If I've got it right (I can't have got this right), after a successful Hit and Run attack, you pick a component that you know about and score a critical hit on it.

Does this include Essential Components? As in, the Plasma Drive? If so, short combat...

You can pick any choice between 1 and 5 on the critical hit table if you have as example Murder Servitors, otherwise you just roll a d5 to see what happens.

I get the Critical Hit is a standard 1d5 Critical Hit (goth-borg aside), but on the Plasma Drive can't this take a ship out in turn 1 (assuming you can get that close)? No power = no guns, shields, etc. Hope you have a good Explorator on board...

The Hit to the drive actually is just a hit to the engine part of it, to get a critical hit on the actual reactor to blow the ship up is way down on that list. You can hit their maneuver thrusters or the engine, but on these choices you still have to roll a d10 to see what effect it has, in the best outcome restricting their movement.

Its still a very effective tool, cause if their sensors get damaged or your allowed to pick a component to be destroyed and you choose shields they are pretty much doomed.

Just to point out, all of the 1-5 Critical Hits specifically state that you can't hit the plasma drives, the warp drives, or the bridge, which sort of answers your question itself.

Phew - didn't see that at all.

Thanks all!

I'd just like to add that it's 1-6, not 1-5.

Graspar said:

A scuessful hit and run attack deals one (or more) points of hull damage, as well as a critical hit. The possible results of critical hits are shown in table 8-12.

If you are using a standard hit and run, then you roll 1d5 twice, look at the possible results on the critical hit table, and pick the one you prefer.

If you are employing murder servitors, you can any result from the critical hit table of six or less.

So a hit and run can result in effects 1 through 5 on the critical hit table, or one through six if using murder servitors.

A related question is whether or not the rules allow external components (weapons in particular) to be targeted by hit and run attacks.

All the external components state that they "can only be destroyed or damage by a critical hit".

But a sucesful hit and run attack allows the attacker to "roll on the critical hit table".

Sucesful hit and run attacks deal critical hit damage, but do they count as critical hits for the purposes of affecting external components.

Furthermore, the text for murder servitors includes the wording "when determining the critical hit inflicted by a hit and run action. . . "

If doesn't say "when rolling on the critical hit table" it says "when determining the critical hit" which suggest that hit and run actions do result in "critical hits". Which would mean that they can affect external components.

I would probably allow hit and run actions to take out enemy ship weapons. But that's a debateable call.

Weapon components aren't external, and I can't see how it's debatable whether they're valid target for hit and run: of course they are.