Hero System: Vehicle Combat

Still, these are the best vehicle rules for Champions ever - at least for movement and combat. And the vehicle rules, even in the 6th Edition, seem copied and pasted from the 4th Edition, and they have not changed, nor do they have an excellent example of how they work. The Autoduel Champions system was written for the 2nd Edition Hero System, and it uses a very early version of the Car Wars design rules as well.

One of the most considerable problems for the Hero System is movement is tied to the character's speed characteristic. A character has a 12-phase turn, with one-second phases. A character with a speed of 2 (average) will move and attack twice in that 12-second turn.

A vehicle or person in motion should move every second, and Autoduel Champions handles this structure. There is a clear difference between the games, and Hero System is more a "superhero sim" than Car Wars, which is a "reality sim."

5 miles per hour of speed or acceleration is roughly 2 meters per second. A car at 50 mph will move (roughly) 20 meters per second. One of the problems comes up with using Hero System combat with the SPD 2 character driving into a wall because they can only act every 6 phases.

Car Wars characters and vehicles can maneuver and turn multiple times during a one-second turn, increasing difficulty per maneuver.

How Do You Fix This?

You have to flip the "simulation switch" on in Hero System and allow everyone to move and maneuver their movement every phase. Make a combat vehicle operations roll for the maneuver based on difficulty.

Remember, vehicles can accelerate and decelerate every phase too. A car with 5 mph acceleration at a dead stop will move 2 meters in the first phase, 4 the next, 6 the next, and all the way up to 24 meters per phase (roughly 55 mph) on phase 12 of the same turn. Deceleration is also per phase, with 5-15 mph deceleration being average and higher levels being control rolls.

See Car Wars for the exact deceleration values, but above 15 mph, deceleration in a phase is very risky.

Making attacks? Keep that to the turn chart on the specified phases in Hero System. Higher SPD characters can make more attacks per turn while trying to avoid death while driving like maniacs. You will miss attack chances, so if there are exceptional cases where someone needs to make an attack before driving behind a building, that will be up to the referee to decide if it is possible and if an ability check is needed to time it correctly for the out of phase action. These out-of-phase actions will be the exception, not the rule, and will still consume the character's following attack action.

Roughly Autoduel Champions

This system is roughly similar to Autoduel Champions but more 6th Edition in spirit. It does require a "simulation mode" toggle, which breaks Hero System's movement system and puts it in a "per phase based on velocity" system of movement. High SPD characters will not move at faster velocities, but they will get to act more during a turn. If you are trying to create a speedster, focus on raw velocity rather than a high SPD.

Also, note Car Wars characters are assumed to be SPD 12 by the wargame rules since they can attack every phase. The Hero System pulls this pretty far back but puts everything on a more realistic level. In the ordinary world, while driving a car, you will be fortunate to get an attack off every 6 seconds with everything going on and trying to control a speeding car.

Also, note movement will be much higher than the base Hero System with "simulation mode" toggled on. An SPD 2 character will be moving "at speed" and six times faster than he would with simulation mode off. For melee, superhero fights, and dungeons, leave simulation mode off. For vehicles - turn it on.

So my jury-rigged system is a compromise between the "on the metal" Car Wars system and preserving the action economy of Hero System 6th Edition. I would play with 2-meter hexes, even if that meant some cars would be 2 hexes long (move and turn with the front part of the counter).

Convert or Play As-Is?

This is tough since the Autoduel Champions system has excellent Car Wars-style vehicle design rules. The design system is dated by Car Wars standards (turrets take zero space in the vehicle), so I would likely use the Autoduel Champions damages and component damage system while using stock Car Wars for vehicle designs - and convert the armor values via the system provided in Autoduel Champions. I would use the latest up to date Car Wars design rules too.

Would I like an updated Autoduel Champions? Yes. Do I really need it? No.

Does Hero System need updated vehicle rules?

Oh, yes.