Babylon 5 Wars Consolidated FAQ
Core Rules | Narn-Centauri War | Earth Wars | Militaries of the League-1 | Coming of the Shadows | Variants-1 | Variants-2 | Showdowns-1 | Showdowns-2
Core Rules
Can CCEW be applied to things that aren’t fighters and shuttles?
Not unless specifically noted.
Can CCEW be used to help ballistic weapons other than Missiles such as Ion Torpedoes, Ballistic torpedoes and Packet Torpedoes?
Sure, why not? You define the targets of CCEW before you roll for ballistic weapons. See the Combat Sequence.
Can ELINT ships loan close combat EW?
No.
Under the ELINT rules, it says that to jam the sensors of another vessel, the ELINT ship must lock onto that vessel with 3 points of EW in order to be able to jam 1 point. Can this EW also be used by the ELINT ship as OEW? E.g. I lock 6 points of EW on Target A, do I get to jam 2 points of A's EW AND have 6 OEW?
No, those are separate functions. You don't get to count them for both features. The phrase "lock on" should probably not have been used.
Could you give an example of how to apply the exception on page 19?
Look at the diagram. The Omega in 0206 could pay the thrust cost required to turn to port, and would move into 0106 on its next straight move; this cancels the pivot entirely (however, you still have the weapons fire penalty that turn).
Can a gravitic ship pivot and roll at the same time?
Yes.
I have a capital ship at speed zero facing direction A. I want to face direction D. How do I do this? Pivot for three turns or spend thrust points (per hex facing) and immediately face direction D?
This is not expressly spelled out in the rules, but there are hints to it in the rules for Turn Manoeuvres. Under turn cost, the rules state “There is a minimum thrust cost of 1 to turn, even at speed zero,” and under turn delay, “a turn made at speed zero will always have a turn delay of zero.” So, your second option is correct. Of course, by going speed zero you have a massive initiative penalty, so while this may seem like a good idea, you might well end up moving first, whereupon the opponent just flies out of arc of your weapons.
Is declared friendly fire legal? I once had my Tigara fire its AM guns at the side of my own Sharlin (in order to have the flash damage hit the 54 Starfuries that were sitting on it). End result, one missed and the other hit with an X of 12; all of the ‘Furies dropped out before they could fire and the Sharlin suffered the 52 points with grace. Was this legal?
Yes. There is nothing in our game preventing friendly fire. In fact, I have seen exactly what you describe used on numerous occasions as an excellent tactic. The Vree shredder, in particular, is known for its friendly fire applications.
I was wondering if, when shooting at your own ships with plasma nets or gravitic shifters, there were any benefits, like ignoring DEW or do they take all the normal bonuses and penalties?
They take all the normal bonuses and penalties.
Can I make a called shot with a ballistic weapon?
Yes, as long as you are willing to suffer the penalty to hit. (Basically, instead of telling the weapon to hit the big ship over there, you tell it to home on a specific tiny spot on the hull.) If you miss, you miss completely!
I have a flight of Thunderbolts 10 hexes in front of an Octurion. They all launch missiles taking called shots on the twin arrays. During movement the Octurion moves so that the forward twins no longer bear on the launch hex. What happens here?
This is treated the same as if the twin arrays had been “destroyed” by damage prior to the called shot. Roll a random location but suffer the called shot penalty. (This is actually a pretty good reason not to call a shot with a ballistic weapon.)
A flight of Nials is going for the shield generator, same situation, skin dancing... The rules say that if skin dancing then forward weapons auto hit... Can they make a called shot?
No, you can’t use a called shot while skin dancing.
I know that called shots can NOT be made at primary systems (though a partial exception was made for side thrusters on HCVs and MCVs). However, I am curious to know if called shots can be made against weapons mounted in the primary section of the ship (such as the rear-facing twin array of the Dargan). We have previously been inclined to allow this as long as the attacker was in the arc of the weapon, but I’m asking if this is legal?
Strictly according to the rules as written (pages 37 and 38 of the Core Rules), a weapon in the primary section cannot be attacked by a called shot. (Note that Vree turrets are not considered part of the primary section.) However, it has become something of a generally accepted exception that weapons in the primary can be hit by called shots. This is up to your local group. In a tournament, it won’t matter since called shots (being an optional rule) can’t be used.
I have some questions involving interception fire with a fighter. The rules mention that the intercept rating is -1 per gun and that there is no degrade between weapons.
If a Starfury flight intercepts, say a heavy pulse cannon, is the interception at -2 (one per gun only one interception for the whole flight), -3 (one per gun for -2 with and an additional fighter degraded) or is the total -12 (6 fighters at -2 each with no degrade)?
See page 48. Each fighter gun has a -1 (with just a few exceptions). Thus, a flight of Starfuries can generate a whopping -12 intercept rating (there is no degradation) against something like a heavy pulse cannon - assuming they are facing the incoming fire, of course.
What about intercepting other fighter flights (again a star fury flight is it -1 or -6)?
Since each gun only has a -1 intercept rating and the rating is reduced by 1 (see page 46) when intercepting flight level fire, this would have no effect...except for fighters like the T-bolt, which have a -2 weapon. They could go up to -6. But then they aren't shooting and wouldn't you rather fire at that enemy flight right in front of you?
Can a fighter flight intercept multiple different weapons if they are all in the same arc (say 6 twin array shots coming from the same ship)?
Yes.
How about intercepting from different firing units?
Sure.
What is the intercept of the shadow fighter (-1 for one gun or -2 like a T-bolt)?
It is -1 per shot, so either -2 or -3 depending on how many bursts it has available. These are combined (since they are coming from a single weapon), so a Shadow fighter that didn't shoot last turn would have a -3 against an incoming shot or -2 against fire from a fighter flight.
Can it split fire for its multiple shots with some being offensive and some being defensive?
No, the weapon isn't that flexible.
Finally, is there any way for a fighter to defend another unit with its interception (like another fighter flight or a ship)?
Only if using the optional fighter anti-ballistic mission from Showdowns-2, page 13.
The light fusion cannon on the master weapon list shows 2 guns instead of 3. Also, only the gatling pulse cannon lists an intercept rating. Are these errors?
The fusion cannon is a generic chart, so the number of guns doesn’t matter (actually we shouldn’t have listed the number of guns at all). The intercept rating of all fighter weapons is -1 unless otherwise noted, so leaving them out is not an error.
To fire a Ballistic weapon at a ship, does it still need to be painted with at least 1 OEW, or can they be fired “blind”?
Unless it specifically states that a lock-on is required, it can be fired blind. (No weapons require lock-ons unless specifically noted in their rules.)
When resolving FLASH damage against a ship protected by shields, does the shield only reduce damage once, or for each system hit?
Once.
What is the effect of raking damage and sustained shots on a flight of fighters?
They take the entire hit as a standard mode volley. Sustained shots cannot be used on fighters.
What are the rules exactly for destroying missiles on the racks of fighters? I read the rules in the book, and I am led to believe that any single volley of 2 or more point will scratch a missile. If a Thunderbolt gets hit by a Gorith, and each "bolt" from the Gorith does say, 3 damage after
armour, does the T-Bolt lose 1 missile or 2?
The rule in question is on page 49 of the Core Rules. Any volley of 2 points or more after armour will kill one missile. It doesn't matter how much more damage than 2 is scored, one missile (only) gets destroyed for each such volley. So if a Gorith hits a Thunderbolt and both of the Gorith's guns score 2 or more points after
armour, two missiles are lost.
There is no description of the EP Gun.
Well, that was smooth of us.
The electro-pulse gun, or EP gun, is used by Minbari ships to disable small craft so they can be more easily captured. It fires a powerful electromagnetic burst which can short out the systems on fighters and shuttles. Larger units are unaffected by this weapon, as they contain more shielding to prevent this sort of occurrence. The firing player can select any desired fighter in a flight as the EP gun's target, and can wait until all other weapons have been fired at that flight before making this choice (this allows the Minbari player to choose a fighter not already damaged earlier in the turn, if he wishes). If it hits, the target unit is disabled and automatically drops out at the end of the turn.
Note that this weapon is extremely short-ranged, and thus is useful only against fighters that come too close to the ship. The EP gun suffers from the "range reduced" critical hit like any other weapon, but if it takes a "damage reduced" critical hit, there is a chance it will have no effect when it hits. On a hit it scores later in the scenario, roll 1d6 and subtract 2 for every "damage reduced" critical the weapon has suffered. If the result is less than 1, it does not affect the target fighter (otherwise it forces drop-out as noted above).
This is an electromagnetic-class weapon, but as it does no damage, it has no official "mode" per se.
If I interpret the Adaptive Armour rules correctly, being hit by a missile allows one to apply adaptive armour's benefits to E-mines. This seems counter-intuitive. I'm wondering if maybe ballistic weapons should be like pulse weapons in that they are a special attack mode as opposed to a separate weapon class.
It's an explosion, and the armour has learned how to deal with explosions.
Can an E-mine be targeted on a hex containing an asteroid? How about a moon? If so would it affect a ship hiding in an asteroid as per the rules in Showdowns-1? What if an e-mine went off one hex away from an asteroid with a hidden ship? Would that ship be affected? What about a shuttle that landed on an asteroid or moon?
Good questions. An Emine can certainly be targeted on a hex containing large terrain such as asteroids or moons. However, its explosion would only affect units in that hex. An Emine explosion a hex away would not affect anything in the asteroid or moon's hex because the rock would absorb most of the blast. For the same reason, an explosion in the hex of a rock would score only half damage to units hiding or landed there (if there is atmosphere, it would score no damage to units on the surface, as the air would carry away the effects). Any such damage would be secret (it would not reveal the hiding unit) so you may need to make a couple of hit location rolls for the unit to mark off only if necessary. Of course, if this damage destroys the unit, that fact would be revealed, as the explosion could be detected. If using the optional debris rules and enough damage is caused that debris would be created (e.g. the side of a cap ship is blown off) that would also have to be revealed.
If a single missile is fired at a fighter flight, since there is no intercept degradation, can the entire flight defend against the one missile? So it would have a -2 * 6 = -12 penalty to the missile?
Yes.
Since fighter guns aren't affected by DEW, are fighter-launched missiles affected by DEW?
Yes they are.
How is "amount of thrust the fighter is currently generating" defined for purposes of tractor beam energy? Is this value the amount of thrust the fighter expended this turn, or the max amount of thrust the fighter can use, or something else?
The fighter's thrust rating. The terminology was a leftover from the days when fighters had criticals and could lose thrust.
When can fighters from multiple flights (each missing fighters) reorganise into flights to bring themselves back up to full strength? Must the fighters all be on a carrier or can they be flying in the same hex in the same direction for a long period of time? Also at what point in the turn (I assume either the post turn actions or the pre-turn actions).
There's no specific rule for this, but you can do it either by landing them on the carrier or by moving the flight into the carrier's hex and then launching the replacements. The flight is re-organised at the same point the fighter launch occurs.
Shuttles can ram, but there is no ramming factor listed. How do we calculate this?
Sum their structure and armour values. For example, the Earth shuttle (10 hits and 1 armour) has a ramming factor of 11, while the Lamprey breaching pod (18 hits and 3 armour) has a factor of 21.
Does a twin array hit by critical roll 20 lose one gun and have the damage reduced on the remaining gun, or just lose one gun?
It just loses one gun. The special critical supersedes the other one.
A typo in the book leaves us without the damage done by a ballistic torp. I assume it's standard mode.
Yes. See the Demos control sheet. Modes: Standard
I assume the Narn paired particle gun should be particle class, not pulse class as the book states.
Yes. At the last minute, we took out pulse class.
Missiles have a +3 bonus to hit. Is this in addition to the missile rack's fire control?
Yes, although the rack cannot provide its fire control if the ship loses LOS to the target after movement. The missile will still get its +3 to hit, however.
The text for the basic missile says it has 3 OEW, but the weapon tables for the basic missile and S-Rack say a missile has 0 OEW and the rack has 3/3/3 FC. Which is correct? For example, suppose I allocate 4 OEW from my sensors to a target with a profile of 15. How do I calculate the to-hit number for a basic missile fired by an S-Rack?
The missile has +3 to hit all the time. The rack gives its fire control ratings IF you have LOS at the time of impact. These are cumulative.
Am I correct in figuring a missile's to hit using target profile plus launcher and missile fire control and minus DEW and defensive fire?
You are correct. Note that you must have LOS at impact-time to get the fire control benefits (and if your ship was destroyed or left during movement, you don't have LOS).
Is there any required order for rolling of criticals? It seems like it is to my advantage to roll missile-rack criticals first since that makes it less likely that I will have an explosion causing another system to roll for criticals twice.
Actually, if you have an explosion, you resolve the resulting criticals after ALL other criticals have been rolled. Otherwise, no, there's no specific order.
My impression of plasma weapons is that the plasma they fire fills a substantial amount of space, and thus it would seem to me that they should be able to intercept quite well, so why are they unable to intercept?
Too slow.
A White Star is being fired at by a ship and a flight of fighters in the same turn, through the same arc. The ship hits the White Star, destroying the facing shield generator. Is the flight of fighters' fire still effected by the shield?
No. They hit in separate firing steps. (If two ships had done the shooting, both would have been affected.)
Questions on Piercing mode
Assume I come up with 34 damage when hitting a Capital ship. Where would the excess point be allocated? And when I have two excess points, where does the second go?
Divide it by 3 and apply 11 damage to the facing, primary, and opposite side. The target chooses where the extra point goes (if there are 2, they must go to different sections) before rolling hit location.
If the to-hit rolls for the side hits roll Primary, how is it resolved?
You CAN get Primary hits from the sides, but if you hit the same system multiple times, armour counts each time.
What is the effect of piercing shots on medium ships? Does the PRIMARY part of the shot automatically hits interior systems as opposed to structure?
What PRIMARY part? On medium ships, you roll your damage, subtract 2 per die and apply it to the facing side (not the primary section) as a standard mode volley. (Medium ships technically have only one "side" since they only have one structure block.) The only advantage of using piercing mode on something so small is to make the shot standard mode.
For flash damage, if you roll structure, do you just re-roll or does the damage get lost?
It's best to illustrate with an example. Say you score 60 damage and your first roll is structure, but there are only 40 boxes available (assume armour is zero for simplicity.) The structure is destroyed and 20 hits remain. Roll again. If you hit structure, keep rolling. If you get a Primary hit, keep rolling. Only if you completely run out of hits on the facing side do you get to accept a primary hit or overkill to primary structure. Btw, flash damage is death to medium ships!
Does "weapons with no range penalty lose 20% of their max launch range (round up)" imply the penalty is rounded up, or the remaining range rounded up? For example, if the launch range is 9, and this critical occurs, is the new range (9 - 20%) rounded up = 8 or 9 - (20% rounded up) = 9 - 2 = 7? A similar question applies to ramming damage.
When you see something like that, you figure out what the new value would be after the penalty is applied, then round up, so (9x0.8=7.2) rounding up to 8.
When taking a range reduced critical to a weapon with various range brackets, how is this done?
Reduce the range brackets by 20%, for example...
| Range Penalty | Undamaged Range | Range after One Crit |
| None | 0-5 | 0-4 |
| -1/Hex | 6-10 | 5-8 |
| -2/Hex | 11+ | 9+ |
When a ship has 2 C&Cs, such as Earth Force 1, what do the C&C crits do?
Actually, this is in the Core Rules. Each turn, you select which C&C is active. Criticals on an inactive C&C don't affect the ship. Typically, you want to accept damage on the same C&C (and leave it inactive) until it dies, then start absorbing damage with the other. The value of a second C&C is pretty high, as any Pak'ma'ra player can tell you.
The Nova description says it can carry Thunderbolts, but the T-bolt description basically says on the Omega can do so. Which is correct?
The Nova page did not get updated correctly before going to press. Novas cannot carry T-bolts. (Another error in this test is the statement that Dilgar era Novas carried pulse cannons. In fact, they carried medium lasers.)
The Thunderbolt page says its missiles have a range of 6, but the rules say a range of 10. Which is right?
Range 10 is correct.
Narn-Centauri War
In the Combat Sequence, it says as the last step of the EW Segment, that ELINT ships announce which function(s) are in use AND allocate which enemy OEW points to disrupt. But I thought I read somewhere that if you were using any other ELINT function except Jamming, then you had to announce it simultaneously with all the other regular EW declarations. Which way do we go?
As explained in the rules on jamming, the scout is permitted to wait until he learns the EW allocations of his target before he decides which OEW (or CCEW) points to jam. That is what the Combat Sequence is referring to. Here is the procedure:
"The scout must apply at least 3 points of EW against the enemy target. For every 3 full EW points used in this way, one point of OEW or CCEW being used by the target on that turn is nullified. Any fractions should be dropped. The number of OEW points used to break enemy EW, and the target of the effect, should be determined during the EW Segment of the Combat Sequence. Once all EW announcements are made, the player then decides which of the target's OEW or CCEW points are lost. This choice is the scout's, not the target's. Only OEW or CCEW can be broken; if the target goes full defensive, the scout cannot affect it. This decision must be made immediately--it cannot wait until after movement."
That's from the consolidated rule that will appear in Showdowns-3.
If Ship A uses two Guardian Arrays to protect Ship B from a plasma weapon shot, AND Ship B uses a twin array (both guns on it) to also defend against that same shot, how does Intercept Degradation work? Would it be: Ship A's first Guardian gets a -3 intercept rating, the second Guardian gets a -2, then Ship B's first twin array shot gets a -2, then the second twin array shot gets a -1, for a total protection of a -8 penalty for the plasma weapon to hit?
I have checked with Rob, inventor of the Guardian Array, and he says: Since it is fired from a different unit, the two do not degrade with respect to each other. So, the Guardian would get a -3 for the first shot and a -2 for the second, then the targeted ship's twin arrays would get a -2 first then a -1 second, a total of -8, exactly as you surmised.
If Ship C is defending against an incoming particle shot with a Twin Array (both guns) and a Guardian, how does Intercept Degradation work? Would it be: -3 for the Guardian, -2 for the Twin (first shot), then -1 for the other Twin (second shot) for a total of -6?
Since the Guardian is on the same ship as the twin arrays, they would degrade with respect to each other. You get the same result regardless of order. For example, if you fire the twin array first (-2, then -1), with the Guardian last at -1, you get a total of -4. However, you'd be better off using the Guardian first (-3) then one of the twin array shots (-1) totalling -4, leaving one of the twin array shots available for some other use.
The Sulust Destroyer has Twin Arrays listed in the Aft Hit Chart, but there aren't any. What should the chart read?
1-8: Main Thrust
The update pack shows LPC on the Sho'Kos rear, but TA on the hit locations. Which is correct?
LPC.
It looks like there's a typo on Guardian Array #9 (aft-starboard) on the Sulust. It shows 4 armour instead of 3 like all the other guardians.
It should indeed be 3
On page 4 of the WoR Update Pack, the left column ends with the beginning of a paragraph which says: "Note that ballistic torpedoes (along with most ballistic weapons, with the notable exception of missiles) benefit from offensive EW, and suffer"
The printer botched this one, and I'm not sure how. The text is there in my computer file. The rest of the line should read: "...penalties from defensive EW--just like any other weapons do."
I had a flight of fighters get shot at and hit by medium pulse cannon and burst beam fire in the same turn. How does the burst beam interact with normal damage from weapons?
Fighters hit by the burst beam drop out IMMEDIATELY and are thus treated as 'destroyed' for any other damage scored that turn. As explained in the NCW Update Pack, the target player can select which fighter is hit by the burst beam, but as soon as the selection is made, the fighter is 'gone' and cannot absorb further hits. Obviously, the firing player should choose to fire this weapon first, so as to avoid having the target player leave one fighter seriously damaged and then use it for the burst effect.
I just noticed that the Ja'Stat seems to have 3 sections in the pictures in the WoR book but 5 on the update SCS. Is there any reason for this do you think? Or is it just an error?
The pictures are wrong. Our bad.
If a Burst Beam hits a ship protected by a Grav Shield, how do they interact?
Other than the fact that the weapon has a lowered chance to hit (the usual shield effect) there is no interaction
Some campaign map questions
Where does the beacon from Ardun (on the League side of Narn space) go?
Ekalta (Brakiri space).
What is the unnamed system at the galactic east from Centauri Prime?
Etalfa.
Are the Corillani and the Orillani are the same people?
They were one race, but split.
Are the low numbers of hyperspace beacons reaching League Space deliberate?
Yes.
And here are a few bonus question about the map found in the Babylon Project page122.
What race controls the Tulok I Outpost in the Tulok system (within a jump of Kapteyn)?
No one we know of. It may be a Torata system, but is more likely uncontrolled.
Does the hyperspace beacon from T'Lad'Tha lead to Bestine (the homeworld of the Descari)?
Yes.
Does the hyperspace beacon from Tiree lead to Troth (the other main Markab colony)?
Yes.
Where does the second Markab beacon lead?
Tiree has links to T'Lad'Tha, Altair, and Troth. Troth has links to Tiree and Markab.
Where does the second Vreetan beacon lead?
Beta 9 (Yolu space).
Where does the second Tulok beacon lead?
Trogoth (uncontrolled, but between Kor-Lyan and Torata space.
Where does the second Ch'Lon beacon lead to?
Chakadi.
Where do the two beacons from Cooke lead?
Beta Durani and Koula (Koulani homeworld).
Does the beacon from Signet lead to Koula (homeworld of the Koulani)?
Yes.
Tr'Ess'Na and Minbar have each two beacon leading to other Minbari world, what are they?
Tr'Ess'Na goes to Drala Toth and Valusha. Minbar goes to Solta Gan and Shengol.
What are the races located to the galactic south of the Earth Alliance?
The Koulani is directly below, beyond that is the Rim. Presumably there are plenty of other races, but we haven't developed that area yet.
Earth Wars
When towing an O-Sat how is the manoeuvrability of the towing ship affected? It says in the rules that you combine accel/decel costs, turn cost/delay, etc. An O-Sat doesn't have any manoeuvre costs, so would the towing ship suffer any manoeuvre penalties?
No.
On page 4 Delivering the Marines: Text says -2 if the pod is attached to a destroyed section, table says -1. Which is correct?
The text is right.
Purchasing Breaching Pods and Marines. The rule states that capital ships can replace two shuttles with breaching pods (double for assault ships), but the example states the T'Loth can buy up to eight. Which is right?
The rule. The example was missed when the rule was changed.
Can the Narn armed breaching pod fire whilst attached to an enemy vessel?
No.
When a ship fires missiles does it have to announce what kind of missiles it is firing or can this be marked down in secret?
It can be marked in secret. If you have several, write them down in order (say, A, B, C and D). Then ask your opponent to pick the ones he's intercepting (if any), resolve the hit rolls, and reveal your list.
Missile Ranges: Are they all x3 max range? The basic missile is listed as 15/45 in the basic rules, but Earth Wars lists it as 20 with no specified max range? According to the rules this would thus be a max range of 20, as no other max range is listed. Thus no missile would have a max range three times its launch range, thus making the statement about most missiles have a max range of three times launch range invalid. [Which is mentioned in the Core rules for missiles]
Nothing in Earth Wars contradicts the statement that missiles have a distance range equal to three times their launch range. This has not been superseded. The launch range of the basic missile was increased to 20 in Earth Wars, making its distance range 60 (or 70 from an L-rack).
The two new launchers in Earth Wars have a bonus +10 to range of missiles fired. How does this work? Does this apply to max range and launch range flat? Or do you add it on then multiply by three? So with a basic missile is it 30[20+10]/90[(20+10)*3] or 30/70[20*3+10]?
Add the bonus after the multiplier, so 30/70 with an L-rack.
Do all missiles have a built in OEW of 3? The only one it's specified for is the Basic missile in the core rules but its updated version lists none. Some variants have +/-X for certain classes, is this in addition to the built in OEW or a replacement?
The Core Rules state that the basic missile has a basic OEW of 3 and that other missiles will define their own OEW. This should have been worded as "All missiles have an OEW of 3 unless otherwise stated," so all the new ones in Earth Wars are all OEW 3, except the ones with bonuses or penalties as noted in their rules (e.g. the antifighter missile is +3 versus fighters, for a total OEW of 6).
I think the A-rack works thus: You can fire the A-rack at anything. If fired at a capital ship or a medium ship you get 3 OEW from the missile but no fire control bonus from the rack or the missile. If the a-rack at a fighter you get 3 OEW, +4 fire control from rack, +3 fire control from missile for a total of +10.
You are entirely correct. There is nothing in the rules prohibiting you from using the A-rack against a ship or other target, but it can only use class-A antifighter missiles. Against a ship these receive the missile's built-in 3 OEW (remember, ALL missiles have 3 OEW provided by their onboard guidance systems, but they cannot benefit from the ship's or ELINT OEW), but nothing else (the rack has a FC bonus of +0 against ships, and the missile has no further bonuses). Against a fighter, the missile gets the same +3 all missiles have, +3 for the antifighter bonus, and the rack's +4 FC bonus, for a total of +10.
I assume and would like confirmation that flash missiles striking target or targets in the same hex would be cumulative, i.e. each would do 25% of it's damage to all targets in the hex.
Yes. However, each is scored as a separate volley. So if 10 flash missiles hit, that would be 10 volleys of 5 points to anything in the hex other than the target.
Can Fighter missiles buy special type warheads?
Not unless noted otherwise in the warhead rules. The fighter missile is not the same as the basic ship missile.
Page 12 Special Missiles: Anti-Fighter Missile text gives +2 to hit, but the summary table on page 13 says +3. Again, which is correct?
The chart's right.
When using HARM missiles, exactly what it at EW does it effect and who chooses it (e.g. a defender is hit by a HARM, and is using every bit of EW its sensors can provide, but it has 3 for CCEW, 4 for DEW, and 3 for OEW)?
The target chooses which of his sensor points are lost. Note that this affects only the remaining fire steps of the turn, not other ballistic weapons impacting on the same step (in the event some DEW is lost).
An attacker is firing a HARM missile at a defender. It gets a +1 bonus per OEW the defender is using. Does that OEW the defender using HAVE to be painting attacker to get the +1 per?
No. It can be on anyone. The HARM missile homes in on active offensive EW. CCEW is considered OEW because it is "a broader form of OEW" as described in the Core Rules.
If a multi-warhead missile were fired at a fighter flight, does the single missile get intercepted, or does each fighter fight off the sub-munition?
Since each sub-munition is treated separately, each fighter would have to intercept separately.
When do the various missiles become available?
Basic: 2165, Flash: 2229, Heavy: 2225, Antifighter: 2231, Long-range: 2225, Piercing: 2244, HARM: 2248, Multiwarhead: 2256, Chaff: 2230. The basic missile may have been around before the listed date in various forms. EA developed the long-range and heavy missiles at the same time the Sagittarius-B was designed. The piercing missile was designed during the Earth-Minbari War, and the HARM missile came along just after it. The Dilgar produced flash missiles during the Dilgar War, while the Drazi developed antifighter and chaff missiles to use against the Dilgar in that same conflict. The multiwarhead missile is a comparatively recent development.
Nova description still has the Alpha model armed with medium pulse cannons rather than medium lasers.
Yes, I have noticed that. Oops. See below.
On the SCS for the Explorer it lists its defence ratings as Fwd/Aft 18(14), Stb/Port 20(16), indicating it has Mk-2 interceptors. However, in the weapon data, it's listed as having Mk-1 interceptors. Does it have Mk-2 or Mk-1 interceptors?
It has Mk-1s. The defence ratings are in error.
The Sagittarius has both Port and Starboard sides yet only has a side hits chart. 5-9 lists Missile Racks #5-8. Can fire from the Port side strike Missile Racks 6 and 8 even though they appear to be located on the Starboard side (assuming the arc restriction in 2E)?
Yes. The position on the silhouette is for visual display purposes, not to indicate whether they can or cannot be hit from a specific side - that's what the arc rule is for. If this were not the case, the Sagittarius would have a separate Port Hits chart and a Starboard Hits chart, the former with missile racks #5 and #7 and the latter with #6 and #8.
You fixed the Tinashi, but the arcs of two of the aft weapons on the Rogata Tug cannot be hit according to the Second Edition rules. Is this correct?
Actually, the hit location chart specifically states that the aft guns can be hit by shots to the rear. This should have been explained in the rules better. Because the hit location chart is precise about what can be hit, that overrides the normal arc rule. If you see a similar convention used in a future product, this same general idea will apply.
The Norgaht Starbase lists no transfer rates for its cargo holds.
Should be 5.
On page 57 in the scenario Sheridan's Finest Hour, the description says two Novas, but the scenario setup lists only 1.
Oops. We went through counting points and reading playtest reports at the end and adjusted some scenarios to make them more fair, but missed the problem in the description. The setup is correct.
There is a Poseidon carrier in the E-M War scenario Escalation on page 58-9, but ship wasn't in service until after Clark's fall.
It's the prototype. It doesn't get the +1 initiative bonus to all ships in the fleet, as that did not get added until certain Minbari tech was included in the ship (much, much later). Poseidons take years to build. Also, see below.
There are two Avengers in Swarm! on page 83, yet description says last was destroyed in Earth-Minbari War.
I guess a couple of them survived after all...Really, what happens here is the text gets written separately from the rest of the book (and in this case by different authors), and then at closing time all those little things are supposed to get cross-checked and fixed. We missed this one, the Poseidon one and the description of the original Nova (for the second time).
Text for Strategic Withdrawal on page 85 lists Menelaos and Cyrus as Omega and Nova class respectively, but scenario setup has two Omegas setup as bait.
Omegas is correct.
Militaries of the League 1
The Stb/Port defence values on the Abbai Milani (16/13) and Tiraca (15/12) should probably be 16 (13/14) and 15 (12/13) respectively, as there is a small (tiny) arc in which the side DV is used, but the aft shields are used.
True.
The Brakiri Tashkat's turn cost is listed as 2/3, but the chart gives the values for 3/4. Which is correct?
2/3.
Can the gravitic shifter be used upon enormous units such as the Earth Explorer (or for that matter upon any larger unit in the event that a HCV or medium ship mounts the system)? Can it be used to enhance or reduce the rotation of bases (by counteracting the rotation or accelerating it)?
It can be used against enormous mobile units, but not enormous fixed units such as bases.
In the gravitic shifter rule, it says, “Against a target which uses a gravitic drive (or more advanced system)... they suffer a -3 penalty to hit.” Is the shadow bio-drive a “more advanced system”?
Absolutely.
What damage mode is the Drazi Particle Cutter resolved in?
Raking mode against ships and standard mode against fighters.
If you fire a weapon in piercing mode against a Stormfalcon, how do you deal with it if the shot is fired in the forward 120 arc? Do you split the shot into 2 as there are only 2 hit location charts to roll on, forward and primary or do you treat the missing aft structure as a destroyed structure block and split the shot into 3, with 1 third being lost?
Split it into three parts. The first part hits the forward, second hits the primary and third hits whatever side is opposite the incoming fire. If the shot comes from exactly ahead, the Stormfalcon player picks (but whatever choice he makes has to be the same for any other incoming piercing shots from the same unit that turn). Note that this does NOT mean the reverse is true. If you hit the thing from a rear flank, the third segment hits the opposite side (not the front).
Is the +22 of initiative bonus of the StarSnake correct? If yes, how is it explained?
The Drazi get a +2 for aggressiveness. Since typical light fighters have a +20, it makes +22. (Check it out, all the Drazi have +2 initiative on everything. By the way, super-heavy fighters as a class would normally have a +13 bonus.)
When a Sky Serpent is carrying missiles does it still lose a missile for each point of damage it has taken like normal fighters?
It's 1 missile per 2 points of damage, just like any other missile-carrying fighter. See page 49, column 2, 2E Core Rules.
I assume that the Sky Serpent uses standard Fighter missile at a cost of 8 points per missile and doing 10 damage per missile with a launch range of 10 hexes. Is this correct? It does not say anything on the SCS or in the main book.
Yes, these are just like the missiles used by the Thunderbolt.
It also does not say whether or not the Sky Serpent can fire both its Paired Particle Guns and the Particle Blaster on the same turn?
It can do so.
Are the Sky Serpents Particle Blaster and the Vree Light Antimatter Cannon able to intercept like normal fighter weapons (at -1) or not at all (like the Ion Bolt)?
They may intercept, as there is no rule specifically saying they may not do so.
What effect do the Burst Beam and Shock Cannon have on the Sky Serpent? I thought it was immune to auto dropout weapons, but I can't find anything about it in the rules.
Wasn't it in there? Curses. Actually, we're OK on the burst beam since it states in that weapon's rule that the Sky Serpent is immune. The shock cannon would score the listed damage and would force a drop-out roll, but would not auto-drop a Serpent. Actually, you can safely assume any rule that says a fighter automatically drops out will not affect a Serpent, or any other super-heavy fighter, unless stated otherwise.
When using the Drazi solar cannon against Shadows, how does the "melting" effect work? I know that the armour is not reduced, but can this melting damage (to the structure) be absorbed by another tendril? Similarly, on Gaim vessels, can the melting effect be blocked by a bulkhead?
The melting damage is a separate volley, so it could be absorbed by a different tendril or blocked by a bulkhead.
The Drazi get a +2 to initiative for "enthusiasm", but the Gaim Kuach Minesweeping Corvette still has an init. bonus of +8, should this be +6?
It should be +6.
The Pshul'shi's Plasma Web data box lists an intercept rating of -2, whereas all of the other Pak ships' as well as the Master Weapons Chart's PW data box lists n/a. Should they be different, and if not which is correct?
-2 is correct.
The Dual Plasma Stream has a damage degradation rate of -2/hex, whereas the Plasma Stream's rate is -1/hex. Do they actually differ, and if not which is correct?
The listed value is correct. It is two streams, each degrading fully. Note that if you get the special critical, the -2/hex would also be halved to -1/hex.
The Por'fa'tis fighter has a turn delay of 1/3, instead of zero - is it still "agile" (that is, can it turn multiple hexsides at once)?
Yes
When using antimatter weapons without a lock-on the range, and not simply the range penalty should be doubled. Should this be ignored when using the Vree antimatter shredder?
Since the shredder is specifically noted as ignoring ALL electronic warfare, it should be obvious that no lock-on is needed to use it and the lack of one will not affect it in any way.
In the rulebook it says that the antimatter shredder ignores all EW, jinking and couple of other things. You can intercept the Shredder shot, but would you get both passive defence and active defence from the Particle Impeder or just get the active?
You would just get the active, as the passive defence is another form of EW, which the shredder ignores.
Which is the correct option for the allocation of damage from pulse weapons to Vree saucers?
1.Treat each pulse in the volley as a sub-volley, therefore while the Vree player is free to assign damage to thrusters and weapon that are in arc, he has to select a single structure block to score damage against, or
2. Treat each pulse as a separate volley, thus allowing the Vree player to spread any damage to structure between all facing structure blocks.
The second one. Each pulse is a separate volley for any other purpose in the game. It should be treated similarly for the Vree.
Against Vree, does flash damage have to destroy all systems and structure in arc before it penetrates to primary?
Yes, it must do so.
When firing piercing mode shots against the Vree, can any of the "opposing" sides be used for the third subvolley?
Yes.
The description of the Vree Tyzmm fighter's antimatter gun says it does 2X damage where X = 1D10 rolled for each fighter (IIRC, I don't have the book in front of me). On the SCS however, it shows 2x(1d10+4). I assume that the SCS is correct and these fighters can do up to 28 points of damage each (not including their other guns)?
This was a last minute change to the ship book while the League book was at press. The ship book is correct.
Are the Tyzmm's Light Antimatter Cannon and the Light Antiproton Guns linked together, or can the Cannon be fired at one target and the Guns at another?
They are not linked together. The two guns are, but the cannon is separate and can fire at anything else in arc.
How is flash damage resolved against Vree? Once all systems and structure are gone on the section it hits, does it go to primary structure or can it jump to another section that is in arc?
Since a given volley can only strike one outside structure block, the attack would continue rolling until no available hits were left (i.e. no weapons or thrusters in arc of the shot and the selected structure block destroyed), then proceed to primary.
By the way, tactical notes from our own tests: If trying to de-manoeuvre a Vree, fire from down a hex row where you can hit both a side and forward/aft thruster. With a couple of 1-4s (or whatever) you can knock them both off in the same attack (try doing this to a non-Vree with a single ship). If trying to de-weapon a Vree, hit them from an arc where only one or two edge guns face you (not down a hex row) and with 3 or more weapon hits you'll force your opponent to either lose a gun or take hits to the turrets. We always found the Vree to be very vulnerable to large raking or flash volleys, which frequently penetrate to the primary before being spent.
Coming of the Shadows
The Ancients don’t seem to use powered sensors. Is this correct?
Yes. They do not require power. If buying additional sensor points, they have a flat rate of 12 power per extra point. There should have been a rule explaining this in the book, but it was trimmed out for some reason.
The sensors on the Shadow Dreadnought don’t have a power icon. Where is it?
Sometimes the power icons on Shadow ships crawl around on the page. The Shadows are masters of deception, and often hide their features in plain sight.
Why is there a power icon on the reactor?
There, see, you found the missing sensor power icon! You might be a Vorlon puppet and not even realise it.
The Shadow and Vorlon fighters are not listed as having advanced sensors (probably as they don’t have sensors), but does their fire control have the same benefits? Or are they fully affected by Jammers/Stealth/E-Web/etc?
They do not have advanced sensors.
The book mentions that the Molecular Slicer “can use piercing mode at higher arming levels”, but the weapon stats don’t give any details. If the Molecular Slicer can use piercing, than what arming level must it be at?
The slicer cannot use piercing mode. Most of the text explaining how this works was deleted, except for the phrase you mentioned above.
Should the reference to “ignores shields” be removed from the Shadow Scout’s MPPCs (as was done with the HPPCs on the Destroyer and Shadow Omega)?
They do ignore shields, but only some as described in the rules. It should have been removed (as the full explanation is too wordy) but its presence is technically not incorrect.
The book lists the base to hit of the vortex disruptor as 20, on the SCS it is 24. Which is correct?
24. We made the change when we updated the master weapons chart, but the main book had already gone to press.
Is it possible to use a jump point disruptor on enemy forces jumping IN? The rules are very clear on cutting off the escape of helpless enemies, but what about, say, keeping enemy reinforcements from showing up too soon, or better yet, having them show up in little bits and pieces.
There are no rules for that at present. The thought is that this is one of these cases (like forming jump points on top of other ships or using “bonehead manoeuvres”) where allowing it would cause severe game problems. Besides which, the Shadows had plenty of chances to do that in the show and never did. It was only used in one situation: to prevent escape.
When an energy diffuser takes a critical hit that reduces tendril capacity, is any stored energy above the new reduced tendril capacities released to do damage (one big or multiple small volleys) or does it remain stored? Same question applies to energy stored in tendrils destroyed by crits.
Excess energy just goes away, scoring no damage on anything (whatever piece of the tendril was blown off the ship just takes the stored energy with it when it goes).
In part of the playtest, the Shadows had gravitic drives. Are they still gravitic?
No, we removed this ability after a final review of reports and comments. They are already good enough as is.
The rules say the Shadows have an efficiency rating, but they don’t. Should they?
No, the mention of that should have been deleted from the rulebook and was missed.
Where is the free thrust for Shadow ships?
It’s in the bio-drives. Each drive produces the amount of thrust shown.
I’m just a little uncertain how the shadow fighters are drawn from the structure. Is a “structure” box marked off while a fighter is in use or is it just a box in the “hanger” that’s marked off? I’d assumed the marked off box was from the hanger even though the comments in the rules indicate that the fighters come from the structure, since this would be the most simple way of keeping track of the number of fighters in use, versus available for launching; but it does read like it’s additionally drawn from the actual structure boxes. In that case if the hanger has taken hits, what would happen to any fighters still launched, and what would happen to any fighters that were still available to be launched?
When you launch a Shadow fighter you temporarily mark a structure box destroyed. Don’t mark anything in the hangar, which only represents the ship’s ability to carry and operate fighters. If a hangar box is destroyed, the ship can only operate the new quantity of fighters, but any already out there can continue to fly until killed.
Is the Shadow Carrier a variant of the Cruiser, and if so what is its rarity?
It is a different ship. I’m not sure about the rarity; presumably there were less carriers than normal ships, but as for percentages, I don’t know.
The description of the Regeneration Outpost says that it can use its self-repair ability on docked Shadow vessels. Is the base able to repair structure damage, lost fighters, or severed tendrils for the docked vessels (but NOT for its own structure/lost fighters/severed tendrils)? I would hope that the Regeneration Outpost would be allowed this exception to the Shadow self repair rules, as I see this as being one of the primary uses for it.
Yes, that’s its purpose exactly.
Should we assume that Shadow vessels can self repair their structure, lost fighters and severed tendrils between scenarios, in much the same way that the Standard White Star has a “slow” self repair system? In other words, how does it fix these things, and what are the limits (how much and how fast)?
No, they can’t do that. It’s what the base is for. Presumably there are a bunch of these things floating around in hyperspace. I wonder if they’re still there? Hmmm...
If a Shadow ship loses its reactor, presumably it doesn’t go critical being a bio-ship (but would roll a crit) and obviously all power using systems go offline. However, self repair, bio-thrusters and energy diffusers don’t need power (no zero power icon), so...
If it loses the reactor, it dies.
Does the Shadow Cloud block LOS?
I’d better ask the Committee before answering this one. It’s Enormous, so I would say yes, but an anti-weapon shield of that size is probably too good a deal.
The Shadow Cloud is stated to move one hex per round, but I can’t find the initiative rating it moves on. Same as Vorlon Planet Killer, i.e. always first?
Yes. It always moves first.
Are Shadow vessels adversely affected by travelling through the Cloud?
No. The Shadow Cloud knows its own. (Can be shortened to: The Shadow knows.)
How many missiles does the Cloud need to destroy an average planet? The scenarios list it to hold 100 missiles, but how many of those would it have to spare, if it intended to destroy a planet afterwards? 50? 10?
I really don’t know. I actually wish I’d never posted a limit to the number of missiles.
How does the Energy Absorption Field work vs Vorlon ships? Does it just drain 1d10 from the capacitor each turn (already bad enough), or does it reduce the recharge rate by 1d10 for every turn in the field (totally crippling)?
It absorbs 1d10 from the capacitor per turn.
Looking at the SCS for the Shadow Scout and Destroyer I note that they are Agile Ships but that their Pivot and Roll costs are 1+1 as opposed to a single number like other agile ships. Is this supposed to be this was or is it a misprint?
That is a misprint. IIRC, when we made the decision not to give them gravitic drives, we went back and “agiled” the smaller Shadows. Unfortunately, the result was we forgot to adjust the pivot and roll costs (sigh). They should be 1.
What is the proper range penalty for the Lightning Cannon (Lt)? The Vorlon Heavy Cruiser SCS shows a -1 per 2 hex, while ALL of the other SCSs and the Master Weapons Chart from CotS shows a -1 per hex penalty.
The Master Weapons Chart is correct. Apparently the updated chart was propagated to all the ships except the Heavy Cruiser.
The rules say, that the Vorlon Planet Cracker Beam has its own power supply, so needs no power from the capacitor. Can you, once the beam is fired, turn it of to use the power elsewhere?
The text saying the beam has its own power supply is in error. The beam requires the power shown on the sheet. After it fires, you can safely use that power for something else (e.g. sensors).
Is the Vorlon Heavy Carrier a different hull type than the Heavy Cruiser or just a variant? The text states something like it has a different internal layout, but I’m not sure if this is enough to qualify for a new hull. If it is a variant, what is its rarity?
It is a different ship.
The shield values and defence ratings on the Vorlon Observation Post don’t match. Which is correct?
The shields should be 5.
How many fighters does the hangar of the Vorlon Observation Post carry? The icon has 12 boxes that are not covered in the hangar information block.
24 fighters.
Why are there no point values for the Shadow and Vorlon bases?
There was no way to properly point them. Originally I had values on the sheets, but literally no one could agree. Clearly they should be ludicrously high, though.
I understand how a Shadow Cruiser is treated as a medium vessel with the use of the diffusers only once during a piercing attack, but how is a piercing attack resolved against a Shadow Omega? Does the diffuser only come into play with the first of the three standard volleys, does it effect the first and third (entry and exit) volleys or are they used against all three volleys?
The way the rules are currently written, you can only use the tendrils facing the incoming shot to absorb any one portion of the attack. Otherwise, it could be argued that a Shadow ship could use ALL its tendrils to absorb any piercing shot!
Can fighters “fly under” the shields of Thoughtforce?
Yes. It’s still a shield.
Does the weapon of the Traveler still cause collateral damage (flash mode) if fired at a range of 5 hexes or less? As written, it seems that its field would drain this off (much to the disappointment of the Traveler, unless the shot was at range 0).
The field would drain this off.
One of the scenarios lists 1 G’Quan followed by 14 more G’Quans. Is that a misprint?
Yes. The first one should be a G’Quonth.
Variants-1
Is the Badger a Starfury variant? If so, is it Uncommon or Rare?
It is not a variant, but has its own availability (Speciality level) as defined in Earth Wars (page 30).
The Rail Hyperion has a standard hangar in it's Primary area that would hold 6 fighters and two shuttles like normal, however the control sheet Hangar Bay says 0 fighters and 2 shuttles. Which is correct?
Ah, our first Variants-1 reason to slap the proofreaders. It has the usual 6 fighter complement. Ignore the zero.
The EA Breaching Pod on the Assault Hyperion in Variants1 lists a defence rating of 10/10, while the original one in Earth Wars has 9/9. Which one is correct?
It should be 10/10.
The Tethys Light Escort Carrier shows one class-S and one class-A missile rack on the control sheet. What is its correct armament?
Both racks should be class-A.
The Centauri ships have three different shuttles. Although the differences are not that significant, they seem to use three different types of shuttles:
1. Thrust: 4, Def: 9/10, Armour: 0 and Struct: 9, only seen on Demos Vorchan, and their variants.
2. Thrust: 3, Def: 8/10, Armour: 1 and Struct: 10, seen on Primus, Octurion, the Emperors Transport and both bases.
3. Thrust: 4, Def: 8/10, Armour: 0 and Struct: 10, is seen on all other ships.
Is this is intentional or an error?
The last one is correct; all others are mistakes. I could have sworn I fixed this before the NCW update went to press. In fact, I specifically remember doing it because one of our proofreaders was here in the office making me fix it. I wonder what happened there?
Variants-2
Why do the gravitic mines score more damage the farther they are away from the target?
The mines set up shearing forces between themselves that pull against the target. The closer it is to the centre of the effect, the greater the opposing forces; hence, the greater the damage.
Gravitic mines score their shearing damage as a flash attack that ignores armour. However, do shields reduce this damage (the shield facing the "most distant" mine within 5 hexes)? Likewise, do adaptive armour points allocated to "gravitic" class weapons reduce the shearing damage? This second question is asked because previous precedents (matter weapons and the molecular slicer) ignore the base armour but not the adaptive, and I'm just making sure that Gravitic Mines follow suit.
Shields and adaptive armour do apply. These would always apply unless a weapon rule specifically said they were ignored.
The turn cost in the reference bar for the Brakiri Brikorta shows a different value from the manoeuvring text block, which shows a 1/2 speed. This error was pointed out when the Ikorta appeared in Showdowns-2.
Yes, but we did not get that error report until after Variants-2 went to press! In fact, we missed it by about 2 days. I would have corrected it if I could, but it was too late. 1/2 speed is correct.
The turn cost in the reference bar for the Brakiri Takata shows a different value from the manoeuvring text block, which shows a 2/3 speed. This error was pointed out when the Tashkat appeared in League-1.
Same as above. 2/3 speed is correct.
The Brakiri Takata Mine Cruiser has armour rating of 5 on all its gravitic mines with exception of gravitic mine #1 which has an armour rating of 3. Is this correct or should it also have a rating of 5?
5 is correct.
Both the reference bars for the Brakiri Shakara and the Alykent Guardpost do not match the listed turn costs (2/3 speed and N/A respectively). Likewise, there should be no engine efficiency rating for the Alykent.
Okay, so I can't use the same excuse this time. Our proofreaders simply missed these. The Alykent problem is pretty harmless, actually.
No mention of a gravitic drive system is found on the Pikitos sheet. I assume that, like all Brakiri units, it utilises a gravitic drive. I also heard a rumour that the light graviton beam scored damage in raking mode, but the sheet does not say this, and so I am lead to believe that it scores damage in standard mode (as do virtually all fighter weapons).
It is gravitic. The light gravitic bolt scores damage in standard mode, just like normal gravitic bolts. In fact, it scores so much more damage you'd think it should be called the heavy gravitic bolt, except for the recharge rate.
The Drazi Jumphawk Command Cruiser lacks a jump delay (has Jump Delay: N/A on the sheet), what is its jump delay?
36 turns.
What special missiles can the Drazi Darkhawk use?
Any of the ones listed in Earth Wars.
Showdowns-1
The text on the Delta-V says it has 2 light bolters but the SCS shows 2 Ultra Light Particle beams. Which is correct and does the bolter still do 1st edition damage of 1d6+2?
At press time, we were wavering. Try it both ways. It's certainly overpriced with the UPB. The original Delta-V from the First Edition was armed with bolters, but we redesigned the "bolter" concept for Dilgar War. Then, for purposes of playtesting, we couldn't decide whether to use light particle guns (from the Sentri) or ultralight particle beams (from the Cascor fighter). We wound up putting the ultralight gun on the fighter but not changing its cost. You can try it either way. With the weapon shown on the sheet, the fighter's cost should be 4 points less. With the light particle gun, the listed cost is correct. Let us know which way you think it should be, because when we finally do the Raider supplement, we'll choose one or the other.
An Expert Navigator affects Turn Cost, and an Advanced Engine Module affects Engine Efficiency. Is it intentional the Expert Navigator is stated to not be cumulative with an Advanced Engine Module? They don't seem to have overlapping effects.
It's probably a holdout from a previous version that should have been caught and deleted. If they don't combine, it can be safely ignored.
I assume the cost of an elite fighter officer is paid by every fighter in the flight, even if only one fighter in the flight actually includes the officer.
No, you just pay it once. The listed price (e.g. equal to the cost of the fighter) is paid one time. Otherwise they are way too expensive.
The Expert Electrician's power shunts should remain in the fighters even if he is killed. Should this be an exception to the rule that an elite officer's benefits are lost if his fighter is destroyed or drops out?
Yes, because he's basically made modifications to the fighters that will remain regardless of his status. You cannot, however, buy him once and transfer him around to all the fighters on your carrier!
Suppose 5 out of 12 fighter weapons in a flight are deactivated (or fail to reactivate) using the Expert Electrician. How is the flight's damage calculated if 2/3 of the fighters in the flight hit their target?
7 of the 12 would be available, so 7 x 2/3 = 4+2/3, rounding up to 5.
If a fighter suffers a Pilot Injured critical, can the fighter drop out voluntarily to allow the rest of the flight to use full offensive bonus and thrust? If so, can the drop out be performed on the turn the critical is suffered, or must it wait until the next turn?
Voluntary dropouts are permitted; see the Core Rules, page 48, right column. Since critical hits happen AFTER dropouts in the sequence of play, however (and voluntary dropouts are required to occur during the dropout step per the Core Rules), you must suffer at least one turn of the critical's effects before you can drop the fighter.
What's the deal with the Omega in the Earth-Minbari War scenario? I thought Omegas weren't available until well after that war.
You are correct. It should be a Nova Dreadnought. The scenario is "Family Honor."
Is the in-service date of the unrefitted Babylon 5 Station in error?
Yes. It should be 2255. We did the refitted one first, then modified it to make the unrefitted one, and forgot to change the date.
Showdowns-2
Can multiple shield projectors be used on a single target with cumulative effects?
They are not cumulative. Only the highest projector value would apply.
Can the path of Debris be altered by use of either Gravitic Shifters or Plasma Nets?
No. It's too dispersed.
In the description of the Gaim breaching pod there is a reference to the advantages the Gaim have mentioned in the boarding pod rules in the Earth Sourcebook, however there are no references to Gaim there.
Hey, you're right. They are supposed to have the same bonuses as the Narns on all the charts, but whoever redid the charts in Pagemaker took all mention of the Gaim out of them. Sigh. Anyway, they have the same benefits as the Narns.
Are the armour values of 2 on the gravitic shields of the Abbai and Brakiri orbital satellites an error?
The shields should have zero armour. The shield projectors should also have zero armour. Someone in the editing department forgot the main difference between gravitic and EM shields.
Do hits to the gravitic shields on the Abbai Starbase and the Brakiri Techbase ignore the "blanket" armour protection of the section they are mounted in (in effect, armour 0) or do they benefit as do all other systems?
They should ignore the blanket protection, and are considered to have armour 0.
What is the proper turn cost for the Brakiri Ikorta (page 47)? The data entry shows 1/2 Speed, but the quick-reference bar seems to show 1xSpeed.
1/2 speed.
Do fighter missiles gain the +3 OEW in addition to the fighter's offensive bonus (provided that the target is in arc/the fighter has a navigator and has LOS)? Thus, the EA Thunderbolt generally has a total of a +8 bonus when using its missiles?
Yes. There is nothing in this section or in any rule anywhere, to suggest otherwise.
The power cost icon for the Alanti Orbital Satellites' shield projectors is an error. The projector is powered from the shield generator as though it were another gravitic shield.
Just ignore the power cost icon.
What happens when an enormous base is hit by a weapon that permanently reduces armour ratings (Disruptor, Plasma Stream, Solar Cannon). Does this reduce all of the armour of that section, or only a "sub-armour" score for that particular system?
Just the particular system. You would be forced to keep track of each such system individually.
The Strikehawk is described in the text as a variant of the Warbird, but there is no Rarity rating on the SCS.
It is Common.
Do Drazi shuttles/armed shuttles/... benefit from the Drazi initiative bonus of +2 (regarding all those units, that don't have their initiative explicitly listed)?
Yes.
Do Pak'ma'ra shuttles/armed shuttles/... suffer from the general initiative -1 penalty?
Yes.
Is there supposed to be a rule restricting the fire of the Xonn's turrets? I am wondering if the shredder and cannon mounted in the same turret (yes, I know that it mounts two such turrets) must fire into the same 60 degree arc (as on other Vree ships mounting multiple weapons in a turret)? There is no mention of it on the SCS, but AoG has been known to make mistakes...
Yes, we have, and we did. The weapons on that turret must all fire into the same 60-degree arc. This should have been a standard turret rule, not a by-unit condition.
The weapons on the Vree armed shuttles are a little confusing. They both have weapons with the same names as those used on the fighters, but listing totally different stats.
The text is incorrect. Use the value from the appropriate fighter for ALL purposes.
What is the Light Antimatter Cannon's firing rate? 1 per 2 turns, like that of the Tzymm, or once per turn?
See above.
On the Brakiri Armed Shuttle, is the range penalty of the Ultralight Graviton Pulsar -1 per hex as the normal GP (seems quite powerful for an armed shuttle of this price)?
It should be -2 per hex.
The Gaim Tracha Troop Transport has no Bulkheads at all. Is this intentional (as on a troop transport, the Gaim onboard are more important than the destruction of a weapon) or an error?
This is correct. The ship does not have bulkheads.
I was studying the scenario "The River Derelict" (Showdowns 2, pg 34), so that I could play it next weekend, and came up with a few questions.
The Gaim are required to land 4 shuttles on the derelict Avioki, but an Avioki has a hanger which holds only 2 shuttles, and has a launch/landing rate of one. Do the Gaim have to land the shuttles 1 at a time, offload cargo, and get the shuttle out of the bay before landing the next, or are they just cramming all four in there with no regard for using the shuttles in the near future.
In either case, how does the timing work, since the hanger should be able to either launch or land at most one shuttle per turn?
You have to land one, launch one, land one, launch one, etc., or land one, land one, launch one, launch one, etc. The point of the scenario is that the Gaim have to fight their way around this time delay.
Also, the hyperspace rules in the main book give a chance of various movement effects in hyperspace. Do these apply within hyperspace rapids? Perhaps the "Current Shifts Unexpectedly" (16-17) result on the table might always turn a unit in the direction of the current?
Good suggestion, and certainly a good optional rule. The hyperspace effects table still applies even within the rapids.
The Gaim Tracha carries 6 assault shuttles and 2 shuttles. In this scenario, it states that it has two breaching pods. Am I correct in assuming that these pods are in assault shuttle slots?
Yes.
Also, can they bring in the rest of the assault shuttles?
Yes, but those cost points, so you have to give up something or let your opponent have equal points in return.
For scenarios in general, are armed shuttles allowed?
They are an optional rule. Your group decides whether to allow them.
Do shuttles have dropout? This is suggested in the RPP playtest pack, because civilian armed shuttles have a penalty to their dropout roll. However, I can't find anything that states one way or another.
Yes, they do.