Can Sabine Wren perform the Boost or Barrel Action before she activates and while stressed?

I believe that she can do this as the Golden Rule states that card abilities overrule the Guide and the Rules, therefore, being stressed becomes irrelevant.

No, it is a "may" ability so stress limitations still apply.

Thanks. Would you be so kind to please direct me to where it is clarified that "may" abilities are treated like this. The only thing I am able to find regarding "may" is that the player may elect not to use the ability.

16 minutes ago, dmcgee1 said:

Thanks. Would you be so kind to please direct me to where it is clarified that "may" abilities are treated like this. The only thing I am able to find regarding "may" is that the player may elect not to use the ability.

In Card Interpretation it outlines that "may" abilities are optional. Stress's description states stressed ships cannot perform actions. "May" does not contradict "cannot". The only card abilities that allow actions to be performed while stressed state so directly, IE AP2 coordinating a friendly ship as outlined in AP2's ability. Hera crew and Primed Thrusters are 2 more examples.

Sabine's ability allows you to perform a reposition action outside of her normal action window. It does not allow her to perform actions while stressed.

I realize that I may be splitting the finest of hairs, here, and I apologize if it comes across that I am being argumentative for the sake of argument, but...

Under Golden Rules: If the ability of a card conflicts with the rules in this guide, the card ability takes precedence. If a card ability uses the word "cannot," that effect is absolute cannot be overridden by other effects.

Therefore, the card ability is "may," while the use of "cannot" (in this instance) is a rule written in this guide (not a card ability). Per that argument, the card overrules the rule, as I see it.

Rules are only excepted when they specifically say they are. May versus cannot is irrelevant, you only get to ignore stress if the source of the action specifically says you can, e.g. Rey's falcon, Primed Thrusters.

2 hours ago, dmcgee1 said:

I realize that I may be splitting the finest of hairs, here, and I apologize if it comes across that I am being argumentative for the sake of argument, but...

Under Golden Rules: If the ability of a card conflicts with the rules in this guide, the card ability takes precedence. If a card ability uses the word "cannot," that effect is absolute cannot be overridden by other effects.

Therefore, the card ability is "may," while the use of "cannot" (in this instance) is a rule written in this guide (not a card ability). Per that argument, the card overrules the rule, as I see it.

In this case, the may of Sabine affects the timing and availability of the action: she is allowed to perform either a boost or barrel roll action, before she activates. It does not remove the standing effect of, "a stressed ship cannot perform actions." To over-ride it that rule, you need a card effect that explicitly overrides that rule (such as those described above, like Primed Thrusters or Hera Crew). A similar situation arises with the TIE/sf Quickdraw with Special Forces Gunner. His pilot ability and gunner card grant him numerous ways to perform bonus attacks; he's still limited to only one bonus attack per round, even if a card would otherwise allow him to make an attack.

Also, for reference:

Thank you, all, for the input. I will play the rule as you all have stated. I see the logic and the points that are being made, and I agree that they are valid and make sense. I want to let you all know that I am okay if I am wrong, and respect the experience you have with the game. I am not being argumentative because I want this to work the way that I want. I am perfectly okay with playing it that way. I just want to understand it and/or have it officially ruled.

Unfortunately, I still see this as ambiguous. Perhaps I am missing something, or am unaware of any other rule which clarifies this.

As clear as I can be, this is how I read it:

Rules Reference (Guide) states that a Stressed ship may not perform Actions (ordinarily, I would stop there, and question this no further).

Card Ability (Pilot/Ship Ability) states that Sabine Wren TIE l/n may, before activating, perform a barrel roll or boost.

The Golden Rule states that if the ability of a card conflicts with the rules in the guide, the card takes precedence.

Perhaps I am seeing a conflict where none exists, and I would be very satisfied if someone would take the time to explain it to me. I apologize if I am just not getting it, or if I seem like I am beating a dead horse.

This does not, currently, make sense to me that she cannot use her ability if stressed.

15 hours ago, dmcgee1 said:

Rules Reference (Guide) states that a Stressed ship may not perform Actions (ordinarily, I would stop there, and question this no further).

Card Ability (Pilot/Ship Ability) states that Sabine Wren TIE l/n may, before activating, perform a barrel roll or boost.

The Golden Rule states that if the ability of a card conflicts with the rules in the guide, the card takes precedence.

There's an old adage on these forums that comes across sounding kind of rude, but gets to the gist of the issue: Do what the card says to do. Don't do what the card doesn't say to do.

In this case, Sabine says, "Hey, before you activate, you get the option of performing a boost or barrel roll action." It creates a unique timing window for her, that other pilots don't have. That is where the "card text overrides rules" part comes into play. Or in other words, " Do what the card says to do : You get to boost or barrel roll before moving."

When it comes to performing an action, though, she still has to follow all the rules of performing said action. That means no barrel rolling onto an obstacle, or boosting into a bump. It also means that she has to obey the restrictions that stress places upon the ability to perform ANY action. So here, it's, " Don't do what the card doesn't say to do : You still have to be stress-free to perform that action."

TL;DR : Sabine gets an opportunity to perform an action, but still has to follow the rules of performing an action.

Protip: Try running Attack Shuttle Sabine with Juke. She can start her activation with a barrel roll linked to a boost evade, then perform a blue maneuver to clear stress, and still get a focus token every turn.

Alright, let me see if I can make this clearer.

From the RRG, page 2:

Sabine's ability uses the word 'may'. This is an extra option that other ships do not get, but you otherwise have to follow all the rules for executing that option, because there is no 'can' section which tells you to ignore other rules (like barrel rolling through an obstacle, or while stressed).

Contrast this with Primed Thrusters: While you have 2 or fewer stress tokens, you can perform [BARREL ROLL] and [BOOST] actions even while stressed. . This is a 'can' clause that permits you to conditionally ignore the 'no actions while stressed' rule for two specific actions.

Think of it like this, say that Sabine hypothetically worked the way you’re assuming, then why would other abilities/upgrades (Such as Afterburners) include the text “Even while stressed”?

8 hours ago, dmcgee1 said:

Thank you, all, for the input. I will play the rule as you all have stated. I see the logic and the points that are being made, and I agree that they are valid and make sense. I want to let you all know that I am okay if I am wrong, and respect the experience you have with the game. I am not being argumentative because I want this to work the way that I want. I am perfectly okay with playing it that way. I just want to understand it and/or have it officially ruled.

Unfortunately, I still see this as ambiguous. Perhaps I am missing something, or am unaware of any other rule which clarifies this.

As clear as I can be, this is how I read it:

Rules Reference (Guide) states that a Stressed ship may not perform Actions (ordinarily, I would stop there, and question this no further).

Card Ability (Pilot/Ship Ability) states that Sabine Wren TIE l/n may, before activating, perform a barrel roll or boost.

The Golden Rule states that if the ability of a card conflicts with the rules in the guide, the card takes precedence.

Perhaps I am seeing a conflict where none exists, and I would be very satisfied if someone would take the time to explain it to me. I apologize if I am just not getting it, or if I seem like I am beating a dead horse.

This does not, currently, make sense to me that she cannot use her ability if stressed.

It's spelled out unambiguously on page 19 of the Rules Reference, using the Ability Queue:

Quote

The only abilities remaining in the ability queue are two instances of Jake Farrell’s ship ability. Since he is stressed, he cannot perform an action so neither ability has an effect and the ability queue empties.

Jake Farrell's ship ability allows him to perform a red boost action:

But, it is made abundantly clear that a stressed ship cannot perform an action. So this isn't conjecture; it's well established that cards do not break every rule they need to in order to function. Rules must be specifically, explicitly broken, as seen in the aforementioned Afterburners card:

Essentially, Sabine's ability does not mention stress, so there is no conflict between her ability and the rule preventing stressed ships from taking an action, so her ability must still adhere to that rule.

Here's another useful key to how an ability works: When there is the action symbol, it'll follow all the normal rules for actions, such as stress restrictions and "once per turn". Some effects will refer to the thing itself with the word barrel roll (the Starviper ability) or describe a lock or focus token directly (Dutch lets someone acquire a lock, not perform a lock action. Guri assigns a Focus token, not performs a focus action).

There may be exceptions (Afterburners explicitly allows a Boost while stressed), but generally if it has the symbol and not the word, you've got to follow all the normal action rules.

Thanks, folks. I do appreciate the patience.

Again, I'll play it as you all have said that it should be played, and will keep in mind the mechanic as described. I even agree with all the logic presented. I hope I wasn't too much of a pain.

13 hours ago, emeraldbeacon said:

Protip  : Try running Attack Shuttle Sabine with Juke. She can start her activation with a barrel roll linked to a boost, then perform a blue maneuver to clear stress, and still  get a focus token every turn. 

Typo correction in your example: boost should be evade.

1 hour ago, nitrobenz said:

Typo correction in your example: boost should be evade.

If they wanted Sabine to operate with stress the would have removed the word action. Like how Redline says acquire lock not perform a target lock action.

Since it uses action keyword, rules for actions apply...