Boarding action (changing attacker/ defender?)

[Belshazzar]

During a boarding action, if both ships survive, does the attacker change? ie a Kill Kroozer (with 2 extra turrets) is boarding a Strike Cruiser. So the KK has a boarding value of 10 vs boarding value of the SC 6+2=8. They score a draw and in the SM turn the the boarding action continues. Is the KK now in the SM turn sill the attacker or does the SC "strike back" now? So which one does get the turret bonus now? SC or KK? 6 vs 10+3 or 6+2 vs 10 again?

[Sigoroth]

I would only apply the turret modifier in the first round of boarding.

[Belshazzar]

Hm, that's a nice solution!

[Belshazzar]

Otherwise it says for multiple ship bording action, that there always has to be an attacking player, which has to distribute inflicted damage points among the attacking ships. That let me assume that the turrets are always included.

ie imagine an Ork KK is being boarded by 2 SM SC's. The SM player looses the boarding action and took 2 damage points which he distributed amongst both SC's, so each get's one damage point. In the Ork players turn the fighting continues and he inflicts again 2 damage points to the SC's. It now would make more sense, if the Ork player has to distrubute the damage points amoung the SC's as he commands his Orks how to attack the enemy SC's and may focus his boarding attack on a single SC. So he should be able to inflict both damage points to a single SC rather than the SM player has to distribute them among his ships. This leads one to suppose, that the player, in which turn the boarding action continues, is the attacking player, so the other get's the turret bonus.

I think I remember I read somewhere, that a player may only defend against a boarding action during the enemy's turn.

What do you think?

[Sigoroth]

In your example the SM player lost the first boarding action. That means that the boarding action is resolved and in the following turn the Ork player moves off as normal. If he uses Burn Retros to stay in contact (or is in a gravity well) then he may initiate another boarding action against the SM ships. However, in this case he will be boarding one target ship, not both, and that ship will be the defender in a new boarding action and so get to add turrets.

However, in the case where there was a previously drawn multi-ship combat then yes, the active player will be able to distribute hits among the defending ships. Yes, the active player is technically the attacker, the inactive player is the defender. I would still not add turrets to boarding value in subsequent turns in an ongoing boarding action. It seems silly to take turns adding turrets in a boarding action that is supposedly ongoing with both ships locked together.

[Pisces_808]

My view on this is that the player that initiated the boarding action is always the attacking player. He's the one who wanted to board the other ship, not the other way arround. Maybe I'm being a little influenced by faction (playing Tau). The Tau would keep those turrets blazing and wouldn't stop untill they where free to advance. Why in hells name would they board an Imperial or worse Chaos cruiser... plain suicide.

If a player wants to attempt boarding then he should be the one without his turrets, else those Chaos players would get bonusses and turrets. Maybe I'm still a little new to all this but... can't you take damage from attacking/boarding by losing? This representing the defenders pushing the forces back and the turrets crippling its hull?

As for the turrets of the attacking ship, I suppose they are being used as harpoons to draw the enemy ship in. Since boarding is kind of pirate anyway, whoever decided that was futuristic was wrong.
Boarding craft...sure
Boarding torpedos...sure
Clashing SPACE ships together in hopes of traveling sub-zero vacuums and maybe cripling your/other ship...wrong (and no there's no chance that you'll get a save bridge across with full airconditioning and stuff)

So if you board my Tau you bet I'll be counting my turrets. I want to get the hell away and start shooting my torpedos.

[horizon]

If Tau are boarded in the opponents turn they can and must do the following: move away in their own turn. Tau do not stay in contact.

Logical seen, if a player decides to stay in contact I am with Sigoroth and the turret bonus does not apply to anyone.

[Sigoroth]

@Pisces

I always viewed the defenders turrets being used to help shoot down docking clamps and small boarding craft as the ships close. Turrets would do no damage to the hull of a space ship in themselves (hence the reason why the attackers turrets are useless). Once a boarding action is in progress the ships are already locked together, it is a fait accompli, and turrets can no longer help to prevent/mitigate the boarding action.

A technical reading of the rules however shows that the active player is always the attacker, and so the inactive player is the defender. Which would mean that players would end up taking turns adding their turret value to their boarding value in prolonged drawn combats. This seems ridiculous to me.

[Pisces_808]

A technical reading of the rules however shows that the active player is always the attacker, and so the inactive player is the defender. Which would mean that players would end up taking turns adding their turret value to their boarding value in prolonged drawn combats. This seems ridiculous to me.

So I lose my turrets after the first round of combat/boarding? This is another reason for me to stay away from any ships atempting to board. Remind me never to stop within boarding distance of a ship

I seem to have missed the part about active player. Thanks for pointing that out.

Greetz

[Belshazzar]

Ah, I always thought that both ships grapple together and continue fighting until one ship is reduced to zero hits regardless of scoring a draw. Thanks^^
And for the turrets I guess the actual players have to reach an agreement about that.