Disabled plasma and firing probes as a weapon.

[tfarley]

Quick question that came up in a match the other day...

(4J3d) Disabled Launch: Disabling a plasma torpedo launcher actually disables the arming system, not the heavily-armored chamber in which the plasma is created. If a fully-armed torpedo is in a plasma launcher and that launcher is disabled, the torpedo can still be launched normally any time before the end of the turn....

(5C4) Using Probes as Weapons: ... specifically: when only an armed probe can do the job (certain kinds of monsters require special warheads), or when one-half or more of the non-phaser weapons on the ship are disabled.

If you technically have half of your plasma tubes disabled, but they are still capable of firing this turn, is it legal to also fire a proble?

My Gorn Battlecruiser had both fully-armed Plasma Fs disabled on the same turn I closed for a Gorn anchor. I had missed rule 4J3d at the time, so I was not firing my Fs, but in order to inflict maximum damage I fired a probe as a weapon (every point helps). During my post-game "What rules did I mess up today?" review I found 4J3d, which made me question the legality of the situation. I don't feel bad for firing the probe, since I wasted an opportunity to fire 2 Fs -- but it could come up again.

[terryoc]

No. To fire a probe as a weapon, you have to meet the qualification for probe use at the beginning of the turn.

[tfarley]

Thanks for the clarification. Was that requirement stated somewhere?

I don't feel so bad about the mistake, since the 8 points of probe were less than the two plasmas I should have fired.

[mjwest]

Actually, from my reading of the Probe rules, I don't see a requirement for the beginning of the turn. Now, if an armed probe was a two-turn arming weapon, then, yes, you would have to wait for the beginning of the turn. However, since it is a "point of fire" arming weapon, there is no need to worry about the beginning of a turn.

So, once one-half or more of a ship's non-phaser weapons have been disabled, it may use the probe as a weapon.

That means you were perfectly fine in using the probe, and could have fired the plasmas, too. I suppose that disabled plasma launchers with an armed warhead probably shouldn't count as a "disabled weapon", as things currently stand, they do.