Trains - Migsect/Pathfinder-Homebrew-References GitHub Wiki

Trains, Locomotives, etc are vehicles that ride on directed rails usually powered by an engine of some sorts.

They are generally a high-tech item but the concept of a steam-engine does not need to go hand-in-hand with other technologies (such as a blimp, hot air balloon, or firearm).

Controlling Trains

Trains are generally hard to the common person to operate, mostly due to the nature of their engine. As such, driving a train requires training and/or knowledge to understand its operations and controls.

Driving Checks

By default, operating a locomotive requires a driving check to operate. If there are no instruments that improve handling of the engine, the drive check’s DC is increased by 10.

The base-DC of a driving check is DC5 while out of combat and DC20 when in combat. One can perform a take-10 to easily drive out of combat (unless the DC is above 10). Note that a driver may opt to make a wisdom check in place of a driving check.

Additionally, the skill for driving checks is based on the engine:

  • Steam Engine: Craft (Mechanical), Knowledge (Engineering)
  • Alchemical Engine: Craft (Alchemy), Knowledge (Arcana)
    • Alchemical Engines gain +10 to their DC check due to difficult management.
    • When a driver makes a driving check to control an alchemically propelled vehicle with a Wisdom check or a skill they are not trained in and rolls a 1, the vehicle’s alchemical engine gains the broken condition.
  • Arcane Engine: Spellcraft, Use Magic Device

As a note, an engine with the broken condition has half maximum speed and acceleration. This does not affect braking power.

Acceleration

All acceleration for a train is determined by their locomotives(s) and their length.

Each car on a train, except some cases of the locomotive, will reduce the acceleration of the train. If a train has negative acceleration, then it cannot move (instead of moving backwards).

Air Brakes

All trains work on an air brake system which allows them to slow down quickly regardless of how many cars it has.

A train can always decelerate at 2-mi/hr/s due to the linked together air-brakes. This is, however, the upper end of the deceleration and may be slower depending on the skill of the driver.

Overall Actions

Standard-Action: Accelerate (Throttle Up)

You raise the throttle of the train accelerating it.

Standard-Action: Decelerate (Break)

Initiate the air breaks.

If this check is missed by 5, then the breaks are locked and sliding, resulting in 50% of the maximum acceleration speed (max is 2-mi/hr/s, half is 1-mi/hr/s).

For every round that the wheels are sliding, they have a 5% chance per car to cause the broken condition on the wheels of the car. Wheels that are broken result in double the acceleration reduction caused by that car.

Move-Action: Maintain Speed

You maintain the current speed of the train.

Standard-Action: Initiate Mechanism

This triggers a mechanism on the train such as a track-switcher communicator or a spectral track-switcher.

This may also be to open a hatch or tone the train down into an idle mode for a stop.

No Action: Uncontrolled

An untrolled train continues accelerate at its current throttle until it hits its maximum speed.

Cars

Locomotives

All trains require a means of locomotion. The basic type make use of a heat source (generally burnable fuels) to generate locomotion while more advanced ones may make use of alchemical or magical means.

A locomotive has the following parts that can be upgraded or modified:

Tenders

Tenders are used to store additional fuel and water. A tender can store 18-spaces worth of fuel and one water tank of any size. There are four types of tenders, all based on armor. Tenders all above bare bones protect their fuel.

Passenger Cars

Cars can be specialized as rooms, however they come in four types based on the amount of armor they use. Cars can be adjusted and customized just as one adjusts and customizes their rooms.

Passenger Cars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as differing degrees of protection:

Freight Cars

Freight cars are extremely bar bones cars and are specialized to hold a type of cargo.

The following are the varieties of freight cars: