The Phoenix II: Van of the Future!

 Found this groovy van online and it makes me think it make a great Gamma World or Star Frontiers "team vehicle".

Here's another cool one, but not a Phoenix, per se. Still has that Adventure People/Playmobil vibe to it:

Hop aboard the Omega Class Planet Skipper spaceship for X-plorers

The Omega Class Planet Skipper is primarily designed for planetary body survey and transport, but it's become the favored mission-ready conveyance of the 23rd Century. Manufactured by Hasegawa Shipyards near the Mars-Jupiter asteroid belt, the craft are known for their dependability and the ease with which they can be maintained/repaired.

Its optimal for a variety of objectives including: medium-armament gunship, wilderness patrol and rescue, and light cargo hauler on bodies with low-gaseous- or no atmosphere (when an ornithopter or rotor-wing craft would have been sufficient). It's also popular with system based privateers and freelance crews, oftentimes being favored by those with less than honorable intentions (space pirates, brigands, and the like).

Many starship captains begin their careers flying skippers on sortie missions to gain flight and command experience.

Skipper Crews
While small, the crew of a skipper is usually highly skilled and can even be tailored to the mission type. Common crew types usually consist of:

• Pilot
• Co-pilot (serving as navigator and communications officer)
• Specialists (usually 2-4 crew who are trained to operate any number of technical tasks, including any of the following: engineer, mission specialist, cargo/rescue operations specialist, and any additional gunners)

SPECIFICATIONS
Make: Hasegawa Shipyards near Martian-Jovian Asteroid Belt, designs later sold to Mongram Fleetworks on Ganymede
Length: 7.75 meters
Width: 5 meters
Height: 3 meters
Ship Class: 2
Type: Scout
Crew: 7, cockpit capacity: 3 (two seats up front for pilot and copilot, third seat mans a control panel just behind)
Hull Points: 13
No. Weapons: Varies, see below
AC: 8 (can be reinforced with armor or shields)
NPC Skill: 14/12/10+
XP Value: 90 unarmed; 190 armed
Cost (in millions): 39cr unarmed; 65 armed and fully stocked

OTHER:
Propulsion and Maneuverability: 4 directional thrusters (giving ship 1 extra move per round, total) and 5 main thrusters powered by Calcifer Propulsion Systems particle drive, which requires recharge between sorties. The ship is capable of delicate in-atmosphere maneuvers at high speed, as well as a range of evasive space tactics during dogfights.

NOTE: The skipper can travel between planets, moons, asteroids, and other bodies within the same system but lacks faster-than-light travel capabilities. Its function is primarily in-system missions.

Power: Power plants for weapons and shields are 1d6 x 1,000 and 1d4 x 1,000 credits respectively. Power plants are the size of a coffee table and the skipper can hold a total of four, stacked (on long edge) in the rear of the ship.

Cargo hold: The main hold can carry up to 3.5 metric tons. It also can be outfitted for passenger transport by adding a modular air-lock system that fits inside the bay door and can be removed between missions.

Armor/shields (AC): Skippers are lightly armored (8 AC) but fitted with a plasma shield generator +2 AC to any one cardinal direction at a time, when activated. Shield can be controlled by the pilot. Additional shields---such as a Holtzman Field system---will require a designated operator.

Weapons: Skippers can be fitted a variety of weapons, such as:

• Turret mounts for energy-based cannons (360 degree firing arc; 2d8+2 dmg; requires dedicated gunner) 800 cr
• S-foil mounts for high-power, particle cannons (linked firing, min 2/max 8; 3d6 dmg) 600 cr
• Dual pulse cannons (fires twice per round; 2d6+1 dmg) 400 cr
• Torpedo launch pods (sizes, ranges, and yields vary according to payload; requires gunner) 800cr per pod, pod holds 2, 4, or 6 missiles
• Good-enough laser cannon, min 1/max 4 (single fire, 2d4+1) 200 cr

Other weapons may be used as well. Turrets must be manned to take full advantage of their firing arc capabilities. They will otherwise fire from their fixed positions.

NOTE: Energy consumption must be taken into effect for all weapons, so it's wise to counter with additional power plant.

Escape pods: None, but often carries pressurized, jet pack suits for bailing out.

Equipment: Just as with weapons, skippers can be customized quite easily to accommodate missions with an array of specialized equipment, including:

• Sensor dishes (external instrumentation) and space telescopes (deployable instrumentation)
• Cargo winches and hauler scaffolding (deployable from cargo bay)
• Articulated arm instruments, including claw, drill, or other robotic fixtures (deployable from cargo bay)
• Grapnel or tow cable harpoons (deployable from cargo bay or external fixtures)
• Holtzman field generators for an additional +1d6 +1 AC boost (requires extra power plant, external fixtures)

NOTE: Any crew with skills pertinent to above equipment will greatly enhance the ship's capabilities during missions. Any equipment that is stored or deployable from the cargo bay will take up space, so be judicious in outfitting your craft.

Famous skippers of the CSC and their Captains:

All skippers were manufactured solely for use by Central Space Command, but over time vessels have been decommissioned and auctioned as upgraded models become available. Following are some notable craft over the last century or so.

• CSC-10001 "Big Eagle" (currently restored and enjoys display at Central Space Command Academy back on Earth) Commanded by (then) Captain J. Jasper Allen who went on to become CSC Sky Admiral and found the first inter-species space camp for children with IQ exceeding 200.
• CSC-10019 "Sparrowhawk" (destroyed in battle) Saw a great deal of action in the Asteroid Skirmishes of the 22nd Century (AKA, the Billiard War). Ambushed by rebel colonists. Cpt. Miles Keeney went down with the ship. 
• CSC-10042 "Wiley Wasp" (still in service as a training craft) Cpt. Rebecca Thorne now commands the ship her grandfather Alistar once commanded (the Commodore has since retired). It's been through four major refits and lost approximately 86 crew in the line of duty.
• CSC-10100 "Rattlebat" (sold to a private collector; not in service) Served in the Battle of Flush against the insectaur insurgency. Her captain, Zigg Zane is of course the war hero who stole that glowing hive cortex known as the HRONN, which helped us to defeat them 8 years later (once it was decoded). The ship's computer systems never quite recovered and so it was sold. Cpt. Zane's tragic suicide from the after effects of "hearing" what he called "the buzz" for years after is one of the great sacrifices of the many lost to the insidious bugs.
• CSC-10565 "St. Bayonet" (destroyed in battle) Another casualty of the insects. Bayonet and her crew, including Colonel Lewis Nagai (called back into duty) led the charge in the final battle against the bugs. His ship was one of the last out of the asteroid hives, only to be taken down by a saboteur --a crew member who succumbed to mind control by Queen Zzkt herself.

Other famous skippers (after their CSC service)
These craft and the notable persons who commanded them:

• "Vagabond Fox" / merchant vessel (formerly the Walcott CSC-10012; still in service) Captain Ballfour Huxley acquired it by way of his uncle's passing, who was gifted the Walcott by CSC for a lifetime of meritorious service. The only known case of a skipper ship: 1.) being given to a former captain, and 2.) later inherited by an heir. Last seen running cargo for OBT (Orion Beltway Transit).
• "Strange But True" / private yacht (formerly the Axehandle CSC-10083; disappeared). Quadrillionaire Rex Nobel bought the Axehandle at an auction and had her customized/rechristened the S-B-T as an anniversary present for his wife (and interplanetary pop star) The Duchess. For the last 8 years they've been flying around the solar system, solving seemingly inscrutable crimes of passion for wealthy clients. The ship replaced the "Nobel Gains" his previous conveyance that was stolen near Callisto. Reports indicated that's where this ship--and her crew--likewise disappeared from.
• "PT-099" / planetary patrol boat (formerly the Grasshopper CSC-10099; sold and recommissioned). Now in the service of the Phobos Colony Police Force, old '99 has been involved in several high-stakes collars thanks to her capable captain Melissa "The Hammer" Hamilton, including four moon heists foiled in the last 11 months and as many terrorist attacks on the space elevator, clipped.
• "The War Witch" / pirate vessel (believed to be formerly the Warwick CSC-10074; currently sought by CSC authorities) The Warwick was one of the "hero" ships of the war with the insects, due to the valor shown by her captain Henry Mack Ellis. After the war, the captain and loyal members of the crew made off with the ship to pursue a life of piracy and spaceduggery. Since then it's been implicated in a dozen or so different illegal salvage ops and robberies. Ellis is a highly sought bounty and the Witch has a "Disintegrate on Sight" order on her file.
• "Fortune's Fang" / pirate vessel (previous designation unknown; considered stolen; sought by CSC authorities but believed to be destroyed). Perhaps the most infamous craft on this list, the Fang first appeared (repainted with a fanged "Jolly Ranger"* decal on her hull) about 80 years or so ago. The vessel never appears on sensor scopes and attacks without warning, to maul and pillage her prey. Only a handful of survivors have ever been left to tell the tale of the faceless, unknown captain, a shadowy figure in a shredded astro-suit, peering out of a cracked space helmet with a pair of beady, purple eyes. The ship was last pursued around the Horn of Proteus** by a squad of Pegasus Class patrol ships, piloted by the Space Ranger Corps. A volley of particle beams tore through her hull and a great purple ring vented off the ship, seemingly vanquishing the rogue. But recently reports have surfaced that a dark and battered skipper bearing the skull and bubble helmet is raiding lagrange point colonies near Saturn....

*As in, space ranger
**A gravitational anomaly of Neptune's moon Proteus that juts several thousand miles out from one hemisphere of the moon and causes all captured objects to violently shove away from the planet. Think gravitational ski jump. This was of course caused by the Jumpgate Crash of 2285 which caused the moon's gravity well to become distorted from it's mass signature.

NOTE: Designations 10099 and lower are considered "vintage" serials at this point. The first 15 in the fleet (that weren't destroyed in battle or catastrophe) have been mothballed or put in museums in memory of their honorable service). Craft 10000 was a flight training ship called the Brightnoise. It was never in service and is now on display at the rebuilt Smithsonian, on Venus.

Click to enlarge

This entry is based on the Operation Omega Patrol Hopper model by Hasegawa, AKA the Eagle Lunar Explorer. The entry was loosely written using the X-plorers rules, but can be easily converted to other games.

Galactic Outfitters Sale! B.A.D.G.E.R Class Moon Wagon

The Badger Class Moon Wagon is a new vehicle for X-plorers RPG  

Image: Syd Mead

No planetary excursion would be complete with a little all-terrain action! Enter the Badass All-terrain Defense Geologic Exploration and Reconnaissance vehicle (a.k.a., BADGER) Class 970 series Moon Wagon by Star Prairie DriveSystems based off of a tried-and-true model from the good ol' 21st Century!

This baby is in a league of her own--combining the rugged durability of a classic and the high-performance standards you've come to expect from the Amalgamated Consumer Mercantile Exchange Company. The BADGER sports four independent, G-type wheel servos allowing for maximum traction to mount any terrain that gets in your way. The BADGER is designed to roam over all types terra-firma, including rocky (above ground or subterranean), slick mud, fast sand or ice, thick swamp and marsh, and can even be fitted to tackle a number of aquatic environs.

And who can resist that beautifully vintage BADGER look? Have a look at her specs:

• Wheelbase: 1.75 meters (approx.) not necessary to know on-mission, but cool nonetheless!
• Move: 20 over flat ground, slower over rocky terrain, no penalty over slick surfaces (retractable crampons!)
• Armor type (AC): 16, upgradable to 20 with a -2 Move penalty per AC added
• Onboard communications/sensor array: 4d10 x 100 meters
• Standard defensive lasers: two, forward facing 3d6+3

 Other Standard Features

• Airlock!
• Doorlocks!
• Personel armory storage! (gun rack)
• Adjustable seating (up to 6) with seat warmers!
• Climate control!
• Power steering!
• Mini rover storage! (two slots for the 1-meter long little fella's!)
• Enviro-mission suit storage lockers (4) with room for helmet, rebreaters, and footwear!
• 3 extra heavy-duty batteries for special missions!
• And we'll even throw in a coupla' chamois and some BADGER Wax™ because you're ROBBING US BLIND!!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
And if you act now we'll throw in a custom kit of your choice at a discounted price! It's almost a shame to let this lady go un-accessorized--especially where you're going! Take a gander at some of our upgrade options:

Enhanced Sensor Upgrade (double your directional range with this fancy do-dad! We'll throw in the mountable swivel for FREE!)

Primary Defensive Upgrade (turret-mounted MASER; melts targets up to 50 meters away with 4d8+2 dmg)

Cargo Hauler Upgrade (with powered, swivel coupling) hauls up to 12 metric tons EASY (move penalty -1 per ton)

Aquatic Mission Upgrade (one free with every purchase!)

For details and delivery options contact Corky Starbuckle at Amalgamated's Planetary Motor Division. Special pricing up to 3d10% discount on last year's and earlier models!

Tintin's other car is a space tank!

I'd die for a print of this incredible painting by Greg Broadmore of Weta (the visual effects wizards who animated the new Tintin film). I'm already ga-ga over his Dr. Grordbort's line of ray guns and other steampunky works (books, posters, etc.). And since there's talk of a sequel, this gives me huge hope that it might actually appear in a follow-up on the big screen.

This illustration is an homage to a panel from Explorers on the Moon, 17th in the Tin Tin series, and featured in The Art of the Adventures of Tintin.

BTW, saw Tintin last Friday and LOVED it. Apparently others did too--it took home a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, Sunday night.

Seeing this has me thinking that it might be time for me to work up some space vehicle posts!


Via io9

Mini Mag-Lev Racers

Awesome, now make them full size! Don't forget to outlaw force-sensitive ankle-biters.

And before you get your hopes up, it's really a viral campaign for Wipeout by Sony. But still cool!

/via Boing Boing

Interstellar Inspiration: Hover Stuff

 

FAR OUT FINDS: Psi Sled (Part 2)

This is the final part in a 2-part series on the Psi-Sled

How does it work?
A single pilot controls the psi-sled through brainwaves transmitted through the plasmatic energy field inside the cockpit. The field doesn’t appear to harm the pilot—at first—but can become charged and violent if the vehicle doesn’t seem to “want” her or him to perform a certain maneuver or defensive function.

Amulet of Aminora
The craft can be piloted with ease and without side effects if the pilot is wearing the Amulet of Aminora, a medallion made of the same burnished metal as the Psi-sled. A pilot need only think a command and the vehicle will respond. The amulet is circular with a pair of wings folded down over a turquoise “eye” and is covered with intricate alien glyphs on the back.

The amulet is the key to piloting the psi-sled without harm to the driver and also grants the user all of the following additional abilities and effects while in possession of the amulet.

• Pilot encounters no mishaps or side effects when commanding craft
• Pilot enjoys +2 bonus on psyche (or similar) rolls while wearing amulet
• Pilot wearing amulet while inside craft becomes coated in a thin, slippery coat of metallic residue that superconducts mental commands, coating disappears completely when not occupying craft if wearer desires (see #1 below for properties of this residue when in present)
• When occupied with pilot wearing amulet, the shifting iridescent colors of the craft’s outer skin coalesces into “tattoos” resembling ancient symbols and glyphs. The colors deepen as if to “solidify” on the skin of the sled and provides +2 protection as armor against all attacks (physical, psionic, etc.); residue becomes silvery if worn outside of craft and wearer retains +2 protection bonus

Following abilities are granted per class-level gained, selection is at GM's discretion or 1d6:

1. If pilot and craft are separated, the wearer may call the sled to her/his present location
2. With effort, wearer can remotely control sled when unoccupied
3. True sight: wearer is less susceptible to illusions with +2 bonus
4. Booming voice: wearer’s voice is amplified as a public address system when occupying craft when she/he intends to be heard, those hearing voice roll save on morale to keep from fleeing
5. Force field: wearer can create a personal plasmatic force field up to 5 meters in diameter, sustained for 1d6 rounds, protection provides AC 14 + any intelligence bonuses the pilot may already have
6. Sleeping sentinel: wearer can slip into suspended animation indefinitely, during this time HP is frozen at current number, all stats drop to zero, and PC is rendered both unplayable and uncommunicative (this includes astrally) until revived. Sleep protects wearer from harm and also from having amulet removed. Back compartment of the sled acts as a sarcophagus for sleeper. Can only be awoken with the blessing of a deity of Benu which must be gained by the pilot’s companions (assuming she/he still had any) or an outside benefactor

GM Notes:
This is a powerful item, but I’m hoping it will be fun for PCs to play with/incur wanton destruction.

Restrictions

• Only one pilot may wear the amulet at a time
• Amulet must be given, attempts to take it by force will result in a plasmatic blast (3d6 damage and save vs. stun/paralysis)
• Amulet must be given tribute with a burnt offering before it will accept a new host
• After 3 days of use, it's energy level will decrease be depleted. To recharge the vehicle, it must be parked over a ley line or over a water aquifer overnight and it will absorb the necessary psionic energy to run at full power. The fact that the psi-sled runs on pure psionic energies is not well known.

Inspiration:

• Flight of the Navigator
• Micronauts Pharaoid
• Star Wars speeders
• Plasma globe
• The Phoenix (TV series)

FAR OUT FINDS: Psi Sled (Part 1)

With all the recent Micronauts madness that's been let loose on Rients blog--and the love for them by many OSR folks in general--I thought it apropos to post this artifact that I've been working on for a while.   __________________________________________________

PREAMBLE
Ancient technology is unpredictable and therefore, dangerous. Experienced explorers should use caution when handling. Following are all known facts about the artifact in question, GMs should feel free to feed information to players on a need to know basis.

What is it?
An ancient curiosity discovered in the tombs of the great desert kings beneath the sandy blue salt flats of Benu.

What does it look like?
The sled features an elongated, sculpted trapezoidal shape, topped with a transparent canopy, appearing similar to clear glass to those outside craft. The craft appears to have fluted fins (“wings”) on the opposite end. The front slopes of the fuselage curve out and terminate into a long, flat base with flared edges, similar to skis.

The exterior skin appears to be a burnished brass-like metal, which can include blotches of color depending on lighting conditions giving a Mother of Pearl effect or similar to shifting iridescent hues in a pool of petroleum fuel. Coloring seems to shift through all parts of the spectrum—from sparkling golds and oranges, to shimmering pinks and violets, and even sometimes turquoises ringed with deep blues.

The one-person cockpit is a transparent sphere perched directly atop the front of the craft. From the outside, a single blocky seat can be seen and while piloted the sphere glows and crackles with pink/blue plasmatic energy. The streams of plasma don’t seem to directly injure the pilot while operating normally. There are no apparent controls visible.

The pilot enters the cockpit by tapping on the glass three or more times (basically tapping in rapid succession). The front of the craft develops “ridges” like stairs leading up to the piloting deck, while the transparent canopy becomes vaporous to allow the pilot entry. The sphere re-solidifies upon the pilot taking her/his seat.

What can it do?
The sled is a one-person vehicle that can travel at incredible speeds as it hovers up to a meter off of flat ground. Over rougher terrain, the vehicle can fly as any other hover-car or similar vehicle. It’s been known to disappear—that is to blink in and out of sight, which suggests some dimensional travel capabilities. It also appears to exhibit extremely high durability. Some might say nearly indestructible, but it’s rarely around long enough to test this hypothesis.

Defense
The vehicle has no obvious, external weaponry, but it does exhibit defensive capabilities:

Ho-hum
A loud, throbbing hum that forces all living creatures in a 50 meter diameter to flee, unless they make a save or become incapacitated. All creatures are immediately forced outside this perimeter and make a second save roll to determine whether they put an additional 50 meters between them and the 50 foot perimeter. During this time all actions other than fleeing are prohibited.

Mind Milking
All targets within a 50 meter cone are sapped of brain waves for 2d6 rounds, resulting in a penalty of -4 on any type of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Psyche checks (or any other “mind” related checks) for that period. Any target suffering three or more of these attacks in a single day suffers a permanent -1 deduction from one of those scores (PC’s choice).

Plasmatic Blast
Once per day a powerful, plasmatic energy blast can be fired from the cockpit sphere. Damage is mainly concussive and electrical (3d6) with a range of 70 meters. Unknowing to pilot, she/he is immediately rendered unconscious for 1d6 rounds upon firing.

Speed and Movement
Psi-sled can accelerate to incredible speeds which haven’t been measured. For in-game purposes it travels anywhere from 0 up to 1,200 kilometers per hour, but can easily reach speeds around Mach 5 through Earth-like, high-altitude atmosphere.

Maneuverability
The craft can rotate, pitch, yaw, and roll in all directions—basically behave like a UFO. The sled can maneuver with little effort and no inertial effects on the pilot are felt. How it’s able to accomplish this feat without serious injury falling to the pilot is unknown.

Intelligence
It’s undetermined if the sled possesses sentience—and thereby intelligence—of any kind. It does not speak, but it behaves erratically with most pilots, which suggests an “unwillingness” to be piloted.

What can it do to YOU?
The Psi-sled can prove as dangerous to its user as it does to anyone unlucky enough to square off against it. All pilots who enter the canopy suffer the following effects:

Side Effects
(1d8 for every turn pilot occupies cockpit):

1. Pilot develops strong metallic taste in mouth, 1d4 rounds later hands up to elbows become coated in patchy metallic coating, become magnetized, neither the condition now the effects subside 
2. Pilot suffers migraines outside of craft after more than 4 rounds piloting, prompting her/him to want to re-board immediately to alleviate pain
3. Nervousness and -1 on Will checks (or similar) outside of craft after 4 or more rounds piloting
4. Lack of appetite (no food consumed after piloting)
5. Insomnia (no HP healed overnight after piloting)
6. Pilot becomes delusional: roll save vs. Will or similar save; failure results in pilot believing he/she is godlike and forsakes all allies and goals in order to continue flying craft
7. Blurry vision -2 to sight checks, outside of craft after 4 or more rounds piloting
8. Slurred speech (negate all bluff, negotiation, or similar skills for 1d6 rounds)

Piloting Mishap
(1d8 on turns executing a piloting maneuver other than straight ahead):

1. Loud, deep siren sounds, roll save vs. paralysis
2. Erratic behavior: craft will either move in unintended direction (randomly rolled on 1d12/hands on a clock), makes wild turns, or shakes and shimmies uncontrollably
3. Cockpit goes dark: a cloudy tint coats the glass, nothing can be seen or sensed outside cockpit
4. Will not respond to commands during current round
5. Powerful and intrusive psionic connection causes pilot to soil self
6. Control sphere (where pilot sits) experiences a sudden backbuild in electro-magnetic energy, essentially shocking pilot with 2d6 damage
7. Unintended acceleration/no brakes (pick one, they’re both bad and they both end with the craft stopping abruptly, turning cockpit glass to vapor, and letting occupant fly forward to his/her death
8. Pilot suffers stroke; Failing constitution (or similar) check, pilot takes 3d6 damage

How does it work?
Stay tuned for Part 2 and the secret to mastering the psi-sled!

Moon Wagon Train to the Stars!

Part of my original purpose for the Exonauts! blog was to give some inspiration for early space pioneers and the type of gear that they'd need to employ. I remember reading recently (somewhere I can't recall at the moment) that the originally Star Frontiers didn't have spaceships. This, to me, is ridiculous. Apparently they introduced actual starfaring craft in the Knight Hawks expansion.

How you can you not have space travel in a space opera RPG? It's THE basic element that all space-RPGs require! What do you mean you need to get the expans--wha? What's that on the cover?

And then I saw it, and immediately I was in love...

Huminna-hummina! It's called the Explorer, and it's basically a futuristic monster truck. Sort of like the A-Team van but with bigger wheels and lasers! And who can resist the striping?!

I immediately saw potential here for a class of ground vehicle that was more robust and rugged than an ordinary rover. I did some digging and before long I'd come up with not one, but TWO concepts for non-hovering, heavy ground vehicles. These are rough concepts at this point, so I won't go into stat specifics in this post.

So, I think the Explorer is a good start, but I see it belonging to a bigger family of planetary excursion vehicles. Something monstrous, but still dedicated to it's primary purpose: exploring. I call it the Moon Wagon.

MOON WAGON
The primary mission of a moon wagon is exploration. It may also serve scientific, reconnaissance, and survivalist missions. They provide excellent protection from harsh planetary environments and are considered a cross between a mobile headquarters and the Conestoga wagon of yesteryear. Moon Wagon's are built to endure harsh climes and terrain and come in a variety of configurations employing either axeled drive (two wheels per axel), can be fit with independent wheel drives so each wheel moves independently, or a combination thereof. In addition, MW class vehicles adhere to the following criteria:

• General purpose and complement: exploration, scientific, and engineering purposes; boast scientific instrumentation, cargo/personnel focused
• The fewer the axles, the bigger the tires
• If axel powered, Moon Wagons have a minimum of 2 axles (with a 2-wheel minimum per axel), however 3 axels (with a 6-wheel minimum) are more common
• Moon Wagons must always have some wheels, caterpillar treads are okay, but at least one axle or wheel pair is required to keep classification
• Moon Wagons often employ external accessories like robotic arms, construction implements (buldozer blades, drills, etc.) sensor modules, communications arrays, etc., or combination thereof for general use in many mission types
• Moon Wagons may have some external weaponry, but they may not bristle with weapons as warfare is not their primary function

Examples:

 

  

  

 

The other main ground vehicle type is, as you've probably already guessed, the big guns. No reason to be coy here, it's a @#$! Space Tank!

SPACE TANK
Heavily armored and armed, Space Tanks or "Spanks" as they're called by the grunts who operate them, are ground force artillery vehicles dedicated to offensive/defensive campaigns. Strictly speaking, spanks "bring the pain" on a given battlefield and adhere to the following guidelines:

• UPDATE: Built for heavy combat situations, Space Tanks are always equipped with two pieces of equipment: an obvious, primary weapon and extremely durable--if not outright heavy--armor plating
• Spanks have limited space for cargo and crew, most interior space is dedicated to housing artillery, ordinance, and mission critical personnel 
• Spanks must always have treads, an axle  or use of independently powered wheels are acceptable, but at least one caterpillar is required to keep the classification (BigTrak would seem to break this rule! Also, the Mako from Mass Effect is quite obviously a tank, where it had previously been classified as a Moon Wagon)
  
• UPDATE: Space Tanks may be wheeled or use treads
• Obvious communications and sensors are kept to a minimum, but a variety of defensive accessories such as bulldozer blades, drills, etc. may be added as long as they serve the vehicle's primary mission

Examples:

 

  

 

Both Classes:

• UPDATE: Both vehicle classes must be able to operate in an absence of atmosphere (vacuum), hence required pressurized/sealed life support systems
• Cross-over designs should be avoided to alleviate any confusion
• Either class may use a variety of chasis sizes and power plants to serve their specific mission types
• Either may have on-board robotic pilots, and may be controlled remotely, but should not act as unmanned vehicles or robotic rovers (these are separate classifications)
• Both Space Tanks and Moon Wagons may act as personnel carriers or increase cargo space, but sacrifice some of their primary components to do so (i.e., a MWs carry lighter, scientific equipment, STs carry less ammunition and possibly fewer weapons).
• All ground vehicles will have 1980s color-coordinated striping, this is non-negotiable

Neither Class:
Neither class includes the following vehicle types:

• Urban vehicles or assault craft (often appearing with 3 axels but serve different functions)
• Limbed vehicles
• Robotic drones or rovers
• Juggernauts

It's likely I'll revise this in an ongoing fashion--including a growing gallery of images for inspiration--so expect a fair amount of updates/edits. And yes, I'll get to spacecraft in a future post. ;)

Thoughts?