Questions about Ion Cannons and Boarding actions

[unclejoe]

Hi guys,

Two questions please:

1) Ion Cannons - do they reduce the effective FC on the target ship or just remover the to-hit bonus added by the FC. Example - if my ship has 4 FC and 4 points of Ion Damage can it fire non-automonous weapons?

2) Boarding actions - do the defenders 'refresh' or 'respawn' between waves of attackers? In other words, does a defending ship oppose each incoming attack at full strength or do Marines/Sec troops killed in earlier attempts stay dead for the duration of the battle?

[TheDreadnought]

1. No. In the situation you describe, the ship may not fire non-autonomous weapons.

2. Nope. The defenders you have are all you've got and they have to last the whole battle. Don't get boarded.

[warchariot]

2) Forces killed in earlier rounds are dead. It doen't matter if this is during the same round of combat or a completely different boarding attempt. The question I'm not sure about, does two different boarding groups, the attacker, fight at the same time or in turn? In other words, do the defenders fight off one boarding action at a time, or all attempts at same time?

[TheDreadnought]

In the last paragraph under 'Teleporters' it says to resolve them sequentially, not simultaneously.

Not sure why it's listed there though. I'll probably move it to Resolve Boarding Actions in my forthcoming update.

[unclejoe]

OK, thanks for the answer. Out of curiosity, is there any way to avoid being boarded other than not getting within 3/4/5/8 of the enemy? Many system require the target to be 'held' or 'immobile' or somesuch but I dont see any requirement like that here (ie, no 'grappling' or 'tractor beam' or whatever are necessary).

PD has a 10% chance per boarder to kill one, but that doesnt seem especially reliable. Other than that, I guess your only other option is to spend your equipment slot on Marines and/or purchase additional Sec detachments (although with d6 vs d10, they dont seem especially effective).

[TheDreadnought]

No, marines use either boarding torpedoes, or teleporters. Neither of them require an age-of-sail style grappling maneuver (which would be pretty much impossible in space at the relative speeds involved).

Security forces are better than nothing, are cheap, and don't take up your equipment slot. But as you say are far less effective than marines in power armor.

High point defense is always good, and even killing one or two torpedoes on the way in can make a big difference in turning the tide.

[warchariot]

Jun 30, 2010 10:18:05 GMT -5 unclejoe said:

OK, thanks for the answer. Out of curiosity, is there any way to avoid being boarded other than not getting within 3/4/5/8 of the enemy? Many system require the target to be 'held' or 'immobile' or somesuch but I dont see any requirement like that here (ie, no 'grappling' or 'tractor beam' or whatever are necessary).

PD has a 10% chance per boarder to kill one, but that doesnt seem especially reliable. Other than that, I guess your only other option is to spend your equipment slot on Marines and/or purchase additional Sec detachments (although with d6 vs d10, they dont seem especially effective).

"resolve them sequentially, not simultaneously" This makes a big difference in that you don't have to fight all troops at once, but I will say, boarding is a great way to take down a ship.

[warchariot]

Also, remember that marines on the ship fight with the Sec Forces, which makes a big difference.

[TheDreadnought]

Yeah, that's why it's an optional rule. A rule that effectively allows you to bypass the tactical starship combat component of a tactical starship combat game, ought to be carefully considered by the players before they start using it!

[Jester]

Wait, this isnt the CBA forum (Colonial Boarding Actions)?