Hi lads, have few questions about the game if you don't mind.

1) Would replacing/adding/removing a crystal from a hilt require some sort of roll? Or is it automatic?

2) I rolled a hotshot pilot and got my own star fighter. Was wondering if it's easy to die in space combat? Is there certain things I should avoid doing? And would there be some general space combat advice?

Thanks :-)

1. No, no skill check to remove a crystal, only to add mods to them. It typically takes a while, though, so you can't do it in combat.

2. Yes and no. It's easy for your ship to be disabled in combat (when it goes above the hull trauma threshold), especially if you don't have a good selection of defensive talents like Tricky Target, Defensive Driving, and so on. However, that does not mean that your character is dead, nor does it mean that your ship explodes. It's merely out of the fight until the hull trauma goes below the threshold again, much like a character is unconscious when he goes above his wound threshold and gets back up when healed.

As for space combat advice, you should be careful about engaging multiple enemies until you have some defensive talents. Also make good use of the Evasive Maneuvers manoeuvre and the Gain the Advantage action, those are lifesavers. Boost and adjust your fighter's shields (if any) when you can, and remember that unless an enemy has taken Gain the Advantage on you then you're the ones who decides which part of your ship he's shooting at (and you will of course pick the section with the highest Defence rating).

1) Would replacing/adding/removing a crystal from a hilt require some sort of roll? Or is it automatic?

As mentioned adding to removing an attachment does not require any roll or monetary cost. Modifying them, does. Also, as noted it takes longer then can typically be allowed in combat.

2) I rolled a hotshot pilot and got my own star fighter. Was wondering if it's easy to die in space combat?

Yes, if you fly off half cocked and do not pay attention to your enemy and there strengths.

Is there certain things I should avoid doing?

Don't forget your space suit at home, going into a hard vacuum unprotected, over committing to an attack

And would there be some general space combat advice?

Watch your 6 and don't let your wing man die

In regards to armor... you want the wing commander armored flight suit from stay on target (the book that hotshot is in), there's another not as good armored flights it in suns of fortune.

In regards to armor... you want the wing commander armored flight suit from stay on target (the book that hotshot is in), there's another not as good armored flights it in suns of fortune.

Roger that, much appreciated!

I was going to offer my advice, but as only lads have been invited to participate in this conversation, I shall instead hold my tongue ~

I was going to offer my advice, but as only lads have been invited to participate in this conversation, I shall instead hold my tongue ~

In Ireland it applies to everyone :-P Sorry if I offended anyone! Each nd everyones opinion is really appreciated :-D

Oh. My apologies, then! As I'm not Irish, but rather rather American with a healthy dose of German, the colloquialisms escaped me.

So! As others have mentioned, normally there is no roll to install a lightsaber crystal, but it's not something you can do in combat. However, should you need to do so in combat, I'd allow the attempt, probably with a Hard or Daunting Mechanics or Lore check to do so. And a pile of Setbacks of you're currently being attacked at the moment!

As for fighter combat, you have to be careful. It's very easy to get disabled (which, as mentioned above, is not death), so you want to pick your battles until you've got some good XP under your belt.

My group uses a pair of houserules that we feel makes dogfighting a bit better: first, the difficulty for Gain the Advantage is upgraded, not increased, for each time it's taken, and second the app with advantage can determine both which defensive and offensive arc the opponent can bring to bear.

YMMV, though, depending on the kind of encounters you run.

2) I rolled a hotshot pilot and got my own star fighter. Was wondering if it's easy to die in space combat? Is there certain things I should avoid doing? And would there be some general space combat advice?

Krieger hit it pretty good, in that you shouldn't go in expecting to take on a dozen TIEs by yourself.

If you want to set yourself up for success, get your GM a copy of the AoR GM screen and show him the squad/squadron rules. Even going in with a few other fighter jocks can do a lot to protect yourself enough to last.

1) Would replacing/adding/removing a crystal from a hilt require some sort of roll? Or is it automatic?

Generally not, but depending on the circumstances (say, time constraints, poor conditions or a firefight raging around you) I might call for an upgraded easy roll. Not that hard, nut the chances of getting a despair should be there.

Was wondering if it's easy to die in space combat?

Much like being shot by a blaster and hitting wound threshold 0, while it's easy to hit a hull trauma of 0, that just means you're in a disabled craft and not blown up. Mind you, the GM can always say otherwise - but strictly according to the rules, the ship isnt in an unrecoverable state.

I think of replacing a crystal as being like replacing a battery in an electronic device. You have to get your screwdriver out, remove a few screws, open the panel, pop out the battery, put in the new battery, put the panel back on, and screw the screws back in (and you know you're going to have to look around for that 4th one that fell on the ground).

It's so easy that anyone can do it and there's basically a zero chance of failure. But try doing it while people's are trying to stab, shoot, and bludgeon you. It's not going to happen.

The lightsaber crystal question's been handled pretty well already, so I'll skip over that one.

With starfighter combat, it's much like personal combat in that it is certainly dangerous (probably more so than personal combat), but not inherently deadly (unless your GM is a jerkass). Having your starfighter be pushed past its hull trauma threshold just means that it's out of action, not that it and your PC have been blown to bits.

The big thing to be wary off are missiles, as those have breach and can very easily rip you a new one if they hit, though Linked weapons in the hands of a skilled pilot are nothing to sneeze at either. That said, being difficult to hit is a much harder thing to accomplish in starship combat, but the maneuver to "fly defensively" can be very helpful, even if it means upgrading the difficulty of your own combat checks.

Personally, I think the adage of "the best defense is a strong offense" plays very heavily into starship combat. You generally want to be amongst the first of the combatants to act, and you want to hit the bad guys as hard as you can. Having a ship whose main weapons have the Linked quality goes a long way; the X-Wing and TIE Interceptor can be very nasty due to their main guns having Linked 3, allowing for up to 4 hits in a single attack, but even Linked 2 can be effective against ships with a low armor and low hull trauma threshold, like the nigh-ubiquitous TIE fighter. A PC with Gunnery 2 and Agility 3 will have very good odds of taking out a 2-man TIE minion group if their ship has Medium Laser Cannons with the Linked 2 quality.

If you or the GM have not done so already, pick up Stay on Target, the AoR sourcebook for the Ace career. It's got a lot of advice to the GM on setting up starship combat encounters that are fun and interesting while not letting the PCs get wiped out in the opening volley.

thank you all :-)

On the space combat question; Initiative is important, Gunnery is key. When your having the average dogfight it's more important to be able to point the guns in the right direction than twist and weave.

But Chase scenes and Dangerous Terrain are important to making the story interesting, and that's where a good Piloting Skill comes in.

The GM should be sending small (2-3) groups of minions at you too, individually they are too dangerous.

Lastly get an Astromec, or better yet convince one of the other Players to be one, Rigger or Mechanic are good choices, but having someone to Co-Pilot for you and repair damage while you keep shooting is very very helpful.

Lastly get an Astromec, or better yet convince one of the other Players to be one,

I'm picturing a guy in roller skates with a bucket on his head yelling "BEEP BOOP WHEEEE!" during a space battle.

Yeah, if you've got Stay on Target, flying a ship that accommodates an astromech can be very helpful, even if said astromech is just an NPC. Not only do you get a boost die on one of your skill checks, but you can spend Advantage to trigger specific actions/maneuvers from the astromech that can be quite helpful in the middle of a dogfight.

Don't want to be that guy, but in "heir to the Jedi" (between IV and V) Luke takes out the crystal of a lightsaber he finds/receives and because his connection to the force isn't strong enough (no XP spent for Move yet ) it's instantly fubar (at least for him, and for the moment) because everything has to be aligned with the force.

So I think the rulebook handles it like every other mod, because normally if you have your own lightsaber you are more than capable enough to switch a crystal, but IMO it is something that you normally would never do in the middle of a firefight, and since it has to be done with the (not by) Force I would make that a rather very difficult check while enery bolts are flying past (most likely discipline).

Don't want to be that guy, but in "heir to the Jedi" (between IV and V) Luke takes out the crystal of a lightsaber he finds/receives and because his connection to the force isn't strong enough (no XP spent for Move yet ) it's instantly fubar (at least for him, and for the moment) because everything has to be aligned with the force.

So I think the rulebook handles it like every other mod, because normally if you have your own lightsaber you are more than capable enough to switch a crystal, but IMO it is something that you normally would never do in the middle of a firefight, and since it has to be done with the (not by) Force I would make that a rather very difficult check while enery bolts are flying past (most likely discipline).

Actually I never had any doubt that it's not doable in battle/combat - I just could not remember if there is a roll involved is all :-)

Also I picked the hotshot from stay on target - I liked the fluff that comes with this spec but ..is it just me or is the basic pilot from AOR rule book much better talent wise?

You may want to take a look at the bottom-tier talents again.

Koiogran Turn: Spend a maneuver to negate someone's Advantage over you? Amazing! Instead of needing an action to make an increasingly difficult check, you can spend a maneuver and auto-succeed (with no strain cost) and then spend your action to either shoot or gain some of your own advantage!

Corellian Sendoff: Inflict "free" Critical Hits on two opponents with one relatively easy check? Yes, please!

Showboat: Take some strain and if you succeed, you get a Triumph (which adds yet another success)...on a skill you'll likely be able to make blindfolded!

Now, sure, the Hotshot is more of a dog fighter not a general pilot, but it does is thing very well. Combine with the Pilot spec and you're the King (or Queen!) of the skies!

Combine with the Pullout spec and you're the King (or Queen!) of the skies!

Pullout as in pilot?

Combine with the Pullout spec and you're the King (or Queen!) of the skies!

Pullout as in pilot?

"Pullout" as in "My phone has a mind of its own and no idea what I'm trying to say."

Yes, Pilot .