OK, so if a card says you get a free action (like BB-8), does that mean it DOES NOT count toward your 1 action only per turn limit? Or do you need PTL?

What do you mean by 1 action only per turn limit?

Do you mean the fact that you can only take an action once a turn? In that case, yes it does. You can't take a free Boost from Jake Farrell and then Boost again from the A-Wing's action bar since you've already done the action.

In terms of it counting towards your once-a-round Activation Phase action, no. You can take a Focus action and then be granted a different free action later... just like with Jake Farrell!

Here's another example: Turr Phennir Boosts to get a juicy R1 shot on some poor sap. He takes the shot and then activates his ability. He can now only Barrel Roll because he's already performed a Boost.

ArdusKaine hit it on the head.

You cant stack actions. All the "Free" action means is you may perform multiple actions, but one of them is limited or requires a special circumstance to go off (forget the pilot name but theres a Tie Interceptor that gets a "free boost or barrel roll" after attacking. Its not an "action" persay, but its using the same rules)

A free actin is exactly that, free. You only need to meet the requirements in order to perform that action. The 1 action per turn limit is a base rule that can be over-ridden via card text. The only other restrictions are stress (as you cannot perform actions when stressed) and you cannot perform a duplicate action -i.e. you cannot barrel roll as a normal action, then barrel roll again as your free action. In that example you would need to perform a different normal action, then your free barrel roll would be legal.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

To throw a spanner in the works... You can be assigned tokens while stressed. You can't perform actions while stressed as people has said. An example of this is Soontir Fel, he is assigned a focus token when he gets a stress token.

So expert handing... does that "free barrel roll" replace my action, or is it in addition to my normal action? My buddy says it replaces your normal action since it is to get rid of the target lock.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

It has the Action header, so you use an action to use the card.

So expert handing... does that "free barrel roll" replace my action, or is it in addition to my normal action? My buddy says it replaces your normal action since it is to get rid of the target lock.

It's an action you can take at any point you would normally be able to take an action, either during your Perform Action step or when something else (PTL, Squad Leader, etc) let's you perform an action. It doesn't really "replace" anything, it just adds an option.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

You can also do BB for a free barrel roll, ptl for another action, green maneuver to unstress and then perform ANOTHER action that you haven't already used per your normal activation

A free action is one that can be taken outside of the Perform Action step. They almost always contain some other timing restriction however.

Free actions do not allow you to take the same action twice in one round.

There is no limit to how many actions you could potentially perform if given enough free actions and available actions.

Having a Stress token generally shuts down all Actions.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

Yup, all three are legal.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

You can also do BB for a free barrel roll, ptl for another action, green maneuver to unstress and then perform ANOTHER action that you haven't already used per your normal activation

Whoa. Really makes me want to run Wedge.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

You can also do BB for a free barrel roll, ptl for another action, green maneuver to unstress and then perform ANOTHER action that you haven't already used per your normal activation

Whoa. Really makes me want to run Wedge.

Phi. Lame.

BB8 >barrel roll>PTL>Action>Green Maneuver>Action>Experimental interface>Action on Card>Attack free target lock from FCS.

5 actions per turn Shame no ship can pull it off :/ E wings can up to 4 actions but thats it.

I just really like Wedge and want to make him better... but ya, too many points.

Free = out of usual time window "During perform action" step

that's all.

It's an Action and follows ALL the action rules.

You CAN BB-8+PTL+green+Your action if you want to.

I think this is where I'm getting confused, and I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.

1) In this case I reveal a green maneuver but before moving I do my free barrel roll, then immediately do another action to stress me, then do my green maneuver to unstress.

2) Alternatively, I can reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action with no stress.

Could I also:

3) Reveal a green maneuver, do my free barrel roll and then move, and then do my action and immediately do another action (with PTL) and receive stress. (The action being one that is on my action bar and has not yet been activated)

You can also do BB for a free barrel roll, ptl for another action, green maneuver to unstress and then perform ANOTHER action that you haven't already used per your normal activation

Whoa. Really makes me want to run Wedge.

Haha that's why he is the only X-wing you see with some frequency. In addition it is a big reason you see BB-8 and Poe so often, BB-8 to barrel roll, ptl to boost, move, focus or tl.

There are a few upgrades/pilot abilities that allow you to double-up on specific Actions. This includes Recon Specialist, Weapons Engineer, and Redline pilot ability. There may be a few others, but that is all I could come up with off the top of my head. These are very rare.

That being said, the main thing to look for is the language of "Take a free ___ Action" and "assign a ___ token". You can only ever take a specific Action once per round (except for the specific examples above) but can be assigned an unlimited amount of tokens per round.

Also, keep in mind that, except for a few specific instances (Moldy Crow Title), Focus and Evade tokens must be removed at the end of each round during the End Phase.

There are a few upgrades/pilot abilities that allow you to double-up on specific Actions. This includes Recon Specialist, Weapons Engineer, and Redline pilot ability. There may be a few others, but that is all I could come up with off the top of my head. These are very rare.

Just to be clear, those aren't technically doubling an action. Recon Specialist doesn't allow you to perform the Focus action twice, for instance, it just gives you a second Focus token when you perform the Focus action. You still can't perform the Focus action again.

It might seem pedantic, but that's how people get confused.

Yeah, "you cannot perform the same action twice in the same turn" is, I think, more or less the only rule that has no exception anywhere in the game.

If you perform a focus action on your turn, you cannot under any circumstances perform another focus action. You can, however, receive a focus token from, for example, either version of Kyle.

Same thing with target lock. You can only perform the target lock action once per turn, but you can still "acquire a target lock."

FFG is actually really good at this, the cards that reference an action specifically state "perform X action" while those that don't interfere with actions clearly lack the word "action".

For example, tractor beam forces a small ship to perform a boost or barrel roll. This is not an action, as the card explicitly lacks the word "action". So if you tractor beam Valen Rudor, he may still perform a boost or barrel roll after defending (provided he has not performed the same action earlier in the turn)

...

You can also do BB for a free barrel roll, ptl for another action, green maneuver to unstress and then perform ANOTHER action that you haven't already used per your normal activation

Whoa. Really makes me want to run Wedge.

Except Wedge really doesn't have that many Action options to begin with. You'd BR with BB-8 and then Focus or TL off of PtL and then do the other with your normal action. Maybe you've picked up an Engine Upgrade instead of IA which would give you one more option but it still isn't a lot of choices to pick from.

There are a few upgrades/pilot abilities that allow you to double-up on specific Actions. This includes Recon Specialist, Weapons Engineer, and Redline pilot ability. There may be a few others, but that is all I could come up with off the top of my head. These are very rare.

That being said, the main thing to look for is the language of "Take a free ___ Action" and "assign a ___ token". You can only ever take a specific Action once per round (except for the specific examples above) but can be assigned an unlimited amount of tokens per round.

Also, keep in mind that, except for a few specific instances (Moldy Crow Title), Focus and Evade tokens must be removed at the end of each round during the End Phase.

I know it's been mentioned but it needs to be repeated: Those upgrades are NOT allowing you to do a given action twice! They are modifying how they are used but Recon Specialist gives you +1 Focus token when you perform the Focus Action which is not the same as performing the action twice. If you have a ship with three Recon Specialists onboard and perform a Focus Action you would actually gain FOUR Focus tokens from the action although spending them may be difficult/pointless.

If you're going to mention things you could also mention that except for some specific conditions you may only have a TL on one other ship. The TL doesn't leave at the end of the turn like Focus or Evade tokens usually do but generally you are only allowed to have one TL on another ship at any given time.

Also with Soontir Fel if you had PTL you could focus, then evade, take a stress, and from his ability assign 1 focus to your ship since it is not performing an action.

So expert handing... does that "free barrel roll" replace my action, or is it in addition to my normal action? My buddy says it replaces your normal action since it is to get rid of the target lock.

Expert handling is an action. It allows you to do a barrel roll and remove a red target lock. Sometimes people try to over complicate things. Normally it will say in bold ACTION: then say what that action does. Eg expert handling, if it didn't say free barrel roll doing the barrel roll would require an action and mean you would need 2 actions to perform it.