The System
Vehicles
Vehicles are a core part of Freegliders. Airships cross the skies, automobiles race along dusty roads, and naval craft patrol contested waters. Whether a character pilots, fights from, or simply travels aboard one, vehicles follow their own rules for movement, damage, and combat.
Vehicle Anatomy
Every vehicle has sections - distinct parts such as the engine, hull, steering mechanism, weapons mounts, and crew compartment. Each section has its own hit points. Destroying a section impairs the vehicle in a specific way: a destroyed engine halts propulsion; a destroyed steering mechanism prevents turning; a destroyed weapons mount silences a gun emplacement.
The crew are not the vehicle - they can be targeted separately and must defend themselves with cover or their own defences. A vehicle with a living crew but a destroyed engine is still dangerous; a running vehicle with no crew is adrift.
Piloting
Vehicles are operated using the Piloting skill. Under normal conditions, piloting is routine and requires no roll. Difficult manoeuvres - sharp turns, landing in crosswinds, threading through a canyon - call for a Piloting test against a Difficulty set by the GM.
In combat, a pilot can spend their Major Action to perform a combat manoeuvre: a ramming run, an evasive barrel roll, a hard brake to deny an enemy a shot. Higher Piloting ranks unlock more powerful manoeuvres and reduce the consequences of failed ones - including a reduced-damage crash landing at rank 3.
Vehicle Combat
When vehicles are in combat with each other, they operate on the same initiative order as characters. A vehicle's pilot determines the initiative order of their entire vehicle and uses their action to move and manoeuvre; crew members with weapon mounts or boarding weapons act on their vehicle's turns. Targeting a specific section of an enemy vehicle requires an aimed shot (a penalty to the attack roll), the same as targeting a limb on a person.
Characters can board enemy vehicles mid-combat - a risky action that opens the possibility of seizing or sabotaging the craft from within. Repelling boarders while keeping a vehicle on course requires coordination between the crew.
Building and Repairing
The Vehicle Mechanics skill covers construction and repair. A mechanic with the right parts can patch a damaged section between encounters, rebuild a destroyed one given enough time and materials, or modify a vehicle with new components - faster engines, heavier armour, additional weapon mounts.
Building a vehicle from scratch is a significant project that scales with the vehicle's size and complexity. A small land vehicle is achievable for a competent mechanic with basic materials; a full airship requires a high-rank team effort and substantial resources.
Automechs
Automechs are a special category of vehicle: large pilotable mechanical suits built using the Automachinery skill. An automech is worn rather than ridden - the pilot is encased within and acts through the machine's limbs and systems. In mechanical terms, an automech is treated as a vehicle in combat but moves with the pilot's initiative.
Automechs can be fitted with melee weapons, ranged weapons, specialist modules, and enhanced movement systems. They are among the most powerful single units in the game - and among the most expensive and time-consuming to build.