9.3: Vehicle-scale Combat

The vehicle-scale is the middle range of the combat scales in WCRPG. Given the fact that there is such a wide variety of vehicle types, it is understandable that combat on this scale may seem convoluted at first glance in terms of range-finding and available actions. Other than a few minor items however, vehicle-scale combat isn’t much different from character-scale or capital ship-scale combat; it is perhaps best thought as a hybrid of the two.
The following rules assume that all combatant vehicles are of the same terrain type (i.e. they're all ground vehicles, all sea vehicles, etc.). Situations wherein vehicles of different terrain types are in combat with one another are considered a form of mixed-scale combat, which will be covered in Chapter 9.5.
===Range===
The range increments used on the vehicle-scale depend on the terrain category of the combatants. Land vehicles use a range increment of one kilometer, sea vehicles use an increment of ten kilometers and air vehicles use an increment of twenty kilometers. The increment used for space vehicles depends upon the situation; space vehicles fighting in atmosphere are considered air vehicles and use the same range increment. In space an increment of one thousand kilometers will usually suffice if it matters at all. As with the other combat scales, combatants on the vehicle-scale may withdraw from combat if they are greater than fifteen range increments from all hostile combatants.
Note that the ranges listed above are considered "defaults"; more so than the other scales of combat, the GM must be willing to be flexible with the spatial and temporal frames on the vehicle-scale in order to fit certain situations. For example, a high-speed chase between a police interceptor and a stolen car probably would take place on a spatial scale of a hundred meters or less. Sea combat needs to be particularly flexible since ships tend to move at rates significantly slower than their weaponry; sea combat uses a temporal scale of six minutes per round (instead of six seconds). The important thing as always is that combat flows smoothly.
===Vehicle-scale Actions===
Because there is such a wide variety of vehicles, it's not that easy to definitively say who's in charge of giving orders and performing Checks. Many smaller vehicles (bikes, groundcars, etc.) may only have one "station" responsible for controlling all aspects of its operation; in that case, it's usually the craft's pilot that will determine what it will do in combat. Larger vehicles may have multiple persons working at multiple stations; in that case, there's usually some kind of vehicle commander whose job it is to give orders as well as specialists who will actually perform the ordered actions (in this discussion there will be occasional references to gunners, who are specialists dedicated to firing weapons). A vehicle may perform two standard actions or one full-round action per round as well as any number of free actions.
=====Give/Belay Orders=====
A vehicle's commander may choose to give orders during a round of combat; this is a free action. They may also choose to belay any outstanding orders given in previous rounds; this is a standard action. If giving orders, the commander must declare a target specialist, give a specific order to that specialist, declare a specific target of the target if necessary and declare when they would like the order to be carried out if necessary. If belaying orders, the commander need only talk to the specialist performing the action; if that specialist is carrying out more than one order, the commander will need to indicate which of them to belay. A commander may not belay an order that has already been carried out. Giving and belaying orders is an automatic action that requires no Skill Check though Shaken specialists must Rallied before the commander may issue them any orders.
=====Rally=====
A commander may choose to rally Shaken specialists; this is a standard action. This action requires the commander to make a successful Leadership Check; the result of the Check must also succeed against the target's Willpower Save. If successful, the affected specialist is no longer Shaken; any associated penalties end immediately. A commander may attempt to rally multiple specialists simultaneously. The Leadership Check has critical potential; in the event of a critical success, the specialist(s) will no longer be Shaken regardless of whether or not the specific result would have been sufficient for a successful Check and immediately experience the same benefits as a successful Inspire action (see below).
=====Inspire=====
A commander may choose to try to inspire confidence in a non-Shaken specialist; this is a standard action. This action requires the commander to make a successful Inspire Check; the result of the Check must also succeed against the target's Willpower Save. If successful, the affected specialist will not become Shaken if otherwise indicated to do so for a number of rounds equal to the degree of success divided by ten (round up). Further, during that time, that specialist may add the same amount to the DC of all die rolls they perform. A commander may only attempt to Inspire one specialist at a time.
=====Ready=====
Vehicle specialists can be ordered to ready an action for later use; this is similar to how actions are readied on the character-scale (i.e. the specialist prepares an action to perform in the event that some condition takes place between the time they ready the action and the vehicle's next turn). If the conditions for the action's activation are fulfilled, the specialist performs the readied action at once; this delays any action the current combatant may be taking until the readied action is resolved. If the readied action is executed, the vehicle involved loses one of its action phases during the next round; it may lose its entire turn if two readied standard actions or a single full-round readied action is executed. Readied actions are only good for one round; if the conditions needed for their execution do not come about before the vehicle's next turn, the commander must either order the specialist to renew the ready action or declare a different action.
=====Stand-By=====
A vehicle's commander may to order the vehicle's crew to stand-by as a standard action. By doing so, they declare that the vehicle will do nothing during the course of that action phase; game-play proceeds to the vehicle's next action phase or to the next combatant's first action phase as applicable. There will probably be few occasions in combat where a commander decides to just sit back and watch but sometimes it may simply be necessary...
=====Use Skill/Ability=====
The commander may order a specialist to use any one of their natural abilities or make Skill Checks as a standard action during a combat round; the commander simply declares which ability/Skill the specialist is to use and a target if appropriate. This is a general "catch-all" action that may be used for any purpose not explicitly mentioned elsewhere.
=====Disembark=====
Any member of a vehicle's crew may get out of it during a combat round. Doing so counts as a move action and may transform the current combat situation from vehicle-scale to mixed-scale. Disembarking combatants lose any movement benefits and any Cover the vehicle may provide. To leave a vehicle in this manner, it must first be brought to a complete stop and cannot make any move actions in the same round that any crewmember or passenger disembarks.
=====Eject=====
A vehicle's commander may order its abandonment in situations where there is insufficient time to bring it to a stop first; this is a special full-round action. Ejecting is a dangerous proposition but it is still better than staying aboard a vehicle as it explodes. In order to eject, the commander must perform a Survival Check; one-tenth of the total amount of Core Damage (round up) is subtracted from the DC of the Check. If successful, the commander may select any (or all) of the vehicle's personnel to eject immediately; ejecting personnel sustain 3d10 points of Non-Lethal Damage in the process. This Check has critical potential; in the event of a critical success, personnel will not sustain damage upon ejecting. In the event of critical failure, personnel are still ejected from the craft but sustain double the normal amount of Non-Lethal Damage as well as 3d10 points of Lethal Damage. Further, the ejection system immediately malfunctions regardless of its current damage level. 
Any of a vehicle's occupants may reflexively eject; this can only be done on vehicles equipped with Ejection Seats at the time of its destruction and may only be performed if it has not sustained at least 100% Core Damage. To eject reflexively, the character must make a successful Reflex Save; they may not eject if this action fails. The damage from this type of ejection is increased to 5d10 points of Non-Lethal Damage.
Ejecting characters in atmosphere may be susceptible to falling damage. Without Ejection Seats, ejecting from a vehicle is little more than just jumping out while it is still moving; the character will take normal falling damage upon hitting the ground (see Chapter 12.3). If the vehicle has Ejection Seats or if the character has access to technologies designed to cushion their final impact with the ground (such as a parachute), any damage from the final impact is limited to a maximum of 1d10 points of Non-Lethal Damage.
Ejected characters are considered disembarked; their ejection prompts a change from vehicle-scale to mixed-scale combat. If a character ejects out of a space vehicle, they are treated as jettisoned cargo; if they are wearing a Pressure Suit or used an Ejection Seat, they have eight hours' worth of life support after which time they will be subject to suffocation effects (for more on Suffocation, see Chapter 12.3).
=====Launch/Retrieve Small Craft=====
If a vehicle carries any child craft, its commander may order the launch or retrieval of that craft; this is a special action that may take a number of rounds to complete. If the parent vehicle is not equipped with any Carrier Systems Modules, it must come to a complete stop before it may launch or retrieve any child craft; this further requires the vehicle's commander to make a successful Coordination Check. Should the Check fail, the child craft is still launched but automatically sideswipes the parent vehicle in the process (as discussed later). Only one vehicle at a time may be launched in this manner; the launched vehicle must wait one full round before it can make any actions of its own. If it is targeted during this time, it must use its FHD. Craft may be launched and retrieved safely if the parent vehicle has at least one Carrier Systems Module; in that case, the parent vehicle may launch one craft every five rounds (minimum) per Carrier Systems Module installed (i.e. a parent craft with two Carrier Systems Modules installed could launch two child craft at once, wait five rounds, launch another two craft and so forth). The vehicle may only retrieve one child craft at a time per Carrier Systems Module installed, again waiting a minimum five rounds between retrievals. Launched child craft enter combat at Range Zero from the parent vehicle. Launching child craft into combat introduces new combatants and may change the scale of battle from vehicle-scale to mixed-scale.
=====Jettison Cargo=====
A commander may order a specialist to jettison some or all of the vehicle's cargo during the course of a round; this is a free action. The commander simply declares which cargo to drop; the jettisoned items are placed at Range Zero from the vehicle. At any later point, any properly-equipped vehicle that moves to Range Zero of the items may use a Manipulate Object action to pick up them up.
=====Jink=====
A vehicle's commander may order its pilot to begin "jinking" during a combat round; this is a move action. Jinking gives the vehicle a -10 circumstantial HD bonus but inflicts a -10 circumstantial DC penalty to all Marksmanship and Ballistics Checks made to fire the vehicle's weapons as well as a -1 penalty to its movement for one full round. Jinking must be the first declared action of a vehicle's combat round; it cannot be the second.
=====Ram=====
A vehicle's commander may order its pilot to ram an enemy combatant during a combat round; this is a special combined move and attack action. To ram another combatant, a vehicle must move directly towards the target and must be able to reach Range Zero. The ram attempt provokes an Opportunity Attack from the opposing vehicle, at a +10 HD penalty to the ramming vehicle. Once at Range Zero, the ramming vehicle’s pilot makes a Vehicle Piloting Check at a +10 circumstantial DC bonus as an attack roll. The Check must also succeed against the target's EHD as like a normal attack action (see below). If the attempt succeeds, the GM must roll xd10x10 where x is the Size Class of the smaller of the two combatants and apply the result as damage to both vehicles. The ramming vehicle may not make any further movement actions that round.
=====Head-On Ram=====
A head-on ram is a special case of a ram action, where the involved craft strike each other in their respective forward firing arcs. All rules for a general ram apply except that the HD penalty for the target's Opportunity Attack is increased to +20. If successful, a Head-on Ram causes double the amount of damage of a normal ramming attack.
=====Sideswipe=====
A sideswipe is another special case of a ram action. Unlike a normal ramming attack, the ramming vehicle does not need to head directly for the target but may make a number of slip movements as part of its move. The pilot makes the Vehicle Piloting Check to ram without the circumstantial bonus; the HD penalty for the target's Opportunity Attack is decreased to +5. If successful, a sideswipe will cause half the damage inflicted in a normal ramming attack to the target and half again that amount to the ramming vehicle (round down in both cases).
=====Dock=====
If a vehicle is within Range Zero of another combatant at the beginning of its turn, its commander may order its pilot to attempt to dock with it; this is a move action that can be used to transfer personnel, transfer cargo or for boarding actions. The Pilot must simply succeed at a Vehicle Piloting Check if the target is "willing" to dock; the target's HD is subtracted from the result of the Check otherwise. If the Check fails, a second Vehicle Piloting Check is needed to avoid a collision (standard ramming damage applies in the event of failure). If the first Check succeeds, the vehicle successfully docks with the other combatant. If attempting to dock with an active, hostile combatant, this action provokes an Opportunity Attack.
=====Manipulate Object=====
A vehicle's commander may order a specialist to move or manipulate any object exterior to the vehicle during a combat round; this is a move action and requires the vehicle to be equipped with such devices as grappling arms, tow cables or tractor beams. This action may be used to pick up items including cargo previously jettisoned by another combatant; such items may be placed in the vehicle's cargo hold if it has sufficient available space. This action may also be used to manipulate an object without picking it up. If there are multiple items in the vehicle's vicinity that can be manipulated, the commander must specify which item they wish to affect. Manipulation of objects can have various effects; sometimes these effects can end a combat action immediately (such as what happens when an item is rigged to explode when it is handled).
=====Target=====
A vehicle’s commander may order a gunner to target a specific area on an enemy combatant (such as a shield generator or axle); this is a standard action. To target a specific area of an enemy combatant, the gunner must perform a Targeting Check; the result of this Check must not be sufficient for a success but must also succeed against target's HD after adjusting for range (-2 per range increment; -1 with Tachyon Radar installed); note that this is always against the target's HD rating. If successful, any subsequent damage inflicted by weapons fired by the gunner will automatically inflict systems damage to the specific system targeted. The amount of systems damage inflicted depends upon whether or not the combatant's defenses are still functioning prior before damage is resolved; if the target has Shields still up, the total amount of damage is divided by one hundred and applied as systems damage (round down). If the shields are down but there is still Armor, the damage is divided by ten instead. If all defenses are gone, the system takes the full brunt of the damage. Each point of damage inflicted on the system in this manner counts as 1% damage and a subsequent check for malfunction is required. A system may not sustain more than 100% damage in this manner; if the system reaches 100% damage, any further applicable systems damage is lost. Likewise, no excessive damage hits may be applied as the result of a targeting action. A targeting lock is lost if the gunner fires on another combatant, if they are later ordered to target a new system on the same target, or if the targeted system is destroyed. NOTE: If gridded combat is being used, only the arc impacted by the weapon is considered for purposes of the amount of additional damage inflicted (i.e. if a vehicle's defenses are completely down in a combat arc and the weapon impacts that arc, the system takes full damage even if the remaining three arcs have sustained no damage at all).
=====Scan=====
A vehicle's commander may order a specialist to use the vehicle’s sensors (if any) on a specified target during a combat round; this is a standard action. This action may be used to update the vehicle’s information on other combatants (including their current damage level). This usually involves a standard Technology Check though for those vehicles that are too primitive to have any scanning systems or simply don't have any scanners installed a Perception Check may be substituted. The Check must succeed in order to find out any substantial information about the target; failed Checks will utilize the table in Chapter 3.8 to determine any specific information gathered.
=====Repair/Rig=====
A commander may order a specialist to attempt to repair any damage their vehicle has sustained during the course of a combat round; this is a special action. A commander may order repairs at any time; repairs require the specialist to spend a number of minutes equal to the vehicle's Size Class on the repairs, during which time they are not available to perform any other work. To make a repair attempt, the specialist must make a successful Mechanics Check after the prescribed amount of time is complete. If the Check is successful, they may roll 1d10; the result is indicates the percentile amount of damage to the system that is immediately repaired (with zero counting as ten in this case). If the system had malfunctioned, the specialist may make a Damage Control Check to bring it back on-line after successfully repairing some of the damage to it; if successful, the system comes back on line immediately. Armor and Core Damage may not be repaired in combat.
A commander may order a specialist to attempt to jury-rig a system during a combat round; this is a full-round action. Jury-rigging requires a successful Damage Control Check with a DC penalty equal to the amount of damage the system has received. If the Check is successful, its functionality is restored but no actual damage is repaired. Should the vehicle receive any amount of damage on subsequent rounds, however, it will automatically malfunction until more permanent repairs can take place.
=====Hail=====
A vehicle's commander may order a communications specialist to attempt to open communications with another vehicle, combatant or non-combatant during a combat round; this is a standard action. Hailing requires a Translate Check; this Check automatically succeeds if the target craft is operated by members of the same species as the hailing craft. All Fightercraft receive a +30 DC bonus to their Translate Check for purposes of hailing. If successful, the crew of the hailing vehicle may talk freely to the targeted party.
=====Speak=====
Any member of a vehicle's crew may choose to speak to any other crewmember during a combat phase; this is a free action. Combatants may speak to one another at any time for any reason, though what they might want to speak about is totally up to the players and the GM. It is important that communicator and receiver speak the same language, to make sure all messages sent between them are understood clearly; this is particularly important when insulting an opponent. A Translate Check is required when communicating parties do not speak the same language; failure of the Check prevents them from speaking meaningfully to one another. If a vehicle is open to the environment or if a vehicle is too primitive to have an active communications system, a Speak action may be used in place of a Hail action to communicate with combatants outside the vehicle, subtracting ten plus the range to the target from the normal DC of the Check; this kind of "hailing action" cannot be jammed.
=====Jam=====
A vehicle's commander may order a communications specialist to attempt to jam another combatant’s communications during the course of a round; this is as a standard action. Jamming a target combatant’s communications requires a successful Distress Check; if the check is successful, all of the target combatant’s electronic communications are jammed for one round (note that this will not affect any spoken communication). As a side effect, if any combatant in the combat zone launches a Friend-or-Foe missile during the course of a round, any jamming will cause an automatic critical miss; the weapon will inflict damage on the firing craft as if its Communications system had malfunctioned (see below).
=====Distress=====
A vehicle's commander may order a communications specialist to attempt to send a distress signal and summon help during the course of a combat round; this is a standard action. Sending a distress call in combat requires a Distress Check with a -5 DC modifier applied for every active enemy combatant. If the Check is successful, the GM may roll d%; the result is the amount of time that will pass before friendly forces arrive in rounds; the number and type of friendly forces that arrive should be commensurate with the degree of success of the Check. Once the new forces arrive, the GM must integrate them into the current combat situation.
=====Treat Crew=====
A vehicle's commander may order a medical specialist to examine and begin treating a crewmember during a combat round; this is a special action. A commander may order a medic to heal any crewmember at any time; the specialist uses the Assisted Healing rules in Chapter 9.2 for the attempt with unfavorable conditions applying due to combat. While being treated, neither the medic nor their intended patient is available to perform other duties. If the patient's HP falls below zero as a result of a botched Treatment Check under combat conditions, the specialist is allowed to make an immediate resuscitation attempt, again with unfavorable conditions applying due to combat.
=====Refocus Shields=====
A vehicle's commander may order a specialist to refocus the vehicle's shields; this is a standard action that assumes the vehicle has Shield systems installed. Rebalancing the shields requires two successful Defenses Checks in a row; if both checks are successful, the craft's commander may re-assign the craft's SHP among its defense arcs as they wish. If either check fails, the SHP mains exactly as it already is in all defense arcs. The Checks have critical potential: in the event of a critical failure, the Shield system will take 1d% damage in addition to normal failure effects.
=====Tail=====
A vehicle's commander may order its pilot to attempt to "tail" its current target; this is a special action. In order to attempt this action, the vehicle must be located somewhere within the target's aft defense arc and must have a current heading within twenty degrees on either side of the target's current heading; if these conditions are met, the vehicle's pilot may make a Vehicle Piloting Check which is opposed by a Vehicle Piloting Check performed by the target's pilot. If the target's pilot has the higher degree of success, the tailing attempt fails; otherwise the tailing vehicle may move immediately after the target has moved and prior to it making any subsequent actions during the next round.
=====Recharge=====
All combatants may recharge a single discharged (fired) Gun hardpoint and regain SHP at the end of a combat round. The GM will select one Gun hardpoint to recharge, giving preference to Guns over Missiles and racks over turrets. The vehicle’s crew need not wait for all of their Guns to recharge before firing again. For each vehicle in turn, the GM will then add 10% of the vehicle's maximum hit points plus the highest Defenses Skill score among the vehicle's crew to all defense arcs up to its normal maximum SHP. Finally, if a Gun uses the last shot available in its magazine, a fuel unit may be expended to reload it. Certain accessories may be used to increase a vehicle's Gun and Shield recharge rates.
===Move Action Rules===
A vehicle’s pilot may be ordered by its commander to change the vehicle's position during a combat round; perhaps unsurprisingly, this is a move action. Movement changes a combatant's range to all other combatants. As with other forms of combat, vehicles receive a number of "movement points" equal to their Combat Speed ratings. Vehicles may also receive additional movement points based upon their equipment; some of this equipment (such as Maneuvering Thrusters) may be earmarked for making specific types of moves.
Movement on the vehicle-scale may or may not require a Vehicle Piloting Check. All vehicles may move Straight Ahead or make a single 45-degree turn per move action without requiring a Check provided their Engines aren't damaged. Moves that involve more advanced maneuvers (lateral movements, tighter turns or subsequent turning) will require at least one successful Vehicle Piloting Check; the final number of successful Checks required depends upon what maneuvers are being performed and whether or not the vehicle has any Engine Damage (the amount of Engine damage is subtracted from the DC of the Checks). If any Check fails during the course of movement, the vehicle may make whatever movements it successfully completed up to the point where the failure takes place, at which point it stops moving. Additionally, if the result of any Check is greater than the amount of Engine damage the vehicle has sustained, the Engines malfunction at that point; the vehicle may make whatever movements it successfully completed up to that point. Advanced maneuvers usually have a minimum Engine Class requirement; if the combatant does not fulfill this requirement, it cannot perform the maneuver (note that this automatically disqualifies some vehicles from performing certain moves). Vehicles with 100% Engine damage or malfunctioning Engines cannot move at all.
If a vehicle is carrying a total number of personnel (crew and passengers combined) greater than 120% of the normal amount allowed by its design, it is overcrowded and takes a -5 DC penalty on all piloting Checks for each whole multiple (rounded up) of its complement (for example, if a vehicle is hauling between three and four times its normal complement, it takes a -15 DC penalty to its piloting Checks).
Vehicles may not be able to perform certain maneuvers simply because of the design of their chassis; the GM may choose whether or not to allow attempts at such "restricted maneuvers" at their discretion. If they allow such attempts, they should be made at half the normal DC (rounded down) and failures should be treated as critical results (as will be discussed shortly). The following is a list of specific movement restrictions based on chassis type:
Vehicle Chassis Maneuver Restrictions
Chassis 	Restrictions
Bike 	The vehicle may only go forward or make forward slips.
Groundcar 	The vehicle may not side-slip unless it is on frictionless terrain.
Skimmer 	The vehicle has no movement restrictions.
Armored 	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip.
Walker 	The vehicle has no movement restrictions but must expend an extra movement point for each subsequent maneuver performed in the same move action.
Canoe 	The vehicle may not side-slip unless it has no Engine.
Yacht 	The vehicle may not side-slip.
Cutter 	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip.
Cruiser 	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip.
Carrier 	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip and may only be moving forward when recovering child craft.
Submarine 	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip. Submarines may submerge; while submerged the craft receives a +10 HD/FHD bonus and a -10 BHD penalty.
Hovercopter 	The vehicle has no movement restrictions but is susceptible to involuntary motion in strong winds (see Chapter 12.3).
Aeroplane/Aerodrone	The vehicle may not side-slip or back-slip. An aeroplane or aerodrone's crew must use one of their actions to move a minimum of one range increment every combat turn; if the craft's pilot does not fulfill this requirement, they will automatically stall their vehicle and risk crashing (see Stalling, below).
Gravship 	The vehicle has no movement restrictions.
Gravship 	The vehicle has no movement restrictions.
Fightercraft 	The vehicle moves as an aeroplane in atmosphere; it has no movement restrictions in space.
Capsule 	The vehicle moves as an aeroplane in atmosphere but also cannot perform forward slips; it has no movement restrictions in space.
Shuttle 	The vehicle moves as an aeroplane in atmosphere; it has no movement restrictions in space.
Transport 	The vehicle moves as an aeroplane in atmosphere; it has no movement restrictions in space.
Maneuvers take one movement point to perform apiece; the exception to this rule is the snap turn. Snap turns take no movement points to execute and can be a handy way for a skilled pilot to extend the capabilities of their vehicle. Naturally, snap turns require a greater number of successful Checks and require have a higher minimum Engine Class requirement.
Advanced maneuvers give a vehicle's pilot a bonus to their Combat Maneuvers and Evasive Maneuvers Skill scores that lasts until their next turn; these bonuses accumulate with each advanced maneuver performed during the course of the combatant's movement. If the combatant is targeted at any time up until its next turn, the total bonus applies. The price for this bonus is a (smaller) penalty to the Marksmanship and Ballistics Checks of all gunners riding in the vehicle, which applies through the vehicle's next two actions; fancy maneuvering makes a vehicle harder to hit but also makes it a little harder for its occupants to aim accurately.
The Vehicle Piloting Checks for movement have critical potential. In the event of any critical success, all Marksmanship and Ballistics penalties are nullified; the vehicle's pilot is able to pull off their maneuvers while allowing the gunners to maintain their aim/target locks). In the event of any critical failure, the vehicle may not move from its original location; the GM changes the vehicle's present heading to a new, random one. Additionally, the vehicle takes d% Engine damage; if the Engines had any level of damage in the first place, they are destroyed (100% damage) instead.
Vehicle Maneuvers
  	Minimum EngineClass Required	Number of SuccessfulVehicle Piloting ChecksRequired	Combat Maneuvers/Evasive Maneuvers DC Bonus	Marksmanship/Ballistics DC Penalty	Description
Straight Ahead 	First Class 	0 	0 	0 	Vehicle moves forward.
Forward Sideslip 	Second Class 	2 	+1 	-1 	Vehicle moves diagonally forward and does not change orientation.
Sideways 	Third Class 	3 	+2 	-2 	Vehicle moves left or right and does not change orientation.
Back Sideslip 	Fourth Class 	4 	+1 	-1 	Vehicle moves diagonally backward and does not change orientation.
Straight Back 	Third Class 	2 	+1 	0 	Vehicle moves backward and does not change orientation.
45-degree Turn 	First Class 	0 	0 	0 	Vehicle turns 45-degrees left or right in place.
45-degree Snap Turn 	Sixth Class 	2 	+1 	-2 	Vehicle turns 45-degrees left or right in place.
90-degree Turn 	Third Class 	1 	+3 	-3 	Vehicle turns 90-degrees left or right in place.
90-degree Snap Turn 	Seventh Class 	4 	+4 	-4 	Vehicle turns 90-degrees left or right in place.
135-degree Turn 	Fourth Class 	2 	+5 	-5 	Vehicle turns 135-degrees left or right in place.
135-degree Snap Turn	Eighth Class 	6 	+6 	-6 	Vehicle turns 135-degrees left or right in place.
180-degree Turn 	Fifth Class 	3 	+7 	-8 	Vehicle turns 180-degrees left or right in place.
180-degree Snap Turn	Ninth Class 	8 	+8 	-10 	Vehicle turns 180-degrees left or right in place.
There are several specific flight maneuvers mentioned at various points in Wing Commander's canon. GMs may emulate these maneuvers using combinations of the maneuvers listed in the table above, as follows:
*Burnout: Forward movement on afterburners followed by a 180-degree turn.
*Fish-Hook: A 90-degree turn followed by normal forward movement, followed by a 180-degree turn.
*Sit-n-spin (Full-Round): A 180-degree turn followed by an attack action, followed by a 180-degree turn.
*Shelton slide: A 45-degree turn followed by forward movement on afterburners, followed by a 90-degree snap turn.
*Immelmann: A 180-degree turn.
Characters may list any of these maneuvers as specializations of their Combat Maneuvers or Evasive Maneuvers Skill. If the attempt to perform the maneuver is successful, their corresponding Skill score changes to that of the specialization during the current combat round; this is in lieu of the standard bonus granted for performing the corresponding maneuvers. Any other maneuver may be emulated as the GM's sees fit.
NPC combatants move in relation to their present target based on a comparison of their SI to that of their current target. Should the target have a lower SI, the NPC combatant will move towards it and vice versa. NPC combatants will keep their movements limited to 45-degree turns and forward movement as a general rule. Any of these rules may be overridden at the GM's discretion.
If combat is not being conducted on a grid, a move action simply changes the range rolled to the current target (note that for purposes of the alternative range determination system indicated in Chapter 9.1, it is the original rolled range that determines what die type will be rolled in the next round, not the final amount indicted after the combatant moves). In the event that a combatant's final range to target is sixteen range increments or greater, their SI should be compared with the opposing group's Composite Strength Index (CSI); if the combatant's SI is less than one-fourth of the opposing group's CSI, they may immediately withdraw from combat if they so choose.
====Combat in Asteroid Fields and Minefields====
Space vehicles may occasionally have to fight in asteroid fields and minefields. This was in fact a staple of the original games; the extra terrain could be used to a pilot's advantage against an opponent or make their demise all the more inevitable. In WCRPG, a GM that would like to stage a combat situation in one of these areas may set locations of particularly dense clusters of asteroids/mines with the risk of a collision occurring if a craft attempts to fly near or through one of them; alternatively, they may assume a collision risk every time a craft moves in the area. Use of clusters is not recommended with non-gridded combat.
If there is the potential for a craft to collide with an asteroid or detonate a mine as the result of a move action, the craft's pilot must make an immediate Vehicle Piloting Check with the Size Class of their craft subtracted from the Check's DC. If the Check fails, a collision occurs. Mines will inflict an amount of damage equal to any of the mine weapons listed in Chapter 6.2.3 at the GM's discretion; the Mk-I Porcupine is recommended for most situations. Asteroids will cause an amount of damage equal to ten times the result of (5+1d5) times the craft's maximum speed during the round. 
===Attack Action Rules===
A vehicle's commander may decide to attack an opposing combatant during a combat round; perhaps unsurprisingly, this is an attack action and probably the most common type of action that occurs in combat. An attack action only requires the vehicle's magazines to be loaded or charged with enough energy for at least one weapons volley and the declaration of a valid target. NPC combatants will target the enemy combatant with the next lowest Initiative Check value or the enemy combatant with the overall highest Initiative Check value if no opponents with lower values exist; the GM may override this general rule at their discretion.
====Firing Weapons====
Before any attempt to attack a target is made, it must be within range of at least one of the vehicle's offensive weaponry options, it must be within a firing arc that corresponds with that weapon and it must be ready to use. If these conditions are met by more than one weapon simultaneously, any number of them may be fired at the indicated target. Should a vehicle have multiple valid targets, it may fire at any number of them; the commander must specify what weapons will be fire at specific targets.
To be "in range", an attacker need only be as close to the target as the indicated number of range increments. Most forms of ordnance (weapons such as mines, missiles and torpedoes) have two range increments listed; the first of these is an optimal range value and the second is the normal maximum range. There are penalties involved when firing ordnance outside of optimal range as will be discussed momentarily.
As mentioned in Chapter 6.2.3, vehicles in WCRPG use a system of relative bearings to determine if a target is within a particular weapon's firing arc; GMs may either use specific bearing data or override that information and simply say a weapon may fire into the corresponding major firing arc. In addition to their firing arcs, all vehicles have four defense arcs corresponding to the Shields and Armor that cover specific quarters (namely the fore, aft, left and right quarters). The four defense arcs correspond to the major firing arcs; when combined with their corresponding defense arcs, these are sometimes referred to as combat arcs. As is probably obvious from the bearing information on these arcs, the boundaries of a given combat arc are always set diagonal to the front of the vehicle and perpendicular to one another such that when dealing with a physical grid the arc boundaries are along the grid's diagonals when the vehicle is on an orthogonal heading and vice versa.
To determine if a combatant is within a given firing arc, the GM can draw or visualize a straight line between the attacker and its target. They may then either determine the exact bearing angle utilizing the calculator images in Chapter 6.2.3 if a physical grid is being used or simply put a best guess at it if an abstract grid is being used. Any weapon that falls into any pre-designated arc corresponding to the determined bearing angle may be utilized. In a similar manner, the defense arc that will sustain any damage inflicted upon the vehicle can be determined by determining the bearing angle to the attacker. Most of the time, determining what arcs will be involved in the current attack action will be fairly straightforward. It may happen, though, that either the firing vehicle or the target will be "straddling" the boundaries between two combat arcs. In this case, the GM should give preference to either the forward or aft firing arc, whichever one is involved. An attacker may attack a target if another combatant (friendly or not) is in the way.
All weapons hardpoints to be utilized must be charged prior to firing. A gunner may fire as many of the available hardpoints as they wish; they do not have to fire all hardpoints at once unless specifically ordered to do so by the vehicle's commander. Some pieces of ordnance also require that a target be locked before they can be fired at an opponent. Locking simply requires that the target be kept in the weapon's firing arc for the prescribed number of rounds. Locking is automatic (no Check is required) unless the firing craft has Sensor damage; in that case, a successful Technology Check is required to maintain a lock during the course of a round.
If the conditions for firing a weapon are all fulfilled and an attack is allowed, a final "to hit" number must be determined; this is referred to as the effective hit difficulty (EHD). EHD is determined through a series of quick calculations. This begins by subtracting the score of the Combat Maneuvers Skill of the attacking craft's gunnery specialist from the score of the Evasive Maneuvers Skill of the target craft's pilot; this represents any low-level sparring going on between the two combatants (remember that during a surprise round the Evasive Maneuvers Skill of the target is ignored). The difference is subtracted from the target's applicable HD rating; this is its BHD if a blast weapon is being utilized, its FHD if they are surprised and its normal HD in all other cases. Specializations of the indicated Skills may be used if applicable. Effects from any onboard equipment (such as an active cloaking device) modify EHD as well. Finally, two points per range increment are subtracted from the target's effective HD (for firing craft equipped with the Tachyon Radar accessory this range penalty is reduced to one point per range increment). If the weapon to be fired is a piece of ordnance and the attacker is outside its optimal range, the range penalty is increased to five points per range increment regardless of whether Tachyon Radar is installed or not.
For example, a Vaktoth is attempting to fire a Heat-Seeking Missile at a Hellcat-V, which has an HD of 27. The two ships are four range increments apart from one another and (like all Fightercraft) the Vaktoth is equipped with Tachyon Radar. The Vaktoth pilot has a Combat Maneuvers specialization in "Confederation Medium Fighters", with a combined Skill and specialization score of 70. The Hellcat Pilot has an Evasive Maneuvers specialization in "Kilrathi Heavy Fighters"; the combined Skill and specialization score is 47. In this case, 23 points would be added to the Hellcat's HD, so its effective HD becomes 50 (47 - 70 = -23; 27 - -23 = 50). After adjusting for range, the final EHD is 46.
Once the effective HD is determined, the attacking combatant's gunnery specialist will perform an attack roll; this is a Skill Check that depends on the weapon being used. If Guns are being used, the attack roll is a Marksmanship Check. If Ordnance is being used, the attack roll is a Ballistics Check. The number of Checks that must be performed equal the specific number of weapons being fired (i.e. if a vehicle is firing two Mass Drivers, the gunner will need to make two Marksmanship Checks). To be fully successful, the result of the Check must be equal to or lower than the target's EHD and must be sufficient for a successful Check of the indicated Skill. If the result of the roll is insufficient to overcome the EHD the attack fails regardless of whether or not the Skill Check succeeds. If the result of the Check is insufficient for a successful Skill Check but is sufficient against the target's EHD, a single hit with the weapon will be scored and will inflict the amount of damage indicated by the weapon type. How the damage affects the target will depend on how much damage is inflicted and in which of the target's defense arcs the weapon hits (see Resolving Damage, below). If the Check is fully successful, there is the possibility that the weapon will hit the target more than once; if the weapon fired has a re-fire rate greater than one, the target will sustain one additional hit for every five points in the degree of success of the Skill Check up to the maximum amount of shots that the weapon can fire in a single round.
Player groups may feel that the weapons installed aboard craft from the WC3 era (roughly 2669) and later do not inflict significant amounts of damage quickly enough for good role-playing; the statistics indicated for these craft are correct based upon all available data. If they so choose, GMs may multiply any damage inflicted by these craft; a general multiplier of between five and ten times is recommended.
Attack rolls have critical potential. In the event of a critical success of the Skill Check (a critical hit), a hit occurs whether or not the roll succeeded against the EHD. Should the Check be fully successful in this case, the weapon inflicts double the full amount of damage for all applicable hits regardless of range. In addition to the extra damage points, one system takes damage regardless of the condition of the vehicle’s defenses. The GM must roll to determine which system is affected as normal (see Resolving Damage, below) and roll d% for the amount of damage inflicted on the system (with 00 counting as 100 in this case).
In the event of a critical failure (a critical miss), what happens depends on the specific result. On any result other than 99, the weapon malfunctions; it causes half-damage to the firing craft and is rendered unusable, though it may be repaired as with any other system malfunction. The resultant damage is applied as armor damage against all defense arcs; if there is insufficient armor in a defense arc, the damage is passed on as systems damage as normal. If the result is a 99, the weapon fires but inadvertently hits a friendly target by mistake; such “blue-on-blue” incidents can be quite costly. Another Check is made against the friendly combatant's HD. If this Check is successful, double the normal full amount of damage is applied to the friendly target; the normal amount of damage is applied otherwise. Any critical results on this subsequent Check are ignored. The friendly combatant affected is the friendly craft with the next lowest Initiative Check value, or (if no such craft exists) the friendly craft with the highest Initiative Check value. If there are no other friendly craft available, the attacker hits itself with its own weapon. A critical miss result automatically overrides any hit result that may have otherwise been indicated.
If the weapon used is a piece of light ordnance, there is a chance that the target may still avoid damage even if a hit is otherwise indicated by spoofing it. To make a spoof attempt, the attacking craft must have failed its Ballistics Check while succeeding against the target's EHD, the target must have at least one Countermeasure Pod available and the type of ordnance involved must have a "spoof DC" indicated in its description; if any one of these conditions is not fulfilled, the ordnance cannot be spoofed. The target must use at least one Countermeasure Pod but may use a number of Countermeasure Pods equal to or less than the range between it and its attacker. A d% roll is made for the spoof attempt; if the result is less than or equal to the adjusted spoof DC, the ordnance is spoofed and counts as a miss. Spoof attempts are not allowed on critical hit results.
For example, let's say the result of the Vaktoth's Ballistics Check was 24, a failed Check but definitely successful against the Hellcat's EHD and therefore a hit. The Hellcat pilot must spoof the missile or take 3,200 points of damage (which would definitely hurt). They have Countermeasure Pods and can launch up to four of them; the pilot decides to play it conservative and launch just two pods. A Standard Heat Seeker has a spoof DC of 50; the second Countermeasure Pod increases that DC to 55. The Hellcat pilot rolls; unfortunately, the result is 92. The spoof attempt fails and their fighter takes the missile hit.
Heavy Ordnance, which includes weapons such as torpedoes and capship missiles, is handled somewhat differently from other forms of weaponry. Except where noted, all pieces of heavy ordnance behave as vehicles in their own right; since they are almost always used on capital ships, their usage is considered a form of mixed-scale combat. For information on how heavy ordnance is used in combat, see Chapter 9.5.
====Resolving Damage====
As previously mentioned, vehicles have four defense arcs; these are concurrent with the major firing arcs. Each defense arc has its own SHP and AHP count; damage to one arc does not affect either count in another arc. Vehicles initially receive the full indicated amount of SHP and AHP in all defense arcs based upon their design; for purposes of calculating changes to their SI in combat, the arc with the lowest overall count is used.
Upon taking a successful weapons hit, a target will take damage in the defense arc corresponding to the relative bearing to the attacking craft; damage involves a reduction of the vehicle's SHP, AHP, and/or systems damage if it is severe enough. A vehicle will always suffer shield damage first provided that it has shields installed and that they are functioning at the time of the hit. For every point of damage inflicted, one point is subtracted from the corresponding defense arc’s shield hit points. If the shield hit points are reduced to zero and there additional damage is indicated, it is applied against the arc's armor hit points in the same manner. Points subtracted from Shields and Armor are also subtracted from the vehicle’s strength index, which in turn lowers the composite strength index of the vehicle's combat group. SI is only adjusted for the combat arc with the lowest combined amount of SHP and AHP; should a vehicle have sustained a lesser amount of damage in a different combat arc, SI is not adjusted.
If in atmosphere, the pilot of any vehicle that takes a weapon hit must immediately make a Vehicle Piloting Check with an amount equal to one-tenth (round up) the amount of damage inflicted subtracted from the DC. If this Check fails, the vehicle may not perform any move actions on subsequent turns, though its pilot may make another attempt of the Check at the same DC. Should the vehicle take additional damage in the meantime, the DC of the Check is decreased again by one-tenth the amount of new damage (round up). Note that for air vehicles and space vehicles in atmosphere), failure of this Check will initiate a Stall. This Check has critical potential: in the event of a critical success, the vehicle may begin moving normally once again regardless of the actual DC; any Stall penalties are immediately canceled. In the event of a critical failure, the vehicle takes d% damage to a random system in addition to not being allowed to move. Additionally, all land vehicles are rolled; sea vehicles are capsized and begin Taking On Water at twice the normal rate. Both capsizing and rolling inflict d% Core Damage on the vehicle and render it completely immobile for the remainder of the current combat action. If a Bike or Canoe is hit, any occupants must make a Reflex Save to avoid being thrown from the vehicle; this should be treated as an auto-ejection in the event of failure.
If a vehicle's Armor Hit Points are reduced to zero in a defense arc, any further damage is applied as Core Damage. Unlike Shields and Armor, there are no individual defense arcs for Core Damage; at that point the damage is eating into the very heart of the craft. Vehicles sustain Core Damage at a rate determined by their Size Class. To determine how much Core Damage a craft has sustained, the GM must take the amount of applicable excess damage, divide it by the craft's Size Class and truncate any remainder. If the vehicle in question is a Bike, Canoe, Submarine, Hovercopter or Capsule, they must double the indicated amount. The final result is the amount of Core Damage the craft sustains. Vehicles sustain Core Damage in terms of a percentage, with the craft being completely destroyed once Core Damage reaches 100% (though it may break apart sooner as will be discussed shortly). If a vehicle is in space or is a submerged submarine, its destruction will automatically kill any remaining occupants. If the vehicle's destruction occurs in atmosphere, all remaining occupants will be blown from the vehicle, taking 10d10 points of Lethal Damage in the process. Any non-occupant at Range Zero will also take 10d5 Basic Damage from flying debris; Reflex Saves may be made in an attempt to halve the damage indicated. Any character that survives being blown from a vehicle is immediately subjected to the environment in which the vehicle was located at the time of its destruction and may be susceptible to falling damage.
Some types of vehicles can sustain additional Core Damage even if they have AHP remaining in the affected defense arc. Specifically, any vehicle that does not employ an Engine, any vehicle that is hit by a weapon of a higher technological level and all Bikes and Canoes will sustain additional Core Damage. Additional Core Damage only occurs if the vehicle sustains armor damage but not so much that the affected defense arc is reduced to zero AHP. The amount of any additional Core Damage is always one-tenth the total amount inflicted on the vehicle's Armor (rounded down). For example, if a Bike sustains 100 points of damage to its Armor, it will take 10% Core Damage as well.
A vehicle with Core Damage has structural fatigue and is in serious danger of coming apart at its seams. When a vehicle sustains Core Damage, a Structural Integrity Check must be performed; the DC of this Check is 100 minus the total amount of Core Damage. If the Check fails, the vehicle breaks up; it is considered destroyed at that point with the same penalties as if it had sustained 100% Core Damage.
Any time a vehicle sustains Core Damage and survives its Structural Integrity Check, it will pick up an acquired flaw. The GM will roll d% and refer to the Vehicle Flaws chart in Chapter 6.2, referencing the "acquired flaw" column; they must record the flaw on the vehicle's record sheet and its effects begin immediately. If the flaw indicates damage to a system that is unavailable, the effect is ignored and no additional Core Damage occurs.
Core Damage can have other effects depending upon the terrain category (land, sea, air or space). No additional effects occur in space combat. In the air, Core Damage reduces the vehicle's number of movement points by one point per 10% damage. Should an airborne vehicle's movement fall to zero, an irrecoverable Stall results. Sea vehicles with Core Damage begin Taking On Water at one point per 10% damage per combat round. Land vehicles become harder to steer; an amount equal to the amount of Core Damage the vehicle has sustained is subtracted from the DC of all Vehicle Piloting Checks for land vehicles.
Provided a craft survives its Structural Integrity Check, excess damage may also inflict systems damage upon it, reducing one or more of its capabilities; injuries to crewmembers (including PCs) are considered part of systems damage. For every 5% of Core Damage it sustains, the craft is inflicted with one instance of systems damage. When an instance of systems damage is indicated, 1d10 is rolled; the result determines which system takes the damage:
:0: Shields – Shield damage affects the craft's shield emitters. If the Shields malfunction, they will no longer regenerate. Shield damage has no effect on a craft's current or maximum SHP, only its recharge rate.
:1: Guns – Gun damage determines whether or not the vehicle can fire any Gun weaponry. If the vehicle has no Guns, it cannot take Gun Damage. Malfunctioning Guns cannot fire.
:2: Ordnance – Ordnance damage is the same as Gun Damage except in regards to ordnance (missiles, mines, torpedoes, etc.). If a specific ordnance mount on the craft is destroyed, it immediately sustains an additional amount of excess damage equal to the damage potential of the ordnance in question due to its detonation.
:3: Radar – Radar damage affects how well a combatant can track its target. Malfunctioning radar systems give a -25 HD bonus to any combatant the craft fires upon; the craft also may not launch any ordnance that requires a lock.
:4: Communications – Communications damage limits how well a craft may communicate with other combatants. If its communications system malfunctions, a craft may not hail other craft, cannot send distress signals and cannot jam enemy transmissions. Further, if the craft attempts to use Friend-or-Foe Missiles, an automatic critical miss will occur; the craft will sustain damage from its own weaponry.
:5: Engines – Engine damage affects how well a vehicle can maneuver. If a craft's Engines are damaged, the amount of damage is subtracted from the DC of any move action Checks. Should the engines malfunction, the craft cannot move; its pilot cannot apply their Combat Maneuvers or Evasive Maneuvers Skills prior to any attack rolls made by or against the craft.
:6: Ejection System/Flight Deck – This roll indicates that either the craft's ejection system or its flight deck has been damaged; while it is conceivable that a craft could have both, most vehicles will not (the GM may select which specific system is affected in the event that both are installed). Damage to the ejection system puts survival in doubt in the event that the craft's crew must bail out; ejection is not possible at all if the ejection system malfunctions. Damage to the flight deck can be very serious and may even ultimately prove fatal should the parent craft either not have any child craft deployed or have a large number of those craft low on fuel and armament at the time the damage occurs. Each point of damage to the flight deck increases the time required to turn around child craft (either launch or land) by one round. Flight operations are not possible at all on a "malfunctioning" flight deck.
:7: Crew Damage – This roll indicates that one or more of the craft’s "redshirt" NPC specialists has been injured or killed. If there are no "mission critical" NPCs aboard the craft, the GM must roll 1d%; they must halve the result (round up) if the craft offers full cover and double it if it offers no cover. The result determines the number of redshirts that die instantly. If there are mission critical NPCs aboard (a commanding general, a politician, the rival crime boss's kid, etc.), the GM must select a player to roll 1d10 for the involved character(s) while they roll 1d10 for non-critical NPCs; the lowest throw takes the damage. The amount of damage an NPC can absorb depends on the amount of cover the craft offers. Mission critical NPCs take damage like PCs (see Officer Damage, below) while non-critical NPCs take damage as indicated above. This kind of damage never applies to PCs; if there are no NPCs aboard, treat this roll as Officer Damage.
:8: Officer Damage – This roll indicates that one of the craft's PC crewmembers or NPC officers has taken Lethal Damage. To determine which character sustains damage, all players with characters currently aboard the affected craft roll 1d10. For any NPC officers, the GM may either perform the roll themselves or assign one of the players to perform it. Lowest throw takes the damage; in the event of a tie for low throw, the affected players must re-roll until there is a clear result. The amount of damage the affected character sustains depends on the amount of cover the vehicle provides. The affected player rolls d%; they must halve the result (round up) if the vehicle offers full cover and double it if it provides no cover. The final result is the amount of Lethal Damage the character sustains; this damage is always assumed to have affected their non-lethal Body Area. If a crewmember is killed, the craft's commander may pick any crewmember (including themselves) to assume their duties. Any character that sustains damage in this manner automatically becomes Shaken unless they are the craft's commander.
:9: Life-Support System – Spacecraft as well as some other types of vehicles (usually ones such as submarines that operate in hazardous or exotic environments) may be equipped with an internal life-support system designed to keep its occupants alive for extended periods. Life-Support system damage renders parts of the craft temporarily uninhabitable due to lack of heat, oxygen and/or gravity or the loss of the ability to protect the craft's occupants from the exterior environment. A malfunction of this system is not instantaneously fatal but unless swift action is taken in an attempt to restore the system, death for all of the craft's occupants is inevitable. Life-Support System failure has a number of ongoing environmental effects that are discussed in detail in Chapter 12.3.
Every instance of systems damage inflicts 25% damage to the affected system or one Wound to the affected character. A Damage Control Check may be performed in an attempt to mitigate the damage; the degree of success of the Check divided by ten (rounded down) is subtracted from the percentage of systems damage inflicted on the craft (i.e. a degree of success of 36 would reduce the amount of systems damage by 3%).
If a system has been damaged, there is the chance that it may malfunction whenever the afflicted craft attempts to utilize it. To determine if a malfunction occurs, a mechanical specialist aboard the craft must perform a Damage Control Check; the DC of the Check in this case is 100 plus the applicable mechanic's Damage Control Skill score minus the total amount of damage the system has sustained. If the Check fails, the system malfunctions; any penalties that occur as the result of a malfunction take effect immediately. Sensors, Communications and Life-Support should be checked at the beginning of the craft’s turn, Engines when it attempts a move action, the Flight Deck whenever an auxiliary craft attempts to launch or land, the Ejection System when the crew attempts to eject, any weapons systems when it attempts an attack action, and Shields when it attempts to recharge Shields. The Damage Control Check has critical potential: in the event of critical success, 5% damage is immediately removed from the system. In the event of a critical failure, the system malfunctions and takes an additional d% of damage up to the 100% damage maximum. Once a system has malfunctioned, it will remain non-operational until it can be repaired unless a mechanic can jury-rig it. A system is destroyed once it has sustained 100% damage, at which point a malfunction is automatic.
If a system is indicated to sustain further damage after it’s already been destroyed or if the system does not exist on the craft in the first place, the craft takes additional Core Damage. This starts at 10% the first time one of these excessive damage hits occur and increases by 10% for each subsequent occurrence (20% for the second time, 30% for the third time and 40% for the fourth time; since Core Damage is cumulative, the craft should be at 100% Core Damage when a fourth instance of excessive damage occurs). Excessive damage hits are cumulative; if a system has sustained two excessive hits during a round and sustains damage again on a subsequent round, it counts as the third excessive hit. Core Damage taken through excessive damage hits does not prompt another Structural Integrity Check but the vehicle may still explode if it reaches 100% Core Damage in this manner.
Any time a craft takes Core Damage and survives its Structural Integrity Check, all crewmembers (except the Commander) must perform a Willpower Save; any specialist that fails this Check becomes Shaken.
The following is an example of how damage is applied. The enemy Vaktoth mentioned has hit the Hellcat-V with a Standard Heat-Seeking Missile, which (owing to an 8x multiplier the GM is utilizing for post-WC2 craft) sustains 3,200 points of damage in its portside damage arc as a result. The Hellcat has 2,200 SHP and 900 AHP in each arc. Damage is applied to Shields first: since the Hellcat only has 2,200 SHP, sufficient damage occurs to deplete the shields and pass 1,000 points of damage to Armor (3,200-2,200 = 1,000). The Hellcat only has 900 AHP, so the damage is also sufficient to deplete the armor in the portside defense arc and cause 100 points of excess damage (1,000-900 = 100). The Hellcat's SI drops by 3,100 points to 88; note that while the forward, aft and starboard damage arcs still have full shields and armor, it's the lowest count - currently the portside arc - that affects SI. A Hellcat is a Size Class 10 Vehicle, so it will sustain 10% Core Damage. Since the vehicle is not in atmosphere, no Vehicle Piloting Check is required. Also, since the Hellcat has taken enough damage to breach its Armor, it need not worry about sustaining additional Core Damage; it doesn't fit any of the criteria for sustaining such damage anyway.
Since the vehicle sustained Core Damage, a Structural Integrity Check with a DC of 90 (100 - 10 = 90) must be made to prevent the Hellcat from breaking up due to structural fatigue; the Check succeeds, so the Hellcat doesn't explode right away. d% is then rolled for an acquired flaw; the result is 55, indicating an overheating Engine. This causes no immediate damage but will force the pilot to slow down in subsequent rounds if they wish to avoid Engine damage.
Since a total of 10% Core damage has been sustained, two rolls will need to be made on the systems damage table. The results of the rolls are 0 and 7. The Hellcat's Shields sustain an immediate 25% damage; the pilot's Damage Control Check fails so none of the damage is mitigates. The roll of 7 indicates Crew Damage but since the Hellcat is a one-man craft, the pilot automatically sustains it. d% is cast; the result is 54, which is reduced to 27 since a Hellcat offers full cover, so the pilot sustains one Body Area wound and 27 points of Lethal Damage. Ordinarily the pilot would become Shaken after being injured and would have to make a Willpower Save to avoid being Shaken after his craft sustained Core Damage but as he also counts as the vehicle's commander, he will not acquire the Shaken condition in either case. His subsequent Fortitude Save to avoid passing out is also successful.
While things could be better for the Hellcat - it now lacks any protection on its portside, its pilot is wounded and it has some Core Damage - things could still be a whole lot worse. Let's all hope the Hellcat's wingman is worth his salt...
====Looting Destroyed Pirate and Transport Craft====
Privateer introduced the notion of being able to loot cargo from destroyed pirate and transport ships; all the player had to do was to destroy one of these craft and then tractor any ejected materials into their cargo hold afterwards. This same mechanic can be added to combat situations in WCRPG if the GM would like to incorporate it.
When a transport or pirate ship is destroyed in combat, the GM should roll d%; if the result is greater than the final amount of Core Damage points the craft had sustained when it was destroyed, it will throw out some potential loot. If the craft was carrying specific goods, it should eject some of them. Transport ships may eject up to three different commodities; the GM may either select the specific number of commodities at random or make a d10 roll and use the table below. Pirate ships will only eject one commodity at any given time.
Number of Commodities Dropped by Destroyed Transports via d10 Roll
d10 Result	Number of Commodities
0-3 	One
4-6 	Two
7-9 	Three
If the craft's specific cargo manifest is unknown or if the GM prefers, they may either select specific commodities ejected at random or perform a d10 roll and refer to the table below. Pirate ships as a rule carry a very limited selection of commodities; the cargo they eject can be directly determined by the d10 roll. Transports on the other hand carry more general cargoes; for most cases, the d10 roll will indicate a specific table to be referenced in Chapter 5.5 and an additional die roll to determine a final specific commodity. Where the table below references a "normal d5 roll", the GM must roll 1d5 and count from left to right along the table with a result of one equal to the left-most entry; again, the GM has the option of making this final die roll or simply selecting a final commodity at random.
Commodity Dropped from Destroyed Pirates and Transports via d10 Roll
d10 Result	Commodity (Pirate)	Commodity (Merchant)
0 	Generic Foods 	Luxury Goods (2)Normal d5 Roll
1 	Generic Foods 	FoodRoll 1d5:0-1: Grain2-3: Generic Foods5: Luxury Foods
2 	Liquor 	Raw MaterialsRoll 1d10:0-1: Iron2-3: Plastics4: Plutonium5-6: Tungsten7: Uranium8-9: Wood
3 	Liquor 	Processed GoodsNormal d5 Roll
4 	Plaything™ 	Luxury Goods (1)Roll 1d10:0-1: Artwork2: Books3-4: Furs5-6: Games7: Gems8-9: Home Entertainment
5 	Plaything™ 	Capital GoodsNormal d5 Roll
6 	Tobacco 	Microelectronicsd5 Roll, Normal except 2-3: Holographics
7 	Tobacco 	Contrabandd5 Roll, Normal except 3-4: Tobacco
8 	Brilliance 	Weaponry
9 	Brilliance 	Advanced Fuels
Note that this table assumes the use of the commodity set from Privateer; if the adventure utilizes the commodity set from Privateer 2, the GM may simply roll d% a number of times equal to the number of commodities to be ejected and simply use the Privateer 2 commodity tables in Chapter 5.5 to determine what goods have been selected. Should the same commodity result multiple times as the result of the die rolls, the GM has the option of rolling again or simply "stacking" the duplicate result.
Once the specific commodities have been determined, the GM should roll 1d10 one more time for each commodity in turn to set the amount of the commodity to be ejected (zero counts as ten in this case); alternatively, the GM may set a specific amount at random.
Ejected cargo always travels along the same vector (same direction and speed) as the craft of origin at the time of its destruction. Tractoring this cargo requires a craft to have sufficient available space in its hold and also requires an installed Tractor Beam. A craft that moves to tractor cargo may not move more than one range increment in the round in which it makes the tractoring attempt. What befalls an ejected pilot once they are tractored depends largely upon the commander of the tractoring craft; more scrupulous commanders tend to simply release the grateful party while those who are less scrupulous often engage in sapient trafficking...
===Miscellaneous Terms and Definitions===
Shaken: A Shaken specialist has had a traumatic, frightening experience, psychologically stunning them and making them ineffective. A Shaken specialist will not follow any orders given to them by their commander; any attempt to make them do so wastes the action. While Shaken, a specialist is at a -30 penalty to all Checks except Saves. A Shaken specialist can "snap out of it" with a successful Willpower Save.
Undermanned Penalty: A vehicle that has less than 90% of its crew requirement aboard is considered undermanned and takes an Undermanned Penalty. Vehicles that are suffering from an Undermanned Penalty must succeed at every Check it requires twice in a row for as long as it remains undermanned.
Opportunity Attack: An Opportunity Attack usually occurs in special situations wherein an opposing combatant is about to do something particularly nasty to its target; it allows the target to make a single strike at its oncoming attacker. Opportunity Attacks are free actions conducted by the target during its attacker's turn. The target must itself target the attacking combatant but is otherwise free do whatever they wish within the bounds of a standard attack action. Any weapon utilized during an Opportunity Attack is considered discharged should the target's turn be later in the order of battle.
Stalling: Stalling is a process where for whatever reason an airborne vehicle cannot generate enough lift to stay airborne. When a vehicle Stalls, it is up to its pilot to pull it out of the Stall before it slams into the ground. The rate at which a craft falls out of the sky is measured as a count, which itself is dependent upon the planet's gravity; round the gravitational amount to the nearest integer and add that amount to the vehicle's Stall count at the end of its turn. Hovercopters and capsules fall at twice the indicated rate while gravships, transports and capital ships will fall at four times the indicated rate. To determine at what value the craft will slam into the ground, the GM will make a d% roll when the Stall is initiated, keeping the result secret; when the Stall count equals or exceeds the result of this roll, the vehicle crashes into the ground and is considered destroyed (note that if the GM throws low, there may not be any opportunity for the pilot to pull the vehicle out of the Stall). The method for getting out of a Stall depends upon how it was initiated; if the vehicle stalled through Core Damage, the Stall is irrecoverable. If the Engine malfunctioned, it must be restored before the vehicle may come out of the Stall. Making a subsequent Vehicle Piloting Check will cancel a Stall after a failure while simply moving forward will suffice if the craft doesn't fulfill any minimal movement requirement during the course of a round. If the pilot can get the vehicle out of the Stall, the count will reset itself back to zero; Stall counts do not carry over to any subsequent Stalls.
Taking On Water: Taking On Water is a process wherein a sea vehicle begins sinking. The rate at which a sea vehicle takes on water is measured as a count; for every 10% Core Damage it accumulates, the count increases by one at the end of the craft's turn. Capsized ships and all submarines double the indicated rate; a capsized sub takes on water at four times the indicated rate. When the count exceeds the vehicle's Size Class, the vehicle sinks and is considered destroyed at that point. Each point of the count adds a -5 DC penalty to all Vehicle Piloting Checks the craft's pilot performs. Taking On Water can be countered by a successful Internal Systems Check; if the Check is successful, the vehicle stops Taking On Water and the count begins to drop by one per combat round until it reaches zero or until the vehicle sustains further Core Damage (at which point it will start to increase again).
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Category:WCRPG