AADA Arena Setup Rules?

swordtart · 02-27-2022, 03:17 PM

Skill 0 is competent enough for non-stressful activity (e.g. driving to the shops without any risk of crashing into a lamppost on the way). I class Skill 1 as apprentice and skill 2 as professional. But a professional Gunner-2 is not necessarily a professional auto-duellist. Being mono-skilled is fine for the gunner on a rig where there are other people to support you, but most Am nights are single crewman affairs and you would be at a significant disadvantage taking the penalty for being an unskilled Driver.

On that basis I'd say 30 points was the definition of Amateur.

Actually Driver 0, Gunner 0 and some other skill 0 (often hand gunner) is pretty common. It avoids the major penalties in all the key areas and +0 in all areas is less bad than +2 in one and -3 in two (+2-3-3 = -4 over the three skills overall). We often have NPCs in Am Night and I randomly assign skills on a d6 roll (1-3 no skill, 4-5 skill 0, 6 skill 1). If someone has none of the combat skills then I'll start rolling for less obvious skills that still might have some use to make up their 30 points. You opponent may be a desperate ex-motorcycle ganger trying to get enough to buy a bike and have Cyclist-1, Handgunner-0 for example, not great, but possibly better than that ex-con who has Streetwise-2 and nothing else.

In rough areas (i.e. the kind of places that recruits for AM Nights) Handgun skill is a basic survival skill (with low-tech dreg gangs it might even be Melee instead). Having access to vehicular weaponry and thence Gunner is harder to justify (but you could be ex-militia or army). Consider the relative costs of a heavy pistol or rifle vs. the cost of a tripod weapon vs. the cost of even the cheapest car. Also consider the relative costs of ammunition. You can practice for longer with a pistol than with an MG for the same money.

Actually having a car would be unusual so Driver skill could easily be 0 or less. You might reasonably be able to get some shared time on a driving simulator or even borrow a friends car to get you some familiarity, but if you were any good you would probably get a job as a courier or a convoy escort driver and be able to rely on some friends or a car with some performance than to risk your life on a lifestyle that will kill 50% of your contemporaries before they earn enough to break out of the Am Circuit.

Remember you may need to survive more than one AM night to make enough money to break out (usually it needs a win to get a good enough car to compete in division 5). According to the background fluff many arenas have a three strikes and you are out rule, meaning you can only enter Am Night three times. Of course you can always sign on at other arenas under a false name and some of the less scrupulous arenas may not bother checking anyway, but if you have failed to win after three events, maybe you should consider another career :)

02-27-2022, 03:17 PM	#4
swordtart Join Date: Jun 2008	Re: AADA Arena Setup Rules? Skill 0 is competent enough for non-stressful activity (e.g. driving to the shops without any risk of crashing into a lamppost on the way). I class Skill 1 as apprentice and skill 2 as professional. But a professional Gunner-2 is not necessarily a professional auto-duellist. Being mono-skilled is fine for the gunner on a rig where there are other people to support you, but most Am nights are single crewman affairs and you would be at a significant disadvantage taking the penalty for being an unskilled Driver. On that basis I'd say 30 points was the definition of Amateur. Actually Driver 0, Gunner 0 and some other skill 0 (often hand gunner) is pretty common. It avoids the major penalties in all the key areas and +0 in all areas is less bad than +2 in one and -3 in two (+2-3-3 = -4 over the three skills overall). We often have NPCs in Am Night and I randomly assign skills on a d6 roll (1-3 no skill, 4-5 skill 0, 6 skill 1). If someone has none of the combat skills then I'll start rolling for less obvious skills that still might have some use to make up their 30 points. You opponent may be a desperate ex-motorcycle ganger trying to get enough to buy a bike and have Cyclist-1, Handgunner-0 for example, not great, but possibly better than that ex-con who has Streetwise-2 and nothing else. In rough areas (i.e. the kind of places that recruits for AM Nights) Handgun skill is a basic survival skill (with low-tech dreg gangs it might even be Melee instead). Having access to vehicular weaponry and thence Gunner is harder to justify (but you could be ex-militia or army). Consider the relative costs of a heavy pistol or rifle vs. the cost of a tripod weapon vs. the cost of even the cheapest car. Also consider the relative costs of ammunition. You can practice for longer with a pistol than with an MG for the same money. Actually having a car would be unusual so Driver skill could easily be 0 or less. You might reasonably be able to get some shared time on a driving simulator or even borrow a friends car to get you some familiarity, but if you were any good you would probably get a job as a courier or a convoy escort driver and be able to rely on some friends or a car with some performance than to risk your life on a lifestyle that will kill 50% of your contemporaries before they earn enough to break out of the Am Circuit. Remember you may need to survive more than one AM night to make enough money to break out (usually it needs a win to get a good enough car to compete in division 5). According to the background fluff many arenas have a three strikes and you are out rule, meaning you can only enter Am Night three times. Of course you can always sign on at other arenas under a false name and some of the less scrupulous arenas may not bother checking anyway, but if you have failed to win after three events, maybe you should consider another career :)