ESG and Aegis questions

[Nerroth]

Hi.


With Hydran Attack and Booster #92, escort ships are set to enter the FC setting - but there were a few points I wanted to clarify, with an eye towards the kind of things I might need to consider for the Omega conversion project (or in one case, for use with the Lyran CWE from B92).


*In SFB, an escort ship is able to use its ESGs to try and protect another ship (carrier or otherwise) - an option noted for the Lyrans in the Alpha Octant, and the Federal Republic of Aurora in Omega (after they gain access to ESG technology in 2573).

However, is there a way for ESG-equipped escorts in FC, such as the Lyran Jaguar-E, to do something similar?

(If it stayed in the same hex as the ship it was trying to protect, for example.)


*Are the rules detailed in (3F) intended to represent what would be limited or full aegis in SFB terms?

To go back to the FRA example, the DDE in Module Omega 5 is noted as having limited Aegis - though I'm not sure if the FFE is meant to have the same. Would that be enough to allow for the use of the FC Aegis rules, or no?

[terryoc]

The Aegis rules I've seen only mention phasers and anti-drones.

In SFB, ANY ship can pretty much use its ESGs to protect another, just sit them in the same hex and have the ESGs at an appropriate radius.

In FC, the SFB trick won't work, obviously. However, it's pretty easy for the target ship to defend itself with its own ESGs. As for an "escort", you just move the target ship so the drones will fly within ESG range of another friendly ship at an appropriate moment and zap 'em with an offensive burst. There is also the "let me brush that off for you" tactic from Cap Log.

As the rules stand, I think Lyrans are pretty drone-proof and I would be surprised if there were more rules added for the ESGs of escorts. But of course I could be wrong.

[mjwest]

The FC version of aegis doesn't help ESGs. But then, it really doesn't need any help, as you can already use ESGs to scrap drones of off other ships. And this isn't terribly unique either. Note that aegis doesn't do anything for Pl-D launchers, either.

So, as Terry correctly points out, aegis is only really useful for phasers and ADDs.

[Nerroth]

I'm not too clear on the pre-existing ESG options, so far as helping allied ships goes - how does the brush-off trick work?

I guess the closest Alpha Octant example I would offer is if a Coalition player wanted to have a Lyran ship escort a Klingon vessel - which would be a somewhat similar dynamic to how ESG-armed FRA escorts may protect other Auroran (or Auroran-allied) warships.


But again, for the purposes of considering SFB SSDs for eventual FC adaptation, are the Aegis rules in FC intended to be equivalent to both Limited and Full Aegis from SFB, or only the latter?

(Even if it only covers phasers, it would be still worth noting for some empires' escort ships.)

[mjwest]

Basically, if you do damage to a ship with an impacted drone held in a tractor, you will damage the drone (and the ship). So, scraping a drone off a friendly ship is not without cost (as you will damage the ship, though presumably less than the drone would do).

For conversions from SFB to FC, there is no practical different between limited and full aegis. Aegis is aegis in this case.

[Hod K'el]

Yes! Battlegroup Acadiana does it. Two points of power; four points into the drone and four points into the ships shield. Beats the twelve points that the drone would have done!

[terryoc]

The best way works something like this:

Ship targetted by drones uses phaser-3s to engage impacted drones.

Any drones damaged but not killed are held in tractors.

Friendly ship then uses offensive ESG burst to finish off the damaged drones. It will take one point (of damage) per drone and any left hits the facing shield. This damage can be reinforced against normally. Note that the ESG using ship should make sure it is not facing a down or important shield on the target, but this will work normally no matter what shield it faces.

[Bolo_MK_XL]

Hard to believe you would damage a shield with ESG destroying a drone held in a Tractor, considering its determined to be at range 1 ---- Makes the simplicity of the game a bit complicated ---

[mjwest]

Hard to believe you would damage a shield with ESG destroying a drone held in a Tractor, considering its determined to be at range 1 ---- Makes the simplicity of the game a bit complicated ---

No, not really.

We are talking about Ship A trying to use its ESG to destroy a drone impacted on Ship B. This works just the same as Ship A engaging an ESG to destroy a drone that is in the same hex as Ship B. Both scenarios work the same, which keeps things simple. Since the second scenario is a base operation of the ESG, it would seem less simple to exclude the first scenario.