Question: Does anyone know about rules on repairing vehicles/equipment in Rifts? I know that skills like Basic Mechanics and Mechanical Engineer allow you to repair things, but it doesn't say how long it takes, what materials or equipment are needed, or how much it costs in order to do so. I haven't seen anything in anything I've read that would even give me an idea on how to moderate that process. Does anyone have any ideas?
To give examples of questions I've had:
1) How long would it take and what would you need in order to repair a truck that sustained heavy damage from something like gunfire (conventional weapons)? How about MDC weapons (energy/explosives)?
2) How long would it take and what would you need in order to repair MDC body armor? What about something like power armor or vehicle armor?
3) What would need in order to repair electronics/computer hardware? What about damaged or corrupted software? I know you'd need skills like Basic Electronics, Electrical Engineer, Computer Programming, Computer Repair, etc. depending on the equipment, but what's the rules?
Answer: Well you're not alone, and unfortunately, I've not been able to find any particularly useful rules for repairs in Rifts (the old SB1 has the costs to pay someone else to do it).
On the other hand, Heroes Unlimited and Robotech do have repair rules, and as luck would have it, Robotech is a high-tech M.D.C. setting, so its rules should work just fine in Rifts (just change all protoculture references to fusion or the like). In general, it's just a matter of time and successful skill rolls. So, to answer the questions:
1) How long: Two hours per 10 M.D.C., assuming access to a reasonably well-equipped repair facility. Six hours per 10 M.D.C. for field repairs, assuming that the appropriate tools and materials are available. Damaged systems and mechanisms (e.g. suspension, drive train, engine, etc.) will add additional time. Unfortunately we can't reprint them here, but you can find them in HU2, Robotech: Invid Invasion, and Robotech II: The Sentinels.
What you need: Varies by repair. Tools and materials are obvious, but exactly what tools and material will depend on the repair. M.D.C. armor materials (both body and vehicle armor) can often be salvaged and recycled. However, electronics from one device will likely not work in all other devices, though Operators and similarly skilled characters can often jury-rig a temporary solution. Depending on the vehicle, one may also need a crane, robot, or other means of lifting heavy weights.
2) Same as above. Only the tools and materials (and their associated costs) significantly vary.
3) Again, same as above. The Robot Electronics and/or Artificial Intelligence skills may also be required for certain machines.
ADDENDUM -- I almost forgot the page references:
Body Armor: HU2, p. 129-130.
Computers and Electronics: HU2, pp. 122-124.
Conventional/Military Vehicles: HU2, p. 126.
Mecha/Power Armor/Robot Vehicles: RT2, p. 20-21 (I don't have a page number for Invid Invasion, but it's in the Bio-Maintenance Engineer OCC description).
I have to recommend AUGG pages 140-144. It only covers robots & bionics (and only SDC), but it's a much more indepth explanation on repairs.