Followers and Commanders

Q: Can characters with commander effects benefit from commander effects themselves?

A: Yes. Commander effects that affect "allies" work on other characters in your or a teammate's squad, even if they have commander effects of their own. Commander effects that are restricted to followers, though, do not. For example, Darth Vader, Dark Jedi's commander effect works on an Imperial Officer, who does not have a Force rating: "Whenever an allied character without a Force rating gets a natural 1 on any roll, that character is defeated and all other allies without a Force rating get +2 Attack. (These bonuses stack.)

Q: Can a character with a commander effect use it on itself?

A: In most cases, no, because most commander effects apply only to followers (in other words, characters without commander effects). A commander effect that works on characters other than followers could be used by the commander on itself as long as the character is otherwise eligible. For example, Bail Organa's commander effect applies to Alderaan Troopers, and since Bail Organa counts as an Alderaan Trooper (thanks to his Alderaan Senator ability), he can benefit from his own commander effect – he gets the bonus to Damage when other Alderaan Troopers combine fire with him.

Q: The Droid glossary definition states: "A Droid character . . . is not subject to commander effects." Does this mean IG-88 and 4-LOM would not get the +2 bonus to Attack from Jabba the Hutt's commander effect if they were in his squad, even though they are Bounty Hunters as well as Droids?

A: Correct. They don't get the bonus.

Q: Does this mean C-3PO and R2-D2 would not be able to move 2 extra squares if they end their turn within 6 squares of Princess Leia, Senator and were in her squad?

A: Correct. They don't get the extra movement.

Q: If any of the Droids mentioned above were being shot at by a Stormtrooper:

who had not moved on his turn and was within 6 squares of a Stormtrooper Officer, would that Stormtrooper receive the +3 Attack bonus against the Droids?

within 6 squares of General Veers, would that Stormtrooper gain the benefit of Accurate Shot against the Droids?

within 6 squares of an Imperial Officer, could that Stormtrooper make an immediate attack against the Droids?

A: Yes. In all of these cases, the Stormtrooper -- not the Droids -- is the subject of the commander effect. Therefore, the Stormtrooper gains the benefit.

Q: If a Heavy Stormtrooper is within 6 squares of a Stormtrooper Officer, he gets a +3 bonus to Attack on his shot against a legal target. After taking that shot, the Imperial player uses his second activation to move an Imperial Officer within 6 squares and uses its commander effect to give the Heavy Stormtrooper an immediate attack. Does this immediate attack also benefit from the +3 bonus granted by the Stormtrooper Officer since it is still within 6 squares and the Heavy Stormtrooper hasn't moved?

A: Yes. Commander effects stack as long as they aren't giving a bonus to the same roll or statistic. In this case, one commander effect is giving a bonus to Attack, while the other isn't providing a "bonus" at all -- it grants an immediate attack outside the normal turn sequence.

Q: If I have 2 Stormtrooper Officers within 6 squares of a Stormtrooper who has not moved, would their commander effects stack and give the Stormtrooper a +6 bonus to Attack?

A: No. Commander effects do not stack if they provide a bonus to the same roll or statistic, and duplicate commander effects never stack. In this case, the Stormtrooper gets only a +3 bonus.

Q: The glossary definition of commander effects states that a character can't benefit from several commander effects that increase the same roll or statistic. In other words, a character can't benefit from the +10 Damage granted by Mon Mothma's commander effect and the +10 Damage granted by Captain Antilles' commander effect at the same time. However, can you use the bonus to Attack granted by one commander effect in conjunction with the bonus to Damage granted by another commander effect? Specifically, can a character use the +4 Attack granted by Captain Antilles with the +20 Damage granted by Chagrian Mercenary Commander (assuming the character scores a critical hit)?

A: Yes. A character can enjoy a variety of different bonuses from a variety of different commander effects all at the same time, so long as they apply no more than one bonus to any given statistic. In the example you describe, a character who attacks a Fringe enemy can add +4 Attack from Captain Antilles, and if it scores a critical hit, it can add +20 Damage from the Chagrian Mercenary Commander. However, it cannot also add +10 Damage from Captain Antilles, because it is already using a bonus to Damage from a commander effect.

Q: The commander effect rules state that two bonuses from commander effects can't apply to the same roll or statistic. However, some commander effects don't grant bonuses directly; they grant named special abilities. Examples include Durge (grants Momentum), Warmaster Tsavong Lah (grants Momentum), New Republic Commander (grants Careful Shot), Super Battle Droid Commander (grants Careful Shot), and Han Solo, Rebel Hero (grants Advantageous Attack). Can a character stack a bonus from these commander effect-derived abilities with a bonus to the same stat from some other commander effect?

A: Yes. When a commander effect grants a special ability, the ability is treated as though it were printed on the card. Bonuses conferred by that ability do not stack with any other instances of the same ability, but they would stack with any bonuses to the same statistic granted by other commander effects.

Q: Are direct bonuses from commander effects optional?

A: Generally, no. They automatically take effect whenever you qualify.

Q: A number of characters like the Aerial Clone Trooper Captain, Imperial Officer, Princess Leia, Bothan Noble and Padme Amidala Senator include a commander effect that grants an immediate attack at the end of their turn. Can an immediate attack be used on a character who has already activated?

A: Yes. The commander effect grants an immediate attack for the designated follower. This attack is outside the normal activation for that character, so it can act normally before or after the immediate attack.

Q: What does an immediate attack allow? Do they give the follower an extra activation? Can the follower use Force powers or abilities that replace attacks (such as Lightsaber Sweep or Grenades)? Can it use Twin Attack?

A: The designated follower gets a single attack only; it does not get an extra activation. The follower cannot use Force powers or abilities that replace attacks. Since Twin Attack works whenever a character attacks, it would work in this case.

Q: If you give an immediate attack to a follower who has not yet activated this round, does the follower still get to take its normal turn?

A: Yes. The designated follower does not count as having been activated by this ability, so if it hasn't activated yet in the round, it can still activate later.

Q: Can an Imperial Officer's commander effect grant an immediate attack to a Heavy Stormtrooper if the Heavy Stormtrooper has moved that round? The glossary definition of Heavy Weapon says you can't move and attack in the same turn, so I don't see how this could happen.

A: Yes, the Heavy Stormtrooper can gain an immediate attack from the Imperial Officer. Heavy Weapon doesn't allow you to attack and move in the same turn, but during the Heavy Stormtrooper's turn, he is only moving. Then, at the end of the Imperial Officer's turn, the Heavy Stormtrooper gains an extra attack. Thus, the Heavy Stormtrooper is not moving and attacking in the same turn.

Remember that a "turn" is the period during which a particular character is activated, and only a single character has a turn at any given time. Don't confuse it with a "round," the period starting when both players roll initiative, continuing until all characters on both sides have been activated, and ending just before the next time they roll initiative. See the Skirmish Basics section of the rulebook for more about the differences between rounds, phases, and turns/activations.

Q: Can the character who gains the immediate attack use the combined fire rules if an ally has line of sight to the target? In other words, can this attack get a bonus from combined fire?

A: No, you cannot combine fire on this attack (or on an attack of opportunity, for that matter). The Combined Fire section of the rulebook states: "When a character makes an attack on its own turn . . ." Thus, combined fire won't work with the immediate attack granted by the commander effect, with attacks of opportunity, or with any other attack that occurs outside of the attacking character's turn. Think of such an attack as a spontaneous opening that doesn't give the character enough time to coordinate with allies in laying down fire.

Q: If the character who has an immediate attack commander effect activates to provide a combined fire bonus to some other character's attack, can it use its commander effect just afterwards to grant an immediate attack to a follower?

A: No. A character who activates to provide a combined fire bonus to an ally's attack cannot do anything else on its turn. This means commander effects that take place at the end of the commander's turn simply cannot be used if the commander activates only to provide a combined fire bonus.

Q: If a squad has multiple immediate attack commander effects, can their commander effects be used more than once on the same follower? Or is this not allowed because commander effects don't stack with themselves?

A: The commander effect limitations don't apply here because there isn't an actual bonus involved -- different commanders are using their commander effects on the same follower on different turns.

Q: If the immediate attack includes a bonus to the Attack or Damage statistic, does that bonus also apply on a Twin Attack?

A: No. The bonus only applies to the immediate attack itself.

Admiral Yularen

Q+: Does Admiral Yularen's commander effect affect a character with Melee Attack if it uses an ability or power that makes the attack nonmelee, like Lightsaber Throw?

A+: No. The character still has Melee Attack, and does not qualify for this commander effect.

Baron Fel

Q: Baron Fel's commander effect grants +6 for combined fire instead of the usual +4. How does this work with the stacking rules? Does this increased combined fire bonus stack with a bonus to Attack from some other commander effect?

A: Yes. An attacker can add the increased combined fire bonus granted by Baron Fel's commander effect with a bonus to Attack from some other commander effect. In fact, the wording of Baron Fel's commander effect allows it to avoid the stacking limitations entirely. Baron Fel's commander effect doesn't grant a bonus to Attack; it changes how another bonus works.

Bastila Shan

Q: Here's the situation: Bastila has invoked Battle Meditation and Force Valor. Character A with Force Valor is attacking. Character B and Character C with Battle Meditation are combining fire. Can the +2 from Valor stack with the +2 from each Battle Meditation bonus? The two Battle Meditation bonus must stack for a +4, so is my total bonus from these two effects +4 or +6 and why?

A: +6. Combined fire is a separate effect and modifications to that amount are not considered a direct bonus from a commander effect to the attacker. The commander effect is working on the attacker's allies not the attacker itself.

Q: Is Bastila Shan considered a follower as long as she doesn't use her Force Powers that grant her commander effects and then a commander after doing so?

A: Yes.

Q: If Bastila Shan uses Battle Meditation can enemy characters within 6 of Thrawn still combine fire?

A: No. Once invoked, Battle Meditation creates a commander effect, not a Force power.

Q: Are enemy droids subject to the Battle Meditation restriction on combining fire?

A: No. Droids are not subject to commander effects.

Captain Mar Tuuk

Q+: Can Captain Mar Tuuk's commander effect modify the 1 activation from San Hill's commander effect? In DCI play can you activate 2 rather than the standard 1 when you go first in the round?

A+: Yes to both. (Note that the former question would not be applicable to the somewhat similar Grand Moff Tarkin and Admiral Ozzel interaction due to the difference in wording.)

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 657