12/14)

This roadster can pass just about anything on the highway: except a gas station. Built back before the catalytic converter emasculated American muscle cars, the Mustang's full-throated roar still leaves your modern sports cars feeling a little inadequate. (Yeah, I know, this thing probably pollutes as much or more than the sport utes I mocked, but it's okay for a Mustang because (1) they didn't know any better back then and (2) it's got such a cool name.) (Working Stiff: but only if your score in Fix-It or Info/Classic Cars is 10 or higher. Otherwise Rich)

1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Sport Utility Vehicle (9/15)

If you live on a farm, or in Alaska, or if you're going through the Australian outback: then you might have an excuse for owning one of these. If you're a forest ranger, a desert geologist, or an ethnographer who's leaving civilized areas to research the herbal medicines of obscure South American tribes: then owning a sport ute is understandable, maybe. But as it happens, most people who could really use one of these lumbering, filth-spewing, environmental rape kits are making do with old, seasoned pickup trucks. The people driving sport utes are overwhelmingly soccer moms, and the closest most come to "off roading" is going over the potholes in front of Williams-Sonoma. To be fair though, they are pretty durable. (Working Stiff)

BMW 328i Convertible (12/13)

Running a quarter mile in fifteen seconds, this is really the car of choice for a midlife crisis. Just make sure your hairpiece is stuck on tight when you put the top down. On the other hand, if you really are cool, you can try and find a paint job that will match your H&K P7 pistol. Then you'll have the double dose of "fine German craftsmanship." (Rich)

Humvee (10/17)

Originally dubbed the "High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle," it's a surprise that this burly, blocky thing was built by the U.S. military and not by the Buro. They were recently okayed for civilian use and will set you back a good deal. However, that money does get you a tough vehicle with a fair amount of off-road cred. The Hummer (as the civilian version is known) sits sixteen inches off the ground and has 170 horses under the hood. Be warned though: The costs don't end at the car lot. This bad boy only gets ten miles to the gallon. (Rich)

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (10/14)

Here's the sports car for thousandaires. Once you get your black Trans Am, all you need is a blonde girlfriend and a Van Halen CD. Happy trails, my friend. (Working Stiff)

Twentieth Century Bikes

Peppy, but fragile, motorcycles are open, which means you can be attacked while riding one. If they can catch you.

1986 Vintage Harley-Davidson Sturgis (11/10)

Harley-Davidson makes big, low, powerful bikes designed to be ridden from one end of a big country to the other: year in and year out. A roadster like this weighs more than a racer: much, much more: and with a top speed of only 110 mph, the racer will bury it on a short stretch. On the other hand, no one cruises the highway on a racing bike for a host of very good reasons, the primary one being that, after an hour, a racing bike is about as comfortable as a nice cozy crucifixion. (Working Stiff)

1996 Yamaha Thunderace motorcycle (13/9)

The '96 Thunderace is a top of the line racing motorcycle. It can get up to 170 mph: faster if you shave your legs and your head. Not for amateurs, and not for the timid. (Rich)

1996 Honda Rebel motorcycle (9/7)

This bike was built to its cost, and within those limits it's well built. It's not going any faster than 80 mph unless you're driving it down a steep mountain with a powerful tailwind, but it's a reliable and nimble cycle. However, it is small. If anyone bigger than 5'10" gets on a Rebel, he's going to have to deal with his elbows hitting his knees. (Poor)

1952 Vincent Black Shadow (12/11)

Hunter S. Thompson immortalised the Black Shadow in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and describes it better there than I could here. Suffice to say that this is a wicked, resentful, vicious and sullen vehicle: but one that gets results. Basically, it's the Courtney Love of motorcycles. The Black Shadow, while somewhat finicky about how you start it, is a tough bike. As a consequence, whenever one crashes, it's damaged enough to need repair, but it can always be repaired. Black Shadows never get totalled.

Other Ground Vehicles of the 1990s

M1A1 Main Battle Tank (9/25)

This tank saw a lot of action in the Gulf War, once they fixed some problems with the sand filters on the jet intakes. You read that right. The M1A1 Abrams actually uses a jet engine. Couple that with blazer reflective armor, a Really Big Gun and enough computing power to run twenty networked games of "Quake" simultaneously, and you've got the nastiest ground assault vehicle of the twentieth century. The gun still requires a gunner and loader, but does damage 28. It has heavy front armor worth +5 Toughness.

Bigass Hovercraft (6/18)

God bless Jackie Chan for showing us the chase potential of the bigass hovercraft. (It's in "Rumble in the Bronx," if you're wondering.) When attacking a hovercraft, know that any blunt attack (like ramming or sideswiping it) is just going to bounce off. Only penetrating things (like knives) or sharp things (like an improbably huge sword that you get from a conveniently placed store and wedge in the door of your car) are going to do damage. (Restricted)

Armored Personnel Carrier (9/20)

(Restricted)

Peterbilt Eighteen Wheeler (5/20)/(7/17)

"You're a trucker? How's your peterbilt?" Okay, now that's out of the way!

These stats are for any big, eighteen wheel truck in the "Convoy" / "BJ & the Bear" / "Any Which Way But Loose" mold. The first set of stats (5/20) is for when it's hauling the trailer, and the second (7/17) is just for the engine section by itself. (Rich. Everyday heroes can own one of these if they're wildcat truckers: an everyday hero type of job if there ever was one.)

Ground Vehicles of 2056

Private ownership of vehicles is largely prohibited in 2056: the crackdown started with crushing emissions taxes coupled with massive subsidies for mass transit. Eventually, the Buro just nationalized all the oil companies and stopped selling to the public. Now all individual vehicles are in the hands of the police, the government, the army, or illegal dissidents. These vehicles are all electric, and most run off batteries. The police cars get powered up at the station, while electrocycles take their power where and when they can get it.

Converted Electrovan (4/12)

A few old chassis have been retrofitted to run on electricity, and are used for local deliveries, but they're slug-slow and automated: no steering wheel or gas pedal or anything. A techie could graft on some controls without even a roll, but it would take a couple hours. If he's in a hurry, the program running the truck can be interrupted in one sequence with a Fix-It roll against Difficulty 10. While running on program, the electrovan has a Drive skill of 8. (Working Stiff)

Jammer Electrocycle (5/7)

Actually, it's not only the Jammers who use these: any renegade thrill seeker might build one in order to defy authority and get some kicks. Being home made, these are almost universally frail and unreliable. Furthermore, the unpredictable quality of the components (most of which have to be stolen or bought black market) make electrocycles an uncertain property in the best of times. (Poor)

Public Order Rapid Response Police Transport (7/17)

Sleek, black and fairly fast, the RRPT (pronounced "ripped") is the next generation of cop car. They're built to the aerodynamic ideal you see in so many of the rounded cars of the 1990s, but they have no chrome or brightwork on them anywhere. Except for the lights, they're pure black. (No, they don't need a logo on them: Everyone knows who's behind the wheel.) They're pretty much like cop cars from the 1990s: technology improved, but there's only so much you can do with an electric car. Besides, Buro cops are almost universally confronting pedestrian enemies. Speed isn't that much of an issue, as long as it's faster than public transport. If most horses hadn't been killed for food when the global weather system went crazy, Buro cops would probably still be riding those. (Restricted)

Public Order Group Impropriety Restraint Wagon (6/20)

The POGIR are slow, clunky mop-up vehicles used for mass arrests. They look like big, grey plastic minivans, usually with a seal on the side and sirens on the top. Up to twelve cowed and restrained dissidents can be flung in the back. Similar cars in cargo configuration are used for Buro deliveries and other supply work. (Restricted)

Jammer Junkyard Racer (X/X)

Built by madmen and driven by crazies, these contraptions use parts from old junked cars. Most use alcoholic fuel, which makes them a lot hotter than Buro cars. Each is as individual and cranky as they get. They all look as if they escaped from one of the later Mad Max films. Some are even choppers or planes, but use the same stats.

When building one of these, the techie can assign points as he likes between Toughness and Pep, as long as the sum is no greater than his Fix-It skill. Most have insanely high Pep scores, and fireball if you even touch them the wrong way. (Poor)

Aircraft of the 1990s

For our purposes, the only difference between an airplane and a ground vehicle is that you can do different stunts with a plane. It's probably not very true to reality, but it's true to action movies, where you often see Arnold chasing semi-trucks in a jump jet. If the PCs are in cars and are chasing a flyer, the GM might let the flier get away automatically if the plot demands it. Or she might run through a complete chase scene. It all depends, so if the bad guy gets away flying while you're driving, don't make a stink.

Jet Fighters (26/16)

Jets usually have a couple machineguns and autocannon. Similarly, they've got some big air to air missiles or bombs. Their only problem is that they can't stand still; one attack run a Sequence is good maneovering against ground targets. Incidentally, if you want to borrow a page from "Jewel of the Nile" and drive one on the ground, it's got Pep 12 on straightaways, but only Pep 6 on the corners. (Restricted)

Personal Prop Planes (16/8)

This covers your basic crop dusters, Piper Cubs and the plane that Indiana Jones used to escape from South America. (Working Stiff)

Small Helicopter (14/10)

Use these stats for most civilian use helicopters: traffic copters, rich-guy transportation and Medevac choppers (if, for some bizarre reason, a Feng Shui character ever got injured). This also covers the chopper that T.C. flew back on "Magnum P.I." (Anyone remember T.C.? Anyone?) (Rich, or Working Stiff if you just run the thing for someone else.)

Apache Battle Helicopter (18/20)

When these are flying, they are the most bad-ass thing that can cover the ground; planes still rule the skies. But mostly, it's just sitting there, waiting for insanely-expensive spare parts. Armament is similar to that of a jet fighter, only the missiles are air-to-ground.

Air Vehicles of 2056

The best vehicles in 2056 are airborne, and these are all restricted (of course). Most of these are actually abomination-powered, and work by harnessing antigravity, though there is one old-style helicopter still in use, but these use contemporary stats.

You must have an AI/O unit to drive arcanowavne vehicles. You need only hook up to the vehicle in very intense situations, such as chases, and still use the Drive skill. They don't have an onboard power generator and don't need fuel. They eat.

SPUD-U (17/12)

Officially the Public Order Single Person Urban Defense Unit, the Police Cops use these more than the army, though the army has its share. SPUD-Us look like wickedly fast flying fish. They have rotors for non-combat flight, but only a Pep of 10 when using those. They're usually armed with two synched Blue Spears in a turret, though a few have a forward mounted Hellharrower. It is depicted in Feng Shui first edition, p 209.

BuroMil Grav-Car (15/19)

This is a fast attack unit used for aerial assault. It looks vaguely like a 20th century sports car, but instead of a trunk there's a small fusion generator, and the engine cavity is partially occupied by a retractable, turreted Hellharrower. There's another turret on the roof, this one with twin Blue Spears. Adorning the hood is a rack of eight Woodchuck 70mm missiles (25 damage AP or HE).

This a hot vehicle: not just metaphorically, but literally. The fusion reactor kicks off a lot of heat, and the Buro had better things to spend their money on than a really good air conditioner. It's usually 90 degrees in the cockpit: hotter in the summer.

Along with the SPUD-U-A, this has become the vehicle of choice for Netherworld operations. A few have even been camouflaged to look like Honda Accords for use in the 1996 juncture. These disguised grav cars have none of the guns but all of the speed and armor of their futuristic cousins. (A very nice air conditioner replaced the two turrets, making this one of the more comfortable BuroMil vehicles.) Plus, when necessary, they can fly.

BuroMil Superconducting Assault Vehicle (Antigravity) (12/30)

The SAV(AG) is, predictably, referred to as a "Savage" by the few, proud crew members who drive these over the crumbling cinders of any and all resistance. The Savage is a flying tank, shaped something like a rough lozenge with treads. (It doesn't fly all the time: Driving over things is usually more efficient.)

Where the Grav-Cars are hot, Savages are cool. The superconducting circuits needed to make twenty tons of hardware float around like the world's deadliest butterfly only function at zero degrees Celsius. Thus, in addition to floating, Savages are usually etched with frost, hung with icicles, and surrounded by a sinister fog of condensing moisture.

There's more to the Savage than intimidating looks, of course. There's also a turreted Hellharrower and a retractable missile launcher (loaded with the same 70mm missiles as the Grav-Car, only the tank can hold a full rack of 24). The big weapon, however, doesn't actually have a turret or a barrel. It's basically a gravity beam that can pull or push with the equivalent of Str 20. In itself, that's not too impressive. But the Grav/Antigrav Oscillating Beam System (or "GOBS") can switch between pulling and pushing forty-three times every second. That means anything that gets caught in the beam (which is about 10cm wide and up to a half mile long) gets very hot, very fast, while being shaken to pieces. This weapon does damage 25, ignoring Toughness. Fortunately, it was really designed to raze cities instead of vaporizing individuals, so individuals get a +5 to their dodge AV when avoiding the GOBS. What a GOBS is very good at is cooking vehicles. If it hits (using the attacker's Guns skill against the target's Drive AV), it does 30 damage to anyone inside. (The beam does get a bit dissipated going through anything sturdy.) This damage does not ignore Toughness. (Restricted)

BuroMil Superconducting Armored Fire Platform ("SCAF-PLAT," better known as a "Floating Fortress") (8/45)

This moves and it carries people, so technically it's a "vehicle," but the "fortress" part of "flying fortress" is really the more accurate part of the name. This flying behemoth is about as long and wide as an American football field, and it's five stories high. A SCAF-PLAT usually carries four SPUD-Us and two Grav-Cars on it. These run interference when the floating fortress' five GOBS (a weapon described above, in the section on the Superconducting Assault Vehicle, if you aren't reading in order), ten turreted Hellharrowers, and twelve missile launchers (each of which is loaded with 72 Woodchuck missiles) are insufficient. (That is, not very often.) The purpose of the SCAF-PLAT is to destroy cities, and for that they have a bottom mounted plasma vent that takes about two seconds to melt a steel girder from 300 feet up.

As you may have guessed, the SCAF-PLAT is not something you blow up from the outside. Taking down one of these monsters is done from the inside (probably by sabotaging the fusion generator, or wrecking the superconducting circuits, or fiddling with the plasma vent). Floating Fortresses are described in greater length in "Seed of the New Flesh," for those who are just dying to blow one up. (Very Restricted)

Boats

Zodiac skiff (11/4)

These sounded so cool in the novel "Zodiac" that I decided to put 'em in here. Basically, this is a rubber raft with an insanely huge motor stuck on the back. According to Neal Stephenson the propeller is the only thing that touches the water when these get up to speed. However, their Pep decreases by 1 for everyone other than the skipper who gets aboard. The perilously tiny Toughness number represents the downside of such a nimble, lightweight hull. (Poor)

Cigarette Boat (10/13)

Okay, who else started humming the theme from "Miami Vice" as soon as you saw the phrase "cigarette boat"? You can fess up, it's okay. These are racing boats, officially. In practice, they're more often used as "Hey ladies, check out this incredible symbol of my virility!" boats. That, or "Run! It's the Coast Guard! And we've got eight pounds of cocaine hidden in the cooler!" boats. (Rich)

Tugboat (3/20)

Big, slow, powerful, used for moving barges around. Really, is there anything else you need to know? They get a +5 Toughness on Rams, because they are so insanely powerful. (Rich to own, Working Stiff to operate)

Motorboat (9/14)

Your average, middle class, burger munching, Budweiser drinking man's water ski boat. Or, in Hong Kong, your average, middle class, squid-and-noodle munching, Tsing-Tao drinking man's water ski boat. (Working Stiff)

River Steamer (5/16)

You find these plying the rivers of China in 1850, propeller-driven craft (few paddle wheelers in these parts) that rule the river as long as there is no gunboat around. A larger steamer carries more cargo, but since all you need to do to cripple her is to hole the hull, they don't have more Toughness. (Rich to own, Working Stiff to be the captain, Poor to be crew)

Gunboat (4/15)

These are the reason Europeans rule the waterways of China in 1850. Small, lightly armored but with a sizeable gun, that does 15 damage AP or HE. This gun takes 9 to 25 shots to reload, depending on type. (Rich to commandeer one, Working Stiff to be the captain, Poor to be crew)

Sailboat (3-6/3-10)

Sailboats come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny sport catamarans (6/10) to large junks (3/15) to modern yachts and big schooners from the 1850s (both 5/14). None of them ever get faster than Pep 6 and most of them aren't going to make that unless they've got up a sizeable bit of momentum. (There's a reason that most boat chase scenes use motorboats, see?) (Poor-Rich)

Trains

Trains are in their heyday in 1850; in the contemporary and 2056 junctures, they are technological marvels but not very exiting. A train can never chase any other type of vehicle (they must go where the tracks go, right), but they can be chased and chase each other. Because of the tracks, they get a +3 bonus on any Get Back on Track stunt.

Rail Car (-/20)

These are the cars that engines pull, either full of heavy cargo or screaming passengers.

Trolley (5/18)

A typical streetcar or suburban commuter train, these exist in 1850 and all later junctures. Other than the amount of smoke and noise they generate, and for the fact that the doors close automatically from 1950 or so, they all work the same way. The older ones have they advantage that it's easier to hang on to the outside.

American Engine (6/23)

This is the engine that won the west; big, black and smoke-belching, you can see it in any number of westerns. Similar trains ply the rails all over the world in 1850.

Slow Train (7/25)

A modern-day or 2056 engine used in rail yards or in tandem to pull freight trains. These are much more common than fast trains, and are usually disel-powered, which means they're not dependent on electricity, which can be cut.

Fast Train (8/24)

Big engines used to pull passenger trains, these are the queens of the rail. Basically unchanged statistics-wise from the looong, cool steamers of1880s to the boxy electric engines of 2056. Bullet trains are even faster, but can only run on specially-made tracks with slow bends and smooth tracks.

Appendix: Determining Pep and Toughness

This is not a part of the text, and not intended to be published. This is to give you some idea of how I've set my values; Pep follows your values very closely. Toughness has very little relation to Wreck scores.

Pep relates to movement speed, but also includes modifiers for how "peppy" the vehicle is, cornering, braking, acceleration, size. In general, bigger vehicles have lower Pep.

A simple guide is to Pep is to add factors for terrain, speed and size from the tables below, and sum the results. A running man has a Pep equal to his Move -4 (for legs).

Terrain
Flight ±0
Wings, Boat –2
Legs, Off–road –4
Road, Hovercraft –6
Rail Tracks –8
Size
Person, bike (2m) 0
Car (8m) (personal wings) -2
Truck, tank, small plane (30m) -4
Airliner, small ship (200m) -6
Huge Ship, Star Destroyer -8
    
Mov KPH
0 4
1 5
2 6
3 8
4 10
5 12
6 16
7 20
8 25
9 30
10 40
11 50
12 60
13 80
14 100
15 125
16 160
17 200
18 250
19 300
20 400
21 500
22 600
23 800
24 1000
25 1250
    
Toughness Kg
0 2,5
1 4
2 6
3 8
4 10
5 25
6 40
7 60
8 80
9 100
10 250
11 400
12 600
13 800
14 1000
15 2500

Toughness is closely related to mass, with possible modification for structural integrity or armor. Objects are tougher than people, mass for mass. But remember, most objects have Dodge 0.

For very large objects, take the weight in tons instead of kg, and add +15.

 

     


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