Edrilia Piloting Rules v1.0

Piloting/Fly Skill Checks:

• The standard Fly skill check applies to personal methods of flight rather than the piloting of an aircraft. It can be used in place of the Pilot check because of the similar fundamentals, however doing so will result in the DC difficulty being increased by +2.

• Failure of a Piloting/Fly Skill Check unless otherwise stated results in a stall.

Movement:

Grid:

• All movement while in flight will use a Hex based grid.

• In Flight all aircraft have facing. (Forward Facing)

• Each hex is equal to one unit of movement speed.

• Grids may vary in size but the standard distance to cross one HEX is 150 ft.

  • Example: An Aircraft with a speed of 6 travels at about 100 mph.

Action:

• Piloting an Airplane is a move action that requires at least one free hand.

• An unpiloted aircraft has a 20% chance of entering a stall every round, otherwise it remains on the last relative course and speed.

Relative Speed:

• Relative speed is calculated by adding the total number of spaces moved in the current and last round and dividing by 2(Round down).

  • Note: Space are counted not move units, it requires more units to ascend per space.

• Example: An Aircraft moved at a speed of 4 last round and moved at a speed of 6 this round. This aircraft has a relative Speed of 5, until it moves again.

Minimum Speed:

• All Aircraft must move at least one space per round and maintain a relative speed of 3 or risk stalling.

• Aircraft with a relative speed under 3 must make a Piloting skill check to avoid stalling.

  • Relative Speed of 2 Piloting Check DC/15

    • Relative Speed of 1 Piloting Check DC/20

Turning:

• Aircraft can easily move forward as indicated by the green arrows below.

• Hard Turns represented in Orange below are when the aircraft is heavily banked in order to turn. Performing this sort of turn requires a Piloting skill check DC/15.

• Aircraft cannot make 180° turns in place, represented in Red.

Altitudes

Ascending/Descending:

• The act of Ascending and Descending still requires forward movement.

• All passengers aboard an aircraft moving more than 2 Altitude Increments up or down during a single round must make a fortitude save equal to 10 + 2 for every additional increment beyond the second.

• Failure results in a Blackout/Redout.

Descending

• For every increment descended one unit of movement speed is used.

Ascending

• For every increment ascended two units of movement speed are used.

• If an aircraft ascends 2 or more increments in a single round the aircraft's engine heat is increased by 1 and 1 additional for every increment after the second.

• Partial ascents cannot be made. If an aircraft does not have enough movement to complete an ascent increment it remains on the current increment.

Maneuvers:

• Performing a Maneuver is a standard action that requires at least one free hand.

Boost:

• Push the Engines to their limit increasing the top speed of the craft to 1.5x the normal speed (Round Down). For every round boost is maintained Add 1 Heat to the craft engine.

Evasive Maneuvers:

• The Pilot performs an evasive roll during their flight to reduce the chance of being hit. The Pilot Check is DC/15. On success this adds a +2 evasion bonus to the craft's AC, and a -2 to any Attack rolls made by occupants of the evading craft. For every 5 the DC is beat by the bonus and penalty are increased by 1.

• Success or Failure this action adds 1 Heat to the Engine.

• Only on a critical failure of the Piloting check does this maneuver result in a stall.

Wingover:

• The Pilot performs a sharp vertical incline in which the craft ascends one altitude increment, flat turns and descends back to the starting altitude having turned 180 degrees. This intentional stall does not end your movement, and the Recovery pilot check is reduced to DC/10.

• Failing this check will result in a normal stall.

  • Success or Failure this action adds 1 Heat to the Engine.

Emergency Cooldown:

• Turning off the engine of an aircraft that is overheating will immediately reduce the engine heat by 2.

• When the engine is turned off the speed of the aircraft is reduced to 2 and a piloting check must be made to prevent a stall.

Advanced Maneuvers:

• To use Advanced Maneuvers you must have the Aerial Adept Feat.

Force Down:

Strafing Run:

High-side Guns Pass:

Immelmann:

Split-S:

Defensive Spiral:

Take Off & Landing:

• If you have one or more ranks in Fly or Piloting, Take Off and Landing do not require a piloting check. Otherwise the Piloting Check to perform these actions is DC/10. Failure results in a crash.

  • • Weather conditions can sometimes require a Piloting Check to Take Off or Land.

• If the aircraft has the broken condition a Piloting Check of DC/15 must be made. Failure results in a crash.

Landing:

• Landing requires the aircraft to be moving at a relative speed of 3 or slower, and the number of adjacent hexes in a row listed below.

  • • An aircraft attempting to land with a relative speed greater than 3 must make a Piloting check of 15 + 2 for every unit of relative speed over three. Failure results in a crash. For every two units of relative speed over three the landing zone requires one additional space.

  • Example A: A medium Aircraft moving at a relative speed of 3 requires to spaces to land.

  • Example B: A medium Aircraft moving at a relative speed of 5 requires 3 spaces to land and a piloting check DC/19 to land safely.

Take Off

• Take Off requires the number of adjacent hexes in a row listed below based on the size category of the aircraft.

  • Example C: A medium aircraft requires 2 spaces to take off.

  • Example D: A Heavy aircraft requires 3 spaces to take off.

Take Off & Landing Space:

• • • Light: 2

    • Medium: 2

    • Heavy: 3

    • Massive: 4

Engine Heat:

• Engines vary in size and quality, each has a different maximum heat rating.

Overheating

• Engines operating at or above Max Heat are considered Overheating.

• When an aircraft begins its turn Overheating it takes 1d4 damage.

  • Aircraft operating with the broken condition take 1d6 damage instead of 1d4 when overheating.

• When an engine that is already Overheating(Max Heat) gains another heat there is a 50% chance of an Engine Fire starting.

Engine Fire:

• Engine fires deal 1d6 damage to the aircraft every round, and add 1 heat to the engine.

  • This damage is in addition to any Overheating damage taken.

• Engine fires can be extinguished by reducing the aircraft speed below max, and spending a full round action to put out the flames.

  • If the Pilot is performing this action the craft is considered unpiloted and has a 20% chance to stall.

Increase Heat:

• Starting an aircraft raises the heat of an engine from 0 to 1.

• The engine of a running aircraft cannot go below 1.

• Many Maneuvers increase engine heat, see text of maneuver.

Decrease Heat:

• Flying below max speed while performing no maneuvers for a full round will reduce the Engine Heat by 1, to a minimum of 1.

  • Example: An Aircraft with a speed of 6 performs no special maneuvers and moves only 5 spaces this turn the Engine Heat is reduced by 1.

Defense:

Armor Rating:

• The Armor Rating of an aircraft is based on a number of factors that when combined represent the defense capability of the aircraft. (This functions as the Aircrafts AC)

• The Armor Rating of an Aircraft is the total sum of these variables.

  • • Base 10

    • Armor Value

    • Relative Speed - 3

    • Evasive Maneuver Score

  • Example: An aircraft with an armor rating of +2 moving at a relative speed of 6, with an evasive maneuver score of 3 is equal to 18.

Contact Rating:

• The Contact Rating of an Aircraft is the representation of how hard it is to simply touch the aircraft without necessarily penetrating its armor. (This functions as the Aircrafts Touch AC)

• The Contact Rating of an Aircraft is the total sum of these variables.

  • • Base 10

    • Relative Speed - 3

    • Evasive Maneuver Score

  • Example: An aircraft with a relative speed of 6, with an evasive maneuver score of 3 is equal to 16.

Conditions:

Blackout/Redout

• Characters who experience a Blackout/Redout fall unconscious for 1d4 rounds.

Unconscious Pilot:

• An aircraft with an unconscious pilot that is already in plummet remains in plummet.

• An aircraft with an unconscious pilot has a 20% chance of entering a stall every round the pilot remains unconscious, otherwise it remains on the last relative course and speed.

• Unconscious Pilots automatically fail recovery checks.

Weight:

• Aircraft carrying more than the recommended load while still under Max weight suffer the following negatives.

• Gain 1 additional Engine heat every time you would normally gain heat including takeoff.

• The Number of hexes requires to safely take off and land is increased by 1.

• Ascending requires three movements instead of two, and one engine heat is gained every altitude increment.

• All Piloting Check DCs are increased by 5.

• Damage from Crashes are calculated as one size category larger.

Stalling

• When an aircraft initially stalls it drops one altitude increment and its movement for the turn is ended.

Recovery:

• At the start of a turn the pilot of a stalled aircraft can attempt to recover with a Piloting skill check of DC/15.

  • • On success the pilot regains control of their aircraft and can continue their turn as normal.

    • On failure the craft goes into a plummet.

  • At the start of a turn the pilot of a plummeting aircraft can attempt to recover with a Piloting skill check of DC/20.

Plummet:

• An aircraft that is plummeting immediately drops two altitude increments and its movement for the turn is ended.

• All passengers aboard a plummeting aircraft must make Fort saves to avoid Blackout/Redout. The check for this save is calculated as the total of the plummet and stall increments combined.

  • • Example: A aircraft stalls, the recovery attempt is a failure and the aircraft begins to plummet. The aircraft has dropped 1 Altitude increment from the stall and 2 from the plummet. The Fortitude DC for three Altitude increments is 12.

    • Example: If that same ship continues to plummet the following round the Fortitude DC for five altitude increments is 16.

Broken:

• When an Aircraft has less than half of its total HP it becomes broken.

• Broken Aircraft are difficult to maneuver and less reliable.

• Pilot checks made while flying a broken aircraft increase by +2.

• The maximum heat level of an engine is reduced by 2(to a minimum of 1) when the aircraft is broken.

• The maximum speed of the aircraft is reduced by 2 (to a minimum of 1) when the aircraft is broken.

Disabled:

• • A Disabled aircraft is one that has been rendered unable to fly or be piloted.

  • Disabled aircraft begin plummeting to the ground one round after becoming disabled.

Environmental Effects

• Different environmental hazards can be found at different altitudes. With the exception of the Suffocation Hazard the hazards listed on the chart are not always present.

Weather

• Clear:

  • In clear conditions there are no penalties or effects.

• Mild:

  • Clouds and other weather can impair visibility and provide cover or total cover depending on their severity.

  • Mild Weather conditions can often include strong winds increasing the difficulty of piloting checks by +2.

• Severe:

  • Storms can impair visibility as well as present other dangers such as lighting, dust, or debris.

  • Severe Weather conditions often include extreme winds increasing the difficulty of piloting checks by +5.

Obstacles:

• Obstacles can be anything from falling debris to navigating a tight valley or chasm. Most obstacles will fall into the following Categories but some situations may result in higher or lower checks.

  • Easy: Piloting DC/10

  • Moderate: Piloting DC/15

  • Hard: Piloting DC/20

  • Suicidal: Piloting DC/30

High Altitudes:

• At high altitudes air is thin and characters exposed to the elements without special breathing equipment begin Suffocating immediately.

• All Piloting DCs are increased by +5 here due to the thin air.

Crashes & Collisions

Crash:

• If an aircraft reaches 0 on the altitude chart either intentionally or as the result of a stall(assuming the pilot is successful at the recovery check) a Piloting Check of DC/20 must be made or the aircraft will crash into the ground.

• If an aircraft reaches one on the altitude chart from a plummet it is automatically a crash.

Damage:

• An Aircraft that Crashes takes damage for every unit of relative speed it possessed during the crash.

• The Relative speed of an aircraft that crashes during take off is equal to the number of spaces required to take off.

• Aircraft Size: Damage Per Unit and Occupant chance of Damage

  • • Light: 1d8, 75%

    • Medium: 1d10, 50%

    • Heavy: 2d8, 25%

    • Massive: 3d8, 20%

• Material harness applies as normal when calculating this damage.

• Damage is doubled if the aircraft was in a plummet when it crashed.

Mid Air Collision:

• If multiple aircraft enter the same space or pass through an occupied space a Piloting Check must be made or a Mid Air Collision can occur. The difficulty of this check is up to the GM and is affected by the size and numbers of obstacles.

• If a pilot intentionally causes a Mid Air Collision the target receives an evasion check.

• In the event of a Mid Air Collision both craft take damage equal to the relative speed and size of the craft causing the collision.

Damage to Occupants

• If the Aircraft is not destroyed in a crash the Individuals on board have a chance of taking half the crash damage based on the size of the aircraft.

• If the Aircraft is destroyed in the crash the occupants take full damage.

Combat:

Actions:

• Piloting an airship is a move action that requires at least one hand.

• Performing a Maneuver is a standard action that requires at least one hand.

Ranges:

• Each HEX is about 150 ft.

• The penalty you take when using a ranged weapon is -4 if your aircraft is moving. Some maneuvers increase this penalty.

Targets:

• If you shoot at a target sharing a space with a friendly aircraft, you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.