The ol' cable-across-the-road-ambush, How would you resolve? Options

[Umbrage]

A group of runners are crusing through Puyallup on their bikes. Unbeknownst to them, a local gang has heard them coming and stretched a cable across the road, about chest high. The gang's intentions are to knock the runners off their bikes and then rob them blind (including their bikes) while they lay splayed out into the middle of the road. As a GM, how would you stage this encounter?

I was thinking about Perception(8) test to notice the cable, modified up if they're going exceptionally fast and adding standard visibility modifers. What type of Reaction test would be used to stop in time, and what kind of damage should they resist if they fail either of those rolls? 10S Stun?

[Aardvark892]

The type of cable used would be very important. Not very long ago, a couple on a Gold Wing had this exact thing happen to them; someone stretched a thin cable across underneath an overpass. I know the bike was ruined, and both of them had to be hospitalized, but I do not know off hand if either of them were killed. Remember, if the cable has enough tension in it, it would be like hitting a wall... and even worse if it is at head/neck height. Shadowrun tends to be a very deadly game... don't forget that applies to bike crashes as well. If they hit this thing (and BTW, I'd suggest a perception check of at least 8-10, unless it's a very thick cable) it could very well kill them outright. Imagine how fast bikers, especially Shadowrunners or gangers, usually travel. I hope this helps somewhat.

Tim

[Herald of Verjig...]

The damage should be the same as for a vehicle collision at whatever speed they are going. If you feel generous, drop the damage level by one to indicate how much the cable can give before they got to make a sudden stop. If you feel malicious, do the opposite due to the relatively small contact area that gets to absorb all the relevant forces.

[BitBasher]

Honestly, it's likely that would kill a motorcyclist outright. In movies they can just write into the script that someone survives that, in real life man... Moving at any real speeds they're dead.

The damage to the person will be far worse that hitting a wall or a car at that speed because all the energy of the impact is transferred into a very narrow area horizontally across the rider by the obstacle.

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Umbrage]

Eh, I don't want to make this an impossible to survive, just soften up the PCs before having to deal with the gangers. Maybe I'll rethink the encounter.

[Trax]

What if instead of a cable they simply dig some potholes and cover it up or fill it with water? The bikes come through, hit a pothole, and they fall down.

[Herald of Verjig...]

Soften them up with a little suppressive fire across the road as they are expected to pass. Some may take wounds, and it may be enough to distract them as the real threat pulls out from around the corner. Instead of being a dead or nothing like your attempted forced crash scenario, it'll be anywhere from nothing to deadly with the highest likelyhood around M or L.

[nezumi]

I'd decrease the TN to spot it. I presume it's not monofilament. If it's something thick enough to stop a charging cycle, or at least the rider, it should be thick enough to be a bit easier to spot than your fishing line tripwire. If it's supposed to just harass them, the damage will be much lower since the cable will snap when hit.

TN of 4-6 is much more reasonable (since we're talking about the base TN for someone who's standing still to see it in normal lighting). The TN will go up quickly with modifiers. Don't forget the motorcycles' autonav.

[UpSyndrome]

You could make the perception check an open test and figure out the distance at which each person sees the cable dependent upon the result (like perception check * 10m), thus giving you a distance to work with in combination with their speed to determine how many deceleration attempts they get before they hit it. After that point it's a simple matter of vehicle combat rules and collision. Also, I agree with the collision damage idea--I'd treat the cable as a vehicle with a higher body than the person/motorcycle, because of the deadly nature of such a trap.

-Joe

[Umbrage]

Thanks for the ideas.

Vehicle rules are my bane. Once a character spots something in the road (cable, pothole, squatter), how do I know whether he can sucessfully stop in time enough to prevent a collision? I can't find anything in the BBB or R3, but I could easily be overlooking something.

[Edward]

One way to do the encounter as you wanted without killing the PCs would be to use a old rope instead of cable, say that due to the cable breaking after stretching damage is only crashing damage.

Those riding side buy side in the front would all be affected, those behind would risk crashing into downed bikes (crash test in tight conditions and bad road).

Follow the crash up with fire from cover. Effectives of this fire will be determined buy the skill and size of the gang. Or the gang may choose to make demands at that time.

I would say a rope or cable would have a base perception TN of 5, you can use what the PCs get above that to determine range at witch they stop it and thus wether or not they crash you do this buy working out the distance to impact, and there speed. The character then makes a drive test (TN vehicle handling with terrain modifiers) he will slow buy the vehicles deceleration * successes and move according to his new speed divided buy the number of actions in the turn.

I believe an example is in order

Biker notices cable at 100m
Biker is moving at speed 100
Biker has initiative 12 (very good for a non rigger with a vehicle)
Bike has acceleration 10
Bike has handling 4
Biker has skill bike at 4 and no rigger equipment.

On noticing cable biker decides to slow down as fast as he can.
He gets 3 successes on his deceleration test.
His new speed is (100 old speed -10 acceleration * 3 successes) 70
He has 2 actions this turn so he travels half of that
the new distance to the cable is (100 old distance – 70 new speed / 2 actions in turn) 65m
on his next action the biker roles only 1 success
his new speed is 60
his new distance Is 35m
initiative is rolled again the biker gets 9, only one action
the biker puts his all into slowing down and gets 3 successes
new speed 30, new distance is 5 m
initiative is rolled again, the biker gets a 8
the biker rolls 2 successes giving a new speed of 10
moving forward 10m will put him past the cable but he is only moving at speed 10 (just for your interest that is 12km/h, a brisk waking pace) so he should likely suffer no damage but pay be separated from his bike or tangled in the line.


Edward

[BitBasher]

Just make the cable a big ass bungie cord. :D

[PBTHHHHT]

[Aardvark892]

[Cain]

[Backgammon]

Reminds me of my youger days, when one time we decided to pretend we were holding a cable across the road. A guy on each side of the road, crouched, with hands pretending to hold a wire. Fun until cops just happen to drive by. Ugh.

[toturi]

Monofilament cable. Isn't that a contradiction?

[Nikoli]

Physical barrier across the roadway, knock them off, soften them up, removes the vehicle from the equation.

[fistandantilus4....]

WHen I was a kid, about 12, I was at a soccer practice. Road next to it was about 25mph. A couple on a motorcycle caught a ball in the fron tire. As in, it went over the fence, they ran in to it head on, stopped the wheel, they went flying. Both went to the hospital. Of course, it was summer it California, so they were wearing shorts. Runners in Seattle would be a little better equipped. BUt how many runners actually bother with helmets.

[Arethusa]

The not incompetent ones, I imagine.

[wargear]

We used a Physical Barrier spell to create a ramp while being pursued at high speed by a go gang...as we did it just before a curve, the results were quite spectacular...

[fistandantilus4....]

[Arethusa]

That's ok, I'll just run some cable across the road.

[wargear]

Road spikes make a very impressive alternative...