Piloting vehicles will be worked off the principle of Disable Device most of the time, unless it is a more simple vehicle such as a ship, which would use the appropriate Profession skill. (i.e. Profession Sailor) Otherwise the vehicle is too complicated and requires a skill check made by someone with proper ranks in Disable Device to operate it. Here are the rules for that:
Piloting Machinery
Some of the inventions that Gnomes create will need to be piloted in order to work properly, and some inventions made by humans require the same as well.. When piloting a machine the driver has a number of options available to him that he can perform, with the proper Disable Device check.
All are standard actions unless otherwise noted:
Avoid a Hazard (Disable Device check varies on size)
You try to swerve or maneuver around a hazard. DCs are as follows:
Fine 0
Small 3
Medium-sized 12
Large 15
Huge 20
Gargantuan 25
Colossal 30
Double Move (Disable Device check DC 15)
You essentially try to get a burst of speed out of the vehicle.
Evasive Actionns (Disable Device check DC 12)
The pilot attempts to dodge and weave with the vehicle to avoid incoming enemy fire. For every 2 he beats the DC of the check by he adds +1 to the vehicle's AC for that round.
Turn Vehicle (Disable Device check varies)
The pilot does everything within his power to move the vehicle to face a different direction. If he moved half speed last round and continues to this round then he has a +5 bonus to his check. If he moved full speed last round and goes half speed this round then he incurs no bonus or penalty to his check. If he moved at double speed last round and half speed this round he has a -5 to his check, and if he moved double speed last round and normal speed this round he has a -10 to his check. If he moved double speed last round and this round he has a total of a -20 to his Disable Device for turning. Whatever DC he hits for turning is how much he turns, he can decide to turn less however he has to at minimum turn 45 degrees.
NOTE: Turns must occur at the beginning of a move, they cannot occur in the middle of one.
45 Degree Turn (DC 10)
90 Degree Turn (Dc 15)
180 Degree Turn (Dc 20)
360 Degree Turn (DC 30)
Climb/Dive
This can only be performed by certain flying machines, such as gliders, and is very similiar to turning. You may climb/dive at the same angles as you could turn. It is a little more difficult then a turn, however, because in some cases you are actually turning yourself upside down and then righting yourself. Here are the DCs:
Climb/Dive at 45 Degrees (DC 10)
Extreme Climb/Dive at between 45-90 degrees (DC 20)
Immelmann Turn: essentially a climb, a half-loop, and a half-roll to right the
vehicle by the end of the movement. Able to climb/dive up to 180 degrees. (DC 30)
Jumping (DC 15-25+)
Occassionally a pilot will be using a ground based vehicle and will need to attempt to jump over an obstacle such as a bridge or something similiar. In order for his to do this he must make 2 checks. The first determines if the vehicle clears the obstacle. Movement counts heavily towards this so the following appllies: if he moved half speed last round and continues to this round then he has a -10 penalty to his check. If he moved full speed last round and goes half speed this round then he incurs a -5 penalty to his check. If he moved at double speed last round and half speed this round he has a +5 to his check, and if he moved double speed last round and normal speed this round he has a +10 to his check. If he moved double speed last round and this round he has a total of a +15 to his Disable Device for jumping. The second check is to see whether or not the pilot can maintain control of his vehicle upon landing. Apply the penalties listed for the speed of a turning vehicle to this check. While the DC for the jump may vary the DC for retaining control of the vehicle remains stationary at 10.
Ram (DC equals target's AC)
Some of the more insane inventors build vehicles built for ramming, or some of the insane pilots attempt to ram even if their vehicle isn't made for it. The pilot who is ramming makes a Disable Device check vs the AC of the target he's attempting to ram. If they were both vehicles of equal hardness then both take Sd6 damage, where S equals the combined speed that both vehicles were going last divided by 10. For example, say vehicle A just stopped his last turn after making a 30ft standard move. Then vehicle B makes a 30ft move and attempts to ram vehicle A. 30+30=60/2=6 so 6d6 damage is dealt to both vehicles. If one has a higher hardness then the other subtract the hardness of that vehicle from the damage, but do not do the same for the vehicle with the lower hardness. If you attempt to ram a person the overrun rules apply from the Player Handbook, but damage is still roughly the same.
Regain Control (DC 10)
Full-round action to regain control of the vehicle.
Roll (DC 15)
Vehicle performs a 360 degree lateral roll ending in the same state it began. (hopefully)
Landing (DC 15)
Assumes a flat surface for the landing.
Take Off (DC 10)
Pilots use this to take off from a flat surface.
Vehicle Mishaps
When a pilot misses a Disable Device roll he may have a mishap occur with the vehicle. Consult the chart below, the effect remains until he makes a successful pilot roll to regain control of the vehicle.
Check failed by Effect Pilot Check Penalty 5 or less Spin -2 6-10 Slide -4 11-15 Skid -6 16-20 Spin -8 21 or more Collision Special
Spin
Vehicle completes its current maneuver and continues moving straight at its normal speed until pilot regains control.
Slide
Pilot gets half the desire effect (i.e. if he wanted a 90 degree turn he'd get 45 degrees) and the vehicles only moves at half speed until the pilot regains control of the vehicle.
Skid
The vehicle's speed drops by 10 and it skids 5 feet to the right or left. If this brings the vehicle into contact with another object a collision occurs. The vehicle continues to lose speed by 10 each round and skids 5 feet to the left or right until the pilot regains control, it's speed drops to 0, or it crashes into something.
Spin
Same as skid although it will move in a completely random direction each round. (roll 1d8 to determine)
Collision
Pilot loses control of the vehicle and crashes into the ground or another nearby convenient object.
