Vehicles in Society play?


Starfinder Society

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5/55/55/5 Venture-Agent, North Carolina—Gastonia

It just occurred to me last night that I've never seen a player use vehicles in Society play.

Yeah, they're tough to repair mid-scenario without an Engineer with the right abilities, but running over someone with a L7 Tactical Walker for an average of 38 points (half with save) isn't bad. Especially given you have improved cover as well. Load up, run over, have the other 2 inside snipe from cover.

Am I missing something?

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

You are not missing anything, most players just don't typically utilize them.

Typically the issue ends up being that Players feel they don't get enough benefit or "bang for the buck" because any indoor scenario effectively removes their vehicle from the board.

I myself *love* the vehicle aspect of Starfinder and my "primary" character is 100% focused on this aspect of play.

Heck, I even snagged the boon to get a discount on the Anvil of Torag so I could boost my skill and get Vehicles early. My L9 operative will be building an assault chopper at 10, and I *cannot* wait :D

edit: If you're at GenCon in 2020 maybe you'll get to see me and my "crew". A few lodge locals built a Merc unit with me, we're all complimentary to each other with my character being the Company Leader and Pilot extraordinaire. Turns out that -2/-4 etc you get from shooting from a moving vehicle isn't so bad if you're locked and loaded with splash weaponry and aiming for squares instead of specific people :D

Dataphiles 5/5

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As a Pact Steward, I found it was only appropriate to buy a Police Cruiser. Now, having a flying cop car hasn't yet been important to one of my scenarios, and the HP on the thing are somewhat lacking for a 9th level character, but damn if it isn't fun! My favorite thing is messing with the passengers in the back seat who can't open the door from the inside.

Acquisitives 1/5 **

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Gronnigan Conroy wrote:
As a Pact Steward, I found it was only appropriate to buy a Police Cruiser. Now, having a flying cop car hasn't yet been important to one of my scenarios, and the HP on the thing are somewhat lacking for a 9th level character, but damn if it isn't fun! My favorite thing is messing with the passengers in the back seat who can't open the door from the inside.

That was one of my first pickups too! I uh...got it...um...on auction? Listen, it's not rocking any active credentials at this point so it's not like I'm trying to pass myself off as a credentialed agent or whatever.

That said, I have to admit I really enjoy it. Sure, I never quite got all the jinsuls shaped dents out of my fenders but, that's just additional character you know?

5/55/55/5 Venture-Agent, North Carolina—Gastonia

NightTrace wrote:

You are not missing anything, most players just don't typically utilize them.

Typically the issue ends up being that Players feel they don't get enough benefit or "bang for the buck" because any indoor scenario effectively removes their vehicle from the board.

It's a shame the Shrink spell from COM wasn't more amibitious. The idea of dismissing a Shink spell on a walker and climbing in it in turn 1, then starting it and stomping people in turn 2 is kind of fun.

The Exchange 4/5 5/5

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One day in the far future (16th level) I will have a Mk 4 Null-Space Chamber. And it will have a vehicle inside it.

In the meantime, I have a blister pack of motospheres on my near-term purchase list.

5/5 5/55/55/5

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Kevin Willis wrote:

One day in the far future (16th level) I will have a Mk 4 Null-Space Chamber. And it will have a vehicle inside it.

In the meantime, I have a blister pack of motospheres on my near-term purchase list.

4 bantrid followers and a palanquin?


The issue I have with vehicles in Society play is I usually have no credits to buy said vehicle. When I look at weapons, armor, augments, upgrades, etc., I usually run out of credits when it comes time to look at a vehicle.

I think the amount of credits we get are a little too tight and limit some gameplay options like this.

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

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It's all about choices. What do you spend on? Do you let the weapons wait to get that nifty vehicle? For some characters, the answer is yes.

Hmm

2/5 *

My dwarf has a Motorcycle and a submarine.

5/5

What I really want in life is a maze core capable of changing my power armor into a car or a jet.

* Venture-Agent

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⚠️Jeff Barnes⚠️ wrote:

It just occurred to me last night that I've never seen a player use vehicles in Society play.

Yeah, they're tough to repair mid-scenario without an Engineer with the right abilities, but running over someone with a L7 Tactical Walker for an average of 38 points (half with save) isn't bad. Especially given you have improved cover as well. Load up, run over, have the other 2 inside snipe from cover.

Am I missing something?

I have one character who has a police cruiser, but other than that there are few characters I see who bring vehicles. A few things I would suggest:

Pay attention to the size of the vehicle - obviously it matters for getting around in tight locations, etc., but it's also true that someone who is a real stickler might ask you how you are going to transport your vehicle out into the vast. TECHNICALLY IIRC the Pegasus and Drake hulls only have a single cargo bay, which by default can only carry objects up to size Large. It takes 4 linked bays to be able to carry an object of size Huge, and 8 to carry a Gargantuan object. The rules do say that GMs can override those limitations if they wish (and I think they should, personally, rather than haggle about stuff like "well, what if we disassemble the grav-copter and then re-assemble it on site?"), but expect you might get some table variation there.

Know the vehicle rules very well, and maybe warn the GM you are bringing a vehicle to the table. The rules aren't super difficult, but they are a subset of rules most GMs and players are less familiar with, and if you ambush a GM with something that feels like it might break a scenario (like a flying transport that will just bypass an entire set of encounters along a jungle trail, for example) that's not really fun for anyone.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
MrTsFloatinghead wrote:
like a flying transport that will just bypass an entire set of encounters along a jungle trail, for example) that's not really fun for anyone.

<.<

>.>

This is 110% true.

Wayfinders 1/5 5/5

All I want is a mobile Medbay. For when those silly frontliners stay in the fight too long.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Tbh I'm surprised some of the vehicles we have don't have expansion bays ala ships :P

Second Seekers (Jadnura) 5/5 5/55/55/5

NightTrace wrote:
Tbh I'm surprised some of the vehicles we have don't have expansion bays ala ships :P

"Duct tape and a roof what more do you need? "

Acquisitives 1/5 **

Jessica Norveg wrote:


"Duct tape and a roof what more do you need? "

"I mean, most of the time you need some good mag seals if nothing else. That all said, medbay is thinking like a spacer. You roll out something like an armored transport, you're looking at what, twenty two and a half thosuand creds right? That sucker has an expansion bay though, you can slap a medbay* in there...though really anything that size you can pay another seven thou and just get an actual lab** installed..."

OOC/Rules Notes
*: Gonna have to verify what "Expansion Bay" means for Vehicles vs Starships
**: Medical Lab is a 7k technological item that must be put in a Huge vehicle :P

Silver Crusade 5/5 5/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Germany—Bavaria

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1. The transport via starship is an issue and one that I would not ask the GM to ignore.

2. As others have mentioned your GM might not be super familiar with the relevant rules, so I would suggest warning that person ahead of time, and/or ideally bringing some amazing handouts. GMs already have to prepare anything from the scenario, and being forced to incorporate another set of rules players bring to the table, might convince them that offering public tables was a mistake.

3. Scenarios are usually not written with the assumption that you will bring a vehicle, just like many encounters do not assume that the group will start the fight from sniper rifle range.
It can be fun with the right group to destroy a scenario, but the other players and the GM might not appreciate it, so be absolutely sure that everyone is on the same level so you all have a great time.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Sebastian Hirsch wrote:


3. Scenarios are usually not written with the assumption that you will bring a vehicle, just like many encounters do not assume that the group will start the fight from sniper rifle range.
It can be fun with the right group to destroy a scenario, but the other players and the GM might not appreciate it, so be absolutely sure that everyone is on the same level so you all have a great time.

I really do want to stress this one. I have only brought my vehicles into scenarios where the group *and the GM* were okay with it. Having a vehicle only really "broke" a portion of a single scenario I've been in, but when that stuff happens it happens *hard*.

Example:
Scenario made a big point of having a difficult climb up an icy/snowy cliff face. Having a flying car makes that a 30 second solution vs an actual challenge.

4/5 5/55/55/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis

NightTrace wrote:
Tbh I'm surprised some of the vehicles we have don't have expansion bays ala ships :P

Hovor Truck from Armory has an expansion bay. You get to choose the type when you buy it.

With a medical lab, it would make a reasonable ambulance. Go for the passenger seating and you have a nice transport.

There are a few scenarios where it can help, but more of them really should figure something like this in.

2/5 5/55/5 Venture-Agent, Colorado—Fort Collins

Ever since my Ysoki mech driver used his scenario-provided Esowath Explorer to, almost literally, steam roll a bunch of eco-terrorists on Castroval, he has purchased several vehicles of his own. All of which have Artificial personalities and the appropriate hardware to allow them autonomous control.

All of the society ships have cargo bays which can accommodate vehicles of up to large size with no problem. By the rules 2 cargo bays can hold huge vehicles, but that would likely be a GM decision.

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

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I use vehicles.

The problem is the scenarios assume everyone os just walking around on foot for miles, often in horrible terrain.

My Vesk Mech has a Hover Truck with a passenger pod cargo bay, can move the whole party.

***

Things where SFS writers get it wrong:

They assume that technologically advanced explorers like walking everywhere as though it is Pathfinder.

None of the vehicles (or players) have ever heard of Navman.

Apparently you can fly over a site and scan it, then invariably have to fly to some distant LZ to set down, but couldn't record the path and set waypoints in a personal nav device.

You still take environmental damage from the cold in a vehicle, because apparently they have anti-grav but no one invented a heater.

Actually, going to stop there...

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

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NightTrace wrote:

I really do want to stress this one. I have only brought my vehicles into scenarios where the group *and the GM* were okay with it. Having a vehicle only really "broke" a portion of a single scenario I've been in, but when that stuff happens it happens *hard*.

That's poor design from them and good planning from you.

You wouldn't leave your guns at home, so don't leave your truck.

Mobility is king.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Shifty wrote:

You wouldn't leave your guns at home, so don't leave your truck.

Mobility is king.

I don't disagree, there's a reason I'm going to be bringing in the Assault Entercopter. That said, it's something to note and obviously I don't sign on for tables so that I can have a good time at anyones expense.

So far it's all been good though. Most of the local lodge enjoys seeing how "scenario meets the players" situations pan out :P

5/5

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I've found that the simple Called fusion beats any scenario's weapon check plot point. If a scenario can't handle my flying cop car, it probably needed another editing pass.

The Exchange 4/5 5/5

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NightTrace wrote:
So far it's all been good though. Most of the local lodge enjoys seeing how "scenario meets the players" situations pan out :P

This is one of the things I enjoy the most about Starfinder. The setting and tech are so outlandish that the default response from most GMs (including myself) to something unusual a player tries is “sure, why not?!”

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta

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Things like

Player: "I use my Sonic Weapon. In Vacuum!"

GM: "How does that work?"

Player: "Magic!"

GM: "Ok"

5/5 5/55/55/5

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THe manufacturers expected you to be in space on occasion and the device emits a spray of water and THEN a shockwave

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Actually...why is it that the Society can afford to provide each outbound mission with a starship but can't give us a hovertruck and expects us to hoof it everywhere we go?!?

Wayfinders 1/5 5/5

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Naiaj can only track so many logistical chains at once?

5/5 5/55/55/5

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NightTrace wrote:
Actually...why is it that the Society can afford to provide each outbound mission with a starship but can't give us a hovertruck and expects us to hoof it everywhere we go?!?

Spaceships get return with a minimal amount of hull damage because they're on rails. No one will insure starfinders taking a hover truck Desna knows where

Dataphiles 4/5 5/55/5 *

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It is likely not as easy to write for both peeps that have vehicles and those that don't. Unless you never want a "while your traveling" encounter again.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
"Dr." Cupi wrote:
It is likely not as easy to write for both peeps that have vehicles and those that don't. Unless you never want a "while your traveling" encounter again.

I mean, I wouldn't mind them if they didn't assume we were walking everywhere?

You can make assumptions about comms, or even just loud noises that don't require you to be on foot. Makes things more dynamic and means having a flying cop car won't ruin a scenario in case the actual triggering event is "you find this thing while walking through a hostile jungle even though you were tasked with going to a place that is in a clearing and you don't actually have to make this hike" :P

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

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I do not want a ‘while you are travelling’ again.

I do not want to be plodding around taking loads of resource depleting environmental damage and being chased by avoidable animal life that could have been bypassed by us having uncle Fred’s old pickup truck that cost 500 credits and a case of beer.

Imagine.

We are an ARMED fighting force being dropped into hostile planets to achieve often violent ends. Then they get dropped into that conflict zone on foot with zero logistical support.

It’s just not sensible.

An fed thousand on a light hover vehicle for mobility should be the very least you get.

Environmental damage and survival checks arbitrarily handed out are not challenges, nor are they content.

2/5 *

Starfinder society isn't really an Armed FIghting for in the way you're talking about, they aren't really a military even if some of them are militant.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden

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On the one hand, this being sci-something, I'd like vehicles to be more of a standard writing assumption.

On the other hand, if a player suddenly wants to put a vehicle onto the battle map without me knowing I should have read up on those rules... eh. I wouldn't be happy.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 **

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Lau Bannenberg wrote:
On the other hand, if a player suddenly wants to put a vehicle onto the battle map without me knowing I should have read up on those rules... eh. I wouldn't be happy.

Communication is key! :D

Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East

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My -701's main weapon since level 7 was ramming targets with her car. But keeping up the dodge DC is a loosing battle. And ram is all-or-nothing so I'll probably go back to a rifle soon. Could switch to runover instead, but the damage isn't as spectacular there.

The first time I used it was great. We had to cross a frozen wasteland on foot and I'm just like "nope. everyone in the car and crank up the heater. Except you bob - we're out of room. Your armor's got a thermal mod, right?" Everyone at the table was good with it. It's called being prepared.

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

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Gamerskum wrote:
Starfinder society isn't really an Armed FIghting for in the way you're talking about, they aren't really a military even if some of them are militant.

They just launched a significant deep space battle against the Jinsul expeditionary battlefleet then dropped onto a planet to secure/destroy the GBAD, sieze key infrastructure, and destroy the Jinsul centre of gravity by destroying the summoning of a god.

They frequently drop heavily armed teams to conduct ISR and destroy tasks into hostile planets.

I think that answers the mail on Armed Fighting which makes up the central theme of almost every single scenario. Starfinders are just PMC’s with brighter uniforms and more melodrama..

Then again we also get caught up in Strawberry Machine Cake.

Paizo Employee 5/5 Starfinder Society Developer

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Just a heads up: this thread has been pretty useful.

Just chatted with Linda about an upcoming scenario she's developing and how we can incorporate this type of feedback into a specific section.

Thanks all!

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

thanks Thursty!

Hopefully we can also get some of the glaring holes in vehicular equipment sorted too - like a heater and a Navman.

:)

Dataphiles 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

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also, the ability to haul them places.

Sovereign Court 5/5 5/5 ****

@Shifty: The real problem I see, is that none of the large-sized transport vehicles have enough space for more than four passengers, and the Starships that we are sent on can't accommodate Huge or larger vehicles (which is what would be necessary to haul a six-person party).

Consequently, unless you have a four player table, the best that you can probably hope for, is that everyone buys Goblin Junkcycles.

If you are going to a heavily-populated planet, of course, if you *really* want a vehicle, you can probably just *buy* an appropriate vehicle there, but given that you couldn't take it back off-planet with you, that would get expensive really fast.

*chews thoughtfully*

Actually, once you hit level 10, you could probably get away with an Armored Null-Space Transport... but the 'excess' passengers (i.e. any over 4) would have to ride with their environmental protections on (or be Androids / SROs) in the extra-dimensional space.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta

Where is my space manyvan, so my space dad can haul the team around "in style"?

Manifold Host 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

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"You are not packing me in the trunk aga---"

SLAM!

Trusty begins pounding the trunk from the inside. "Hey, at least let me finish my sentence!"

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

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@Luke

You raise a good point - the thrust of which is the poor design of ships and cargo bays.

***

Cargo Hold
Unconverted expansion bays count as cargo holds. A cargo hold can contain approximately 25 tons of goods, with no item being larger than Large. A starships with multiple cargo holds can hold larger objects; usually 4 contiguous cargo holds are required to hold Huge objects and 8 for Gargantuan objects. These size restrictions can be overridden at the GM’s discretion.
An interesting point I'll come back to

So 25 tons of goods gives us about 25 cubic meters. The size of a Toyota Coaster bus is only 30 cubic meters.

Yet we are led to believe that it takes FOUR bays (100 cubic meters) to fit it in - which means to move your bus you need at least a Transport - a light freighter can't fit it as it only has 75 cubic meters of space (you know - 2.5 times the amount required).

Now what is interesting is that a Light Freighter CAN get a Shuttle bay for two expansion slots - the size of two cargo bays, and THAT fits a Shuttle. Why is that funny? Because a SHUTTLE itself has THREE expansion bays - the SAME number as the light freighter.

So you get two expansion bays, turn those into a Shuttle bay - put a shuttle in it and you can then stuff THREE bays worth of cargo on the shuttle. Its shuttle-ception. Your freighter with three slots can now carry a shuttle with three slots of its own AND has a leftover slot of its own.

Let's just go with the one bay fits a truck shall we?

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

I'd just add that:

A 'Huge' creature is 16'.

So let's run with a size huge humanoid - a giant.

If said Giant was on the upper end of the healthy BMI then said giant would be 592kg.

Now a cubic meter of water is 1,000kg, and he's only a fraction of that.

So when we break this out into volume (we know the density of that amount of flesh and bone) we end up with said giant can't fit into a space that can fit 25,000kg (25 cubic meters - which is 25 times the volume needed if we are being overly generous about the size) but instead needs a space that can fit 100,000kg - over 100 times the size of the giant.

So once we're done with vehicles perhaps we want to just start ignoring that part it says we can ignore before anyone else starts finding bigger flaws.

***

Actually while we are at it...

A 'truck' has one expansion bay, but what is interesting is that a VEHICLE expansion bay is only half the capacity of a starship expansion bay - so that gives us about 12.5 cubic meters and 12.5 ton of cargo weight max.

Yet a quick peruse of a decent size Pantech truck gives us 49 cubic meters of space.
-EXAMPLES-, which is actually two full starship slots (by volume).

It also means that your biggest 'bulk freighter' (10 slots)can only haul about the same amount of stuff as five moving vans, is a HUGE starship, and requires a crew of 20. The colossal Dreadnough, the biggest ship in the game running up to 500 crew can only fit 10 trucks worth (140 pallets).

Now lets assume that the entire cargo space is given over to pallets of foodstuffs, that 500 people are running to 3 pallets a day of foodstuffs and assuming 20l a day of water (really short showers!) that's another 10,000l (10 cubic meters a day - about half a cargo slot) of water on top which means those guys are starving in space in pretty short order - as they are consuming about a cargo space per day, so in 20 days they are eating 'thoughts and prayers'. Now, roll your 5d6 for travel time and see if your crew simply dies in transit.

5/5 5/55/55/5

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BMI breaks above 6 feet, i wouldn't try applying it to a giant. It's less a way of calculating a mass of human shaped flash and more a random formula that just happens to work for a 5 foot 9 human male.

4/5 5/55/55/55/5

BigNorseWolf wrote:
BMI breaks above 6 feet, i wouldn't try applying it to a giant. It's less a way of calculating a mass of human shaped flash and more a random formula that just happens to work for a 5 foot 9 human male.

It's an interesting point of reference, however just for arguments sake I looked up Hill Giant - "Adults are around 10 feet tall and weigh about 1,100 pounds". I was about bang on with the published stats. I even went to the top end of the range and assumed he'd been grazing well on Starfinders before capture.

So we're back to him being apparently unable to fit in a hold that can easily contain him.

Wayfinders

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Has anybody let Trusty Trashbot out of the trunk yet?

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