Fuel Management System

This campaign uses a lightweight fuel tracking system for vehicles and powered expedition equipment.

It is designed to work together with the Time and Travel System so travel choices affect both time and fuel in a clear way.

Core Idea

Vehicles and powered equipment track fuel in Fuel Units (FU).

Each vehicle or device has four values:

• Fuel Capacity, the most fuel it can hold
• Fuel Cost, how much fuel it normally spends to travel
• Low Fuel Threshold, when fuel shortages start causing problems
• Converter Rating, how many magical refuel attempts it can safely handle in a day

Fuel Units

Fuel Units are an abstract resource. In the fiction, they might be fuel cells, refined mana, alchemical charge, spirit fuel, or something else that fits the setting.

How This Connects to Travel

Fuel is normally spent when a travel leg is resolved.

In practice:

• the group decides how far they are traveling
• the travel system determines how many Travel Turns that takes
• the fuel system determines how much fuel that movement costs

So the travel rules track time and pressure, while this system tracks fuel use.

Default Fuel Cost

The normal baseline is:

• 1 FU per hex traveled

Some vehicles may be more efficient or less efficient than that.

Default Stance Fuel Rules

For the clearest default, use these exact stance rules.

Careful Travel

• uses normal fuel cost
• no fuel discount by default
• the benefit is lower risk and better caution

Normal Travel

• uses normal fuel cost
• no modifier

Hard Push

• uses +1 FU per hex traveled
• is the most expensive travel stance
• is also the stance most likely to stress the vehicle

Stance Fuel Cost Examples

Assume a vehicle with Fuel Cost 1 FU per hex.

Traveling 3 Hexes

• Careful Travel: 3 FU
• Normal Travel: 3 FU
• Hard Push: 6 FU

Traveling 5 Hexes

• Careful Travel: 5 FU
• Normal Travel: 5 FU
• Hard Push: 10 FU

Traveling 3 Hexes in Rough Terrain

If rough terrain adds +1 FU per hex, then:

• Careful Travel: 6 FU
• Normal Travel: 6 FU
• Hard Push: 9 FU

When Fuel Costs Go Up

Fuel use can increase when travel gets harder.

Common reasons include:

• rough terrain
• storms or interference
• towing cargo
• severe inclines
• damaged equipment
• pushing the vehicle hard
• being forced to detour

A simple default is:

• rough terrain: +1 FU per hex
• extreme conditions: +2 FU per hex

Travel Consequences

If travel complications force the group to take a longer route, deal with harsher terrain, or push the vehicle harder, fuel costs should usually rise as well.

That way, travel setbacks have a real resource cost instead of feeling abstract.

Refueling

Fuel can be restored by whatever method exists in the setting, such as:

• purchased fuel
• scavenged reserves
• salvaged batteries or cells
• refined magical fuel
• spell-slot conversion through a converter

Magical Refueling

Some vehicles can turn spell energy into usable fuel.

This only works if:

• the vehicle is stopped
• it has a functioning converter
• the converter still has magical refuel capacity left for the day

Conversion Rate

• 1 spell slot level = 1 FU

Examples:

• 1st-level slot = 1 FU
• 2nd-level slot = 2 FU
• 3rd-level slot = 3 FU
• 4th-level slot = 4 FU
• 5th-level slot = 5 FU

Magical Refuel Events

Each caster contributing magical fuel counts as a separate magical refuel event.

So if two casters each spend spell slots into the same vehicle during the same stop, that counts as two magical refuel events.

Converter Rating

A converter rating determines how many magical refuel events a vehicle can safely process each day.

Typical scale:

• Crude Converter: 1 event per day
• Standard Converter: 2 events per day
• Improved Converter: 3 events per day
• Superior Converter: 4 events per day

This resets after the normal recovery period for the campaign, usually a long rest or the start of a new day.

Low Fuel

At low fuel, vehicles become less reliable.

A common default is that a vehicle is at Low Fuel when it is at or below 25% of Fuel Capacity.

Typical low-fuel effects may include:

• no Hard Push or overdrive options
• reduced speed
• worse pursuit or escape performance
• higher risk of breakdown or strain

Out of Fuel

At 0 FU, the vehicle or device cannot keep traveling until it is refueled.

Why This Rule Exists

This system is here to make travel choices matter.

It creates pressure around:

• how far the group can go safely
• whether spell slots should be saved for magic or spent on mobility
• whether it is worth pushing deeper into dangerous territory
• what risks are acceptable when supplies are limited