User:Quincy/Vehicles (5e Sourcebook)/Combat

Vehicle Combat

Facing

With this system, vehicles have different components in their front, center or rear sections; and each section has it's own AC. Use the Facing optional rule (DMG p. 252) to determine which arc can be attacked. Fixed weapons in a vehicles center body section can be designated as facing left or right.

Maneuver Checks

Sometimes the pilot of a vehicle will be required to make a maneuver check. This is a Dexterity check, using the ship's Dexterity.

Types of Combat

Standard Combat

Regular combat, on a round-by-round basis, is "standard combat". This is suitable for combat with Gargantuan or smaller vehicles, especially if the battle also involves individual creatures.

Grand Combat

With vehicles of Gargantuan size or larger, such as sailing ships, "grand combat" is more suitable. Each round in grant combat covers a duration of 1 minute (instead of 6 seconds). As the distances are much greater, it can be resolved with an abstract combat system rather than a battle grid.

Action during a Turn

In standard combat, each character takes a turn on their initiative as normal. If the vehicle has a pilot, it moves on their initiative; otherwise it moves last in the initiative order.

Characters can take the following actions in addition to the normal actions a character can take.

Pilot

A character at a control station can use an action to perform two of these tasks:

• Turn the vehicle.
• Increase or decrease the vehicle's speed.
• Increase or decrease the vehicle's altitude or depth.
• Attack with a melee weapon or weapons in an automated weapon component.

The vehicle must make a maneuver check if the character does not have the correct vehicle proficiency; on a failure, the vehicle does not turn or change its speed or altitude.

Turning

If the vehicle is turned beyond its capability, the vehicle must make a maneuver check. If it is moving faster than half its maximum speed, it has disadvantage on the check.

The turning capability depends on the form of locomotion (assuming a square grid):

• Legs or Rotary Wing: 135 degrees.
• Propeller, Ornithopter Wings, or Continuous Track: 90 degrees
• Wheel Drivetrain or Screw Propeller. or Soarwood: 90 degrees if the vehicle's current speed is 30 feet or faster; 45 degrees if the vehicle's current speed is between 5 feet and 15 feet; otherwise it cannot turn.
• Oars or Rigging: 45 degrees.

Vehicles that are greater than Gargantuan size have their turning capability reduced by 45 degrees (to a minimum of 45).

On a failed check, the vehicle does not turn.

Activate Spell Emitter

A character at a control station (or the spell emitter itself) can use their action to activate or deactivate a spell emitter.

Power Task

A character at a control station (or a Power component) can:

• Redirect available Power Points from one component to another.

Weapons

Bearing

• Fixed weapons can only fire at targets in their arc.
• Turret weapons in the front can fire at targets in the vehicles front, left or right arcs.
• Turret weapons in the rear can fire at targets that the ship's rear, left or right arcs.
• Turret weapons in the center can in any arc.

Rate of Fire

In standard combat, the weapon's description tells you how many actions (and therefore rounds) it takes to load and attack with the weapon.

Targeting

In standard combat, the facing rules determine which of the targets arcs the weapon can attack.

Exposed Components

Exposed components (e.g. rigging) can always be targeted.

Targetting specific components

If the weapon range is Normal, the attack can be directed at a particular ship component in any section that it can target, incurring disadvantage on the attack roll.

Personal Weapons against Crew

Personal weapons (longbows, etc) targeting a particular ship component can choose to fire at the crew in that component. This is often their only option if the target's damage threshold is greater than the damage they can deal.

Crew in exposed components have half cover. Crew in core components have total cover. All other crew get three-quarters cover.

Hits and Damage

• On a successful attack roll, roll damage for the weapon. The vehicle's hit points are reduced as normal (noting damage threshold and resistances).
• If the vehicle takes damage, roll 1d6 to determine which component in the targeted body section was hit (unless a particular component was targeted).
• The component is damaged.
  • If the component was already damaged, it is destroyed instead.
  • If the component was already destroyed, the next undestroyed component in that hull section is damaged instead (if component [6] is destroyed, hit an undestroyed [Core] component in that section, then loop back to [1])

• If the damage was equal to or greater than 10% of the vehicle's maximum hit points, the component is destroyed.
  • If the component was already destroyed, the next-numbered undestroyed component is destroyed, as described above.
  • In addition, one other random system in the same body section is damaged, per above.

Smaller and larger components

If a component slot holds undersized or half-sized components, all the components in that slot are damaged or destroyed.

An oversized component is not damaged or destroyed until half or more of the component slots it comprises of are damaged or destroyed.

Vehicle Integrity

Every time a component is destroyed, the vehicle must make a Constitution check. The DC depends on the number of destroyed components:

• 0—2: DC 5
• 3—5: DC 10
• 6—8: DC 15
• 9—11: DC 20
• 12—15: DC 25

On the first failed save, the vehicle has compromised integrity. It has disadvantage on maneuver checks and on weapon attacks.

On the second failed save, the vehicle is destroyed.

Damaged and Destroyed Components

A damaged or destroyed component does not function, with the following special cases.

Armor

• Damaged. Damaged armor has 1 less AC.
• Destroyed. Destroyed armor has 2 less AC: even destroyed armor provides enough structure to absorb or deflect blows.

If a hull section has more than one armor component, use the highest AC.

Cargo

• Damaged. Half the cargo in it is destroyed.
• Destroyed. All the cargo is destroyed.

Berth

• Damaged. Vehicles are unable to launch.
• Destroyed. Vehicles in the berth are destroyed.

Volatile Components

Some components do not react well to being hit.

• A weapon component that includes cannons
• A gasbag filled with methane or hydrogen.

When one of these components is damaged or destroyed, the vessel makes a DC 15 Constitution check. On a failed save, the component is damaged again (transferring to the next component if it is already destroyed as detailed above).