More D20F questions

[Dark Dragon]

Hi,

recently, three members of my party had a little space fight, and as rookie to d20F, I'm not sure if I DMed it right.

Ok, the party is D&D FR based and on a mission in a futuristic world (similar to the wasteland setting in d20F but on a higher PL). Some party members "learned" Starship Operation, Starship Gunnery, Pilot and Computer Use by implants. The pilots are two archer-type PCs with quite good BABs and Dex, the third is a monk. They were flying two-seated Katana-type assault fighters (PL 8) and tried to save an almost crippled heavy transport (PL 6) which was under attack by a frigate and two escorts (all PL 6 with trained crews).
I calculated the PC's attack as follows: 1d20 -4 (huge ship) - 4 (PCs are untrained) + 5 (targeting system) + Gunner's Ranged Attack Bonus.

My first question: Is the Gunner's Ranged Attack Bonus equal to BAB + Dex modifier (I used this version) as in D&D? Or is it the same as given in the table in d20F, Starship Combat? If it is the latter, level and Dex seem to play only a minor role in starship combats. A level 20 archer with Dex 20 (untrained starship gunner) would have the same chance to hit a ship as a level 1 pilot (also untrained) with Dex 12. Any ideas, corrections? Or missed I something?

Second question: The combat sequence for a starship is composed of two move actions and one attack action. If a ship has a pilot, a gunner and two guns (a missile and two linked semi-automatic beam weapons), can it fire all of them or only one?

Thanks for input!
The Dark Dragon

P.S.:
The fight against the frigate and escorts was finished relatively fast: I rolled really low, the players came up with a lot of crits, blowing up one escort with two shots and destroying two of three weapon systems of the frigate during the first two or three combat rounds.

 

[Ranger REG]

My first question: Is the Gunner's Ranged Attack Bonus equal to BAB + Dex modifier (I used this version) as in D&D? Or is it the same as given in the table in d20F, Starship Combat?

As stated in the book. (See page 110 in d20 Future.)

[Houserule] But most gamers feel that they should not add their own ship's size penalty to their own attack roll. After all, they're firing the weapons, not the ship which is merely a platform. The only thing that matters to them is that the opponent ship's size penalty is applied to its own Defense.

Take your pick.

If it is the latter, level and Dex seem to play only a minor role in starship combats. A level 20 archer with Dex 20 (untrained starship gunner) would have the same chance to hit a ship as a level 1 pilot (also untrained) with Dex 12. Any ideas, corrections? Or missed I something?

Exactly which table are you referring to?

The page I referenced above refers to the text.

Second question: The combat sequence for a starship is composed of two move actions and one attack action. If a ship has a pilot, a gunner and two guns (a missile and two linked semi-automatic beam weapons), can it fire all of them or only one?

I may be wrong about the book's interpretation, but if the "ships as creature" model is applied then the entire ship is allowed two move actions and one attack action.

[Houserule?] Regarding crew-manned ships, I would allow the pilot PC/NPC to use the ship's actions as above, while non-pilots PC/NPC use their regular allotment of actions per round:

move action -> attack action
attack action -> move action
move action -> move action
full-round action