ACTA stealth

[Kosh127]

Please an official response.


A scout ship can only uses its lock on when the target ship has stealth. A scout ship can only use its lock on to grant other ships a free lock on with any 1 weapon that they choose.
If this is true if the enemy does not have stealth taking a scout ship is worth nothing. Why make a rule that makes a scout ship worth taking if you can not use it on all ships? What is the ruling as the letter of the rule you cannot use a scout ships scout trait if the target does not have stealth.

 

[B_Steele]

No. The reduction of Stealth and the Target Lock special abilities are two separate things the Scout can do. Target-Lock (the re-rolling weapon systems) targets any ship, not just a ship with Stealth.

Bry

 

[Alexb83]

Also, you need to roll a 9 to redirect fire, but only a 4 for stealth. One possible fix I'd suggest in any new version would be making it a flat 9 for any scout ability... but that's just me.

 

[Burger]

Also, you need to roll a 9 to redirect fire, but only a 4 for stealth.

For clarification, that'll be a CQ check with difficulty 9 for redirect fire, or a CQ check with difficulty 8 for stealth reduction.

 

[Kosh127]

“So long as it is within 24 of a ship with the stealth trait it may make a crew quality check at the start of the attack phase. If it rolls an 8 or more the target ship will have its stealth score reduced by 1 for the remainder of the turn. This ability cannot affect a target more than once a turn. So the stealth score can only be reduced by 1. Instead of reducing the targets stealth score the scout ship may try to redirect attacks aimed against the enemy ship. Make a crew quality of 9 or more, you many choose any one”………..pg 8,9 SFOS


Look at the writing. "Instead of reducing the targets stealth score"
So as you see the way its written you must have stealth to do either because as you can read "instead or reduceing stealth you may lock on. so if you read the rule and only the rule not what makes sence than you may not use the scout trait on ships that don't use stealth.
I would like to hear what people think and an ..


OFFICIAL REPLY

 

[Greg Smith]

You've had an official reply. Mongoose Steele is Bryan Steele, whose work includes SFoS and Armageddon.

 

[Fiztbane_65]

i have another question about this. in the paragraph that Kosh127 quoted from the SFOS book, it says in there that "....stealth score can only be reduced by 1"

does that mean that the races that have the bonus of beating stealth..i.e. the drakh...cant also lower the stealth with their scout ships? meaning you cant have the +1 bonus to breaking stealth and have the scout lower it?

 

[Kosh127]

O OK THANKS!!

 

[Greg Smith]

i have another question about this. in the paragraph that Kosh127 quoted from the SFOS book, it says in there that "....stealth score can only be reduced by 1"

does that mean that the races that have the bonus of beating stealth..i.e. the drakh...cant also lower the stealth with their scout ships? meaning you cant have the +1 bonus to breaking stealth and have the scout lower it?

No different ways to lower stealth are cumulative. You can (if you get really lucky) reduce stealth with scouts, scanners to full and drakh/shadow/vorlon inate abilities for a -3!

 

[Alexb83]

“So long as it is within 24 of a ship with the stealth trait it may make a crew quality check at the start of the attack phase. If it rolls an 8 or more the target ship will have its stealth score reduced by 1 for the remainder of the turn. This ability cannot affect a target more than once a turn. So the stealth score can only be reduced by 1. Instead of reducing the targets stealth score the scout ship may try to redirect attacks aimed against the enemy ship. Make a crew quality of 9 or more, you many choose any one”………..pg 8,9 SFOS


Look at the writing. "Instead of reducing the targets stealth score"
So as you see the way its written you must have stealth to do either because as you can read "instead or reduceing stealth you may lock on. so if you read the rule and only the rule not what makes sence than you may not use the scout trait on ships that don't use stealth.
I would like to hear what people think and an ..


OFFICIAL REPLY

This will have to be written more clearly in v2, then - currently, if taken literally as written, you can only redirect fire at stealth ships, as it states: 'instead of reducing the targets stealth score' (the target is a ship with the stealth trait as previously stated in the rule).

 

[Methos5000]

So speaking of stealth lower things can the Nemesis get the Advanced Sensor Arrays refit for a +1 to overcome stealth or is the HEL-track already considered an Advanced Sensor Array?

 

[Burger]

No different ways to lower stealth are cumulative. You can (if you get really lucky) reduce stealth with scouts, scanners to full and drakh/shadow/vorlon inate abilities for a -3!

And within 8", a HEL, improved sensors refit for a -6 in total

 

[Greg Smith]

No different ways to lower stealth are cumulative. You can (if you get really lucky) reduce stealth with scouts, scanners to full and drakh/shadow/vorlon inate abilities for a -3!

And within 8", a HEL, improved sensors refit for a -6 in total

But Drakh/Shadows/Vorlons can't get a Hel, so you're never going to get more than -5. In fact only a Nemesis is ever going to get -5. (Since Drakh don't have fighters & Shadows can't get improved sensors -4 is the limit for even those advanced races; while Vorlons are further restricted by not having a scout).

This announcement brought to you by Pedants R Us.

 

[Burger]

But Drakh/Shadows/Vorlons can't get a Hel, so you're never going to get more than -5. In fact only a Nemesis is ever going to get -5. (Since Drakh don't have fighters & Shadows can't get improved sensors -4 is the limit for even those advanced races; while Vorlons are further restricted by not having a scout).

This announcement brought to you by Pedants R Us.

Shadows can't get -4, since their fighters can't do Scanners To Full. Their maximum reduction is -3 (range, scout, ancient). Similarly Vorlons maximum reduction is -2 (range, ancient). Thats a bit rubbish really for so-called ancients.

Nemesis can get -5, yeah. But since the best stealth in the game is 5+, and if you can reduce it to 1+ you get an automatic pass, its a bit pointless

 

[Greg Smith]

Now I thought Matt had rules Shadow fighters could still do scanners to full. (Of course we know that the rulesmaster topics have gone the way of the dinosaur).

Sure a Nemesis can get -5, but its pretty unlikely. (You would need to be playing in a campaign, have succesfully rolled battles large enough to include am Armageddon level ship at least twice, have rolled up improved sensors on the refits table, succeed in scouting, succeed in scanners to full, be within 8" and be facing an enemy too dumb to run away if faced by such a minster ship :lol: ).

 

[Burger]

Nah, pretty sure he said Shadow fighters can't do it. Thats what the rules say anyway. If only the rulesmasters wasn't deleted...

 

[Greg Smith]

Under the rules for the special actions that Vorlons can take, it says "Vorlon ships..." which would imply the fighters are not bound by the SA limitations and so can perform scanners to full.

For Shadows, it says "Shadow vessels may only use the Initiate Jump Point SA." Which is less conclusive. Although fighters can't use IJP!, so to me it looks like the resretiction applies only to capital ships.

Matt, Bryan, want to chime in here?