Fires, Abandoned Ships, and Sinking

[bayruun]

I played a game the other day where some Russian ships lost their crew to fires. The rules state that an abandoned ship may not move -- this means that it's still working as though it has a skeleton crew. Furthermore, the remaining fires cause no further damage. The ship cannot sink from such fires.

Those ships, firing one weapon per turn, but with plenty of health, posed a threat long after they had lost their crews. Is there no way for these ships to be damaged by their fires?

 

[Draconis]

Skeleton crew is different to abandoned.

Although it doesn't actually state that an abandoned ship cannot fire, our group has always played it that way.

 

[Stormbringer]

If a ship is reduced to zero crew it only makes sense that the ship cannot move or fire as there is nobody onboard to do so, as for capturing another ship your ship would have to have enough crew to so and it would mean stopping your ship to offload the crew and becoming a very tempting target.

 

[bayruun]

So it's more about interpreting and adding to the rules? I guess I'll start developing some house rules then.

 

[Jhary]

The rules say clear Zero Crew ship is abandon.
Skeleton is only a handfull to operat the ship.

 

[Draconis]

So it's more about interpreting and adding to the rules? I guess I'll start developing some house rules then.

Not really no.
All crew dead is all crew dead. If you choose to interpret that to mean that the ship can still fire then thats your choice I guess.

We feel that the designers perhaps dont have to explicitly state that a ship with no crew alive cannot fire - our group has just taken it as obvious really.

Skeleton crew means some are still alive. All dead means... well, all dead.

But feel free to make up house rules, as once you buy it, its your game after all

 

[bayruun]

Ah, many of my opponents come from the Games Workshop rules lawyer-y sort of gaming background, and for whatever reason, take every word literally. Having zero crew confers the "abandoned" status onto a ship, without describing what abandoned means.

I guess it's time to start thinking logically again, I suppose, and figuring out that "abandoned" means non-functional.

 

[Draconis]

Ah, many of my opponents come from the Games Workshop rules lawyer-y sort of gaming background.

:lol: I know what you mean! :lol:

 

[Jhary]

Ah, many of my opponents come from the Games Workshop rules lawyer-y sort of gaming background, and for whatever reason, take every word literally. Having zero crew confers the "abandoned" status onto a ship, without describing what abandoned means.

I guess it's time to start thinking logically again, I suppose, and figuring out that "abandoned" means non-functional.

Tell them to get a Softdrink out of an empty fridge. when they start to lame say "Ups the Softdrinks abandon the fridge"

 

[Burger]

Tell them to get a soft drink out of a fridge. Then tell them to put their head, where the soft drink used to be. Then slam the fridge door.

Trying to fire with an abandoned ship is just slap-worthy, really.