Features and Defects
Features and ability scores cost points, while defects give you points back. A feature is something your tank can do well, or a perk. Something that it may have acquired through experience or during its adventures, or even already from its construction. Defects on the other hand are shortcomings, weaknesses, and malfunctions. Both are permanent and can’t be removed or repaired, unless stated otherwise. Some items may grant you extra features.
A defect negatively affects your tank in all sorts of situations. Defects therefore give back points that you can spend on abilities and features.
A feature grants your tank special abilities or advantages and costs points.
If a feature or defect is not listed with a rating, it can only be purchased once (unless the Restrictions say otherwise). A tank either has this feature/defect or not. A feature/defect with a cost of “Cost/rating” increases effectivity/impairment each time the feature/defect is purchased.
This section contains a list of all available features and defects that you can choose from upon character creation. Your MM may come up with their own features and distribute them through items.
FIELD MANUAL
The feature Stock Config has a listed cost of “8”. This means it costs 8 points to buy and can only be bought once. A tank with the Stock Config feature has standard, easily replaceable parts, something that is a yes-or-no scenario. The defect Brittle Armour has a listed cost of “3/rating”, which means that each time the defect is purchased, you gain 3 points. The armour of a tank with Brittle Armour can be various degrees of poor quality, which is represented by being able to “accumulate” the defect.
Features
| Name | Cost | Description | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add-On Armour | 8 | The tank has acquired additional armour plating and attached it to its frame. As long as this feature is active, the tank’s DT and Dur are increased by 1. The armour weighs 800kg. Only one set of Add-On Armour can be active on a tank at a time. Every time the tank takes DT damage, roll one d10 (TN 2). On a failure, the Add-On Armour is destroyed and the feature removed. Removing or applying Add-On Armour takes 3 hours. | Can be acquired from the world and other tanks. |
| Apathetic | 12/rating | The tank has seen things that made it indifferent towards many situations. For each rating, the OST damage it takes from any source is reduced by 1. | Cannot have Compliant defect. Cannot have Simple Programming defect. |
| Artillery Sights | 3/rating | The tank is equipped with a special targeting device that utilizes ultrasonic waves to construct a virtual image of its surroundings. When using the Artillery Sights, it sends out a short burst of such waves and interprets the feedback. Tanks with Artillery Sights can detect the shapes of any object in a radius of 400 metres per rating. This ability to detect shapes is not linked to sight and works in moderate and complete darkness, as well as in bright light, but only shapes and no colour can be detected. Any obstacle or object that is higher than 3 metres blocks the “line of sight” to anything in an area of its height behind it. Processing the feedback of the Artillery Sights requires a great amount of computing power. It is treated like passively using a sense for the purpose of determining whether an interaction check is needed, but has to be done at will. Due to the vague nature of the virtual image, the tank has a -2 penalty on its To Hit score when using its Artillery Sights to determine the position of a target for shooting. It can choose to use its Artillery Sights like purposefully using a sense (treating it as an interaction) to focus and on a success remove the penalty for its next shot. Any tank with the Artillery Sights feature can pick up the feedback it causes, even if it originated from a different tank, if it was used within the range of its own Artillery Sights. It doesn't need to use its Artillery Sights to do this. It will know the direction of where the feedback originated from. | Max rating 4. |
| Camo Net | 4 | The tank has a camo net that it can use to blend in with its environments. As long as it stays stationary and doesn’t make any sound apart from its engine sounds, other tanks will have a harder time noticing it. The TN for Perc checks to detect the tank is (8 – Size score) of the camo net user. A camo net will not work when the tank is sitting completely in the open, or when it has already been noticed. Tanks with the Special Sense feature can detect it, unless the camo net user turns off its engine. Putting on the camo net or removing it takes 10 minutes. | Can be acquired from the world or other tanks. |
| Cargo Cart | 3 | The tank possesses a little cart that can be used to transport objects. When the tank is not pulling it, it can deposit the cart, which allows anyone to take and use it. It can hold up to 3000kg, with a maximum volume of 1.6 cubic metres. The cart has a Size of 1 and Durability of 1. The cart weighs 1000kg. Empty, it requires a Str score of at least 2 to pull it. The required Str score increases by 1 for every 500kg worth of cargo the cart holds. | Can be purchased more than once. Can be acquired from the world or other tanks. |
| Command Radio | 10/rating | The tank is equipped with a radio of the type that command tanks use. It can send and receive radio transmissions with a range of an additional 200 metres and additional weight of 20 kg per rating. | Max rating 3. |
| Databank | 5/rating | The tank has an extensive collection of knowledge about many topics. It may add its Databank rating to roll results of Ins checks about recalling information on any given topic. | Rating may not be higher than Ins score. |
| Deadeye | 14 | The tank has practiced its aim to become deadlier at hitting targets. It permanently gains 1 on its To Hit score. | Cannot have Trigger-Happy defect. |
| Extra Arm | 5 | The tank has an additional standard limb. The limb can be used for interactions like the tank’s other arms. | Can be purchased more than once. |
| Fuel Efficient | 6/rating | The tank has learned to manage its fuel use more efficiently. Its TN for any fuel check is lowered by 1 per rating. | Max rating of Fuel score – 1. Min TN 2. |
| Fuel Siphon | 10 | The tank has a mechanism that allows it to steal fuel right out of another stationary vehicle’s fuel tank. The tank with the Fuel Siphon makes a MechaniCon check (TN 4), If the target is not incapacitated and not willing, an additional Dex check (TN 6) is required to restrain the target to succeed. This check is a contested check – both tanks roll and the one with more successes wins. A tie means that the target tank won. On a success, the siphoning tank can add 1 to its Fuel score in each of its turns while the target’s Fuel score decreases by 1, until the target is either released, its Fuel score falls to 0, it breaks free, or the siphoning tank’s Fuel reaches its maximum value. When the target is not incapacitated and unwilling, the siphoning tank has to win the Dex check in every of its turns to continue the action, otherwise the target breaks free. A tank cannot move or act while it is siphoning fuel, but it can communicate and perceive its surroundings like normal. It can stop siphoning at the end of any of its turns. | |
| Giant | 20/rating | The tank is much larger than normal. For every rating, its Size score is increased by 1. The tank adds its Giant rating to roll results of Intimidation checks against targets with a smaller Size score than itself. | Max rating of Fuel score. |
| Improved Optics | 10/rating | The tank has more advanced optical devices than its peers. Its TN for all vision-based Perc checks is lowered by 1 for each rating. | Max rating 5. Min TN 2. |
| Longer Arm | 5 | The tank has a limb that can reach farther than normal. This doesn’t grant an extra limb – it can only be applied to existing limbs. Each limb that is enhanced this way doubles its reach, but the lifting capacity for said arm is halved when it is used to hold anything while extended beyond its original reach. | Can be purchased more than once, but only once per limb. |
| Massive | 10/rating | The tank is heavier than others. It can build up more momentum for ramming. For every turn in which it moves at maximum speed in a straight line, its Damage from Strike increases by 1 for each rating. After a collision or when the tank stops moving at maximum speed, its Damage from Strike reverts back to normal. | Max rating of Size score – 1. Max rating of Mob score. Cannot have Lightweight defect. Cannot have Low Speed defect. |
| Multiple Turrets | 7/rating | The tank has more than one turret. For every rating, it gains one additional turret. These turrets are not armed with a weapon by default, but can be equipped with one or more weapons. The tank may make more than one shooting interaction per turn - one per armed turret. It chooses which turret(s) to use. These interactions are an exception to the rule of picking only one target. Each shooting interaction can have its own target, but the accuracy decreases: The shooting tank has to roll To Hit separately for every turret (but only once for all the turret's weapons combined), and adds 1 to the TN for hitting any target except the first. The maximum number of shooting interactions per turn, regardless of the number of turrets, is the tank's Buf score or Interaction Pool (whichever is lower). | Max rating of Size score. Only weapons without the hull-mounted special rule can be used to arm a turret. |
| Night Vision | 12 | The tank has special devices that allow it to see better at night than its peers. In darkness, it can see up to 800 metres as it would be able to with illumination, but only black-and-white. Bright light interferes with night vision. | |
| Overclocked | 10 | The tank has found a way to overexert its core for a short time. It can attempt two interaction checks during its turn. Each time it does this, it temporarily removes one d10 from its Interaction Pool. The Interaction Pool is restored fully after 30 minutes of not using it. | |
| Reinforced Turret | 15 | The tank's turret armour is extraordinarily tough. When the tank is shot at and is at least in half cover (from the attacker's perspective), its Dur score is temporarily doubled for the purpose of determining DT damage. If the tank has the Multiple Turrets feature, this feature's cost is multiplied by the number of turrets. | Cannot have Open-Topped defect. Cannot be taken if all mounted weapons have the hull-mounted special rule. |
| Reserve Fuel Tank | 8 | The tank has a secondary fuel tank that it can tap into in the case of emergency. The Reserve Fuel Tank has a capacity of 1 unit of fuel. When the tank’s Fuel Capacity drops to 0 and the Reserve Fuel Tank is not empty, it doesn’t fall unconscious. Instead, the fuel in the Reserve Fuel Tank is consumed. The tank can continue to function until the next time it would need to make a Fuel check, in which case its OST falls to 1 and it falls unconscious immediately unless its Fuel Capacity score has risen above 0 in the meantime. Refuelling the Reserve Fuel Tank functions identically to refuelling the tank, and cannot be done at the same time. The Reserve Fuel Tank starts out full. | |
| Sane Layout | 5 | The tank has its parts arranged in a coherent way that makes repairs easier compared to improvised setups. The tank’s TN to be repaired is lowered by 1. | Cannot have the Makeshift Parts defect. Min TN 2. |
| Search Lights | 4 | This tank is equipped with stronger headlights and can illuminate an area in front of it up to 200 meters additional to its normal headlights’ range. | |
| Sloped Armour | 8/rating | The tank has angled armour plates on its frame to deflect incoming shots. When determining DT damage, the Firepower of an incoming shot is reduced by 1 at first rating, and by another 1 at every two ratings beyond that. Sloped Armour cannot be removed or applied, as it is integral to the tank’s frame. | Max rating 5. |
| Spaced Armour | 5 | The tank has spaced out armour plating that protects it against explosive charges. The armour weighs 300kg, which counts against the tank's Load Limit. Applying or removing Spaced Armour can be done in the field and takes 4 hours, respectively. Only one set of Spaced Armour can be active on a tank at a time. | Can be acquired from the world and other tanks. |
| Special Sense | 10/rating | The tank has a special talent to notice engine noises around it, even in busy environments. It can detect the presence of any vehicle in a 60-meter radius, as long as the vehicle has a running engine, and can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar engine noises. It can’t pinpoint the location of any tanks it detects this way. With every additional rating, the radius increases by another 60 meters. | Max rating 5. |
| Specialized | 10 | The tank is particularly good at doing a certain task. When assigning this feature, choose a specific situation. Talk to your MM about your ideas for situations. The tank can reroll one d10 on each check relating to this situation. A rerolled die cannot be rerolled again. | |
| Stock Config | 8 | The tank has standard, readily available parts that can be replaced and repaired easily. Perception (Ins) checks to find spare parts for this tank gain 1 extra d10, no matter if the tank itself or another tank makes the check. | Cannot have Rare Model defect. |
| Strong Arms | 10 | The tank has reinforced arms that allow it to move heavier objects using its arms – two times as heavy as it would normally be able to move in this way. | |
| Strong Engine | 12 | The tank has a more powerful engine than its peers. Its Speed attribute is permanently increased by 50% (rounded down). This does not affect the tank’s Mob or Ref scores or checks. | Cannot have Sluggish defect. Cannot have Low Speed defect. |
| Technical Affinity | 10 | The tank is good at repairing broken things, The TN for repair checks it makes is lowered by 1. | Min TN 2. |
| Tool Set | 8 | The tank possesses an extended assortment of repair tools. It adds one d10 to every repair check it attempts. | Can be acquired from the world or other tanks. |
| Wide Tracks | 8 | The tank’s tracks are wider than normal to make crossing difficult terrain easier. It adds one d10 to all Mob checks about moving across muddy, rough, slippery, or uneven terrain. | |
| Winch | 3/rating | The tank has a cable winch that can be used to pull objects. Per rating, the winch adds one d10 to the tank’s Str checks when pulling something. The winch’s cable has a range of 15 metres. | Max rating 5. |
Defects
| Name | Cost | Description | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brittle Armour | 3/rating | The tank’s external parts are made of poor quality. Each rating permanently lowers the tank’s maximum DT by 1. | Min DT 1. |
| Class Mismatch | 4/rating | The tank is using parts that don’t match its class, causing poor calibrations and miscalculations. The dice pool to repair itself is reduced by 1 die per rating. Additionally, any checks made with its Buf score apply a penalty of -1 per rating on the roll results. | Max rating 3. |
| Clumsy Movement | 5 | The tank has no idea how to move silently without drawing attention on itself. All Perc checks to notice the tank (visually and audibly) gain one extra d10. | |
| Compliant | 7 | The tank is meek and easily intimidated by others. It also lacks any sort of authority. Any Ment check it makes has a penalty of -1 on the roll results. | |
| Compulsion | 4/rating | The tank has a pervasive habit or malfunction that causes it to act in certain ways. When assigning this defect, the player decides together with the MM in which occasions the tank is affected by its compulsion. Examples of compulsions may be: A tank that always shoots light tanks first if it can, or a tank that avoids driving into water at all costs – even if it’s just a puddle. Whenever the occasion of the compulsion arises, the tank must make a Ment check (TN 8) to resist acting upon it. If the roll has fewer successes than its Compulsion rating, it indulges in its compulsion. | Max rating of Ment score. |
| Faint | 4 | The tank has bad nerves when it comes to directly confronting others. It makes all contested checks against other tanks with one fewer d10 than normal. This only affects its dice pool for contested checks, and does not affect the tank’s score on any other checks. | |
| Inflammable | 4 | The tank is more vulnerable to high temperatures than its peers. Its Dur pool is reduced by 1 when making Dur checks against heat-based hazards. | |
| Lightweight | 2/rating | The tank weighs less than normal. Its TN to be moved is lowered by 1 per rating. | Max rating of Size score. |
| Loose Connections | 6 | The tank’s internal components are not securely connected. If the tank is involved in a collision or takes DT damage from another type of impact, its player must roll a d10. On a roll of 1, the tank cannot act for 1d10 minutes while its core reboots. | |
| Low Speed | 4 | The tank is slower than similar models. Its Speed attribute is halved (round down). This does not affect the tank’s Mob or Ref scores. | |
| Makeshift Parts | 3 | The tank’s frame is made from salvaged parts, making repairs difficult. Its TN to be repaired is increased by 1. | Max TN 10. |
| Mute | 4 | The tank lacks a functional voice box and cannot communicate verbally. It can still communicate nonverbally via gestures or radio transmissions. | |
| Native Land | 6 | The tank has barely ever left its native habitat and doesn’t know how to adapt to other environments. Its player chooses one environment type – for example, forests, urban, or plains. Whenever the tank is not in said environment type, its Mob and Perc scores are temporarily lowered by 1. | |
| Open-Topped | 8 | The tank's turret or hull doesn't have a roof. When it becomes the target of an indirect attack, its Dur score is temporarily reduced to 0 for the purpose of determining DT damage. | |
| Partitioned Personality | 6 | The tank has an alternate personality that emerges in specific situations. The partitioned personality has the same total value of Intelligence scores as the original personality, but they may be assigned in a different combination. For example, a tank with RealityCom 3, Ins 2, Ment 4, MechaniCon 1, has a total value of 10. It may assign these 10 points in a different combination for the Intelligence ability scores of its partitioned personality. The partitioned personality should behave in different ways than the regular one. The player has to decide with the MM which specific situation triggers the partitioned personality when assigning this defect. Examples include “when the tank’s Fuel Capacity falls below half of its maximum”, or “when the tank witnesses an ally getting incapacitated during a battle”, or “when the tank’s OST falls to 0”. The partitioned personality remains active for a duration of 1d10 hours after emerging. This number is re-determined each time the personality emerges. The player can decide if the tank’s regular personality is aware of anything that occurs while the partitioned personality is active. In any case, the regular personality cannot act or communicate while inactive. | |
| Poor Ventilation | 3 | The tank has a faulty cooling system and overheats during normal use. After every interaction check done during combat, the tank has to temporarily remove one die from its Interaction Pool. If the Interaction Pool falls to 0 dice, the tank can attempt to make a check with one d10 anyway, but automatically inflicts 1 point of DT damage per rating to itself if it does, no matter if the result is a success or failure. Every of its turns that is spent not moving or making interaction checks, the tank’s Interaction Pool regains 1 die, up to the original number. | |
| Rare Model | 4 | This tank was built from hard to acquire parts. All Perc (Ins) checks to find spare parts for a tank with this defect require one more success than normal. | |
| Response Lag | 2/rating | The tank’s core takes a longer time to process new information. The modifier for all of its initiative checks is lowered by 1 per rating. This does not affect the Ref score or any other check. | Max rating 5. |
| Simple Programming | 5 | The tank’s core features rather simple programming, making it less sensitive towards fear or other negative emotions. It only takes OST damage from suffering DT damage. On the other hand, it is also less receptive towards social cues and norms – it automatically fails any checks to rally an allied tank and its Ins score is permanently decreased by 1. | |
| Sluggish | 1/rating | The tank cannot achieve its top speed quickly. When the tank begins moving, its normal Speed score is reduced by its Sluggish rating times 10. Each round in which it doesn’t stop moving, its Speed score increases by 10 until its normal Speed is reached. For example, a tank with a Speed score of 40 and a Sluggish rating of 2 begins moving at 20m/round. If it keeps moving, its Speed increases to 30m/round in its next turn, and finally to 40m/round in the turn afterwards. Essentially, the rating indicates how many turns it will take the tank to reach its maximum moving speed. It cannot increase its Speed past its original Speed score this way. | Max rating of (Speed score/10) or 5, whichever is lower. |
| Technically Impaired | 5 | The tank is overly worried about messing up repairs – either because of a history, or without any rational basis. It cannot attempt to repair other tanks, although it may still attempt to repair itself. | |
| Top-Heavy | 3/rating | The tank is poorly balanced and has a tendency to tip over. If it fails a Mob check that involves steep surfaces or uneven ground, it capsizes and becomes immobilized. The tank remains immobile until another tank or tanks right it by succeeding in a Str check (TN target Size score). Multiple tanks may pool their Str scores for this check, but the capsized tank may not contribute. The total number of successes required is equal to the capsized tank’s Top-Heavy rating. | Max rating of Size score. |
| Trigger-Happy | 10 | The tank has poor trigger discipline and shoots without aiming carefully. It permanently has a -1 penalty on its To Hit score. | |
| Unreliable | 5 | The tank suffers from some sort of assembly error that impairs its function. Its Interaction Pool is permanently reduced by 1. | |
| Weak Arms | 8 | The tank is equipped with flimsy arms that make it difficult to handle objects securely. Any time the tank attempts an interaction check to manipulate an object, it must first roll a d10. On a 1, it drops the object, which may break it. | |
| Weak Spots | 5 | The tank is bad at hiding the weaker parts of its armour. When it is the target of a shot, its Dur score is temporarily reduced by 1 for the purpose of comparing it to the Firepower of the attacker’s weapon. | |
| Wide Turner | 2/rating | The tank cannot pivot as easily and quickly as others. Unless it is moving in a straight line, its Speed score is decreased by its Wide Turner rating times 10 during all movement. | Max rating of (Speed score/10) - 1. |
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