So I was playing a game the other night and for the first time took the onager for a spin. A ship that has certainly changed how many fleets need to be flown. During turns 3&4 I was able to use a gozanti space break to keep a starhawk out of long range and in extreme range gladly taking damage on my flotilla and it still lived at one to do flotilla things for a bit. It worked so well I tried it again in another game to similar success. As much as it worked I actually felt guilty about this tactic and it made me wonder if ramming other ships should be more punishing. So I came up with this:

When a ship overlaps another ship it deals damage cards equal to the number of class sizes larger than the overlapped ship to a minimum of 1.

this would not Allow flotillas to be used as space breaks for as long while representing the idea if inertia and mass a bit better.

I totally understand the rules for armada are already a bit complex, but this one is pretty simple and a bit intuitive as well.

of course this would pave the way for speed 3 ISDs plowing over mc30s all day!

Thoughts?

My concern is something like engine techs and reinforced bulkheads.

19 minutes ago, Church14 said:

My concern is something like engine techs and reinforced bulkheads.

True, and right now only I harrow, ET VIC can do this. Though a Liberty ram machine would be very scary.

Locking your opponent's ship in place is certainly good, but then you're also praying to the dice gods that they don't get an accuracy. That's definitely a good gamble against a HWK-1 or a Kuat (I guess an ISD-1, as well, but those might just be a myth like the Sasquatch), but once you get into the 3+ blues range, it becomes a riskier bet. It'll probably never hold an ISD-2 or a Star Cruiser.

An equally scary (if not scarier) scenario is using it to hold your own ships in place. You can stay at speed while staying still. That can make all the difference if it means keeping out of a bad range band for an extra turn. Plus, in a world of Romodi, it can also net you extra dice.

47 minutes ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

of course this would pave the way for speed 3 ISDs plowing over mc30s all day!

^ This is my concern with the rule. In trying to fix a small(ish) problem, there could be huge unintended consequences. Little stone, big ripple.

Also, I'll be curious to see what role flotillas play in a post-CW world with the new pass mechanic. If the value of flotillas goes down because they're not necessary for activation equivalency, it might not be as bad if they can fill the doorstop niche since they may not be as common.

40 minutes ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

True, and right now only I harrow, ET VIC can do this. Though a Liberty ram machine would be very scary.

Home one can too

1 hour ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

True, and right now only I harrow, ET VIC can do this. Though a Liberty ram machine would be very scary.

And with Harrow it wouldn't make a difference anyway. With the rule as you've written it, there's no ship it would deal more than one damage per ram to anyway. Though as Geek points out, Home One.

2 hours ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

Thoughts?

I like it! I could even see the smaller ship being dealt a face-up damage card, if FFG didn't want to stray too far from the current rule. I would prefer either to what we have now. Because thematically , the overlap rule as written just doesn't feel "right" to me. If a freight train hits a truck that's stopped on the tracks, there is not an equal distribution of damage.

How much damage do Hammerheads do to ISDs?

1 hour ago, Rmcarrier1 said:

I like it! I could even see the smaller ship being dealt a face-up damage card, if FFG didn't want to stray too far from the current rule. I would prefer either to what we have now. Because thematically , the overlap rule as written just doesn't feel "right" to me. If a freight train hits a truck that's stopped on the tracks, there is not an equal distribution of damage.

Well, it's not exactly an equal disttribution now either. If a Starhawk rams a Raider for example, sure both get only 1 damage card, but thats 25% of the Raider's hull and only 7% of the Starhawk's hull.

2 hours ago, geek19 said:

Home one can too

I did forget about home one- that would be rough on small ships. No more raiders hiding out in that front arc keeping it in place. Wait- maybe this IS a good idea! Lol

1 hour ago, Ginkapo said:

How much damage do Hammerheads do to ISDs?

Negative -2. The isd actually GAINS hull after the ram! No, I figure there would be a minimum of 1 damage whenever ships collide (except flotilla/non flotillas).

5 minutes ago, Lemmiwinks86 said:

Well, it's not exactly an equal disttribution now either. If a Starhawk rams a Raider for example, sure both get only 1 damage card, but thats 25% of the Raider's hull and only 7% of the Starhawk's hull.

Which I'm sure was FFG's thinking all along. Still doesn't feel right to me.

Does somebody have a gif of the Devestator in Rogue One hitting the GR-75?

But how much hall damage had the GR taken BEFORE that scene?

11 hours ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

So I was playing a game the other night and for the first time took the onager for a spin. A ship that has certainly changed how many fleets need to be flown. During turns 3&4 I was able to use a gozanti space break to keep a starhawk out of long range and in extreme range gladly taking damage on my flotilla and it still lived at one to do flotilla things for a bit. It worked so well I tried it again in another game to similar success. As much as it worked I actually felt guilty about this tactic and it made me wonder if ramming other ships should be more punishing. So I came up with this:

When a ship overlaps another ship it deals damage cards equal to the number of class sizes larger than the overlapped ship to a minimum of 1.

this would not Allow flotillas to be used as space breaks for as long while representing the idea if inertia and mass a bit better.

I totally understand the rules for armada are already a bit complex, but this one is pretty simple and a bit intuitive as well.

of course this would pave the way for speed 3 ISDs plowing over mc30s all day!

Thoughts?

Are you asking for feedback on a house rule - or do you suggest the rules would be better this way?

I've certainly experimented with various house-ramming rules where size does matter.

It sounds like it's the Onager that may need a change, not the ramming rule.

5 hours ago, Green Knight said:

I've certainly experimented with various house-ramming rules where size does matter.

On 8/14/2020 at 6:34 AM, Bertie Wooster said:

It sounds like it's the Onager that may need a change, not the ramming rule.

I do find it odd that an ignition weapon as the flavor intends is able to shoot through some ships and only hit others. But I suppose the logistics of figuring which ships do and don’t get shot in an arc could be overwhelming. If a flotilla is dead center of my ignition , mine or not, it SHOULD be space dust!

28 minutes ago, Back Seat Admiral said:

I do find it odd that an ignition weapon as the flavor intends is able to shoot through some ships and only hit others. But I suppose the logistics of figuring which ships do and don’t get shot in an arc could be overwhelming. If a flotilla is dead center of my ignition , mine or not, it SHOULD be space dust!

Maybe Armada needs to go to 3D!

Like the 3d chess in Big Bang Theory

1 minute ago, Rimsen said:

Maybe Armada needs to go to 3D!

Like the 3d chess in Star Trek

FIFY

9 hours ago, bkcammack said:

FIFY

Sorry, somehow never came across the Star Trek universe.

On 8/13/2020 at 5:53 PM, Ginkapo said:

How much damage do Hammerheads do to ISDs?

Not nearly as much as an ISD hitting an ISD apparently!

On 8/14/2020 at 6:34 AM, Bertie Wooster said:

It sounds like it's the Onager that may need a change, not the ramming rule.

During an ignition attack, in addition to any obstruction effects, if line of sight is drawn through a friendly ship, that ship must:

[be dealt one faceup damage card]

or

[suffer three damage]

I dunno, just a thought...stay out of the fire!

53 minutes ago, eliteone said:

During an ignition attack, in addition to any obstruction effects, if line of sight is drawn through a friendly ship, that ship must:

[be dealt one faceup damage card]

or

[suffer three damage]

I dunno, just a thought...stay out of the fire!

I always thought that any obstructing ship should be attacked with the extra die anyway.

As for damage on a ram, what about:

Rammed ship receives 1 face down damage card.

Ramming ship receives 1 face down damage card or damage = to the difference in size if smaller than the ship it is ramming, whichever is greater.

Would seem to solve the problem, without weaponizing the ram more than it already is.