Vehicle overview

In most respects, vehicles are handled the same ways as troop units.

Vehicles require one primary crew - in almost all cases, this is the pilot or driver of the vehicle. If a vehicle doesn't have an active, living operator actively controlling it, it doesn't move. Aircraft will crash, ground vehicles will sit in place, and so on.

On the primary operator's turn, the primary operator can move the vehicle up to the maximum movement rating of the vehicle, just like troop units. The primary operator can use their Action to operate one weapon or equipment item controllable from where they're at in the vehicle.

This is subject to common sense and the design of the vehicle. An attack helicopter pilot is able to operate anything mounted on the vehicle, for example, but the pilot of a transport helicopter is not going to be able to operate a swivel-mounted machine gun intended to be operated by the crew chief.

An exhaustive list of all types of vehicles would be impossible, so generic sample vehicles are presented in the example vehicles section as a starting point for players to create their own.

Vehicle crews

A vehicle can have multiple crew members. As long as they're performing a function, they can't move, and must stay at their controls and perform actions. These actions can include:

• Using a vehicle on a weapon to make an attack. Every weapon can only be used once in a turn. On a tank, for example, the tank commander can use a top-mounted machine gun, the driver can control a remote weapons station, and the gunner can use the main gun, but the player can't use each crewman to fire the main gun threew times.
• Assisting another crew member, if applicable, using the same rules as for crew-served weapons.

Vehicle weapons

Many vehicles have weapons that are designed and intended to be operated linked together: twin guns on a fighter aircraft, a multiple rocket pod on an attack helicopter, and so on.

These weapons can be used together to make an attack as part of a single action, as long as all of them:

• Are of the same type
• Are being used by the same operator
• Are being fired at the same target

Use common sense to determine the firing arc of weapons - turreted weapons can generally traverse at least 180 degrees, and weapons fixed in place will generally require the entire vehicle to reorient. In Down Range, you should assume vehicles can reorient freely unless unusually constricted terrain is in play.

Carrying passengers

Some vehicles can carry passengers. Troop units can get on or off a vehicle as part of normal movement, as long as they're doing so through the means that the vehicle was designed to easily take on passengers. Boarding trucks, getting in cars, or jumping off landed helicopters costs nothing extra.

Once units get on board a vehicle, take them off the playing area. When they get back out, they start their movement from the hatch, door, or ramp they would reasonably leave the vehicle from.

Non-standard means of getting on or off vehicles requires a unit to focus, not moving or taking actions otherwise. If getting out, place them next to the appropriate door, ramp, or hatch. The vehicle must remain still for this to occur.

All crew and passengers of a vehicle (or a "vehicle" that consist of multiple infantrymen grouped together as a gun team in one token) are considered to be killed if the vehicle is destroyed, unless they had reaction ready to bail before the attack was declared.

Attacking passengers and crew

For most vehicles that completely enclose their occupants, attacks cannot be made on the crew and passengers directly, and must attack the vehicle as a whole. For vehicles in which occupants are exposed, attacks may be directed at specific occupants. Any passenger riding in a compartment exposed to the exterior - truck beds, opened hatches, etc. - may be attacked, albeit at a disadvantage. For vehicles that expose the entire passenger, such as motorcycles, attacks may be made without any disadvantage.

Overloading passenger capacity

Vehicles can carry more passengers than they were intended to, subject to what they can reasonably take and player agreement. Infantry might hitch a ride on a passing tank, for example, but players may rule that this makes the tank unable to use all its weapons or move as fast as it normally would, in order to avoid dislodging its passengers. When in doubt, halve the movement of the vehicle and apply a disadvantage to any actions it takes.

Use the rules for nonstandard embarking/disembarking of vehicles if a vehicle is overcrowded internally.

Carrying passengers example

Sam's team of four troops boards a landed helicopter. The helicopter is intended to carry up to six troops. The team is able to move to the helicopter and board it without any special actions.

Once they're at the target, the team leaves the helicopter by fast-roping. This is not a standard means of easily getting on or off a vehicle, so the team will need to focus on getting out. Once they rope off, the team will be placed on the playing area next to each other, and next to the end of the rope they came in on. The helicopter will need to remain still, hovering in place, in order for this to be completed successfully.

Unmanned vehicles

For totally autonomous vehicles, the unit itself will have a skill and behave identically to any other unit representing an individual person.

To operate a remotely-piloted vehicle (RPV), a unit must focus and signal (see the section on signaling), and may then move the RPV up to the RPV's maximum move range for every turn that they maintain their focus and continue to signal.

RPVs that are armed may make attacks using the operator's skill, as long as they are currently being controlled.

It's possible to combine both autonomous and remote control for many platforms - for example, most unmanned aerial systems must be operated manually, but can enter an autonomous mode to return to their launch location if they lose contact with their operator. Assuming UAS will do this is likely a safe bet for most players.