I'm really not grokking the rules behind Taming the Dragon. A few of the things that are confusing me:

• "Once per leg, have all contestants make a competitive Piloting (Planetary) check with difficulty set by the speed and size of the swoops." I'm not clear on how to figure out the difficulty of the check.
• I get that which "group" you're in is a function of your current speed. Does this mean that if there's a racer with a faster swoop there's no way to win? Are these essentially separate races for each set of racers that share a speed? I don't see how you can beat someone with a faster swoop, short of them crashing.
• Other than not crashing, is there any consequence for winning a "round" in the race other than the last round? I know Threat can drop your speed (causing you to drop into the next group?), but you can just increase speed again next round and be right back with no ill effects. I don't see the advantage for being first in your group, other than in the final leg.

Does anyone have an example race they've run, so I can see what I'm missing?

1. This is based on the difficult terrain rules in the core. Speed and silhouette work like a skill check, the larger number determines the difficulty dice and then the smaller number how many times the difficulty is upgraded.

2. A faster swoop has an inherent advantage, but at higher speeds their difficulty is higher, resulting in a higher chance of a poor roll causing their speed to drop.

3. Dropping your speed and having to increase to get it back in the next round is a maneuver wasted that could be used to go even higher. For example if you're flying at speed four and get enough threat to drop down to three, then your next turn is spent getting back up from three instead of being able to increase four to five.

Thanks, that all makes a lot more sense now.

Question: is there an advantage to getting up to speed early? Otherwise, it seems like the course is long enough to speed up gradually, and then just contend for the win in the final leg. In fact, this seems smarter than going as fast as possible from the start, since you're less likely to fail a test or generate threat. Is there any reason not to putt along at Speed 1 and then use Punch It to contend in the final leg?

Question: is there an advantage to getting up to speed early? Otherwise, it seems like the course is long enough to speed up gradually, and then just contend for the win in the final leg. In fact, this seems smarter than going as fast as possible from the start, since you're less likely to fail a test or generate threat. Is there any reason not to putt along at Speed 1 and then use Punch It to contend in the final leg?

This isn't a bad strategy, though the GM would likely come up with reasons to discourage it. In theory, if you're going speed 1 the the entire race and those in the lead are going speed 4 or 5, the gap is increasing with each additional leg.

Also keep in mind that using Punch It causes the vehicle to suffer a point of system strain for each point of speed it's increasing by. So taking a speeder bike from speed 1 to speed 5 is 4 points of system strain. Given that most speeder bikes only have 3 or 4 points worth of system strain threshold, the engine might explode if you try punching it that hard.

Question: is there an advantage to getting up to speed early? Otherwise, it seems like the course is long enough to speed up gradually, and then just contend for the win in the final leg. In fact, this seems smarter than going as fast as possible from the start, since you're less likely to fail a test or generate threat. Is there any reason not to putt along at Speed 1 and then use Punch It to contend in the final leg?

I am AFB, but I remember a note in the section on chases that mentions speed differences as bonus dice or some such. I would presume a race would work in a similar way.

Given that most speeder bikes only have 3 or 4 points worth of system strain threshold, the engine might explode if you try punching it that hard.

Total aside, but...this does bug me about that strain mechanic. Swoops and starfighters and the like are *designed* for punching it. It doesn't make sense they have to accelerate at the same rate as a fully loaded YT-1300 or risk damage. They should get some kind of acceleration boost without damage.

That I'm less sure about. Maybe? I recall all the swoops having a pretty low system strain, so that might be a really tricky move.

Part of the problem might be me thinking about this too literally: Speed 1 being 20% of Speed 5, etc. It makes sense that racers will go at a less-than-breakneck pace while they jockey for position, then gun it down the home stretch. The trick, I guess, is making sure you're moving as fast as possible at the start of the final leg and then winning that check.

Would it help or hurt to create some sort of maneuver (like Block Him In or Defensive Driving) usable only by the winner of the last leg (i.e., the current leader of a group) to apply a setback to the others behind him as he maneuvers to block off the best passing routes? My thought is that this gives some incentive to not slack too much while leaving a come-from-behind strategy as viable as well.

Heck, I might just say anyone can make a Block Him In maneuver to provide a setback die to anyone behind him in the group or moving up into his group.

Thoughts?

Given that most speeder bikes only have 3 or 4 points worth of system strain threshold, the engine might explode if you try punching it that hard.

Total aside, but...this does bug me about that strain mechanic. Swoops and starfighters and the like are *designed* for punching it. It doesn't make sense they have to accelerate at the same rate as a fully loaded YT-1300 or risk damage. They should get some kind of acceleration boost without damage.

Yep, most swoops have a SS of 3-4. Just putting the pedal all the way down will generally stall them out, and going halfway there will render the vehicle nearly inoperable. The speeder truck, on the other hand, has a SS of 8 and can essentially go straight to full speed (granted, that's a Speed of 1). Swoops/speeder bikes are really the only vehicles in that situation: where their top speed rivals or exceeds thier SS.

That said, you could always use an Action to do Damage Control and recover a point of Strain. Realistically, though, it's tough to accelerate hard in a swoop or speeder bike.

Given that most speeder bikes only have 3 or 4 points worth of system strain threshold, the engine might explode if you try punching it that hard.

Total aside, but...this does bug me about that strain mechanic. Swoops and starfighters and the like are *designed* for punching it. It doesn't make sense they have to accelerate at the same rate as a fully loaded YT-1300 or risk damage. They should get some kind of acceleration boost without damage.

How about this Trait: Built for Speed. Swoops and speeder bikes are meant to accelerate quickly, and never suffer system strain for doing so (including from Punch It). However, they are powerful, and when using the Punch It action, the pilot must make a Piloting test at a difficulty equal to the acceleration. Failure indicates a crash as they lose control.

Part of the problem might be me thinking about this too literally: Speed 1 being 20% of Speed 5, etc. It makes sense that racers will go at a less-than-breakneck pace while they jockey for position, then gun it down the home stretch. The trick, I guess, is making sure you're moving as fast as possible at the start of the final leg and then winning that check.

Would it help or hurt to create some sort of maneuver (like Block Him In or Defensive Driving) usable only by the winner of the last leg (i.e., the current leader of a group) to apply a setback to the others behind him as he maneuvers to block off the best passing routes? My thought is that this gives some incentive to not slack too much while leaving a come-from-behind strategy as viable as well.

Heck, I might just say anyone can make a Block Him In maneuver to provide a setback die to anyone behind him in the group or moving up into his group.

Thoughts?

Still AFB, but couldn't you use the Gain the Advantage and simply use it for passing rolls instead of just combat?

Part of the problem might be me thinking about this too literally: Speed 1 being 20% of Speed 5, etc. It makes sense that racers will go at a less-than-breakneck pace while they jockey for position, then gun it down the home stretch. The trick, I guess, is making sure you're moving as fast as possible at the start of the final leg and then winning that check.

Would it help or hurt to create some sort of maneuver (like Block Him In or Defensive Driving) usable only by the winner of the last leg (i.e., the current leader of a group) to apply a setback to the others behind him as he maneuvers to block off the best passing routes? My thought is that this gives some incentive to not slack too much while leaving a come-from-behind strategy as viable as well.

Heck, I might just say anyone can make a Block Him In maneuver to provide a setback die to anyone behind him in the group or moving up into his group.

Thoughts?

Still AFB, but couldn't you use the Gain the Advantage and simply use it for passing rolls instead of just combat?

Gain the Advantage could be used that way for a one on one race, sons of fortune doesn't really work that way.