I'm currently taking a break from operating my own war rig - or, at least pretending my snowblower is a giant mechanized marvel. While I warm up with some hot chocolate before heading back out to attack the bottom half of the driveway, I wanted to share another sneak peek from the biggest chapter in the book - a look at the steam-powered war machines themselves.
Remember, backers will have access to the full draft version of this chapter next Tuesday, when Chapter 4 becomes available. Until then, let's take a look at Rig Stations...
Rig Stations
A rig requires its crew to work together in order to function. This isn’t a mere platitude. Without the ambulators, the rig doesn’t go anywhere. Without the pilot guiding their steps, it runs the risk of shuffling in circles. Without the stokers, nothing moves. Every station is essential to the mech’s operation, and even when there’s rivalry between roles or grumbling among the lower ranks about how their higher-ups in the headcab run things, in combat a good crew will put those aside and do their jobs. They can complain over drinks when they go low.
On smaller rigs, characters may fill multiple roles as needed. Some Ajax-class rigs only have room for one person in the headcab, so that crew member acts as captain, pilot, and navigator all rolled into one. The Storyguide and players should discuss which stations the characters will be responsible for on their rigs, and tailor the stations’ responsibilities if the situation or group composition calls for it.
Each station has a number of Skills associated with it. Rolls using those Skills at that station gain +1 Enhancement. Additionally, certain Roles gain access to Enhancements when a character with that Role is at the associated station. While a particular character might be most familiar with the demands of their regular station, crew members often have at least basic knowledge of how the various stations work in case they need to fill in in a pinch. An envoy operating the ambulators might mean the rig’s gait has a bit of a stagger to it, but at least it’s moving.
Steam rigs are big, complex machines. If something goes wrong in one part of the rig, the effects might be felt in another. Damage to a crane arm might cause gears in the chest to decouple. The cranesman’s not going to get in there and fix them; the engineer’s better suited to crawl around in the mech’s guts and get everything back in working order. Mechanically, this means that some Complications can only be bought off by certain stations, even if they were generated elsewhere on the rig. This encourages teamwork, giving players an opportunity to come up with solutions that play to every character’s strengths.
The duties and Tricks listed for each station below can be used as a starting point. Storyguides should feel free to add or alter them to fit their tables’ needs.
Head
Skills: Leadership, Persuasion, Pilot, Survival
Roles: Captain, Navigator, Envoy, Pilot
The rig’s headcab grants a bird’s eye view of the surrounding terrain. It’s from this position that crew members can assess the other combatants on the field, develop battle strategies, and guide the rig out of danger — or steer straight into it. The headcab is also the primary hub for communications with other rigs, military escorts, and allies in the vicinity. Some rigs have radio equipment installed, while others rely on older methods from flag signals to morse code to good old-fashioned shouting.
Possible duties at this action station include issuing orders to the crew, steering the rig, charting the rig’s path across difficult terrain, and negotiating with opposing rigs’ officers.
Enhancements
Captain: Gain +1 Enhancement on actions to inspire your crew to action.
Envoy: Gain +1 Enhancement on influence actions when communicating with someone who isn’t part of the rig’s usual crew, such as another rig’s captain, a dignitary riding along in the headcab, or a guard in a watchtower.
Navigator: Gain +1 Enhancement on actions to guide the rig through dangerous or unfamiliar terrain.
Pilot: Gain +1 Enhancement on movement actions during combat.
Tricks
A Clear Path (1 hit): With a glance at the ground ahead, you know the safest way forward. Reduce any increased difficulty on Pilot actions at the Head and Legs stations by 1.
Evasive Maneuvers (1-3 hits):Each hit spent on this Trick increases the rig’s Defense by 1.
Inspiring Speech (Hold 1-3 steam dice): Your voice rings out through the speaking tubes, encouraging your crew to grit their teeth, push a little harder, and win the day. Each steam die held on this Trick allows one character who hears the speech to increase the intensity of a bond of their choosing by 1, or to forge a new bond with another crew member. Players may also choose to deepen their characters’ rig bond (see below).
Loud and Clear (Vent 1 or 3 steam dice): Whether you’re whispering in a diplomat guest’s ear or shouting over artillery fire to the captain on a nearby rig, there’s no mistaking the intent of your words. For 1 steam die, inflict the Confused or Refreshed status effect on the target. For 3 steam dice, the target gains either the Guilt-Ridden or Inspired status effect.
Ambulators get the rig moving. Controlling the ambulation levers to lift, move, and place the rig’s massive boot takes both strength and coordination. To keep the rig’s stride smooth, both ambulators need to work together to establish its gait. If the rig staggers along, the rest of the crew’s jobs get tougher: the gunners’ aim may be off, the navigator can’t get a steady view of the terrain, and the cranesmen have to compensate to keep the rig in balance. As with the arms, some daring leggers push their control over their stations to allow the rigs to do more than they were technically built for. Sure, a rig can run when it’s full steam ahead, but the bulky machines aren’t made to jump. That doesn’t stop a determined ambulation team from figuring out how to do it.
Possible duties at this action station include managing the rig’s gait and speed, controlling defensive maneuvers, navigating the rig around difficult terrain, carrying out combat maneuvers, moving in formation with other rigs.
Enhancement
Engineer: Gain +1 Enhancement on actions controlling the rig’s ambulation.
Navigator: Gain +1 Enhancement on actions to traverse difficult terrain.
Tricks
Dancer’s Grace (Hold 1 steam die): The ambulators work in perfect unison, maneuvering around the battlefield as though they were dancers in a ballroom. Reduce area effect Complications involving difficult terrain by 1, such as Overgrowth, Quaking, or Sinking.
Earth-Shaking Step (1 hit): The ambulators lift one boot and bring it crashing to the ground, throwing everything in the surrounding area off balance. Impose the Quaking area effect on all opponents this round.
Mighty Leap (Vent 2 steam dice): The ambulators crouch the rig down low, then spring into the air with a great hiss of steam and straining pistons. Move 1 additional range band beyond the normal limit.
Pivot (Vent 1 steam die):A rig’s momentum makes it hard to turn on a dime, but the engineers know how to pull it off. An ally of your choice gains 1 hit to spend on another Combat Trick.
Stomp (2 hits): Another rig has you grappled, but that doesn’t mean you’re helpless. The rig’s stomp crushes its opponent’s boot, dealing an additional damage on a Close Combat attack.
Guns
Skills: Close Combat, Larceny, Ranged Combat Roles: Gunner
Gunners control the rig’s weapons, managing its munitions and choosing which targets to aim for on the field. It’s not always about taking out an enemy rig; sometimes the target is a building the opposing side uses for cover, or stopping a runaway train from careening through a town. Gunners learn to draw fire in addition to providing it. Their station’s location depends on the style of rig: most have a chest port, but larger rigs also have stations midrig, atop the headcab, on the epaulets, and the like.
Due to their easy access to the rig’s external structures, gunners also train to repel boarding parties trying to gain access to their rig. In cases where their own crew attempts to board an opponent’s rig, gunners are the first ones reaching for the enemy’s grab bars.
Possible duties at this action station include firing at enemy rigs, providing covering fire for allies, managing ordnance, coordinating ranged assaults, defending the rig from would-be boarders, and leading forays onto other rigs.
Enhancements
Gunner: Gain +1 Enhancement on ranged combat attacks using the rig’s weaponry.
Tricks
Draw Fire (Hold 1 steam die): Your shots ping off an opponent rig’s chassis, forcing that rig’s gunners to concentrate on you and allowing an ally’s actions to go unnoticed. The target suffers +2 difficulty on any actions that don’t focus on your rig until the end of your next turn.
Explosive Ordnance (Vent 1 steam die):The ammunition you selected has been altered in some way. Maybe it packs an extra punch thanks to a thin coating of condensed coal, or its shape can tear a hole clean through even the thickest chassis walls. Inflict 1 additional damage on the target.
Steady Hands (1 hit): Your character has learned to adjust her aim in time with the rig’s motions. Whether it’s just barely cooking or full steam ahead, her barrel never wavers. Reduce the difficulty of a ranged combat action by 1.
Unshakeable (2 hits): Whether climbing around outside your own rig or clinging to the side of an opponent’s, your character holds on tight and keeps her footing no matter what. By purchasing this Trick, the character can’t be the target of movement-based Complications this round.
Additional Steam Rig Systems
Trinity Continuum: Steam Wars assumes that a rig has everything it needs in terms of the rig’s weaponry, ammunition reserves, and fuel. However, Storyguides may adjust their availability or limit the rig’s reserves to heighten the tension and encourage roleplay. When the crew is running low on coal and ammunition with a hundred miles to the next friendly outpost, do they take the long way around an enemy encampment and risk running out of fuel to avoid the fight, or is it worth hoping they have the bullets to defeat the enemy and steal their coal reserves?
Following are optional systems Storyguides can use to track various rig resources.
Weaponry
Each rig is outfitted with standard weapons according to its class. See Chapter XX for information on specific weapon types and statistics. Optional weapons systems include:
Heat Regulation: The rig’s guns risk overheating if fired too many times in rapid succession, forcing the gunner to switch between turrets while the weapon cools. When the players end the rig crew’s turn with the maximum number of steam dice across all the crew’s pools, roll them as a single pool against difficulty 2 with a Minor Complication. If the Complication isn’t resolved, the gun can’t be used until it receives maintenance.
Prototype Arsenal: The rig has been outfitted with cutting edge weapons, which means they may fail on occasion. If a ranged combat roll ends in a pernicious failure, reveal one of the following Flaws in the weapon:
Backlash: The weapon is unstable. Whenever it is used as part of an action, it imposes a Minor Complication. If not bought off, the weapon causes 1 damage or creates some strange effect, at the Storyguide’s discretion.
Unstable: The weapon is unstable and unpredictable. Once per scene when used, the item imposes a Moderate Complication. If not bought off, it creates an area effect determined by the Storyguide centered on the user.
Weakened: The weapon is weaker than it should be. The Sunder Trick costs 1 fewer hit to purchase against it.
Alright, that's it for me today. Once more, out into the nasty weather to dig a path back to civilization.
I'll have one more sneak peek at some of the systems used to actually build your rig for the game next week, and then the full chapter available for backers to download on Tuesday!
