...can you guys help me out with specific rule citations and maybe a walkthrough? I'm actually trying to convince him to play PtL Turr - this isn't a case of quibbling over shenanigans that I tried to pull in a game.

Here's what I understand:

Turr's ability gives him a boost or barrel roll as a free action that just happens to occur during the combat phase. Even though this is a free action, and even though it happens in the combat phase, it's still a "regular action" (his words) insofar as it can be used to trigger PtL, which reads "...after you perform an action, you may perform 1 free action shown in your action bar." Thus my contention that you could, theoretically, bump with Turr, get a shot on a ship other than the one you bumped, and still boost and/or roll in the combat phase. And of course there's all kinds of other wackiness possible.

So, is this all correct? If not, what am I missing? If so, could anyone point me toward the specific rules I need to make this totally clear to him? He NEEDS to be using Turr like this, so help me help him!

Thank you.

That all sounds correct. What could he be arguing otherwise? Is it because of the bump? Overlapping another ship merely causes you to skip your Perform Action step in the Activation Phase. It has no effect in the Combat Phase except to restrict which ships you can fire at.

That all sounds correct. What could he be arguing otherwise? Is it because of the bump? Overlapping another ship merely causes you to skip your Perform Action step in the Activation Phase. It has no effect in the Combat Phase except to restrict which ships you can fire at.

I think that's the part that several guys in my local group of players aren't quite grasping - they all seem to think that a bump means no action, period. Also seems like they think actions only ever happen in the Activation Phase, which I guess is often the case but obviously there are exceptions. The part I'm struggling with is that I haven't yet found a rule that makes it explicitly clear even if you bumped, and even if you ran over a rock, you can still be granted actions by other effects after the Perform Action step for the ship in question.

It's a weird disconnect, because it all makes perfect sense to me, so it's hard to understand what I'm not communicating effectively to the skeptics. Good thing I'm not a teacher, I guess!

I haven't yet found a rule that makes it explicitly clear even if you bumped, and even if you ran over a rock, you can still be granted actions by other effects after the Perform Action step for the ship in question.

Well, there's the FAQ:

Q: Can a ship that is overlapping an asteroid perform free actions? A: Yes.

and, I mean... Turr says right on the card to take a free action during the Combat phase, so clearly that is possible...

It's all in the very carefull wording in the rules. If you read what happens when you overlapp (ship or obstacle) you will find it tells you to "skip your perform action step". It doesn't apply any other restrictions on taking actions.

Compare this to the section about stress where it is clearly stated that a stressed ship can not perform actions.

So a stressed ship gets a perform action step, but can not perform actions in it (or any other time (unless Tycho)). A ship that executes a maneuver that results in an overlap will skip it's perform action step, but can still take actions granted by other sources then the one you get in the perform action step (unless stressed ofcource).

Yeah, this one's pretty basic. There's nothing unusual about the interaction or timing with Turr, so there should be no debate about what you've suggested. It's all perfectly legit.

If there's some theory that you can only perform actions in the Activation phase, then how do they explain abilities like Turr's which must happen during the Combat phase. If they think that an overlap means no more actions at all, then get them to find that ruling in the rulebook. It'll be a fruitless search that will yield nothing, because that's not a rule. The order of play is very sequential and broken down carefully. It's very hard to screw up.

Myself, I'd just start playing ruthlessly and using those abilities to their fullest. You're not cheating at all. You're playing the game the way it was designed. This may generate some arguments, but your standard reply should be "just show me the rule and I'll stop doing it". It seems fair to say you've got a better grasp of this game than they do. Play the pilots to their abilities and teach these guys the correct procedures.

It is in the rulebook somewhere.

I remember seeing it.

A free action is an action performed outside the action step.

So bumping you miss you action step, but can still take a free action as it's outside the action step

Also show him this post

Easy to argue against one person, hard to ignore multiple

From the Rules Reference Guide: https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/40/b4/40b44d5f-7a06-406c-ae6e-183c5297e796/swx36_rulesreference.pdf

Under ACTIONS (page 3)

The active ship can perform one standard action
during the “Perform Action” step of the Activation
phase. Ships can also perform free actions as
instructed by cards or mission rules. The actions
available to each ship are listed in that ship’s action
bar.
<snip>
A ship must skip its “Perform Action” step if
it overlapped another ship while executing a
maneuver.
<snip>

Under FREE ACTIONS (page 12)

A free action is an action granted to a ship through a
card ability or other effect. It does not count as the
one standard action that a ship performs during the
“Perform Action” step.
<snip>

A ship can perform free actions even if it skipped
its “Perform Action” step due to overlapping an
asteroid obstacle or another game effect.
<snip>

A free action is an action performed outside the action step.

That's not quite true. A Free Action is any action that's performed, other than the one standard action you get in the action step.

You can perform a free action at any point in the game, including the action step.

In cases like the OP has, the trick is making the people who say it's against the rules to prove it. Which they can't. But it's clearly a case of them not accepting the rules as written.

The FAQ should help as well:

The FAQ should help as well:

Push the Limit

See Experimental Interface. Free actions, such as a

free action granted from Squad Leader, can trigger

Push the Limit. This can result in an action interrupting

another effect, causing that effect to finish resolving

later. For example, if a ship performs a free barrel roll

action granted by Expert Handling, it could use that

action as a trigger for Push the Limit. After Push the

Limit resolves, Expert Handling finishes resolving. If a

player uses Push the Limit to attempt an action he is

unable to perform (such as attempting to Target Lock

a ship that is out of range), he may perform a different

action or decide not to use Push the Limit at all.

Big wall of text, but free actions can trigger Push the Limit.

So Turr can move, focus, fire, barrel roll and then trigger Push the Limit to boost.

Thaaat's what I was looking for! Just never thought to look under Exp. Interface. Thanks!

It's under Push the Limit in the FAQ. But if you read Experimental Interface as well, it takes it another step further by telling you what happens with a combination of them both. Two additional free actions. Two stress. Double the shenanigans!

You can also use the PTL action for a focus or evade if the boost barrel roll will not get you out of arc. The key is you can't perform the same action more than once in a round.