(Example: if a stock 5.000-lb. Joseph Special. traveling 30 mph. fires 50 lbs. of rockets, it?, actual speed increases to 35 mph, but it can jump a distance as if it were traveling 50 mph.)
Cost: $15 per 10 lb. (the installation is trickier than rear-end boosters). 1 space per 100 lbs. or fraction.
Sneakin' Around
Stealth model" that is to say a silent-running system, is so useful on helicopters that it seems only natural someone would apply it to cars as well. The price of the helicopter system ($16.000) seems like a bit much, however. I suggest $6.000, ?00 Lbs., 2 spaces for cars and vans; $3,000, 100 Lbs.. 1 space for cycles. (Assume the "Foxbat" from ADQ 2/1 was an experimental installation, using modified helicopter parts. and thus more expensive.) This has the same effect as on helicopters: while in stealth mode the vehicle cannot be heard more than 1" away, or from inside a closed car or building (but see optional rule below). and has halved acceleration and top speed. Vehicles larger than vans cannot be silenced (the idea of a Stealth Semi is sort of cute but silly).Stealth mode does not silence weapons. Silencing heavy or fully automatic weapons is not really very practical. Flash suppression is feasible, however, and should cost about +200/e of weapon cost (the Vulcan comes with suppressors as standard equipment), subject to referee's discretion as to practicality. The beam from a laser cannot be hidden, unless it's an X-ray laser.
Silent running only muffles the sound of the car's own parts, of course; it can't do anything about the squeal of tires on pavement. As an optional rule of thumb for "let's get past the guards" roleplaying scenarios. a car in stealth mode is audible a number of inches away equal to the total difficulty Ratings of the maneuvers it has performed so far: thus a Bend is audible 3" away. a 25 mph braking at 5". and the dreaded Bootlegger Reverse at 7". Double the range for driving on gravel. but not for water, oil. or ice. People in cars or buildings can hear at half range. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Ford's automotive stealth systems should be considered unofficial -- for that matter, so should the rest of` these near gadgets. If you want cheap stealth systems in your campaign. go ahead -- we prefer the $16,000 price tag.)
Flywheel Storage
A method of providing both emergency power and short-term silent running, boron-fiber flywheels in vacuum cans are available to match all standard sizes of power plant; the wheel has half the cost. weight. and space requirement of a matching PP. Damage points are the same.The power plant keeps the wheel constantly spun up to maximum; if the plant is lost, the wheel automatically cuts in to drive the car's generators. so power to computers, etc. is not interrupted. (This switch may be overridden if desired.) The flywheel may also be switched in manually, with effects equivalent to Stealth Mode running.
The flywheel has acceleration equal to a matched PP (usually the wheel will match the plant, but a smaller one may be installed; if so, its acceleration must be calculated separately). On the first segment of flywheel drive, its maximum speed is equal to a matching PP, on each segment thereafter, however, the maximum drops by 10 mph. If this brings the maximum below the car's current speed, there is a forced deceleration. Firing a laser drops the maximum speed by another 10 mph, 15 mph for a heavy laser. 20 for an X-ray laser. There is no additional penalty for using vehicular electronics (computers. radar. etc.).
It is not possible to "push" a flywheel for extra speed.
Flywheels may be mounted in any ground vehicle, including cycles. A vehicle may carry one wheel for each PP it carries. Flywheel and conventional power may not be combined (though if you want to figure out the rules for this. go ahead).
Repairing a flywheel counts as a Very Hard job.
Gyroslugger
A 20-mm rocket launcher resembling a large sawed-off shotgun. Also known as a Very Rifle, Deuce in the Hole, and the Wrath of Goddard. Damage varies with type of shot. To hit 8, two shots. Cost: Single-barreled $100, double-barreled $150. Weight: 2 grenades, each extra round 1/2 grenade.
| Round Type | CPS | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Flechette | $10 | 2 hits, area effect, against soft targets only |
| AP | $15 | 1d6-1 |
| Incendiary | $20 | 1d6-2, starts fire on 1 or 2 |
| Flare | $10 | For signaling; 2 hits if fired at a person |
| Paraflare | $20 | fully lights the entire area for five seconds |
Deathtoll
Poor Deathtoll. They had a really neat racket going, and might have gotten away with it as long as their opponents were off balance. But like most crooks, they pushed their luck too far.Major Motion is a Driver+2, Gunner+l, Mechanic+l. His "exoskeleton" is 5 points of armor, contains pulleys and cables that give him a Talented Normal's lift capacity (400 Lbs.), and a voice amplifier. The low-power laser in his headpiece could be used as two levels of Flash against a single target. (A successful "hit" of 7 or better will "blind" any vehicle, or all people in a '/2" x 1" area, for two full seconds, as per the searchlight rules).
Lightning Rose is a Handgunner+2 and Gunner. Her whip can be used as an Entangle With maximum 1'/2" range. The whip hits on a 7 or better, and has a variable number of DP. Roll one die when the whip hits. The entangled Character is set free when the whip takes damage equal to its DP: it is -4 to to be hit. Her batteries count as an Energy Blast, requiring a Successful hit either hand-to-hand or with the whip. She stores six charges of 1d-3 attack, and may use one or two charges at a time. Her pistol is Heavy.
Suncore is a Mechanic +2. has 4 DP (instead of the usual 3), has one level of Strength (which gives him Id - 1 hand-to-hand damage. and lets him earn, around that humongous suit). and carries ;he equivalent of a Heavy- Duty Flamethrower. His suit is Reflective Fireproof Armor. stopping 6 hits. Anyone without Flash Defense targets him at -3 in daylight.
Skyrider is Hang-Glider+3, Handgunner+1, and has 1 level of Dexterity (+ 1 to hit in hand-to-hand combat) and 4 levels of Gliding (he can make 80 mph at HC 3).
Elaine (the buggy driver in gray) is Driver+2, Gunner+l, Mechanic, and Trucker+l.
Deathtoll's vehicles aren't intended for serious highway combat; the Major's car was meant to impress people and provide for very fast getaways, and the laser buggy was solely to carry the ultrazap around. They also reflect the fact that Deathtoll didn't have unlimited funds to set up with; if Alkahest hadn't put them out of business, they would have built better vehicles with their ill-gotten gains.
MAJOR MOTION'S CAR: Was built out of the hulk of a Hotshot MD model. It sacrifices armor and front weaponry for speed. Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, super PP, hvy. suspension, 4 standard tires, driver, passenger (no controls), one FT right, one FT left, MD rear, fire extinguisher, 3 rocket booster tubes rear with 1-segment burn (60 Lbs. in each tube, for up to 30 mph acceleration). Armor: F8, R5. L5, B10, T4, U3. Acceleration 10, HC 3, 5,200 Lbs., $9,680.
THE LASER BUGGY: Built out of spare parts. It is fast, especially for an off-road vehicle. Luxury, std. chassis, super PP, off-road suspension, 4 OK solid tires, driver. passenger, heavy x-ray laser. Armor: F2, B1, U2. Acceleration 10, HC 2; 5,070 lbs., $28,300.
Alkahest
The members of Alkahest are semi-superheroes (Extraordinarily Talented Normals), with a sizable amount of experience and a moderate set of Disadvantages.Adam Sharpe is a Driver+2, Cyclist+2, Gunner+l, Handgunner+l, Martial Arts, Paramedic, and Damage (like Suncore, he has 4 DP). He has 2 levels of Disguise skill and 4 levels of Darkness power (the Darkness power allows him to create an area of darkness the same size as 4 smokescreen counters -- in any configuration as long as they are all touching -- up to 16" away. The effect of darkness is the same as a smokescreen, except lasers may fire through it). He is an Ace. He is unable to feel fear; common situation leading to irrational acts.
Nola St. Francis, the November Fox, is a Driver+2, Gunner+l, Pilot+3, Trucker, and Damage (4 DP). She has 5 levels of Invisible Force Wall (which creates an invisible 1" x 1/4" barrier up to 20" away that has 5d6 DP and takes damage like vehicular armor). She is an Ace in both ground and air combat.
Celeste "Red Zinger" Zingara is Driver+3, Cyclist, Gunner, Handgunner+l, Martial Arts+2, Acrobat+2, and Paramedic +3. She has a level of Knowledge skill in old rock lyrics, and 3 levels of Armor (9 points deducted from each attack). Being bulletproof tends to make her careless.
Farley is a Driver+l, Cyclist+l, Gunner+2, Trucker+2, Mechanic+5, and Damage+2 (5 DP). He has one level each of Strength (1d6-1 hand-to-hand damage) and Regeneration Ore regains 1 DP every third turn). His inability to speak in public is a Physical Limitation (all the time, slightly impairing) and his size disturbs people (Unusual Looks) on an 8 or less on 3 dice.
Wladislaw "Weevil" Tarchinsky is a Driver, Gunner+2, Trucker, and Electronics+5. He has 6 levels of Telepathy, which is usable only for communication (not mind control or Ego attacks).
All members of the group have a small reputation (8 or less on 3 dice to be recognized) as tough opponents. They must take constant precautions to keep their mutant abilities secret (especially Tarchinsky, who finds telepathy easier than talking). They become rash, though not berserk, when other members of the team get hurt, which in their business happens a lot. They are not being Hunted, yet; but other mutants must exist, and sooner or later the fact will become known.
The most important group limitation is that their superpowers are fixed; they cannot be improved with experience.
Alkahest's cycles (which are carried aboard the bus) are modified stockers from The AADA Vehicle Guide; a Taurus with RL sidecar, carrying a long-range radio and hi-res computer (total cost $12,530), and a Silent-Spider: stock Cycle Concepts Spider replacing the extra RR magazine with Stealth Mode and LR radio (cost $8,610).
This isn't the time to reveal all the secrets of the Alkahest Supercruiser ... but it has pop-up universal turrets, mounting a recoilless forward and Vulcan aft, a portable shop, communications center, infrared, plenty of armor, and some very sophisticated electronics. Not counting Tarchinsky's special gadgets, the bus would cost about $125,000.
X-Ray Lasers
Just the thing for the duellist with more money than he or she knows what to do with, X-ray frequency lasers have extra punch and a sneak attack at a vastly increased cost. To-hit 7 (the invisible beam is harder to target).X-ray laser: 4 dice damage, 3 DP, $12,000, 750 Lbs., 3 spaces.
Heavy X-ray laser: 5 dice damage, 3 DP, $18,000, 1,500 Lbs., 5 spaces.
Comouflage Netting
An open-weave cloth that makes things harder to find, especially from the air. Camo net may be simply draped over an object or strung up on poles like a tent. It gives a -3 penalty to search rolls by ground units, -5 to air units. Note that this applies only to visual search; audio, radar, infrared, etc. are unaffected.Netting is available to match most terrain types -- woods, desert, snow -- and is completely ineffective if it does not match the surroundings.
A roll of netting sufficient to cover a vehicle up to van-sized, or an area 1" square if tented, weighs 20 lbs., takes up 1/2 space (this stuff is bulky), and costs $25. The net must be anchored against blowing away; weights sewn into the edges cost an additional $10.
Rolls of net may be as large as desired; an entire encampment may be hidden against air search by a "roof" of camo netting.
It is possible to camouflage a vehicle while leaving it drivable, but the camouflage has only -1 value when the vehicle is moving.
Anti-radar netting is available for three times the cost and weight of regular net, same space. It does not make the target invisible to the radar, but confuses the echo, so that the target is not clearly identifiable.
