Vehicle Handbook - Snow Mobile

[Gimgamgoo]

I have an adventure planned where the four Travellers hire/buy these vehicles to cross a snowy planet. (The pic isn't mine, I found it on the web)



Trying to design it using the vehicle handbook has proven to be a pain for my first attempt - and as a total noob to Traveller.

Would you just use the Light Ground Vehicle stats, counting the wheels as skids? I didn't want to count it as a Rough Terrain/ATV as it can only realistically go on the flattish snow/ice surfaces that it is designed for. I wanted the vehicle to have room for 2 people sat one behind the other, with 1 space in the rear. Although it's propellor driven, it's just an engine driving it.

Any thoughts?


Brief Aside: The adventure is a follow up to Marooned on Marduk. It sees the travellers crossing Oghma to rescue people taken as slaves from the first Reach Adventure. They are going to come across a ravine which needs crossing, but as they do, they see a creature scaling the walls of the ravine into a cave that seems to have metallic edges. If they follow this up (which I know they will), the cave is the remains of a crashed Sindalian spacecraft which the creature is using as a cave. Beyond unopened (and unpowered) doors in the craft is an unexploded (but unstable) biological bomb from the days of the end of the Sindalian empire. What the travellers decide to do...

 

[legozhodani]

Not had a chance to chew the book yet, but nice Sov snow speeder.

 

[EldritchFire]

I'd just call it a light ground vehicle and note that it's designed to operate on snow and not roads. That way, any off-ice/snow driving would suffer the same penalties as a car going off road.

With that in mind, I present to you the TL7 snowmobile!

TL: 7
Skill: Drive (wheel)
Agility: (+0)
Speed (Cruise): Medium (Slow)
Range (Cruise): 200 (300)
Crew: 1
Passengers: 1
Cargo: 250kg
Hull: 6
Shipping: 1.5 tons
Cost: Cr2,700

Armour: 2F/2S/2R
Equipment: Fuel ineffienct x2; basic communications (50km range); Basic navigation (DM+1)
Traits: N/A

Even though I'm not sure the navigation is needed with only a 200 (300) range. That would reduce the cost by KCr2.

 

[Gimgamgoo]

Thanks for that. Very similar to how I was going to build it.



The description needs to be improved. But it'll do for the adventure I'll run.

 

[EldritchFire]

Thanks for that. Very similar to how I was going to build it.



The description needs to be improved. But it'll do for the adventure I'll run.

Ha! Great minds, right?

 

[steve98052]

Neither an ordinary snowmobile nor this one is an ordinary wheeled vehicle, so I'm not sure Drive (Wheel) is the right specialization. An ordinary snowmobile is driven by a track, but it's not exactly an ordinary tracked vehicle either; it's steered by turning the front skids, not by differential speed on left and right tracks. This one is steered like an ordinary snowmobile, but driven by fan, like an air-boat. But it's not like an air-boat either, because an air-boat is pushed by the fan and steered by an air rudder, like a taxiing float-plane.

I'm not sure there's a need to specialize Drive to the point that an ordinary track powered skid steered snowmobile and this fan powered skid steered snowmobile each deserve a specialization (or that Seafaring requires a specialization for an air-boat), but they are distinct means of propulsion.

 

[EldritchFire]

Neither an ordinary snowmobile nor this one is an ordinary wheeled vehicle, so I'm not sure Drive (Wheel) is the right specialization. An ordinary snowmobile is driven by a track, but it's not exactly an ordinary tracked vehicle either; it's steered by turning the front skids, not by differential speed on left and right tracks. This one is steered like an ordinary snowmobile, but driven by fan, like an air-boat. But it's not like an air-boat either, because an air-boat is pushed by the fan and steered by an air rudder, like a taxiing float-plane.

I'm not sure there's a need to specialize Drive to the point that an ordinary track powered skid steered snowmobile and this fan powered skid steered snowmobile each deserve a specialization (or that Seafaring requires a specialization for an air-boat), but they are distinct means of propulsion.

While it doesn't have wheels, it's closest in function to a wheeled vehicle. The craft is propelled forward and the front struts are used to steer—that's closer to wheeled vehicles than walkers, tracked, or antigrav. It's close enough for a game.

 

[legozhodani]

Just give a - modifier on wheeled vehicle skill for those unfamiliar with them, after a while they will adapt.

 

[wbnc]

I would add a bit about it being unable to function on any surface other than snow and ice without modification...great thing about the image you picked is that it could be fitted with wheels, or even floats instead of skis

 

[EldritchFire]

Neither an ordinary snowmobile nor this one is an ordinary wheeled vehicle, so I'm not sure Drive (Wheel) is the right specialization. An ordinary snowmobile is driven by a track, but it's not exactly an ordinary tracked vehicle either; it's steered by turning the front skids, not by differential speed on left and right tracks. This one is steered like an ordinary snowmobile, but driven by fan, like an air-boat. But it's not like an air-boat either, because an air-boat is pushed by the fan and steered by an air rudder, like a taxiing float-plane.

I'm not sure there's a need to specialize Drive to the point that an ordinary track powered skid steered snowmobile and this fan powered skid steered snowmobile each deserve a specialization (or that Seafaring requires a specialization for an air-boat), but they are distinct means of propulsion.

I was thinking on this last night, and I had a light-bulb moment. As long as you have level 0 or higher in a skill, you get all specialties at that level, right?

Therefore, if you give the snowmobiles their own specialty, most people (with Drive [anything]) will be able to operate them without the DM-3 unskilled penalty. That's good enough for most uses of the vehicle, and someone who wants to excel with them can take the Drive (Snowmobile) skill.

That is, of course, if you think that there should be a skill specifically for them. If not, ignore me

 

[Condottiere]

I don't drive those things, but I'd imagine they handle like an airboat.