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So, in a couple months I'm going to be running a campaign that includes various steampunk and modern elements, and I was wondering if anyone has ever worked out rules for using a bicycle, like what kind of movement speed it gives, how much does that increase when going downhill, how much does that decrease when going uphill, or anything of that nature.
A bicycle will move at about thrice the speed of walking in general, so 90' it does depend on the terrain and the size of the wheel so it might be a bit lower if you like that better.
Rough terrain will generally have more effect on someone on a bike than somebody walking which can be both more tiring and have a relatively larger loss of speed. I'd probably set the speed at 80', 40' uphill and 120' downhill.
EDIT: movement speed is before other modifiers, it is only in relation to a pedestrian, so if movement is halved going uphill than so does for the bicycle, 20' for a bicycle and 15' for a pedestrian. This might seem slow but I tried to take into account that it takes far more effort to use a bike uphill.
I guess i see a table arising from this discussion, penny farthing stats wooden bike stats, basic one gear bike stats, and ten soeed stats. It would include costs in gp, weight, speed, weight capacity. Then bum exhaustion calculators, baskets and trailers add ons etc...
On a roughly even dry street, try timing yourself riding in the time period covered by the combat turn and basic turn, how many squares is that based on the agreed on size of a square.
I think it is wonderful that you are doing this. I,m going to be telling some bicycling activists i know because i just know they will get pumped about it. They might do all the measuring and experimenting on your behalf.
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My first thoughts were to double a person's speed on flat ground, keep it the same as the person's base on an incline, and triple on a decline, but in comparison with other things it seems like a little much. The average person on a bike here would outrun any horse in the world as most of them only have a move speed of 40. Of course, I'm also not entirely sure how a cyclist and a horse would compare in the real world, so maybe that's not the best comparison for me to make.
This might be relevant: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t/152082/man-on-bike-vs-man-on-horse-which-is- faster
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I think this is fairly easy to accomplish using the vehicle rules. It makes a bicycle difficult to use in combat, as you need your actions to be control it. Although you can continue onwards as a move action, and use a standard action for something else, you'll need precision.
Chariot, Light
These two-wheeled vehicles are often used for racing or as the platform for a single archer racing though the battlefield at high speeds.
Something like:
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BICYCLE
Medium land vehicle
Squares 1 (5 ft. by 5 ft.; 5 feet high); Cost ??? gp
DEFENSE
AC 10; Hardness 5 (or more based on material)
hp 30 (14)
Base Save +0
OFFENSE
Maximum Speed: twice the speed of the pulling creature;
Acceleration: the speed of the pulling creature(s)
CMB +1; CMD 11 Ramming Damage 1d6
DESCRIPTION
Propulsion Muscle (pulled; 1 Medium creatures)
Acrobatics, Profession (cycling)
Forward Facing: toward the front of the vehicle
Driving Device: Handlebars
Driving Space: the most forward square of the chariot
Decks 1
SPECIAL:
The rider counts as both driver and pulling creature. A medium creature can ride a medium bicycle
The bicycle does not ignore difficult terrain.
Going uphill counts as difficult terrain (half max speed, half acceleration)
My first thoughts were to double a person's speed on flat ground, keep it the same as the person's base on an incline, and triple on a decline, but in comparison with other things it seems like a little much. The average person on a bike here would outrun any horse in the world as most of them only have a move speed of 40. Of course, I'm also not entirely sure how a cyclist and a horse would compare in the real world, so maybe that's not the best comparison for me to make.
A typical riding horse in the game has a movement of 50' with the run feat, in comparison that would be 250' at top speed.
If you want to be at the same speed roughly you will have to peg it at 60' or 70'.
Might be handy to check out the Skate psionic power on d20pfsrd.
I'll admit that it is not in the best spirit of advice, but I felt compelled to share this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw
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When the boards are discussing weapons or martial arts, there is always a poster or two who is an expert swordsman, or jiujutsu master or something. Well, now it is my turn to play the expert.
I've spent a lot of time in the saddle of a Penny Farthing, and spent the last 20+ years on a variety of other bikes as well. I've also read up on a lot of the history of the bicycle, which is really the history of the industrial revolution in many ways.
Penny Farthings (Highwheel, boneshaker, ordinary, "wheel") are amazing contraptions, but like tall ships, only lasted for a very brief moment in time - the 1880's. At the time, they were hand made and cost something like 6 months wages of the average working man, and were really difficult to learn as a first bicycle. They are direct drive (like a unicycle or bigwheel), so, no coasting or gearing. The bigger the wheel, the faster you can go. They lack decent brakes and the design makes it almost impossible to ride out of the saddle. They are fairly heavy (and it is almost all rotational weight), and have solid rubber tires. The main drawback of the Penny Farthing is that the riders weight is perched up high, and if the front wheel hits an object the rider gets pivoted face first onto the road with his legs caught under the handlebars. Some riders will coast down hills with their legs up over the handlebars, but I never do this as you have much less control, and getting your feet back on the pedals is like sticking your feet into an eggbeater.
Despite all the disadvantages, there was a highwheel boom in the 1880's, they were the hottest thing for the upper classes. There were long waits to get or rent a wheel, and races were well attended. Several people crossed America by highwheel, often riding for miles on train tracks!
On my penny farthing, I can do about 25mph tops, although slowing down is often more work then speeding up. I have ridden it well over 1,000 miles and can ride about as well as most other cyclists in NYC traffic. I've never really crashed it, although I have had to hop off the side of it a few times.
During the 1890's the "safety" bike replaced the Penny Farthing. They were cheaper, safer, and could make use of brakes, freewheels (for coasting), and the gearing could be adjusted beyond the length of the riders legs. Not long after inflatable tires were added. Bicycles BOOMED! Hundreds of miles of roads were paved for cyclists, and huge boardwalks were built out to resort towns that sprung up to serve the newly mobile populace. Huge parades were held featuring thousands upon thousands of riders, local riding clubs with their uniforms, trick riding, and women who had a reason to ditch the binding cloths of the Victorian era. Bicycles are often credited with playing a key role in women’s liberation!
Around this time the 1 minute mile (60mph!) was broken, and inventions were made so rapidly that there were two patent offices, one for bicycles, and one for everything else. Strong, lightweight bicycles of amazing quality were made by the thousands. The automobile and airplane industries got their start in bike shops and factories across the country. Stars such as Major Taylor gained huge international success despite serious racial prejudice. There was also a group of black soldiers who took fully laden bicycles across the country as a military exercise.
Bicycles haven't really changed much since the turn of the century. In fact they generally took a huge slide backward after WWII, when they became heavy toys, rather then performance vehicles.
Bicycles were used extensively in WWI and played a key role in some battles (see Rommel’s book Attacks) for an example. They can also be seen frequently in WWII (several designs were made for Paratroopers) In Viet Nam, bicycles were used to great effect by the Viet Cong for transporting material on hidden trails.
While the bicycle has no real place in melee combat, it is great for transporting troops and supplies where larger vehicles are impractical.
In Pathfinder terms, I would say that the ride skill is totally appropriate, and like the idea of mixing some parts of the fly skill for elevation change. Difficult terrain is probably unsuitable for bicycles, except in some odd cases.
Sorry for the long post, but bicycle history is great stuff!