Vehicle Combat     Many vehicle combat rules are similar to normal combat; a vehicle has a movement phase, and takes a turn with free actions and 1 major action. Vehicles' turn order rolls are made on the highest DEX amongst all crew members who can see out of the vehicle. Vehicles may give up their turn to change their place in turn order, just as characters can.

Crew     All land vehicles require a driver, and all aircraft require a pilot. Extra crew may be necessary in order to man weapons. Functioning as crew for a vehicle is a major action for any character; performing other major actions prevents the vehicle from making use of that crewmember on its turn. Vehicles deprived of a driver/pilot cannot move; aircraft will begin to crash after 3 turns without a pilot. Whenever the pilot is stunned, the aircraft is also treated as “stunned;” it cannot alter its course or do actions, but remains flying. If the pilot is paralyzed, incapacitated, or killed, the aircraft will crash. Entering or leaving a vehicle is a major action. Characters who leave an aircraft in flight may deploy parachutes or otherwise save themselves from falling. Characters inside a vehicle cannot be attacked from outside, nor may they attack others.

Defense     Vehicles do not make defense rolls. They are hit by any valid attack that passes its offense roll, and receive critical hits from any attack capable of inflicting one (unless SC1 or faster). Instead of using their reflexes and equipment to avoid attacks like a character on foot, a vehicle operator uses other tactics to make the enemy's offense rolls more difficult.

Vehicle Movement, Speed Class, & Attacks vs. Characters     As a general rule, vehicles are much faster than characters on foot! The exact rules for how a vehicle moves in combat depends on its current Speed Class (SC). A vehicle's maximum Speed Class is determined by its SPD, but the driver/pilot can slow down to use the effects of a lesser SC. A vehicle is limited in its ability to increase or decrease its SC, as discussed in the next section. Higher SC generally equates to a better defense, but impaired ability to attack characters.

Speed Class 0     This is the maximum Speed Class for a vehicle of 1-20 SPD. A faster vehicle must consider its SPD stat to be 20 while using SC0.
    Vehicles in SC0 use the normal movement rules described in Combat. Vehicles are always considered to be rushing, and do not need to spend a resource to rush. They do not add Hindrance to escape an engagement. They do not count for outnumbering dice, nor do they ever add its Hindrance or Easing. Their d12 movement roll on SPD can be changed to a different die by the terrain, just like a character's movement. A vehicle must be in SC0 before it can stop.
    If a SC0 vehicle moved at least short range on its previous turn, characters must roll d12 on DEX to climb onto it.
    SC0 vehicles can use turreted weapons to attack other characters according to normal attack rules. Vehicles with fixed weapons must forgo their movement phase in order to use them that round; the vehicle must turn to precisely face the target.
    Land vehicles can only exceed SC0 in zones that do not increase movement die size beyond d12, and do not feature many obstacles that would need to be maneuvered around (such as in a forest).

Speed Class 1     This is the maximum Speed Class for a vehicle of 21-50 SPD. A faster vehicle must consider its SPD stat to be 50 while using SC1.
    Vehicles in SC1 move a distance equivalent to 2-3 zones per turn (about 1/10 mile), and do not need to roll for movement. Vehicles cannot move in a radically different direction than they did on their previous turn; in SC1 and above, aircraft must strafe in order to attack ground targets (see below). Characters must roll d20 on DEX to climb onto a SC1 vehicle.
    Vehicles in SC1 cannot target individual characters; they can only use an AoE against a group, without using caution. In SC1 and above, only strafing aircraft can use fixed weapons. Turreted weapons are not restricted beyond being able to target only a vehicle or group.
    3 Hindrance is added to ranged offense rolls against SC1 vehicles. An SC1 vehicle may be attacked with a medium range offense roll from any zone it passed through or strafed on its turn, or a long range offense roll for neighboring zones; a short range offense roll is never used. Critical hits cannot be received at SC1 or faster. A strafing aircraft may be attacked likewise, except it is only considered to pass through the zone it is strafing.

Speed Class 2     This is the maximum Speed Class for a vehicle of 51-100 SPD. A faster vehicle must consider its SPD stat to be 100 while using SC2.
    Vehicles in SC2 move approximately 1/4 mile per turn, and do not need to roll for movement. Land vehicles can only use SC2 on a straight and well-maintained road (TE5). Characters cannot climb onto a SC2 or faster vehicle.
    Land vehicles cannot attack in SC2. Aircraft in SC2 cannot target individual characters; they can only use an AoE on a group, without using caution. For aircraft in SC2 and above, turreted weapons cannot be used.
    6 Hindrance is added to ranged offense rolls against SC2 vehicles. The same rules as SC1 apply to attacking an SC2 vehicle, except that even attacks from the same zone must use a long range offense roll.

Speed Class 3     This is the maximum Speed Class for a vehicle of 101-200 SPD. A faster vehicle must consider its SPD stat to be 200 while using SC3.
    Aircraft in SC3 move approximately 1/2 mile per turn, and do not need to roll for movement. There are no SC3 land vehicles.
    Aircraft in SC3 cannot target individual characters or groups; they can only use weapons that affect an entire zone. 12 Hindrance is added to ranged offense rolls against SC3 vehicles. A strafing aircraft can only be attacked from the zone it is strafing, and is considered to be at long range during all ranged offense rolls.

Speed Class 4     This is the maximum Speed Class for a vehicle of more than 200 SPD.
    Aircraft in SC4 move approximately 1 mile per turn, and do not need to roll for movement. SC4 aircraft cannot attack ground targets. 16 Hindrance is added to ranged offense rolls against SC4 vehicles. SC4 aircraft can only be attacked by other aircraft in a dogfight.

Speed Class Hindrance & Weapons     If a ranged attack entirely uses either full-auto fire or energy weapons against a vehicle, it adds only 2/3 the normal Hindrance to the offense roll from its Speed Class. That is, 2, 4, 8, or 12 Hindrance for SC1, SC2, SC3, and SC4 respectively.

Strafing Aircraft     Aircraft in SC1 and above can (and must) strafe in order to attack ground targets. This refers to making an attack run over an area, rather than an SC0 aircraft simply hovering around it. Even aircraft capable of SC0 may wish to strafe at a higher speed to protect themselves, or avoid losing their energy. Regardless of the rules used for offense rolls, a strafing aircraft is never considered to be at a lower altitude than long range.
    The primary downside of strafing is that an aircraft can attack less often, as it must fly past the target area and spend time turning about for another pass. After attacking while strafing, an aircraft must spend several major actions turning about; the amount of major actions is equal to 15, minus the aircraft's AGI, minus its EFN. The pilot may reduce this interval by another 2 turns if they succeed on a single d20 roll on DEX at the end of the previous strafing run. An aircraft may turn about with just a single major action if the pilot is willing to decelerate to SC0 (and does not then have too much energy to attack ground targets; see below).

Aircraft Visibility     Aircraft are clearly seen and/or heard in virtually any combat situation. Even at SC3, a strafing aircraft can be detected at least 1 round prior to when it arrives to make its attack. Except via certain vehicle devices, strafing aircraft cannot be attacked from the ground unless they strafed on their previous turn.

Character Visibility     Characters normally visible at travel range (see Combat Stealth) can be clearly seen by a passing aircraft before it begins strafing. Characters normally visible at long range can be seen by a strafing aircraft 1 round prior to when it arrives to make its attack. Characters normally visible at medium or short range cannot be seen by a strafing aircraft.

Characters & Speed Class     Fast automounts and characters with an extreme amount of flying SPD can choose to use the rules (both positive and negative) listed for Speed Class 1 vehicles. They may not use dogfighting maneuvers. They are not considered grouped-up with allies for the purposes of any beneficial Ability or rule, and cannot engage or trade melee attacks except with other SC1 characters traveling the same direction. They must follow all SC1 restrictions on ranged attacks, except in relation to other SC1 characters or vehicles traveling the same direction. Attack restrictions apply to both mount and rider. They may still make defense rolls. They may only switch between SC1 and normal movement at the beginning of the movement phase. Characters with flight cannot enter SC1 on the same turn they begin flying, nor land on the same turn they slow to SC0.
    Characters and automounts can never have a Speed Class above 1, regardless of their SPD stat. Unlike vehicles, they do not need to consider their SPD to be 20 when in SC0. Characters cannot enter SC1 with a non-flying SPD unless they are automounts.
    Characters must be rushing for the full duration of any usage of SC1. Whenever they are in SC0 and wish to enter SC1, but are in an engagement, they must make a movement roll to escape the engagement, except that they enter SC1 on success instead of the normal SC0 results of a movement roll.

Vehicle Weapon Attacks     Vehicles may fire weapons as a major action. This task is performed by the driver/pilot (for fixed weapons) or gunner (for turreted weapons). All fixed weapons that the driver/pilot decides to fire must do so together in a single attack, and the same applies to the gunner's turreted weapons. Weapons are subject to the rules for Speed Classes, as detailed above.
    Offense rolls for vehicle weapons are always d12 on the firing crewmembers DEX. In other words, all vehicle weapons have offense rolls of d12/d12/d12, and can inflict critical hits at medium range. Only one roll is made, even if multiple weapons are fired.
    Some land vehicle weapons are classified as heavy. These weapons add 2 Hindrance to their offense roll in all situations except extreme range battles (see below), where they are superior.
    Crewmembers without Abilities granting competency (Gunnery Competency for land vehicles and Aerial Gunnery Competency for aircraft; see pg. __) can only attack in SC0, and only at short range. Incompetent attacks always have an offense roll of d20, regardless of the roll given for the weapon.
    If a vehicle is firing multiple weapons in AoE mode, the AoE hit chance for characters is rolled once, and applies to all weapons.

Vehicle Full-Auto     Because vehicle weapons have much more stable mounts, they are easier to use with full-auto fire. Vehicle weapons disregard the range limit on full-auto fire. Vehicle Full-Auto Skill (Vehicles) enables multiple targets to be attacked.

Land Vehicles vs. Land Vehicles     Land vehicles may attack other land vehicles with turreted weapons while in SC0 and SC1, but not SC2. All offense rolls are at least medium range in SC1. Land vehicles can only attack with fixed weapons by giving up their movement while in SC0, just as in the rules for vehicles vs. characters.
    In most cases, battles between land vehicles can be handled using the same rules as normal combat with characters. The exception is in terrain so wide and open that attacks at a range greater than normal long range are possible. This is called an extreme range battle, and it is where heavily-armed land vehicles truly shine. Extreme range battles occur at a distance somewhere between 3 zones and 1/2 mile, and thus rarely involve normal character combat.

Extreme Range Aiming and Firing     In order to attack another vehicle at extreme range, a vehicle must use one major action to aim; this involves such considerations as rangefinding, calculating ballistics for projectiles, or adjusting settings on energy weapons. To aim, each crewmember who will fire a weapon must roll d20 on INT; if successful, their weapons may fire at extreme range on future turns. A successful aiming action is effective against the enemy vehicle for the duration of the battle, unless the crewmember switches targets to a different vehicle or fires on a different target at normal combat range.
    Once aimed, a vehicle may attack at extreme range. If the weapon is not classified as heavy, it must add 2 Hindrance in the offense roll. Attacks at extreme range never inflict critical hits, and cannot use full-auto fire.
    Except via certain advanced devices, vehicles cannot move on the same turn they will attack at extreme range; extreme range attacks are slowing actions. Aiming is not a slowing action.

Frontal Armor     Some land vehicles list a second armor range called frontal armor. This is used instead of the normal armor range when the vehicle is attacked at extreme range, from the direction expected by the crew. During attacks at normal combat ranges, weak spots in the armor are more easily targeted, and the frontal armor range is not used.

Vehicle Stealth     If a land vehicle has time to find and stop in a hiding spot, it may not be visible when an extreme range battle begins. If time is a concern, or if a vehicle wishes to hide mid-combat, finding a hiding spot is a process action performed by the driver; the minimum die is d12 and the roll interval 1 minute. This occupies the vehicle's movement during the process. The stat rolled on is the driver's INT. The point goal is 20 for a High Clutter environment, 40 for Medium Clutter, and 80 for Low Clutter. Once successful, the vehicle can only be seen at normal combat long range. Vehicle stealth is lost once the vehicle attacks. It cannot be used by land vehicles who are currently emitting light (including via techshields) or other obvious visuals.
    Even if stealthy at extreme range, land vehicles can do nothing to hide their presence from characters nearby; they are always visible and audible at least one zone away (assuming open terrain). Aircraft and watercraft are visible and audible at a vast distance.

Vehicle Cover     Vehicles are large targets that cannot use normal cover rules, but are able to make use of "hull-down" positions during extreme range battles. If time is an issue, vehicle cover can be found using the same process action rules as vehicle stealth above; the difference is that cover is not lost when the vehicle attacks, but only if it moves. The effect of vehicle cover is to add Hindrance to an enemy vehicle's offense rolls: 1 Hindrance in a Low Clutter environment, 2 for Medium Clutter, and 3 for High Clutter.
    Vehicles may find a position that counts for both cover and stealth; the rules for this are equivalent to normal vehicle stealth, but with doubled point goals for the process action. If the vehicle attacks from the position, only the stealth element is lost.

Land Vehicles vs. Aircraft     Land vehicles follow the same rules as characters in regards to attacking aircraft. Remember that heavy weapons add their Hindrance, and additional Hindrance is often added from the aircraft's Speed Class.
    If an aircraft receives an attack from a land vehicle which itself is in SC1 or SC2, use the greater of the two vehicles Speed Classes to determine the rules used.

Aircraft vs. Land Vehicles     Aircraft attacking land vehicles follow the same rules as aircraft attacking characters, except that they may attack a vehicle in SC1 and SC2 (in which attacks against characters can only be AoEs against groups). An attack against a vehicle from SC1 follows normal attack rules, but attacking a vehicle from SC2 requires 3 Hindrance to be added to the offense roll.
    Aircraft cannot normally attack a land vehicle that is traveling at a faster SPD than the aircraft. If the aircraft travels at the same SC as an SC1 or SC2 land vehicle, it may add only half the normal Hindrance from the defender's SC (though the 3 Hindrance from the aircraft's SC2 can still apply).

Land Vehicle Visibility     In most situations, aircraft pilots can clearly see land vehicles which are not using vehicle stealth. If a land vehicle is using vehicle stealth, the pilot cannot see the vehicle until they move within normal combat long range, or until they strafe a zone within 1 zone of the vehicle. After a pilot has seen a vehicle, they may attack it on subsequent strafing runs, regardless of vehicle stealth; they do not lose sight of it unless they fly out of the battle area entirely.

Aircraft Stats and Aircraft vs. Aircraft     Aircraft have five unique stats: Agility (AGI), Power (PWR), Efficiency (EFN), Speed (SPD), and Energy Maximum. Energy is a depletable resource somewhat similar to a character's Insight. Energy mainly describes an aircraft's altitude, but also includes elements of speed during a dogfight.
   
Dogfighting     By default, aircraft can only attack other aircraft if the defender is SC0, at which point they can be attacked in a manner identical to a land vehicle. Aircraft at SC1 or above can only be attacked through dogfighting - a series of complex maneuvers intended to gain an advantageous position. Aircraft may only engage in dogfighting maneuvers (or defend themselves from it) if the pilot has the Dogfighting Competency Ability. Other Abilities from the Study of Vehicles will expand a pilot's maneuver options in a dogfight, and the specifics of their options are given in those Abilities. Rules common to all dogfighting, regardless of the participants' Abilities, are listed here.

Advantage     Much like a grapple in normal combat, a dogfight is described in terms of advantage. Dogfighting maneuvers for advantage include offense rolls, and the defender may have a defense roll if they are also competent in dogfighting. An aircraft can have up to 3 degrees of advantage:
    1 degree of advantage is necessary to even attempt an attack on another aircraft. During an attack in this state, the defending aircraft's Speed Class is used to determine offense roll Hindrance. In future attempts for dogfighting advantage, you add 1 Easing to defense rolls, and your opponent adds 1 Hindrance to defense rolls.
    2 degrees of advantage allows the attacking aircraft to ignore all Hindrance from the defending aircraft's Speed Class, provided the attacking aircraft uses either full-auto fire or energy weapons. Speed Class is still used to determine the minimum range offense roll. In future attempts for dogfighting advantage, you add 2 Easing to defense rolls, and your opponent adds 2 Hindrance to defense rolls.
    3 degrees of advantage has the same benefit to ignoring Hindrance as 2 degrees, but without the requirement for full-auto or energy weapons. In future attempts for dogfighting advantage, you add 3 Easing to defense rolls, and your opponent adds 3 Hindrance to defense rolls.
    Whenever you gain advantage over an enemy aircraft, that aircraft loses any advantage it had over you, regardless of the degree.

Altitude & Maximum Energy     Energy is a major consideration in dogfighting, especially for certain aircraft. Not only is energy a resource expended for certain tasks, but having more energy than your opponent is also a prerequisite for certain dogfighting tactics.
    Energy is largely a product of altitude, though it may also include an element of speed during a dogfight. This means that higher maximum energy represents an aircraft with a higher altitude ceiling. You cannot begin a dogfight with an aircraft that has at least 20 more current energy than you (though you can participate once they decide to begin a fight with you, until they escape).
    Energy considerations also allow you to deter enemy aircraft from attacking allies on the ground; an aircraft engaging ground targets is at very low altitude, and therefore has low energy. In order to strafe ground targets, an aircraft's energy must be equal to or less than 5 times its current Speed Class, representing lower altitude. You may voluntarily reduce your energy by up to 10 as a free action (for example, when transitioning from a successful air battle to ground attack).

Energy & Speed Class     Energy describes a certain element of your speed, since dogfighting involves many second-by-second changes in speed as you maneuver. Because your exact velocity and position are not tracked, and since it is presumed that you are always using your aircraft to is its maximum defensive potential, consider your current Speed Class in a dogfight to be your maximum Speed Class. The only exception is if you have voluntarily reduced your Speed Class (for example, to attack ground targets). In this case, you may spend 5 energy as a free action to increase your Speed Class by 1, up to your maximum. Until your Speed Class is restored to its maximum, you cannot gain or remove dogfighting advantage.

Gaining Energy     Your energy will be depleted as you use dogfighting maneuvers. Fortunately, at the beginning of each turn, you may gain energy equal to your aircraft's PWR. Regaining your energy is simply a matter of avoiding anything that expends it, and trusting in your engines.

Efficiency & Energy     At the beginning of each turn, you also receive efficiency points equal to your aircraft's EFN. Unlike energy, these points are not stockpiled, but reset to match EFN at the beginning of your turns. These points can be substituted for energy when expending energy for any dogfighting maneuver. They do not count as energy for any other purpose, such as considering which aircraft has more energy; they simply represent an airframe design which retains more energy during abrupt maneuvers.

Escaping a Dogfight     On your turn, you may escape a dogfight as a major action if your energy is at least 20 greater than your opponent's, regardless of SPD or dogfighting advantage. With a lot of energy, you can escape even those enemies that would normally be able to pursue you (that is, their SPD is higher than yours, and your maximum energy is not 20 above theirs). However, if the enemy is determined to follow you and there is no unusual circumstance aiding your escape, they might chase you and restart the dogfight in a few minutes.
    You may also attempt to escape a dogfight if you do not have such an energy advantage, but your SPD is higher than your opponent's. If your SPD is at least equal to 150% of theirs, you may escape as a major action, regardless of energy. If your SPD is between 100% and 150% of theirs, you may roll a d20 on INT to escape as a major action.
    If you are not faster than your opponent and do not have at least 20 more energy, you cannot escape a dogfight.

Multiple Aircraft     It is possible to have dogfights involving multiple aircraft. Within such a "furball," each aircraft may have advantage over only one other aircraft at a time. A major action to escape the dogfight is effective against all opponents (although energy, SPD, and/or INT roll are compared to each separately to determine success).

Characters Fighting Vehicles Entering & Exiting Vehicles     Characters voluntarily entering or exiting an allied vehicle may do so as a major action. It is normally necessary to climb onto a vehicle first before entering it, and a character exiting a vehicle emerges on top of it. The exception is a vehicle that lists "Side entry;" if such a vehicle is moving no faster than SC0, allied characters may enter from or exit to the ground. Enemies must still climb on to attempt to break in.

Climbing Onto Vehicles     Climbing onto a vehicle is a prerequisite for breaking into it. Characters may also ride on the outside of allied vehicles for transportation's sake, and some vehicles must be climbed onto prior to boarding them normally. Climbing onto a vehicle is a major action. It requires no roll if the vehicle is stationary, a d12 on DEX if it moved in SC0 this round, or a d20 on DEX if it is in SC1. Vehicles of SC2 or faster cannot be climbed onto.
    Once climbed on, characters hanging onto a fast-moving vehicle must roll a d12 on DEX at the beginning of their turn to stay on if the vehicle is SC1, or a d20 on DEX if it has accelerated to SC2. A character must add 3 Hindrance if they have no free hands with which to hang on. Vehicles of SC3 or faster immediately throw off any characters hanging on. Rolling to stay on a vehicle does not interfere with other actions. If thrown off, a character is knocked down; they may immediately use a minor action to recover. If the vehicle was in at least SC1, they take damage equal to a short-range fall (see Falling); if it was in a higher SC, they take a medium range fall. This rule is superseded by any greater fall distance required from falling off a flying vehicle.
    These rules are separate from normal Climbing rules; however, a character may add any +TN usable in climbing rolls to all of these rolls.
    Flying characters do not need to spent an action or roll to 'climb onto' an engaged vehicle; they may simply land on it at the end of their movement phase, just like any other landing. They must still make DEX rolls on future turns to remain on a moving vehicle.

Breaking Into Vehicles     It is assumed that a combat vehicle's hatch is securely locked unless otherwise specified. Characters who have climbed onto a vehicle may attempt to force the hatch open; to do so, they must inflict at least one degree of Structural Failure on the vehicle. Either a melee or ranged attack will suffice, but the attacking character must be climbed-onto the vehicle.
    If the vehicle is heavily-armored, breaking in may be difficult. If desired, the breaking-in character may roll d20 on DEX (separately from any offense roll) upon performing their attack on the vehicle. If successful, the vehicle's armor range is decreased to 50% against this attack. However, in this case the vehicle takes no actual damage or degree of failure; the hatch is forced open if the damage of the attack is at least equal to the vehicle's failure factor, and this attack has no other effect.

Character Combat On/Within Vehicles     Characters who have climbed onto a vehicle are considered grouped-up/engaged with any other characters on the vehicle. If the vehicle's hatch is open, they are considered grouped-up/engaged with any characters inside the vehicle as well. Remember that functioning as vehicle crew is a major action; characters must stop operating the vehicle to fight anyone themselves.
    A single character can protect via group defense all other characters within the vehicle by occupying the hatch. However, characters inside the vehicle (including this defender in group defense) are considered to be knocked-down; the only exception is that the character occupying the hatch can perform group defense. Characters inside may leave the vehicle and climb onto its exterior as a major action (no roll is required). If no enemies are occupying the hatch, or if they can bypass group defense, characters climbed-onto the vehicle may enter it as a major action, or attack any characters inside.
    During any attacks against a vehicle from a character inside of it, all damage inflicts Control Failures; until the vehicle reaches a 3rd-degree Control Failure, its armor is disregarded against these attacks. The same rule applies to ranged attacks from characters climbed onto a vehicle, provided the hatch is open. AoEs which detonate inside a vehicle always inflict impact damage and Control Failures on it, and always hit all characters inside with at least area damage, regardless of caution or other hit-chance rules.

Excessive Characters On/Within Vehicles     The maximum characters who can fight effectively on a vehicle is 4. The maximum who can fight effectively inside a vehicle is equal to 1.5 times the vehicle's number of seats. These two maximums replace the normal limit on characters in a group or engagement (10 per side).
    Whenever a character successfully climbs onto (or out of) a vehicle, and this results in more than 4 characters being climbed-onto the vehicle, all (including the new character) must roll d12 on DEX. The character who fails by the most (or succeeds by the least, if all succeed) is thrown off; roll a die to resolve any ties. This is a separate roll from any provoked by the vehicle's movement, and happens immediately when the extra character climbs on.
    If the interior of the vehicle already contains its maximum number of characters, no more characters may enter the vehicle.
    Sometimes (especially if caught by surprise) there may be too many characters on or within the vehicle, as these combat limits do not apply to travel. For example, characters exceeding the vehicle's number of seats may have crowded inside of it, or too many may be riding on the outside. Excessive characters (above each maximum) should leave the vehicle as soon as possible. If for whatever reason this is not possible, the excess characters become unable to make defense rolls, and unable to do any actions other than leave the vehicle. The group may decide which characters are considered excess.
    It is typically not necessary to recalculate a vehicle's carried weight and slots when a new character climbs onto it, unless the GM deems the situation extreme (for example, multiple massive characters climbing onto a small vehicle). A vehicle's weight and carry slot maximum are primarily an out-of-combat travel concern.

Teleportation     Sorcerers and adamantologists can be grave dangers to combat vehicles. Teleportation can be used to immediately "climb onto" a vehicle, without a roll or additional actions. Characters able to "see" the inside of the vehicle and teleport through obstacles can also instantly board the vehicle, without having to break into it. Cramped vehicles may require the teleporting character to roll d12 on DEX to accomplish this (see Teleportation and Combat). Vehicles crews anticipating this tactic can attempt to fill the vehicle with random objects to interfere with teleportation; this typically adds Hindrance to the DEX roll to teleport, and half as much Hindrance to all rolls for the vehicle crew.
    Since teleportation does not change the relative velocity of a character, they risk damage if they teleport into a fast-moving vehicle. This damage is resolved with Falling rules, but inflicts Core Injuries rather than Mobility Injuries. Instead of the distance of a fall, use the range traveled by the vehicle on its last turn (or terminal velocity for an SC1 vehicle). If desired, the teleporting character can use their movement phase to match the velocity of the vehicle; make a movement roll on SPD, but instead of moving the character, subtract the potential range of the movement from the range traveled by the vehicle for the purpose of determining damage upon boarding it. The character gets the normal d20 roll on DEX to reduce falling damage, but remember that knockdowns are irrelevant in vehicles (as everyone inside is considered knocked-down for the purpose of combat rules).
    Teleportation cannot be used to climb onto or board vehicles traveling in SC2 or faster.

Vehicles, Engagements, and Group Defense     Vehicles can be grouped-up and engaged with foot characters; however, no more than 1 vehicle can be in a group with foot characters. Vehicles are never considered to be grouped-up or engaged with each other.
    Vehicles count as 1 character for the purpose of a group's maximum size, and 2 characters for the purpose of considering whether the vehicle can be defended via group defense. If a vehicle is protected by group defense, enemy characters cannot climb onto the vehicle without first bypassing group defense. Vehicles cannot participate as defenders in group defense.
    Once a character of either side climbs onto a vehicle, they are no longer considered engaged or grouped-up with non-climbing characters who are engaged or grouped-up with the vehicle. This means that once a character bypasses group defense to climb onto the vehicle, they do not have to continue bypassing defense on future turns; the vehicle's allies must also climb on the vehicle if they want to engage the climbing character.
    Characters who have climbed onto a vehicle are considered grouped-up/engaged with any other characters on the vehicle. If the vehicle's hatch is open, they are considered grouped-up/engaged with any characters in the vehicle as well.
    It is difficult for a vehicle to target characters which are very close to it. A vehicle must add 1 Hindrance to any offense roll against characters engaged with it, and cannot attack characters who have climbed onto it at all.


Vehicle Ramming     In order to ram another vehicle or character, both a vehicle and its target must be in SC0. Ground vehicles cannot ram flying targets, and aircraft cannot ram non-flying targets. A vehicle must either move to engagement range of the target, or must use its movement phase to attempt to ram a target it is already engaged with; it must still be engaged with its target at the end of the movement phase, and on its own turn. On its turn, it must use its major action to attempt the ram. It cannot attempt a weapon attack against a target it tries to ram.
    Other vehicles are always hit by the attempt; a character may attempt to dodge a vehicle by rolling d12 on DEX. This is not considered a melee attack or a melee defense roll; however, anything that would remove a character's ability to make melee defense rolls (such as paralysis or incapacitation) also causes them to automatically fail this roll. If a character is currently knocked down, they have 3 Hindrance in the roll. A character is knocked down by any successful ram; a vehicle may be overturned if the ramming vehicle's weight is double its own. A vehicle subject to overturning can avoid this fate if its driver succeeds on a d20 roll on DEX.
    Upon being rammed by a vehicle, the target vehicle or character takes an amount of damage equal to 3 times the vehicle's SPD; the drive is equal to the damage. If the vehicle's SPD is greater than 20, use 20 instead of its SPD. This damage inflicts Structural Failures on vehicles and Core Injuries on characters. If the target was another vehicle, the ramming vehicle is hit with the same damage and drive; a ramming vehicle may voluntarily use less of its SPD to ram in order to limit the damage to itself.
    If a character on the ground fails the DEX roll to dodge ramming by 20 or more, they are fully run over by the vehicle. The damage and drive they take is multiplied by 2 plus 1/1000 of the vehicle's pound weight, to a maximum multiplier of 20. This rule does not apply to watercraft. The damage the vehicle takes is unchanged.
    A vehicle may attempt to ram a barrier (see Damaging Objects). In this case, the vehicle takes damage and drive equal to 3 times its SPD, limiting SPD to 20 as with ramming vehicles. The drive against the barrier is equal to 3 times the vehicle's SPD, plus 50% of the first number of the vehicle's armor range; rather than considering critical damage and narrow passage size, the vehicle simply creates a vehicle-sized hole in the barrier if this drive is at least within the barrier's armor range.


Watercraft     Other than being obviously confined to water, watercraft are considered land vehicles for the purposes of combat rules. Their movement rolls are d10 or d12, depending on the roughness of the water. They are unable to use vehicle cover, and can only use vehicle stealth in rare circumstances (such as hiding in the foliage alongside a jungle river).

Communication     All vehicles feature slots for commstones, enabling vehicle crew to use those devices without taking their hands off the controls. This can allow characters on foot to coordinate with their side's vehicles in combat; generally, a character can describe the battlefield sufficiently to "call in" attacks from a distant tank or strafing aircraft, which is particularly useful when the enemy is not properly visible to those vehicles. In less easily-described environments or regions with commjammers, it is possible to pre-arrange other signals - for example, flashing a bright light or throwing a smoke grenade at an enemy group.