Squadrons in hyperspace

[Alexb83]

Can squadrons of ships be kept in hyperspace, and do they count as a single ship option for this purpose, or do they come under the 'up to half of your force' and so on, as listed in scenarios?

The idea of 6 Torothas jumping in on the enemy at close range and opening up with their weapons in a single action appeals to me greatly.

 

[Burger]

Yes squadrons can be kept in hyperspace, as long as they all move onto the table together, and stay within 6" when moving onto the table.

They don't count as a single ship for the purposes of "half your ships".

Don't foget to move all your Torothas through one JP rather than each coming through its own: then all except the JP opener can CAF

 

[Alexb83]

I suppose it depends how you want to do it - 6 jump points worth of damage and reduced AD from the ships (plus having to fire them in initiative order), or greatly increased damage from the ships?

Jumping them in seems to be one of the few likely ways to get the Torothas into effective range. And they're not too shabbily armed, either.

 

[katadder]

you can do the 6JPs worth of damage 1st still anyway, but as long as they come through the one jump point then the other 5 JPs close and the 5 torothas not holding open the one you use can CAF.

 

[Alexb83]

That's slightly a cruel and unusual way of doing things... but I suppose if you spread the JPs out a bit, it'll leave them guessing as to which one you're going to come through next turn.

It would make more sense to me to either have everyone jump in through one JP, or each through their own. I guess there's nothing to stop you jumping all 6 in from individual JPs, since as long as the JPs are all within 6 inches, they retain their squadron formation.

It's a shame that none of the tournament scenarios allow for many ships in hyperspace...

 

[Voronesh]

Well the idea of having a JP on each flank of the enemy does sound evil ^^.

OTOH why there are no scenarios with many or all ships in hyperspace?

Reread the shadow hyperspace rules and all will be clear.

 

[Alexb83]

Call me confused... I thought that if you left the table through a jump point, you counted as a tactical withdrawal, and couldn't then re-enter? As opposed to a scenario where you can start ships in hyperspace and then bring them on (detailed in the scenario setup rules).

I'm thinking from a tournament point of view. You rarely seem to get a chance to use JPs, no?

 

[Burger]

Correct, if you leave the table (to hyperspace or wherever) you can't come back.
Space Superiority and Annihilation have shis in hyperspace, randomly decided by a dice roll. Pretty silly IMO to arbitrarily give one player an advantage like that. In the Into The Fire tournament both players were allowed to keep 2 FAP in hyperspace in all scenarios.

 

[Alexb83]

That's up to 4 torothas - nothing to sniff at, I suppose. But my planned tournament list didn't include Torothas :S

 

[lastbesthope]

What you can also do is keep the squadron in hyperspace, and then when yo decide to open an JP or begin to move through the JP, i.e. when the first ship in the squadron does something in that turn, you can declare that you are breaking the squadron, et voila, init sinks galore.

LBH

 

[Davesaint]

Correct, if you leave the table (to hyperspace or wherever) you can't come back.
Space Superiority and Annihilation have shis in hyperspace, randomly decided by a dice roll. Pretty silly IMO to arbitrarily give one player an advantage like that. In the Into The Fire tournament both players were allowed to keep 2 FAP in hyperspace in all scenarios.

That was only in the tournament pack. SFOS Annihilation scenaro does not allow for deployment in hyperspace. Space Superiority allows each side to put up to half of their ships in hyperspace.

Dave

 

[Ripple]

And as far as I know there is no restriction on where you put jump points. The six inch squadron rules would only apply when you moved through the points and then only if you did not intend to break the squadron. If you do intend to break the squadron they can come in from any open jump point.

I always thought that was half the reason for the torotha. Open five or six jump points on someones hull four scout and then come in from another point closer to the battle.

Ripple

 

[Alexb83]

What you can also do is keep the squadron in hyperspace, and then when yo decide to open an JP or begin to move through the JP, i.e. when the first ship in the squadron does something in that turn, you can declare that you are breaking the squadron, et voila, init sinks galore.

LBH

The problem I see with this, LBH, is that by splitting the squadron you open them up to damage - if you can jump six Torothas in, as a squadron, all in arc, you can open up with them (with 5/6 CAF) simultaneously, hopefully decimating the target and overwhelming any interceptors with sheer weight of firepower. That's 48 total dice, 40 are rerollable, all are AP, and half are AP precise.

If you split them up and fire one by one, fewer dice are going to get through (especially the pulsars), and the enemy may be able to pick them off individually at close range before they all get a chance to fire.

 

[lastbesthope]

Oh I know that ALex, I never said it didn't have a down side, but it's not a tactic everyon thinks of using, so I thought I'd share.

LBH

 

[Alexb83]

Whilst we're on the subject of ships in hyperspace - can the aforementioned ships launch fighters before they enter the game, or can they (like other ships) only enter with 1 flight launched?

 

[Burger]

They can begin the game like any other ship, with 1 flight launched. They cannot launch any more while in hyperspace.

 

[Alexb83]

That's a pity :S So, ships in hyperspace can't do anything but A. activate JP. B. move through JP, or C. take a special action as they move through a JP?

The wording for fighter deployment/recovery doesn't mention hyperspace, I thought, only that it can only be done by ships 'not performing a special action' ? Surely ships in Hyperspace aren't carrying out any special actions, so by omission, they should be able to be launching fighters? (we know fighters can escort ships out of hyperspace already).

 

[Burger]

The hyperspace rules say that while in hyperspace, all you can do is open a jump point or move through a jump point (or jump gate I guess?). Therefore, no launching of fighters.

As for special actions while moving through, only if your ship has the AJP trait and is moving through another ship's JP.

 

[Alexb83]

What you can also do is keep the squadron in hyperspace, and then when yo decide to open an JP or begin to move through the JP, i.e. when the first ship in the squadron does something in that turn, you can declare that you are breaking the squadron, et voila, init sinks galore.

LBH

Hmph - I just noticed the way it's worded in armageddon. You can't have them as initiative sinks unless they went through their own jump points. Interesting

Stops you from jumping in a squadron, and splitting it for that effect. But I guess it still allows for very concentrated firepower right where you want it (if you have AJP)

 

[lastbesthope]

Whilst we're on the subject of ships in hyperspace - can the aforementioned ships launch fighters before they enter the game, or can they (like other ships) only enter with 1 flight launched?

Since the only actiona ship in Hyperspace can take is to Open a JP or Gate, then you can't launch when in hyperspace. So you could only start with the number of flights deployed that you could have had if you started on the table in Realspace. Remember, Fleet Carrier lets you start with 2 IIRC

LBH