As you folks may have noticed ( in this thread ), I've been thinking about narrative campaigns a bit.

As part of that, I've been thinking about how battles might end in different ways to give different conditions towards the following battle.

Given that the Galactic Civil War is one of asymmetric warfare (huge Empire vs. rag-tag rebellion), much about the way this war would have been fought would have been about the Rebels escaping before Imperial reinforcements arrived. So, an important mechanic is about making the jump to lightspeed.

I understand that a scenario in the Tantive IV expansion deals with this, but that it's about waiting for six turns. Of course, that's with a capital-scale ship, where there is probably a dedicated crew member plotting a safe route. That's not the case for ships like the HWK, the YT, or the Firespray, where the pilot needs to operate the nav computer while dealing with the combat as well. For that matter, fighters with astromech droids need to give those droids the opportunity to engage the hyperdrive with the hyperroute data that's been loaded into their memory banks.

So, I'm wondering how this should be emulated in-game. I like the notion of ships that have nav computers having to save up a certain amount of focus tokens, and astromech-equipped fighters not getting to use their droids for a couple of rounds.

But what are your thoughts on the matter?

Astromechs should absolutely make it easier to make the jump, that is one of their primary functions after all. Any ship with a crew slot and that is jump capable should be roughly equivalent to a small ship with a droid at making the jump. Also, any small ship with the sensor upgrade should be the same (B Wing for example).

I like the idea of possibly accumulating data tokens. Maybe a ship can only do this if they perform a green maneuver and perform no action they get a data token. If they have a droid or a sensor upgrade or they are a large ship they get two. Once they have 4 data tokens they can make the jump. Just accumulate the tokens on their card.

You could have the crew "Navigator" allow you to accumulate 1 data token if you perform a green maneuver and still perform an action.

Obviously this does not apply to most of the TIE series (except the TIE Advanced, Defender and Phantom).

EDITED:

You could also say you can only gain data tokens if you do not perform an attack that round.

I like the idea of the data token, sounds good. The amount of data tokens until you can safely jump (and therefore escape/leave/win the game) might be tricky to set, especially if you allow certain ships to gain more than 1 token.

I would rule that you not only need to have a certain amount of data tokens but also you need to be in clear space to make the jump (say more than R2 away from obstacles), that way asteroid/obstacle placement and maneuvering to those clear spots become an important part of the game (besides whatever other mission/objective there is, if it's not only escaping)

Data tokens required = base hull?

Astromech subtracts 1, Navigator subtracts 1.

Reciving a data token requires an action like a focus.

Critical hits with "console" in the title add 1 data token to total requirement.

Focus can be turned into a data token.

Idk. I just remember in the old XvT PC game trying to cover wingmen as they hyped out. It required you hold still for a moment and fly straight, closing S-foils if applicable. So I feel like there should be something to reflect the momentary pause before the jump. So:

Jump in order of PS, -1 agility for that round when jump is announced. May be destroyed before jumping, critical hits with console in the title may add another data token that then aborts the jump.

If you have a critical hit when you jump with engine in the title, roll an attack die. On a hit, jump fails. On a critical hit, immediately take one damage before jumping, suffering effect and possibly being destroyed.

Yeah, I like it.

Yes that sounds good. Makes the older Y wing with 5 Hull a bit more "sluggish" while the newer B wing has more updated tech. However the droid helps. If X Wings need their S foils locked then they cannot attack so this should apply to all "jumpees".

Using the cool looking "jump point" tokens from the transport set would be a good reminder of which ship are planning on bugging out.

I'd also ask B-Wings to ensure their trays and S-foils are in the fully locked position before jumping to lightspeed. No primary weapon attacks while your S-foils are folded.

To keep things simple, I would use a set number of turns before a hyperspace-capable craft can make the jump while the route calculations are taking place.

After that number of turns, the jumping ship has to:

1. Be pointed (generally) at the right edge/area of the board (since presumably they're jumping to a rendezvous point)

2. Perform a green maneuver

3. Have no stress tokens

4. The jump is performed INSTEAD OF an attack, so Pilot Skill is a factor in whether or not an enemy gets a free parting shot.

Oh wow, you guys are really coming through for me!

Astromechs should absolutely make it easier to make the jump, that is one of their primary functions after all. Any ship with a crew slot and that is jump capable should be roughly equivalent to a small ship with a droid at making the jump. Also, any small ship with the sensor upgrade should be the same (B Wing for example).

I like the idea of possibly accumulating data tokens. Maybe a ship can only do this if they perform a green maneuver and perform no action they get a data token. If they have a droid or a sensor upgrade or they are a large ship they get two. Once they have 4 data tokens they can make the jump. Just accumulate the tokens on their card.

Okay - this is brilliant.

I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about astrogation. (I created the Nav Computer on the D6 Holocron .) Sensors are used (in my conception) in order to help locate where the ship is (think a GPS system), the rest of it is based on stored data. So, I like the sensor aspect that you mention.

The B-Wing has a proper nav computer, the way that most proper starships have. X-Wings and Y-Wings have astromechs, as you pointed out, which can have 10 routes stored within its memory. The A-Wing has a more limited system, allowing it two jumps (e.g. one in, one out). For a continuing campaign, I'd like to have this matter.

You could have the crew "Navigator" allow you to accumulate 1 data token if you perform a green maneuver and still perform an action.

Yes - if the ship has a crew, that crew can be used to add a data token to the pool, provided that the crew is not otherwise being occupied in the combat.

I would rule that you not only need to have a certain amount of data tokens but also you need to be in clear space to make the jump (say more than R2 away from obstacles), that way asteroid/obstacle placement and maneuvering to those clear spots become an important part of the game (besides whatever other mission/objective there is, if it's not only escaping)

This makes sense to me. I wonder if this will not become quite complicated, requiring a checklist or something, but I'm not sure I mind the complexity. It kind of reminds you of that scene in ANH where Han is telling Luke about the process.

                         Traveling through hyperspace isn't                          like dusting crops, boy! Without                          precise calculations we could fly                          right through a star or bounce too                          close to a supernova and that'd end                          your trip real quick, wouldn't it?

Data tokens required = base hull?

Astromech subtracts 1, Navigator subtracts 1.

Reciving a data token requires an action like a focus.

Critical hits with "console" in the title add 1 data token to total requirement.

Focus can be turned into a data token.

Idk. I just remember in the old XvT PC game trying to cover wingmen as they hyped out. It required you hold still for a moment and fly straight, closing S-foils if applicable. So I feel like there should be something to reflect the momentary pause before the jump. So:

Jump in order of PS, -1 agility for that round when jump is announced. May be destroyed before jumping, critical hits with console in the title may add another data token that then aborts the jump.

If you have a critical hit when you jump with engine in the title, roll an attack die. On a hit, jump fails. On a critical hit, immediately take one damage before jumping, suffering effect and possibly being destroyed.

Yes, good!

If X Wings need their S foils locked then they cannot attack so this should apply to all "jumpees".

Using the cool looking "jump point" tokens from the transport set would be a good reminder of which ship are planning on bugging out.

Oh, I haven't purchased the transport, though I'm increasingly interested in doing so.

I wonder if only ships with S-foils (ie. X-Wings and B-Wings) should have to do that. It might be one advantage that the Y-Wings and A-Wings have for their more limited weaponry.

I'd also ask B-Wings to ensure their trays and S-foils are in the fully locked position before jumping to lightspeed. No primary weapon attacks while your S-foils are folded.

Yes.

After that number of turns, the jumping ship has to:

1. Be pointed (generally) at the right edge/area of the board (since presumably they're jumping to a rendezvous point)

2. Perform a green maneuver

3. Have no stress tokens

4. The jump is performed INSTEAD OF an attack, so Pilot Skill is a factor in whether or not an enemy gets a free parting shot.

Okay, so it seems like much - if not all of the above - is cumulative. All this requires is for me to do a comprehensive write-up of it all. That, and it might be cool to create a checklist sheet on which tokens can be placed during play. It seems entirely possible to me that ships would start accumulating those even early in the battle, when they know they're there for a hit-and-run, or they're trying to escape an ambush.

Our group does it the following way:

Jumping to Light Speed: Jumping to Light Speed requires precise calculations and up to 3 game turns in some cases. Unless stated differently in the mission, 2 Critical Hits rolled allow a craft jump away successfully and leave the game. If the ship chooses to stay after turn 3 it must restart the jump calculation all over again.

Turn 1: Roll 3 attack dice.

Turn 2: Roll 3 attack dice, plus PS/2 Attack Dice (Min 1)

Turn 3: Jump Away Automatically

Our group does it the following way:

Jumping to Light Speed: Jumping to Light Speed requires precise calculations and up to 3 game turns in some cases. Unless stated differently in the mission, 2 Critical Hits rolled allow a craft jump away successfully and leave the game. If the ship chooses to stay after turn 3 it must restart the jump calculation all over again.

Turn 1: Roll 3 attack dice.

Turn 2: Roll 3 attack dice, plus PS/2 Attack Dice (Min 1)

Turn 3: Jump Away Automatically

I like this too - you can jump sooner if you want.... but you're gonna suffer for it. For campaign purposes, the antogonist would, however, not know the outcome of the dice.

In the context of a smaller rebel squad going up against a larger imp squad, I don't think I like the idea of having to spend actions or unused focus tokens to "calculate" the jump to light speed.

It will disadvantage the rebels even more, when they're already facing a larger squad. And it'll simply encourage massive slow play at the start to accumulate tokens.

I much prefer NotBatman's suggestion.

All these are great ideas. I was thinking it should take a minimum of 3 turns, more if you're interrupted or fly poorly.

Turn 1 Spend your action to plot the entry point of the jump. Place a nav point somewhere on the map. The nav point range is (I dunno a little help here) 6-8 away from your current position.

Turn 2a (X-Wing and B-Wing only) Move towards the nav point and spend your action to close your S-Foils and finish the course calculations. (You can not attack unless you spend an action to reopen the S-Foils in which case you can't jump unless you close them again.)

Turn 2b (All other ships) Spend an action to calculate the course.

Turn 3 Move within range 1 of the nav point without any stress or ion tokens and spend your action to complete the jump. There can be NOTHING blocking line of sight between you and the nav point.

Since astromechs and A-wing nav computers store hyperspace coordinates, it seems to me that you'd just need to be pointed in the right direction. As long as you stay in the right area, you're good to jump back.

Things that prevent jump:

-Damage to astromech (is there even a card that does this?)

-Damage to hyperdrive

-Ion tokens

-Open S-foils (does this really work this way in-universe? I only see reference to not shooting with closed foils)

-Too close to gravity wells (irrelevant unless scenario describes otherwise or gravity tech is in place)

-Damage to astromech (is there even a card that does this?)

No there is not. Small/large ships may loose secondary weapons, EPT, PS, pilot ability, the action bar, primary weapon value and agility. Other upgrades are unaffected.

In the context of a smaller rebel squad going up against a larger imp squad, I don't think I like the idea of having to spend actions or unused focus tokens to "calculate" the jump to light speed.

It will disadvantage the rebels even more, when they're already facing a larger squad. And it'll simply encourage massive slow play at the start to accumulate tokens.

I much prefer NotBatman's suggestion.

Well, I suppose that depends on your notion of victory conditions. If you're thinking in the context of a conventional game, where one side needs to eliminate the other, then clearly the whole question of the jump to hyperspace has no part in the game. You can go about your business. Move along.

However, the conventional game also presumes a conventional/symmetrical war. But the Galactic Civil War isn't a conventional war. Being able to slip away is a victory for the rebels. I'd say that in a sense of the victory conditions as they should be in the context of asymmetric warfare, that's a powerful aspect for the rebels, which shouldn't be too easy for them to achieve.

All these are great ideas. I was thinking it should take a minimum of 3 turns, more if you're interrupted or fly poorly.

Turn 1 Spend your action to plot the entry point of the jump. Place a nav point somewhere on the map. The nav point range is (I dunno a little help here) 6-8 away from your current position.

Turn 2a (X-Wing and B-Wing only) Move towards the nav point and spend your action to close your S-Foils and finish the course calculations. (You can not attack unless you spend an action to reopen the S-Foils in which case you can't jump unless you close them again.)

Turn 2b (All other ships) Spend an action to calculate the course.

Turn 3 Move within range 1 of the nav point without any stress or ion tokens and spend your action to complete the jump. There can be NOTHING blocking line of sight between you and the nav point.

The concept of choosing a jump point certainly is interesting.

Since astromechs and A-wing nav computers store hyperspace coordinates, it seems to me that you'd just need to be pointed in the right direction. As long as you stay in the right area, you're good to jump back.

Things that prevent jump:

-Damage to astromech (is there even a card that does this?)

-Damage to hyperdrive

-Ion tokens

-Open S-foils (does this really work this way in-universe? I only see reference to not shooting with closed foils)

-Too close to gravity wells (irrelevant unless scenario describes otherwise or gravity tech is in place)

As dvor points out about damage cards, there aren't cards that do the damage to the astromech. (Are there ones for the hhyperdrive?) I'd say that in a campaign setting that involves interstellar space travel, there might need to be an expanded damage deck.

But those other things are all good material. All this taken together, I do think that we're capturing the dynamics of combat escapology. I just wonder if we've created a process that's too complicated.

In the context of a smaller rebel squad going up against a larger imp squad, I don't think I like the idea of having to spend actions or unused focus tokens to "calculate" the jump to light speed.

It will disadvantage the rebels even more, when they're already facing a larger squad. And it'll simply encourage massive slow play at the start to accumulate tokens.

I much prefer NotBatman's suggestion.

Well, I suppose that depends on your notion of victory conditions. If you're thinking in the context of a conventional game, where one side needs to eliminate the other, then clearly the whole question of the jump to hyperspace has no part in the game. You can go about your business. Move along.

However, the conventional game also presumes a conventional/symmetrical war. But the Galactic Civil War isn't a conventional war. Being able to slip away is a victory for the rebels. I'd say that in a sense of the victory conditions as they should be in the context of asymmetric warfare, that's a powerful aspect for the rebels, which shouldn't be too easy for them to achieve.

No, I understood this in the context of custom scenarios... And I thought I mentioned this explicitly in my response, the "In the context of a smaller rebel squad going up against a larger imp squad" bit...

What I was trying to say in my second sentence is... If I have 50 points of Rebels going up against 100 points of Imperials, and my objective is to destroy a Shuttle or something and then jump out, having to spend actions for 3 rounds to get focus/tracking tokens means I don't have a focus for defense... and will likely get slaughtered, especially since I'm already out numbered.

Plus, thematically, if Rebels are preparing a jump-in, destroy specific target / acquire info from satellite, jump-out mission... Wouldn't they have the calculations done already?

No, I understood this in the context of custom scenarios... And I thought I mentioned this explicitly in my response, the "In the context of a smaller rebel squad going up against a larger imp squad" bit...

What I was trying to say in my second sentence is... If I have 50 points of Rebels going up against 100 points of Imperials, and my objective is to destroy a Shuttle or something and then jump out, having to spend actions for 3 rounds to get focus/tracking tokens means I don't have a focus for defense... and will likely get slaughtered, especially since I'm already out numbered.

Plus, thematically, if Rebels are preparing a jump-in, destroy specific target / acquire info from satellite, jump-out mission... Wouldn't they have the calculations done already?

Aha - I thought you meant numerically inferior, which is usually the case even in cases of points parity.

Regarding the calculations for a hit and run, you are absolutely right. So, we the scenario in question would have to specify if the rebels have an escape already plotted. I would imagine that this would usually be the case, even if the Imperials jumped the rebels at unawares. Being on the run is a state of life for the rebels, and so they should always be prepared to do so.

However, I think it's still worthwhile to keep a situation in mind where they would have to make fresh calculations. Starfighters with astromechs, or limited nav computers (such as on board the A-Wing) would not be able to make fresh calculations. Only ships with proper nav computers could do that.

Plus, thematically, if Rebels are preparing a jump-in, destroy specific target / acquire info from satellite, jump-out mission... Wouldn't they have the calculations done already?

How about we introduce 5 nav point tokens. To prevent the imperials from camping all the nav points, 2 of the tokens are real jump points and 3 are just dummy nav points. The rebel player will set them up before the game face down. When a rebel ship is in range 1 of the nav point with no obstructions or stress they can jump by spending an action. Jumping turns the nav point token over revealing it as a hyperjump point. If one ship jumps the Imperials will swarm to the jump point to cut the rebels off forcing them to fight to escape or alternatively head to the backup jump point. This rewards the rebel player for managing to get his ships to arriving at the jump point at the same time.

For my mission , I'm using the following rules.

In order to engage the hyperdrive, all of these conditions must be met:

• There must not be any asteroid, ships, or other conceivable obstacles directly in the ship's flight path (if it were to fly only straight).
• Be more than a #4 movement marker away from any asteroid.
• It must not be in base-to-base contact with any ship.
• It must be facing an edge of the map that has previously been designated as being in the direction of a hyperroute.
• Not have any of the following critical damages:
  • Damaged sensor array
  • Console fire
  • Thrust control fire
  • Damaged engine
• Perform Action [engage hyperdrive]

It should be noted that I'm specifying that in this mission, the jump-capable ship has already plotted a route, so it doesn't need to calculate the jump ahead of time. I'm guessing in most missions this would be the case, unless it were an ambush mission and the ships in question don't have astromechs or previously calculated limited nav computers, such as aboard the A-Wing.

I wonder if it would be fun to come up with a hyperdrive card that specifies that the ship has a hyperdrive and it has the [engage hyperdrive] action. Of course, it would be there automatically without a point-buy on all hyperspace-capable ships and impossible for modification on non-hyperspace capable ships. The card wouldn't really be much use, but perhaps fun nevertheless.