Three Words: Apocalypse + Car + Wars.

Three Words: Apocalypse + Car + Wars.

Three Words: Apocalypse + Car + Wars.

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Originally shared by Gremlin Legions (Michael Wight)

Musings on some thoughts going through my head about mashing together Car Wars and Apocalypse World, as inspired by Chris Goodwin .

Character stats mostly will represent the vehicles, something like: Power (horsepower & towing capacity), Speed (acceleration & handling), Chrome (stylin’ & fancy features), and Frame (toughness and repairability). One stat would represent the actual, flesh-and-blood character, Nerve, for pretty much anything that happens outside of the vehicle.

I’m thinking combat will probably borrow some ideas from The Regiment, maybe something like armor turns serious hits into cosmetic damage, which would still need to be repaired eventually (possibly subtracts from your funds instead of the vehicle’s Hits?).

There’d only be a few, basic moves for characters while in their vehicles, representing standard maneuvers and such. All the add-ons, like weapons, special gadgets, devices, options, or whatever, count as new Moves.

Something like a Flamethrower would work like: Roll + Speed, on a 10+, do your Hits and set their car on fire. On a 7-9, you set their car on fire, but (choose two) – the damage is only cosmetic / the flames only distract the driver / it uses up the last of your propellant / they leave a trail of flame that imperils other tires.

For the driver, their moves would work much like rolls do in World of Dungeons, more free-form and based on the situation.

I realize these ideas are still largely nebulous, but any thoughts?

31 thoughts on “Three Words: Apocalypse + Car + Wars.”

  9. Makes me want to dig up my Autoduel Quarterly mags.

    I like different weapons/features having their own moves. I want to have to make hard decisions about my rig within a weight/cost class. Building your car and rewarding system proficiency there would be a welcome feature for me personally.

    The flexibility of a turret should not be a no brainer, for example. There should be a vulnerability that maps from the original game.

    And all the stock cars should be somewhat sub-optimal, making you excited to put your own car together once you have the coin.

  11. Summoned.

    Nary a day goes by that I don’t bemoan the lack of an Apocalyse-ified Car Wars. If you do this, I will bow before you.

    My biggest question about it is whether the arena is still a physical construct, or is it largely fictional?

    I think maybe the coolest thing Apocalypse World gives you the ability to go a battle space that’s primarily set up in the fiction (though we might use models or drawings to clarify the situation). That way you can frame the results of an attack either in terms of metrics (damage) or fictional effect (fire, danger, confusion). A maneuver move can have fictional effects (like danger avoided, or tactical advantage).

  12. Indeed, tony dowler , that is something that I am actively thinking about.

    In my original post, Christian Griffen was suggesting that there be a specific Move for maneuvering, that provides hold that can be spent on things like gaining distance, outrunning, dealing with difficult turns or terrain, line of sight, etc., and I’m thinking this may, indeed, work fairly well.

    Perhaps you will have something akin to Bonds with the other contestants, but it’s called Target instead. It represents how well you have the other person tagged during the contest, the advantage you have over them, how well you’re reading their moves, etc. It will go up and down during the contest regularly, depending on everyone’s Maneuver Moves, and probably some other factors. That, in turn, will be what is rolled when you make a Move to attack.

  13. So, say, I make my Maneuver Move, and get three Hold. I could choose to spend one Hold to make Opponent no. 1’s Target on me 1 less (say, by turning a tight corner that would be tough for him to match), spend one Hold to gain +1 Target on Opponent no. 2’s tailpipe, and maybe spend another Hold to be able to make a retaliatory attack against anyone who shoots me this turn.

  14. Oh yeah, I like the concept of target a lot! My experience role-playing Car Wars is that because the characters are paper thin, every little thing that gives them humanity really has impact.

  15. When you charge at your opponent guns, rockets and ram plates blazing…

    When you attempt a dangerous maneuver to secure an advantage…

    When you let your guns do the talking…

    When you make a modification to your vehicle…

    When you close one eye and line up that one, perfect shot…

    On second thought, I’m keeping that last one.

  17. After all, one of the best ways to hook someone on AW is to convince them to play a Driver and then start with the opening scene of Road Warrior, then ask the survivors questions about hwo the gang was and where they’re going.

  19. Ram Plates. Take +1 ongoing when solidly hitting anything.

    Rocket pods. Any target squarely in front of you takes +2 harm. Once.

    Tell mom I said hi. Your ejection seat gets you to safety with no added risk.

    You’ll pay for that.

    when you have a grievance with your opponent in a duel, roll + hard. On a 10+ hold 2. On a 7-9 hold 1. On a miss, the GM makes a hard move to ruin your day. Spend hold to

    Take +1 forward against them

    Deal +1harm

    Hate one advantage the opponent holds

    Take 1harm from one attack, no matter how much it would have done.

  23. Michael Wight   I guess. Car Wars has always been (at least in my mind) more about the Cars than the people driving them. Autoduel was more about the drivers, and yeah, there might be some duels going on, but it was the characters, not the vehicles, that were important.

  24. Hmmm…that is a good point, Yanni Cooper .

    Another thought that was dancing in my head last night, that would probably fit what you’re looking for, would be the stats are all about the driver, how good he/she is at maneuvering, navigating, targeting, doing crazy stunts. But otherwise, no actual Moves, instead working much like World of Dungeons with the simpler Fail/Pass/Hit mechanic.

    The vehicle is where all the specific Moves come in. Having a vehicle gives you that Maneuver Move, to see how well you can outrun, outmaneuver, or gain an advantage over other drivers. The things you add to your vehicle give you other Moves, whether they add a simple bonus such as to armor or damage, or are whole other options of actions in and of themselves.

    And while the suggestions of just reskinning/repurposing the base Apocalypse World rules have their merits, I do think there is room for something that is more customized, more fine-tuned and chromed and decked out with its own features, that will be able to take the AW engine and make it purr in a whole new way.

    Maybe I’m wrong in the direction I’m going, but the mistakes are what will make the end results successful.

  25. We played Car Wars as a role-playing game, no doubt about it. Re-reading it today, I’m surprised there are practically no role-playing rules in the game. Yet it definitely worked. I don’t think you need much to make it Autoduel.

  26. I totally want to be able to spend “target” to help, like with bonds. Like you and I team up against “that guy”, or circumstances put us on the same side in a duel or a side job. As a side effect, you’re best able to help the people you’re gunning for and vice versa.

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