Thanks, Andrew.
This isn't about only 1 race, so I'll put it in this thread rather than the fleet specific thread.
Kroot Warspheres / Ork Roks, Armada:
For roks:
Roks are sufficiently different to both Orbital Defences and true spaceships to require a number of special rules. However any rules which are not specifically noted as being modified below, apply in full to Roks.
What does this mean? Does it mean "they use the same rules as orbital defenses except where otherwise stated", or"they use the same rules as capital ships except where otherwise stated", or "they use the same rules as capital ships/escorts (true spaceships) except where otherwise stated"? The fact that the rules make a point of explicitly saying they can't use "burn retros" / "come to new heading" special orders suggests the latter, since if they used the same rules as orbital defenses they wouldn't be able to use those anyway, so it wouldn't be mentioned. Can they "lock on" like capital ships/escorts?
For leadership, do roks that aren't taken using planetary defense points roll for leadership individually (like capital ships)?
In a campaign a player can receive a capital ship as reinforcements, losing a capital ship costs 1 renown, and capital ships can be refitted. Ork capital ships (in the 2010 FAQ) can be given boarding torpedoes for +5 points and/or +2 turrets for +20 points. Various sub-plots make mention of capital ships. Do warspheres/roks count as a capital ship for any of these purposes?
Teleport attacks can only be done against a target whose shields have been knocked down. By "knocked down" does it mean "reduced to 0 by shield collapse critical hit" or "has a bunch of blast markers on it, exposing the hull to fire"? I've always assumed the latter, but I figured I should check.
Special orders/leadership:
A capital ship squadron always rolls special orders or leadership tests together, benefiting from the leadership of the highest leadership of any surviving vessels in the squadron, even if crippled (this differs only if an individual capital ship wishes to disengage). They also take advantage of any leadership bonuses of any vessel in the squadron, as long as it does not exceed that of the highest leadership in the squadron. For example, if a capital ship squadron has a ship that is Ld8 and a ship that is Ld6 but gets an additional +1Ld when the enemy is on special orders (to Ld8), the squadron cannot combine these effects, meaning its leadership will only be Ld9 if the enemy is on special orders. Conversely, the squadron suffers leadership modifiers if any one vessel in the squadron is in contact with blast markers, regardless of whether or not it is the vessel with the highest leadership.
How does this interact with the "automatically pass a leadership of command check" affect from the "Elite Command Crew" crew skill if
one of the squadron has it? Secondly, when it mentions a "leadership bonus", does this also apply to the "roll 3D6 and discard the highest"-type crew skills, or is it just referring to the "+1 leadership" and "+1 in certain situations"-type bonuses?