1.3.4 The Command Skill

The Captain and all officers of a capital starship need to have a good command skill. In accordance with this, the captain must always perform three actions:

• Give orders to the Pilot
• Give orders to the Chief Gunnery Officer
• Give orders to the Chief Shields Officer.

Each one of these officers is considered to be successfully commanded as long as the Captain has 1D of command dice to allocate to them. Failure to command an Officer results in a -1D penalty to all actions taken by that department this turn, as it is no longer coordinated with the rest of the ship.

In addition to commanding the bridge officers, the Captain can also use his or her command skill to affect the performance of individual bridge officers. By spending an action, the Captain can temporarily increase the skill of any bridge officer by 1D.

The other officers must also be successfully commanded if they are to successfully perform their duties this turn. The Wing Commander must be successfully commanded if Starfighters are to engage in a coordinated defense or attack with the capital ship. The Engineering Officer must be commanded if damage control is to be performed this turn or if power is to be rerouted. The First Officer can act as an intermediary between the captain and any two officers, allowing the Captain to spend more actions on Tactics or assisting a certain officer. The First Officer can assist either of the officers he is in command of, spending an action to temporarily increase one of their skills, or to increase the skill of one of the units in the departments he is commanding by one pip.

For example, the Mon Calamari cruiser above is engaged in a duel with a Corellian Corvette and a Strike Cruiser. The Captain has a Command of 5D and the first officer has a Command of 4D. The captain places the First Officer in charge of coordinating the starfighters with the turbolasers, so she is in charge of the Wing Commander and the Chief Gunnery Officer. That takes 1D on the part of the Captain and 2D on the part of the First Officer. The Captain also commands the Pilot and Shields officers (another 2D) while telling the Engineering Officer to concentrate efforts on fixing the right shields while rerouting power to the front turbolasers and shields. The captain is spending an action to command the Engineering Officer (power rerouting) and driving him in his duties to give a bonus, spending his last 2D of Command. The First Officer details a certain battery to fire at the Strike Cruiser's guns. He takes one more action to give the to-hit roll for that battery a +1, leaving her also with 0D in Command.

Subordinate Bonus

Once familiar with the necessities of the captain and first officer, most additional rules require the existence of a complete Bridge Crew. These officers are in charge of their respective departments and get their orders from the Captain, First Officer, or occasionally each other. They also have subordinates to command and can bestow bonuses on them, although not at the same level as the captain.

Other officers must retain at least 1D in Command to coordinate their sections. The Wing Commander must retain at least as many dice in Command as squadrons or Group Commanders under his command. (See Fighter Wing section below) They can also assist certain functions by spending actions to add +1 to the roll. The Chief Gunnery Officer can assist in power transfers to and from guns, damage control rolls to weapons, detail individual batteries or groups of guns to fire at different targets, coordinate fire with one other vessel, and command the sensors to locate said targets, or can add +1 per action to a to-hit attempt. The Chief Shields Officer can assist in power transfers to and from shields, power overload rolls, activating/deactivating backup shields, or shutting down a shield. The Chief Pilot can assist in power transfers to and from the main engines or maneuvering thrusters, and damage control rolls for both of those systems. She may also add +1 to any evasion or maneuver rolls performed by the crew. The Chief Sensor Officer can order scans or give a bonus to any scans performed, or assist in power transfers to and from sensors. The Chief Communications Officer assists in power transfers to and from communications and maintains the communications link between the rest of the ships of the line, allowing for inter-vessel coordination (one action total). The Comm Chief must also spend an action for each attempt to coordinate fire with another vessel and can assist in breaking ciphers or punching through jamming. The Engineering Officer can assist or order any power transfer, and can also take over shield power overload rolls in the case of a disabled Chief Shields Officer.

Note that the Chief Gunnery Officer can order the Chief Sensor Officer to perform a scan or the Chief Communications Officer to coordinate his action with another vessel. This counts as an action for the Chief Gunnery Officer and may also be performed by either the Captain or the First Officer.

It is important to note that while bridge officers must take individual actions, the crew as a whole can take as many actions as necessary and not suffer a corresponding die code penalty. The exception to this is multiple weapon shots. This is because there are hundreds of people, all working to make the ship handle better under combat. While a bridge officer must command that an action take place, they never actually perform that action themselves. These rules assume that ships are running with sufficient crew to delegate tasks and maintain ship status at all times. Guns are fired multiple times by the same person, so they do not get the ability to roll each check at the full die value. Each roll made by the crew is performed at the full skill value listed on the template, excepting weapons.

Subordinate Skill Levels

Subordinates usually have command skills a few dice below the captains. As a general rule, first officers have command at 1D below that of the captain of a vessel. Bridge officers have a command skill 2D-3D below that of the captain. A bridge officer will likely not have a command greater than 5D, as that is usually the skill level required to attain the rank of captain for a vessel.

To Capital Ship Combat?.
To Capital Ship Damage.
To The Tactics Skill.