Lambda Class Shuttle use of weapons question

By topacesteve, in Star Wars: Age of Rebellion RPG

Hello, i have a question regarding the use of Lambda Shuttle's weapon systems. Τhe Shuttle has one Gunner Position, so in a round the Gunner can use ONE of its weapons against a single target.

its weapons are : 1`. Forward Light Blaster Cannons (Dam 4, Crit 4, Link 1) , 2. Forward twin Light Laser Cannons (Dam 5, Crit 3, Link 1) and 3. Aft retractable blaster cannon.

My question is about all these ships that have more than one laser or blaster attached.

My gunner as i said would attack in a round with the best of the 2 Forward Arc weapons which is the Twin Laser Cannons (D 5 , Crit 3).

Why on earth would he ever choose to fire the inferior Light Blasters ?????????

Is there a way to FIRE BOTH WEAPONS SIMULTANEOUSLY like the X-wing LINKED 4-way Fire mode???? (in the movies)

The pilot and co-pilot can also fire weapons (as would be the case in a fighter). It just means that the ship has a dedicated gunner's position.

Cheers!

I forgot to mention that the Shuttle has 2 Forward Blaster Cannons and 2 Forward Twin Laders. Does that mean that the Gunner, using e.g the Blasters would make two attacks in the

same initiative slot????

Simply put: No. Since every attack is an action and you can only fire one weapon system with a single action (so either the blaster cannons or the lasers, not both), the gunner would not be able to do that.

However, with there being two weapon systems which can target the Forward arc, both the gunner and the pilot can make an attack against a target in front of their ship in the same turn. Since each weapon system can only be fired once per round, they wouldn't be able to do that with most other ships.

Edited by EpicTed

Thank you? but i still dont understand how i can use the 2(two) Twin Blaster Cannons (left and right) , shouldn't that be simultaneously?

The same goes for 2(two) twin Laser Cannons.

The amount of 2 (left and right) , doesnt it mean that they should fire simultaneously dealing 2 times the damage of 5? (and if a Linked was made with each of the twin cannons they should deal additional 5 damage)

meaning a Maximum of 4x5 = 20 or 4 x 4 = 16 Damage should be able to achieve

The shuttle only has 3 weapon systems. They all happen to be twin weapons with Linked (1 in this case).

If a weapon system hits, it inflicts base damage, plus 1 per uncanceled success (yes, this means that you never inflict "base" damage, as you need at least 1 uncanceled success to hit). If you also have at least 2 Advantage, you can spend 2 Advantage to trigger Linked 1. This automatically scores a second hit with the same damage as the first hit. Armor applies to both hits.

The X-wing's quad cannons have Linked 3. A hit with 2 Adv. could trigger a second hit. 4 Adv. for 3 hits, and 6 Adv. for 4 hits. All from one Attack roll.

Note: "Twin" or "Quad" (or any other quantity), tells you how many weapons make up that weapon system. The "Linked" quality is always 1 less than the total. For game purposes, they are effectively one weapon that can potentially score multiple hits on the same target.

Edited by salamar_dree
15 hours ago, topacesteve said:

Thank you? but i still dont understand how i can use the 2(two) Twin Blaster Cannons (left and right) , shouldn't that be simultaneously? 

You don't, each gun pair fires separately.

Yes, it is very strange. No, I don't know why it's configured like that. Probably because of an issue with giving it linked 3.

I am thinking of House Ruling it that a Pilot or Co-Pilot is firing Both Left And Right Lasers doing a Combat Check for each in the same Initiative Slot (one for the Left and then immediately one for the Right)

21 hours ago, salamar_dree said:

The shuttle only has 3 weapon systems. They all happen to be twin weapons with Linked (1 in this case).

It's 5 by FFGs stat block. 2 twin blasters, 2 twin lasers, and an aft twin laser. 2 twin whatever is 4 barrels in two entirely separate systems.

4 hours ago, topacesteve said:

I am thinking of House Ruling it that a Pilot or Co-Pilot is firing Both Left And Right Lasers doing a Combat Check for each in the same Initiative Slot (one for the Left and then immediately one for the Right)

Unless you want to do a lot of stuff long term, I'd suggest simplifying.

Quit counting barrels and just apply the numbers that work. Just make it forward linked 1 lasers and forward linked 1 blasters, and a linked 1 blaster in back.

If you need a technical explanation, just say the weapons are arrays, and each pair of weapons is configured to work together for a final result and they can't fire independent, and count as a single gun for HP reasons.

The lambda is problematic with all those barrels in front, but not being listed as any real reason for having them...

In my opinion it’s dumb for a shuttle to have that kind of weaponry- but- George probably thought it would look cool on the big screen to have the Lambda bristling with guns and he couldn’t possibly have anticipated the misery that future rpg developers would suffer trying to write rules for it. :)

@The shuttle only has 3 weapon systems. They all happen to be twin weapons with Linked (1 in this case).

If a weapon system hits, it inflicts

@Ahrimon

Wow. I didn't realise that. Yes, I guess that is pretty insane. That shuttle needs more gunners...

7 hours ago, drbino said:

In my opinion it’s dumb for a shuttle to have that kind of weaponry- but- George probably thought it would look cool on the big screen to have the Lambda bristling with guns and he couldn’t possibly have anticipated the misery that future rpg developers would suffer trying to write rules for it. :)

With all of the additional large cargo shuttles we now have with Rogue One (and don't forget the TIE shuttle version of the TIE bomber), I think it's more sensible. When it was the only shuttle, it did seem over-powered. But, now it can be relegated to a special duty or VIP shuttle since we have other more typical and bland cargo carriers. The Lamba is the Empire's armored Limo with good shields, good performance, and lots of weapons.

I always just assumed that it was bristling with firepower because it's more of a VIP shuttle than a cargo shuttle. All that firepower is to ensure that fighters don't want to go anywhere near it.

It's been fun for my Rigger. It means that there are a lot of weapon systems that can be stripped out and others put in. ;)

What I find silly is how most of that firepower is strictly forward-firing. I can see a shuttle with heavy defensive weaponry, which should be able to fire in all directions, but forward-firing weaponry is pretty much limited to an offensive or "aggressive defense" uses.

On 6/22/2018 at 6:02 PM, topacesteve said:

Hello, i have a question regarding the use of Lambda Shuttle's weapon systems. Τhe Shuttle has one Gunner Position, so in a round the Gunner can use ONE of its weapons against a single target.

its weapons are : 1`. Forward Light Blaster Cannons (Dam 4, Crit 4, Link 1) , 2. Forward twin Light Laser Cannons (Dam 5, Crit 3, Link 1) and 3. Aft retractable blaster cannon.

My question is about all these ships that have more than one laser or blaster attached.

My gunner as i said would attack in a round with the best of the 2 Forward Arc weapons which is the Twin Laser Cannons (D 5 , Crit 3).

Why on earth would he ever choose to fire the inferior Light Blasters ?????????

Is there a way to FIRE BOTH WEAPONS SIMULTANEOUSLY like the X-wing LINKED 4-way Fire mode???? (in the movies)

Most ships that have multiple weapon systems also have gunner stations for each weapon system. I’m pretty sure that the Lamda class shuttle is the same way, in that the number of gunners listed is the minimum needed for the ship, with each of the forward guns being operated by the pilot and copilot.

19 hours ago, salamar_dree said:

@Ahrimon

Wow. I didn't realise that. Yes, I guess that is pretty insane. That shuttle needs more gunners...

Not really. It already has a fairly large crew complement of 6, 5 guns is within what they can handle

On ‎6‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 10:39 AM, HappyDaze said:

What I find silly is how most of that firepower is strictly forward-firing. I can see a shuttle with heavy defensive weaponry, which should be able to fire in all directions, but forward-firing weaponry is pretty much limited to an offensive or "aggressive defense" uses.

Why I wish they'd reintroduce the Delta-class escort shuttle. Statted one up for one of my campaigns.... Rear facing Linked 1 light turbolasers? Yes, please attempt to chase me.

There seem to be too much guns for the crew, but not really. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you can use Two-weapon fighting here.

So the pilot and co-pilot can use one or both of the blaster cannons, and the gunner uses the two more powerful laser cannons.

1. The gunner add one difficulty to its Gunnery check and rolls
2. He spends the first 2 advantages to trigger the linked quality of the first weapon
3. He spends 2 other advantages or 1 triumph to hit with the second weapon
4. He spends 2 other advantages to trigger the linked quality of the second weapon

Many advantages required, but it can be done and deliver a devastating shot.

1 hour ago, Keautay said:

There seem to be too much guns for the crew, but not really. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you can use Two-weapon fighting here.

So the pilot and co-pilot can use one or both of the blaster cannons, and the gunner uses the two more powerful laser cannons.

1. The gunner add one difficulty to its Gunnery check and rolls
2. He spends the first 2 advantages to trigger the linked quality of the first weapon
3. He spends 2 other advantages or 1 triumph to hit with the second weapon
4. He spends 2 other advantages to trigger the linked quality of the second weapon

Many advantages required, but it can be done and deliver a devastating shot.

No. Two-weapon fighting is very specific that it can only be used with Melee and/or Ranged (Light).