Rule of 3

[darkarth]

Does the rule new of 3 apply to the discount a docked Sphere used to get from being on an oversized Borg Cube with a Borg Support Vehicle Dock?

Rule of three reference; Whenever the sum of all modifiers applied to any value (Primary Weapon Value, Agility Value, Hull Value, Shield Value, Attack Value, Maneuver Speed, Range, Captain Skill, Squadron Points, etc.) is greater than +3 or less than -3, the sum of all modi ers is instead +3 or -3, respectively. All modi ers continue to apply to the value; only their sum is changed.

Borg Support Reference; A ship with a Borg Support Vehicle Token (BSVT) assigned to it is considered to be a "support ship." The support ship may be any ship with a Hull Value of 7 or less. During Set Up, the cost of this ship is -10 SP (-15 SP if it is a Borg Sphere). This ship must be assigned a Captain and may be equipped with any Upgrades as normal.

[stawrulesteam]

Regarding the 'Rule of Three' found within the updated rule book, if you could please provide a clear definition of what constitutes a replacement and what constitutes a modifier.

For example; the Dominion squadron upgrade 'Flanking Attack' as stated in the card text allows the addition of a number of attack dice to a friendly ships attack equal to the current number of squadron tokens on the ship card. Does this card constitute a modification, and therefore is no longer as powerful as the card text previously made an allowance for, or does this card provide a replacement attack value for the attacking ship and therefore is not subject to the 'Rule of Three'.

There are a considerable number of admiral, captain, crew, weapon and tech cards that modify/replace values. An index of those cards that carry those effects and the category(modification/replacement) they fall under would be greatly appreciated so that card text interpretation is not left up to the player or TO to establish.

[stawrulesteam]

The IRW Haakona states
"When attacking with you Primary Weapon while cloaked, gain +1 attack die for every other Romulan Ship in your fleet (max 4)"
Under the Rule of 3 is this a replacement or a modifier?
If it is a modifier, is it +3 due to the rule of 3 or +4 due to the Card text being an exception to the rule?

[stawrulesteam]

Under the rule of 3, no one stat can be modified by more than +3 or -3. There is a couple of cards that was created before the STAW new rules came out that say add + 2 to your agility and some cards out there that say add +1 defense dice. Are these seperate stats that each follow the rule of 3 or are they combined together with the rule of 3 applying to the combined total?

[stawrulesteam]

The book that's different values including SP, range, shield value etc.

Is the amount of crew members or upgrades on a ship a value?

Would let's say Kor 8, Comm Station, Riker-5, Goroth still be +4 crew members? or is it 3 now?

Or would System Upgrade, Kor 8, Riker-5, T'Pol be +4 upgrades? or is it 3 now?

[stawrulesteam]

Does the rule new of 3 apply to the discount a docked Sphere used to get from being on an oversized Borg Cube with a Borg Support Vehicle Dock?

Rule of three reference; Whenever the sum of all modifiers applied to any value (Primary Weapon Value, Agility Value, Hull Value, Shield Value, Attack Value, Maneuver Speed, Range, Captain Skill, Squadron Points, etc.) is greater than +3 or less than -3, the sum of all modi ers is instead +3 or -3, respectively. All modi ers continue to apply to the value; only their sum is changed.

Borg Support Reference; A ship with a Borg Support Vehicle Token (BSVT) assigned to it is considered to be a "support ship." The support ship may be any ship with a Hull Value of 7 or less. During Set Up, the cost of this ship is -10 SP (-15 SP if it is a Borg Sphere). This ship must be assigned a Captain and may be equipped with any Upgrades as normal.

The short answer is no because the Rule of 3 does not apply to SP during fleet construction. This means you will pay the full SP discount or penalty for all cards as normal. For example, if you use a Borg Sphere as a Borg Support Vehicle it will still be -15 SP. Similarly, if you equip Chroniton Torpedoes to a non-Krenim Weapon Ship, you will pay +6 SP.

Please note, we will be posting rules related articles in the near future. Please be on the lookout for the article related to the Rule of 3 for further clarity.

[stawrulesteam]

Regarding the 'Rule of Three' found within the updated rule book, if you could please provide a clear definition of what constitutes a replacement and what constitutes a modifier.

For example; the Dominion squadron upgrade 'Flanking Attack' as stated in the card text allows the addition of a number of attack dice to a friendly ships attack equal to the current number of squadron tokens on the ship card. Does this card constitute a modification, and therefore is no longer as powerful as the card text previously made an allowance for, or does this card provide a replacement attack value for the attacking ship and therefore is not subject to the 'Rule of Three'.

There are a considerable number of admiral, captain, crew, weapon and tech cards that modify/replace values. An index of those cards that carry those effects and the category(modification/replacement) they fall under would be greatly appreciated so that card text interpretation is not left up to the player or TO to establish.

The simplest way to know if something is a replacement or a modifier is to ask if the effect in question is setting a value or adding to/subtracting from a value. If a value is being set, it's a replacement, if a value is being added to or subtracted from, it's a modification.

Here are some specific examples of modifiers:
*This ship rolls +1 attack die.
*Add 1 to this ship's Agility Value.
*Increase this ship's Hull Value by 2.
*Increase this Captain's Captain Skill by +3.

Here are some specific examples of replacements:
*This ship's Primary Weapon Value becomes 4.
*Replace this ship's Agility Value with it's printed Agility Value + 4.
*This ship's Hull Value is equal to 5.
*The Attack Value of Weapon Upgrades.
*Increase this ship's Shield Value to 6.

Please note, these are non-exhaustive lists that can be used as general guidelines for determining if something is a replacement or a modifier. If you have a question about whether something ambiguous is specifically a modifier or a replacement, please respond to this thread so we can address it.

For your specific example, Flanking Attack specifically says "add" which means that it is a modifier. If that modifier is in excess of 3, the Rule of 3 will kick in and cause it to become 3. Remember, the excess is not entirely lost because if the same value is later subtracted from, you subtract from the total modifier prior to the Rule of 3 taking effect. For example, if Flanking Attack increases a ship's attack dice by +5 and an opposing effect later decreases that ship's attack dice by -2, the ship still rolls +3 dice because the Rule of 3 only checks for a modifier in excess of + or - 3 after the sum of all modifiers is calculated.

[stawrulesteam]

The IRW Haakona states
"When attacking with you Primary Weapon while cloaked, gain +1 attack die for every other Romulan Ship in your fleet (max 4)"
Under the Rule of 3 is this a replacement or a modifier?
If it is a modifier, is it +3 due to the rule of 3 or +4 due to the Card text being an exception to the rule?

1. This is a modifier as it's adding to the number of attack dice being rolled.

2. This would fall under the Rule of 3. This is not an exception to the rule nor does the card contradict the rulebook. The reason for this is because you always remember the sum of all modifiers applied to a value and then check to see if the Rule of 3 applies. In your specific example, if the ability of the I.R.W. Haakona would add 4 attack dice to its roll and an opposing effect subtracted 1 attack die from its roll, the Haakona would still roll +3 attack dice, not +2 attack dice because the Rule of 3 is only applied once the sum of all modifiers is calculated.

[stawrulesteam]

Under the rule of 3, no one stat can be modified by more than +3 or -3. There is a couple of cards that was created before the STAW new rules came out that say add + 2 to your agility and some cards out there that say add +1 defense dice. Are these seperate stats that each follow the rule of 3 or are they combined together with the rule of 3 applying to the combined total?

Agility Value and adding defense dice are the same for the purposes of the Rule of 3. The same logic applies to Primary Weapon Value and adding attack dice.

[stawrulesteam]

The book that's different values including SP, range, shield value etc.

Is the amount of crew members or upgrades on a ship a value?

Would let's say Kor 8, Comm Station, Riker-5, Goroth still be +4 crew members? or is it 3 now?

Or would System Upgrade, Kor 8, Riker-5, T'Pol be +4 upgrades? or is it 3 now?

Adding slots if not explicitly a value. Therefore, this would not fall under the Rule of 3.