Federation Commander

The carronade rules say that a plas-F tube holding one point can be used as a carronade.

Does the tube have to be holding the power from Energy Allocation, or can it all be added at the point of firing - it does say up to five points can be added, which is the maximum.

Another way of looking at that is to say can an empty Plas-F tube be 'snap-fired' as a carronade by adding all the power at the point of firing?

The rule implies that you have to have put at least one point into it during energy allocation, before the Direct Fire phase.

4J4c "A Plasma-F launcher holding one or more points of energy..."

"Holding" implies that the energy is already there before you decide to fire the carronade.

And later; "Firing uses all the energy in the tube. More can be added up to a maximum of five."

More again implies that you have to have at least one there before this procedure is undertaken.

Plus, carronades are a special case of plasma bolts, and those require that the plasma torpedo be armed prior to firing (or at least be a two turn F).

I agree with the reasoning here.

Yes, that's what I was thinking was the case. Not too clear, though, is it?

The giant robot got it in one.

Its wording isn't that bad.

The confusion seems to be around the phrase "up to a maximum of five". It means that the total power can be up to a maximum of five points of energy, not that you can add a maximum of five points irrespective of the starting energy.

Its not that confusing, its definitely there, but its also definitely confusing enough to question it.

But, since Mike West has confirmed it, I no longer see any confusion.

Although I think the wording could be punched up on the other issue (the skipped damage thread), the verbiage here seems crystal clear. The condition for taking the action is that the tube is holding energy.

I did want to ask about the carronade and I hope I'm not hijacking this post too much to do so, but I was wondering...

It's my understanding that the carronade automatically hits, the roll is just to determine the severity of the hit. Basically, it cannot miss. Is that true?

Also, does the carronade affect the hex or just a target within the hex? Meaning, do I shoot down one drone or a hex full of them?

If it targets an area, does this mean it cannot be used for directed damage?

Lastly, how does this mesh with Evasive Manuevers? Does it modify it to a maximum roll of a six or move columns over as a phaser?

I played with a several Gorn cruisers last night and I found I didn't understand the Carronade as much as I thought. Thanks!

Yes, the carronade always hits. ( )

It only affects the target.

It moves over like a phaser, and not just EM can do that. Stealth Coating, nebulas (If we ever see them), ect. If it exits the range of 6, it's a miss.

Hope that helps