Basic example: Does a Decimator with Expose get a defense die at range 3?

Common knowledge seems to say yes. I'm sure this matter has been asked before, but the FAQ timing chart seems to contradict:

4. “Roll Defense Dice” step 

i. Identify number of defense dice (from Ship card) 

ii. Resolve abilities that increase or decrease the number of defense dice (including Range Combat Bonus)

In step i) it doesn't say "calculate your effective agility" or anything like that, so it seems to refer to the base agility that's printed on the card. Then in step ii) Range and Expose cancel each other out. Or is Expose supposed to be applied in step i)? The core problem here is, are agility and defense dice treated equally or are they calculated in separate steps?

Danger, wall of text incoming.

• Does a Decimator with Expose get a defense die at range 3?

Yes, usually, because of the range combat bonus. However if the attacking weapon is a secondary weapon, there is no ranged combat bonus. There are also some cards and pilot abilities which might change the number defense dice rolled.

• Are agility and defense dice treated equally or are they calculated in separate steps?

Agility and Defense Dice are not the same and are calculated separately. The FAQ timing chart is only a part of the information here, you would also need to read the actual rules on Agility from the Rules Reference, which state:

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A ship's agility is the green number on its Ship card. It indicates the number of defense dice the ship rolls when defending.

* A ship with an agility value of "0" can still roll additional defense dice granted by range combat bonuses, obstructed attacks, card abilities, etc.

* All modifiers to agility are cumulative. After all modifiers have been applied, if a ship's agility, value is less than "0", it is treated as "0".

And in the Obstructed section:

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If an attack is obstructed, the defender rolls one additional defense die during the "Roll Defense Dice" step.

And in the Range Combat Bonus section:

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When resolving a primary weapon attack, the attacker or defender may roll additional dice depending on the range of the attack. At Range 1, the attacker rolls one additional attack die during the "Roll Attack Dice" step. At Range 3 or beyond, the defender rolls one additional defense die during the "Roll Defense Dice" step.

* Range combat bonuses are not applied during a secondary weapon attack

The key thing to note here is that agility is a specific game mechanic and is separate from both the Obstructed and the Range Combat Bonus game mechanics. For example, check out the wording on Expose vs the wording on Test Pilot "Blackout". Expose says "...decrease your agility value by 1" while Test Pilot "Blackout" says "...the defender rolls 2 fewer defense dice". Zuckuss is another example, where using his Pilot Ability adds a defense die but does not change a ships agility. Talonbane Cobra is an example where a Pilot Ability specifically doubles the Range Combat Bonus, not the agility or (directly) the defense dice.

Somewhere back in time, Frank Brooks, the Creative Content Developer Fantasy Flight Games and the person who generally answers rules questions, responded to this exact same question with the following:

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In response to your rules question:

Keep in mind that the additional defense die granted from both being at Range 3 and the attack being obstructed is not adding to your agility value, while effects such as Stealth Device and Expose are adjusting your agility value. The line you mention (“All additions or subtractions to the number of defense dice being rolled occur before the player rolls defense dice”) is clarifying that you come up with the total before rolling any dice (for example an Exposed Decimator with a Stealth Device would still have “0” agility).

In a situation where an Exposed Decimator is defending against an obstructed Range 3 attack from a Firespray with Tail Gunner and Outmaneuver, the Decimator’s agility starts at “0” and is reduced by 1 from Exposed (technically “-1,” but still rolling 0 dice). Then it is reduced twice more from Tail Gunner and Outmaneuver (technically “-3,” but still rolling 0 dice). The Decimator would be rolling 0 dice from agility, but since the attack is at Range 3 and obstructed, the Decimator will still roll 2 defense dice.

I hope that helps,

Frank Brooks

Creative Content Developer Fantasy Flight Games [email protected]

I hope that all of that helps clarify things.

Thanks for the answer. However, i'm not very happy with this being so complicated, especially the wording in the timing chart being more misleading than helpful. The concept of agility isn't too difficult, however note that the chart never speaks of agility at all! It only refers to defense dice, as in: "Identify number of defense dice (from Ship card)". And then in step ii) it explicitly says "Resolve abilities..." which could very well mean Expose, since this is an ability.

"Blackout" is actually a very good counterexample, because it explicitly talks about dice, meaning it will also negate range and obstruction dice.

The point is, when getting into a discussion about this during a match, i don't really feel very comfortable saying "Nevermind what the chart says". It shouldn't be so hard to figure out.

You're not neverminding what the chart says, because "Identify number of defense dice (from Ship card)" means Agility and "Resolve abilities that increase or decrease the number of defense dice (including Range Combat Bonus)" is everything else. That being said, it should absolutely refer to "defense dice (from Ship card)" as Agility instead.