COMBAT TURNS
Much like personal combat, combat between starships
and vehicles in EDCE OF THE EMPIRE is largely an abstract,
narrative-driven activity designed for quickness and
ease of use. This is meant to better reflect the frenetic,
cinematic, action-adventure style of Star Wars and to
avoid bogging a game session down with the minutiae
of charts and grid maps. This means that the maneuvers
a starship performs are open to narration and the inter-
penetration of both the Came Master and the players.
In EDCE OF THE EMPIRE, Player Characters follow the
same rules of combat as detailed starting on page
- This means they can perform one action and one
maneuver during their turn. They may also be able to
perform a second maneuver by either suffering strain or
spending Advantage, although each player may never
take more than two maneuvers during his turn.
MANEUVERS
Less involved than ac-
tions, maneuvers are
simple activities
that do not typi-'
cally require a skill
check. Beyond all
the maneuvers in per-
sonal combat, there are sev-
eral maneuvers that apply
specifically to starships and
vehicles. These additional
maneuvers follow the usual
rules governing maneuvers
(see page 200). In addition (and
especially in larger starships), characters are assumed
to be able to perform any personal maneuvers such as
dropping prone, managing gear, or interacting with the
environment (although the CM and players should use
common sense as to what a character can and cannot do
given the situation). This also includes maneuvers such
as aiming, since a character can aim with a quad laser
turret just as he can aim with a blaster rifle. In general, all
the maneuvers listed starting on page 201 apply in all
forms of combat (with a certain level of common sense).
When ships or vehicles are in encounters, they
should always track their current speed. A ship may
be operating at any speed from zero to its maximum,
however accelerating and decelerating takes maneu-
vers to accomplish.
A starship or vehicle with silhouette 1 -4 can benefit
from one Pilot Only maneuver in a round, and can ben-
efit from a second Pilot Only maneuver if it suffers two
system strain (Pilot Only maneuvers are ones that af-
fect the movement of the ship itself, and ships may only
move so fast and so far). If the starship has a single pilot,
the pilot must suffer two strain (or downgrade his actionto a maneuver) to perform two maneuvers, as per com-
bat rules. Some ships can have multiple pilots, in which
case each can perform a Pilot Only maneuver and only
the ship suffers the strain. However, these ships are rare.
A starship or vehicle with silhouette 5 or higher can
only benefit from one Pilot Only maneuver in a round.ACCELERATE/DECELERATE
Pilot Only: Yes
Silhouette: Any
Speed: Any
The pilot may increase or decrease the ship or ve-
hicle's current speed by one, to a minimum of zero or
a maximum of the ship's maximum speed rating.FLY/DRIVE
Pilot Only: Yes
Silhouette: Any
Speed: Any
This starship maneuver reflects the simple act of mov-
ing the ship or vehicle closer or further away
from something at its current speed. The
number of starship maneuvers re-
quired for a ship or vehicle to move
through a given number of range
bands is dependent on its speed.
It is important to remember that
range is based on the moving
ship's perspective, and is not
a measure of actual physical
distance.- Speed 0: The ship or ve-
hicle is not moving and can-
not use this starship maneuver
until it accelerates. - Speed 1: One starship maneuver to move within
close range of a target or object, or two starship
maneuvers to move from close to short range or
from short range to close range. - Speed 2-4: One starship maneuver to move
within close range of a target or object, to move
from close to short range, or from short to close
range. Two starship maneuvers to move from
close to medium, or medium to close range. - Speed 5-6: One starship maneuver to move
within close range of a target or object, to move
from close to medium range, or from medium
to close range. Two starship maneuvers to move
from close to long, or long to close range.
EVASIVE MANEUVERS
Pilot Only: Yes
Silhouette: 1-4
Speed: 3 +
Evasive Maneuvers reflects a pilot's efforts to avoidSTARSHIPS AND VEHICLES
TLDCE OF THE EMPIRE