Vektor SS Machine Guns in GURPS

Vektor SS-77, 7.62×51mm (South Africa, 1986-1993)

The SS-77 is named for its designers (R. J. Smith and L. Soregi) and the year they started working on the design. It combines features of several other machine guns, notably the bolt mechanism from the SG-43 Goryunova and many parts of the FN MAG (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 134-135). Due to South Africa fielding multiple different ammunition belts for the same calibre, it was designed to take any of them. It has many features, such as dust covers on virtually every opening, which help in dry, dusty conditions (+1 HT to rolls to avoid breakdown in desert environments, see GURPS Tactical Shooting: Extreme Conditions, pp. 16-17). Unfortunately, it also has a problematic gas port which makes it prone to malfunction.

The bipod is detachable, and folds into the handguard when not in use. The folding stock can be quickly removed and replaced with spade grips for use on vehicle mounts. Typical load is 100 rounds in a pear-shaped fabric pouch (7 lbs.) but 200 rounds in a plastic case (15 lbs.) is also an option.

An improved version (1993) corrected the issues with the gas port (remove note [1]).

The SS-77 Compact (Wt 23.7/7) is a lightened version with a telescopic stock and no bipod. It has accessory rails (GURPS High-Tech, p. 161) on the top and underside.

Vektor Mini-SS, 5.56×45mm (South Africa, 1994-2016)

This is essentially a slightly simplified version of the SS-77, adapted to a smaller cartridge. It has a fixed stock and only the ejection port has a dust cover. It is typically loaded with a 200-round belt in a pouch (7 lbs.).

GUNNER (MACHINE GUN) (DX−4 or other Gunner at −4)

TL	Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Cost	LC	Notes
8	Vektor SS-77, 7.62×51mm	7d pi	5	940/4,000	28.2/7	13!	100(5)	11B†	−7*	2	$7,000	2	[1]
8	Vektor Mini-SS, 5.56×45mm	5d pi	5	520/3,600	25.2/7	13!	200(5)	11B†	−7	2	$5,000	2

[1] Unreliable. Malfunctions on 16+.

Tatzelwurms in GURPS

Tatzelwurm

The tatzelwurm (“paw-serpent”) is a legendary creature from the Alps. It has a broad snake-like body, a cat-like head, and a variable number of legs depending on the legend. Although covered in scales, it usually has a crest of bristles running down its spine. Its breath and bite carry deadly venom. Alternative names include stollenwurm (“tunnel serpent”), bergstutz (“mountain stump”), and praazlewurm (“serpent with arms”).

Tatzelwurm

ST 10; DX 11; IQ 4; HT 11.
HP 10; Will 12; Per 12; FP 11; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 6.
SM 0, 110 lbs.

Bite (13): 1d−2 impaling + follow-up 1d toxic (resisted by HT−3; Cyclic, 1 minute, 10 cycles). Reach C.
Breath (resisted by HT−3): Affects a cone 10 yards long with 5 yards terminal width. Blood Agent. Dissipation (+2 to resist at 3-4 yards, +3 at 5-6 yards, etc.).
Claw (13): 1d−2 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Born Biter 1; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Horizontal; Night Vision 3; No Fine Manipulators; No Legs (Slithers); Parabolic Hearing 1; Vibration Sense (Air); Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-13; Stealth-13; Survival (Mountains)-13.

The above profile is for a two-legged creature. For a legless one, change No Fine Manipulators to No Manipulators and remove the claw attack. For a four-legged beast which can walk upright, remove Horizontal and No Legs, and add Semi-Upright. Versions with more legs exchange No Legs for Extra Legs.

Hotchkiss 81mm Mortars in GURPS

Hotchkiss MO-81-61-LC, 81mm (France, 1961-1997)

The Léger Court (“Light Short”) infantry mortar is an evolution of the basic Stokes mortar (GURPS High-Tech, p. 145) design: a baseplate (31 lbs.) and bipod (27.5 lbs.) mount, supporting a simple muzzle-loading barrel (28 lbs.), and sights (1.5 lbs.). The breech face screws onto the barrel and has a retractable firing pin, making extraction of unfired bombs safer.

In addition to HE (in table), it fires illumination (600 yard radius, 55 seconds), WP (Dmg 4d [4d] burn ex, 23 yard radius cloud of smoke lasting 1 minute), and titanium tetrachloride smoke (23 yard radius cloud lasting 2 minutes). The smoke from the latter contains a small amount of hydrochloric acid vapor which can cause injury with prolonged exposure: treat as a corrosive atmosphere (Basic Set, p. 429) resisted at HT.

The MO-81-61-LL (Léger Long, “Light Long”) is a long-barreled variant (Wt 95, Rng 130/5,000, $6,500). It uses the same bipod and sights as the LC but has a 33 lbs. baseplate and 32.5 lbs. barrel.

The Thompson-CSF LLR (Léger Long Renforcé, “Light Long Reinforced) is the latest version (1997-, TL 8, Wt 95, Rng 280/6,300, $7,000). It has the same baseplate and barrel weight as the LL, but is more rugged and able to fire more powerful ammunition. An optional 6 lbs. unit allows trigger-firing.

ARTILLERY (CANNON) (IQ−5)

TL	Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Cost	LC	Notes
7	MO-81-61-C, 81mm	6d×3 [4d] cr ex	3	90/4,500	88/9.5	1	1(4)	20M	$6,000	1	[1]

[1] First Range figure is minimum range.

HS.404 Autocannon in GURPS

Hispano-Suiza HS.404, 20×110mmHS (France, 1938-1940)

Designed by Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt, who was seeking to improve on the Oerlikon Typ S (GURPS High-Tech, p. 132). The HS.404 uses a gas-unlocked delayed-blowback operating mechanism and feeds from 60-round drums. Originally intended for mounting on top of a fighter plane engine, it was adapted for both aircraft and anti-air use. It suffers from frequent issues with light strikes failing to ignite primers, which can be a serious problem in aircraft mountings where it may not be possible to eject a dud round. It also had issues extracting spent casings, requiring the ammunition to be lubricated.

Following the fall of France, production shifted to the company’s Swiss factory, where it was named the HS.804. A 160-round double drum (180 lbs. loaded, 89 lbs. empty, $1,000) was developed for anti-aircraft use, although this suffered from feeding problems unless underloaded (GURPS Tactical Shooting, p. 20).

The British had licensed the design from the French and produced it as the Hispano Mk I. They further developed the design by shortening the chamber to reduce the chance of light strikes, and switched to a belt feed system. The resulting weapon was known as the Hispano Mk II. A final refinement lightened the gun and fluted the chamber to overcome extraction issues, designated the Hispano Mk V. The HS804 produced by British firm AEI systems is functionally very similar to the Hispano Mk V.

In America, a belt-fed version known as the AN-M2 was designed for the US Army and Navy. This failed to resolve the reliability issues, and the subsequent M3 was only marginally better. A version of the M3 with an electric firing and cocking mechanism was designated M24 and used in aircraft turrets. Old M3s and M24s were modified for use as deck guns in the 1960s, designated Mk 16 Mod 4 and Mod 5 respectively.

The first HE shells developed for the HS.404 had overly sensitive fuzes, causing them to explode before penetrating the target (Dmg 2d [1d] cr ex), so ball rounds (in table) were issued instead. An improved HE round (Dmg 6d×3(0.5) pi++ with a 2d [1d] cr ex follow-up) became available in 1941. Other commonly used rounds include AP-T (Dmg 6d×2(2) pi+), APHC (Dmg 6d×3(2) pi+), and SAPHE (Dmg 6d×3) pi++ with a 2d [1d] cr ex follow-up).

GUNNER (MACHINE GUN) (DX−4 or other Gunner at −4)

TL	Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Cost	LC	Notes
6	HS.404, 20×110HS	6d×3 pi++	5	1,900/7,200	110/56	11!	60(5)	27M	−11	4	$20,000/$500	1	[1]
7	Hispano Mk II, 20×110HS	6d×3 pi++	5	1,900/7,200	101/82	10!	120(5)	26M	−11	4	$20,000	1
7	Hispano Mk V, 20×110HS	6d×3 pi++	5	1,900/6,900	101/82	12!	120(5)	26M	−10	4	$20,000	1	[2]
7	AN-M2, 20×110HS	6d×3 pi++	5	1,900/7,200	132/82	11!	120(5)	26M	−11	3	$20,000	1	[1]
7	M3, 20×110HS	6d×3 pi++	5	1,900/6,900	116/82	12!	120(5)	27M	−10	4	$20,000	1

[1] Unreliable. Malfunctions on 16+.
[2] Very Reliable. Won't malfunction unless Malf is reduced.

Ammunition Table

Name	WPS	CPS	Notes
20×110mmHS	0.6	$10

GURPS Ground Vehicle Worksheet

Here's a worksheet for calculating powered ground vehicle stats.

It requires the use of the article 'Describing Vehicles' in Pyramid magazine, volume 3, issue 120.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LFi3xRQV9S2y-R75Exf3Bfap_kfIlUi--i894WoMZ6s/edit?usp=sharing

Instructions:

First, make a copy of the sheet so that you can edit it.

Then enter the necessary data in the input tab.

Each column (B-K) can be used for a different vehicle, if you want to work on several at once.

First select whether you want to use metric or US customary units. You have to stay consistent within each column.

The vehicle name row should be self-explanatory.

Year is the year it was first produced. This will output a TL based on the dates in GURPS High-Tech. Only TL 5-9 is covered.

Loaded weight is in kg (if metric units are used) or lbs. (if using US customary ones). If you don't enter a loaded weight, it should be calculated automatically so long as you provide a curb weight and load.

Curb weight is also in kg or lbs.

Empty weight is in kg or lbs. If you leave it blank, it will be calculated automatically if you have a curb weight and a fuel capacity (the sheet assumes that fuel is 6 lbs. per gallon).

Load is in kg or lbs. If you have a loaded weight and a curb weight, you can leave it blank and the sheet should calculate the correct value.

Fuel is either diesel or gasoline. The only reason this matters is because gasoline-fueled vehicles are flammable and diesel-fueled ones aren't. If your vehicle uses something weird, choose based on flammability. Modern batteries tend to be flammable.

Fuel capacity is in litres or US gallons.

Length is in metres or feet.

Shape is usually 'boxy' but see Describing Vehicles for guidance.

Handling, Stability, and Health are as in Describing Vehicles. Note that the only form of fragile available is 'f', which is added automatically to gasoline-fueled vehicles.

Motive power is in kW or horsepower.

Top speed is in kmph or mph.

Terrain is either 'all-terrain' or 'road-bound'. Generally speaking, anything with all-wheel drive or tracks is the former, while other wheeled vehicles are the latter, but use common sense. Road-bound vehicles add an asterisk to their move.

Acceleration to... is the speed which the vehicle's acceleration time is measured against. This is usually 100 kmph or 60 mph.

...in seconds is how long it takes to achieve the above speed. These two numbers can be left blank so long as you have a motive power figure to estimate acceleration from.

Crew is how many people the vehicle needs to operate all its systems.

Passengers is how many extra seats it has. This can be left blank.

Occupancy code is the letters which appear after Occ. numbers. A for long-term accomadations, F for air-filters, etc.

DR 1 is the vehicle's main DR. This is compulsory.

DR 2 is for a secondary DR score if required. This can be left blank.

Fuel consumption is in kilometres per litre or miles per gallon. This is optional if you have a Range.

Range is in km or miles. This can be left blank if you have numbers for both fuel capacity and fuel consumption, in which case it will calculate automatically.

Price is in GURPS dollars, which are roughly equivalent to US dollars betweeen 2000 and 2010. If you leave this blank the sheet will estimate a cost based on the guidelines in Describing Vehicles.

Locations is just the string of letters and numbers which describe the vehicle's locations.

Notes should be in the form [1][2][3]... you will have to add the actual notes yourself.

After entering all the necessary information, you can go to the Stats tab to see the output. The HTML tab gives the same information, formatted for easy pasting into a HTML table.

Toyota Land Cruisers in GURPS

The Toyota Land Cruiser series of light trucks is the manufacturer's longest running vehicle series. It is popular worldwide, with a reputation for reliability. In addition to civilian users, a wide variety of military forces make use of them, especially irregular militias in Africa and the Middle East, who modify civilian trucks into 'technicals' by fitting weapon mounts. Like most popular automobiles, the Land Cruiser has been produced in a vast number of models, of which the following is only a small sample.

Toyota Jeep BJ, 1951-1955

The very first vehicle to bear the Land Cruiser name was initially known as the Toyota Jeep. It was essentially similar to the American military trucks which shared that name (GURPS High-Tech, pp. 236-237). The driver and one passenger sat at the front in actual seats, while benches running along the sides of the cargo bed seated the rest of the passengers. Initial sales were to the military and police. It was renamed 'Land Cruiser' in 1954.

Toyota Land Cruiser J40, 1960-1985

The first truly successful Land Cruiser, the J40 had a fully enclosed cab and was available as either a four-door station wagon (Occ 1+4) or truck (in table), with folding benches at the sides of the cargo bed. The latter could have either a canvas or rigid cover over the cargo bed, or be an open-bed pickup.

Diesel versions were less powerful, but more fuel-efficient (HT 11, Move 2/35, Range 250).

Toyota Land Cruiser J70, 1984-

The J70 series had a more angular design than previous models. It was available as a SUV (Occ 1+4), four-door pickup (Occ 1+4), two-door pickup (Occ 1+1), or troop carrier (in table) with benches running along the sides of the cargo bed.

Initial diesel versions were less powerful (HT 11, Move 2/38, Range 430), but by 2007 a powerful turbo-diesel V8 was able to match gasoline performance (HT 11, Cost $40k).

Toyota Land Cruiser J80, 1990-2007

A five-door SUV, with a rounded appearance. From 1995 they come with airbags and improved brakes (GURPS High-Tech, p. 229).

Toyota Land Cruiser J100, 1998-2007

A similar design to the J80, but a little more luxurious. Airbags and improved brakes are standard, and from 2002 an active infra-red system (gives Night Vision 7) which projects onto the windshield as a heads-up display is available.

Toyota Land Cruiser J200, 2008-2021

A large, luxurious SUV with airbags, improved brakes, and a rear-view camera.

DRIVING/TL (AUTOMOBILE)

TL	Vehicle	ST/HP	Hnd/SR	HT	Move	LWt.	Load	SM	Occ.	DR	Range	Cost	Loc.	Notes
7	Toyota Jeep BJ	59	0/3	10f	2/30	2.5	0.9	+3	1+7	3	290	$10k	O4W
7	Toyota Land Cruiser J40	62	0/3	11f	2/47	2.5	0.7	+3	1+5	3	210	$30k	G4W
8	Toyota Land Cruiser J70	61	0/3	11f	2/44	2.7	0.9	+4	1+7	3	400	$35k	G4W
8	Toyota Land Cruiser J80	66	0/3	11	2/47	3.2	0.9	+4	1+7	3	450	$40k	G4W
8	Toyota Land Cruiser J100	70	0/3	11	2/52	3.6	0.9	+4	1+7	3	540	$70k	G4W
8	Toyota Land Cruiser J200	71	0/3	11f	3/61	3.7	0.9	+4	1+7	3	530	$80k	G4W

Entelodonts in GURPS

Nicknamed ‘terminator hogs’ or ‘hell pigs’, entelodonts superficially resembled long-legged wild boar or warthogs, but were actually more closely related to hippos and cetaceans. Their long jaws were capable of both gaping wide and biting with extreme force. They are believed to have been omnivores, favoring nuts, fruit, roots, and carrion, but able and willing to take live prey when the opportunity arose. Wounds apparently inflicted by others of their kind indicate considerable social competition, suggesting they lived in groups.

Early Enteleodonts were fairly small. Brachyhyops was a pig-sized animal which emerged in South Asia during the middle Eocene and spread from there across Asia and into North America by the late Eocene. In North America, it may have evolved into Archaeotherium, which varied in size by species and lived from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene. A. mortoni was no larger than most deer, but A. zygomaticus was the size of a moose.

Entelodon thrived throughout Eurasia from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene. Most species within the genus were donkey-sized, but E. major and E. gobiensis from east Asia were the size of horses.

As the Oligocene climate cooled, even larger genera evolved, including the giant Paraentolodon of Central Asia and its slightly smaller North American relative Daeodon. The latter managed to survive into the early Miocene, while the Eurasian lineages were all extinct by the end of the Oligocene.

Brachyhyops

ST 10; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 10; Will 10; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 8.
SM 0, 140 lbs.

Bite (14): 1d−1 cutting. Reach C.

Traits: Acute Smell 3; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Chummy; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1 (Tough Skin); Night Vision 1; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Striking ST 1 (Bite Only); Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Stealth-13; Survival (Woodlands)-13.

Entelodon

ST 16; DX 11; IQ 3; HT 11.
HP 16; Will 12; Per 11; FP 11; Speed 5.50; Dodge 8; Move 6.
SM 0 (2 hexes), 500 lbs.

Bite (13): 2d cutting. Reach C.
Trample (11): 1d+3 / 1d−1 crushing. See GURPS Basic Set, p. 404.

Traits: Acute Smell 3; Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 3; Chummy; Discriminatory Smell; DR 2 (Tough Skin); Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 12); Night Vision 1; Parabolic Hearing 1; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Striking ST 3 (Bite Only); Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-13; Survival (Woodlands)-12.

For E. major (1,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 20, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+2 with a bite, 2d+3 / 1d with a trample. E. gobiensis (1,400 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 22, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+3 with a bite, 2d+4 / 1d+1 with a trample.

For Archaeotherium mortoni (330 lbs.) reduce ST and HP to 14, dropping damage to 1d+2 with a bite, 1d+2 / 1d−1 with a trample. A. zygomaticus (1,100 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 21, SM to +1 (3 hexes), and DR to 3. Damage increases to 2d+3 with a bite, 2d+4 / 1d with a trample.

For Paraentelodon (2,000 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 25, SM to +2 (4 hexes), DR and Striking ST to 4. Damage increases to 3d+2 with a bite (which has Reach C, 1), 2d+6 / 1d+1 with a trample.

For Daeodon (1,500 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 23, SM to +2 (4 hexes), DR and Striking ST to 4. Damage increases to 3d+1 with a bite (which has Reach C, 1), 2d+5 / 1d+1 with a trample. Change Survival specialty to (Plains).