wwe vehicle design & conversions diy kit

NUTS! WAR WITHOUT END - VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION GUIDE

© 2011 John Cunningham – Two Hour Wargames

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NUTS! WWE VEHICLE

CONSTRUCTION GUIDE

Want to make your own Weird War Super tank or Combat Walker based upon your favourite figures? Here’s a quick mechanic’s lesson on building vehicles for NUTS! War Without End.

DEFINING YOUR FIGURES

There are two common elements that define each vehicle. The first is the vehicle itself and the other is the crew that operates it. Let’s begin with defining the vehicles.

TRACKED, WHEELED OR OTHER

Vehicles are usually wheeled or tracked, but in the Weird Wars a vehicle may also be a Combat Walker with one or more sets of legs, be equipped as an Aerosan, or other type of propulsion. This section will deal primarily with wheeled, tracked and “legged” vehicles. The easiest way to determine what your vehicle does is to look at the model of figure you want to use. There are, however, some hybrids such as armored personal carries called half-tracks. For movement purposes half-tracks are treated like fully tracked vehicles.

OPEN-TOPPED OR FULLY ENCLOSED

It is important to look at the model of the vehicle that is being used to see if it is “open topped” or fully enclosed. A half-track for example is open topped, as are some assault guns where there is no armor to the rear. A tank is considered fully enclosed. However, when the Tank Commander has the hatch open, and is sitting half in, half out, the tank is classed as open topped for him yet enclosed for the other crewmembers. Riders in open topped vehicles are exposed to small arms fire and other threats.

TYPES OF VEHICLES

There are many types of tanks and other vehicles in NUTS! These include, but are not limited to: • Soft or unarmored vehicles (SUV) – These are

unarmored civilian type trucks, cars, etc. Used to transport troops.

• Half-Tracks and Armored personal carriers (APC) - These are lightly armored vehicles that are used to carry soldiers and usually armed with a light weapon.

• Armored Cars (AC) – Light armored vehicle used for police actions or reconnaissance. Lightly armed.

• Heavy Armored Car (HAC) – Heavier version of the AC with more armor and more firepower.

• Light Tank (LT) – Lightest armored and armed AFV on the field.

• Medium Tank (MT) – Backbone of most armored forces. Heavier than a light tank and better armed.

• Heavy Tank (HT) – Bigger and better AFV. Heavily armored and heavily armed.

• Super-Heavy Tank (ST) – Few and far between these giants out-armor, out-gun, and out-fight all others.

• Light Combat Walker (LP) – These are lightly armed and armored Combat Walkers, often used for scouting roles.

• Medium Combat Walker (MP) – These are the backbone of most Combat Walker forces, heavier than a light Combat Walker and better armed.

• Heavy Combat Walker (HP) – These large, heavily armed and armored Combat Walkers often have multiple sets of legs and are typically designed as assault guns or mobile artillery units.

In addition to the vehicles listed above you may also run into artillery mounted on tank chassis called Assault Guns or sometimes Self-propelled Artillery depending upon their roles.

DEFINING THE VEHICLE

When you build your vehicle, it is defined by a basic set of characteristics that add up to tell you how big (generally) the vehicle is. They are:

TYPE

The type of vehicle it is.



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DV

This is a numeric value given to the overall armor effectiveness or Defensive Value of the vehicle. When there is one number then that is the value all around the vehicle. When there are two values then the second is the reduced armor value when the vehicle is hit to the side or rear. In addition, the top and bottom of the vehicle has an armor value equal to its side value divided by two and rounded down.

Example – The basic Medium Tank has an armor value of 5/3. This means its frontal armor is 5, its side and rear is 3, and its top and bottom is 1.

MAIN GUN

The main gun has a numeric value that represents the basic Impact of the main gun in the vehicle. The main gun’s numeric value will range from 2 to 12 with the latter being the strongest. The Impact of the main gun will change due to the armor of the target. The main gun may only fire in a straight line. Armored fighting vehicles usually mount their main gun on a turret that may traverse them in different directions whereas those with fixed position guns are limited to shooting straight ahead.

SECONDARY WEAPONS

These are the secondary weapons used by the vehicle.

TRK

Checked off if the vehicle is fully or half-tracked.

WHL

Checked off if the vehicle is fully wheeled

LRG

Checked off if the vehicle uses legs for movement.

TRF

Checked off if the vehicle is designed to transform into another movement mode such as Tracked or Wheeled. This can improve mobility outside of combat actions.

OTHER

Note if the vehicle also may use Aerosans, Snow Screws, Mole Drives, Jet Packs, etc.

Aerosans: An Aerosan is a vehicle designed exclusively for mobility over snow and ice. Fitted with large skis and a powerful airplane propeller, Aerosans can skim over ice and snow, but cannot traverse broken ground, bare earth, mud or rubble. An Aerosan can typically only be fitted to a “Light” vehicle and permits up to 28” movement over snow and ice. During WW II the Soviets used lightly armed Aerosan units as reconnaissance and quick strike units during Winter combat.

Screw Drive: A vehicle using a Screw Drive (basically large augers, rather than treads or wheels) may move over soft and boggy ground, depending on its design. A Snow Screw vehicle could move over ground and through deep snow drifts; while a Marine Screw vehicle could traverse bogs and marshes. They do not make Bog checks in these conditions. They have only limited mobility on dry ground, and cannot move through broken ground or rubble. During WW II the U.S. and Germany experimented with Snow Screw vehicles to deliver supplies to troops in heavy snow field conditions. A Screw Drive may be fitted to a “Light” or “Medium” vehicle and permits up to 12” movement in primary conditions (snow, swamp, etc.), or 6” in other conditions.

Mole Drive: A Mole Drive vehicle is designed to dig under the earth using a massive drill to bore its way through the ground, using tracks for other mobility. It could be used to bypass fixed defenses. They may only be fitted to large vehicles, given their power requirements. They cannot mount turrets or forward firing weapons. A Mole Drive vehicle may move at its Tracked speed rates above ground, but typically moves only 4”-6” when moving underground. Every turn the Mole Drive vehicle is travelling underground the Vehicle must make a “Am I Stuck?” Test.



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2 VEHICLE MOVEMENT “AM I STUCK” TEST

(2d6 vs Driver Rep)

# D6

PASSED RESULT

2 The vehicle moves normally

1 Tough going. The vehicle moves ½ speed.

0 Stuck! The vehicle has hit a patch of difficult ground or other impediment and cannot move. The Driver must roll again on the Am I Stuck Table on its next activation. A result of “Pass 0d6” means that the vehicle has completely bogged down or has overheated and cannot move for the remainder of the game.

SPEED

The top speed, in inches, that the vehicle may move during each turn of Activation. The figure before the slash is how far the vehicle may move if it stays on a road for the entire move. The figure after the slash is the vehicle’s cross-country movement rate. Vehicles may combine on and off road movement by pro-rating any distance used.

CREW

The number of crewmembers per vehicle.

POINTS

The total cost of the vehicle including type, weapons, crew, and their weapons.

VEHICLE WEAPONS

This section describes the vehicle weapons that are available for use.

MAIN GUN

Basically there are four basic weapon types that are used on armored fighting vehicles. They are:

• Projectile gun – Weapons that fire good old fashioned armor piercing or explosive shells.

• Electric Guns – Uses power plants, batteries and capacitors to fire lightning bolts and streams of electricity at a target.

• Ray Guns – Uses exotic technology to fire powerful laser beams, heat or cold rays, death rays or particle beams.

• Sonic Cannon – Weapon that fires intense sound waves at its targets.

SECONDARY WEAPONS

In addition to the main gun weapons listed above it is common to find secondary weapons on armored vehicles as well. Usually there is one or two hull mounted secondary weapons with a 45 degree arc of fire to the front and one mounted on the turret that the Tank Commander could access when the hatch is open. This weapon will have a180-degree arc of fire to the front of the turret so as the turret turns so does the secondary weapon. Following is the list of customary secondary weapons.

Machine Guns

Rocket Launchers

Heavy Mortars

Flame Throwers

VEHICLE DESIGN LIST

This is a very simple guideline for creating vehicles, and is by no means definitive. Generally speaking a vehicle’s “Size” is determined mainly by its Defense Value and its Main Gun. A Light AFV for example, would have Light Armor and a Light Main Gun in a turret. A vehicle can “up-gun” one level if it has the Main Gun mounted in the Hull, so a Light AFV with Light Armor could mount a Medium Gun in its hull. For example, Soviet T-60/70 Light AFV mounted a Light Gun (37mm) in a turret, but the same chassis carried a Hull-mounted 76mm gun in an open-topped casemate as the SU-76.



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VEHICLE DESIGN EXAMPLES

Vehicle Type

Example Movement Type

Armor Range

Main Gun in Turret

Notes/Secondary Guns

Typical Road Speed

Crew

SUV ½ Ton Truck (US) Wheeled 0 N/A Possible MG 28 2

Half-Track or APC

SdKfz 251 Tracked 1 N/A Can mount up to Med Gun (6-7) in hull, Possible MGs

24 2-3

AC Humber Wheeled 1-2 Light (4-5) Coax, AAMG 32 3-4

HAC PSW 243/2 Puma

Wheeled 1-3 Light (4-5) Coax, AAMG 28 4

LT T-60/70 Tracked 1-3 Light (4-5) Coax, Hull, AAMG 20 2-3

MT Sherman Tracked 4-5 Medium (6-7) Coax, Hull, AAMG 18 4-5

HT JS-II Tracked 6-8 Heavy (8-9) Coax, Hull, AAMG 16 4-5

ST Maus Tracked 9-12 Super-Heavy (10-12)

Secondary turrets (Medium/Light)

12 5+

LP - Legged 1-2 Light (4-5) MGs, Rocket Launchers. If can transform, alternate movement mode typically 50% higher on road.

24 2-3

MP - Legged 2-3 Light (4-5) MGs, Rocket Launchers. If can transform, alternate movement mode typically 50% higher on road.

18 2-4

HP - Legged 4-5 Medium (6-7) 2-3 sets of legs, MGs, Rocket Launchers. If can transform, alternate movement mode typically 50% higher on road.

16 3-5



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VEHICLE WEAPONS EXAMPLES

Here is a list of some weapon types that may help you design your vehicle:

Weapon System APW Size

LMG - Infantry

MMG - Infantry

HMG 2 Infantry

ATR 2-3 Infantry/Light

Light Main Gun:

20mm, 37mm, 2lb, 45mm, 50mm, 6lb, 57mm cannon

4-5 Light

Medium Main Gun: 75mm, 17lb, 76mm cannon

6-7 Medium

Heavy Main Gun: 88mm, 90mm, 25lb, 100mm cannon

8-9 Heavy

Super Heavy Main Gun: 122mm, 128mm, 152mm cannon

10-14 Super-Heavy

Flamethrower Special Medium

Bazooka/PIAT/Panzerfaust 6-8 Infantry

ATGM (XR-7) 9 Light

THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The crew members of the vehicle all have separate roles and help to determine how the vehicle will perform.

• All vehicles are recruited from the appropriate Army List.

• All vehicles have a variety of factors that define them.

• The higher the DV of the vehicle the harder it is to destroy.

• Attacking a vehicle from the side, rear, top or bottom is normally easier than attacking it from the front.

• The Main Gun has an Impact with the higher numbers being better.

• There are other weapons besides a Main Gun that can destroy vehicles.

DESIGN EXAMPLE

Let’s see how the vehicle design might work, using an early war Char B1 French heavy tank and following the definition steps above.

STYLE: Tracked, Fully Enclosed

TYPE: Heavy Tank (for movement, though it is armored as a Medium Tank)

DV: The Char B1 had a little less armor than a US Sherman tank, so it can be interpreted as DV4. But unlike most tanks it maintained that armor rating in all aspects except the deck, so it is a DV 4/4/2

MAIN GUN: The Char B1 had two cannon, a turreted 47 mm L/27.6 SA 34 gun and a 75 mm ABS 1929 SA 35 gun mounted in a sponson on the right front of the hull. We’ll make the 75mm the “Main Gun. The stats will look like this:

4* (5)

HE 6/3



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Note that * = Denotes howitzer with short barrel. Direct Fire only at short range (up to 48"). Reduce Gunner REP by 1 for every 12" range over 24”. The symbol (5) means that the vehicle gun is mounted on Right Front Sponson with limited arc of fire of 30o front to 30o right. SECONDARY Whew. Ok, let’s look at secondary weapons. The Char B1 had a turreted 47 mm L/27.6 SA 34 gun used for antitank fire. It’ stats look like this:

4 (Turret) HE 5/2

MG Hull

MG Coax

MOVEMENT TYPE: TRK (Tracked)

SPEED: The Char B1 was a fairly slow tank, and we’ll use a Heavy Tank movement rate of 16/12.

CREW: The Char B1 only had a crew of 4 despite its number of weapons, with a 1-man turret and three men in the hull. It would be rated like this: 1/3

So here’s what the final tank would look like in the NUTS! system:

Vehicle Front Armor

Side Armor

Top Armor Main Gun APR

Main Gun HE

AAMG Hull MG

Co-Ax MG

Speed Crew

Char B1 4 4 2 4*(5)

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6/3 5/2

N Y Y 16/12 1/3

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