Crippled ships and escape

[Stu--]

If anyone has played F&E you'll note that a LOT of crippled ships manage to escape from battles.
This doesn't seem to happen very often in star fleet though because not only are they slow (down to 6") but they also can't warp out and even if they could, the 'warp out' action leaves you as a sitting duck for the turn first.

Just wondering if anyone's thought of a solution for this 'issue' ?
-we're looking to run a campaign but it's difficult to see how almost every battle wouldn't end with the annihilation of one side. There's no reason to ever let an enemy crippled ship limp away when they take so long to escape anyway.

 

[Captain Jonah]

Well yes it is a bit bloody but unless you are playing a race that really hates the enemy the wrecks are going to be left behind where ships have not exploded and can be salvaged or repaired. Those handfuls of survivors heroically struggling to patch up the drives enough to get home etc.

Anyway Main rules page 18 covers this. Tactical withdrawals. Any ship may choose to withdraw from the battle by simply moving off a table edge. Some scenarios may restrict table edges but any ship, crippled or otherwise that can make the board edge can run for it.

Crippled ships have doubled turn modes which means no one apart from turn mode 3 stuff can move and turn. So its turn on the spot or straight lines.

There are other options (my interpretation of the tractor rules). If your DN or BCH was just crippled it can Shield boost and try to survive while using its one weapon to defend itself. Your escort (or another ship) can tractor the crippled ship by getting within 2” and then locking on a tractor which would be unopposed. They can then move off towing the cripple at 6” per turn towards the closet table edge. Since both ships are friendly the crippled ship allows itself to be moved rather than resisting and remaining in one place. You DN may be facing towards the middle of the map but its facing doesn't count if it is being towed to safety. In fact towing it backwards means its one weapon system is that huge bank of nose Phasers :wink:

Still if your enemy is determined to kill the cripples then, yes, you end up with battles where one side is basically wiped out.

 

[Stu--]

I'm toying with a few changes to try and make cripples more survivable. Namely:

1. Allow the warp out action to be an instant choice. Pick it, remove the model.
2. Allow a cripple to roll to see if it still has a functioning warp engine.


Any thoughts?

 

[astronomypete]

Sounds like a job for Sublight Evasion and saucer and boom separation. (from the main SFB rules)

 

[billclo]

Capt Jonah,

I was under the impression that the rules allowed all weapons to be fired defensively, with only one weapon system to be fired offensively while crippled.

But yes, it is not easy for ships to escape under this system. It's far deadlier than F&E, in that you won't get many cripples escaping. At least under SFB, there is a relative of "Maximum Warp Now" called Disengagement by Acceleration. Plus you could use Sublight Evasion, though it could get pretty dicey as to whether either method could get you out of a serious situation.

 

[SneakyPete]

If you are playing a campaign game you need to start thinking about escape before you let it get to a crippled state, especially now with quirks added. Of course you never know for sure when a ship might have a run of bad luck or recieve more hits than you expected, so it is also a good idea to keep table edges conveniently close unless there is an objective you must obtain.

In our campaigns I find crippled (or near crippled) ships escaping quite often, one well upgraded Klingon D6 of my opponent must have escaped my grasp at least three times before I finally was able to destroy it outright. (that was before quirks)

It is better to run away and live to fight another day! (in a campaign at least)

 

[bcantwell]

I was thinking about run away to fight another day and had a couple of other thoughts...

First, the main problem I've seen with Maximum Warp Now! is that you move 6". This means that the enemy can easily close the distance and get withing Ph1 kill zone, with a result that the damaged ship becomes crippled and fails to disengage. If you tweaked MWN such that the ship move straight ahead at its max normal speed instead of 6", it would allow a ship to at least maintain separation as the warp drives engage. You could compensate for the increased speed by making the action a Power Drain.

Second, if you want to allow Crippled ships to warp out of the battle area, you could have them take damage due to the stress of the sudden acceleration on the damaged frame. Say the ship suffers one attack die for each point of critical damage (e.g. a D7 with 22/8 damage would suffer 8 dice) or half their critical damage depending on how dangerous you want the escape attempt to be. So a ship that is barely crippled might still effect an escape, but a very badly damamged ship would likely tear itself apart.

 

[Captain Jonah]

How about taking warp speed further than that. Looking at the various TV shows a ship going to warp rapidly accelerates away.

So Warp speed now allows a ship to move at APE speed and at the end of the turn in the end phase after weapons fire is removed from the map as it jumps to high warp.

For crippled ships they can try to sublight evade if warp engines are down. A QC check to drop to sublight and go EM silent. This is opposed by any enemy ship within X" (4” or so) to see if they retain a lock-on. Ships doing a sublight evade have a movement speed of one if someone retains lock-on but can try again the next turn if someone keeps a lock on them.

 

[SneakyPete]

I like your idea Jonah. If they are going to have a SA to Warp Out, but no one really ever uses it because by the time it goes into effect they would be dead it does not serve much use. Allowing a ship to move at APE in the movement phase of Warp OUT might make it more feasible, it would also help against any seeking weapons fired at it that turn. Perhaps in turn only allow defensive fire from the ship using it though.

Now if only transporting Marines could be made useful.....