So, I've just dispatched my Acolytes to a frontier planet. They have a fair amount of ground to cover, so they have been assigned an Outrider scout vehicle (from Apocryphia: Vehicles and Riding Beasts , page 13). No fuel range is listed, so I Googled the fuel range of a military Humvee and rounded up (this being the Future and all...), getting 600km. They will need to refuel several times, and the only reference I can find to Promethium- the standard fuel of the Imperium- is in the Inquisitor's Handbook , page 178 under Explosives. This says that Promethium costs 60 Thrones per kilogram. Hence, it would cost over a thousand Thrones to "fill 'er up"! Since the discription of Promethium in the IHB makes it sound more like Napalm than gas, I'm assuming that the price is just for "explosive-grade" Promethium and not the stuff you would use in a vehicle. So, before I pull a number out of my backside, I thought I would get some feedback from other GMs on how much it should cost to fill up an Outrider. Any suggestions...?

I think that given the fact that Promethium is more like Rocket Fuel, I'd say that there is an "Unleaded" version that is used for general ground vehicles is about a tenth the price.

In fact I use a nice conversion 10 to 1 for converting US Dollars to Thrones and it works pretty well.

I would suggest just getting in this habit when you have a question on what something would cost. It can be flubbed a little, but for the most part it is a nice and quick fix. I wouldn't get caught up too much with "well this is the future and it would be cheaper..." because you can just as easily argue the exact opposite, given the state of the Imperium.

Fuel to fill up a Hummer: $100 / 10T - **subject to availability.

Price for a stub revolver: $400 / 40T

It works, and then you don't get so bogged down in the details (although I do enjoy a well thought out conversion system as much as the next GM).

Hope it helps.

Adeptus-B said:

FWIW, the Lexicanum has this to say on Promethium: "Promethium is a general term for any form of fuel in the Imperium."

In the IHB it seems like they're referring specifically to either a napalm-esque or nitroglycerine-esque version of it. Volume and weight may be two very different things, and efficiency and fuel requirements something else entirely. For "gasoline", I'd use Damnzig's suggestion, or just goes with what 'feels right' for the planet, situation, or composition of the team (and their resources)

If the Outrider is one of the ones based on an STC design, it'll be like a Rhino or Land Raider, they can be easily adapted to run on any flammable fuel- from diesel, kerosine to alcohol or even LPG if rigged up to a tank of some sort. Most big, heavy 4wd's just from experience tend to be fairly thirsty both on and off road to the point they get about 5-8km/L when pushed and just how huge their engine is, so a lot of them will be equipped with 100-120L tanks.

Adeptus-B said:

The way I've always viewed Promethium is as a collective term for an immense variety of pseudo-petrochemical substances - invariably, the distinctions between the types is information commonly only given to those who need to know it (Imperial Guard vehicle crews, so they don't put flamer fuel in their battle tank, Administratum Tithe-Assessors who need to be able to categorise everything, Adeptus Mechanicus Chymists, etc, etc).

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Back in 3rd and (I think) 2nd Edition WH40K , "promethium" was described as a kind of super-fuel, so volitile it burned on contact with air- sort of a cross between jet fuel and white phosphorous. From 4th Edition on, promethium is just used as a generic term for any petrolium-like fuel; you see that a lot in Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts books (in one of them, "promethium" is discovered seeping up naturally from the ground on one planet, extending the term to apply even to crude oil, apparently).

10 Thrones to refuel an Outrider seems very low to me, though, even for low-grade fuel. What does everyone else think? I was leaning closer to 100 Thrones- way off?

Adeptus-B said:

It seems high when considering in other costs in the game- a flack jacket costs 100, 5 melta canisters, 10 flamer canisters, or 10 frag grenades all cost 100. Also look at the income chart, even at level 8 that gas bill is over a Guardsman's monthly income.

I'd go with about the 100 thrones also. Doesn't matter the cost compared to wages, this is the Imperium. **** the cost if heretics must die. They should be able to take at least several refills with them also, so at least triple the range and cost if you do that..

A few things one might wish to take into consideration:

1. Promethium is more of a catch all term to describe various hydro-carbon fuels of differing qualities and grades.
2. The Promethium described in the Inquisitor's Handbook is weapon-grade, highly volatile, much like napalm or white phosphorus gels.
3. Regular vehicle fuel is not likely to be quite as dangerous, nor as expensive.
4. One liter of real life gasoline weighs 0.76 kg.
5. The HMMWVV (Humvee) has a fuel capacity of 25 U.S. gallons, or approximately 95 liters (94.65 or so).

Yeah, I'd say 100 thrones isn't a bad expense for refueling. I remember when I got my current car in '97 gas prices ranged from about $0.85 to $0.95

-=Brother Praetus=-

Suijin said:

Right, but your acolytes tend to have jack for cash unless they're robbing the people they go after (a totally viable option, mind you). The income system was based on you getting paid by the inquisition. At lower levels especially, you're just a punk the Inquisition happens to employ; more often than not you pay for things out of your own pocket. Anything above that is at the grace of the Inquisitor that you work for.

Asking a group of Acolytes to cough up 300-400 thrones to drive across a region, especially at lower levels, is pretty hardcore in my expereinces. Now on some worlds that seems more than reasonable- different people can control the trade of the fuel, it can be scarce, etc. It also depend son how much cash you're throwing at your acolytes as well. If 300 thrones makes them scratch their head and look for alternative transportation (like a horse and food) then it's probably too high. If they have lots of spare cash, it's not too high.

I would run around the 100 thrones price, but largely, have it fit the world and fit the acolytes price range. Personally I wouldn't worry about refueling so much, because it tends to be largely glossed over in a setting where there is portable fusion reactors (SM backpacks, for example).

I guess I'm a bastard then, if it was enough where they considered horses and food, then I'd consider my job done.

Ultimately, do they want to go kill the heretics or are they going to tell the inquisitor they didn't have enough money to buy gas to go kill them??? Ironically the inquisitor would spend more money on ammo executing the acolytes than the gas would have cost.

Suijin said:

They did briefly consider trying to hook up a team of horses to their Outrider to save on fuel...

Ultimately, I nudged the PCs to push the local Administratum to give them access to the credit accout they use for official Adeptus buisness. I have to say the focus on money has to be my least favorite part of DH - it seems like a D&D anacronism that doesn't work well in the 40K universe, if you ask me. I'm looking foward to switching over to the Requisition system at Ascention levels...