SWAT HQ - The Salvage Yard - ADQ 10/4 - Evil Stevie Returns: Three New Combat Options from the Original Designer

Evil Stevie Returns: Three New Combat Options from the Original Designer
by Steve Jackson

Weapon Lockdown

"And Jay is in fighter-pilot mode again. The Mad Czech has locked down his front machine-guns, and he's dogging that Hotshot, hitting him over and over. That armor is spraying in all directions. The Hotshot swerves, but Jay's still on it, firing like the gun was part of him . . . "

A weapon is "locked down" when it is pointing straight ahead and physically locked into place. Originally, the lockdown feature was designed to protect weapon systems while the vehicle was being transported. But duellists discovered that sometimes they could fight better with the weapon locked down . . . aiming the whole car, with the weapon firing where the car is pointed.

Lockdown is available only for front-mounted weapons or turreted weapons which can point due front. It works only with direct-fire weapons. Indirect-fire weapons, such as the grenade launcher or any other dropped weapon projector, cannot be locked down.

Locking a weapon down, or unlocking it again, is a firing action. The weapon may not be fired on the turn when it is locked down or unlocked.

The driver gets +1 to hit when firing a locked-down weapon. Gunners cannot take advantage of this feature. The firer gets no bonus from targeting computers or similar electronic targeting aids. A crewman who is firing "by instrument" for any reason cannot use lockdown; he must be able to see his target.

However, the locked-down weapon may only fire straight ahead. It can only hit a target that is directly in line with the centerline of the vehicle. Wheels and similar targets may not be attacked. Furthermore, the weapon is locked down vertically as well as horizontally. This means that a locked-down turret can only hit a building or the side of an oversized vehicle -- it will fire over a shorter vehicle. (For simplicity, the referee may assume all non-oversized vehicles are the same height, or he use the vehicle heights in the Jumping and Falling rules in UACFH.) The exception, of course, is that a locked-down turret can fire at a turret of a regular vehicle, at the regular -2 penalty.

An area-effect weapon fired in lockdown mode has only a half-inch "sweep," rather than the normal inch, for purposes of area-effect fire.

If you cannot trace your direct line of fire to your target while attacking in lockdown mode, you lose sustained fire bonuses. You cannot fire close to him and count it as a turn of sustained fire. You don't have to hit, but you do have to be able to hit.

Spinal-Mount Weapons

"We're back at our High Eye over the interstate west of town, watching what is shaping up to be a nice little convoy action. As you can see, we've got three trucks about eight miles out of town, with a couple of cycles as front escort. The problem is behind. We've got a mixed bag of hostiles in obvious pursuit, looks like about a half-dozen assorted pickups and cars, pretty heavily armed. They're taking an occasional long-range potshot at the convoy when they get line of sight, and they're gaining steadily. There's one lux-size vehicle at the convoy's rear, looks like it's supposed to be an escort, but it hasn't dropped any mines or fired . . . I don't recognize its make. It may be a civilian that tucked into the convoy for cover. Hard luck, guy."

"Look at that, Eddie. That funny-looking lux is dropping back, away from the convoy. It's not running, just slowing down. The pursuers are firing at it now, though they don't seem . . ."

"Wait a second. Big explosion from the lux -- see that? I don't see any fragments, though. There's another one . . ."

"Joe, let's look at the bandits. Those aren't hits on the lux. It's got some kind of humongous rear-firing gun. See there, the pickup on the right, trailing smoke? It just got hit a second ago, and Jesus!"

"Can you guys see that at home? The lead bandit just folded up and died in one shot. And quicker than water, his buddy T-boned him from behind . . . they're both on fire now. The pickup that got hit first is pulling off . . . Only three left in the chase now. They're firing back at that funny lux. The lux is the only defender that's fired yet, and holy creeping" <static>

"Ha, ha. Joe, they won't let you say that on the radio. That lux just squeezed off another shot and confettied another bandit. One shot. The survivors are pulling back now. That escort must have a tank gun in it!"

"But Eddie, they can't do that, can they?"

Actually Joe, they can.

A very large weapon, such as an anti-tank gun or even a tank gun, can be "spinal-mounted" down the middle of a vehicle. Essentially, the vehicle is built around the weapon! This allows a much larger weapon to be carried than the vehicle's size would normally permit. There is no limit to the percentage of space that can be devoted to a single weapon if it is spinal-mounted! It also reduces the hazard of firing such an oversized weapon.

Spinal weapons must always be front- or rear-mounted. If mounted to the front, they are automatically considered locked down (see above) at all times. Rear-mounted weapons can only fire straight back, as described above for locked-down weapons, but do not get any bonus to hit.

Spinal mounting requires more space than ordinary mounting, and costs much more money because of the heavy bracing required and the other modifications which must be made throughout the vehicle. A vehicle may not have more than one weapon in a spinal mount.

A spinal mount may be damaged by fire coming in from either side, as well as from the direction where it's pointed. When an attack penetrates side armor, roll randomly; the weapon, seen from the side, is "parallel" with the gunner, driver, power plant and/or cargo.

When a spinal-mount weapon has only 1 DP left, there is a chance that firing it will lead to disaster. Each time such a weapon is fired, roll 2 dice and pray. On a 2 or 3, the weapon tears loose from its mounting, wrecking itself. It does 1d6 damage to some interior component of the vehicle (roll randomly). The vehicle undergoes a D6 hazard. And, adding insult to injury, the final shot always misses.

Weapons for Spinal Mounting

Legal weapons for spinal mounting are:

Autocannon. $8,000, 4 spaces. No special rules; the only reason to spinal-mount it is to get it into a very small car.

Anti-Tank Gun. $3,000, 4 spaces. Firing a spinal-mounted ATG is not a hazard except for a compact or smaller vehicle, for which it is still a D1 hazard.

Blast Cannon. $6,500, 5 spaces. No special rules. Takes less space, because it has less recoil to deal with.

Heavy Recoilless Rifle. $11,000, 9 spaces. As above.

Heavy Vulcan Machine-Gun. $8,500, 4 spaces. In a spinal mount, firing this weapon is no hazard for any vehicle larger than a compact. It's a D1 hazard for compacts and smaller cars.

Gatling Cannon. $9,000, 7 spaces. Firing this weapon is no hazard for an oversized vehicle, a D1 hazard for lesser vehicles larger than a sedan, a D2 for a sedan or mid-size and a D3 for anything smaller.

Rapid-Fire Tank Gun. $12,000, 8 spaces. Firing this weapon from a spinal mount is a D1 hazard for oversized vehicles, a D2 hazard for lesser vehicles, and a D3 for a mid-size or sedan (which can fit one in, but probably shouldn't, unless it's going to be used only while parked.)

Tank Gun, 75mm. $12,000, 12 spaces. Firing a spinal-mounted 75mm tank gun is no hazard for an oversized vehicle. For regular vehicles, it's a D1 hazard. A luxury car is the smallest vehicle that can carry a spinal-mounted 75mm TG and still fit in a driver and a power plant.

Magnetic Cannon. $253,000, 14 spaces. No special rules.

Heavy-Duty Flamethrower. $2,000, 4 spaces. The low recoil makes this easy to spinal mount, making it possible to fit into a smaller car.

Military Flamethrower. $3,000, 6 spaces. A vehicle as small as a compact can be built around a MFT, if it's gasoline-powered, but this is a risky combination . . . !

Experiments with a spinal-mount 90mm tank gun have so far been spectacularly unsuccessful.

Rocket Sidecars

"Maude, look at that sidecar on that thing. Looks like one big rocket. How'd ya like to be on the receiving end of that thing?"

"Druther get hit with it than ride it."

A rocket sidecar is an oversized rocket, rigged with wheels and a jettison joining. It's carried alongside a cycle, like a regular sidecar. When it fires, the wheels and extraneous equipment fall away. It doesn't roll to the target; it flies. The sidecar cannot be "reloaded" -- it is a single-shot weapon in itself, just a big rocket with a few accessories.

The rocket itself is larger than any rocket which can normally be fired from a vehicle. It's too hot when it launches!

Equivalent in size to a heavy sidecar, the rocket sidecar (RS) is as follows: To hit 8, $1,600, 600 lbs., spaces n/a, 3 DP. It's a one-shot weapon doing 6d6 damage. Its to-hit is slightly better than of most rockets, because its huge size gives it more stability.

This basic RS has light suspension. Add $500 for improved suspension (HC 1) or $1,000 for heavy suspension (HC 2). Off-road suspension is not available. This is more than the equivalent suspension cost for a heavy sidecar, because the gear has to be entirely break-away!

Fireworks!

The rocket sidecar has a spectacular failure mode, more talked about than seen. If the jettison fails, the rocket will remain attached to the cycle, spinning it around and around like a giant firework. In game terms, this is a cumulative D2 hazard every phase until the inevitable crash, at which point the rocket goes off. This will not happen unless the device has been sabotaged, and this sort of sabotage would easily be noticed if someone bothered to check. But it's an evil thought, all the same.

AADA Status

Lockdown mode is legal in AADA tournament combat. Spinal mounts are legal provided the spinal-mounted weapon is a legal weapon. Lockdown mode and spinal-mounts may be disallowed by the referee for races and other specific events.

Rocket sidecars are not legal in AADA-sanctioned tournament combat.

ADQ 10/4 on Warehouse 23

ADQ 10/4 on DriveThruRPG

Evil Stevie Returns: Three New Combat Options from the Original Designer. Steve Jackson Games. Autoduel Quarterly: The Journal of the American Autoduel Association. Volume 10, Number 4. Winter 2042 / Winter 1992. Steve Jackson Games. pp. 6-7.

Converted to HTML by the Seattle Washington Autoduel Team, March 30, 2015.
Web posted May 29, 2023.
Updated May 29, 2023.