Federation Commander

If I have Marines on an enemy ship and some are degraded but some are not, do I divide them into two groups for determining casualties inflicted? E.g. I have 5 normal Klingon marines and 5 degraded Klingon marines from a penal ship on a Federation ship. Do I divide them into two groups of five and roll separately? Or combine them into one group of ten and take a die roll modifier on the whole group?

And when the Fed marines fight back and score casualties, how do I tell which group takes casualties? Can I take casualties on the penal marines first, using them to pad the more valuable regulars?

I kicked the question up, but it could take a while for an answer.

What I recommend is this: you have the option of dividing them into individual groups. This effectively treats them like you would with a three-way marine combat. If you choose not to divide them, then the group as a whole suffers from the degraded penalty.

Forgot to post the followup, but Steve answered in Communique #49.

You do divide the forces out, effectively treating them like they are allied forces rather than from the same empire.