Just got the Alpha Quadrant Sourcebook today and I’m kind of unclear about the EDW.
-Does the Power Rating Drop of 3 for the Breen vessel happen everytime the weapon is activated? Ditto for the additional one power dedicated to the EDW?
-Does an Attack roll still need to be performed?
So far it seems the EDW is incredibly weak compared to what we see on screen. Obviously we can’t have Breen ships able to one-shot a Player starship, but the cost paid for the weapon seems incredibly steep for the potential result, unless I’m mistaken about how it works…
It’s not clear what “in use” means. But I would think you have to make an attack as normal, but just don’t roll any damage. You just drain the target’s power.
I guess in the show the Breen really dialed their EDWs up to 11.
Okay, I’ve compared the wording for power usage between the EDW and how other Energy weapons work and I think the EDW works thusly:
-When you activate the EDW, you reduce the ship’s Power rating as opposed to ‘spending’ power, so rather than a Breen ship being at 7/10 Power, its maximum is instead 7 having dropped from 10. Each additional power dedicated drops the maximum futher, so 6, then 5 , then 4 etc.
-Attacks are made as normal, with the result being that the target ship loses 1 (+X additional power dedicated to the EDW) on a successful hit.
-Other Energy weapons no longer can function until the EDW is disengaged, maybe as a minor action from the Tactical position?
To be clear: That means the target ship’s power maximum and current power level is reduced. They don’t just lose X power. So they can’t simply restore or reroute power.
Yes, exactly, I figure it as the ‘lost’ Power rating is now fully dedicated to keeping the EDW going, so it’s no longer available to use for regenerating shields or activating impulse/warps engines, meaning the ship has less leeway in dealing with other circumstances.