Shield critical clarification

[SneakyPete]

I had a bit if a disagreement with another player in interpreting the shield rules and want to be sure I am reading it correctly.

This is how I believe it is meant to work:

When you recieve a minus 5 to shield critical damage you take away 5 points from your starting shield value for every time it happens, but your current shield status does not lower unless the starting value takes you below your current shields level.

Example: A FFB starts with 20 shields and takes 12 hits dropping it to current shield value of 8. One of the hits bypassed the shield doing a critical to shields (1) and it suffers an immediate -5 to shields starting value. The FFB current shield value remains at 8 but the total now available if he does all Power to Shields is now 15.

Repairing the shield crits during the end phase will increase your available shields by 5 but will not adjust your current shields value at all. The only way to increase current shield value is to use ALL Power to Shields Special Action.

 

[billclo]

That's the way we've been playing it.

 

[nekomata fuyu]

That's how I understand the rules to work.
The only difference is if you happen to be boosting shields at the time you suffer the shield crits. In this case, your current shields are not reduced by the shield crits until the end of the turn.

 

[The Big D]

I had a bit if a disagreement with another player in interpreting the shield rules and want to be sure I am reading it correctly.

This is how I believe it is meant to work:

When you recieve a minus 5 to shield critical damage you take away 5 points from your starting shield value for every time it happens, but your current shield status does not lower unless the starting value takes you below your current shields level.

Example: A FFB starts with 20 shields and takes 12 hits dropping it to current shield value of 8. One of the hits bypassed the shield doing a critical to shields (1) and it suffers an immediate -5 to shields starting value. The FFB current shield value remains at 8 but the total now available if he does all Power to Shields is now 15.

Repairing the shield crits during the end phase will increase your available shields by 5 but will not adjust your current shields value at all. The only way to increase current shield value is to use ALL Power to Shields Special Action.

Yep. paragraph 4 of the attack phase of the FAQ says just that!
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/sffaq.pdf

Geoff

 

[Reynard]

I see nothing saying you lose Starting Shields. Each event says you 'Lose X shields'. To me and my group that reads you immediately lose shields. Essentially you blew a fuse shutting down some shield efficiency. When you repair that particular damage block those shields are restored.

 

[tneva82]

I see nothing saying you lose Starting Shields. Each event says you 'Lose X shields'. To me and my group that reads you immediately lose shields. Essentially you blew a fuse shutting down some shield efficiency. When you repair that particular damage block those shields are restored.

If I get a –5 Shields result from a critical hit, do I deduct that from my current or starting (maximum) Shields?
From your starting Shields score – if this reduces the starting score below your current score (and you haven’t boosted your shields this turn), then reduce your current Shields to the new maximum.
On the weapons table it says smaller ships sometimes have the range of their Disruptors

From the faq.

Would prefer to play it otherway around too as now it's not that often likely coming to play. Mainly affecting the boost shield SA...

 

[dalek4890l]

Another query about shields: does the level3 Dilithium chamber critical and/or the level 5 and 6 shield criticals prevent you from using the Boost Energy to Shields! special action? They have titles of Shield failure, Shields Down and shields offline.

 

[nekomata fuyu]

My understanding is that you can use the special action, but that there would be no benefit.
Basically, the modifiers are modifers to your "starting" shield score, so you would be using a shield score of 0 to determine how many D6 you get to boost your shields by. Namely, you get to boost your shields by 0D6

 

[Lincolnlog]

This thread needs an official answer. We got in this argument (friendly discussion) during our last game. Some interpret this one way, some interpret the other.

I interpret the rule as, if you get a critical result that is -5 shields, you immediately loose 5 shields, it also lowers your total by 5. If you repair this critical you get that 5 shield boxes back and your total returns to normal.

 

[tneva82]

This thread needs an official answer. We got in this argument (friendly discussion) during our last game. Some interpret this one way, some interpret the other.

I interpret the rule as, if you get a critical result that is -5 shields, you immediately loose 5 shields, it also lowers your total by 5. If you repair this critical you get that 5 shield boxes back and your total returns to normal.

Faq disagrees with you though. It's 5 shields from the starting. Not your current.

 

[nekomata fuyu]

And Matthew has already stated that even if he himself posts in this thread, the FAQ/errata would be official, and his word here would not.
Seriously, use the FAQ

 

[Lincolnlog]

Thanks, I see it now.

 

[Wagged]

Funnily enough I'd had the same discussion recently at Games Expo in Birmingham.

The way I'd read it - and some very experienced SFB'ers read it - was that the 'starting shields' referred to relate to the shield levels at the start of the current turn - not the start of the scenario.

This meant that the extra 5 shield lost was applied to the current shield level - i.e. providing an immediate penalty for the critical, and not a penalty that applied later if you happen to be in a position whereby you were re-inforcing shields (not all Captains re-inforce shields every turn - talk to any race using multi turn arming weapons)

The idea that the -5 to shields comes off a potential shield level made the group believe that this was not a rel penalty for the critical at all.

 

[SneakyPete]

IT may not cause a loss of curretn shield status but it keeps it from being boosted back to full strength with the APS SA which definitely causes you to modify strategy. Quite often I fond I get two or three -5 starting shield crits on a well hit ship which definitely limits how much shields I can boost.

We also play it that if you had 24 starting shields and it drops under 20 due to -5 shield criticals that you no longer roll 2 dice when you do APS but just one.

 

[tneva82]

IT may not cause a loss of curretn shield status but it keeps it from being boosted back to full strength with the APS SA which definitely causes you to modify strategy. Quite often I fond I get two or three -5 starting shield crits on a well hit ship which definitely limits how much shields I can boost.

We also play it that if you had 24 starting shields and it drops under 20 due to -5 shield criticals that you no longer roll 2 dice when you do APS but just one.

Correct. If crit changes shields it affects boost shield dice numbers.

 

[Halfbat]

IT may not cause a loss of curretn shield status but it keeps it from being boosted back to full strength with the APS SA which definitely causes you to modify strategy. Quite often I fond I get two or three -5 starting shield crits on a well hit ship which definitely limits how much shields I can boost.

We also play it that if you had 24 starting shields and it drops under 20 due to -5 shield criticals that you no longer roll 2 dice when you do APS but just one.

I understand why, but we still need a more offical ruling on this 'cos the RAW says "starting score" again - e.g. at the start of the scenario, just like the critical damage effect (-5 to starting score). This interpretation seems to go against the faq's explicit definition of "starting score".

Matt? Can you help?