Preface
Personal AbilitiesDevastated by a rogue killer virus, all that remains of the world you once knew is a vast, barbaric wilderness. Survivors like yourself either live in scattered, fortified towns, or roam outside as bandits. Life is lawless and dangerous.
YOUR mission is to cross the wilderness to the far-distant oil-refinery at San Angelo and bring vital supplies back to your peaceful hometown of New Hope. Even in the armed Dodge Interceptor you are given, the journey will be wild and perilous. Will YOU survive?
Ian Livngstone, co-founder of the highly successful Games Workshop and editor of White Dwarf, has created a thrilling adventure set in the not too distant future. Freeway Fighter is complete with an extended combat system and a double adventure sheet to record your gains and losses. All YOU need is two dice, a pencil and an eraser.
Many dangers lie ahead and your success is by no means certain. Powerful adversaries are ranged against you and often your only hope is to kill or be killed!
Making the appropriate rolls and modifications yielded the following initial scores:As in previous Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, your abilities will be determined by dice rolls and entered on your Adventure Sheet on pages 18-21. Your three abilities are as follows.
Skill
Roll one die. Add 6 to this number and enter the total in the SKILL box on the Adventure Sheet. Your SKILL score is a measure of your driving, mechanical and fighting abilities. SKILL may increase or decrease slightly during your journey, but may never exceed its Initial value.
Stamina
Roll two dice. Add 24 to the number rolled and enter the total in the STAMINA box on the Adventure Sheet. Your STAMINA score is a measure of your physical fitness and constitution. Your STAMINA score will reduce as injuries are sustained. The Med-Kit in your jacket contains ten packs of medical supplies to help heal wounds. Using the Med-Kit restores 4 STAMINA points. You may use the Med-Kit at any time except when engaged in combat, but remember to deduct a pack from your Adventure Sheet each time you use the Med-Kit. Remember also that your STAMINA score may never exceed its Initial value.
Luck
Roll one die. Add 6 to this number and enter the total in the LUCK box on the Adventure Sheet. Your LUCK score is a measure of fate and fortune in your life. At various times during your journey, either in combat or when you come across situations in which you could either be lucky or unlucky (detail of these are given on the pages themselves), you may call on your LUCK to make the outcome more favourable. But beware! Using LUCK is a risky business, and if you are unlucky, the results could be disastrous.
The procedure for using your LUCK is as follows: roll two dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than your current LUCK score, you have ben Lucky and the result will go in your favour. If the number rolled is higher than your current LUCK score, you have been Unlucky and you will be penalized.
This procedure is known as Testing your Luck. Each time you Test your Luck, you must subtract 1 point from your current LUCK score. Thus you will soon realize that the more you rely on your LUCK, the more risky this will become. Additions to your LUCK score may be awarded during your journey when you have been particularly lucky. Remember that your LUCK score may never exceed its Initial value.
SKILL: 11
STAMINA: 32
LUCK: 7
Ooof. We got steamrollered when it came to rolling our Luck, but at least we got decent Skill and Stamina to make up for this.
For the purpose of this thread, the Adventure Sheet will be hand-made and will be periodically displayed.
Car Specifications
Making the appropriate rolls and modifications yielded the following initial scores:Your car’s armour and weaponry will also be determined by dice rolls and entered on the Adventure Sheet. Its two main features are as follows:
Firepower
Roll one die. Add 6 to this number and enter the total in the FIREPOWER box on the Adventure Sheet. The FIREPOWER score is a measure of the car’s engine power and the effectiveness of its machine-guns. FIREPOWER may increase or decrease during your journey, but may never exceed its Initial value. (The use of the car’s rocket-launcher is explained below under ‘Vehicle Combat’.)
Armour
Roll two dice. Add 24 to this number and enter the total in the ARMOUR box on the Adventure Sheet. The ARMOUR score is a measure of the car’s defences.
In addition to its machine-guns and an unlimited supply of bullets, the car also carries missile weapons which may be used during combat. You have at your disposal four rockets (see ‘Vehicle Combat’), and three canisters of iron spikes and two rear-mounted oil sprays with one canister of oil each, which may be used when the option is given. These missiles must be crossed off your Adventure Sheet when used.
Fuel may be acquired during the journey and should be entered on the Adventure Sheet in the space provided. Other modifications to and accessories for your car, which are acquired during the journey, should also be entered on the Adventure Sheet. ARMOUR may increase or decrease during the adventure as a result of damage or repairs to your Interceptor, but may never exceed its Initial value.
FIREPOWER: 7
ARMOUR: 30
Fate also decided to be mean to us and gave us a highly mediocre car. We are not off to a good start here, folks.
Combat
For Vehicle Combat fights, I will ask before the first round whether a rocket should be used to destroy the target, and if so, under which conditions to do so.During your journey, you will certainly encounter some nasty characters who will attack you either while you are driving or when you are on foot. In gaming terms, there are three types of simultaneous combat.
Hand Fighting
Hand Fighting covers all non-missile hand-to-hand combat including hand-held weapons such as a baseball bat. The combat sequence for Hand Fighting is as follows:
1. Roll two dice. Add your opponent’s SKILL score to the roll. The resulting total is your opponent’s Attack Strength.
2. Roll two dice. Add your SKILL score to the roll. The resulting total is your Attack Strength.
3. If your opponent’s Attack Strength is higher than your own, you have been hit. Proceed to step 6.
4. If your Attack Strength is higher than your opponent’s, you have hit him or her. Proceed to step 6.
5. If both Attack Strengths are equal, both attacks have missed. Start the next Attack Round from step 1 above.
6. A successful hit causes injury which is represented by deductions from the injured party’s STAMINA score. A bare-handed punch reduces a person’s STAMINA by 1 point, but hand-held weapons such as a baseball bat cause additional injuries as ruled.
7. Start the next Attack Round (repeat steps 1-6 above) and continue until either you or your opponent has suffered the loss of 6 STAMINA points.
8. If your opponent is the first to lose 6 STAMINA points, he or she will be knocked out and you will be able to continue your journey.
9. If you are the first to lose 6 STAMINA points, you will be knocked out and will learn of your fate at the next reference you are sent to. Of course, if during Hand Fighting your STAMINA is reduced to zero, you will be dead.
Shooting
Shooting rules cover hand-guns, rifles, throwing-knives, bows and arrows, etc. (Your own revolver is assumed to have unlimited ammunition.) The combat sequence for shooting is as follows:
1. Roll two dice. Add your opponent’s SKILL score to the roll. The resulting total is your opponent’s Attack Strength.
2. Roll two dice. Add your SKILL score to the roll. The resulting total is your Attack Strength.
3. If your opponent’s Attack Strength is higher than your own, you have been hit. Proceed to step 6.
4. If your Attack Strength is higher than your opponent’s, you have hit him or her. Proceed to step 6.
5. If both Attack Strengths are equal, both attacks have missed. Start the next Attack Round from step 1 above.
6. A successful hit causes injury which is represented by deductions from the injured party’s STAMINA. Missile weapons cause varying amounts of injury. Roll one die and deduct this number from the injured party’s STAMINA. This is to reflect the fact that a bullet, for example, might cause only a minor flesh wound, or could kill outright.
7. Start the next Attack Round (repeat steps 1-6 above) and continue until either your own or your opponent’s STAMINA score is reduced to zero (death).
Vehicle Combat
Vehicle Combat usually refers to machine-gun battles between vehicles. Your Interceptor has a turret-mounted, computer-controlled machine-gun that can fire in all directions. The sequence for Vehicle Combat is as follows:
1. Roll two dice. Add the FIREPOWER score of your opponent’s vehicle to the roll. The resulting total is your opponent’s Attack Strength.
2. Roll two dice. Add the FIREPOWER score of your Interceptor to the roll. The resulting total is your Attack Strength.
3. If your opponent’s Attack Strength is higher than your own, your Interceptor has been hit. Proceed to step 6.
4. If your Attack Strength is higher than your opponent’s, you have hit his or her vehicle. Proceed to step 6.
5. If both Attack Strengths are equal, both attacks have missed. Start the next Attack Round from step 1 above.
6. A successful hit causes damage to a vehicle which is represented by deductions from its ARMOUR score. Roll one die and deduct this number from the vehicle’s ARMOUR score.
7. Start the next Attack Round (repeat steps 1-6 above) and continue until the ARMOUR score either of your Interceptor or of your opponent’s vehicle is reduced to zero (destroyed). It is assumed that the driver of a destroyed car is automatically killed in the resulting crash or explosion.
If, during Vehicle Combat, you wish to launch a rocket at a target instead of firing your machine-gun at it, you may do so before the start of any Attack Round, remembering to delete one rocket from your Adventure Sheet. A hit will be automatic and will destroy any target.
Credits
Please keep all spoilers covered out of respect to those of us who want to have a blind experience. Any ties will be broken by me based on my personal instincts.Credits are the emergency currency units of the twenty-first century, known familiarly as ‘creds’. You start your journey with 200 Credits (see your Adventure Sheet), but are likely to spend and/or acquire more Credits along the way. However, most people distrust Credits and prefer to barter. You may, for instance, have to use some of your Med-Kit in barter; if so, delete what you spend from your Adventure Sheet as usual.
Since our character has somewhat terrible stats and this book is a relatively hard one, I will allow our hero to have up to 4 boons from the following list to even the odds:
Rewinds: If our hero dies from any cause other than Stamina or Armour loss, the story will be reverted to a previous decision, with the Adventure Sheet being modified to what it was at that point in the story. You may use as many rewinds as you wish upon said death, with a rewind being used for each decision that you wish to rewind to. So, we can rewind to a maximum of 4 decisions before said death, assuming all 4 boons are rewinds.
Restorations: If our hero’s Stamina or the Dodge Interceptor’s Armour falls to 0 in any way, both scores will be restored to their initial values after having their initial values reduced by 3. This penalty is to ensure that we act sensibly when it comes to maintaining Stamina and Armour should our hero take a restoration or two.
Extra petrol canisters: Self explanatory.
Vid News Bulletin
NOW TURN OVERDATELINE 21 JULY 2022
The disaster happened just at a time when the world was beginning to enjoy itself. Nobody could have predicted such a catastrophe. World War III had been averted and the power blocks of East and West were now working towards world peace and unity. Revolutionary farming techniques had all but eradicated hunger, and increased mobility had led to people’s greater understanding of one another.
The morning of 21 July 2022 had started just like any other. It was going to be a hot day and the news on the holovision was good. A government spokesman proudly announced that solar energy now powered 90 per cent of homes and 70 per cent of industry, the three-day working week was now the norm, and England was to play the United States in the soccer finals of the World Cup in Sydney. However, there were only hours to go before the beginnings of the collapse of civilization.
Later that day, an unknown disease broke out in New York, and spread with such devastating speed and fatality that before the government and scientists realized what was happening, half the population was dead. The disease spread throughout the world, carried by aeroplane passengers, and decimated population centres everywhere. All attempts at quarantine were useless. Four days after the outbreak, 85 percent of the world’s population were dead. Communications, essential services, transport and administration had broken down completely. There was no one left to try to find the cause of the outbreak. It might have been a mutated virus or some lethal germ unknowingly released from a chemical warfare laboratory. It was mere speculation and nobody really cared, as survival was the top priority.
The speed with which civilization fell into ruins was frightening. Most survivors didn’t know why they still lived, and didn’t know how to go on living. Brute force became the law. Riots, looting, destruction and drunkenness were commonplace. People would even kill for a can of beans. Large cities were soon abandoned due to lack of food and risk of disease.
Six months after the disaster, there remained two kinds of people – those who wanted order again, and those who reveled in the disorder. The former grouped themselves into small towns and built defences around them. Inside, they appointed leaders and began the task of self-sufficiency. These fortress towns became the homes of the military, farmers, doctors and people concerned with the rebuilding of civilization. The other group lived a wild and brutal existence outside. They were the new barbarians. Roaming the land in cycle or car gangs, they terrorized or wiped out any small pockets of civilization they came across.
You are one of the lucky survivors living in a fortress town which has been named New Hope. You are working on the design of an early-warning system to protect the town, when you hear a knock at your door. It is two members of the town council and they look very excited. They tell you that their radio has just picked up a message from a fortified oil refinery near San Anglo in the south. The people there are willing to exchange 10,000 litres of petrol for grain and seeds to improve their food production. The inhabitants of New Hope could certainly use the petrol for generators and agricultural machinery. Being offered 10,000 litres of this rare commodity is too good an opportunity to miss, especially as there are surplus stocks of grain and seed. The council have agreed to the deal and are now looking for somebody to undertake the journey to San Anglo to deliver the sacks – and drive the petrol tanker back to New Hope. It will be a long and dangerous journey through lawless country. The two men tell you that they think you are the best-trained person to undertake such a mission, and ask if you would like to volunteer. They tell you that a Dodge Interceptor will be prepared for the journey. It will be fitted with machine-guns, radio, roof-mounted rocket-launcher, ram bars, loudspeaker and various defences, including rear oil spray, tyre-shredding spikes, armour-plating and bullet-proof windows.
You do not need convincing, as the benefit to New Hope will be enormous. This pioneer journey might be the start of the link between the new societies trying to bring about civilization – if you succeed. You tell them that you will do the job and begin your preparations immediately.
Over the next two days, you supervise the modifications to the Interceptor. When it is finally ready, it looks like a battle-car. You check it one last time to ensure that the weapons work and that all your equipment has been packed away in the various compartments. You run through the checklist: map, flashlight, Med-Kit, compass, food, water, full fuel canister, two spare wheels, Flat-U-Fix (instant puncture repairer) and tools. Finally, you put on the shoulder-holster for your revolver, and leather jacket, which carries your bullets and knife. Satisfied that you are ready, you climb into the driver’s seat. Peering through the narrow steel slit that is now your windscreen, you see the town’s population gathered to wave you goodbye. You start up the engine of the Interceptor and crawl forward to the gates leading to the outside world. It is over a year since you last ventured beyond the walls of New Hope, and you are excited at the prospect of what you will find.
1
In addition to the above choice, what name do you want to give this character, and how many of each boon should we take? Please make your decisions before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.
