Vehicle combat

Because Sometimes you Want to Go Full Road Ganger

There are a lot of vehicles in the Time of the Red. Many of them are cobbled together from the surviving wrecks of the Post War era, but there are plenty of nice ones if you have the cash. Below is a sample of basic vehicle types you might be able to score on the streets of Night City these days.


▶ How to Read the Vehicle Tables ◀
Description: A simple overview of the vehicle, complete with any special features that come standard.
SDP: Structural Damage Points. A vehicle's Hit Points.
Seats: The number of people the vehicle can sit comfortably.
Speed (Combat): The vehicle's MOVE STAT for use in combat.
Speed (Narrative): The vehicle's top speed in Miles Per Hour and Kilometers per Hour. Useful for knowing how fast it is outside of combat.
Cost: What the vehicle costs in the main currency in Night City, the Eurobuck. The Price Category of the item is listed below its cost. See Buying and Selling here.

Of course, you don't care about that, do you? You just want to know how to blow them up.

Structural Damage Points
All vehicles have Structural Damage Points (SDP). As long as a vehicle has at least one SDP, it can still move. When it has no SDP left, the vehicle is considered Destroyed, is no longer considered cover, and cannot move unless it is repaired with the appropriate Vehicle Tech Skill. Vehicles cannot dodge Attacks like a human, but while in a vehicle you can still dodge anything that you could typically dodge on foot when it's targeted at you instead of the vehicle. Shooting a vehicle with a ranged weapon still requires you to hit your shot using the range table.
While in a vehicle, you can still be targeted with attacks through the glass, which has no HP and provides no cover. Bulletproof Glass is a Nomad Upgrade, see their Role Ability on pg. 163. Aiming for Vehicle Weak Points
Every vehicle has weak points: areas which can be aimed for using an Aimed Shot. As an Action you can aim a single shot or Melee Attack at a vehicle's weak point, taking your whole Action and a -8 to your Check. If successful, you multiply the damage that gets through the vehicle's SP by 2. This is how you aim for the tires, engine, gas cap, etc. There's no reason not to aim for a weak point with a Melee Attack against a stationary vehicle because vehicles can't dodge and you automatically hit, but if the vehicle is moving, you must beat a DV13 to hit its weak point and the -8 penalty still applies.

Getting Your Vehicle Started
Getting into a vehicle is an Action. Getting out of one is not, it's just movement. Starting a vehicle and Stopping a vehicle is an Action. If you have Interface Plugs, part of this Action can include connecting/ disconnecting them. Using Interface Plugs to drive a vehicle means you can drive it with no hands! Without Interface Plugs, one of your hands must be used for driving and can't be used to do anything else while you are driving. If you take this hand off the wheel, at the start of your next Turn you automatically Lose Control of the Vehicle.
What this means is that you cannot get into a car and zoom off in the same 3-second Turn, which makes sense.

Basic Driving
Basic driving doesn't require a Skill Check if your REF + Relevant Control Skill is greater than 9. If yours isn't, basic driving requires you to use your Action every Turn to attempt a DV10 Check to maintain control of the vehicle using REF + Relevant Control Skill + 1d10. Failure means Losing Control of the Vehicle. This is why you probably don't let your kid drive in the first place.
If your REF + Relevant Control Skill is greater than 9, Basic Driving doesn't require your Action, and operates just the same as taking a Move Action outside of a vehicle, except your MOVE is much higher while driving.

Doing Maneuvers in Your Vehicle
The GM will decide when any non-basic driving you want to do will require a Maneuver. Maneuvers require your full attention, which in game terms means both your Action and your Move Action. Failing to beat the DV of the Check with REF + Relevant Control Skill + 1d10 will cause you to immediately Lose Control of the Vehicle. If screwing up couldn't cause you to lose control of the vehicle, it shouldn't require a Maneuver.

Situations that require a Maneuver:

Losing Control of the Vehicle
If you lose control of a vehicle, the GM decides your entire movement for the Turn you lose control. If your vehicle impacts something, it is treated as if you had rammed it.

Ramming
Whenever you drive a vehicle into something with HP, be it a pedestrian, a piece of cover, or another vehicle, both your vehicle and the pedestrian, piece of cover, or other vehicle take 6d6 damage, and everyone involved in the crash (either as a pedestrian or a person in an involved vehicle) suffers the Whiplash Critical Injury.
If the HP of any piece of cover or other vehicle you are ramming becomes 0 due to this damage, your movement can continue. Otherwise, your vehicle's movement must stop. You can always continue moving after you hit a pedestrian, but if they have more than 0 HP after impact, they can choose to now be on top of your vehicle if they want.

▶ Dodging a Ramming Vehicle ◀
Dodging a ramming vehicle on foot (to avoid the messy 6d6 damage) is only a DV13 Check to dodge with DEX + Evasion + 1d10. If successful, the dodger can choose to be on top of the vehicle if they want.