ON MAKING MAPS
First, get some idea
of the geography you're going to be racing through*. Make each different type
of environment a Zone. Draw these Zones out on a piece of paper. Number and
name them, starting from zero.
Place a dot on the
start of the course, at the end, and at every Zone transition. Place anywhere
from 1 to 5 more dots inside each Zone**. Connect these dots with lines: each
one is a Sector. Starting from zero, number the Sectors on the left side of the
line. On the right side, write down what type of terrain this is.
In this same manner,
go back and add a side track or two. Try to differentiate them: perhaps one
path is shorter but goes through difficult terrain, or maybe the longer path
stops by an interesting location. Remember, the more paths there are through
the course, the less the racers will see each of each other. Hence, less
glorious violence.
*Consider the shape
of the track. A short straight track might be good if you're short on time. A
short looped track will have players dealing with the consequences of their
actions in the second and third laps. A long straight track can offer a lot of
variety, but slower players may have trouble catching up. One solution is to
put some single use traps towards the middle and end of the course. In a very
Mario Cart way, screwing up the leaders can help even the playing field.
**I'm personally a
fan of having the first and final Zones having only one Sector. I call them the
'Start Zone' and 'End Zone' respectively. As an aside: don't be afraid of
starting the race in medias res! As the racers enter the last third of the
track the competition is so far behind we can't even see them!
ON MAKING MAPS
HORRIBLE
Here's some ideas on
how to make the race a little more interesting. For extra points, have things
that happen in one Sector trigger or effect something in another Sector.
Two caveats. First,
remember to write down the exact Zone, Sector, and Position of this stuff.
Second, it's fine to keep these hidden from the players, but do at least allude to them. It doesn't feel very fun to
get sandbagged by random shit you could have never seen coming.
Terrains
|
Name
|
Rules
|
1
|
Forest
|
The trees are hard
to avoid. -1 AC while driving here, and roll CO or GET REKT, D: -2
|
2
|
Magma
|
Game over if you
fall in it dude. Place under fragile bridges and next to
|
3
|
Steam Vents
|
Number them, then
roll randomly to see which one blows. D: 3
|
4
|
Fragile Bridge
|
It only has 5 HP.
If blown up, fall down, GET REKT, D: 3, and get shunted onto a slower path.
|
5
|
Boulders
|
Vehicles with legs
or vehicles that hover are fine. Everyone else GETS REKT, D: 2 if they fail a
ST roll.
|
6
|
Collapsing Bridge
|
Crumbles and
crashes after the turn after someone passes it.
|
Locals
|
Name
|
Rules
|
7
|
Marines
|
REPAIR 3, SHOOT 5,
MELEE 4, HANG ON 3, SURVIVE 3. Jump you in teams of 6, try to get your car.
|
8
|
Sand Raiders
|
Hidden up on the
cliffs, they take pot shots at anyone who drives by. SHOOT 4/6.
|
9
|
Monkeys
|
Drop from above.
HANG ON 5, SURVIVE 1, and if there's any left next round they fire your gun.
|
10
|
The Cops
|
They'll set up road blocks. Cops SHOOT 3/6, other stats 2. They drive CR 2, CO 2,
AC 3, RA 2, ST 0 police cars.
|
11
|
Wraiths
|
Fly, MELEE 3,
SURVIVE 5, can possess people. They only wake up if you drive through their
moldering tombs..
|
12
|
Bombers
|
CR 0, CO 1, AC 3,
RA 1, ST 0. Fly high above and drop R: 0 S, A: 3, D: 5 bombs.
|
Traps
|
Name
|
Rules
|
13
|
Rockslide
|
Driving on the
higher up path has a 50/50 chance of triggering a D: 6 rock slide below.
|
14
|
Net
|
Falls on top of
you. Skip your Action Phase as you wrestle the damn thing off.
|
15
|
Swinging Tree Trunk
|
A: 8, D: 4, smacks
you to the side, possibly shunting you to a different section of the track.
|
16
|
Swinging Blades
|
If you move only 3
positions each round, you can avoid them. Other wise 50/50 to GET REKT, D: 5.
|
17
|
Trip Wire, Spike
Pit
|
Flip over once,
car upside down, skip Movement Phases until you flip it. Everyone needs to
SURVIVE.
|
18
|
Backwards Travolator
|
Takes up 7
Positions. Ending your Movement Phase on any of them takes you back to the
start.
|
Beasts
|
Name
|
Rules
|
19
|
Glass Worms
|
Like a see-through
molten tunnel drill. Leaves molten glass that hardens into smooth terrain
next turn. Loves eating gasoline.
|
20
|
Four Golden Lions
|
CO 1, AC 2, RA 3,
HP 100. The shortest route is sacred to them, and they'll try to chase you
away.
|
21
|
Mammoths
|
CO -4, AC -2, RA
5, HP 10. Herds sleep on the road, blocking the entire sector. Will stampede
if shot, 50/50 forwards or backwards.
|
22
|
Engine Vines
|
Latch onto your
car and grow larger by drinking it's fluids. +5 HP every turn, -1 AC as it
grows bigger. Likes fresh cars, so it prefers to switch to adjacent vehicles.
|
23
|
Mega Raptors
|
Like the feathery
sports version of a T Rex. CO 3, AC 3, HP 5. Packs of three looking for meat.
R: 3, A: 7, D: 1 claws, MELEE 5/6 for eating dudes, no SURVIVE roll.
|
24
|
Giant Flying
Eyeball
|
CO 5, AC 8, HP 10.
It floats around, watching the race. Killing it summons Cthulhu.
|
Hazards
|
Name
|
Rules
|
25
|
Falling Boulders
|
They fall (D: 6),
bounce 1d6 Positions forward, and then stop (D: 4). Either way, roll CO or
crash into one.
|
26
|
Bomb
|
Crash into one and
the whole Sector GETS REKT, D: 10.
|
27
|
Wriggling Brown
Tail
|
Crashing into it
awakens the giant hag fish. CO 0, AC 3, RA 5, HP 40. Will thrash if shot:
whole Sector GETS REKT, D: 6.
|
28
|
One Way Teleporter
|
Teleports you to
another part of the course.
|
29
|
Launch Pad
|
Supercharges your
car: +5 AC for three turns. Also sets you on fire for seven turns.
|
30
|
Glass Pillar
|
Crash into one and
every sector in the Glass Road Zone breaks, changing from Smooth to Rough
terrain.
|
