TARGET SYSTEM
Pilot Only: No

Silhouette: 5+

Speed: 0-3
This starship action represents targeting specific weapons on a target ship in order to disable or destroy them. The weapons crew performs an attack action, and specifies a ship component (see Tables 7-10 and 7-11 of the EotE CRB). The difficulty of the attack is increased by [ 2 Purple Die ] and is subject to all environmental and shipboard effects that are currently impacting the target ship's defence. The cost to activate this ability is [ Advantage x 3 ] or [ Triumph x 1 ].

In the case of targeting weapons systems, only one specific bank of weapons may be affected in this way initially. This damage is subject to armor as normal, and will affect one weapon emplacement in that bank of weapons for each point of damage after armor has been applied (up to a maximum of the number of weapon emplacements in that bank). Weapons that are damaged in this fashion are disabled and may be repaired. A further [ Advantage x 3 ] or [ Triumph x 1 ] allows the damage to result in destruction of the weapon and that weapon emplacement may not be repaired until the end of the encounter. Further [ Advantage x 2 ] or [ Triumph x 1 ] may be used may be applied to activate the same process on a weapons bank of the same type.

Thoughts?

This would seemingly allow a Sil 5 ship to target a PC craft that has only one weapon system and potentially take it out of the fight completely in one shot. I like the idea of being able to target the engines, or a gun emplacement, but am leery about anything that cannot be undone until after the end of the combat.

Isn't this also redundant with (and better than) vehicle crits that damage weapons systems? Perhaps the action could give subsequent attacks that round a +20 to crits or somesuch?

I think it's my wording. Instead of saying Critical hit, substitute [triumph]

why are we not using the already existing rules for targeting components?

The issue is being discussed on the D20 forums

Sounds like a good subject to send to customer service and get some clarification

(cross-post from d20radio forums)

If you look at table 7-5 on page 236 of the EotE CRB, you'll notice that 3 advantages can: "... temporarily damage a component of the attacker's choice rather than deal hull damage or system strain." Then it refers to tables 7-10 and 7-11 on page 245 that deals with component hits from critical hits.

You'll also see on table 7-5 that 2 Triumphs can "... destroy some important component of the attacker's choice rather than dealing hull damage or system strain".

This tells us that non-critical hit component hits deal no system strain or hull damage, the beta setback-aiming manoeuvre is now incorporated into normal expenditure of advantages and triumphs.

If going for the setback die aim-thingy, I'd keep the no damage aspect of it, but I'd ignore the required 3 advantages and 2 triumphs; so a successful setback-aim hit will get the same effect as 3 advantages on table 7-5, and the 2 triumph effect on the same table has a reduced cost of 2-3 advantages.

This is in line with the beta-text and the table on page 236. It's also simpler than adding a new action for this specific area.

Here are two other ways to look at the same problem:

1) Only allow the first paragraph of the [ Advantage x 3 ] and the [ Triumph x 2 ] option to be used when firing at a component;

2) Specifically firing at the component (i.e. Target System Action) requires only [ Advantage x 2 ] and the [ Triumph x 1 ] to do the same thing - which is what I was suggestion happen.

I'd edited the Action description to fall in line with the rules, however you make a good point that as RAW, gunners can do this anyway without having to be hampered by the extra two difficulty dice.

Indeed, and the setback-aim adds 2 setback dice by default for called shots hitting parts of a target (page 201 EotE CRB), which isn't as harsh as 2 difficulty dice.

While this part of the aim rules doesn't specifically call out the effects, it does however - to me - provide enough hints and therefore a basis to apply critical hit/injury results to targets, causing no strain/wound/hull damage and not counting as a critical hit as such (i.e. no +10 to the next critical hit/injury roll).

Although it should be said I haven't tested this much.

The issue that I have, is that doing a called shot (i.e. adding the 1/2 setback dice) is a fairly pointless activity when you are just hampering yourself from rolling the extra advantage to do the same thing.

I think you should be able to make a called shot and have something different happen.

I did suggest that you could take into consideration the three levels of equipment damage and apply that to the process in that the only way to every destroy the weapons as via aiming at the weapons:

FIRING NORMALLY

[ Advantage x 3 ] - Weapon suffers minor damage (add [ setback ] to use)

[ Triumph x 1 ] - Weapon suffers minor damage (add [ setback ] to use)

[ Triumph x 2 ] - Weapon suffers moderate damage (add [ difficulty ] to use)

FIRING TARGETED

[ Advantage x 3 ] - Weapon suffers moderate damage (add [ difficulty ] to use)

[ Triumph x 1 ] - Weapon suffers moderate damage (add [ difficulty ] to use)

[ Triumph x 2 ] - Weapon suffers major damage (cannot be used)

I also think that the attack should be affected by armour and that for every point of damage after the armour (soak) is applied, that is how many weapons in the emplacement are damaged. I say this as there doesn't appear to be anything anywhere which says how many weapons in a battery are damaged. This, I think, represents that nicely.

Yeah, I don't think that's necessary.

I think that by taking on 1 or 2 setback dice to be be able to forgo the need for three advantages is good, and to reduce the 2 triumph cost to 2-3 advantages is at the very least ok.

Introducing the three damage levels to this becomes unnecessarily detailed. It's not a bad idea, just cumbersome... Like cumbersome 4 at least

Yeah, after a big long thing

Yeah, I don't think that's necessary.

I think that by taking on 1 or 2 setback dice to be be able to forgo the need for three advantages is good, and to reduce the 2 triumph cost to 2-3 advantages is at the very least ok.

Introducing the three damage levels to this becomes unnecessarily detailed. It's not a bad idea, just cumbersome... Like cumbersome 4 at least

Yeah, after a big long think, you are totally correct. By adding the set-back dice to hit, removing the ability to damage anything but the weapons/components (which includes Hull/System Strain) and removing the cost of the 3 x Advantage or 1 Triumph, it makes the whole process much simpler. A Triumph could be used to damage the weapons so they couldn't be used. My only addition would be the damage done is the number of weapons knocked out.

Consider my new Action type above to instead be GM Hooly's Bad Idea #429