If a single attack inflicts 2 Breaches to Engines (to an unharmed Scale 4), do you apply two Impact results (reducing Power by 2 twice) or just once (reduce Power by 2)? Then apply Damaged.
Following up on the scenario in 1, if the same attack’s Spread then ends up hitting Engine again for one more Breach, it counts as a separate hit, and do we apply Impact results again?
Recover: when you succeed, you gain 1 additional Resistance for each Effect rolled on Cover Dice. Does that mean roll the Cover Dice now, and apply the additional Resistance? How long does that last? And if it means you only roll the Cover Dice and apply this bonus when it applies, how long do you retain this benefit?
I am going off of my understanding of the rules, so it may be incorrect, but here is my understanding of it:
In the above example, the first two breaches were caused by a single attack. Apply the Impact effect once, then apply the Damaged condition.
Yes. The system is already Damaged in the previous example, however, it is a second attack, therefore a second impact against that system. The ship would suffer an additional drop in power from the Spread’s second attack.
Any Cover dice awarded to the ship would be rolled as soon as a hit has been determined. (No need to roll cover dice to add to resistance for an attack that misses.) You don’t want to roll it all upfront and add a number to resistance before an attack is made to represent the fact that the ships (both attacker and defender) are in motion and the cover does not stay the same while they are moving within it. An example of this could be an asteroid field. The asteroids are not really stationary, and neither are the ships. They are in constant motion and may interfere with most or only part of an attack.
The entry specifically says 1 or more breaches, not for each breach, so I would say only apply this once.
The entry on Spread specifically states that it is an additional hit. You carry all buffs from the primary hit but you do check against Resistance and Shields separate from the primary hit. I would say yes.
The Recover task requires you to duck behind cover. This will award you Resistance Dice. Per page 176, para 2, Resistance Dice from cover are rolled when you are attacked. If you are attacked whilst still in that cover then when you roll to add resistance, Effects count for 2.
@SSiron
Per point 3 Tony was referring specifically to the Recover Task on pg 173, which is a Character task, not a Ship task. You are correct in your understanding though. Your answers to Points 1&2 have a key error though, Attacks and Hits are not the same thing. Spread does an additional hit but it is still the same Attack, and gets all the benefits that were applied to the first hit, such as piercing.
Eh… I’d say it was a minor error due to lack of sleep and distraction. I worded it that way partly to express that it would count as a separate attack in regards to the number of breaches it might incur on the damaged system.
Spread attacks deal half damage on the second target as well, so in the original example, it would only cause a breach if the original attack dealt 10 damage or dropped the shields to 0 in the initial attack.
Also, there is a sidebar somewhere (I can’t remember where at the moment) about starships using cover. In those situations, I do not see why a starship (or small craft) would not be able to use some of the same general rules for cover as main characters.
Yes, you are correct about ships and cover however this is a specific task for characters that replenishes the ability to avoid an injury with the added benefit of providing the cover bonus.
While ships don’t benefit from the Recover action (a character taking a recover action while aboard a ship would be ducking behind their console; it isn’t an action a ship can take), a ship can still position itself to take advantage of obstacles and concealing terrain (gas and dust clouds that diffuse energy weapons and screw with targeting scanners, asteroids, debris fields, etc.).
As a house rule, potentially, a ship using Evasive Action to move into or through a zone which contains cover could be allowed to gain +1 Resistance per Effect on their cover dice (or a re-roll, or similar bonus), representing taking maximum advantage of the cover while in flight - dodging around asteroids, etc., though you might want to consider a maximum Scale for ships doing this (a Galaxy-class is less nimble than an Intrepid or Defiant).
Was there any thought given to ship maneuvers such as “Minimal Aspect” in which the target ship, as a defensive measure, positions itself relative to the firing ship, that the target shows the smallest possible cross section to assist in minimizing the attack. An example would be the ENTERPRISE-D shifting its access to make the saucer section beam on to the attacking ship.
I wish my Beta players or I had thought of that. Funnily enough, I had done that in a Dresden Files game (Fate engine)… but it didn’t occur to me for 2d20.
It was a routine maneuver when we played in the Decipher System for Starship combat. Would it work as a maneuver for ST:A? Would it be best as a negative modifier for the attacking ship, or something that gives the target added Resistance? Let your opinions fly!
It’s just a task to create a temporary trait… which is a standard action in the system. I’d say it’s Conn/(Daring or Control) and Conn/Engines, resisted by Conn/Insight and Conn/Engines. It gets canceled if a zone changes.
Likewise, it’s a good fit for a 2 momentum spend on another movement action. Or a complication on an opponent’s roll…
As a routine maneuver it is covered under the Evasive Action Task. You don’t necessarily have to fly zig-zag, you can always do the “Minimal Aspect” thing.
Alternatively, every other maneuver is covered under the Create Advantage Task, which is probably what @aramis meant.
We have done little starship combat, so I am not up to speed on the process. I would like to, but stories we are playing have not called for it. I will have to remember that; as an aspect of Create Advantage. Marvelous game!
One silly question: when you score a special effect using a phaser II does it do anything? I understand that Romulan’s disruptors are Vicious so, on a special effect it would score 2 damage instead of one but what happens when dealing a special effect using a type 2 phaser?
Not silly at all. Type 2 Phasers do not have “Effects” by default, such as “Vicious 1” for disruptors. So by default, a rolled Effect does nothing special (it still does the one normal damage).
However, Type 2 Phasers have the “Charge” Quality. This represents the various settings you can choose from. “Charge” means for a Minor Action, you can give the phaser either the “Area”, “Intense”, “Piercing 2”, or “Vicious 1” Effects temporarily.
So essentially, a phaser is more versatile than a disruptor, but it costs you a Minor Action each time.
Doesn’t the effect cause another die to be rolled for additional damage, plus the hit it generates? But the effect does not get another die if another effect is rolled. So no “exploding die”.
No additional die but the special effect result would count as two hits if you elected Vicious prior to firing (using a minor action in the process). While we are talking about it, another question: could you select both a strike to stun (no lethal damage) and a vicious strike? And can the Romulians choose to deal anything but lethal damage (which consume a threat token?
NB: I’m obviously referring to the starter set scenario “A star beyond the stars”