Plane Creation

Below are step by step instructions for building your own Fighter Aircraft. Be sure to grab a Fighter Sheet, and get building.

Step 1 – SA and Skills

Characters do not use the standard stats and skills listed in the main rapidfire rules when flying. Instead, there is only one Stat: Situational Awareness (SA), and two skills: Pilot and Gunnery.

SA: Your character’s SA is equal to Body + Mind + Spirit. If your GM gave you the standard 7 stat points, your character’s SA will be +1.

Skills: Your character starts off with level 1 in Piloting and Gunnery. The GM will then give you a number of skill points and a starting skill cap. A standard game gives 1 additional point and a starting skill cap of 2. This means one of your skills will be level 1, and the other will be level 2. The GM may raise the number of skill points and/or the starting cap, but that is his/her call.

Step 2 – Take a Basic Fighter

The standard ‘Blank Slate’ Fighter is a balanced design made by one of a dozen manufacturers. They come is all sorts of shapes and sizes, but they are similar enough in how they fly to have the same basic stats:

  • Armour: 2
  • Performance: 3
  • Structure: 5 (Standard Structure Track: 0 0 -1 -1 -2)
  • Heavy Weapon Slots: 1

Starting Fighters also have the following traits:

  • 40 000 ft Altitude ceiling - Equipped with a heater, and an oxygen system, the fighter can climb up to 50 000 feet. This is their max altitude, and it takes a long time to get there. Most aerial combat happens at altitudes of less than 30 000 feet.
  • Radio – Every plane has 2 VHF radios with a line of site range of about 50 km.
  • Redundant Systems - Fighters have armoured cockpits, self-sealing fuel tanks, and scores of backup features designed to mitigate the effect of enemy ordinance.
  • Cargo Box - A fighter can hold about 50 Kg (just over 100 pounds) of cargo and gear in small cargo slot, usually right behind the pilot's seat.
  • Parachute - built into the pilot's harness, the chute is the pilot's last chance to abandon a crashing plane.

Step 3 – Machine Guns or Cannons

It's time to make a choice: light machine guns, heavy machine guns, or cannons. Light machine guns have a very high rate of fire, and, by virtue of putting more lead in the air, are more likely to hit their target. A pilot can fire two bursts from his light machine guns in one round and suffer no penalty as long as both attacks are aimed at the same target. Heavy machine guns are the middle ground for Warbirds'; they hit harder and slower than LMGs, but lack the oomph of Cannons. Their big advantage is precision, with their heavy, but still high velocity, rounds being much more accurate than LMGs. Cannons, with their heavier, slower firing shells, have a penalty to hit, but do more damage and their specialized shells punch through the armour of heavy vehicles. Choose one to load on to your fighter.

Weapon Accuracy Damage Ammo (Bursts) Armour Piercing Special
.303 Machine Guns 0 Lead+1 14 None 2 Attacks per Round
.50 Cal Machine Guns +1 Lead+2 10 None None
20 mm Cannons -1 Lead+3 6 2 vs. heavys None

Step 4 - Heavy Weapons

Fighters can all carry a few heavier weapons. While accurate enough dogfighting, they are excellent for strafing heavy, slow moving targets like bombers, zeppelins, trains, and ships. Choose a heavy weapon to equip on your fighter from the following list:

Weapon Accuracy Damage Ammo Armour Piercing Function
Rockets -2 Lead+4 2 per slot 2 Air to Air/Air to Ground
Drop Bombs -3 Lead+5 2 per slot 2 Air to Ground
Torpedoes -3 Lead+6 1 per slot 2 Anti-ship Only

Step 4 – Choose a Starting Trait

Go to the Trait list and select a single simple trait for your fighter.

Step 5 – Fill Out Ratings

Go to your Fighter Sheet and fill in your Fighter’s stats and abilities and the details of the trait you chose. Then determine its Dogfighting and Defence.

  • Dogfighting: SA + Piloting Skill + Performance + Trait Bonuses
  • Defence Rating: SA + Piloting Skill + Performance +Trait Bonuses

Step 6 – Appearance

Your Plane can look any way you like. It might be a pusher design with rear mounted wings and canards, or shaped more like a traditional WWII fighter. If you GM is feeling generous, he might give you an extra hac or two if you draw your plane, or find a picture of it on the internet.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License