Replicator Resources: Flight Controllers, You Better Learn The Picard Maneuver

One of my players, the ship’s flight controller, recently said he was considering using the Picard Maneuver during a battle.

I was stumped.

Don’t let it happen to you. For you viewing pleasure, the Picard Maneuver:

And in game terms, this would be a linear task:

• Obtain Sensor Bearing: This is a Reason + Science task assisted by ship’s  Sensors + Science with a difficulty of 0. Any momentum generated can be pooled or wisely used to create an Advantage for the next risky maneuver.
• Activate Maximum Warp for a Fraction of a Second: This is a Daring + Conn task assisted by ship’s Structure + Conn with a difficulty of 4. You move the Player vessel at 30 light seconds per hour into point blank range of enemy ship. Success means that the Player ship wins this Opposed Task indicating that the Player vessel caused the enemy vessel to lose their turn. Player vessel can immediately take another action, which is usually to Fire Weapon (see below).Any complications rolled could mean that the maneuver was not executed with precision, giving the enemy vessel an advantage and/or the opportunity to react. Failure indicates that the maneuver failed. The enemy ship gets to have a turn with -1 difficulty to any actions they take, including attacking.Note: This is an Opposed Task to see if the other crew is deceived by the maneuver. The other vessel must roll a Reason + Science task assisted by ship’s Sensors + Science with a difficulty 4. Winning this task means that the enemy vessel successfully gains initiative.
• Fire Weapon: This is a Control + Security task assisted by ship’s Weapons + Security with a difficulty determined by the weapon chosen. If successful, the Player vessel may add 2CD to damage rolled.

Nathan Dowdell, 2D20 System Developer for Star Trek Adventures, offers an alternative. He wrote, “Personally, I’d have gone with a normal Warp task to move several zones with the helmsman spending Momentum from that task to create an “FTL Afterimage” advantage. The advantage keeps the enemy from attacking you until your next turn (as they fire at where you were), after which you open fire. In short, don’t overlook the potential of a Conn character creating advantages that represent maneuvers and positioning as part of their actions moving the ship. They can make a big difference.”

Either way you team handles it, I hope this maneuver keeps your crew alive for a bit longer in a firefight.