Space/Air Combat

Space and Air Combat all handle about the same. With few exceptions everything should go smoothly. Earlier in the hand book we touched on combat in the Dice section. Now we will go further to explain how things will be different in the new system. Please keep in mind that while reading it may be confusing, it goes much easier when you play it.

One thing that will NOT change is “torp shots”. Since Torps, Concussion Missiles, Mag Pulse, Space Bombs, and Heavy Rockets are all “Smart” weapons it will not be required for you to roll against your gunnery skills to use them. Simple obtain a target lock and let the droid or the shipboard targeting computer get a solution and fire. Just like we have always done. Once fired a 1d10 roll per torp will determine if it hits. A result of 3 or better is a hit.

One thing about “torp shots” that IS changing is that Capitol Ships ( anything above freighter size ) are only affected by torps. No longer will lasers be considered damaging enough to affect a Capitol size ship. Ion blasts will however take down shields. We will explain all this in detail later in the Capitol Ships section of the combat chapter. For right now. Let’s review the mechanics of space/air combat.

FIGHTER vs. FIGHTER COMBAT

In a dogfight things can get quite hectic. No one wants to waste time with tons of dice rolls only to be ticked off about rolling all ones. Not only do tones of dice rolls detract from the flow of things in the game, it crowds the chat room. Especially when you have to roll five or six times just to hit one little fighter. In the effort make things a bit more realistic, the following will occur during combat. Some of which is no different than we do now.

· The player firing on the “enemy fighter” also controls it, just as it is now. Sometimes the GM may control opponents but only in special circumstances.

· The player announces “green” crosshairs on the fighter and fires. Same as we do now.

· The player will then roll against their STARSHIP GUNNERY skill.

· The player then takes the result and adds/subtracts any bonuses or penalties.

· If the roll is equal to or LOWER than the Starship Gunnery score, there is a hit. If not, it’s a miss.

· The player then describes the results of the roll. Same as we do now.

· ONLY 1 Roll per trigger push per target. REGARDLESS if you have lasers set for single fire, dual fire, or quad.

The above rules apply to all ship fired beam weapons. Special rules exist for torps and we have already gone over most of them. Since Torps and Ions are your only defense against Capitol Ships. It’s best to save them because the amount you have IS limited. Let’s review the Torp rules and mechanics.

· Same as before, you announce the switching over from guns to torps.

· You wait for a “red” lock and a tone from your R2 unit or ships targeting computer to indicate a target lock and firing solution, just like we have been doing.

· You fire. Then roll 1d10 PER torp fired at the target. If any results are 3 or better, they hit. If not, they miss. Just as before.

· Torps, Concussion Missiles, Mag Pulse, Space Bombs, and Heavy Rockets are the ONLY ways to inflict sufficient damage to a Capitol Ship.

· Torps are limited in quantity. OUR XWINGS CARRY 24. Regular X-Wings have 12. Y-Wings carry 18. B-Wings carry 20. A-Wings carry 8. Lambda Class Shuttles carry 4. Assault Gun Boats Carry 16. Missile Boats carry 50. Z-95 Headhunters carry 6. TIE Advanced carries 6. E-Wings carry 12. T-Wings carry 16. V-Wings carry 30. K-Wings carry 8. Freighters and Uglies carry varying amounts.

Enemy fighters will only “fire” on you if you want them to. You will of course have to roll to see if they hit you. The GM may also use NPC Fighters to fire on you, or cap ships. Now, you ask yourselves, how good are they at hitting me. Well, lets answer that.

READY MADE GENERIC IMPERIAL PILOT SCORES –

· TIE Pilot – Starship Piloting : 20 Starship Gunnery : 20

· TIE Interceptor Pilot - Starship Piloting : 30 Starship Gunnery : 30

· ALL OTHER IMP Pilots - Starship Piloting : 40 Starship Gunnery : 40

SHIELDS –

Shields are a funky thing for us to deal with. While we deal with it all the time in Capitol Ships we rarely see it in fighters. However, we have a quick rule of thumb for dealing with shielded fighters. We call it the “Double Whammy” effect. If a fighter has shields then it requires two torp hits to destroy. Two good torps and Whammy! No more shielded fighter. Nothing left but space dust. An alternate method is to make one good Ion shot against it to take down the shields and then either another Ion shot to disable the craft or a laser shot to destroy it.

That about does it for Fighter to Fighter Combat. In case your wondering how much damage our fighters can take, well it takes two good torp or Ion hits to down our shields and another two good laser hits to destroy us. On the other hand, two good shots from a turbo laser and you are toast, one if you have no shields. Also, one hit from a ship board Ion Cannon and you are disabled, shields or not.

FIGHTER vs. CAPITOL SHIP –

First off, let’s define what a Capitol Ship is. It is ANY vessel larger than a freighter. Now some freighters are so small that can almost be classified as a fighter, others are so big that they dwarf even the smallest of Capitol Ships. However, freighters were not designed for combat. While they are armed, it’s merely for defensive reasons. Therefore freighters remain in the class with fighters. Capitol Ships ARE designed for combat and lots of it. They are armed and armored in such a way that they can sit side by side and slug it out with an enemy Capitol Ship without sustaining massive damage. This is why Fighter lasers simply just aren’t enough to kill them.

The steps in dealing with attacking a Capitol Ship are the same as followed in the torp combat above. However, you must destroy its shields first. It takes a different amount of shots to destroy the shields on different ships, so the GM will provide this information by telling you when the shields of the enemy Capitol Ship collapses. For the purposes of dropping the shields, Ion cannon fire and torps have the same effect. In other words, if it will take 6 torps to drop the shields on a Corellian Corvette then it would take the same number of Ion shots to do the same. As far as Air to ground combat goes, AT-AT Walkers and Dreadnaught Assault Tanks are considered Capitol Ships. As are any ground installations such as bunkers or shield generators or bases etc.

The number of torp shots required to drive off or destroy a Capitol Ship will be determined by the GM and communicated to the players by telling them the cap ship is running or that it begins to break up. Again, Ion and torp shots are of the same power, only ions do no real physical damage. But, before you begin contemplating ways of capturing a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, the GM will decide if the ship is to be captured, destroyed, or escape.