April 2009 |
F&E Q&A Part 2
PLUS AND MINUS POINTS Question: In a capital assault, the attackers strike a minor planet. The defenders do not send forces to defend this planet. As a result, the 37 damage points are nine more than is required to destroy both PDUs, all 12 fighter factors, and devastate the planet. Are these extra points recorded as plus points? What do they represent, since there is nothing to "retreat" from the planet (but there are other ships in "the hex" which were not in the battle). Answer: Rule (308.25) covers this rather clearly. If everything there was destroyed, then nothing carries over. Note that in general, plus and minus points at the various planets of a capital battle (308.24) do get merged (maximum of seven plus points per system) for pursuit purposes, but not "excess" points. DEPOT LEVEL REPAIR Question: Can ships, captured and converted by (305.23), be placed into Depot Level Repair (424.0)? Answer: No. The rules for Depot Level Repair (424.37) say specifically that captured ships cannot go into the Depot. There are not enough parts in the Depot (think giant space junkyard) to facilitate the repair of such a ship placed there. Question: Why does the Romulan Depot Level Repair have a KR track if the converted Klingon ships are essential converted foreign ships, which are banned from the Depot by (654.2)? Answer: The Kestral ships the Romulans bought from the Klingons came with a couple of things your run-of-the-mill captured ship does not: engineers that helped build the ship, a supply of spare parts, and the codes to unlock everything on the ship. These are necessary to convert them to Romulan technology and keep them running in the long term. This also provided a source of common parts in the Depot to repair these ships. It should also be noted that the Romulans had numerous Kestral class ships in service that could very easily provide the parts necessary to supply the Depot. SALE OF SHIPS TO THE WYN CLUSTER Question: In reference to Klingons selling a ship to the WYNs on Turn #1, the official online Errata says: (449.2) This rule forms an exception to (601.161). While the ship is technically leaving Klingon space, it is also technically no longer Klingon. Specific rules always overrule general rules, so the specific (449.2) [you can sell it!] overrules the more general (601.161) [you can't leave!]. Had we known that (449.2) was going to happen before we printed (601.161) it would have included a reference to (449.2). We'll add one in the Warbook. I understand what this is saying; it is allowing the Klingons to sell a ship to the WYNs on Turn #1 even though they are not allowed to send a ship outside of the empire during that turn. This is a good ruling that makes sense. However, the ramifications of this rule concern me. By the errata, it is now a WYN vessel now instead of a Klingon vessel. So it immediately becomes a WYN ship before it moves. It was not clear before this ruling what a WYN vessel could do, as it never had an opportunity to be on the map even in this transitory manner, but there are no rules for handling a WYN vessel on the map. Who moves it? Can anyone react to it? Can it attack something? Can you pin it? Can it pin anything? What can it do? What can't it do? Answer: Calm down! You're extrapolating a lot of rules from one misunderstanding. The ship becomes a WYN vessel at the instant it crosses the hex side into the WYN Cluster. (Nothing says it is a WYN vessel before then.) Once it is in the WYN Cluster, it follows the WYN rules, which (until F&E: Civil Wars is published) means it is simply removed from the map. Indeed, you don't actually even have to move it to the Cluster, you just remove it from the map. (There is no need to move it on the map for a Turn #1 sale, as there is no way for anyone to stop the movement. In later turns, such movement is of course required.) COMMAND POINTS Question: The rules for command points spent in a capital assault aren't entirely clear with respect to the approach battle. If a player spends two command points to buy one extra ship in every system, how many extra ships are allowed in approach? Answer: On the contrary, rule (309.94) is quite clear that if you are selecting two command points for one system in the capital you can use only one in the approach battle. It also states if you use four in the capital you have two in the approach battle. Using these examples we should have the following: * 1 command point in one system equals 0 command points in approach. * 2 command points in one system equals 1 command point in approach. * 2 command points for one command point in every system equals 1 command point in approach. * 4 command points for two command points in every system equals 2 command points in approach. CAPTURING THE CAPITAL On Coalition Turn #6, the Coalition captures the Hydran capital. On Alliance Turn #6, the Hydrans counterattack the Hydran capital hex. The Coalition places all "defensive" ships at the capital planet (system) and places all mobile forces at the capital planet (system). The Coalition does not defend the remaining planets in the capital hex. The Hydrans attack, but fail to drive the Coalition from the capital hex. Question: On Coalition Turn #7, are the non-capital planets in the Hydran capital still considered "captured" during the Coalition's economic phase (and thus generate income)? Answer: Yes, they are. Rule (508.23) is very clear that you have until the end of the phase to show garrison units. At the end of the Combat Phase, the Coalition needs a minimum of six units capable of garrisoning a planet left in the hex to show continuous garrison for that Player Turn. And anyway, the game works on the principle that each hex is owned by one and only one player. CAPTURED SHIPS Question: Does a captured ship converted by (305.23) get free Strategic Movement? Answer: Yes! Rule (204.31) says they have been repaired and are now part of your technology and can use your Strategic Movement Network and can strat-move for free on the turn of repair. Question: If the Federation captures a Klingon D6 and converts it by (305.23) it is a 7-8, but if they capture a Romulan KR (arguably the same ship) and convert it, it is an 8-8. Is this right? Answer: Yes, it is. That's how the rules work. One might argue that it should or could or might be otherwise, but it's not important enough to impose a special rule for this case.
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