Written by Michael P. Owen
owenmp@hotmail.com

Web Posted February 04, 1999
Updated August 05, 2000

Car Wars is an excellent game system for several reasons. Its vehicle movement system is both easy to play and is realistic. Its combat system is simple and fast to use. There is one major disadvantage to Car Wars, however. Unless a campaign emphasizes character interaction, requiring use of roleplaying skills such as Fast-Talk, Streetwise and Theft, most characters are components of a vehicle, treated in most ways like a piece of equipment. When characters use personal weapons, once again their skills are only targeting modifiers for the weapon.

GURPS is a roleplaying system and in many areas is a good one. Naturally, the game has success of a task dependent on the skill of a character. Weapons, accessories and targeting modifiers determine the chance of rolling against a character's skill if success or failure for attempting a particular task occurs. GURPS also has a well-written set of rules for vehicle action in the book GURPS Vehicles Second Edition. The vehicle construction rules permit an infinite variety of vehicles to be created. This system also permits construction of infinite types of weapons. Damage values between weapons are more realistic. The surplus 0.50-caliber (12.7mm) heavy machine gun Joe Harshman mounted on his Chevrolet pickup during a Fresno demolition derby in 2021, the event that officially started the sport of autodueling, has a damage value in GURPS Vehicles Second Edition that is a good simulation of its awesome power in 1999. GURPS Vehicles Second Edition has rules for rapid-fire weapons. In GURPS, the 7.62mm machine-gun in Car Wars inflicts the same amount of damage as the 7.62mm Vulcan machine-gun in Car Wars, but the rates of fire of these weapons are very different, the MG fires 20 shots per second while the VMG fires 100 shots per second. Each of these rounds requires a separate attack roll to determine if each round hits or misses the target. Multiple rates of fire would be difficult to simulate in Car Wars, but in GURPS this action can be used easily.

GURPS does have a few disadvantages with its vehicle movement system. GURPS does permit an unlimited amount of maneuvers per second, but each maneuver performed requires the player to make a skill roll against his or her character's piloting skill. This procedure is often more difficult than the Control Table system in Car Wars. GURPS has a movement system for vehicles that is not as realistic as Car Wars and its penalties for characters failing piloting skill rolls are too severe. Car Wars has a movement system more useful than GURPS because the effects of maneuvers and road hazards on vehicle stability are discussed differently (skids, spinouts, rolls and vaults for the former, fishtails for the latter) in Car Wars while GURPS does not make this distinction.

GURPS has also has some problems in its vehicular combat system. High rate of fire weapons slow down combat greatly because the application of damage for each shot needs to be determined. High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warheads are extremely powerful in GURPS, so powerful there might be a game balance problem for GURPS Autoduel Second Edition campaigns.

The excerpt from GURPS Autoduel First Edition Designer's Notes in ADQ 4/4 below describes how the emphasis on weapons and vehicles in Car Wars is limits the usefulness of characters in Car Wars:

But in general, the biggest problem was the necessary change in emphasis. In Car Wars, the hardware is the star, and the driver is just another vehicle component. In combat, for example, the base to hit number is determined by the weapon, and the gunner is just a modifier to that roll. To keep control, the base number comes from the vehicle -- the driver's skill is just a modifier. And so on.

In GURPS Autoduel, the emphasis is on the people. A combat "to hit" roll is based on the skill of the gunner, and the hardware provides the modifiers. Keeping control of a vehicle is based on the skill of the driver, and the hardware provides the modifiers. And that's the way it should be.

This article is presented in two sections. The first half of this article discusses several rules from Car Wars, GURPS, the TSR Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks and the Car Wars solo adventure Mean Streets. The second half of this article discusses variants for using piloting, weapon, combat and roleplaying skills in Car Wars, variants created using the rules discussed in the first half of this article.

This article discusses several concepts in GURPS, however enough information about GURPS has been provided to allow Car Wars players to understand the ideas written here. Gamers interested in obtaining a full version of GURPS should visit the SJ Games Web Site. An introductory version of GURPS, called GURPS Lite, is a 32-page distillation of the basic GURPS rules. This rulebook is in Adobe Acrobat format and is available for no cost. It covers the essentials of character creation, combat, success rolls, magic, adventuring, and game mastering. Most if not all of the concepts from GURPS discussed in this article can be found in GURPS Lite.
 

Background: GURPS, Character Points, Attributes and Skill Levels

GURPS characters are constructed according to a certain number of character points (CPs). The levels of attributes (strength, dexterity, intelligence and health) skills and the levels of those properties are determined by the number of character points given to each of them. While a character can have many skills, the character's attributes initially determine the levels of those skills. For example, dexterity determines the level of a character's Handgunner skill while strength determines the level of Blade skill. The levels of skills can be higher than the values of attributes, but more CPs must be invested. Note that CPs must be paid for attributes and for skills. A high level of dexterity does not give the character Handgunner skill.

The player characters that are "hero material," the default character level in GURPS, have 100 CPs. This level can be increased or decreased depending on the type of campaign. For example, the default level in GURPS Cyberpunk is 200 points. This is a larger amount than many other game worlds because GURPS Cyberpunk campaigns are deadlier than most other campaigns.

Beginning Character Point Levels in GURPS

• Below-average: 15 points or less
• Average: 25 points
• Above-average: 50 points
• Experienced: 75 points
• Hero material: 100 points
• Full-fledged hero: 150 points
• Truly outstanding: 200 points
• Superhuman: 300 points or more

Strength (ST): Measure of "brawn" or physical muscle
Dexterity (DX): Measure of agility and coordination
Intelligence (IQ): Measure of brainpower, alertness, adaptability and general background experience
Health (HT): Measure of energy and vitality. HT also stands for "hits" -- the amount of physical damage a character can take. When a character have taken "hits" equal to its Health score, the character soon falls unconscious. Further injury can kill the character. Death is not permanent in all game-worlds, but it is inconvenient.

The four attributes are considered equally valuable. Getting a Strength of 12 will "cost" just as many points as a Health, a Dexterity, or an IQ of 12. The point cost of beginning attributes is given in the table below, which has scores ranging from 1 to 20. One is the lowest score permitted for a human. There is NO upper limit to any score -- however, very high scores are impossible for beginning characters. For each attribute, a score of 10 represents the human average; anything from 8 to 12 is in the range considered "normal." Scores above 16 are definitely unusual; scores above 20 are superhuman!
 
 

Note that a score of 10 is free, since 10 is "average." Scores below 10 have a negative cost -- for instance, if you take a Dexterity of 8, the cost is -15. By making your character somewhat clumsy, you have "earned" an extra 15 points that can be applied somewhere else.

The following table lists skill levels 10 to 19, the CP cost of each level and the total amount of CPs needed to achieve each level. You can easily see that higher levels have very large CP costs. Increasing skill levels in GURPS is much more complex than this table shows, but this table gives the general idea that large amounts of CPs are needed to increase skill levels as a character gets stronger.
 
 

Background: GURPS and Success Rolls

When your character attempts to use a skill, perform an action, attack a foe, etc. in GURPS, 3d6 are rolled to determine whether you succeed. This is a success roll. Sometimes you roll; sometimes the gamemaster rolls for you.

For your character to succeed in his or her attempt, the total rolled on the dice must be less than or equal to the skill or attribute you are using. For instance, if you are attempting to pick a lock, and your Lockpicking skill is 9, you must roll a 9 or less on 3d6.

In many cases, special rules will provide modifiers for the type of action being attempted. For instance, the description of Lockpicking skill states that a character working in the dark has a "-5" to succeed. This means that 5 must be subtracted from his or her skill for that attempt. 9 minus 5 is 4; thus, in the dark, a character with a Lockpicking skill of 9 must roll a 4 or less to succeed . . . not impossible on 3d6, but very difficult.

Furthermore, a specific scenario may provide modifiers to allow for the relative ease or difficulty of a specific situation. For instance, let us assume that a certain lock is primitive and clumsy. The scenario states (or the gamemaster has previously determined) that this lock is +10 to open because it is so primitive. 9 plus 10 is 19; thus, your character with the Lockpicking skill of 19 would need to roll 19 or less on 3d6. Since the highest roll possible on 3d6 is 18, it would seem success is assured. This almost true, but not quite. Critical failures, especially bad results on skill rolls, can be scored depending on the skill level involved, however a roll of 18 is always a critical failure. A roll of 17 is an ordinary failure if your effective skill is 16 or better, and a critical failure if your effective skill is under 16. (Critical failures, which often cause nasty results for the character that acquired a critical failure, are discussed in GURPS. They will not be discussed further here. For purposes of this article, consider a result of 17 or 18 on 3d6 as automatic failures, exactly like rolling 2 on 2d6 in Car Wars when trying to hit a target with a weapon.)

All modifications are cumulative. Suppose that you are attempting to open that primitive lock . . . in the dark. Both modifiers apply. 9 minus 4 -- plus 10 is 14 -- so you need a 14 or less to succeed.

Your basic skill is your actual skill level in that skill. Your effective skill is our basic skill plus or minus any appropriate modifiers. In the example above, your effective skill is 14. You may not attempt to roll if your effective skill is less than 3, unless you are attempting a defense roll (a concept discussed in GURPS, one that will not be discussed in this article).

To use a skill in GURPS, you must make a "success roll" against your skill level. Success rolls are made on 3d6. For instance, if your skill is 13, you must roll a 13 or less on 3d6 to succeed with that skill. Levels of skills can be over 18, and often are . . . but a roll of 17 or 18 always fails. And modifiers for difficult tasks or unfavorable situations will usually adjust your "effective" skill to a number 18.

The probability of success at each skill level is shown below. If you have a skill of 10 (defined as an "average" level of skill), you will fail exactly half the time. Obviously, "average" is not very good in many cases! Note that a roll of 17 or 18 is automatically a failure, so nobody succeeds 100% of the time.

This table should be used to judge the overall competence at most skills.
 
 

These figures give the probability of succeeding on the first try at a task of average difficulty -- whatever that is. Remember that your roll for a difficult task will be modified by the gamemaster. If you have Lockpicking skill of 18, you will get most ordinary locks on the first try. But a tough lock -- -8 to open -- gives you an effective skill of only 10, and your chance to open it drops to 50%!

Note that once your skill reaches a level of 14 or so, your chance of succeeding doesn't really go up very much with each added point of skill. Furthermore, learning those added points of skill gets harder and harder. It isn't pointless, though. For instance, suppose you have Lockpicking skill of 23. Ordinary locks are no easier for you -- you can't have better than a 98.1% chance, no matter what. But that hard lock, which was -8 to open, adjusts your skill down to 15 -- which still gives you a 95% chance to open it on the first try!

For weapon skills, the usual range of useful levels is from 10 to 16. A "real-world" comparison of weapon skill levels:

3: Astonishingly bad. You will never hit a foe except by luck.
6: Clumsy. An average man using an easy weapon for the first time.
9: Unskilled. A rookie in his first month of basic training.
12: Novice. An average man after a little study, or a talented beginner.
15: Veteran. A good, experienced fighter. You rarely miss.
18: Expert. You have a lot of experience.
20: Master. You could train others, and train them well.
25: Wizard. You could fight blindfolded.

Determining Hits

When a normal weapon (anything but a dropped weapon) is fired, the attacking player rolls 2d6 to see whether he has hit his target. He must make the to-hit roll or better for that weapon (see the Weapon List). Thus, to hit with a machine-gun, a player would need to roll a 7 or better on 2d6.

Accuracy is affected by a number of factors, including the skill of the firer, range, weather, and size and speed of the target. Add all factors that apply to the to-hit roll. All modifiers are cumulative.

For example, a machine-gun has a base to-hit roll of 7. If the firer was using a targeting computer (+1) at point-blank range (+4) and was trying to hit the tire (-3) of a cycle (-2) at night (-3), there would be a total modifier of -3; the firer now has to roll a 10 or higher. No matter what the roll needed, a roll of 2 on the dice is an automatic miss. A roll of 12 is not an automatic hit. If, after all modifiers, a player needs 13 or higher to hit, he cannot hit the target, but may still fire for sustained fire bonuses.

The table below lists the probabilities of to-hit values from 2 to 12, using the rule that a natural 2 on 2d6 is an automatic miss.
 
 
 

Characters

A character with a skill at the base level can perform that skill with no penalties or bonuses. Most skills can be attempted, at a penalty, even by those with no training.

With extra training and experience, a character with a skill at base level (for example, "Driver") can improve it to "Driver +1," and eventually "Driver +2," "Driver +3," and so on. In the course of adventures, you will gain "skill points." Some skill points can only be spent on particular skills, while others can be spent on any skill.

Each base level skill acquired during character creation costs 10 skill points. To increase an existing skill up to Skill +3, spend 10 points; this improves the skill by one level. Higher skill levels cost 20 points each up to Skill +6, 30 points each up to Skill +9, etc. The table below shows the cost of each skill level from base to +9 and the total number of skill points needed to achieve each level.
 
 

Background: Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks, Characters and Combat

Creating a Character

The first thing you must do is create the "character" you will play in the adventure.

To create your character, divide 10 points among the following 5 characteristics. You must put at least 1 point into each characteristic.

Driving skill. This is your ability to drive all kinds of vehicles; it helps you keep control of your car in a tight spot.

Gunnery skill. This skill controls your ability in all kinds of combat -- autodueling, fistfights, and guns. When you fire from a car, it adds to your Combat Bonus making it easier to hit your foes.

Mechanic skill. This helps you repair your car.

Prestige. This represents your fame and reputation. High prestige will sometimes get you better treatment -- or at least more attention. High prestige also makes you more assertive, and sometimes helps you "fast-talk" somebody.

Wealth. Each point of Wealth is worth $1,000 of starting cash. You will need to keep track of money during the game -- weapons and other equipment will cost money.

There are two other characteristics:

Defense Class. Normal humans have a Defense Class of 9 -- they are fragile, but small and hard to hit.

Hit Points. All people have 3 hit points. If you buy body armor, it will take hits for you. It cannot be repaired. Thus, if you have regular body armor and you take 4 hits, the armor will stop 3 and you will only take 1. But the armor is now useless, and any further hits will strike you directly.
 

Attack Rolls

Each turn, when you fire, roll 2d6 and add your Combat Bonus (see below). This is your Attack Roll. If the result is greater than your target's Defense Class, you hit him. The Defense Class for each foe will be given in the text. Each car you acquire will have its own Defense Class -- also given in the text.

Your Combat Bonus is figured by adding (a) your Gunnery skill; (b) the bonus (if any) for the weapon you are using, and (c) the bonus for your car's computer, if any.
 

Definitions of Terms

Attack Roll. A roll of 2d6, plus your Combat Bonus. If your attack roll exceeds your target's Defense Class, you hit him. Also known as Gunnery roll.

Combat Bonus. The number that determines your weapon accuracy. Add your Gunnery skill to any extra bonus you get for a computer, or for especially-accurate weapons on your car. Higher is better!

Defense Class. The number that determines how hard your car is to hit. Higher is better! Small cars are harder targets and have higher Defense Classes than big ones. Heavy armor also improves your Defense Class. Special Damage can lower it.

General Damage. Ordinary damage to a vehicle, which reduces the "hit points" its target has. General Damage is measured in "hits." One hit removes one hit point.

Hit Points. The amount of damage a car, person, etc., can take before it ceases to function. Higher is better!

Special Damage. Damage from lucky shots that directly affects certain important parts of the car. Each hit of Special Damage is shown by marking off a "damage box" on your Record Sheet. An item with 3 damage boxes can withstand 3 hits; it then stops working until at least 1 damage box is repaired.
 

Background: Mean Streets Car Wars Solo Adventure and Skill Rolls

At various times, you will be asked to attempt a skill roll. Roll 2d6. If you have a skill at base level, you succeed on a roll of 7 or more; otherwise, you fail. The effect of success or failure will depend on the situation, as described in the entry you are reading at the time.

The higher your skill, the easier it is to make a skill roll. Add your skill bonus to your die roll. Thus, if you have Mechanic +1, you would succeed on a natural roll of 6, because 6 plus 1 equals 7. However, a natural 2 always fails.

A character who does not even have a skill at base level (that is, did not spend at least 10 points on it) gets a -4 to this roll. He will not succeed except on an 11 or 12.

Depending on the relative ease or difficulty of a task, some entries will tell you to make the roll at a penalty or a bonus.

Vehicle skills are handled differently. When you roll against Driver (or Cyclist, or Helicopter Pilot, or any other driving-type skill), your vehicle's handling class affects your skill. If you have HC 2 (average vehicle), roll normally. If its HC is lower than 2, subtract the difference from your skill. If it is above 2, add the difference to your skill.

So a HC 3 vehicle, for instance, gives you a +1 to your skill. A HC 2 vehicle gives no bonus or penalty; a HC 1 vehicle gives you -1 to skill, and so on.
 

Advanced Character System: Skill Levels and Skill Points

The GURPS Attributes of Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Health are not considered here. Advantages, Disadvantages and Quirks (subjects discussed in GURPS Basic Set Third Edition Revised and in GURPS Lite) are also not a part of the Car Wars Advanced Character System. The information about GURPS Attributes previously was discussed to give background to the mechanics of GURPS and how some of the concepts of GURPS are being applied to Car Wars here. At this time, Mechanic skill is not covered by the rules below. Unless otherwise specified, current Car Wars character rules remain in effect.

The Advanced Character System is based on the 3d6 success roll system of GURPS. When your character attempts to use a skill, perform an action, attack a foe, etc. 3d6 are rolled to determine whether you succeed. This is a success roll. For your character to succeed in his or her attempt, the total rolled on the dice must be less than or equal to the skill or attribute you are using.

A character with a skill at the base level can perform that skill with no penalties or bonuses. Most skills can be attempted, at a penalty, even by
those with no training. Each base level skill acquired during character creation costs 10 skill points and gives a character a level of 10 in the particular skill. In order for a character to succeed in using the skill, 10 or less on 3d6 must be rolled. According to the GURPS probability table discussed previously, a character with a skill level of 10 has a 50 percent chance of success or failure when using the skill. Remember that a result of 17 or 18 on 3d6 is considered an automatic failure, exactly like a result of 2 on a 2d6 to-hit roll in Car Wars.

Base level skills can be improved with skill points earned during combat and adventures. To increase an existing skill up to Skill +13, spend 10 points; this improves the skill by one level. Higher skill levels cost 20 points each up to Skill +16, 30 points each up to Skill +19, etc. The table below shows the cost of each skill level from base to +19 and the total number of skill points needed to achieve each level.
 
 

All skills (except Mechanic ones) in this system are treated exactly like in Car Wars, with positive modifiers increasing skill levels, making success rolls easier and negative modifiers decreasing skill levels, making success rolls more difficult.

Skill points are only used for purchasing skills and for increasing skill levels. Requring skill points to purchase GURPS Attributes, Advantages, Disadvantages and Quirks is not considered in the Advanced Character System for Car Wars.
 

Advanced Character System: Weapon Skills

In Car Wars, Gunner, Handgunner and other weapon skills are basically treated as targeting computers or laser targeting scopes. This is not realistic as the weapon is not performing the combat. The character is firing the weapon and the experience that character has in combat has a large effect on whether the target will be hit or not. Most of the probability of a target being hit by a weapon should be based on the skill of the attacker.

To solve this problem characters no longer use to-hit numbers of weapons. The to-hit value is instead based on the Gunner or Handgunner skill of the character. All modifiers are applied normally. In addition, the type of weapon affects the accuracy of the character.

The series of Car Wars Gamebooks produced by TSR had a simplified set of Car Wars rules to enable readers not experienced with the game to enjoy the book and to provide Car Wars veterans autodueling action without requiring maps and counters. The to-hit number was based on the Defense Clas of the target, a value set by the author of each book. The target was hit if a roll of 2d6 was equal to or greater than the Defense Class. Targeting computers, Gunnery skill and other modifiers worked the same as Car Wars, lowering or raising DC. Each weapon in these books had a combat bonus or combat penalty. The table below shows the relationship between Car Wars to-hit values and combat bonuses of weapons in the Car Wars TSR Gamebooks.
 
 

Combining the concepts above results in the following protocol for weapon skill rolls.

1. The base to-hit number is the skill of the attacker. When using vehicular weapons base the value on Gunner. When using personal weapons, base this number on Handgunner. Use other skills for other types of weapons (Archery for bows, Blade for hatchets, etc.).

2. All standard Car Wars modifiers for targeting are in effect. Apply positive modifiers (which increase the skill for the attack) and negative modifiers (which decrease skill for the attack).

3. Complete the equation 7-n, where n is the to-hit number of the weapon. The result of this calculation is a combat bonus or combat penalty to the character's Gunner or Handgunner skill. Examples: A Machine-Gun (to-hit of 7) has a combat modifier of 0 (7-7), a Heavy Rocket (to-hit of 9) has a combat modifier of -2 (7-9) and a Laser (to-hit of 6) has a combat modifier of +1 (7-6).

4. The attacker must roll the modified skill level on 3d6 or less to hit the target. If the total on the dice is greater than the altered skill then the shot is a miss. If this modified skill is 2 or less, the shot is an automatic miss. If the skill is greater than 18, the shot is not an automatic hit. A roll of 17 or 18 on the dice is always a miss, equivalent to the result of two on a 2d6 attack roll in Car Wars.

5. If a character does not have Gunner or Handgunner skill, consider the character to have base level in the respective skill then apply the penalties for using a weapon without the required skill. For example, if a character tries to fire a Flamethrower without Gunner skill, the character has an effective skill of 7 (base level of 10 minus the penalty of 3 for not having Gunner skill).

6. Direct-fire weapons placed on automatic are assumed to have a Gunner skill of 10.

7. (Optional). If using Critical Hit rules from the Associated Autoduelists of Vermont Web Site, Car Wars Tanks or Deluxe Car Wars, a result of 3 or 4 on 3d6 is considered a critical hit. With an effective skill of 15 a roll of 5 is a critical hit. With an effective skill of 16 or better, a roll of 6 is a critical hit. Hit bonuses (targeting computers) do make critical hits more likely. Hit penalties (i.e. for a hard target) make critical hits less likely. The referee and players should decide in advance of a game whether or not these critical hit rules are in effect.

This system for Gunnery and Handgunner skills makes those skills much more valuable in Car Wars. The higher the combat skill of the character, the more likely attacks by that character will succeed.
 

Advanced Character System: Roleplaying Skills

All skills other than Mechanic and Piloting, such as Acrobatics, Leadership and Science follow the same rules for weapon skills in the Advanced Character System. The skill roll succeeds if the player gets a roll on 3d6 that is equal to or less than his or her character's modified skill. This proceudre is also used for Contests of Skill, discussed in CWC2.5 and in CCW.
 

Advanced Character System: Piloting Skills

While Car Wars considers character Gunner and Handgunner skills as targeting computers and laser targeting scopes, piloting skills are made even less valuable because they are only useful for initially increasing Handling Status and reducing the severity of Crash Table Results. In many situations, placement of more skill points into Gunner and Handgunner skills is more common than increasing piloting skills beyond base levels. GURPS places the control of a vehicle entirely on a pilot, but that game requires control rolls for every maneuver performed. Car Wars has a nice system of a Control Table that determines the stability of a vehicle. The following rules make piloting skills in Car Wars much more valuable, using GURPS concepts while keeping all of the game mechanics of Car Wars intact.

1. Piloting skills such as Driver and Cyclist have levels 10 and above, as described above in the first section of the Advanced Character System
 rules discussed above.

2. Reflex rolls are performed as in Car Wars. Subtract 10 from a character's piloting skill to determine the bonus given to the reflex roll by the character's piloting skill. For example, AADA-Sanctioned Tournaments set the values of all reflex rolls at 4. If a character chooses Pilot +12, the reflex roll is given a +2 modifier, increasing Handling Status for the combat by two.

3. Handling Status is maintained the same way in Car Wars. When maneuvers are performed and hazards are taken, reduce the Handling Status of the vehicle and refer to the Control Table for each Handling Status change. If the Control Table requires a Control Roll, a player no longer rolls 1d6 to check for control loss. If the Control Table states the vehicle is "Safe" for a control check, the vehicle continues normally. If the Control Table has a "XX" result for a control check, the vehicle is out of control and the player has to roll on the Crash Tables. If a number is present on the Control Table, the player does not roll 1d6 for the control check. Now, the player notes the number he or she must roll or higher on 1d6 to keep control, notes the piloting skill level of his or her character and cross-references those two values on the table below. To maintain control of the vehicle, the player must roll this number or less on 3d6. There are no modifers to this roll.
 
 

4. If control is maintained, the game continues normally. If the player fails the control roll, he or she must roll on the appropriate Crash Tables using 2d6 as usual, applying modifiers for piloting skill, speed, maneuver and hazards except treat Piloting skills in this way: Subtract 10 from the character's Piloting skill then reduce the Crash Table roll by this amount. For example, Driver 18 would reduce Crash Tables rolls by 8 while Driver 10 would be a skill level that does not affect Crash Table rolls (10-10 = 0).

5. If a vehicle is in a Spinout its pilot may try to gain control by rolling against his or her character's Piloting skill at -6 handling class on the Control Table. If there is an automatic control loss result (XX) on the Control Table for this control roll, a roll of 3 on 3d6 will permit the character to get the vehicle to exit the Spinout.

6. When handling status recovery is performed at the end of each turn, handling status is increased by the handling class of the vehicle plus (10-Piloting Skill) of the pilot. For example, a cycle of HC 2 controlled by character with Cyclist 12 would gain 4 points on the handling track each turn.

6. (Optional) The hazard to a vehicle for its pilot being injured (D2 hazard) or the penalties for piloting a vehicle without the appropriate skill (-2 for attempting to drive a four-wheeled or six-wheeled vehicle without Driver skill) can reduce the piliot's skill permanently, until the injury is healed or the character gained base level in the appropriate skill. Examples: A character with Trucker 13 in injured. The Trucker skill is permanently reduced to Trucker 11. A character who attempts to drive a car without Driver skill has a Driver skill of Driver 8 (base level minus handling status penalty of 2 for not having Driver skill). The table below presents the skill levels 3 to 18 for duelmasters interested in using the pilot injury hazard and other hazards to reduce piloting skills. If a piloting skill level decreases enough, there is an automatic loss of control, shown by the XX entries below. Realize that the character is in a bad enough situation when injured or trying to control a vehicle without the appropriate skill, therefore for simplicity it might be a good idea to allow the character to roll on the Crash Table with a piloting skill level of 10. The Advanced Character System was written to make Car Wars more fun, not to make the game too difficult to play or to decrease the survivability of characters.
 
 

The rules for piloting skills above make those skills much more useful in Car Wars. The decision to devote more skill points into piloting or weapon skills becomes much more important and much more critical. These rules have a three-step process in determining the stability of a vehicle. First, when a vehicle has a handling status that does not require a control roll, the vehicle's maneuverability hardware such as suspension and tires determines its stability. Second, when the vehicle has a low enough handling status to force a control roll, a character's piloting skill, measuring knowledge, practice and instincts, determines if the vehicle will or will not stay on the razor-thin edge of control. People who perform vehicle stunts for movies and television shows are able to sense when the vehicle is going to go out of control. Their high levels of piloting skills are able to prevent the vehicle from losing control completely, but not always. Third, when a pilot fails a control roll, the character's piloting skill helps reduce the severity of the control loss by decreasing the Crash Table results, but the vehicle is once again in control of its fate. The current rules in Car Wars do not have much participation of the character for determining if stability is maintained or lost. The rules above make success at control rolls easier when piloting skills increase.
 

The GURPS 3d6 system of success rolls has many advantages over the Car Wars 2d6 system of skill rolls and to-hit rolls. Without discussing the rules of probaility theory, the chances of each result on 2d6 and 3d6 are presented below. These tables clearly show if assuming a character with a to-hit of 2 in Car Wars (only chance of failure is 2 on 2d6) and a Gunner skill level of 18 (only chance of failure is 17 or 18 on 3d6) that the odds of obtaining 17 or 18 on 3d6 (1.9%) are less than the odds of getting 2 on 2d6 (2.8%). When the values of success are less than these maximum amounts, the probabilties vary greatly, but this example and the GURPS success roll table previously discussed show a 3d6 probability curve has a smoother distribution of values than a 2d6 probability curve, which means the 3d6 probability curve gives a greater chance for success with skill rolls than does a 2d6 probability curve.
 
 

The Advanced Rules for Weapon Skills were taken directly from GURPS and the TSR Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks. The Advanced Rules for Piloting Skills were created using a combination of rules from GURPS and Car Wars. To create the control roll values based on piloting skill, the percent chances of obtaining the results on 1d6 when using Car Wars rules for control rolls were compared to the percent chances in the GURPS success roll system. The table below shows the values in both systems that are similar to each other.
 
 

In order to obtain control roll values for skills other than a base level of 10, the pattern of (+2, +1, +/-0, -1, -2) was applied to each skill level for the sequence (2+ on 1d6, 3+ on 1d6, 4+ on 1d6, 5+ on 1d6 and 6 on 1d6) on the Car Wars Control Table. For example, a character with Driver 15 has to roll 17, 16, 15, 14 or 12 for the five control roll values in Car Wars (2+, 3+ 4+, 5+ and 6). This system makes a vehicle more stable in the hands of a character with high piloting skills, which is usually an observation usually seen in 1999.

Whether the Advanced Character System or the standard character system is used, the following rules variants are highly recommended for use in all games of Car Wars, dueling, racing, amateur and professional. The Associated Autoduelists of the Inland Empire (AAIE) and SWAT have used the Weapons Hazard and Crash Table variants for many years. The feedback on those rules changes has been overwhelmingly positive.

1. Christopher J. Burke (Driving Tigers Car Wars Group and Car Wars Fiction Organization) presented in Pyramid Magazine an alternative to the current weapons hazard rules. These ideas are presented in their entirety below.
 

Pyramid 6
March/April 1994

Another regular correspondant, Christopher Burke, writes:

Car Wars has ceased to be a game of Demolition Derby with Automated Weapons. In fact, weapons are almost worthless these days. Since
cars can mount outrageous amounts of armor, pounding through it can take several well-placed, high-damage shots. (Has this happened to
youu: "Ah, HA! I hit. Four dice damage!" Roll, roll . . . "Damn, a lousy eight points!" Either that, or wait for someone else to do the dirty work
for you.

Likewise, since handling no longer "maxes out" at HC 3, hitting your opponent with a pair of heavy rockets isn't likely to send him rolling
anymore. Now when a vehicle can have HC 6, thanks to active suspension and racing slicks. (Subcompacts get an additonal +1 to HC, but if
you're spending dough on active suspension and racing slicks, you ain't driving no stinkin' sub.)

The result of all this is that the best ways to achieve a kill are to either ram (whaddya need guns for?) or use an el cheapo ice-oil combo (why
pay more?). Yeah, it can be exciting, but all the big guns fall by the wayside.

I propose extending the hazard table for weapons fire, to make the big guns more competitive again, as follows: Total all damage from each
volley (a volley being all incoming weapon fire from one opponent). Damage of 1-5 points would be a D1 hazard; 6-10 points, D2; 11-20 points,
D3; 21-30 points, D4; 31-40 points, D5; each additional 10 points, +D1, with {no maximum hazard}.

The current rules cut hazards dramatically from the old system, but it places an artificial cap at D3, even though there is no longer a cap on
handling. My proposal removes this cap. It also changes the start of D3 to 11 from 10, to even out the progression.

This is not a change simply for the sake of change. I want to correct what I think is a major imbalance, and I don't think the fix is a major change, more of an extrapolation of what already's in place. Granted, I don't doubt that it'll have a bog impact on game play and strategy.

There is, of course, another solution to this problem: Don't allow dueling machines to have ridiculously high HC. (Forget race cars, those are a
different story.) A driver can recover from a 90 degree bend in one second -- {instantaneously} if performed in Phase 5! Further, a driver can go
from Death's Door (HC -6) to Death's Front Gate (HC 0) and totally bypass Death's Welcome Mat and Death's Front Porch.

There are two big problems with this solution. First, it {is} a major change to the rules, and it could have serious, unforeseen repercussions
throughout the system. Second, people seem to like it the way it is. That being said, I think that extending the hazard table is the right thing to
do.  AADA News, Pyramid 6

So what do you folks think? I'd like to see some reports from duelists out there who took a few spins around the arena using these rules. Let us know how they worked out. -- Scott D. Haring, Pyramid Editor
 

Christopher Burke's rules are recommended for use in all Car Wars games, with the following changes. If an attack has multiple weapons from the same attacked total all damage to determine the hazard but apply each weapon's strike separately for purposes of penetrating and destroying metal armor. For example, a Blast Cannon causes 20 points to a vehicle. With the 5 points equals D1 rule, the target will take a D4 hazard. This system removes the artificial limit of D3 for 10 or more points of damage and makes use of multiple weapons more effective, previously reduced in usefulness because of the way metal armor absorbs damage (i.e. separate attack per weapon). When a vehicle takes damage from flame clouds or flaming oil, reduce the hazard taken by the vehicle by half, rounded down. The reason for this different protocol is these weapons burn and melt away armor instead of using explosives or extremely powerful incendiary chemicals to cause damage, as in the case of Recoilless Rifles or Flamethrowers.
 

2. When a vehicle has to roll on a Crash Table increase the result of the die roll by the full amount of the maneuver or hazard that caused loss of control. This rule is a change to Car Wars Compendium 2 and Classic Car Wars which state you subtract three from a maneuver that caused control loss when rolling on Crash Table 1 or subtract three from the hazard that caused controll loss when rolling on Crash Table 2.
 

3. Vehicles can perform more than one maneuver per phase. CWC2.5 and CCW do not permit more than one maneuver per phase. This rules change is critical for racing events to be properly executed and it will likely make dueling events more exciting. SWAT suggests some penalties be assessed against vehicles that perform more than one maneuver per phase. Some possible restrictions are listed below, but whatever rule is used maneuvers can only be performed in place of one inch of straight-line movement. Maneuvers on half-moves are not possible.

The first maneuver in a phase has normal difficulty. The second maneuver in a phase has its difficulty increased by two times. The third maneuver has its difficulty increased by three times. For example, three D1 bends performed in one phase would have difficulties D1, D2 and D3.

The first maneuver in a phase has normal difficulty. Maneuvers after the first have their difficulties increased by +D1. For example, three D3 swerves performed in one phase would have difficulties D3, D4 and D5.

The first maneuver in a phase is the only maneuver in a phase that reduces handling status if all of the subsequent maneuvers are the same type, same difficulty and in the same direction. For example, if a driver did a D2 turn to the right on his first inch of movement, he could continue to make D2 turns to the right without suffering any further damage to his handling class. If the driver executes a D2 turn to the right followed by a D1 to the left, he would suffer a D3 total difficulty. The same situation would apply if this driver did a D1 drift to the right, followed by a further D3 drift in the same direction (total of D4). The maximum difficulty for each maneuver to be considered in this continuous maneuver rule is D3. The reason why this rule is limited to D3 is because without the restriction two continuous 90-degree bends can be performed in the same phase. This continuous maneuver rule is used by the New Omaha Vehicular Association (NOVA) Car Wars gaming group. The rule has been very useful for NOVA Car Wars racing events.

From: Jon E. Brown (JONNYBME)
To: Michael P. Owen (OWENMP)
Posted: 12/11/98 1:15 PM
Subject Area: Movement
Subject: Multiple Maneuvers Per Phase

I have always played the game making one manuever per inch. It's a lot more fun that way. If you can make all your controll rolls after a series of high speed manuevers then you are a dueling god and deserive to reap the benefits.

The Mechanic skills in Car Wars have their own system for deteriming success rolls. A variant for those skills using the Advanced Character System will be presented in a future issue of CWIN.
 

Bibliography

Car Wars: The Classic Game of Highway Combat. Steve Jackson Games. 1990.

Car Wars Compendium Second Edition. Steve Jackson Games. 1996.

GURPS Basic Set Third Edition Revised. Steve Jackson Games. 1996.

Mean Streets: A Car Wars Solo Adventure. W. G. Armintrout. Steve Jackson Games. 1990.

Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks. TSR.

• Book 1: Battle Road. Steve Jackson. 1986
• Book 2: Fuel's Gold. Steve Jackson, Creede and Sharleen Lambard. 1986
• Book 3: Dueltrack. Scott Haring. 1987
• Book 4: Badlands Run. Creede and Sharleen Lambard. 1987
• Book 5: Green Circle Blues. Scott Haring. 1987
• Book 6: Mean Streets. W.G. Armintrout. 1987

GURPS Autoduel First Edition Designer's Notes. Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 4, No. 4. Winter 2036.
http://www.sjgames.com/car-wars/adq/4/4/gurps.html

GURPS Lite. Steve Jackson Games. 1998.
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite/

New Omaha Vehicular Association
http://www.novia.net/~desslok/nova.htm