Flying Pigs - Usurpers Rise Up!

The shutters creak in the wind.

Wide of crown, 

long of beard, 

Hawaiian of shirt. 

The ancient master rises and plants his feet on the practice floor.

Outside, a storm gathers.

The ancient master has grown slow, weighted by wisdom and concern. "Core-mechanics" he murmurs as the floor of the dojo voices its age. "shitiest-rulesets" comes his screed against all challengers. "Very-Advanced" he takes his stance.

Flying Pigs

This is a GLOG-hack about the power of love, wings, and machine guns.

The Facts:

• You are an anthropomorphic animal. This transformation was inflicted upon you at the end of your Pilot training. It was necessary to increase your capacity to breathe in low-oxygen environments and keep your eyes open in high winds. The animal facade you permanently wear was a side effect.
• You were probably trained by a Guild, rather than a nation's military. Guilds are small military forces that sign contracts and work for money.
• The world is fractured and weak. The strength of nations has been greatly reduced in the Last War. No one has the capability to raise a proper force to threaten another nation. Minor (nation-scale) objectives are accomplished by hiring Guilds. Guilds also often work for Aristocrats who have their own significant funds and obscure motives.
• Airborn skirmishes are the grand spectacle. No battle is fought unobserved by cheering crowds, crying children, screaming reporters, and would-be patrons.
• Your plane is everything.

Character creation:

• Your base chance of success on any random rollable task is 50%. 
• You have a background that lets you roll twice on related tasks OR avoid the downside of a failure.
• mechanic
• penniless aristocrat
• radio operator
• street racer
• pugilist
• stowaway
• 8hp
• You know 2 maneuvers
• You can buy maneuvers and plane upgrades with your winnings.

Your Plane:

Cobbled together from scrap, yet beautiful in your eyes. Cleaned from the blood of her last pilot, she is yours. She is a biplane with bright paint and a Foster mounted Lewis gun strapped on her front.

• Hull - your plane's hp. Larger hulls can mount more stuff and have more hp. Your hull starts at 1slot and provides 1HD. Weapons and other add-ons to your plane will fill hull slots. Your hull also determines how much Fuel you carry. You carry 5 Fuel per point of Hull.
• Engine - your plane's ability to generate power. Roll your engine dice at the start of each combat round and distribute the sum between Altitude or Speed. Your engine is a d4.
• Jazz - your plane's style factor. Complex patterns, bright paint, testicles dangling from the tail. Your bravado manifested in plane form. Fancy maneuvers can increase your Jazz mid-flight. Jazz is used to modify saving throws, woo lovers and patrons, and reduce your result on the "I'm Hit!" table. Your jazz starts at 0.
• Choose one stat to upgrade by 1 step. (Hull to 2, Engine to d6, Jazz to 1)

Foster Mount - The gun can slide up or down the rail to change the ammunition drum or shoot at a higher angle.

Dog-Fights

The spectacle, fireworks, twinkling stars. Crowds will come to see you fly or die. They will cheer for dashing heroes on My Side and boo the evil skill-less savages on Their Side. Crowds are quick to forget which Guild was hired last week to air-drop their food and supplies and drive off the raiding pirates. All that matters is Now.

The stage is set with iron sleet, black smoke, shining planes, and thunder. Perform or die.

When planes meet in the air, roll 2d4 for starting Altitude and Speed. Both stats are bound from 0-10.  If your Altitude reaches 10 you stall and lose d4 Altitude each turn until you roll under your Speed. If ever Altitude reaches 0 you crash. Planes take turns in order of Speed. If your speed reaches 0 you stall.

At the start of your turn, you may expend one fuel to roll your engine dice, distributing the result between Altitude and Speed. These resources are spent to take maneuvers.

You can attack another plane if you fulfill your weapon's requirement, or if you are Tailing someone. To attack, simply roll weapon damage against them. 

Basic Maneuvers:

1. Climb - trade d4 speed for altitude.
2. Dive - trade d4 altitude for speed.
3. Tail - Tail an enemy within 1 altitude and speed of your plane

Ace Maneuvers (position changes are Alt/Speed):

1. Yo-Yo (+2/-4) - Tail a plane that is higher and slower than you.
2. Wingover (0/-2)- lose a Tail that is within 2 of your altitude and speed.
3. Immelman (+4/-3) - Tail a plane that is higher than you.
4. Split S (-3/+4) - Tail a plane that is lower than you.
5. Thach Weave (0/-2) - A slower partner makes an immediate attack on the plane tailing you.
6. Chandelle (+1/-d4) - roll over Speed to lose a Tail.
7. Barrel Roll (0/-3) - Tail a target slower than you.
8. Bug Out (-d6/+1) - roll over Altitude to lose a Tail.
9. Frolov Chakra (0/-d10) - perform a stalled somersault. +2 Jazz. You cannot be shot this round.
10. Cobra (0/-d6) - perform a post-stall brake. +3 Jazz. Trade a tail with a plane faster than you.

Guns (Slots/Range/Damage)

Guns have a range. A target must be within that many Altitude and Speed to attack them. Or you must Tail them.

• Lewis gun (1/2/d6), only fire at planes above you or of equal altitude.
• Pistol (0/1/d4), may immediately fire at a plane you have Tailed.
• Oerlikon 20mm Cannon (3/3/d8), thunderous defender of airships.
• Vickers-Crayford Rocket Gun (1/2/d8) - misfires on a 1, doesn't shoot rockets.
• Davis gun (2/3/d6) - two machine guns mounted back to back, the rear-facing gun firing wads of lead and grease to counter the recoil of the forward-facing gun.
• Fokker-Leimberger (2/2/d8) - 12 barrel rotary gun. Deal 1d4 damage the first time it is shot as it spins up.

Names

• Roland Garros
• Morane Saulnier
• Anthony Fokker
• Max Immelman
• Oswald Boelcke
• Lanoe Hawker
• Manfred von Richthofen
• Rene Fonck
• Billy Bishop
• Ernst Udet
• Adolphe Pegoud
• Mick Mannock
• Donald MacLaren
• Josef Jacobs
• Werner Voss
• Tom F. Hazell
• Charles George Gass
• William Gordon Claxton
• Willy Coppens
• Maurice Boyau
• Emili Thuy
• Eddie Rickenbacker

Monikers

• Aggy
• Blondie
• Cats Eyes
• Dolfo
• Eagle
• Fish
• Ginger
• Hoagy
• Igo
• Johnny
• Killer
• Lightning
• Mouse
• Never
• Olly
• Petit Rouge
• Ratsy
• Sexy Rexy
• Tex
• Uncle Wiggly Wings
• Wrong-Way
• Zulu