Ob-Racing Contest winners

By Davis N. Searle
HTMLized by Gustav Dahlström.

Wow. That's the first thing all of us at SiG said when we saw the response to the ob-racing contest. As the creator of the article, I thought I was sick, but some of the entries were wonderfully twisted! I've seen more warped and devious ways to kill or maim a careless pedestrian than I ever thought possible!

Several of the obstacles submitted will be used in up coming products, so even if you didn't win it doesn't mean your submission wasn't good. I would like to personally thank everyone who submitted an obstacle, and also those who took time to send in comments.

I had a difficult time deciding on the winner, so I took the finalists to a panel of impartial judges to determine who would win the on-year subscription. The winner is Bryan Fields, a really sick individual who designed the William Tell Invitational:

William Tell Invitational

This obstacle is a team event. One ob-racer puts an apple on his head and stands 5" (game scale) away from his partner. The second ob-racer picks up a crossbow and has three shots to hit the apple. Due to its size, the apple is -3 to hit. If the bolt misses the apple, roll one die. If you roll a 1 or 2 the ob-racer takes the bolt to the head. If the apple is hit, a flag is given to the team. A crossbow costs $75, 3 GE, to hit 6, does 1 to 3 points of damage, and weighs 6 lbs. Crossbow bolts cost $2 each and are 1 GE for every ten carried (or 1.5 lbs.). It takes two turns to reload a crossbow after firing.

Now, as if this wasn't enough, I came up with a variant. It bothered me that such a good obstacle could only be used in team events. So who would do the shooting while the ob-racer stood there with the apple on his head? A member of the audience, of course! Roll 1d-3 to get the skill level of the shooter. Then roll one die again - on a 1 the audience member really doesn't like you and takes those three shots at you! The ob racer cannot move until all three shots have been fired, or until the apple has been hit.

Mr. Fields also sent in two other really twisted obstacles called Whack-a-mime and Moto-jousting. Both of these may appear in a future publication. I felt bad that the other two obstacles I liked weren't going to win anything, so I invented Runner-Up positions! The first Runner-Up obstacle is Dodge City.

Dodge City Dodge City

The racer must pass through a 90' (6" game scale) street. On both sides of the street are two story facades built in the style of the American Old West. Each turn the street is occupied by a racer, roll one die and divide by two (rounding down) to determine the number of "rustlers" that appear. For each rustler, roll one die again: on a 1 to 3, the outlaw appears on the left side of the street; on a 4 to 6, he appears on the right.

Each rustler is a man-sized robot that pops out of saloon doors, open windows, etc. Each has a random weapon (see chart below) - whether they use live ammo or paint, is up to the course directors. All standard hit modifiers apply. The gunslingers cannot fire in the same turn that they appear. After they fire twice (whether they hit or not) or after they take two hits of damage, the outlaws will cease firing and collapse.

Roll two dice on the chart below to determine weapon type:

2 Light pistol
3 Heavy pistol
4, 5 Rifle
6, 7 Shotgun
8 Assault rifle
9 Laser rifle
10 Submachine gun
11 Gyroslugger (2bbl)
12 Portable flamethrower

The second Runner-Up is David R. Willsey, who sent in three really great obstacles. My favorite is called Surely You Joust:

Surely You Joust

Racers are equipped with pikes (see Dueltrack, p.16). At the opposite end of the 5" x 2" field is a cyclist (one for each ob-racer) with a pike and spiked body armor. The bike is a light cycle with no armor and an acceleration of 10. The biker is Cyclist +1, Blade. The object is a contest of Blade skills between the obracer and the cyclist (known as the knight).

If the cyclist wins, the obracer takes full damage from the pike. If the obracer wins, the cyclist is knocked off his bike and the obracer may take the flag that is affixed to the knight's chest. If both the ob-racer and cyclist miss their rolls then both the ob-racer and the cyclist take full damage from the pikes. If the knight takes more damage than the obracer, he is unseated and the racer may claim the flag. If both the obracer and the cyclist miss the roll, then the pass is a complete failure.

In any case, the knight will only make the one pass and only one knight will attack each obracer.