by Scott Haring
"...Things should be clearing up by the time you northbound drivers reach the Rothberg exit, but the main stretch of highway from downtown to the Elmbrook Pedestrian Mall is as crowded as we've seen it in many an afternoon. Stay tuned to WREK for the up-to-the-minute traffic conditions, as well as live helicopter reports on any interesting combat action that should develop."
"I wouldn't expect much more than the usual snipings out there today, Brian. With traffic this heavy, everyone's just trying to get home alive. If anyone takes offense out there now, they'll probably just get a positive ID and issue a challenge later."
"You're probably right, Mark. I'm glad to report that that major pile-up we warned you about at the 275 interchange has been cleared, and traffic is moving much...Holy Cow! Would you look at that! Take us in close, Brian...There you see it, ladies and gentleman -- you've got as good a view of it as we do -- it's a high-powered duel, right here in the middle of rush hour!"
Rush Hour is a two-player scenario for Car Wars that can be played either with or without a referee. You will also need the road sections from Car Wars Expansion Set 1 - although you could use the straight road sections from the original Car Wars game in a pinch.
The premise of Rush Hour is simple - two players duke it out on the freeway, with the added complication of a few dozen fellow travelers. Both players get $25,000 to design their vehicles. Once the vehicles are designed, place them on a straight road section. Have each player roll one die - high roll will be in front. If the roll is a tie, then the vehicles start side-by-side. Have each player write down a starting speed - any multiple of 10 mph between 40 and 90. After both players reveal what they've written, take the average of the two numbers and start both players at that speed. Roll one die again for each player - on a 1-2, the vehicle starts in the left lane; on a 3-5, start in the middle; and on a 5-6, start in the right lane. If one vehicle is in the lead, roll 1d6 for the number of inches ahead the lead vehicle is. If both vehicles end up in the same spot, roll again.
Now that you've got the two main combatants positioned, you've got to place the innocent by-drivers. The game begins on a straight road section. To determine what type of road sections follow, roll 2d6 for each subsequent section: 2-3, exit ramp; 4, curve right; 5-9, straight; 10, curve left; 11-12, entrance ramp. All road sections are clear.
To determine the amount of traffic ahead, roll 1d6:
| 1 | next vehicle is 1" ahead |
| 2 | next vehicle is 1 1/2" ahead |
| 3-4 | next vehicle is 2" ahead |
| 5 | next vehicle is 3" ahead |
| 6 | no vehicle in the next 3"; roll again to see how much further down the road the next vehicle is. |
To determine what lane each vehicle is in, roll 1d6:
| 1 | left lane |
| 2-3 | center lane |
| 4-5 | right lane |
| 6 | roll twice more; rolling the same lane more than once means there's only one car there (that is, ignore duplications). Rolling another six means keep rolling. |
It's possible, using the above table, to have vehicles in all three lanes (if enough sixes are rolled). All vehicles should be placed in the center of their lanes.
After using the above two tables to place the first vehicle (or set of vehicles) in front of the lead duellist, start again to see where the next vehicle is ahead of the new lead vehicle, and repeat the procedure until two road sections ahead of the duellists are filled. Now that we've determined where they are, we need to find out what they are. Roll 2d6:
| 2 | Stinger |
| 3 | Hotshot |
| 4 | Mini Sherman |
| 5 | Intimidator |
| 6 | Vigilante |
| 7 | Pirahna |
| 8 | Security Six |
| 9 | Outlander w/sidecar |
| 10 | Joseph Special |
| 11 | Shogun 200 |
| 12 | Ref's choice |
All these vehicles can be found in the stock Car Wars vehicle list. Ref's Choice can be any of the previously-named models, or a favorite custom design, or any other published design from any of the other Car Wars publications.
To determine the vehicle's speed, roll 1d6 and add 2 - that's the speed in tens of miles per hour. Add another 10 mph if the car is in the center lane, and add 20 mph if the vehicle is in the left lane.
If a design calls for a driver and a gunner, then both people are in the vehicle. To determine skills, assume everyone is a basic Driver, Gunner, Cyclist (these aren't duellists, just folks trying to get home). The last roll the ref has to make for each non-player vehicle involves the occupants' disposition when all this mayhem breaks out on the freeway. Roll 2d6:
| 2 | Petrified |
| 3 | Scared |
| 4-5 | Rattled |
| 6-8 | Cool |
| 9-10 | Annoyed |
| 11 | Irate |
| 12 | Berserk |
Petrified characters will make no maneuver to get out of the way - they're too shocked. Petrified characters will also not fire their vehicular weapons. They just basically hope everything will go away.
Scared characters will try to pull over on to the shoulder (or exit, if that's a possibility) to get away from the commotion, and may cause an accident in their haste (-2 to the vehicle's HC). Scared gunners will fire if directly threatened, but at a -2.
Rattled characters will try to do the smart thing (move carefully out of the way, fire only if fired upon or directly threatened), but may not have the experience to pull it off; drop the HC of the vehicle by 1, and vehicular fire is at -1.
Cool characters are in control; they know exactly what to do. A cool driver will stay out of the way, and a gunner will fire only if necessary.
Annoyed characters are likely to stay in the path of an oncoming duellist just to be ornery; however, they won't stand up to a direct challenge, preferring to take a couple of parting long shots to express their disgust with "duellist hooligans".
Irate characters are incensed that anyone would endanger lives and property in such a crowded situation; an Irate character, while knowing it's "none of his business," will shoot at whichever duellist vehicle is closer as soon as one comes within 10" and there is a clear line-of-sight, and will continue to fire until neither duellist vehicle is within 10". The Irate character will maneuver his vehicle so as to get a line-of-sight. If the duellist vehicle he's been shooting at becomes disabled or is no longer the closer of the two, the Irate character will switch targets to the other one. He doesn't really care who wins; he just wants to see the combat end.
The Berserk character snaps. He joins the duel, matching speeds with the duellist vehicles and maneuvering to stay with them, firing at either duellist indiscriminately (roll randomly to see which vehicle the Berserk character goes for each turn, if he has a shot at both) and chasing them down until either they or he is disabled. When determining the actions of traffic encountered down the line, the Berserk character is an equal target along with the duellists for other Annoyed, Irate or Berserk characters.
This could get fairly complicated, as there are likely to be a fair number of vehicles on the road at any one time. Fortunately, most of them are likely to be non-combatants, on the road solely to be maneuvered around. If things still get too complicated, one simplification would be to have all the non-duellist vehicles moving at the same speed. Of course, that wouldn't be as much fun...
If one duellist eliminates the other and then survives all of the other drivers out to get him, he wins. If the duellists eliminate each other, or are eliminated by the angry traffic, it's a draw.
