Ob-Racing

HTMLized by Gustav Dahlström.

All submissions become the property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. We reserve the right to award no prizes if no entries of publishable quality are received. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 30, 1989.

While autoduelling still pulls in the highest ratings, it the clouded tunnel when the FCE would have ignited. Any contestants in the paint cloud at the time of ignition are considered dead, and are out of competition.

Ob-Races, like other death sports, have no entry fee prize money and other costs are generated by the ticket sales and advertising revenue. Body armor and a light pistol are provided free of charge.

Prizes for first, second and third place are based on the number of participants x $1,000. First place wins 50% of the total, second place gets 30% and third gets 20%. Example: An ob-race involving eight competitors ($8,000 total pot). The prizes for first, second and third place would be $4,000, $2,400 and $1,600 respectively. This is over and above the value of any flags the participants may have captured.

Flags

Each obstacle will have at least one flag. The flags all have values, and the value varies with each flag. During the normal ob-racing season, the flags may be worth anywhere from $100 to $1,000. Each event will have at least one special flag. Special flags are the big prizes - free clone upkeep for a year, a new car, a round trip to anywhere, etc.

Flag positions are all known ahead of time. Anytime an ob-racer is in the same 1/4" square as a flag, he may make an attempt to grab it on a roll of 9 or better on 2d. Each racer is allowed one attempt per flag. Any attempt to grab a flag is treated as a firing action (i.e., the player cannot grab a flag if he fired his pistol that turn, and when he makes the attempt, he stops moving for the rest of the turn). Each flag is 1/3 GE (or 1/4 lb. for the alternate encumbrance rules). Flags are effectively indestructible.

Flags can be taken from dead, unconscious or stuck characters. A character can grab up to two flags off of another pedestrian (rolling 9 or better on 2d if the pedestrian isn't cooperating, automatically otherwise) with a single firing action.

Any racer that crosses the finish line alive will collect the value of his flags.

Optional Pedestrian Rules

Hit Locations

A pedestrian's body has 3 DR as usual. In addition, the legs, arms and head each have 2 DR Hits to the body are handled normally. Hits to the limbs and head also inflict 1/2 as many additional hits to the body, rounding down.

Head hits: (assuming the pedestrian survived the hit) force an unmodified roll on the concussion-grenade table (Car Wars Compendium, p.48). Any head hit that does more than 2 points of damage not only kills the pedestrian, but makes him unreadable for cloning purposes.

Leg hits: When a leg takes its first point of damage, the victim's Move is reduced by 1/4" per turn. When a leg takes 2 points, it is considered crippled, and reduces the victim's move by 1". Obviously, if both legs are gone, the pedestrian isn't going anywhere.

Arm hits: When an arm takes its first hit, roll id for every item it is carrying or helping to carry. On a 5 or 6, the item is dropped. If both arms are blown away, the pedestrian drops everything not holstered, in a backpack or on a battle vest. When one arm is destroyed, the pedestrian may no longer use two-handed weaponry or vehicular controls; when both arms are destroyed, the pedestrian can't do much of anything (drive, fire hand weapons, use gun consoles).

Body armor, IBA, impact armor, etc., protect against hits to all locations, adding their DP to each location. Flack jackets and armored battle vests only protect the body.

Pushing Oneself

The Obstacles

The Flame Cloud Surprise - Six parallel 1" tunnels with a single ceiling mounted paint sprayer and flame cloud ejector each. Four of the six will create paint clouds when the racer crosses the tunnel entrance. The other two will create flame clouds (chosen randomly, of course). The clouds change each time a racer enters the obstacle.

Beam Rider - The ob racer must run across a narrow beam 30' long and 4" (not game scale) wide. For each 1/2" traveled, roll id. On a 6, the racer falls off and must start over at the beginning and spend 1 turn remounting the beam. Roll again if the ob-racer tries to grab the flag(s) at a +1 to the roll.

Blade Runner - This typically consists of six hurdles (use wooden blockade counters to represent the hurdles) spaced 1/2" apart. Each hurdle is covered with very sharp edges. Roll id to clear each hurdle; on a 4 or less, the character made it easily. On a 5 or 6, he takes 1d-4 damage from the blades. Add 1 to the damage for every 1/4" the racer is pushing himself.

The G. I. Slide - A 90' (6") corridor has an ice floor with a coating of oil. Use the pedestrian rules concerning movement on oil.

The Gorilla Shuffle - Four ropes span a pit 30' (2") wide. The ob-racer must swing from rope to rope. Down below, holographic lions and alligators wait to devour a clumsy swinger. The racer must make three transfers from rope to rope. On each transfer, roll one die. On a 5 or 6, the racer will fall to his simulated doom unless he rolls one die below his Acrobatics skill + 1. If he makes the roll, he cannot attempt another transfer until the next turn. Subtract 1 from the die roll for each level of Acrobatics above 0. Each transfer takes 2 turns, so it will take eight seconds to cross this obstacle.

High Firepower - A 15' (1") tall pole (one for each contestant) in an otherwise clear stretch of terrain. The racers can either ignore the poles and run ahead, or climb up the pole to retrieve the loaded SMG and/or special flag at the top. Each turn spent climbing (there are convenient han& holds, so anyone can do it) will raise a character 1/4". Getting down is quicker - the racer can jump (taking 1d-5 damage from the jump) or climb back down at 1/2" per turn.

The Hall of Flame - A 90' (6") maze. Each tum, two random blocks shoot out a jet of fire (treat as a LFT in all ways). If things are slow, the number of blocks that shoot fire will double, and keep doubling until someone gets fried...

King Solomon's Mines - A 90' (6") stretch of clear terrain with 12 mine counters placed on it (see diagram). Each turn, roll two different colored dice. A roll of 1 to 3 on the first die indicates the left column, 4 to 6 indicates right. The other die determines row. At that location, a mine explodes at the end of phase 3 (a light comes on above it at the beginning of phase 1 to give the ob-racers a slight warning). Four mine counters (chosen at random) will have standard flags at their center point.

The Mud Bog - A 30' (2") long mud bog. Participants can only move 1/4" per turn, and cannot push for extra speed. Roll one die each turn; on a 4 to 6, the racer is stuck, and cannot move until next turn. If an racer is stuck for 4 consecutive turns, he is stuck and out of the race.

The Machine Gun Crawl - A 30" (2") crawl under barbed wire as machine guns spray the area above the wire. The racer can crawl at 1/4" per turn, plus 1/4" per three levels of Running above 0. Each 1/2" (full or partial) spent under fire, roll 2d. On an 11, the participant takes 1/2d damage; on a 12, he takes 1d damage. Add 1 to any damage roll for every 1/4" the ob-racer is pushing himself.

The Pit of Snipers - 10"x 10" room, with 2" tunnel entrances and exits on at least two walls. A sniper drone (Handgunner+2, capable of up to 30 mph) armed with a rifle will endeavor to stay at precisely 5" range from its chosen target. There are as many sniper drones as there are contestants, and each is color-coded to match his target. The sniper drone will continue to fire (on the last phase of each turn) until the ob-racer leaves the tunnel, or the sniper is hit once by the ob-racer (after which, it is considered "killed").

Monkey Bars - 30' (2") long. Each time the racer moves 1/4" roll one die. On a 5, the racer missed the next rung and cannot move forward on the next phase; on a 6, the racer fell off the bars and must spend 2 full turns getting back up. If a 5 was rolled, the next roll that racer makes will be at + 1.

The Rope Bridge - A 45' (3") bridge made completely of ropes. An ob-racer can only move 1/2" per turn, plus 1/4" for every level of Runner skill above 0. For each turn ended on the bridge, roll one die. On a 6, the racer loses his grip. Roll again: On a 1 to 4, he falls off the bridge and is out of the race. On a 5 or 6, he catches himself, and must spend 1 turn in the same place, climbing back onto the bridge.

The Rugged Trail - A terribly rocky and uneven path 60' (4") long. Roll 1d for each inch travelled. On a 6 or higher, the racer has injured himself (see pushing for more details). Add 1 to the roll for every 1/4" the racer is pushing himself.

Russian Grenade Roulette - An indestructible box of 12 grenades Sits in front of the racer. He must drop one grenade on the ground in front of him. The grenades are equipped with impact fuses. Roll 2d for each grenade to see what kind it is:

2 Flash
3, 4 Paint
5 Concussion
6-9 Fake
10, 11 Teargas
12 Explosive

The Spiked Sprint - A 60' (4") long spike-covered runway. For each turn that an ob-racer starts in the spikes, he will take 1d-5 damage. Add 1 to the damage roll for every 1/4" the ob-racer is pushing himself.

The Suicide Swim - The racers must swim across a 75' (5") long pool. At the far end of the pool, three divers wait with spearguns. Each diver will only shoot once at an ob-racer. The first fires when the ob-racer enters the water, the second at the 1 1/2 mark and the last at the 3" mark. Each diver has Handgunner+ 1.

The Tunnel of Love - The racers jump onto a slide that will plop the racer into one of six randomly chosen messes. The slide takes 1 turn; then the ob-racer hits one of these:

1 - Soft ground. The ob-racer may continue normally.

2 - Concrete floor. The ob-racer takes 1d-5 points of damage from the landing, and then continues normally.

3 - 1/2" of mud. Spend ld-3 turns (but never less than 1) getting out of it.

4 - Flame! The ob-racer takes 1d-4 damage.

5 - Tar-and-Feathers. Delays ob-racer by 1 turn, and movement is slowed by 1/4" per turn for the rest of the race. If the victim has no body armor, he will take 1d-4 damage from the hot tar.

6 - Lion's Den! The ob-racer is devoured by real or holographic lions, depending on the how lethal the refs want to play the competition .

The Turkey Shoot - The "turkey" is a target moving 20 mph directly toward the racer. The turkey has several large, jagged blades projecting from it. The turkey starts 8 1/4" away from the racer. The racer must score 3 hits with his light pistol on the turkey before it reaches him. If he hits it 3 times, it will stop, and the racer can continue past it. Otherwise, the turkey will sideswipe the racer and inflict 1d damage on him.

The Wall - The racers must climb a 50' tall wall. Roll one die for every 10'; on a 5 or 6, the racer falls. Subtract 1 from the roll for each level of Climbing skill over 0. Ob-racers cannot push themselves in this obstacle.