Vehicle Movement
Vehicle Movement
Vehicle movement works much like character movement. Every vehicle has a Move score: the number of meters per round the vehicle travels at cruising speed.
Moving is an action, just like firing a blaster or dodging. A vehicle can move once per round.
Vehicle Operation Skills
Most repulsorlift vehicles (landspeeders, airspeeders, speeder bikes) use repulsorlift operation (or Mechanical if the skill isn't improved).
Other vehicle types use different skills: • Walkers: walker operation • Wheeled/tracked vehicles: ground vehicle operation • Hovercraft: hover vehicle operation • Swoops: swoop operation
Each vehicle's description lists the correct skill.
Terrain Difficulty
When a vehicle moves, the GM describes the terrain and sets a difficulty level and number: • Very Easy: 1–5 • Easy: 6–10 • Moderate: 11–15 • Difficult: 16–20 • Very Difficult: 21–30 • Heroic: 31+
The player chooses speed and rolls the vehicle's operation skill. If the vehicle has maneuverability, add that code to the pilot's roll. • Success (roll ≥ difficulty number): the vehicle moves normally. • Failure (roll < difficulty number): the vehicle suffers a movement failure (see Movement Failures).
Move Speeds
A vehicle can only move once per round, but the driver picks one of four speeds.
1) Cautious Movement
Very slow movement: Move ÷ 2. (Move 200 → up to 100 meters.) • Very Easy/Easy/Moderate terrain: free action (no roll). • Difficult/Very Difficult/Heroic terrain: roll operation skill, but reduce terrain difficulty one level.
Example: Rhen has repulsorlift operation 5D and pilots an airspeeder (Move 200, maneuverability 1D+2). In open air (Easy) at cautious speed, she moves 100 meters with no roll. Later she pilots through a twisting canyon in heavy rain (Very Difficult). At cautious speed it becomes Difficult (DN 19). She rolls 5D + 1D+2 and gets 23, making it through safely.
2) Cruising Movement
Normal driving speed: Move. (Move 200 → up to 200 meters.) • Counts as an action. • Automatic in Very Easy/Easy/Moderate terrain. • Must roll in Difficult/Very Difficult/Heroic terrain.
Example: Rhen cruises on a clear repulsorway (Easy) and automatically moves 200 meters, but it's an action. If she fires the autocannon too, that's a second action, so she takes −1D and rolls only 2D to hit (Dexterity 3D −1D). Later she flies through thick forest (Difficult, DN 17) at cruising speed and rolls 21 (including maneuverability), avoiding the branches.
3) High Speed
Pushing the vehicle: Move × 2. (Move 200 → up to 400 meters.) • Must roll operation skill for Very Easy/Easy/Moderate terrain. • For Difficult/Very Difficult/Heroic terrain: increase terrain difficulty one level • Difficult → Very Difficult • Very Difficult → Heroic • Heroic → Heroic +10
Example: Rhen races across a clear ice plain (Easy, DN 7). She rolls 18 and moves 400 meters. Later she attempts high speed through heavy traffic (Difficult → Very Difficult, DN 28) and rolls 27—she fails and checks Movement Failures.
4) All-Out
All-out speed: Move × 4. (Move 200 → up to 800 meters.)
Pilots at all-out speed may do nothing else that round, including vehicle dodges or firing weapons.
Increase terrain difficulty: • Very Easy/Easy/Moderate: +1 difficulty level • Difficult/Very Difficult/Heroic: +2 difficulty levels
Example: Rhen goes all-out across an open plain (Easy → Moderate, DN 12). She rolls 19 and moves 800 meters. Later she goes all-out through dense forest (Difficult → Heroic, DN 38) and rolls 24—failure; see Movement Failures.
Acceleration and Deceleration
Vehicles may change speed by one level per round.
Example: Cruising → next round can be Cautious or High Speed (not All-Out). All-Out → next round can only drop to High Speed (not cruising or stop).
Partial Moves
A vehicle can move anywhere between half and full distance for its chosen speed.
Example: Move 200 at high speed allows 200–400 meters.
Long-Distance Movement
All-Out
A vehicle continuously moving all-out must make a body strength roll every 10 minutes. • First difficulty: Very Easy • Increase one level per additional roll
Results: • Fail by 1–10: vehicle suffers strain (overheating, stress) and must "rest" for twice the time spent all-out. • Fail by 11+: mechanical failure; requires Moderate repair and at least one hour of work.
High Speed
High speed travel requires body strength rolls once per hour: • First roll: Very Easy, increasing one level each additional roll.
Terrain Difficulties
• Very Easy (1–5): flat artificial surfaces/roads; light traffic; repulsorlift over flat stable ground.
• Easy (6–10): smooth surfaces with minor obstacles; moderate traffic; repulsorlift over uneven terrain or moderate city/highway traffic.
• Moderate (11–15): heavy traffic at high speed; rough terrain; intense storm; repulsorlift down chasms or in severely limited visibility (fog/storm).
• Difficult (16–20): very rough terrain (mountainside, crater field, meteor storm); chases in heavy traffic; repulsorlift through thick forests or Beggar's Canyon.
• Very Difficult (21–30): driving through earthquake/fierce battle; collapsing highways; repulsorlift under similar chaos.
• Heroic (31+): near-impossible conditions (thick swamps choking movement; racing through the core of an immense drilling machine).
Maneuvers
The base difficulty covers simple movement (straight line, a couple turns). Add modifiers for harder maneuvers: • +1–5: fairly easy • +6–10: somewhat difficult; requires skill • +11–15: very difficult; requires talent (or luck) • +16+: almost impossible
Sample Maneuvers
• Bootlegger Turn (ground; +6 to +15): brakes hard, spins/slides; moves half Move; ends facing opposite direction.
• Extreme Climb/Dive (flying; +6 to +20+): 45°+ climb or dive.
• Extreme Turn (ground/flying; +6 to +15): tight turn (over 45°) at speed.
• Jump (ground; +5 to +20): leap off bridge/cliff/ramp; depends on distance + landing control.
• Loop (flying; +15 to +30+): full loop during the move.
• Rotate (+5 to +15+): hover vehicles (and some repulsorlift) at cruising or less can rotate up to 360° without changing inertia.
Movement Failures
If the pilot fails the movement roll, find how many points the roll missed by: • 1–3: Slight slip • Vehicle completes movement. Pilot suffers −1D to all actions for rest of round. • 4–6: Slip • Vehicle moves half Move. Pilot suffers −3D for rest of round and −1D next round. • 7–10: Spin • Vehicle completes ¼ Move, then spins out. No movement for rest of this round and next round. If no collision damage, it may move again in two rounds. • 11–15: Minor collision • Glancing impact. Collision damage −3D. • If nothing to hit, treat as spin-out (no movement this round and next). • 16–20: Collision • Normal collision damage. • If nothing to hit, may tumble/flip or otherwise crash (GM discretion). • 21+: Major collision • Collision damage +4D. • If nothing to hit, flip/crash violently (GM discretion).
Collisions
Collision damage depends on speed. (When colliding with different scales, apply appropriate caps.)
| Speed | Collision Damage |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 2D |
| Cruising | 4D |
| High Speed | 6D |
| All-Out | 10D |
Roll collision damage and compare to the vehicle's body strength roll; see Vehicle Damage for results.
Collision Angle Modifiers
• Head-on crash: +3D
• Rear-ender / sideswipe: −3D
• T-bone: +0D
Adjust for what was hit: • Hardened wall: full damage • Fence/bushes: may reduce by −1D, −2D, or more (GM discretion)
Example: Rhen flies at high speed. DN 21, she rolls 6—fails by 15 → minor collision. High speed is 6D collision damage, but minor collision reduces it by 3D, so the speeder takes 3D damage vs body strength 2D. Later she fails by 24 at high speed: major collision (6D + 4D = 10D). If it's also head-on with another speeder, add +3D more: 13D total collision damage.
Source: REUP:110