Topic: Vehicle Combat Initiatives Question

[DavidKlecker]

Does it really matter who goes first during the first phase of vehicle combat? That is does initiatives really matter during the first phase of vehicle combat. This phase is when the pilots and engineers are getting more out of the ships DB and OB. I find this phase to be more setup than the actual combat itself as this phase is determining OBs and DBs that will be used during phase 2, the weapons firing phase. I can definitely see where in phase 2 initiatives are important in that a ships weapons could be knocked out before the ship even fires. However I cannot see how initiative is all that important during the first phase since we are just rolling maneuver rolls.

[DavidKlecker]

Let me add an additional question.

when the player rolls for a bonus to DB, OB, and EW, is it possible for the bonus to be negative? Say they didn't roll high enough and the maneuver bonus returns -30? Would that be then a -30 to weapons, or defense, or Electronic Warfare?