My latest creation, for that project I referenced on page 49: Variant Vehicle Combat Rules, Pilot Statlines, and the Light Tank Vehicle Chassis! Also just a Light Tank for those of us who aren't using Variant Vehicle Combat but
do want the nifty tank.
New Weapon Tags:
Anti-Armor: Treated as a magical weapon for the purposes of overcoming the Damage Resistance and Damage Immunities of Constructs and Vehicles. In addition, if this weapon kills a Crewmember in a Vehicle with multiple Crewmembers, remaining damage is dealt to another crewmember until all damage is dealt or all Crewmembers are dead.
Variant Vehicle Rules (AKA: Warthunder Rules):
A Vehicle isn't a complete monster on its own. Instead, it's a chassis with some stats and attacks, but missing Mental Ability Scores
, a proficiency bonus, or the ability to actually do anything. A Vehicle needs to be piloted to be complete.
Vehicles, as such, all have the Armored and Vehicle Special Properties and a Crew. Each Crew Member provides their Proficiency Bonus and possibly relevant abilities to any duties their Crew Station has. If a Crew Member dies, the Tank is Penalized as noted in the Vehicle section in its stat block. AOE attacks have their damage to the crew reduced by the Armor Rating and hit all members of the crew but only do damage to the tank
once. You can, of course, ignore the crew and opt to just suplex the tank into a smoking ruin. While generally less efficient, it's an option.
(Vehicles do not give spellcasters line of sight to people outside of the vehicle unless explicitly noted or they have an ability that would let them, like Online Casting, or they decide to pop outside of a hatch where people can shoot at them without dealing with the Armored rating)
Pilots:
Green:
AC: 12 HP: 9 Prof: +2
Abilities:
Str: 10 Dex: 13 Con: 11 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 11
Proficiencies: Pilot: +3 (Any Two Vehicle Types)
Attacks:
Automatic Pistol: +3 To Hit 8 (2d6+1) Piercing Damage. 40/120 feet. Reload 15.
Fist: +2 To Hit 1 (1) Nonlethal Damage.
Pilot:
AC: 14 HP: 18 Prof: +2
Abilities:
Str: 10 Dex: 17 Con: 11 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 13
Proficiencies: Pilot: +5 (Any Three Vehicle Types), Perception: +3
Special:
Cunning Piloting: While driving, use a Bonus Action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide Actions.
Attacks:
Automatic Pistol: +5 To Hit 10 (2d6+3) Piercing Damage. 40/120 feet. Reload 15.
Fist: +3 To Hit 1(1) Nonlethal Damage.
Ace:
AC: 15 HP: 54 Prof: +3
Abilities:
Str: 11 Dex: 19 Con: 14 Int: 13 Wis: 14 Cha: 14
Proficiencies: Pilot: +7 (All), Perception: +5
Special:
Cunning Piloting: While driving, use a Bonus Action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide Actions.
one of the following abilities depending on their crew position:
Pilot: +2 Vehicle AC against one attack per turn. Advantage on Piloting checks made to control vehicles.
Loader: +1 on Recharge rolls.
Gunner: If Dex Bonus is higher than Vehicle's Dex Bonus, use it instead.
Commander: Advantage on Perception checks in the Vehicle, +2 Initiative
Attacks:
Automatic Pistol: +7 To Hit 11 (2d6+4) Piercing Damage. 40/120 feet. Reload 15
Fist: +3 To Hit 1(1) Nonlethal Damage.
Vehicles:
Light Tank Chassis:
Huge Vehicle
AC: 13+Driver Proficiency Modifier Health: 150 (20d10+40) Crew: 3 (Gunner, Loader, Driver) Speed: 80 feet.
Abilities:
Str: 20 Dex: 16 Con: 14 Int: - Wis: - Cha: -
Special:
Armored 20: Enemies outside of the vehicle may target the crew of the vehicle. If they do, then the Light Tank takes the first 20 damage and the crew takes the rest. Resistances and Immunities are applied before calculating Armored.
Damage Resistances: Fire, Lightning
Damage Immunities: Poison
Heavy Armor Mastery: Non-Magical Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing Attacks do three less damage.
Vehicle: The Light Tank requires a crew to function properly. For each missing or dead crewmember, the Tank's functionality is impeded as follows.
No Driver: Speed becomes 0 feet. Tank is Paralyzed. Tank Cannot Ram.
No Gunner: Cannot fire Main Cannon.
No Loader: Cannot fire Machine Gun, cannot Recharge Main Cannon.
Attacks:
Multiattack: If applicable, a Light Tank can make a Ram attack and a Machine Gun attack on the same turn.
Main Cannon: +3+Pilot Proficiency To Hit. Piercing or Explosive round. Recharge 4-6.
Piercing Round: 48 (10d8+3) Piercing Damage. Anti-Armor.
Explosive Round: On hit, 15 foot radius burst. 16 (5d6) Slashing Damage and 10 (3d6) Fire Damage and knocked prone. DC 15 Dexterity Save Half and no Prone. Characters behind cover get advantage on the save. On miss, shell scatters into the distance and blows up a piece of scenery.
Machine Gun: +3+Pilot Proficiency To Hit, 16 piercing damage (3d8+3). Range 80/240.
Burst Fire: 10 foot cube within 80 feet. Everyone within that cube must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 16 (3d8+3) damage.
Ram: +5+Pilot Proficiency To Hit. 15 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage. Five foot reach.
Light Tank (Green Crew):
Huge Vehicle
AC: 15 Health: 150 (20d10+40) Crew: 3 (Gunner (9 HP), Loader (9 HP), Driver (9 HP)) Speed: 80 feet.
Abilities:
Str: 20 Dex: 16 Con: 14 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 11
Special:
Armored 20: Enemies outside of the vehicle may target the crew of the vehicle. If they do, then the Light Tank takes the first 20 damage and the attacker decides how to distribute the rest of the damage among the Crew. Resistances and Immunities are applied before calculating Armored.
Damage Resistances: Fire, Lightning
Damage Immunities: Poison
Challenge: 5
Vehicle: The Light Tank requires a crew to function properly. For each missing or dead crewmember, the Tank's functionality is impeded as follows.
No Driver: Speed becomes 0 feet. Tank is Paralyzed. Tank Cannot Ram.
No Gunner: Cannot fire Main Cannon.
No Loader: Cannot fire Machine Gun, cannot Recharge Main Cannon.
Heavy Armor Mastery: Non-Magical Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing Attacks do three less damage.
Attacks:
Multiattack: If applicable, a Light Tank can make a Ram attack and a Machine Gun attack on the same turn.
Main Cannon: +5. Piercing or Explosive round. Recharge 4-6.
Piercing Round: 48 (10d8+3) Piercing Damage. Anti-Armor.
Explosive Round: On hit, 15 foot radius burst. 16 (5d6) Slashing Damage and 10 (3d6) Fire Damage and knocked prone. DC 15 Dexterity Save Half and no Prone. Characters behind cover get advantage on the save. On miss, shell scatters into the distance and blows up a piece of scenery.
Machine Gun: +5, 16 piercing damage (3d8+3). Range 80/240.
Burst Fire: 10 foot cube within 80 feet. Everyone within that cube must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 16 (3d8+3) damage.
Ram: +7 To Hit. 15 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage. Five foot reach. Cannot hit targets above ground level or who have climbed atop the Tank.
Non-Variant Light Tank:
Huge Vehicle
AC: 16 HP: 150 Speed: 80 feet
Abilities:
Str: 20 Dex: 16 Con: 14 Int: 12 Wis: 11 Cha: 11
Challenge: 6
Special:
Damage Immunity: Poison
Damage Resistances: Fire. Lightning.
Heavy Armor Mastery: Non-Magical Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing Attacks do three less damage.
Attacks:
Multiattack: If applicable, a Light Tank can make a Ram attack and a Machine Gun attack on the same turn.
Main Cannon: +6. Piercing or Explosive round. Recharge 4-6.
Piercing Round: 48 (10d8+3) Piercing Damage. Anti-Armor.
Explosive Round: On hit, 15 foot radius burst. 16 (5d6) Slashing Damage and 10 (3d6) Fire Damage and knocked prone. DC 15 Dexterity Save Half and no Prone. Characters behind cover get advantage on the save. On miss, shell scatters into the distance and blows up a piece of scenery.
Machine Gun: +6, 16 piercing damage (3d8+3). Range 80/240.
Burst Fire: 10 foot cube within 80 feet. Everyone within that cube must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 16 (3d8+3) damage.
Ram: +7 To Hit. 15 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage. Five foot reach. Cannot hit targets above ground level or who have climbed atop the Tank.
Important Notes for Tanks and Similar Long Ranged Vehicles:
Tanks have ranges in the kilometers. PCs...
don't. As such, a Tank sniping at the PCs from two and a half clicks out isn't the encounter that the Challenge would make you think it is. The statblocks given for the Tanks are assuming a relatively constrained battlefield, like city-streets, the inside of a building, or a running car-chase, where the PCs are actually able to strike back. If this
isn't the case then it is
not a combat encounter and should not be run like one, instead it's a scenario encounter like being trapped in a collapsing cave or something, with the goal being to escape the tank's line of fire or get close enough to engage it in proper combat.
Don't be a dick. Your players won't appreciate it and I don't appreciate it.
EDIT: Some changes!
Dropped the Resistance Non-Magical because it fucked with damage calcs and didn't behave as I wanted it to at this CR. While Resist Non-Magical will fit on the eventual MBT I instead decided to give the Light Heavy Armor Mastery, encouraging high-damage weapons, legitimizing Anti-Armor before other vehicles start going up, and making plinking away at it less viable without being quite as annoying. Even if you're hitting it with Hunting Rifles, this baby should be able to eat....close to twenty shots to the face before it goes down. Eighteen, I think. Assuming no dex bonus to damage and every shot hits.
(The MBT or a theoretical METAL GEAR will likely have resistance non-magical
and HAM. Pricks.)
Damage on Penetrating Round dropped due to how it would instakill mages too often and Overrun got reworked into a multi-attack capable ram attack. Overall DPR isn't changed too much, but it
is less loaded around those Recharge procs.
As designed, Penetrating Rounds will one hit Variant Rule Tanks via killing green crews outright and crippling pilot crews. This is working exactly as intended. Tank-on-Tank combat under Variant rules should be pretty vicious.
That said, Aces are hilariously durable. This is, admittedly, also as intended since as an Ace you are less 'random pilot' and more 'Mobius One' or 'Char'.
To Do:
Test Variant Light Tank against Level 5, 6, and 7 parties.
Test Non-Variant Light Tank against level 6, 7, and 8 parties.
EDIT: Post-Testing Errata:
Tank Challenge Ratings have been solidified. Please try them out and provide feedback! Anti-Armor has been changed slightly to be more lethal to Variant Tanks and there are rules for desperately bailing out of your tank when it blows up.
