Ship combat

[wrathgon]

Each space combat round has 10 segments to fill, each ship assigns actions of its crew on whatever segment they wish. All actions of both ships are resolved at the same time on each turn. example follows:

[spoiler=combat]When battle begins, the pirate captain and the hero's captain roll Initiative, using their Wisdom instead of their Dexterity. Because neither one has Improved Initiative, this is simply a Wisdom check. An opposed Knowledge (Tactics) check is also rolled, and the hero's captain wins both.

Because the hero won the Knowledge (Tactics) check, the pirate crew must choose their first round of actions before the heroes do. The heroes learn that the pirates will attack on turn 4, 5, and 6, but will be vulnerable on turn 3 as they move into position.

Knowing this, the gunner decides to fire the neutron cannons on turn 3 to take advantage of the vulnerability. The pilot declares he'll jink on round 5 to lessen the damage the Shenandoah will take. The engineer says she'll reroute power from the KE missiles, which the crew is not intending to use, to power up the neutron cannons on turn 1. With turn 2, 4, and 6 remaining, the sensor operator decides to use the sensors to increase the ship's defense on turn 4, and the co-captain decides to use his Charismatic Hero talent to Inspire his allies on turn 6, knowing the bonus will continue for several rounds afterward. With only turn 2 remaining, the captain decides to jump on the rail guns at that time and begin firing, extending her action into turn 3.

Once the entire round is mapped out, the turns play out in sequence.

On turn 1, the hero engineer reroutes the power, increasing the damage the neutron cannon will deal. The pirate ship does nothing visible, but the heroes guess they did something similar.

On turn 2, the hero captain fires her rail gun, but misses. The pirate ship kicks into overdrive as their pilot spends his action to push the ship into an advantageous position.

On turn 3, the hero gunner fires his cannons as the rear of the pirate ship comes into view. Because her action extends into this turn, the hero captain also fires her rail gun, and both score a solid hit, earning them both 25% more damage and an extra point of damage per die (see Focused Fire, below). The enemy pilot jinks, but he is, of course, too late; his bonus to defense lasts from the pilot's action to the next action the pirates take. It would help next turn, if the heroes had any plans of attacking on that turn.

Turn 4 rolls around, and the pirates are ready to unleash Hell on the heroes, but the heroes have prepared. The hero sensor operator uses the ship's sensors to help the pilot evade, increasing the ship's Defense. The pirate ship releases a missile, programmed to strike at a different turn.

On turn 5, the hero's pilot jinks, allowing him to easily dodge the pirate's rail guns. Unfortunately, he realizes, the proper turn would have been the next.

Finally, turn 6 is up, and the hero co-captain uses his Inspiration to enhance the captain and the gunner in their offensive abilities. The pirates fire their neutron cannons, and a second volley of rail gun pellets. To make matters worse, the missile returns, making its attack. Both the neutron cannon and the missile hit, but the rail gun misses. Still, the pirates are pleased with their increased damage from focused fire, and the Shenandoah has taken a bad hit.

As they choose their actions for next round, the party vows not to underestimate the pirates again.[/spoiler]