Vehicle Combat Overview
Combat engagements between vehicles function
using the same basic combat rules as found in Part
I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters, starting on page
95. Vehicle combat is not intended to be a completely
separate rules system. Instead, it is designed to be an
added layer of detail on the standard combat rules that
allows you to run structured gameplay encounters
using characters, vehicles, or both.
Vehicle Combat Overview
Vehicle combat in Genesys follows the same order and rules as those detailed in Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters. This section includes guidance for using vehicles in combat, and certain additional rules to facilitate the use of vehicles in battle.
Small Vehicle Combat
Combat between small vehicles like tanks, fighter jets, personal spacecraft, or attack walkers is relatively straightforward. The pilot has one vehicle maneuver and one vehicle action (or two vehicle maneuvers) during each turn.
Small vehicle combat (especially with high-speed vehicles like fighter jets) is quite abstracted. As they constantly move and strive for the advantage (thanks to their incredible speed and agility), it would be nearly impossible to map out every move a fighter jet makes. Instead, you and your players describe the actions the characters take, embellish them with narrative flair, and then make skill checks to resolve the actions.
Capital Ship Combat
Combat in larger, capital-class vehicles such as battleships (of the aquatic or stellar variety) is, by necessity, more abstract due to their complexity and the number of crew members involved. Like small vehicles in combat, capital ships can only perform one vehicle maneuver and one vehicle action (or two vehicle maneuvers) during their turn, as directed by the pilot or captain.
Along with the pilot, each additional crew member can use their personal actions and maneuvers to crew weapons, operate sensors, move about the ship, and generally engage in combat. This all happens in the same round, and it is subject to Initiative order just like personal combat. Something to remember concerning vehicle combat with capital ships is that each capital ship is likely to have hundreds or thousands of crew. GMs and players should not track all of their Initiative slots and actions during combat. Instead, only focus on those individuals who are doing things pertinent to the ongoing encounter, and feel free to ignore the rest.
Mixed Personal and Vehicle Combat
Sometimes, characters might engage with vehicles despite being on foot, or a battle might contain armor and infantry elements. Characters on foot might even be pursued by enemies with small vehicles like motorcycles or horses, or a character might be thrown from their vehicle mid-battle. In such cases, the characters in vehicles behave as if they are involved in a small vehicle combat (or even a capital ship combat), while those outside of vehicles take their turns as usual, as described in Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters (see page 96).
Although foot soldiers generally do not appreciate fighting tanks, they do have one advantage: they are harder to hit than most vehicles. As smaller targets, they are harder to hit, whereas infantry can hit tanks with ease, even if they struggle to damage them. Although difficulty for combat checks is set based on range, smaller individuals still get bonuses for attacking things larger than they are (see page 109).
Combat Turns
Much like personal combat, combat between vehicles in Genesys is largely an abstract, narrative-driven activity designed for quickness and ease of use. As such, the maneuvers a vehicle performs are open to narration and the interpretation of you and your players.
Player character pilots follow the same rules of combat as detailed on page 95. This means they can perform one action and one maneuver during their turn. They may also be able to perform a second maneuver by either suffering strain or spending a, although they cannot take more than two maneuvers during their turn.
Some maneuvers and actions are specified as “Pilot Only.” Pilot Only maneuvers and actions affect the current speed and positioning of the vehicle. As each vehicle has a cap on how far and how swiftly it can move, its maneuvers and actions are limited, as described below.
A vehicle can benefit from only one Pilot Only action per round.
Additionally, a vehicle can benefit from one Pilot Only maneuver per round, and it can benefit from a second Pilot Only maneuver if it suffers 2 system strain. If the vehicle has a single pilot, the pilot must also suffer 2 strain (or downgrade an action to a maneuver) to perform two maneuvers, as per combat rules.
Some vehicles can have multiple pilots, in which case two different pilots can each can perform a Pilot Only maneuver. In such cases, the vehicle suffers system strain for the second maneuver, but the second pilot does not.
Maneuvers
Less involved than actions, maneuvers are simple activities that do not typically require a skill check. Beyond all the maneuvers in personal combat, there are several maneuvers that apply specifically to vehicles. These additional maneuvers follow the usual rules governing maneuvers (see page 97). In addition (and especially in larger vehicles), characters are assumed to be able to perform any personal maneuvers such as dropping prone, managing gear, interacting with the environment, or aiming with vehicle or personal weapons (although you should use common sense as to what a character can and cannot do given the situation).
All maneuvers have a current speed, which is how fast the vehicle has to be going to perform the maneuver.
Actions
In combat involving vehicles, your character can perform some actions that specifically apply to their vehicle. Some of these actions are labeled as Pilot Only actions. A vehicle may benefit from only one Pilot Only action per round (see Pilot Only Maneuvers and Actions, on page 226). Pilot Only actions are actions that affect the movement of the vehicle itself, which may only move so fast and so far.
Like vehicle maneuvers, vehicle actions have a current speed requirement that the vehicle has to be traveling at to perform the action. Also remember that any of the actions listed starting on page 101 of Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters can also be performed in combats involving vehicles, within the bounds of common sense.
Vehicle Critical Hits
Vehicles do not suffer Critical Injuries; instead, when a vehicle would otherwise suffer a Critical Injury due to a or t on an attack (or any other effect), it suffers a Critical Hit instead. Effects that apply to the results of Critical Injuries, such as the Vicious quality, do not apply to Critical Hits (and effects that apply to Critical Hits do not apply to Critical Injuries).
When an attack generates a Critical Hit, the attacker rolls on Table III.2–19: Critical Hit Result, on the previous page, and the target suffers the listed effects. Critical Hits are divided into four severity levels, which dictate the difficulty of the check required to repair the Critical Hit, as listed in the table. These difficulties can be further modified at your discretion.
Once a vehicle suffers a Critical Hit, it counts as suffering that Critical Hit until it is repaired. This status counts even if the effects of the Critical Hit only last a single round. While a vehicle is suffering a Critical Hit, any additional Critical Hits generated against it add +10 to the roll on Table III.2–19: Vehicle Critical Hit Result per existing Critical Hit.
Remember that an attack must inflict damage for the attacker to activate a Critical Hit. Because vehicles operate on the planetary scale for damage, a hit from a personal scale weapon must inflict at least 10 damage (1 damage on planetary scale) after reductions for armor for the attacker to be able to inflict a Critical Hit.
Vehicle Combat Overview
Vehicle combat in Genesys follows the same order and rules as those detailed in Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters. This section includes guidance for using vehicles in combat, and certain additional rules to facilitate the use of vehicles in battle.
Small Vehicle Combat
Combat between small vehicles like tanks, fighter jets, personal spacecraft, or attack walkers is relatively straightforward. The pilot has one vehicle maneuver and one vehicle action (or two vehicle maneuvers) during each turn.
Small vehicle combat (especially with high-speed vehicles like fighter jets) is quite abstracted. As they constantly move and strive for the advantage (thanks to their incredible speed and agility), it would be nearly impossible to map out every move a fighter jet makes. Instead, you and your players describe the actions the characters take, embellish them with narrative flair, and then make skill checks to resolve the actions.
Capital Ship Combat
Combat in larger, capital-class vehicles such as battleships (of the aquatic or stellar variety) is, by necessity, more abstract due to their complexity and the number of crew members involved. Like small vehicles in combat, capital ships can only perform one vehicle maneuver and one vehicle action (or two vehicle maneuvers) during their turn, as directed by the pilot or captain.
Along with the pilot, each additional crew member can use their personal actions and maneuvers to crew weapons, operate sensors, move about the ship, and generally engage in combat. This all happens in the same round, and it is subject to Initiative order just like personal combat. Something to remember concerning vehicle combat with capital ships is that each capital ship is likely to have hundreds or thousands of crew. GMs and players should not track all of their Initiative slots and actions during combat. Instead, only focus on those individuals who are doing things pertinent to the ongoing encounter, and feel free to ignore the rest.
Mixed Personal and Vehicle Combat
Sometimes, characters might engage with vehicles despite being on foot, or a battle might contain armor and infantry elements. Characters on foot might even be pursued by enemies with small vehicles like motorcycles or horses, or a character might be thrown from their vehicle mid-battle. In such cases, the characters in vehicles behave as if they are involved in a small vehicle combat (or even a capital ship combat), while those outside of vehicles take their turns as usual, as described in Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters (see page 96).
Although foot soldiers generally do not appreciate fighting tanks, they do have one advantage: they are harder to hit than most vehicles. As smaller targets, they are harder to hit, whereas infantry can hit tanks with ease, even if they struggle to damage them. Although difficulty for combat checks is set based on range, smaller individuals still get bonuses for attacking things larger than they are (see page 109).
Combat Turns
Much like personal combat, combat between vehicles in Genesys is largely an abstract, narrative-driven activity designed for quickness and ease of use. As such, the maneuvers a vehicle performs are open to narration and the interpretation of you and your players.
Player character pilots follow the same rules of combat as detailed on page 95. This means they can perform one action and one maneuver during their turn. They may also be able to perform a second maneuver by either suffering strain or spending a, although they cannot take more than two maneuvers during their turn.
Some maneuvers and actions are specified as “Pilot Only.” Pilot Only maneuvers and actions affect the current speed and positioning of the vehicle. As each vehicle has a cap on how far and how swiftly it can move, its maneuvers and actions are limited, as described below.
A vehicle can benefit from only one Pilot Only action per round.
Additionally, a vehicle can benefit from one Pilot Only maneuver per round, and it can benefit from a second Pilot Only maneuver if it suffers 2 system strain. If the vehicle has a single pilot, the pilot must also suffer 2 strain (or downgrade an action to a maneuver) to perform two maneuvers, as per combat rules.
Some vehicles can have multiple pilots, in which case two different pilots can each can perform a Pilot Only maneuver. In such cases, the vehicle suffers system strain for the second maneuver, but the second pilot does not.
Maneuvers
Less involved than actions, maneuvers are simple activities that do not typically require a skill check. Beyond all the maneuvers in personal combat, there are several maneuvers that apply specifically to vehicles. These additional maneuvers follow the usual rules governing maneuvers (see page 97). In addition (and especially in larger vehicles), characters are assumed to be able to perform any personal maneuvers such as dropping prone, managing gear, interacting with the environment, or aiming with vehicle or personal weapons (although you should use common sense as to what a character can and cannot do given the situation).
All maneuvers have a current speed, which is how fast the vehicle has to be going to perform the maneuver.
Actions
In combat involving vehicles, your character can perform some actions that specifically apply to their vehicle. Some of these actions are labeled as Pilot Only actions. A vehicle may benefit from only one Pilot Only action per round (see Pilot Only Maneuvers and Actions, on page 226). Pilot Only actions are actions that affect the movement of the vehicle itself, which may only move so fast and so far.
Like vehicle maneuvers, vehicle actions have a current speed requirement that the vehicle has to be traveling at to perform the action. Also remember that any of the actions listed starting on page 101 of Part I–Chapter 6: Combat Encounters can also be performed in combats involving vehicles, within the bounds of common sense.
Vehicle Critical Hits
Vehicles do not suffer Critical Injuries; instead, when a vehicle would otherwise suffer a Critical Injury due to a or t on an attack (or any other effect), it suffers a Critical Hit instead. Effects that apply to the results of Critical Injuries, such as the Vicious quality, do not apply to Critical Hits (and effects that apply to Critical Hits do not apply to Critical Injuries).
When an attack generates a Critical Hit, the attacker rolls on Table III.2–19: Critical Hit Result, on the previous page, and the target suffers the listed effects. Critical Hits are divided into four severity levels, which dictate the difficulty of the check required to repair the Critical Hit, as listed in the table. These difficulties can be further modified at your discretion.
Once a vehicle suffers a Critical Hit, it counts as suffering that Critical Hit until it is repaired. This status counts even if the effects of the Critical Hit only last a single round. While a vehicle is suffering a Critical Hit, any additional Critical Hits generated against it add +10 to the roll on Table III.2–19: Vehicle Critical Hit Result per existing Critical Hit.
Remember that an attack must inflict damage for the attacker to activate a Critical Hit. Because vehicles operate on the planetary scale for damage, a hit from a personal scale weapon must inflict at least 10 damage (1 damage on planetary scale) after reductions for armor for the attacker to be able to inflict a Critical Hit.
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