Space Combat, Leadership, and Captains

[OrdosMalleus]

A couple of related questions:

1) Can the Leadership skill grant boons in ship combat? EDIT: I see that has changed in the 2022 rules to +1s.
2) If so, must the character be acting as Captain during the combat?
3) Is "captain" an exclusive role? It looks that way. In other words, you can't be "captaining" and piloting (or what have you), right?

 

[adzling]

1. yes
2. yes
3. yes

at least those are my understandings, which may not be 100% accurate ;-)

 

[Arkathan]

A couple of related questions:

1) Can the Leadership skill grant boons in ship combat? EDIT: I see that has changed in the 2022 rules to +1s.
2) If so, must the character be acting as Captain during the combat?
3) Is "captain" an exclusive role? It looks that way. In other words, you can't be "captaining" and piloting (or what have you), right?

3) is Yes, but...
See the rules for doing two actions at once. Both would be at -2... you don't want to mess up the leadership role and give the other side the bonuses you were trying to get for yourself.

 

[Condottiere]

Command is a two way street, where leadership enhances the expressor's ability to get people to do things they might be hesitant or resistant to.

 

[Saladman]

I always thought the task chain rule was an obvious way to get a concrete benefit from Leadership and Tactics in 1e. I don't think many groups did much with that though, and even mine was hit and miss after I made it explicit.

 

[ottarrus]

OK, so then does applying Leadership and Tactics [Naval] apply as 'doing two jobs'?
Since the rules have done away with Fleet Tactics as a skill, it would seem logical to allow a Captain [who is not piloting etc.] to use their Tactics [Naval] AND Leader skill without penalties inasmuch as they apply to two different phases of the combat round [the initiative phase and augmenting skill rolls during the skill check phase]
As to how this might apply to a squadron sized battle where you have an admiral commanding a squadron whose ships each have a captain and whose Tactics [Naval] and Leader skill levels apply when is also a good question here.

 

[OrdosMalleus]

The description of the Tactics skill on p.72 of the 2022 update is pretty specific that Tactics (Naval) can be applied to even a whole fleet, not just one ship.

"This skill covers tactical planning and decision making, from board games to squad level combat to fleet engagements."

Since the Tactics roll to give the initiative bump occurs only once, and right at the start of the combat, I wouldn't think of it as two jobs for the captain, IMO.

 

[Condottiere]

Chain of command would default to the highest authorized individual, whether fleet commander or the ship's captain.

 

[Josh77]

1. yes
2. yes
3. yes

at least those are my understandings, which may not be 100% accurate ;-)

Where did you see that leadership can be used to give bonuses in combat? All I see is that it can be used to boost initiative with the captain's action. I was just wondering if you saw something addressing that specifically, or if you just assumed that it could be used that way?

 

[Arkathan]

The description of the Tactics skill on p.72 of the 2022 update is pretty specific that Tactics (Naval) can be applied to even a whole fleet, not just one ship.



Since the Tactics roll to give the initiative bump occurs only once, and right at the start of the combat, I wouldn't think of it as two jobs for the captain, IMO.

Sorry for the late response, but the thread got necro'd so:
Tactics is once per battle. Leadership is an action that can happen every turn and the effect lasts one space turn. So it is a full time position, unless you don't care about the leadership role and abandon it for another spot when the battle starts.