Ride /Drive/Pilot

Skill Rate: Staggered

Uses: This skill is used for riding on horseback (or other similar animals), as well as driving and piloting vehicles of all description.

If you attempt to ride an animal or pilot a vehicle without the proper operation technique, you do not add your skill modifier to checks.

Mobility Penalty: You do not add your own mobility penalties to Ride, Drive, or Pilot checks. However, if you are riding a mount  or operating a vehicle with a mobility penalty, that penalty is also applied to checks made with this skill. Because of this, it is easier to perform stunts with (for example) a sports car than a heavily armoured tank.

Techniques:

Vehicle Operation Techniques
Note: If you take a single technique in this section, you are also able to operate light wheeled vehicles (such as cars and light trucks). There is no separate technique for operating such vehicles. See chapter 4: Vehicle Combat for more information.

1.   Light Mech Operation: You can pilot mechs up to two scales larger than you are
2.   Heavy Mech Operation:   [Requires Light Mech Vehicle Operation] You can pilot mechs more than two scales larger than you are
3.   Light Aircraft Operation: you can pilot aircraft up to three scales larger than you are
4.   Light Spacecraft Operation:   [Requires Light Aircraft Operation] You may pilot spacecraft up to three scales larger than you are
5.   Heavy Spacecraft Operation: You may pilot spacecraft greater than three scales larger than you are
6.   Heavy Aircraft Operation:   [Requires Light Aircraft Operation] you can pilot aircraft more than two scales larger than you are
7.   Light Tracked Vehicle Operation: You can drive tracked vehicles up to two scales larger than you are
8.   Heavy Tracked Vehicle Operation:   [Requires Light Tracked Vehicle Operation] You can drive tracked vehicles more than two scales larger than you are
9.   Light Naval Vehicle Operation : You can drive boats up to two scales larger than you are
10.   Heavy Naval Vehicle Operation: [ Requires Light Naval Vehicle Operation] You can drive boats more than 2 scales larger than you are
11.   Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Operation : You may drive wheeled vehicles more than two scales larger than you are

Other Techniques:

1.   Jackrabbit: If you succeed on a DC 8 Drive check, you can move into the square that you just left. If you fail, you lose one square of movement and have to move around it.
2.   Rapid Transform: With this technique, you can command a transforming vehicle to transform in half the time (2SA instead of a 4SA, generally)  
3.   Bogey on your Six: If you are piloting a vehicle, you can make an opposed Pilot check with another vehicle as a 2SA. If you succeed, you gain +1 Target against attacks made by that vehicle, and they take a -1 Target penalty against attacks made by your vehicle (whether made by you or other members of the crew). You can attempt this multiple times in a round, but the bonuses and penalties don‚t stack.
4.   Dive:   [Requires Light Aircraft Operation] If you are in a vehicle that moves at least 10 squares down in a round, you gain a +2/2 bonus to attack rolls made with bombs.

Animal Riding Techniques
Note: If you take a single technique in this section, you are also able to ride animals with your full bonus. There is no separate technique for “operating” an animal. See Chapter 3: Combat for more information on mounted combat.

1.   Mighty Charge: Charges from the back of a mount do one die higher damage, to the normal maximum of d12. If the attack already did d12 damage, it deals +1 damage.
2.   Trample: While mounted and moving through an area occupied by enemies, your mount may make a free hoof, claw, or similar attack on the occupant of any square you move through. Occupied squares count as difficult terrain for these purposes (half speed).
3.   Rapid Trample : [Requires Trample] Occupied squares no longer count as difficult terrain while using the Trample technique.
4.   Devastating Trample :   [Requires Trample] Your mount may make a free Trip attempt against enemies it tramples. You may use your mount‚s Wrestle modifier or one half of your Ride modifier (round down), whichever is higher.
5.   Guide with Knees : While riding a mount, you may use both hands freely. Normally it takes a hand to guide your mount.
6.   Stay in Saddle : If an opponent tries to Trip or Throw you while you are mounted, you may use your ride modifier in place of your wrestle modifier to avoid being tripped.
7.   Skilled Rider : Controlling a mount no longer takes 2 seconds of concentration every round
8.   Fast Mount/Dismount : Mounting and dismounting takes only 1 second for you, instead of 4.
9.   Mounted Evade: Once per round, your mount may make a dodge defence roll using your Ride skill modifier instead of its own Dodge bonus. This still counts against the mount‚s number of defence rolls per round.