Brent P. Newhall's Musaeum of Fantastic Wonders

It was when a tank of gas hit $200 that things really got bad.

The Middle Easterners just clammed up; don't think they ever really liked us anyhow. Air travel became a luxury only for the super-rich. Then came the riots all over the place, and the Oil Recession, and the New Great Depression. Then the war, of course; at least that's over now.

Now oil's become a little more local and a little easier to find, but it's still precious. Not that it stops the kids from racing around the wastelands, robbing and torturing any clutch of good folk they happen to find. Not that there's much else to find; the riots drove away most of the city-folk to villages.

Which is why we need you. A driver. A new breed, with the firepower to drive away the jackals and take back a piece of the new world.

In the game, you play the driver of a car, which you build based on the following stats:

• Frame
  • Light 8 max speed, 120 pound capacity
  • Medium 6 max speed, 150 pounds capacity
  • Heavy 4 max speed, 250 pound capacity
• Engine
  • 4-cylinder
  • 6-cylinder +1 to max speed, extra 30 pounds
  • 8-cylinder +2 to max speed, extra 60 pounds
• Tires
  • Normal
  • Reinforced (extra 20 pounds)
• Shocks?
• Armor 5 points and 5 pounds per half-inch of armor per side; max 3 inches
• Weapons
  • Light machine gun 2 power, 10 pounds, 5 range
  • Heavy machine gun 4 power, 20 pounds, 5 range
  • Flamethrower 5 power, 40 pounds, 3 range
  • Rocket launcher 7 power, 50 pounds, 10 range, 3 rounds; must have its own grid square; only hits with a 3-6 on a die roll
  • Grenade launcher 5 power, 40 pounds, 12 range, 3 rounds; must have its own grid square; only hits with a 2-6 on a die roll
  • Handgun 1 power, 2 pounds, 6 range, 8 rounds
• Options
  • Gunner 150 pounds
  • Kevlar vest for driver 10 pounds, 5 extra damage points
  • Targeting computer 5 pounds
  • Auto-rotating mount for one weapon 25 pounds; must have its own grid square; requires a targeting computer
  • Smokescreen generator 25 pounds; must have its own grid square. When fired, it generates a 2 square by 2 square cloud of smoke directly behind the car.

As a driver, you have 10 damage points.

Your car is placed on a grid (using standard graph paper); each square represents approximately 1 square yard. Your car is 2 squares wide by 4 squares long.

The driver, engine, weapons, and any options that don't state that they modify another item must all be located on one of the eight squares of your car's grid. Up to three weapons can share a space, unless they say otherwise. On a motorcycle, the driver and engine both take up one square.

Weapons placed on one side of the car or another are pointing in that direction; if it's ambiguous for some reason, you've got to choose a facing (draw a little arrow indicating your choice), unless the weapon is mounted on an auto-rotating mount.

Each turn, first everyone simultaneously moves their vehicles and optionally makes a Maneuver action, then everyone makes an Attack action in sequence. You may skip your Maneuver action or your Attack action (or both).

If people seem to be cheating about their movements, feel free to require each player to write down their Maneuver action before performing it.

You can accelerate or decelerate 1 square per turn. Based on your frame and engine, you max out at a certain number of squares per turn (6 for a medium frame and 4-cylinder engine).

If you skip your Maneuver action, your vehicle maintains its current speed.

You can turn your car up to 45 degrees during your turn, but you must decelerate by 1 square while doing so.

If you attempt to maintain your speed when you turn, roll a die. On a 3-6, you succeed. On a 2, you spin out (see below). On a 1, re-roll; if you get a second 1 your car flips, while on any other number you spin out.

If you're holding a handgun, you re-roll on a 1 or 2, spin out on a 3 or 4, and succeed on a 5 or 6.

If you attempt to increase your speed by 1 when you turn, roll a die. On a 5-6, you succeed. On a 3-4, you spin out (see below). On a 1-2, re-roll; if you get a second 1 or 2 your car flips, while on any other number you spin out.

If you spin out, you may take no more actions this turn. Next turn, your entire maneuver action is taken up by turning your vehicle another 45 degrees (a total of 90 degrees from your original position), reducing your speed to 0.

If you want to slow down dramatically, decelerate by 2 squares and roll a six-sided die. If you roll a 1, you slide 1 square to the left. If you roll a 2, you slide 1 square to the right. Rolling 3 through 6 has no other effect.

When a motorcycle slides, it has a chance of flipping. When sliding on a motorcycle, roll a die. On a 1-3, you flip; on a 4-6 you're fine.

If you have the unfortunate misfortune to slam into another vehicle at high speed, calculate damage as follows.

If you sideswipe another vehicle (both are going in about the same direction, but one turns towards the other), each car takes one die of damage (roll separately for each car).

If one car rams into the side of another car, the first takes one die of damage per point of speed it was going. The hit car gets double that damage.

If two cars hit each other head-on, each car takes one die of damage per point of speed it was going. So, if the first was going 2 and the second was going 3, the first takes 2 dice of damage and the second takes 3 dice.

• Active ground hazards
  • Spike strip 2 power, 1 die damage. After entering this square, tires are popped; lose 1 speed per turn.
  • Speed bump. If going less than 3 speed, slow speed by 1. If going over 3, decrease speed to 2 and take 1 die damage.
  • Light mine 1 power, 1 die damage.
  • Medium mine 2 power, 1 die + 2 damage. These mines are larger, and must be dug about a foot into the ground.
  • Military-grade mine 3 power, 1 die + 4 damage. These mines are expensive and rare outside of military defenses.
• Passive ground hazards
  • Oil slick
  • Pool of water
  • Ice patch
  • Potholes
• Passive air hazards
  • Cloud of smoke
• Obstacles
  • Animals and bystanders
  • Fruit stands

If you enter a square containing a passive hazard on the ground (oil, water, etc.), roll a die.

If you have regular tires, then on a 1 you decelerate by 1 and shift to the left; on a 2 you decelerate by 1 and shift to the right. On a roll of 3-6 there's no effect.

If you have reinforced tires, then on a 1 you decelerate by 1 and shift to the left or right (your choice).

If you enter a square containing an active hazard (like a mine), roll a die + the hazard's power. If you roll more than 3, the hazard hits, and deals the damage specified by the hazard.

Obstacles do an amount of damage equivalent to the size and sturdiness of the obstacle. Treat these like mines.

You must make this roll every time you enter a square containing a hazard, even if you must do so multiple times in one turn.

During your attack action, you can fire one weapon at an enemy. If you have a gunner, the gunner can also attack after the driver.

First, roll 3 dice, subtracting distance and relative speed. Distance is the number of squares between the weapon you're firing and the side of the vehicle you're attacking, including partial squares. Relative speed is the absolute difference between your vehicle's speed and the speed of the vehicle you're attacking.

If you want to specifically target an attack at one item on a car side with no armor (such as the driver), subtract another 1.

If firing through a smokescreen, subtract 1 for each square of smoke you're firing through.

If you roll a 3 or above, you hit.

Examples

You are 3 and a half squares behind your enemy, both going the same speed.
Roll 3 dice.  You roll a 1, a 4, and a 5, totaling 10.
Subtract the 4 squares of distance (including that half square), for a total attack of 6.
This is above 3, so you hit.

You are 3 and a half squares behind an enemy.  You're going 2; he's going 3.
Roll 3 dice.  You roll a 1, a 2, and a 3, totaling 6.
Subtract the 4 squares of distance, and the difference of 1 between your speeds, for a total attack of 1.
This is below 3, so you miss.

To calculate damage, roll a die, add the weapon's power, and subtract the total from points of armor on the side most facing you.

Once all the armor is removed from one side of a car, future hits may damage the driver or any weapons or options on that side of the vehicle. Roll 1d6 to randomly determine where the damage goes. (In case of four choices, roll twice to choose two, then roll off between those two; in case of 5 choices… you'll figure something out.)

Of course, you can also build a truck, van, or motorcycle. Vans are 2×5 squares, while motorcycles are 1×3 squares. Light frames are not available for vans; heavy and medium frames are not available for motorcycles.

Download a blank record sheet for your car (PDF).

Medium frame, 4-cylinder engine
Armor: 1 inch on front, back, and sides; 1/2 inch on the top and underside
Weapons: 2 heavy machine guns (pointed front and rear) and 1 flamethrower (pointed front)
Options: 1 Kevlar vest for the driver
Max speed: 6

Light frame, 6-cylinder engine
Armor: 1/2 inch all around, plus an extra 1/2 inch on each side
Weapons: 1 light machine gun (pointed front), 1 heavy machine gun (pointed right)
Options: Reinforced tires
Max speed: 8

Heavy frame, 4-cylinder engine
Armor: 2 inches on the left and right; 1 and 1/2 inches on front, back, top, and underside
Weapons: 1 rocket launcher mounted in rear, 1 flamethrower (pointed forward), and one heavy machine gun (pointed forward)
Options: Reinforced tires
Max speed: 4