A sum of all questions concerning a noob playergroup

[sir_valance]

Dear all,

We're a bunch of gamers ( & their spouses) who've had a crush on the B5 series. Since our gf's had interest in miniature wargaming we started out with something new to discover together. It became acta 2° edition.

Resumé:

Player 1: Bought himself a Vorlon & Gaim Fleet box...

Spouse Player 1: Immense fan of B5, she's even writing her own fanfiction together with him. http://www.dream-grafix.com/b5/
She'll love the fact I'm sharing this face with all of you here. Naturally, you'll find out her FAVOURITE race beyond all are the Minbari.
And she immediatly invested in a Minbari Fleet box, some extra's containing a mere 5 Sharlins to say the least.

Moi= Player 2: I bought myself an Psi Corps & Centauri Fleet box
Someone had to represent humans, and I loved the 'eerie vibe' around these elites. My all-round favourite culture is the astonishing Lion of the Galaxy the almighty Centauri Republic.

Spouse Player 2: Oooooooooh, look at those cute thingies in space....
They look cute and we've got ourselves a Shadows Player...

We playtested the gamesystem (and loved it) and started our first Campaign.
Vorlons, Minbari, Shadows & Psi Corps are trying to gain supremacy in the Acta System (originality 0%) but at least we're having fun.
And after a few turns we're even completely convinced that Acta I, Acta II & Acta III, IV, V are real planets

But as we're coming along fine we've had our share of questions...
Since we don't want to immerse ourselves in houserules to be proven wrong some time later I'm posting these questions..

----

Q1: Size of a playing table.
We see a lot of inches concerning deployment zones but never the general size of the entire space/playing field.
In Scenario's like convoy duty & blockade we're really wondering what's the official measurement.

Q2: Certain rules concerning Shadows state that rules only work on 'shadow vessels' which implies a Shadow Player could also ally/play with other ships in his Fleet list?? (Centauri or Drakh maybe?)

Q3: Are there already suggestions concerning the Gaim? or is the (Gaim are broken) just whining? Energy Mines combined with the abundance of hit points on high hull have proven quite hard.

Q4: Could it be the Old Ones are considered overpowerful in comparison with the other races. I'm feeling quite asswhooped every time playing the 3 oldest races in the B5 history. Especially the Vorlons negates everything I throw at him with his regenerate and most of all his adaptive armour.
I get the feeling that versus Vorlons, Shadows & Minbari I'm just not being able to enjoy simple things like Interceptors and Fighters....
((which pushes me to dump my humans and concentrate on Centauri))

Q5: When is a player in an campaign eradicated, when he has no more strategic Targets, or when his fleet is wiped out? He could sustain a bit on his 10 RR and fleet in hyperspace, no?

Q6: When a strategic target concerning a space station is attacked, does the defending player gets the space station for free, or does it cost 1 Battle Slot?

Q7: Do fighters start moving from the moment you've moved all your capital ships? Or is do they have a seperate Fighter Movement Turn?

Q8: When the Admiral is killed in a Campaign, do they get a new one for free, or do they have to pay for him?

Q9: When a scenario ends in a draw, no RR is earned for either side? The only positive is the fact the defending player can keep his strategic target and gain RR for it?

Q10 & Q10.5: Can allied EA ships carry Psi Corps Fighters? And do they profit from the +1 Crew Quality Fleet check?

Q11: Concerning Stealth. Every succesfull hit from a capital ship or a fighter counts as a seperate -1 for the stealth?
When 3 fighters skindance a ship. 2 succed, and 1 fails and crashes the ship. How does it influence the Stealth Rating?

Q12: I've pre-orderen S&P, what can I expect to find in this book?
New Fleet lists & Scenarios, or errata of some sorts concerning existing fleets and rules?

I hope this isn't too much at once... But this is some stuff, silly as it maybe we couldn't figure out 100% certain.
I'm eagerly awaiting your responses as I've been checking this Forum almost daily since we've started out with this awesome game.

Kr,

$

 

[H]

Dear all,



Q1: Size of a playing table.
We see a lot of inches concerning deployment zones but never the general size of the entire space/playing field.
In Scenario's like convoy duty & blockade we're really wondering what's the official measurement.

general table size is 6 foot by 4 foot. but many scenarios have minimum dostance between stated, so any table that acoomodates them is good.

Q2: Certain rules concerning Shadows state that rules only work on 'shadow vessels' which implies a Shadow Player could also ally/play with other ships in his Fleet list?? (Centauri or Drakh maybe?)

Not quite sure what you mean. Any rule that states shadow ship, means actually constructed shadow ship, black and spikey. Centauri and drakh are their own fleet lists with their own rules.

Q3: Are there already suggestions concerning the Gaim? or is the (Gaim are broken) just whining? Energy Mines combined with the abundance of hit points on high hull have proven quite hard.

look at Signs and portents from um, about two months back, a new fleet list is avaialable and deemed as the valid list, also look at the player resources section, fleet lists.

Q4: Could it be the Old Ones are considered overpowerful in comparison with the other races. I'm feeling quite asswhooped every time playing the 3 oldest races in the B5 history. Especially the Vorlons negates everything I throw at him with his regenerate and most of all his adaptive armour.
I get the feeling that versus Vorlons, Shadows & Minbari I'm just not being able to enjoy simple things like Interceptors and Fighters....
((which pushes me to dump my humans and concentrate on Centauri))

they are both harder to play, and harder to play against, but not broken by any means. Sit a ship behind a vorlon, and it might take a long time, but you'll kill it in the end, unless it's a really small ship ;-) Minbari are weak against mines, and shadows can struggle against equally maneuvreable fleets like Vree, or a well organised fleet from most forces.

Q5: When is a player in an campaign eradicated, when he has no more strategic Targets, or when his fleet is wiped out? He could sustain a bit on his 10 RR and fleet in hyperspace, no?

I don't know the actual rule, but i'd say when he has been wiped out, or thrown in the towel.

Q6: When a strategic target concerning a space station is attacked, does the defending player gets the space station for free, or does it cost 1 Battle Slot?

umm, I "think" they take up the relevant slot cost

Q7: Do fighters start moving from the moment you've moved all your capital ships? Or is do they have a seperate Fighter Movement Turn?

they have their own fighter movement turn, after movement, before firing

Q8: When the Admiral is killed in a Campaign, do they get a new one for free, or do they have to pay for him?

an Admiral is never "free" as such, you can have an admiral and he costs nothing, until he is fielded, then he costs the price of his ship, bumping it up a level. He must always be on the highest priority ship in a battle.

Q9: When a scenario ends in a draw, no RR is earned for either side? The only positive is the fact the defending player can keep his strategic target and gain RR for it?

pretty much so. remember all sides gain XP for surviving the battle as well.

Q10 & Q10.5: Can allied EA ships carry Psi Corps Fighters? And do they profit from the +1 Crew Quality Fleet check?

No, but they can benefit from the bonus score for fleet carrier in a dogfight

Q11: Concerning Stealth. Every succesfull hit from a capital ship or a fighter counts as a seperate -1 for the stealth?
When 3 fighters skindance a ship. 2 succed, and 1 fails and crashes the ship. How does it influence the Stealth Rating?

no, you can only gain a maximum of -1 for each type. so one for succesful scouting, and 1 for a sucessful attack. therefore a skindancing ship crashing won't do a thing if other fighters saw it or a cap ship has already seen it. in the event of a failed skin dance and nothing else sucessfully targeting. I believe there is no bonus given. the fighetr died, it did not relay any targeting data!

Q12: I've pre-orderen S&P, what can I expect to find in this book?
New Fleet lists & Scenarios, or errata of some sorts concerning existing fleets and rules?

I assume you mean P+P. well we have been told some ship fixes, some racial special orders, possibly some new ships.

I hope this isn't too much at once... But this is some stuff, silly as it maybe we couldn't figure out 100% certain.
I'm eagerly awaiting your responses as I've been checking this Forum almost daily since we've started out with this awesome game.

Kr,

$

 

[Locutus9956]

1 quick correction there Hiff, you dont get a seperte -1 to stealth from fighters and captial ships its -1 if the target has been successfully attacked (though it should be noted of course that fighters in base contact ingore stealth entirely).

 

[H]

is it really, darn. where did I get my idea from? thank you kindly

 

[Burger]

Another correction hiff, Q10, no carrier can carry fighters that aren't on their own fleet list. So an Avenger fielded as a Psi Corps ally can not be fitted with Shadowfuries or Black Omegas, neither can it recover them during a game either by normal docking or Fleet Carrier revovery. Simimarly a Morshin fielded as an ISA ally can't recover White Star Fighters, and a Xeel fielded as part of an allied League fleet can't carry Star Snakes. Just because they both have "starfury" in the name, does not override the rules. If you play that Black Omegas can be recovered but they become standard starfuries then it's a house rule, there is nothing about that in the official rules. The Black Omegas and Shadowfuries do however get the +1 dogfight bonus from the Avenger's Fleet Carrier trait.

 

[H]

I remember a discussion. I accept that a carrier can't carry non standard fighters, but a black omega is just a fury with a teep pilot. . and an ISa nial is a minbari nial anyway. seems a bit silly if you ask me

 

[Burger]

And a funky black paint-job... Avengers don't carry black paint

I agree it would make a sensible house rule, but thats what it would be. A house rule. Not official according to the RAW.

 

[locarno24]

Q1: Size of a playing table.
We see a lot of inches concerning deployment zones but never the general size of the entire space/playing field.
In Scenario's like convoy duty & blockade we're really wondering what's the official measurement.

As noted, 6'x4'. Play on 4'x4' works but does tend to cause issues with missions where one side has to cross the tabletop - with a bit of practice you'll learn to fiddle with the rulebook deployment zonesif they're not right for your table.

Q2: Certain rules concerning Shadows state that rules only work on 'shadow vessels' which implies a Shadow Player could also ally/play with other ships in his Fleet list?? (Centauri or Drakh maybe?)

You can't pick alternate fleets by default (some races have allies rules, like raiders or psi-corps) but shadows don't. However, they can still end up with non-shadow ships in their fleet.

Example - convoy mission. The defender gets a number of freighters to protect. These will NOT benefit from any fleet-specific special rules - no Superb Manouvrability freighters!

Q3: Are there already suggestions concerning the Gaim? or is the (Gaim are broken) just whining? Energy Mines combined with the abundance of hit points on high hull have proven quite hard.

As noted, see the new fleet. Signs and Portents 56

Q4: Could it be the Old Ones are considered overpowerful in comparison with the other races. I'm feeling quite asswhooped every time playing the 3 oldest races in the B5 history. Especially the Vorlons negates everything I throw at him with his regenerate and most of all his adaptive armour.
I get the feeling that versus Vorlons, Shadows & Minbari I'm just not being able to enjoy simple things like Interceptors and Fighters....
((which pushes me to dump my humans and concentrate on Centauri))

Interceptors and good hull values are pretty useless against beam weapons, which means that the EA and Psi-Corps get a bit nadgered against elder races. Vorlons are hard to kill but far from invincible - I might suggest looking at the Hunter as a nice ship against them.

Q5: When is a player in an campaign eradicated, when he has no more strategic Targets, or when his fleet is wiped out? He could sustain a bit on his 10 RR and fleet in hyperspace, no?

No strategic targets. If you lose your last ship but are able to buy something (anything!) else before you lose all your territory you can carry on. Note that you have a chance of hurting the enemy in some scenarios like Planetary Assault, where you get a load of orbital gun platforms free.

Q6: When a strategic target concerning a space station is attacked, does the defending player gets the space station for free, or does it cost 1 Battle Slot?

If it's a strategic target which has one of your space stations orbiting it, you have to include your station. The good bit is that in games which aren't big enough to include the station, you can't lose the strategic target.

Q7: Do fighters start moving from the moment you've moved all your capital ships? Or is do they have a seperate Fighter Movement Turn?

Ships move (alternating), all fighters on one side move, all fighters on t'other side move, flak, fighters shoot, ships shoot.

Q8: When the Admiral is killed in a Campaign, do they get a new one for free, or do they have to pay for him?

An admiral-and-his-ship are considered a ship of a higher priority level...lose him and either you can replace him or do without one. He's not compulsory in the first place, so why should you get one free?

Q9: When a scenario ends in a draw, no RR is earned for either side? The only positive is the fact the defending player can keep his strategic target and gain RR for it?

As noted, you get other benefits - experience for you, destroyed/damaged ships for them. If you can gut more ships than they get RR for from the strategic it's kind of a pyyhric victory for them, isn't it?

Q10 & Q10.5: Can allied EA ships carry Psi Corps Fighters? And do they profit from the +1 Crew Quality Fleet check?

No - because they don't have the option to carry Black Omega Starfuries. They aren't the same as normal 'furies for game selection purposes any more than firebolts are. If the option's not listed you don't get it.

No - because they're not Psi-Corps ships, they're regular Earthforce and only use the special rules from the EA fleet you chose them from, which doesn't include Best of the Best. This is just the same as Q.2, where freighters in a convoy mission won't get Superb Manouvrability, Ranger Crews, Redundant Systems or whatever..

Q11: Concerning Stealth. Every succesfull hit from a capital ship or a fighter counts as a seperate -1 for the stealth?
When 3 fighters skindance a ship. 2 succed, and 1 fails and crashes the ship. How does it influence the Stealth Rating?

No. If it's successfully been attacked (that is you got to roll some attack dice at it, even if you don't cause damage) there is a -1. Regardless of how many times it's been attacked. I can't remember if skin dancing results in rolling attack dice or not.

Q12: I've pre-orderen S&P, what can I expect to find in this book?
New Fleet lists & Scenarios, or errata of some sorts concerning existing fleets and rules?

Mostly the latter.

-New special rules for ships and fleets
-Errata & balancing work for ships
-New variants (although no new hull classes)
-? Your guess is as good as mine

 

[Foxmeister]

Q12: I've pre-orderen S&P, what can I expect to find in this book?
New Fleet lists & Scenarios, or errata of some sorts concerning existing fleets and rules?

Pre-order P&P? Is it available for pre-order??

Regards,

Dave

 

[l33tpenguin]

Spouse Player 1: Immense fan of B5, she's even writing her own fanfiction together with him. http://www.dream-grafix.com/b5/
She'll love the fact I'm sharing this face with all of you here. Naturally, you'll find out her FAVOURITE race beyond all are the Minbari.

I clicked to check out the Fan-fiction and the local proxy server here at work blocked the page. The reason? Pornography! Just what sort of fan fiction is she writing?!

 

[noobdelux]

uh? where? ; P diddent see annything first time arround : P

 

[Ayame]

Spouse #1 checking in! Hi everyone *waves*

Just wanted to say thank you for replying to our questions, it has made several things A LOT clearer. We can now get back to round 6 of our campaign, yay! (The round in which all players have collectively decided to gang up on me but I had it coming )

Just want to say there is no porn on the site lol! How very odd! I blame the master site on which it's hosted. It's an artwork community, there are some sketches there on which you can indeed see a nipple if you're lucky lol but to classify that as porn? Silly cybernannies *tut tut tut*

Anyway, for those interested inn reading from work (which you shouldn't, you should be working ) it's hosted on Fanfiction.net as well.
Here's the URL:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4176122/1/And_so_it_began_A_Minbari_point_of_view

Thanks for all feedback!

 

[l33tpenguin]

Just want to say there is no porn on the site lol! How very odd! I blame the master site on which it's hosted. It's an artwork community, there are some sketches there on which you can indeed see a nipple if you're lucky lol but to classify that as porn? Silly cybernannies *tut tut tut*

What? No porn? And here I was hoping for some hot Minbari on Centauri action. What good is fan fiction if it doesn't contain hard core sex?

Err...
Anyway!

Welcome to the forums, the both of you