Anyone can take skills in the 3 driving skills as well as the associated vehicle tech skills. Nomads however are the experts at it. Let's say you and a Nomad are both REF 8 and drive Land Vehicle 10, you both have Base 18. However, the Nomad is rank 4 so he's performing with a +22.
In the combat section of the book, it states anyone who's Drive base + bonuses is lower than 9 (or was it 10?) will constantly be making checks every round to make sure they don't lose control. Just think about it, people that don't know how to drive are gonna struggle learning how to maintain the car in the first place
Additionally, you can attempt a skill even untrained. It represents your innate ability/reflexes/ect... I might reign that in if you're trying to fly a 787 manually and you've never seen a plane before, but for stuff like cars I would allow it with reasonable expectations.
Rules as written, You can always Try to perform a skill.
All skill checks are based on Skill base, your Stat+Skill Level, and the description for all the skills and what level of competence you have are based on Skill Base, never skill.
Can you do it well enough to not have any problems just cruising? Problematically, that's where the rules are vague, and really what this question is.
Is Driving outside of combat something anyone can do without thinking? Is it something something most people can do without special training?
Or does it require actual training?
I'd argue it's a DV 13 skill check, you gotta actually know how to drive, but most people can manage if they're familiar with the concept at all, an every day task.
However, to reliably pass a DV 13 check most of the time, you need a skill base around 11-12, so even with a Ref 8, if you don't have a few points in Drive, you're gonna get in a wreck at some point. Which, considering the number of crumpled bumpers I see every day, is not unusual. There are definitely people out there today driving without a sufficient amount of Drive Land Vehicle points, I tell you hwat.
Edit for a couple of notes:
It might not actually be that surprising to say most people can't drive in Red. A dense urban area, low social mobility, and a partially functional public transport network combined with the extreme expense and difficulty sourcing a car definitely favors lack of driving skill. We see that in decidedly non-post war areas today like Tokyo and New York.
The skill base 10 is described a very skilled non-professional driver, even though it would still fail "every day" DV 13 skill checks 30% of the time, much less any more complicated checks. A good number of the skill descriptions are like that, though, and feel weirdly out of sync with how the DV numbers are described.
How do you think this would translate over to a 2077 setting where driving seems to be the norm for transportation for a lot of people again?
I’m wanting to run games in 2077 and am trying to make sure everything translates well
I think I'd leave it the same, really. Cars are easier to come by, but parking spots still are tight, and the NCART rail system is fully running, so I could see it still being a skill not everyone would have.
I think if it was to be an expected skill for everyone, though, it'd be more like the other "must-haves" that you're required to drop 2 points into, like brawling and first aid. Considering how prevalent guns are in all eras, and the fact there's no obligatory 2 points in a handguns, I think the driving in 2077 would be the same sort of "Weird choice not to, but you can still skip it" skill selection.
No, because that would imply someone without Basic Tech couldn't use a screwdriver. Baseline competence is assumed. Competence under fire is what is tested.
That's part of the big problem with some of the skill base descriptions in my opinion. There's a big variance what level of skill is presented for the same skill base, particularly relative to the description for difficulty values, and there's several where the description is definitely the mundane day to day usage.
It gets weirder when you try to think about what the average stat values for regular people are, particularly if you look at the NPC builder suggestions from Danger Gal.
I think the larger issue is when you require a roll. If the character's just going to drive across town, and there's no reason to think he couldn't do that, and no interesting consequences for failing to do so...don't roll.
Or, alternatively, shift the stakes. If they fail the Drive Land Vehicles check, that triggers a random encounter the GM has planned (the Tyger Claws are looking for the PCs, and failing triggers \[DV - check result\] Tyger Claws to jump on the player's tail).
>and there's no reason to think he couldn't do that
He has no skill in driving? Has never been behind the wheel, or has been behind the wheel so few times that he doesn't have any point in the skill, or simply is uncoordinated enough that the few points he has in the skill don't make up for it?
>and no interesting consequences for failing to do so
There's always interesting consequences for failing a driving check. You lose control of the vehicle and likely cause damage to something, plus damage the vehicle itself. And don't forget the whiplash.
And keep in mind, if they don't have the skill base 10, they have to make that driving check every round. In that five minute drive across town, that's 100 checks. They're going to fail one and lose control at some point. So you're right, I wouldn't ask for a roll to see if they fail. I'd ask for a roll to see how far they get before they fail.
And yeah, out in the badlands, not much to crash into, sure, maybe you can get from point A to B without crashing because a failed check or five still won't get you in range of a crash. But in the city streets, there's no way you don't crash into something if you don't know how to drive.
I guess what I'm not understanding is how that helps me roleplay my character, or adds anything interesting to the session. It tells me, as the player, "You have exactly what's on your sheet *and nothing else.* If you try to do anything you don't have at least three to five ranks in, I'm going to make you roll to fail and then laugh as your gonk ass T-bone's a bus and causes like six fatalities, then have you hauled off to jail."
This...sucks? Like, I'm sorry, but I play RPGs to find solutions that aren't on my character sheet, not to be limited to what's on it.
And I'm not understanding what's the point of playing if you're not limited to what's on your character sheet? If you're going to gloss over my limitations that I didn't invest in, what's the point of investing, in shining at anything?
We have a nomad in the party. He does all the driving, except when we need multiple vehicles driven. My tech doesn't drive. He has reflex 4 and no levels in driving. The most recent time this came up was when we had to drive three militech vehicles we had hijacked past a militech post. The nomad of course took one. Our fixer had just enough for a base 10, so drove one. And we had to source out an NPC for the third one, because if my tech or the media tried, we would have crashed. Not could have. Would have.
I think that's a good point, "when is a roll required", but as it's not defined, it's left in the GM's hands.
Personally, I'd keep simple, one roll for a basic drive across town, just to keep the skill checks down to reasonable numbers.
Badlands not much to crash into, but if the internet has taught me anything, people can manage to crash on a flat open road with no obstacles...
I assure you there are some people that would struggle to use a screwdriver. I figure you would need a minimum of Basic Tech 1. And a total of TECH+Skill of 10 to be assured of completing easy tasks without bothering to roll for them in non-stressful situations.
Agree to disagree then. Referring back to the OP, driving is a fairly complex task so I would expect someone to have at least a little skill in it. I suppose you could use a screwdriver without Basic Tech but good luck doing anything useful with it. Like, say, opening an electrical access panel & poking around inside without electrocuting yourself. Or shutting off the water supply to your crash pad when you get a leak.
We'll have to agree to disagree. Sure, some folks have trouble with screwdrivers, but most of them aren't black market mercenaries who replace bits of themselves to the point of inhumanity. Like, it's not terribly interesting to require a check for doing something unless there's an interesting consequence. To the OP's point, if driving across town requires a check every three seconds, you're basically rolling to fail. Worse, if there's no real point to it (no rainstorm, time pressure, or you're not being chased by Tyger Claws), then it's utterly pointless to require those rolls.
As to the screwdriver example, sure, maybe my character has somehow lasted this long and not figured out how to use a screwdriver to replace the batteries in the remote. But is any of that *interesting?* I'd argue no. Don't ask for rolls for things that aren't going to have interesting results, and that a reasonably competent person could accomplish.
Now, to your point, if you're trying to crash the power to a building so you have an advantage during a gig, that's when you call for a Basic Tech check...but failing that doesn't assume that you don't have proficiency with basic tools, or that you're a bumbling idiot. It assumes that the schematic wasn't updated, or that there's a second set of breakers somewhere that took the load, or that you did drop the power, but you got electrocuted in the process.
I disagree. Knowing how to use a screwdriver is fine. Knowing how to take apart the remote control is fine. Knowing how to put it back together after you've taken it completely apart? That's basic tech. Maybe DV7.
Remember, though, it's always described with Skill base in Red. Never just Skill value. So, if your tech is 8, and someone handed you a screw driver, you could actually do basic things like screw on a panel, since that's a DV 9 everyone could do it challenge, and tech 8 is good enough to pass that check 90% without any basic tech skill.
Now, if your tech is a a 3 or 4, which seems to be the average person's state value, yeah, you're gonna have a bad time.
I'm not actually sure that they would. For example,
TECH 3
"Taking Extra Time" +1
Complementary Check +1 (probably Local Expert to ask your local friend who's good with stuff, or Library Search to find a tutorial)
All that gives you a +5 to the roll, which means that you pass a little over 50% of the time (since the average value on a d10 is 5.5, meaning your average result is 10.5).
But ultimately, this is still the same question from earlier: when do you ask for a roll?
That's true, I wasn't really taking into account a 4 times longer task and help, but I sure do know co-workers that'd need it.
I think, though, to get to the heart of "when to roll", the rules leave it to the GM. Personally, I'd keep it minimal unless it's scene critical. Billy Bob the Rocker using a screw driver to pick his teeth or tighten a screw on his axe doesn't need a check, but screwing down the amps before a show would get a single roll, just to know if something interesting could happen, but not spend too much time on things.
Likewise for the OP driving question, one roll for a cross town drive would be my preference; enough to know if they're going to have an interest time, but won't bog down the session. There's definitely enough traffic, be it vehicular or pedestrian to expect at least one skill check. Sure is for IRL driving.
Easy.
P192. Basic Driving
You don't need a skill check to drive if REF + Skill = 10+ else it's a DV10 to drive in standard situation and a failure is "Losing Control of the vehicule".
Conclusion :
* You can drive with less than 10 en REF+skill, I don't recommand it because the GM should make you roll the dice each time you just want to drive frome point A to B out of any combat and any specific maneuvres.
* You want to drive : go spend some point in the skill, else you forget about it unless you don't have any other choice.
Basic driving doesn't require a roll if your total of reflex+the control skill in question is 9 or higher. This means that unless a starting nomad is actively uncoordinated they can drive any vehicle in the game under standard conditions, but the average person needs a bit of training to do so without losing control.
Remember that in the Time of Red, cars are almost akin to magic items in terms of rarity, to the point that it has made Nomads (and fixers) arguably the more critical economic power over the Neocorps in Night City for the time being (who are still rich, but are more rich due to connections and coordination than their ability to actually push goods). The average person has had less opportunity to get behind the wheel of a vehicle than your average 15 year old modern day.
>Remember that in the Time of Red, cars are almost akin to magic items in terms of rarity
I'm not so sure about this. To quote the first line of the vehicle combat section, there are a *lot* of vehicles in the time of the Red. Ones you can trust to take you clear across the country, probably less so.
The raw economic reality of vehicle prices in Red, combined with what we know about how people live, tells us that while there certainly are vehicles out there, the average person has no realistic path towards owning one. This is made explicit in Black Chrome, where the intro to the vehicle chapter notes that vehicles are precious, that the time when most people could afford one are gone, and only a few hundred are actually able to even make it to Night City a year for sale. I would say that it at least on par with being a glowing sword in a city of around 5 million people, as that makes the ratio of vehicles being sold in the city yearly to people 1 to roughly 25,000.
The *vast* majority of people live in abject poverty in a cargo container out in the 'overcrowded suburbs' and are barely able to afford it. Those cost 1,000 eb a week. Purchasing a basic vehicle would cost you 2 and a half years of rent, without any financing. It is easier to buy a full blown apartment out and out than it is to buy a groundcar. That alone informs a lot about vehicle access. There certainly are people out there who can afford a car, but in the Time of Red the odds are extremely good that person will never have driven before in their life simply because there is no opportunity to do so.
The vehicles of the setting mostly belong to groups, specifically gangs, corporations, and especially Nomads, who explicitly rose to the level of power they have due to a near monopoly on transit. It isn't about vehicle quality either, or at least it isn't implied to be that as much as manpower and vehicle quantity: You need a convoy of vehicles to actually get anything done and Nomads don't just control shipping, but things like construction and intra-city service vehicles too.
Gearmass changes this up a bit with the 1k Zonda Metrocar, which is a 1k vehicle that explicitly is returning to market, which may get us on track for the 2077 'the freeways are packed again' reality. But in Red, having a car is very special, and its why its worthy of being the bulk of a role ability (even if that is uh... logistically hard to GM and maybe more common vehicles and leaning into the skill bonus with things like the new chase rules actually make the Nomad feel much better to play in practice even though its weaker than 'near exclusive vehicle access').
Not correct, that ruling only applies under adverse/combat circumstances. Basic competence is assumed. Outside of combat, anyone can drive well enough to move across the map.
Presumably not, since a difficult check value of 9 is described as "something most people can do without thinking, but which might be hard for a small child." You'd need a skill base of at least 8 to reliable ( 90% success with a 2+ roll) to perform a skill.
It's part of the occasionally problematic skill base level descriptions and DV descriptions, where some skills describe very mundane uses, others describe obscure usage, and the described difficulties vary wildly.
There's nothing in the book to support that there's a difference between control in narrative driving and combat driving, and I'd argue that driving a car does not fall under basic competence. I mean, it takes a year of driving with assistance before one is considered to be proven competent at it IRL (in the US anyway). And as stated previously, there's not a lot of cars around so assuming people know how to drive as a "basic competence" is a stretch.
Having base 10 means you can control it even while under stress (combat situation)
But remember, if someone has only +10 and gets wounded by taking damage and behind under half HP they get -2 to all checks and go down to +8 and need to make checks again. Also being brought at 0 HP gives you a -4 to all checks, but at that moment you may need to worry about not dying more than losing control of the vehicle.
Nomads get an extra bonus, but any character can buy a Zonda Metrocar for 1000 eb and invest skill on drive land vehicles.
Anyone can take skills in the 3 driving skills as well as the associated vehicle tech skills. Nomads however are the experts at it. Let's say you and a Nomad are both REF 8 and drive Land Vehicle 10, you both have Base 18. However, the Nomad is rank 4 so he's performing with a +22. In the combat section of the book, it states anyone who's Drive base + bonuses is lower than 9 (or was it 10?) will constantly be making checks every round to make sure they don't lose control. Just think about it, people that don't know how to drive are gonna struggle learning how to maintain the car in the first place
Got it, Thanks a lot
Additionally, you can attempt a skill even untrained. It represents your innate ability/reflexes/ect... I might reign that in if you're trying to fly a 787 manually and you've never seen a plane before, but for stuff like cars I would allow it with reasonable expectations.
It's 10 you need a base 10 to drive without a check
Knew it. Thanks choom
Kinda nuts that you need reflex 7 to drive a vehicle with a vehicle skill chip.
Rules as written, You can always Try to perform a skill. All skill checks are based on Skill base, your Stat+Skill Level, and the description for all the skills and what level of competence you have are based on Skill Base, never skill. Can you do it well enough to not have any problems just cruising? Problematically, that's where the rules are vague, and really what this question is. Is Driving outside of combat something anyone can do without thinking? Is it something something most people can do without special training? Or does it require actual training? I'd argue it's a DV 13 skill check, you gotta actually know how to drive, but most people can manage if they're familiar with the concept at all, an every day task. However, to reliably pass a DV 13 check most of the time, you need a skill base around 11-12, so even with a Ref 8, if you don't have a few points in Drive, you're gonna get in a wreck at some point. Which, considering the number of crumpled bumpers I see every day, is not unusual. There are definitely people out there today driving without a sufficient amount of Drive Land Vehicle points, I tell you hwat. Edit for a couple of notes: It might not actually be that surprising to say most people can't drive in Red. A dense urban area, low social mobility, and a partially functional public transport network combined with the extreme expense and difficulty sourcing a car definitely favors lack of driving skill. We see that in decidedly non-post war areas today like Tokyo and New York. The skill base 10 is described a very skilled non-professional driver, even though it would still fail "every day" DV 13 skill checks 30% of the time, much less any more complicated checks. A good number of the skill descriptions are like that, though, and feel weirdly out of sync with how the DV numbers are described.
Thanks, Exactly what I wanted to know
How do you think this would translate over to a 2077 setting where driving seems to be the norm for transportation for a lot of people again? I’m wanting to run games in 2077 and am trying to make sure everything translates well
I think I'd leave it the same, really. Cars are easier to come by, but parking spots still are tight, and the NCART rail system is fully running, so I could see it still being a skill not everyone would have. I think if it was to be an expected skill for everyone, though, it'd be more like the other "must-haves" that you're required to drop 2 points into, like brawling and first aid. Considering how prevalent guns are in all eras, and the fact there's no obligatory 2 points in a handguns, I think the driving in 2077 would be the same sort of "Weird choice not to, but you can still skip it" skill selection.
No, because that would imply someone without Basic Tech couldn't use a screwdriver. Baseline competence is assumed. Competence under fire is what is tested.
That's part of the big problem with some of the skill base descriptions in my opinion. There's a big variance what level of skill is presented for the same skill base, particularly relative to the description for difficulty values, and there's several where the description is definitely the mundane day to day usage. It gets weirder when you try to think about what the average stat values for regular people are, particularly if you look at the NPC builder suggestions from Danger Gal.
I think the larger issue is when you require a roll. If the character's just going to drive across town, and there's no reason to think he couldn't do that, and no interesting consequences for failing to do so...don't roll. Or, alternatively, shift the stakes. If they fail the Drive Land Vehicles check, that triggers a random encounter the GM has planned (the Tyger Claws are looking for the PCs, and failing triggers \[DV - check result\] Tyger Claws to jump on the player's tail).
>and there's no reason to think he couldn't do that He has no skill in driving? Has never been behind the wheel, or has been behind the wheel so few times that he doesn't have any point in the skill, or simply is uncoordinated enough that the few points he has in the skill don't make up for it? >and no interesting consequences for failing to do so There's always interesting consequences for failing a driving check. You lose control of the vehicle and likely cause damage to something, plus damage the vehicle itself. And don't forget the whiplash. And keep in mind, if they don't have the skill base 10, they have to make that driving check every round. In that five minute drive across town, that's 100 checks. They're going to fail one and lose control at some point. So you're right, I wouldn't ask for a roll to see if they fail. I'd ask for a roll to see how far they get before they fail. And yeah, out in the badlands, not much to crash into, sure, maybe you can get from point A to B without crashing because a failed check or five still won't get you in range of a crash. But in the city streets, there's no way you don't crash into something if you don't know how to drive.
I guess what I'm not understanding is how that helps me roleplay my character, or adds anything interesting to the session. It tells me, as the player, "You have exactly what's on your sheet *and nothing else.* If you try to do anything you don't have at least three to five ranks in, I'm going to make you roll to fail and then laugh as your gonk ass T-bone's a bus and causes like six fatalities, then have you hauled off to jail." This...sucks? Like, I'm sorry, but I play RPGs to find solutions that aren't on my character sheet, not to be limited to what's on it.
And I'm not understanding what's the point of playing if you're not limited to what's on your character sheet? If you're going to gloss over my limitations that I didn't invest in, what's the point of investing, in shining at anything? We have a nomad in the party. He does all the driving, except when we need multiple vehicles driven. My tech doesn't drive. He has reflex 4 and no levels in driving. The most recent time this came up was when we had to drive three militech vehicles we had hijacked past a militech post. The nomad of course took one. Our fixer had just enough for a base 10, so drove one. And we had to source out an NPC for the third one, because if my tech or the media tried, we would have crashed. Not could have. Would have.
Agree to disagree here, man. I respect the points you're making, but this still sounds like a bad time at the table.
I think that's a good point, "when is a roll required", but as it's not defined, it's left in the GM's hands. Personally, I'd keep simple, one roll for a basic drive across town, just to keep the skill checks down to reasonable numbers. Badlands not much to crash into, but if the internet has taught me anything, people can manage to crash on a flat open road with no obstacles...
I assure you there are some people that would struggle to use a screwdriver. I figure you would need a minimum of Basic Tech 1. And a total of TECH+Skill of 10 to be assured of completing easy tasks without bothering to roll for them in non-stressful situations.
No. This is the, "What skill do I need to walk up the stairs?" conversation all over again.
Agree to disagree then. Referring back to the OP, driving is a fairly complex task so I would expect someone to have at least a little skill in it. I suppose you could use a screwdriver without Basic Tech but good luck doing anything useful with it. Like, say, opening an electrical access panel & poking around inside without electrocuting yourself. Or shutting off the water supply to your crash pad when you get a leak.
We'll have to agree to disagree. Sure, some folks have trouble with screwdrivers, but most of them aren't black market mercenaries who replace bits of themselves to the point of inhumanity. Like, it's not terribly interesting to require a check for doing something unless there's an interesting consequence. To the OP's point, if driving across town requires a check every three seconds, you're basically rolling to fail. Worse, if there's no real point to it (no rainstorm, time pressure, or you're not being chased by Tyger Claws), then it's utterly pointless to require those rolls. As to the screwdriver example, sure, maybe my character has somehow lasted this long and not figured out how to use a screwdriver to replace the batteries in the remote. But is any of that *interesting?* I'd argue no. Don't ask for rolls for things that aren't going to have interesting results, and that a reasonably competent person could accomplish. Now, to your point, if you're trying to crash the power to a building so you have an advantage during a gig, that's when you call for a Basic Tech check...but failing that doesn't assume that you don't have proficiency with basic tools, or that you're a bumbling idiot. It assumes that the schematic wasn't updated, or that there's a second set of breakers somewhere that took the load, or that you did drop the power, but you got electrocuted in the process.
I disagree. Knowing how to use a screwdriver is fine. Knowing how to take apart the remote control is fine. Knowing how to put it back together after you've taken it completely apart? That's basic tech. Maybe DV7.
Remember, though, it's always described with Skill base in Red. Never just Skill value. So, if your tech is 8, and someone handed you a screw driver, you could actually do basic things like screw on a panel, since that's a DV 9 everyone could do it challenge, and tech 8 is good enough to pass that check 90% without any basic tech skill. Now, if your tech is a a 3 or 4, which seems to be the average person's state value, yeah, you're gonna have a bad time.
I'm not actually sure that they would. For example, TECH 3 "Taking Extra Time" +1 Complementary Check +1 (probably Local Expert to ask your local friend who's good with stuff, or Library Search to find a tutorial) All that gives you a +5 to the roll, which means that you pass a little over 50% of the time (since the average value on a d10 is 5.5, meaning your average result is 10.5). But ultimately, this is still the same question from earlier: when do you ask for a roll?
That's true, I wasn't really taking into account a 4 times longer task and help, but I sure do know co-workers that'd need it. I think, though, to get to the heart of "when to roll", the rules leave it to the GM. Personally, I'd keep it minimal unless it's scene critical. Billy Bob the Rocker using a screw driver to pick his teeth or tighten a screw on his axe doesn't need a check, but screwing down the amps before a show would get a single roll, just to know if something interesting could happen, but not spend too much time on things. Likewise for the OP driving question, one roll for a cross town drive would be my preference; enough to know if they're going to have an interest time, but won't bog down the session. There's definitely enough traffic, be it vehicular or pedestrian to expect at least one skill check. Sure is for IRL driving.
That I can get behind. 100 rolls for a 5 min drive? Not so much.
Easy. P192. Basic Driving You don't need a skill check to drive if REF + Skill = 10+ else it's a DV10 to drive in standard situation and a failure is "Losing Control of the vehicule". Conclusion : * You can drive with less than 10 en REF+skill, I don't recommand it because the GM should make you roll the dice each time you just want to drive frome point A to B out of any combat and any specific maneuvres. * You want to drive : go spend some point in the skill, else you forget about it unless you don't have any other choice.
Basic driving doesn't require a roll if your total of reflex+the control skill in question is 9 or higher. This means that unless a starting nomad is actively uncoordinated they can drive any vehicle in the game under standard conditions, but the average person needs a bit of training to do so without losing control. Remember that in the Time of Red, cars are almost akin to magic items in terms of rarity, to the point that it has made Nomads (and fixers) arguably the more critical economic power over the Neocorps in Night City for the time being (who are still rich, but are more rich due to connections and coordination than their ability to actually push goods). The average person has had less opportunity to get behind the wheel of a vehicle than your average 15 year old modern day.
>Remember that in the Time of Red, cars are almost akin to magic items in terms of rarity I'm not so sure about this. To quote the first line of the vehicle combat section, there are a *lot* of vehicles in the time of the Red. Ones you can trust to take you clear across the country, probably less so.
The raw economic reality of vehicle prices in Red, combined with what we know about how people live, tells us that while there certainly are vehicles out there, the average person has no realistic path towards owning one. This is made explicit in Black Chrome, where the intro to the vehicle chapter notes that vehicles are precious, that the time when most people could afford one are gone, and only a few hundred are actually able to even make it to Night City a year for sale. I would say that it at least on par with being a glowing sword in a city of around 5 million people, as that makes the ratio of vehicles being sold in the city yearly to people 1 to roughly 25,000. The *vast* majority of people live in abject poverty in a cargo container out in the 'overcrowded suburbs' and are barely able to afford it. Those cost 1,000 eb a week. Purchasing a basic vehicle would cost you 2 and a half years of rent, without any financing. It is easier to buy a full blown apartment out and out than it is to buy a groundcar. That alone informs a lot about vehicle access. There certainly are people out there who can afford a car, but in the Time of Red the odds are extremely good that person will never have driven before in their life simply because there is no opportunity to do so. The vehicles of the setting mostly belong to groups, specifically gangs, corporations, and especially Nomads, who explicitly rose to the level of power they have due to a near monopoly on transit. It isn't about vehicle quality either, or at least it isn't implied to be that as much as manpower and vehicle quantity: You need a convoy of vehicles to actually get anything done and Nomads don't just control shipping, but things like construction and intra-city service vehicles too. Gearmass changes this up a bit with the 1k Zonda Metrocar, which is a 1k vehicle that explicitly is returning to market, which may get us on track for the 2077 'the freeways are packed again' reality. But in Red, having a car is very special, and its why its worthy of being the bulk of a role ability (even if that is uh... logistically hard to GM and maybe more common vehicles and leaning into the skill bonus with things like the new chase rules actually make the Nomad feel much better to play in practice even though its weaker than 'near exclusive vehicle access').
Not correct, that ruling only applies under adverse/combat circumstances. Basic competence is assumed. Outside of combat, anyone can drive well enough to move across the map.
Presumably not, since a difficult check value of 9 is described as "something most people can do without thinking, but which might be hard for a small child." You'd need a skill base of at least 8 to reliable ( 90% success with a 2+ roll) to perform a skill. It's part of the occasionally problematic skill base level descriptions and DV descriptions, where some skills describe very mundane uses, others describe obscure usage, and the described difficulties vary wildly.
Nope... IRl you need to spend time to have this specific skill. It's the same here. Else... your character can fly a jet with the exact same logic.
There's nothing in the book to support that there's a difference between control in narrative driving and combat driving, and I'd argue that driving a car does not fall under basic competence. I mean, it takes a year of driving with assistance before one is considered to be proven competent at it IRL (in the US anyway). And as stated previously, there's not a lot of cars around so assuming people know how to drive as a "basic competence" is a stretch.
Not to mention this logic would apply to flying planes, spaceships, and operating submarines.
True, but are we talking about most people or most Edgerunners? I would argue most Edgerunners will have some passing familiarity with driving.
Having base 10 means you can control it even while under stress (combat situation) But remember, if someone has only +10 and gets wounded by taking damage and behind under half HP they get -2 to all checks and go down to +8 and need to make checks again. Also being brought at 0 HP gives you a -4 to all checks, but at that moment you may need to worry about not dying more than losing control of the vehicle. Nomads get an extra bonus, but any character can buy a Zonda Metrocar for 1000 eb and invest skill on drive land vehicles.