FAQ v2.6.1
Experimental Rules
Reconquest Sized Games
Reconquest: 3001 pts+
Recommended Playing Area: 6'x4'
Launch Cap: 25 plus 5 per 500 pts over 3000.
Battlegroups:
- No Maximum Battlegroup Limit
- You may include a maximum of 1 Flag Battlegroup per full 1000 pts
- You may include a maximum of 1 of each Rare Group per full 1000 pts (so max 4 of each Group in a 4000 pts game).
- You must have no more Pathfinder Battlegroups than Line Battlegroups and no more Vanguard Battlegroups than Line Battlegroups.
- You must include the maximum number of Groups in a Battlegroup before adding an additional Battlegroup of the same type.
Admiral: When your Admiral's ship is destroyed, nominate another ship of H or S Tonnage in another friendly Battlegroup. That ship gains an Admiral 1AV lower than the Admiral from the destroyed ship. Admirals with 1AV are removed as normal.
Bombardment Collateral Damage
Add the following paragraph 'Collateral Damage caused by Critical Hits automatically destroys an enemy Ground Asset it is assigned to.'
Damage Control
Change to 'Ships with crippling damage effects must attempt to repair them at the start of the 3rd step in the Roundup Phase.
For each ship with a crippling damage effect, roll a D6 for each repairable effect. Each result of a 4 or more causes one crippling damage effect of your choice to be repaired and removed from the ship.'
Manoeuvre
Change to 'A ship that activates when it has enemy Bombers and Fire Ships assigned to it can use hard manoeuvring to try and spoil their attack. If the ship uses the Course Change or Max Thrust special orders, roll a D6 for each enemy Bomber and Fire Ship assigned to that ship. On a roll of a 5 or more that Bomber or Fire Ship is removed. Any remaining Bombers and Fire Ships take effect as normal.'
Orbital Debris and Launch Assets
Change to 'When a Launch Asset is moved through scenery on the same Orbital Layer or placed through scenery on the same Orbital Layer, roll a D6 for each of those Launch Assets. Fine Debris Fields remove Launch Assets on a roll of 3 or more. Planetary Rings remove Launch Assets on a roll of 4 or more. Dense Debris Fields remove Launch Assets on a roll of 5 or more. Any remaining Launch Assets take effect as normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Core Mechanics
In the explanation for the Activation Phase, the rules say 'If both players roll the same number, roll again until one player rolls higher'. What if I have a higher-level admiral – does this count as well, or does the higher roll still win?
Admiral level has no effect here, it's a simple D6 roll. It does however have an effect when determining initiative in the Roundup Phase (as described in the rulebook).
Once you have set your strategy deck, can you look through it again (without changing things)? When can you do this?
You may look at the order of your Strategy Deck at any time, unless specifically stated by a special rule.
For the Battlegroup Cohesion do I add 1 to the battlegroup's strategy rating for each group that is out of coherency, or just one if any number are out of coherency?
Add 1 to the strategy rating for each group that is not in coherency with another group in the same Battlegroup.
Can I chain groups together and still be in coherency? Can I send two ships off on their own and still use special orders (as each of those two ships is 'in coherency with another ship in the group'?)
Yes you may (and in fact must) chain groups together to be in coherency. The entire group must be in coherency with the rest of the group – i.e. each ship must be in coherency with at least one other ship in the group, and all ships in that group must be in coherency of the group as a whole, forming a chain. Ships in the same group may not claim coherency unless the every ship in the group is in coherency (and so may not split off into smaller parts and still do special orders).
Do ships of the same type in the same battlegroup form a large group, even if selected in separate groups?
Yes, they form one large group of the same ship type. The restrictions on numbers of ship per group are for fleet selection purposes. For example:
A pathfinder battlegroup is chosen. The player includes two Light groups in this; one with 4 Toulons (the maximum allowed in that group when selecting), and another also with 4 Toulons. While when selecting the fleet these are two separate groups, when playing these count as one group of 8 models, and conform to all of the group rules.
On page 43 Active Scan versus Silent Running – the text currently states "In this case no additional Energy Spikes is added to the revealed ship". This could imply that if you fail the roll the ship is granted a Spike – is this the case?
No. If the ship is Active Scanned and is on Silent Running one of two things happen; either it is successfully knocked off Silent Running, and goes back to a normal signature with no Spikes, or it is unsuccessful and nothing further happens to the ship.
If a ship with Full Cloak and under Silent Running order would receive a Spike (active scan on 4+, hit by flash weapon, bloom, launching assets etc...) does it loose Silent Running? If it could receive a Spike (ie. partial cloak) does it receive a Spike as well?
Yes. A ship under Silent Running that would normally receive a Spike will instead just loose Silent Running. No additional Spike added. The progression of signature is as follows Silent Running -> Normal signature -> minor Spike -> major Spike.
Does using the Station Keeping order and moving 0" count as moving?
Yes. A ship that uses Station Keeping always counts as moving.
Can ships in a group go on max thrust to catch up with other members of the group? If not, surely they will be lagging behind and never get back into coherency?
No, as you may not go on special orders when out of group coherency. This means players must plan their special orders carefully and play catch up if they issue the wrong orders.
Can I shoot at my own ships?
No! Friendly fire is off in Dropfleet.
When receiving a hit from a damage 2 weapon, do I roll 1 or 2 armor saves?
You roll 2 armour saves, one for each point of hull damage inflicted, not the attacks of the weapon.
When do you roll for crippling damage? Once the ship is crippled, at the end of the firing ships activation, or the turn?
Roll for Crippling Damage at the end of the firing group's activation. This can mean that the ship is destroyed before being crippled. If a ship is destroyed there is no need to roll on the crippling damage table – just apply the rules for catastrophic damage.
The 'Weapons offline' effect states that a ship may not fire its weapons or use any launch assets during its next activation. Since launch assets are used at the end of the turn (and not during their activation) can they still be used?
No. In all cases, the weapons may not be fired in the ship's next activation, and launch assets may not be launched in the following launch asset Phase. Note that assets that have already been launched (for example bombers or fighters that were launched in a previous phase) are not affected, only the ship itself. In effect, you miss one opportunity to launch, be that this or next turn.
Certain results on the Catastrophic Damage table create explosions or damage to ships within range. How does this affect Launch Assets?
Launch Assets are not affected by results on the Catastrophic Damage.
Orbital Combat
Does going down an orbital layer use up your one allowed turn for movement?
No, you just must be able to turn.
Under limitations in atmosphere, the last line reads "And follow the rules for moving up an orbital layer and do not suffer this penalty" Which penalty is this in reference to?
Ships that move from atmosphere to low orbit are not subject to the rule that ships may only move 2" in atmosphere once they enter low orbit. For example:
- Ship 1 has Thrust 10". It moves from atmosphere to low orbit at the beginning of its turn. It costs 4" to go up a layer, so it has 6" remaining that it may move in low orbit.
- Ship 2 also has thrust 10". However, it chooses to move in atmosphere before moving further or wanting to go up an orbital layer. Since its thrust is reduced to 2" in atmosphere, it may not move any further or climb to low orbit – it has used all its thrust.
Can Space Stations have Spikes?
No. If a space station would have Spikes applied to it, they are ignored instead.
Can Space Stations get the Corruptor effect?
No. Corruptor is a special kind of Crippling Damage effect, so Space Stations are immune.
Can Space Stations have special tokens like Oculus Booster and Space Telescope?
Yes. These special tokens affect Space Stations in the same way as they affect ships. Although Space Telescope is a lot less useful since Space Stations cannot have Spikes!
Can Space Stations be spun with Impel weapons?
I guess? All Space Station armaments are F/S/R arcs, so there's no reason to turn them!
How does debris field and planetary ring penalties effect ships on different layers?
If the attacker OR target is on the same layer as the Debris/planetary ring or if the Debris/planetary ring is between the attacker and target all penalties apply.
Ground Combat
Can I contest a cluster without holding a sector, but by having tokens in a sector?
No, In order to contest a cluster you must control at least 1 sector. You hold a sector by having more tokens in that sector than your opponent.
If I have multiple Defence Batteries or Voidgates in/over a cluster, do I get to roll multiple dice for destroying ground assets that are trying to land?
No. As per the 'Batteries' rule, if you have one or more batteries you may roll 1D6 for each launch asset that is trying to land. This means that multiple Voidgates or Batteries do not give you multiple chances to destroy incoming ground assets – you only ever get one dice on each asset unless very specifically stated in a special rule.
Can Sectors or Clusters be spun with Impel weapons?
No. Impel weapons aren't powerful enough to turn the ground.
Launch Assets
Do Launch Assets count as weapons?
Unless otherwise stated in a special rule or Command Card, Launch Assets do not count as weapons systems. They may only be used if a ship could fire its weapons. Interactions with launch assets in situations where a ship may not fire (because of special orders, damage or other reasons) are covered in each individual case in the rule book.
Can you use Launch Assets when Silent Running? What if you have the stealth rule?
You may not usually deploy Launch assets when on Silent Running, as the rules state that you must be able to fire one weapon to use Launch Assets, and you may not fire when on Silent Running special orders. If a ship has the stealth special rule you may use launch assets as it may fire at least one weapon on Silent Running.
Launching when Silent Running with Stealth will take you out of Silent Running, even if you have full cloak.
Torpedoes are Launch Assets, and the rules state that Launch Assets must test to see if they are removed if a ship moves through a Debris Field. Does this apply to Torpedoes as well as Bombers? What about fighters?
Yes to both – all launch assets roll if they either move through or attached to a ship that moves through Debris fields.
If a ship with Launch Assets attached is destroyed, what happens to the Assets? Can they be moved to another ship, i.e. can I move fighters to another ship, or Bombers/Torpedoes to a different enemy ship?
No, if a ship that has Launch Assets attached is destroyed, they are removed with the ship.
When Launching assets at a ship on Silent Running, how do I resolve them in terms of range?
Launch assets have a set range which is not affected by the signature of a ship. Since Silent Running change the signature of a ship to 0 but does not change the range of assets, Silent does not affect ranges when using launch assets.
Can ordinary weapons/bombers be fired against torpedoes?
No, because they are a launch asset and cannot be targeted.
Can fighters be launched to defend a cluster? Eg act like a temporary battery?
No. Further, since launch assets cannot enter atmosphere (unless allowed to do so by special rules), bombers, fighters and torpedoes may not enter atmosphere.
Special Rules
What happens with weapons that have additional rules about damage/extra effects where they are saved by passive saves? For example, Corruptor or Impel weapons state that if the weapon scores a certain type of hit or certain amount of damage (in these cases critical hit or the (x) damage on Impel etc) then the rules applies, but it doesn't say what happens with Passive saves
In all cases where additional effects or damage would be caused to a ship, the ship must actually be damaged. If passive saves stop the damage, the additional rules do not apply (unless specifically stated in the rule itself). In the two examples given; the Corruptor weapon would need to cause critical damage and then the ship would have to fail any passive save it had; and the Impel weapon would have to do its stated damage (x) after the ship has rolled any passive saves it has for Impel to take effect.
A weapon with Burnthrough(14) does 2 damage per hit. What is the maximum damage it can do?
14, The Burnthrough value denotes the total amount of hull damage it may do in a single activation. A Burnthrough(6) weapon with 3 damage would be able to deal 6 points of hull damage in a single activation, needing 2 successful lock rolls.
Burnthrough Lasers: If I roll X amount of Dice, say 2, and both hit and one is a critical success, is it only any further successes on the dice that scored a critical that ignore armour, or is it any further successes on both dice?
Any further dice rolls that hit after scoring at least critical hit ignore armour. i.e.:
- You roll for the Perth's burnthrough, with 4 attacks hitting on lock 3+.
- You miss with one attack, and hit with three. One of these hits scores a critical hit.
- You then roll three dice again – any hit here or on any subsequent rolls now critical.
If I roll for a Burnthrough weapon and score a hit and two crits and only need one of the results to reach the weapon's X value, which dice do I choose?
Pick the best result. In this case you'd probably want to pick one of the crits and discard the other crit and hit.
When taking hits from a group of ships that are firing Close action weapons, do you get your PD against each weapon system, or are those weapons combined and then PD is taken? What about against launch assets like bombers?
No, you get one roll of PD against the entire pool of attacks – roll all the close action attacks together and then roll one PD against the roll. This is the same for Bombers.
The Corruptor rule states that a ship that takes a critical hit suffers the corruptor continuing effect. Does this only happen on a critical hit, or does it happen regardless, as the second paragraph seems to imply?
The Corruptor rule only applies if a critical hit is scored, and continues to apply for the rest of the game. If the weapon does not score a critical hit the corruptor rule does not apply.
If 2 torpedoes with Corruptor special rule target the same space station or cluster, will the damage to the station or sectors cause collateral damage on the deployed infantry?
Torpedoes launched from ships in the same group are resolved simultaneously and do not cause collateral damage on deployed infantry from that group. Torpedoes from different groups are resolved in initiative order and can cause collateral damage resolved the same way as other damage to sectors and space stations.
Escape velocity says that it ignores penalties shooting through atmosphere. Does this ignore range restrictions?
Yes, when firing a weapon with this rule apply range as usual instead of taking normal atmospheric rules into account.
How does Mauler and the maximum damage work for a group shooting?
Yes. All Close Action attacks are pooled together when allocating dice, this includes standard Close Action weapons and Mauler weapons on the same ship, though they each keep their individual Lock values. A Shaltari Uranium has a potential combined 29 Close Action attacks, for example.
Can a sector with a weapon with the special rule 'Escape Velocity' fire on target in atmosphere?
No, there are only 3 layers and the sector is considered to be in atmosphere. Escape velocity requires the target to be in a layer above you.
The Scald special rule works within scan range. How does it apply for units that do not have a scan value e.g. Scourge Bombers?
Any weapon/ship that has the Scald special rule but does not have a given scan range counts as always being in scan range for the purposes of the Scald rule – the rule always applies in such cases unless specifically stated otherwise. Note that this does not apply to ships/weapons that had a scan range and have either lost itor cannot use it for any reason, only to ships/weapons that never had a scan value in the first place.
How does the Scald special rule interact with Passive saves? What about other rules that change armour/saves?
Scald may be used against passive saves in the same way as normal armour. Passive saves count as a type of armour save, and therefore rules that affect armour saves also affect passive saves, unless otherwise stated in a special rule.
What does 'crippled' mean for the purposes of special rules such as 'Stealth'?
'Crippled' is a state that applies to any ship once it is at or below half its starting Hull points. Note that other effects might trigger a roll on the crippling damage table, but the 'Crippled' state is only applied when the ship takes sufficient damage. Once applied, the crippled state remains for the rest of the game, even if the ship is repaired above the crippling threshold.
If a ship has 2 of the same Close Action weapons (like a resistance cruiser) do they combine attacks?
Yes, as long as they have the same Linked (X)
Fleet Organisation
Admirals add their AV to several different rolls in game. Does that apply if they are not deployed yet, have moved off the board or are destroyed?
Admirals only add their AV to any roll when they are alive and present on the board. If they have yet to be deployed, have moved off the board or have been destroyed you do not add their AV to any rolls, unless specifically stated in a special rule. If your Admiral is not on the table for any reason then your AV counts as 1. For example, this means you may draw 1 Command Card on turn 1 if your Admiral is not on the table during the Planning Phase.
When ships are destroyed, does their battlegroup's strategy rating go down?
No. Strategy Rating remains the same, even with losses in a battlegroup.
Preparing for Battle
Can you enter the table at any angle?
Yes. as long as they start their first activation in High Orbit.
Scenarios
Can you get points for both Holding and Contesting the same Cluster?
No. If you hold a cluster you receive points for that, not additional points for also contesting the cluster.
Voidgates
When do you declare Opal usage and how does it interact with launch assets?
Opal usage is declared when save rolls have been made. Any missed saves from this shooting action or launch asset resolving against this ship can be rerolI'led as long as the target ship has its shields up.
Can Voidgates use their Charged atmosphere rule to act as batteries on or close to space station?
No. The charged atmosphere rule requires atmosphere to work – it may not be used to try to stop enemy ground assets landing on space stations (unless specifically stated by a special rule or Command Card).
Can you keep linking Voidgates across the board in one long chain, resulting in a gate way across the other side of the board to the mothership? Or is the furthest any Voidgate can be from the mothership 36" due to the criteria of being linked to another Voidgate that is within 18" of the mothership?
Voidgates can link in a continuous chain. This means that any number of Voidgates can be linked and deploy gates, so long as:
A) At least one of the Voidgates in the chain is up to a maximum of 18" from the mothership and
B) Each of the Voidgates in the chain is no more than 18" from another Voidgate, connecting at some point with the gate from (a), which is a maximum of 18" from the mothership. This means you can deploy across the length and breadth of the table with careful Voidgate use and positioning!
When Launching ground assets and other strike craft, the ship gains a minor Spike. When applied to the Shaltari, do Voidgates gain the Spike, or is it the mother ship, or both?
Only the mothership gains a Spike, the Voidgates do not gain Spikes for this (as it's the mothership doing the launching - you just measure deployment from the Voidgates rather than the mothership). Further, Voidgates do not gain Spikes for relocating troops.
Shaltari Ground Assets that have been moved from one sector to another aren't able to hold/contest clusters, do newly placed Ground Assets (from a Mothership via Gates) count towards holding/contesting clusters
Yes, the newly placed tokens count towards holding/contesting that cluster, but the redeployed tokens will need to wait until the following turn to contribute to holding/contesting.
Command Cards
Does the UCM Command Card 'Colonial Legions' provide re-rolls against ground combat attacks?
Yes, as long as the affected ground assets remain in that Cluster or Space Station.
Can the PHR Command Card 'Elite Ground Forces' be used to defend against ground combat attacks?
Yes. Elite Ground Forces would modify both Armour characteristics of the affected Ground Assets. E.g. An Infantry token would become Armour 4+/2+ while under the effects of this card.
Can the Shaltari Command Card 'Warspire Nexus' be used to provide passive saves against ground combat attacks?
No, saves of any kind cannot be made against ground combat attacks. The passive save only applies to saves made against bombardment attacks.
How do Command Cards work in terms of targeting ships more than once in a turn?
A ship can only be specifically targeted once per turn. This means a ship may only be affected by one 'target friendly ship' or 'target friendly group' card, and one 'target enemy ship' or 'target enemy group' card.
Ships may be affected by battlegroup, fleet wide or 'area' affects several times per turn as they are not specifically targeted at that ship or group, meaning they can stack with specifically targeted cards on individual ships or groups.
Can I stack Command Card effects?
It depends on the Command Card. As per the rules above, it is rare that you may stack Command Cards one on another. This is also because timings for Command Cards are as follows: Play the card, opponent may attempt to block it, resolve the card (if it resolves instantly) or leave the card in play (if it continues for a set time e.g. until next turn).
This means that the cards being played must a) conform to the above rules and b) have continual effects for you to stack them. This makes effect stacking possible, but rare.
When using the Silent killer Command Card, what happens if I use it on a ship that is crippled?
The Ship remains crippled, however in this instance it may have the Stealth rule and still be crippled – for the duration of the card, it does not lose the stealth rule for having less than 50% hull remaining.
Some Command Card effects target weapons with certain names or parts of name, such as 'Calibre' or 'Mass Driver'. Do I apply the effects to weapons with those terms anywhere in the weapon profile?
No, rules only apply to those weapons that have the specific term in the weapon name itself.
The Next-Gen Armour Plating Command Card says you can re-roll armour saves. Does that include passive and other types of saves?
Yes. The card states that any armour saves may be re-rolled, and Passive Saves count as a type of armour save.
When playing Command Cards, who goes first? Is there an order in which you choose which cards are played and when?
i) During the Initiation Phase, the player with the higher-level Admiral has the choice to play Command Cards first or second (roll off if there is a draw). They become 'Player 1'.Players then alternate playing cards. This is the same throughout each sub phase of this part of the turn (as follows):
- Player 1 has the chance to play a card a card first or second, then the opponent.
- When both players have finished playing cards, they discard cards simultaneously.
- They then draw cards simultaneously.
- During the Clean Up Stage, Player 1 may play a card first or second (if they choose to play any). Complete all the actions associated with this card, including playing any espionage etc. cards. The opponent may then play a card. Once resolved, the first player can then play another card – continue until neither player has any further cards to play.
In multi-player games this still holds true – play one card each (if you choose to) in the order determined by the role in part A. i).
Note that players may not hold off playing cards – i.e. not play a card until after the other player has resolved several of theirs. Once a player chooses not to play any more cards during the Clean Up stage, that is the cut off for playing cards in the Clean Up phase and they may not decide later in the stage to play further cards. This stops players 'gaming' their card plays in response to opposing Command Card use in a phase that is designed to be pro-active rather than tactically reactive. The only exception is reactive 'interrupting' cards, such as espionage, which may be played at any time.
Once finished, players reach the 'End of the Clean Up stage'. Any cards that are played at this point follow the same structure as above – the player with initiative plays first, then the opponent etc., with the same 'cut off' point if a player chooses not to play further cards.
ii) Command Cards played during the turn (i.e. during battlegroup activation) are played as instructed on the cards themselves; usually on the activation of a battlegroup, firing a weapon, the activation of another battlegroup etc. Importantly, here the order is reversed. They player who is not activating the unit plays a card first, then the activating player.
For example: Player 1 chooses a unit to activate. The opponent (player 2) may now play a card. If they choose not to, Player 1 can play a card. For cards that apply 'during an activation' there is no 'cut off' on playing cards during a unit's activation. This means that even if a player chooses not to play a card earlier in the unit's activation, they may choose to do so later in its activation.
iii) During the Round Up Phase, card plays return to the order at the start of the turn i.e. Player 1 has the choice to plays first or second, then the opponent, and then alternatively until neither player has any further cards they want to play.
While this seems very involved, the number of cards and actions of players mean that in real terms the above will be very quick – this just provides players with the correct structure and order to play cards in.
Can I Espionage an Espionage Card? How does that work out?
Command Cards may interact e.g. Espionage and any other Command Card. Cards stack in reverse chonological order.
For example, player 1 played Mass Transit System. Player 2 then plays Espionage. Player 1 then plays Espionage on that Espionage, cancelling Player 2's card. Mass Transit System can therefore go ahead as normal.
Several Command Cards mean that ships regain hull points. If this puts the ship above 50% of its starting hull again, can it be crippled again if it takes more damage?
No, a ship can only be only crippled once from normal damage (the exception being weapons that specifically do crippling damage, which may cripple a ship more than once and are a special case).
For the Intensify Point Defence Command Card, it states the -1 modifier is against one dice roll. When is this roll decided? When does the modifier stop? Can this stack with other effects?
This modifier works against one attack – from a group's point defence attacks, a bomber attack, etc. it works on one point defence roll and is then resolved and discounted. This modifier can stack with other effects (e.g the Aegis rule), but remember that a ship cannot be targeted by a Command Card twice in one turn, meaning this card cannot be used on the same ship twice in a turn.
Ship Special Rules
If I take a Venice with a London or Washington, can I still benefit from the Venice's Command Deck ability?
No. Your Admiral has to be in a Venice to benefit from the Command Deck ability, and if you take a Dreadnought, your Admiral must go in there.
If I use a Venice to give a ship on Silent Running or Max Thrust the ability to fire a weapon, can I use Launch Assets?
No.
If I use a Venice to give a battlegroup extra Thrust and move a ship into Atmosphere, how far can it move in Atmosphere?
Only 2". As per the rulebook "Ships moving into Atmosphere therefore lose any remaining movement apart from this 2."
Can a ship using an Ouriana to extend its weapon range use multiple Ourianas to further extend its weappon range?
No. Only a single Ouriana can be used each attack.
Can rules like the Calypso's Advanced ECM Suite and Shaltari Shield Booster be used on friendly space stations?
Yes, but these space stations must be bought as part of your fleet to be friendly.
If I take a Dreadnought or Venice and a Famous Admiral, can I put the Famous Admiral in the Dreadnought or Venice?
No. Famous Admirals cannot be moved from their Flagship. The use of a Famous Admiral overrides the normal rules on placing Admirals on Dreadnoughts (and for the UCM, the Venice) when building your fleet.
How long does the effect of the Parasite last? If I siphon a Minor Spike, does the effect last until I get rid of the spike? What if I siphon a Major Spike, do I gain the attack increase of a Minor Spike when I use Standard Orders?
The siphon effect only persists until the end of activation it's used in and only the type of spike siphoned determines the bonuses gained, not the spike the ship ends up with. You can siphon again in subsequent activations to gain the benefits again. The gained spikes persist following the regular rules for spikes and do not affect subsequent siphons. Each ship can siphon a single spike each activation (so a group can siphon multiple spikes) and each ship can decide when it uses its siphon separate from other ships in its group.
Battle for Earth
Do Resistance ships that already come with the Ablative Armour rule increase their Armour by 2?
No. Any ships with the Ablative Armour rule as standard have the increase already in their profile. For example the Tribune has Armour of 2+ until it is Crippled, when it goes to 4+.
The only exception for this in the book is Heavy Frigates, which should have their Armour increased to 3+ as per the errata on the previous page.
Do Fire Ships count towards Launch Capacity Cap?
No. While these assets do technically launch, they are not Fighters, Bombers, or Torpedoes, so don't count towards the cap.
Can Fire Ships combine their attacks like Bombers?
Yes.
Does Subsystem Network affect Low Power weapons too? Can I fire 2 Mass Driver Turrets and then 2 Artillery Cannon Turrets on Standard Orders?
Yes and yes.
Can 2 weapons be Overcharged from the Subsystem Network rule? Can a Low Power weapon be used if another weapon is Overcharged?
No and no. Overcharge states that no other weapons (other than Close Action weapons) may be fired. Since Low Power weapons aren't Close Action weapons, they cannot be used.
Do you get Armour saves against damage from the Unstable rule?
No.
If a weapon with the Unstable rule rolls multiple dice for its attack value, eg. 2d3, does it suffer multiple points of hull damage on maximum dice rolls?
Yes. A weapon with Unstable causes a point of hull damage for each dice that rolls its maximum value, eg an Unstable weapon with 3d6 Attack will cause 3 points of hull damage if all 3 have a result of 6.
If I put a turret on the side of my ship, can it only fire on that side? What if I put double broadsides on one side?
No. Because you're in space and ships can be flying in any direction! Feel free to model your ships however you like. Provided the systems are present on the ship, put them anywhere you want!
The Drive Refit upgrade requires additional engines, but how many is the right amount?
Honestly? It's 1 or more! Players should feel free to model their ships however they want. There is no hard and fast rule to what constitutes a Drive Refit, but making sure that these ships look distinctly different from the rest of your fleet is a must. However, if you want to have a ship with double prows and only a single extra engine on top and count it as a Drive Refit, go ahead!
There is a piece on the Resistance Cruiser sprue specifically meant for the Drive Refit upgrade (piece I on the sprue), but players should feel free to have fun with their builds.
If you're doing anything a little weird with your ships that might not be immediately obvious to your opponent, make sure to inform them of the ship's armament before the game.
Fleet Space Stations
Can faction specific Fleet Space Stations take upgrades like extra weapons and scanners?
No. Only space stations that allow selections from the Space Stations Armaments list can select options from the Space Stations Armaments list. Faction specific Fleet Space Stations cannot take any options from the Space Station Armaments list.