Just had a thought for an Officer card after reading Solo command

Captain Onoma (unique, rebel only)

Axial Roll: after your first attack, exhange your ships left and right shield values and weapon batteries. You may then make your second attack from a side battery that has already fired, using the new values.

Cool idea, but a bit messy.

Since the ship cant then really be "upsidown" for the remainder of the battle, without causing confusion and constant changing of shield values, what about if it was deemed to do a full barrel roll over the course of the manuver?

Because ships have the same battery on both sides, it would then just be "If your ship makes its first attack from a side firing arc, it may make its second attack from the same firing arc", to represent the ship completely rolling over, shooting again, but then continuing to roll right side up again by the end of its move.

I like that as a concept, but that may be a bit much given the broadside firepower of an AF2. Plus it would make it comparatively easy to concentrate two salvos on one target compared to lining it up on a sweet-spot cross-over arc.

I would suggest that it needs some sort of opportunity cost to keep it reasonable, such as flipping an evade defence token to be able to do the manoeuvre. Think of it as using up your ships agility to concentrate fire on your enemy rather than avoiding it. That way you have traded defence for offence which would make it a choice rather than a no-brainer.

But I do love the concept and the image it conjures in my mind's eye of these massive leviathans of space slowly rolling, firing all batteries as they come to bear.

The whole point is to change shield values, and once the roll is complete, you fight on as normal, just notionally upside down. The model doesn't need to be flipped. I put the bit in about swapping weapon batteries in case you may have a damaged side with reduced firepower, you can swap it out with the fresh side.

Captain Onoma (unique, rebel only)

Cost: Concentrate fire token

Axial Roll: after your first attack, exhange your ships left and right shield values and weapon batteries. You may then make your second attack from a side battery that has already fired, using the new values. You cannot make turns this round

The whole point is to change shield values, and once the roll is complete, you fight on as normal, just notionally upside down. The model doesn't need to be flipped. I put the bit in about swapping weapon batteries in case you may have a damaged side with reduced firepower, you can swap it out with the fresh side.

Captain Onoma (unique, rebel only)

Cost: Concentrate fire token

Axial Roll: after your first attack, exhange your ships left and right shield values and weapon batteries. You may then make your second attack from a side battery that has already fired, using the new values. You cannot make turns this round

I think many players will just go "huh?" and thing its too confusing. Its also rather game breaking if there is such a thing as disabling one side of a ships batteries to negate that.

its not game breaking, as you would be paying points for a way to mitigate said side specific damage, just like certain upgrades and abilities in X-Wing allow you to ignore certain critical hit effects.

I don't think its confusing at all.

Sequence of events in my mind. You are on an assault frigate, with a victory baring down upon your port beam, you have a concentrate fire token. The victory fires first and brings down your port shield and causes a critical hit. Said critical effect is (allong the lines of "Weapon battery of facing attacked is halved or reduced"). You place the face up card on the left side of the ships stat card to remind you. the Victory completes its move toward your frigate.

Your Turn.

You activate your command - doesn't matter which one as you have a token - declare your first target, the victory. The damage facing fires.

You then activate axial roll, expending your token. You swap the shield values of your side facings on your ships dials, and move the face up damage card to the right side of the card. You then make your second attack using the "New" port battery at full strength.

Finally you move your frigate at set speed, not making any turns (as the helmsmen is busy maintaining the roll on a steady heading)

You continue to fight on as normal.

It's too messy for FFG, this is more something that a GW game would do.

I agree. it's not confusing, but it's not the kind of rule FFG likes. No reason it can't be a homebrew obviously...this game will lend itself really well to fan made stuff IMO.

Ok, how about a simplified version

Captain Onoma (unique, rebel only)

Cost: 12 points

Axial Roll: after your first attack, exhange your ships left and right shield values. You may then make your second attack from a side battery that has already fired. You cannot make turns this round

Why not just keep the spirit and let it allow firing from the same side again OR swapping shield values. Price him up, add an opportunity cost.

Oh blasat, ninja'd hahaha

That looks nicer. it's just a lot more elegant in design. I like it

Just thought i'd add it is also potentially devastatingly powerful, so the points would have to be amended a fair bit after playtesting. Double broadside is very nasty even on an AF....imagine what it could be like on a Large ship like an MC80.

Something to bear in mind.

Its very much in mind, as I would like to see this as a card for the large mon cal that is sure to come out to oppose the ISD.

Would also be useful in performing an Acbar slash, as you could use it to bring your better shields to face the higher threat.

I wouldn't underestimate thee cost of not turning for a round, will almost garantee you would not be in a favorable firing position next round. I think its a balanced trade off

it could well be a balanced trade. I think this would be one of those cards you really have to see in action to balance it though. I definitely like the idea of it however.....axial rolls were something i used to use a lot in B5 Wars, but most games dont have the granularity to make them work. This is a nice simple solution to the issue!

Fantasy flight is a fine wine. Beer and pretzels works great for house rules. I see Star Wars Armada being simple yet elegant. House rules aside this game will lend itself to a fine balanced masterpiece.

As much as my Rebel sympathies cringe to say it, this is also a manuver that is so basic that I feel it should be a generic availble to both factions. I mean, really, ISD captains never thought to roll? In three-dimensional space? So instead of it being Captain Onama of the Rebels, make it one of those 'X Teams" FFG has invented. Say a "Manuver Team"?

Also, just out of curiosity, what if it cost you an evade or redirect token? Just a thought. I'm okay with the no turns cost as well.

I think it should be restricted to a rebel officer, as look at the design philosophy of the ISD verses Mon cals

ISDs - fire power is focused along the horizontal plain, with little coverage directly above and below. so it would be dangerous during a roll as you would expose your rather large belly (reactor core) or back (Bridge with fragile shield domes) to the enemy without returning much firepower until you can get your opposite broadside to face

Mon Cal - flying tube (some with vestigul wings) with weaponry evenly spaced over the hull. Can bring to bear a greater mass of firepower to any axis off the horizontal plain. So when conducting an axial roll, you can sustain your bombardment of a target, also, as you are not as broad along the horizontal plain, you don't expose yourself like an ISD would

That's true. Though weren't ISD known for planetary bombardments? That would imply decent downward firepower.

Also, if ISD's "trademark" would be overwhelming forward firepower then shouldn't the Mon Cal trademark be built in as well?

The generic tokens, like brace and redirect, are cool. I find myself wondering if certain ships, like boarding craft or true capitals, could have a unique token unto themselves. Kind of like a bigger, badder version of the way unique squadrons get generic tokens when other squadrons don't get any. Mon Cals get some swap shields token, ISDs get some forward firepower token. Be a neat way to distinguish ships, the bigger ones anyway.

In the spirit of the existing game mechanics, wouldn't Onoma basically be providing every ship (or just the flag) with an additional redirect defense token. That and or you allow the next command (fleet or flag) to be a concentrate fire command, regardless of the command pool size. Now you're not trying to flip ships upside down, change shield counters... attack dice, etc.

Also, who says a ship has to perform orbital bombardments from below? Why not orbit nose in, that's where all the ISD firepower is anyways...

Where are the heaviest guns on a Star Destroyer? Dorsal mounted to either side of he superstructure. The bridge tower is also dorsal side. Logically if you are conducting orbital bombardment you would roll the Destroyer 180 degrees to bring the heaviest guns to bear as well as the sensors from the bridge tower. This also keeps the reactor and the launch bays(with its weaker shielding) away from any planetary artillery.

Err, re impstars not doing it, Captain Yonka did that with Freedom in X-wing book 4, The Bacta War.

In the spirit of the existing game mechanics, wouldn't Onoma basically be providing every ship (or just the flag) with an additional redirect defense token. That and or you allow the next command (fleet or flag) to be a concentrate fire command, regardless of the command pool size. Now you're not trying to flip ships upside down, change shield counters... attack dice, etc.

Sorry, I wasn't clear, I want Captain Onoma to be a ships officer upgrade, not an Admiral, so it would only be affecting the ship he is on.

I also want it to apply directly to the side batteries and their shield values, whilst also restricting movement whilst conducting the roll. The simplified version I posted I think covers this quite elegantly

Err, re impstars not doing it, Captain Yonka did that with Freedom in X-wing book 4, The Bacta War.

Yes, but took an absolute pounding doing it. Freedom was almost scrapped

Err, re impstars not doing it, Captain Yonka did that with Freedom in X-wing book 4, The Bacta War.

Yes, but took an absolute pounding doing it. Freedom was almost scrapped

To be fair to Mr. Yonka, he wasn't attempting to bombard a planet... He was attempting to bombard... a... Super... Star... Destroyer...

I'm fairly certain the ISDs did do it. It is referenced to many times indirectly. Trigit's ISD Implacable wipes out Oldtown, the real city Lara Nostil's fictious identity is drawn from (It's destruction lead to it being refounded as New Oldtown... in turn leading to Zisnj forbidding Melvar from ever saying the name in a report at one point because the name is so ridiculous -- easily one of my favorite exchanges in the XW series). Wedge uses the Rebel SSD in 'Rebel Dream' in Operation Emperorer's Hammer to protect the Rebel ground position. The Vong commander whose forces are decimated even fumes that Nom Anor(sp?) should have passed on that the SDs had this ability -- even if the Rebels used it rarely. And Yonka, before defecting, is instructed to destroy a town for housing insurgents. He does so but only after telling the town with such a lead that they evacuate, PO'ing Isard.

Yes, ISDs would roll in order to bring the maximum guns to bear onto a ground target, not disputing that. they would also roll as they approach an enemy fleet so as to pass with their horizontal plain facing the enemy.But once oriented, it would make little tactical sense to axial roll, as you would reduce your broadside capability 50% of the time as for half of each roll your exposing your soft belly to the target, whilst your heavy guns are on the wrong side.

Where as the mon cals evenly spaced their weapons so that it didn't matter which direction (up/down/left/right) the target was, you could bring a fairly steady amount of firepower to bear as you slowly, continually rolled, giving your shields a chance to recharge.