What do you roll to determine a crit hit on the table for non-crippled ships? The example provided in the book says the player rolls 1d5 but I can't find the passage that explains why he rolls 1d5 instead of 1d10 to determine the crit effect. Are 6-10 for crippled hulls that suffer damage beyond their hull points only?

Results of 6+ only apply to Crippled Ships.

main rulebook, p200 last paragraph of the left column

Murder servitors can do a 6 on the chart.

Murder Servitors + Teleportarium = Win.

In my group, we have ruled that Murder-Servitors allow the attacker to select any result from 1 to 5 on the Critical Hit table. While this is the same range of results that a Hit and Run can normally achieve, Murder-Servitors allow you to select your result rather than roll for it. They are more precise, but not necessarily capable of a greater range of destructiveness. That, along with the +20 bonus to resolving the Hit and Run action that they provide, is more than enough benefit for what the Murder-Servitors cost (a mere 1 power, 1 space, and 2 SP).

Oddly enough, the wording for Murder-Servitors in the Core states they allow you to a result between 1 and 6. This isn't noted as being inclusive of those boundaries, so that would suggest results from 2 to 5 are the legit ones. Semantics, sure, but I still contend that the 6 result should not be a valid option for every Hit and Run just because of such an easy to acquire Component.

Indeed; with the carry-on effects it has on an enemy ship, I don't think I've ever had my players NOT fire as their critical result...

My players love to put ennemy ships on fire, especially their Life sustainer systems...

Which is kinda funny considering we don't actually know what happens when an Essential Component fails. Hopefully, the Ship supplement will clear that up.

I seem to recall there being rules for what happens if the life support fails. As for the others, it should be fairly obvious I would think. If the power fails, all components become unpowered. If the engines fail you can't move, etc.

P.S. Since we're on the subject of fire, where are the rules for a person (Not a ship component) being on fire?

Karoline said:

Page 260-261 of the core book, just after the critical effects tables.

By the way, my players target the Life systems in order to convince their ennemies to surrender quickly, and/or to ease the cleaning of their new acquisition. they love to try to capture their opponents starships.

Mordechai Von Razgriz said:

Thanks.

And who wouldn't? The things are astronomically expensive, and selling one likely represents a couple of points of PF simply from the huge influx of thrones.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd assume that a destroyed life sustainer would lead to a slow loss of population and morale. By slow, I mean over many hours, possibly even a few days before the ship is a lifeless hulk. I would allow a damaged life sustainer to extend that time (and slow the loss of both population and morale). Note that breached sections opened to the void should likely cause even greater loss of life on a ship with a damaged or destroyed life sustainer.

Actually, since there is less atmosphere to pull out, I figure a hull breach would actually be less impressive. It would however be a large drain on the air remaining to the crew, and likely take a good chunk out of the time remaining to them.

Karoline said:

Page 260?

Cifer said:

That was going to be my next question, actually. My gunner aimed for the life support system and blew it up and I was at a loss as to declare what penalties the ship suffered because of it.

korjik said:

Uh, this is incorrect, by the way.

Page number is wrong, but if you can pick a 6 or not is debatable. It doesn't say inclusive or exclusive, but generally when people say between they mean it to be inclusive. It would after all be kind of silly to deny the crit of 1 if someone really wanted it.

Fortinbras said:

I'd probably rule something along the lines of "if this component is not repaired within 2d10 rounds, all other components aboard ship count as depressurised due to the loss of breathable air. Components may be voluntarily depressurised in order to extend this period." An official ruling would be nice though.

Oh, and....

If someone rolls 4 on a 1d5 for a hit to the thrusters, and that takes the ship's maneuverability down to 0, does that mean they can't steer?

No, it just means they get no bonus for piloting the ships. Take the Jericho for example; it wallows through space so awkwardly that it's got a negative to pilot checks.

Karoline said:

That kind of logic is what happed to Poland (being between Germany and Russia) in WWII... They must have been so happy that the borders of their neighbors were inclusive.

Either way, allowing Murder-Servitors to the 6 result is badly balanced and I would strongly suggest disallowing it for the betterment of game balance.

That's an entirely wild comparison, but I can agree with you from a game balance standpoint. Considering they are only 1/1/2 in cost, they aren't exactly that huge of an expense, and the +20 bonus on its own would likely be enough to make many people want them even without the ability to pick fire on every single hit and run, so no need to let them stop ships cold as well.

Errant said:

I would probably make it a penalty to morale after every turn if not repaired. My thinking is that the crew would probably mutiny or at least start rioting as the are grew stale...

I don't know about that. A mutiny would be kind of pointless, because even if they're in control of the ship, that doesn't make the life support any more fixed.

The real question is how quickly do people start to asphixiate or freeze or whatever. Are we talking minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? I figure that between human bodies, engines, and generators and such, freezing shouldn't be an issue. Instead the question is likely just how quickly would the crew use up all the air? Ships are big, but they have a ton of crew as well.

Karoline said:

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All the information for how long a person can last in a 1 cubic metre under sea level is there. So extrapolate from there by finding out the cubic feet of the ship and the amount of crew that is currently left alive.....Basically not that long.

I also have a very stupid question but I can't seem to find it in the book. Where is the rule on unpowered components?