I've got the basic vehicle parts planned out, and written out.
This includes the weapons and defensive structures... but I'm still tweaking all the engines and power systems so they work right... And I think I may need to rework a few things more then I thought.
This is more or less the part where I keep vehicles from being to easy to abuse, so I'm going over it a few times. I also don't have any prices in it yet.
I've got something like 43 pages of vehicle components.
Smaples:
Clockwork Ballista (00000gp)
Size: 1
Power: -1 clockwork
Lift: -3
Tech 3
Damage 1d6 (x2)
Accuracy: 0
Range Increment: 90’
Crew: 1
Reload: none
Type: Piercing [Siege]
Size Modifier: 0
Hit Points: 10
This gnome designed ballista is a bit small, but uses a complex series of gears and clockwork mechanics to reload itself automatically. It can be operated remotely through simple mechanical controls. The ballista can hold 20 shots before it needs to be reloaded.
Force Field Generator (00000gp)
Size: 3+
Power: special
Tech 5 or Fantasy 4
Hit Points: 30
Size Modifier: -1
A force field generator wraps and reinforces a vehicle with a “Force” energy that must be overcome before real damage reaches the vehicle. Shield covers all of a vehicle, so larger vehicles need bigger generators. The 3 unit generator is able to make a field 20 hit dice large. The field’s maximum capacity is determined by available power. It takes 1 units of power to simply charge the system up, but more power is necessary to gain any benefits. For each unit of power above this activation amount, the temporary hit point maximum increases by 5. So a small vehicle with 16 hit dices requires 3 points of power just to activate, and would allow up to 5 temporary hit points at 4 units of power, and 50 temporary hit points at 13 units of power. As an added bonus, as force effects the field can not be passed by ethereal beings as long as it has even 1 hit point left.
Field generators are generally difficult devices to work. To use a Field Generator an engineer must make an appropriate skill check. Magical generators require Spellcraft, technological versions use Engineering, and Psionic versions use Psicraft. The skill check is DC 10 + 1 for each temporary hit point the field is to gain, so to add 10 points to a field is DC 20. It is possible to add to a field multiple times, so a field with a maximum of 30 temporary points could receive 10 points 3 times instead of all 30 at once. This skill check is a standard action.
Field generators are separate attackable systems in much the same way shield or weapon can be attacked in normal melee combat.
Brig (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: -1
Tech 3
Component slots devoted to this purpose allow for the “safe” containment of prisoners. Depending on the setting, this can be bars and reinforced walls, up through specialized digital locking systems. Generally, the walls in these brings are metal, as are the doors. This makes them very safe but also heavy. The iron walls, floor, and ceiling are about 3 inches thick. They have a break DC of 30, hardness of 10, and 90 hp. Barred doors use 2 inch bars with a hardness of 10 and 60 hit points each. Breaking the bars is DC 25. Solid metal doors have break DC 28, and the lock can not be reached from the inside. The locks are generally also DC 25 to pick if you can reach one with a suitable tool.
Brigs, much like prisons, are often over crowded, but most brigs are “designed” to hold 4 prisoners each in a separate cell, but they are generally used to hold 8 people two to a cell, and in some harsher places, 12 people 3 in a cell.
Besides the cells, these components also include a small hallway, and second, single, locked door in and out of the area with a small guard station. This locked door is always solid metal, but the lock is on both sides.
Cargo Bay of Holding (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: -1
Fantasy 3
This magical, or psionic, version of a cargo bay posses more space on the inside then it does on the outside. These bays provide 5 times the space of an equivalent normal cargo space; one slot is equal to 50 cubic feet. These cargo bays connect to a non-dimensional space and works much like bags of holding do, and can be disabled or damage under the same circumstances. Like a bag of holding, these systems have a set weight regardless of their contents, and is reflected in their double “lift” penalty. When determining cargo weight for a vehicle, do not count cargo in Bays of Holding. Like normal cargo bays, bays of holding can be purchased separate, or as larger combined bays.
Sky Ore (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: +2
Fantasy 1
Sky ore is a generic term for a metal that levitates or is affected by gravity opposite of normal. Depending on your setting this could be produced through magic and alchemy, or be a rare “naturally” occurring material. The image of Dwarves or Gnomes mining giant floating boulders and mountains, mountains that slowly sink toward the ground as the Sky ore is mined and removed over decades, is not uncommon on worlds with sky ore.
In some worlds, sky ore must be specially treated in order to levitate. For example; in one world, the metal might require heat to activate its floating properties. The space needed for a small furnace or magical heating system is included in the cost and size constraints for this component.
Vortex Power Plant (00000gp)
Size: 3+
Power: +5 electrical
Lift: -3
Fantasy 3
A vortex is form of planar anomaly. Unlike a portal, a controlled link between two planes, a vortex is a hole to an elemental plane, a hole that spills elemental mater out in a steady flow. A vortex power plant is a controlled vortex used to generate power. The more advanced ones connect to the little known Quasi-elemental plane of lightning, a small plane where the air and positive energy planes overlap. Others use heat from the plane of fire to turn standard turbines. The result is consistent electrical energy.
Larger Vortexes allow for more power, although the size of the containment around the vortex increases as well. A 6 slot plant gives +10 power, and a 9 slot plant gives +15 power.
Monstrous Drive (0000gp)
Size: 2
Power: +4 (any)
Lift: -1
Fantasy 1
A monstrous drive is a broad term for any power source that runs off some creature or monster. This would include a steam engine running off an elemental, or electrical energy being drained from a tank of electric eels. Gnomes have been known to use a Giant Space Hamster in a wheel to power their vessels. This component “package” includes living space for the “power source” and proper food stuffs, if any, for 100 days. Additional food stores can be purchased for this drive using the Food Stores support component.
Teleport Matrix (00000gp)
Size: 3
Power: special (magic or psionic)
Lift: -3
Fantasy 4
Teleport matrixes are designed to teleport a ship vast distances in an instant. They operate much like the teleport spell in that there is no limit to the physical distance the vehicle can travel, but the danger is in arriving off target. Everything in the universe is constantly in motion. Planets orbit a star, stars orbit about a galaxy, the galaxy orbits about the universe. The farther you attempt to teleport the greater these movements complicate the navigation calculations needed.
The power needed to teleport a vessel depends on the size of the vessel, not the distance traveled. 7 units of power provides for every 10 HD of vehicle. Therefore a 32 HD vehicle uses 28 units of power. It takes a full round action to activate the teleport matrix.
Using a Teleport matrix requires a successful Navigation check. Traveling less then a light-year is a DC 15 check. 1-10 light-years away is DC 20, 11-50 Light-years is DC 25, and 51-100 is DC 35, 101-500 is DC 45, and 501-1000 is DC 60. You can not take 10 or 20 on this check. If the check fails, you suffer a teleportation mishap. Missing the check by 5or less lands the vehicle 1d100 thousand miles off target. Missing by 6-10 lands the vehicle in another nearby system, about 10% off target. 10-15 off lands the vehicle in a random star system. 16-20 off lands the vehicle not only in a random system, but dangerously close to the star of the system. 21-25 off and the vehicle lands you in a random star system and the Matrix is damaged in the process. If you miss a DC by more than 25 the vehicle actually lands in another plane or dimension.
Some forms of teleport matrixes, depending on the setting, come with their own power sources in the form of charges; generally 50 charges when full. These matrixes can not be activated by using external power, and only use 1 charge per teleport regardless of size of the vehicle or distance.
Energy Cannon (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: -1
Lift: -1
Tech 4 or Fantasy 3
Damage 2d6 (x2)
Accuracy: +1
Range Increment: 90’
Crew: 1
Reload: none
Type: Fire/Acid/Sonic/Cold/Lightning [Siege]
Size Modifier: -1
Hit Points: 10
Energy cannons are designed to fire blasts, beams, or pulses of energy to destroy enemies. During construction, the type of energy fired; cold, fire, lightning, acid, or sonic is set. Energy weapons generally have names based off how they operate. In tech settings “fire” energy weapons might be plasma cannons, or laser beams, “lightning” might be ion blasters, “sonic” might be graviton pulses, chemical weapons do “acid” damage, etc. In fantasy settings the weapons might be enchanted ballistae that animated and form spikes of cold glowing ice when activated. They might be metal bound glowing orbs that lightning bolts streak from, or gnome made tuning fork shaped sonic antennae. Regardless, the effect is an energy damage type. Some DMs might rule that Sonic and Lightning weapons do not work in vacuums due to the lack of air for the sound or electrons to travel through. Some futuristic weapon types avoid this principal, and magic/psionic weapons don’t necessarily play by the rules of physics. Ask your DM.
Very often the single component energy weapon is not enough firepower. Larger weapons are built by increasing the weapon’s component slots. A 2 slot energy weapon uses double the power, does double the damage, etc. This follows the same rules for component advancement as other components, but certain features do not increase. Damage increases, but he critical multiplier does not. Range increment does increase, but only by 30’ for each additional slot. Reload remains the same: none. Crew does not increase. Lift increase every odd component slot, so a 2 component cannon is -1, but a 3 or 4 component cannon is -2 lift. Accuracy increases every 5 component slots, so the bonus does not reach +2 until 5 components big, and does not reach +3 until 10.
comments? Besides I need editing help?
This includes the weapons and defensive structures... but I'm still tweaking all the engines and power systems so they work right... And I think I may need to rework a few things more then I thought.
This is more or less the part where I keep vehicles from being to easy to abuse, so I'm going over it a few times. I also don't have any prices in it yet.
I've got something like 43 pages of vehicle components.
Smaples:
Clockwork Ballista (00000gp)
Size: 1
Power: -1 clockwork
Lift: -3
Tech 3
Damage 1d6 (x2)
Accuracy: 0
Range Increment: 90’
Crew: 1
Reload: none
Type: Piercing [Siege]
Size Modifier: 0
Hit Points: 10
This gnome designed ballista is a bit small, but uses a complex series of gears and clockwork mechanics to reload itself automatically. It can be operated remotely through simple mechanical controls. The ballista can hold 20 shots before it needs to be reloaded.
Force Field Generator (00000gp)
Size: 3+
Power: special
Tech 5 or Fantasy 4
Hit Points: 30
Size Modifier: -1
A force field generator wraps and reinforces a vehicle with a “Force” energy that must be overcome before real damage reaches the vehicle. Shield covers all of a vehicle, so larger vehicles need bigger generators. The 3 unit generator is able to make a field 20 hit dice large. The field’s maximum capacity is determined by available power. It takes 1 units of power to simply charge the system up, but more power is necessary to gain any benefits. For each unit of power above this activation amount, the temporary hit point maximum increases by 5. So a small vehicle with 16 hit dices requires 3 points of power just to activate, and would allow up to 5 temporary hit points at 4 units of power, and 50 temporary hit points at 13 units of power. As an added bonus, as force effects the field can not be passed by ethereal beings as long as it has even 1 hit point left.
Field generators are generally difficult devices to work. To use a Field Generator an engineer must make an appropriate skill check. Magical generators require Spellcraft, technological versions use Engineering, and Psionic versions use Psicraft. The skill check is DC 10 + 1 for each temporary hit point the field is to gain, so to add 10 points to a field is DC 20. It is possible to add to a field multiple times, so a field with a maximum of 30 temporary points could receive 10 points 3 times instead of all 30 at once. This skill check is a standard action.
Field generators are separate attackable systems in much the same way shield or weapon can be attacked in normal melee combat.
Brig (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: -1
Tech 3
Component slots devoted to this purpose allow for the “safe” containment of prisoners. Depending on the setting, this can be bars and reinforced walls, up through specialized digital locking systems. Generally, the walls in these brings are metal, as are the doors. This makes them very safe but also heavy. The iron walls, floor, and ceiling are about 3 inches thick. They have a break DC of 30, hardness of 10, and 90 hp. Barred doors use 2 inch bars with a hardness of 10 and 60 hit points each. Breaking the bars is DC 25. Solid metal doors have break DC 28, and the lock can not be reached from the inside. The locks are generally also DC 25 to pick if you can reach one with a suitable tool.
Brigs, much like prisons, are often over crowded, but most brigs are “designed” to hold 4 prisoners each in a separate cell, but they are generally used to hold 8 people two to a cell, and in some harsher places, 12 people 3 in a cell.
Besides the cells, these components also include a small hallway, and second, single, locked door in and out of the area with a small guard station. This locked door is always solid metal, but the lock is on both sides.
Cargo Bay of Holding (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: -1
Fantasy 3
This magical, or psionic, version of a cargo bay posses more space on the inside then it does on the outside. These bays provide 5 times the space of an equivalent normal cargo space; one slot is equal to 50 cubic feet. These cargo bays connect to a non-dimensional space and works much like bags of holding do, and can be disabled or damage under the same circumstances. Like a bag of holding, these systems have a set weight regardless of their contents, and is reflected in their double “lift” penalty. When determining cargo weight for a vehicle, do not count cargo in Bays of Holding. Like normal cargo bays, bays of holding can be purchased separate, or as larger combined bays.
Sky Ore (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: 0
Lift: +2
Fantasy 1
Sky ore is a generic term for a metal that levitates or is affected by gravity opposite of normal. Depending on your setting this could be produced through magic and alchemy, or be a rare “naturally” occurring material. The image of Dwarves or Gnomes mining giant floating boulders and mountains, mountains that slowly sink toward the ground as the Sky ore is mined and removed over decades, is not uncommon on worlds with sky ore.
In some worlds, sky ore must be specially treated in order to levitate. For example; in one world, the metal might require heat to activate its floating properties. The space needed for a small furnace or magical heating system is included in the cost and size constraints for this component.
Vortex Power Plant (00000gp)
Size: 3+
Power: +5 electrical
Lift: -3
Fantasy 3
A vortex is form of planar anomaly. Unlike a portal, a controlled link between two planes, a vortex is a hole to an elemental plane, a hole that spills elemental mater out in a steady flow. A vortex power plant is a controlled vortex used to generate power. The more advanced ones connect to the little known Quasi-elemental plane of lightning, a small plane where the air and positive energy planes overlap. Others use heat from the plane of fire to turn standard turbines. The result is consistent electrical energy.
Larger Vortexes allow for more power, although the size of the containment around the vortex increases as well. A 6 slot plant gives +10 power, and a 9 slot plant gives +15 power.
Monstrous Drive (0000gp)
Size: 2
Power: +4 (any)
Lift: -1
Fantasy 1
A monstrous drive is a broad term for any power source that runs off some creature or monster. This would include a steam engine running off an elemental, or electrical energy being drained from a tank of electric eels. Gnomes have been known to use a Giant Space Hamster in a wheel to power their vessels. This component “package” includes living space for the “power source” and proper food stuffs, if any, for 100 days. Additional food stores can be purchased for this drive using the Food Stores support component.
Teleport Matrix (00000gp)
Size: 3
Power: special (magic or psionic)
Lift: -3
Fantasy 4
Teleport matrixes are designed to teleport a ship vast distances in an instant. They operate much like the teleport spell in that there is no limit to the physical distance the vehicle can travel, but the danger is in arriving off target. Everything in the universe is constantly in motion. Planets orbit a star, stars orbit about a galaxy, the galaxy orbits about the universe. The farther you attempt to teleport the greater these movements complicate the navigation calculations needed.
The power needed to teleport a vessel depends on the size of the vessel, not the distance traveled. 7 units of power provides for every 10 HD of vehicle. Therefore a 32 HD vehicle uses 28 units of power. It takes a full round action to activate the teleport matrix.
Using a Teleport matrix requires a successful Navigation check. Traveling less then a light-year is a DC 15 check. 1-10 light-years away is DC 20, 11-50 Light-years is DC 25, and 51-100 is DC 35, 101-500 is DC 45, and 501-1000 is DC 60. You can not take 10 or 20 on this check. If the check fails, you suffer a teleportation mishap. Missing the check by 5or less lands the vehicle 1d100 thousand miles off target. Missing by 6-10 lands the vehicle in another nearby system, about 10% off target. 10-15 off lands the vehicle in a random star system. 16-20 off lands the vehicle not only in a random system, but dangerously close to the star of the system. 21-25 off and the vehicle lands you in a random star system and the Matrix is damaged in the process. If you miss a DC by more than 25 the vehicle actually lands in another plane or dimension.
Some forms of teleport matrixes, depending on the setting, come with their own power sources in the form of charges; generally 50 charges when full. These matrixes can not be activated by using external power, and only use 1 charge per teleport regardless of size of the vehicle or distance.
Energy Cannon (00000gp)
Size: 1+
Power: -1
Lift: -1
Tech 4 or Fantasy 3
Damage 2d6 (x2)
Accuracy: +1
Range Increment: 90’
Crew: 1
Reload: none
Type: Fire/Acid/Sonic/Cold/Lightning [Siege]
Size Modifier: -1
Hit Points: 10
Energy cannons are designed to fire blasts, beams, or pulses of energy to destroy enemies. During construction, the type of energy fired; cold, fire, lightning, acid, or sonic is set. Energy weapons generally have names based off how they operate. In tech settings “fire” energy weapons might be plasma cannons, or laser beams, “lightning” might be ion blasters, “sonic” might be graviton pulses, chemical weapons do “acid” damage, etc. In fantasy settings the weapons might be enchanted ballistae that animated and form spikes of cold glowing ice when activated. They might be metal bound glowing orbs that lightning bolts streak from, or gnome made tuning fork shaped sonic antennae. Regardless, the effect is an energy damage type. Some DMs might rule that Sonic and Lightning weapons do not work in vacuums due to the lack of air for the sound or electrons to travel through. Some futuristic weapon types avoid this principal, and magic/psionic weapons don’t necessarily play by the rules of physics. Ask your DM.
Very often the single component energy weapon is not enough firepower. Larger weapons are built by increasing the weapon’s component slots. A 2 slot energy weapon uses double the power, does double the damage, etc. This follows the same rules for component advancement as other components, but certain features do not increase. Damage increases, but he critical multiplier does not. Range increment does increase, but only by 30’ for each additional slot. Reload remains the same: none. Crew does not increase. Lift increase every odd component slot, so a 2 component cannon is -1, but a 3 or 4 component cannon is -2 lift. Accuracy increases every 5 component slots, so the bonus does not reach +2 until 5 components big, and does not reach +3 until 10.
comments? Besides I need editing help?
