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Old 02-18-2019, 03:04 AM   #91
swordtart
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Default Re: Roleplaying experiences without a GM in Car Wars?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ak_aramis View Post
an NPC vehicle is in position to shoot 3 vehicles from your convoy - the Tractor-trailer, the Security 7, or the Doublecharge.

"Will the biker shoot the Tractor-trailer rig?"
Flip a coin. Heads yes, tails no. Heads.
"Will the biker shoot at the tractor?" Heads.
"Will the biker pick a specific target?" Tails.

Ok, so he shoots the side armor of the tractor.

His buddy, with the same options:
"Same as his buddy?" tails.
"Rig?" Heads
"Tires?" Tails
"Hitch?" Heads.
Of course some of those questions might be more appropriately answered by a tactical analysis. For example if his chance to hit the side armour of the tractor is 9 then going for a specific target might be implausible. You might want to sway your random response accordingly.

You would probably be better assessing the tactical benefits using a effect tree.

Lets say we re talking about a bike with a 1d6 weapon as the attacker. A pretty common load-out (but not really ideal for truck hunting).

A 1d6 weapon to the side armour of a tractor is probably not even worth the ammunition expenditure (most tractor's will be able to take dozens of hits at that level before it even starts to worry them, it is isn't even likely to create a HS issue). If that is a bandits only credible target then he shouldn't even be attacking (but see below*). He should concentrate on improving his situation (which might mean firing to gain a sustained fire bonus - but I would assume he has been doing this from extreme range) or ducking out entirely.

An attack against a front tire from the side is probably going to be more effective. Now you need to assess the probability of that attack succeeding. Again if is implausible (to hit 9+ in my book) then he needs to concentrate on improving the situation or bailing out.

You can make simple morale checks based on any return fire he is receiving. Even a near miss might cause him to veer off (bikes are very vulnerable) and even a slight HS drop at highway speed can be terminal.

If the opponent is in a car he might be a more willing to take a few hits, he will also probably have better fire-power to bear.

Does this mean bikes will never attack a rig? No... but a straight stern chase probably isn't going to work very often (and thus isn't likely to become a standard tactic).

If they attack from the side, pouncing from an under or over pass for example, they could be at short range at the start of the encounter. Those tire shots then become credible. They might simply park up and lay down fire from a stationary gun platform. They can control the angles they get fired at far better this way and thus can improve their longevity to the point they may be able to nibble away enough to cause effective damage.

*Why are they attacking. If they are being paid to by a competitor as a form of economic warfare then exchanging $25 of MG ammo for $150 of armour repairs might be a good enough return that they can hit and run as nuisance attacks.

You need a random table of motivations more than a random table of tactical responses.
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