Vehicle: Midget Submarine
| Cost | Skill | Skill Modifier | SPD | DEF | ARM | Damage Capacity | Damage Threshold | Passengers |
| 10,000 gc | Sailing/Driving | -2/-2 | 10/5 | 12/16 | 18 | 40 | 8 | 7 (3-man minimum crew) |
Description: Midget submarines are small watercrafts capable of extended periods of diving with a crew of three to seven. Only few prototypes of these innovative underwater vehicles are currently employed by the Cygnaran Navy for reconnaissance and covert operations. However, work is underway by several military and private organizations throughout Western Immoren to built their own prototypes with varying degrees of success.
Every midget submarine has an outer hull and an inner hull. The space in between is filled with high air pressure chambers, water ballast tanks, and a diverse selection of mechanical apparatus necessary to control, steer, and otherwise operate the watercraft. The boat is accessed through a conning tower in the middle that also houses a periscope and a fresh air snorkel. Sealable portholes are located on several locations in the hull, most prominent in the conning tower and on the prow.
The back of the boat is completely taken by a steam engine that can only be operated by the board engineer while the submarine is surfaced, otherwise the crew risks asphyxiation in minutes. The middle part of the boat is taken by the captain operating the telescope and the pilot on the rudder. The front part of the submarine is taken by the crew and the pedals of the hand propulsion system that speed the sub underwater.
The captain observes the sub’s surroundings using either the conning tower at the surface, the periscope at periscope depth or the portholes when diving. The pilot steers the submarine and the mechanic either operates the steam engine while at the surface or at air snorkel depth, or helps out on the hand propulsion system when underwater or if the boat is running silent.
Special Rules: The cost of the midget submarine includes the watercraft’s hull, rudder, a high air pressure chamber, water ballast tanks, a hand propulsion system, and a steam engine. Additional gear and weaponry can be added by vehicle upgrades.
On the surface and at fresh air snorkel depth, the midget submarine can be powered by its steam engine without risking asphyxiation with a SPD of 10. Due to the impacts of waves and weather on these depths, the pilot makes Sailing skill checks using the INT stat. Maintaining control of a midget submarine requires a full action. It burns 5 gc of coal per hour of travel.
Underwater and at silent running, the sub is propelled by the crew on the hand propulsion system with five pedal seats. Each manned seat provides an additional SPD to the sub to a total of SPD 5 with a full crew (assuming the mechanic helps out). Waves and weather have less of an impact when submerged, but other obstacles like poor sight prevail. The pilot makes Driving skill rolls and spends a full action.
Midget Submarine System Table
| 1–2 | Hull – No specific system is damaged |
| 3 | Upgrade – Determine at random, which of the vessel upgrades is damaged. The upgrade can only be used with a skill modifier of -2. If the same upgrade is damaged again, it is destroyed and cannot be used further. |
| 4 | Engine – Roll a d3. On a 1 the steam engine, on a 2 the periscope, and on a 3 the fresh air snorkel is damaged. Reduce the DEF and SPD by 1. If this location is damaged again with the same number, the respective system is destroyed. |
| 5 | Rudder – The steering mechanism is damaged. Apply a –1 penalty to all attempts to control the vehicle. If this location is damaged again, the steering mechanism is destroyed. |
| 6 | Portholes – Portholes have been damaged and water is flooding the interior. Roll a d3. The result is the number of broken portholes. The crew has 4 turns to fix all portholes. Subtract 1 for each broken porthole. If the crew fails to fix the portholes in the given time, the weight of the added water is too much. The sub sinks and buries the crew on the ocean floor. |
Vehicle Upgrades
Grasping Arm
| Type | Cost |
| Submarine | 160 gc |
Effect: The grasping arm is usually mounted at the prow beneath the prow porthole and is operated with levers from the inside of the submarine. It is used in salvage operations and is especially popular with maritime treasure hunters.
Explosive Prow Lance
| Type | Cost |
| Submarine | 25 gc |
Effect: A simple yet effective weapon, the explosive prow lance is attached to a submarines prow. It is a long lance with an explosive load fixed to its tip. If the submarine rams a target, the explosives go off and may cause horrendous damage. Usually, explosive prow lances are used to blow holes in ships, but it may also be used to fight underwater creatures, albeit with an attack penalty due to its cumbersome application.
To attack with an explosive prow lance, a submarine pilot makes a Lance attack roll. If he fights a very agile target like a sea creature, the weapon gains the Inaccurate ability (Inaccurate – This weapon has a -4 attack roll modifier). If it hits, the explosion deals POW 20 damage. Add an additional die to the damage roll if attacking a structure (like e.g. a ship). A submarine may charge with this weapon. After the explosion, roll on the submarine’s system table to determine damage cause by the recoil. The weapon can be used only once and is spend after a successful attack.