Ambush and Camouflage fields are means of hiding ships from probing sensors and even to the visible eye. They operate by trapping electronic and optical signals and giving off the impression that what you can see is just like a normal starfield. Once set up, they can be very difficult to detect unless you just happen to wander into one, which is generally an unheard of occurrence considering that space is so big. A ship generates these fields, but they operate on a fixed area of space. The field protects anything within this area.
As well as trapping signals from the outside, they also keep signals in, so that a ship may move and speak freely within the field. However, a camouflage is not perfect and patience is required of those within the field so as not to give their position away.
Ambush and Camouflage fields are identical in nature, the choice of terms generally comes from the philosophy of their users. Ambush fields are generally used by the Cylons to lay traps for enemy fleets. Camouflage fields are used by Colonials to hide fleets and refuelling stations for their troops. However, as both use the same technology, both can be used for either role. Rumours abound of 'cloaking devices' used by individual Cylon ships, but as of 7200, there is no proof to say that this technology exists.
In the following text, the terms Ambush and Camouflage fields are interchangeable.
Note: Ambush fields require a high degree of trust between all players involved, in fact probably more so than anywhere else in these rules as the player controlling the ambush field will be noting the range between ships and the field, calculating modifiers and in fact doing most things aside from rolling the dice. This will continue until the field has been discovered. As such, if there is any doubt, you may want to use an impartial referee to check that things are being done accurately.
Note also that these rules borrow elements from (D17.0) Tactical Intelligence. However, it should be noted that this is not Tactical Intelligence and unless stated in this section, no actual Tactical Intelligence rules should be used (such as EW modifiers and (D17.25) Prolonged Exposure).
Not all ships are able to create a camouflage field. Fighters, shuttles and yachts are not able to create them (exceptions are Patrol Ships which can produced limited size ambush fields). Almost all other types of ship can create camouflage fields. While civilian ships also have the potential to be able to generate fields, it is not a standard thing to do and thus can only be employed by ships with qualified military personnel. Generally, this means that a civilian ship cannot create a field unless a scenario declares otherwise.
All camouflage fields are rated with a field strength. This is the amount of ECM shift that the field gives in certain situations. A field strength of 1 gives a -1 shift of ECM and is equivalent to 2 points of ECM. The maximum rated field strength is 3 for a total of a -3 ECM shift.
The maximum rated field for a civilian craft is 1.
Ships with a powered dedicated scout sensor may get a field strength of 3, other ships are limited to a maximum of 2.
A generated field can move with the controlling ship, although the faster the ship generating the field is moving, the more distortion that is created, which makes detecting the field easier.
Generating an ambush field is generally outside the boundaries of a normal game. It takes time to set up the field, usually more time than a scenario will last. In addition, if set up during a game, the opposition would normally be able to figure out the position of the field relatively quickly.
Instead, fields are set up before the opposition come into range. Then they will not be forewarned of an ambush or the fact that there are some hidden ships present.
As such, a scenario will state whether or not any such ambush fields are already in place, and if they are, what their field strengths and sizes are.
There are not many requirements for a ship to operate an ambush field, the technology is relatively simple if you know what you are doing. However, fields are power hungry devices.
The energy cost of keeping a field up and in place is as follows:
(Hexes covered x2) x (field strength +1)
A field is spherical in nature, centred on the generating ship. Energy must be paid in the energy allocation phase, and if it is not then the field is considered dropped. Energy must be paid in whole hexes.
Thus a ship generating a strength 2 field covering a mega-hex of 7 hexes would require 28 points of power each turn.
Power ships are a prime way of generating the power needed for creating ambush and camouflage fields.
A ship can perform a certain amount of activities within a field without being detected. These include moving, launching fighters and shuttles and operating ECM at a level lower than the field strength.
A ship that has generated an ambush field may also perform all these functions, and in addition, may continue to move as well. The ambush field is centred on the generating ship, so if it moves, the field will move as well. Note that the faster a field is moving, the more chance there is of it being detected.
A ship trying to detect other ships may use its normal sensors or may use any dedicated scout channels, if it has them. A ship may make a number of attempts to detect an ambush field equalling the number on its highest active sensor box. Thus a normal undamaged ship may make up to six attempts.
A ship with dedicated scout channels may make an additional amount of attempts equalling its normal sensors attempts per channel, or it make use that channel to improve the chances of detection on its basic sensor attempts.
For example, a ship with undamaged sensors and 2 dedicated scout channels may make either 18 detection attempts, or 12 detection attempts with 6 of those having a +2 modifier and 6 of those being normal attempts. or 6 attempts each with a +4 modifier.
The detection amount is the total amount of detection attempts that may be made per turn. Each attempt may not be made within 4 impulses of each other. A ship with dedicated scout channels may treat each channel as a different set of sensors that may be used at the same time as other sensor attempts, but not within 4 impulses of each other.
Thus, following on from the above example, if the ship were using its scout channels to create additional detection attempts, then it would have 18. These 18 attempts would be split into three groups of 6 attempts. Each attempt in each group could not be used within 4 impulses of each other, but could be used to give three detection attempts on a single impulse (one per group).
Colonial Asps, Cylon Wraith or Heavy Scout Raiders may make a total of 6 detection attempts per turn, or 3 with a +2 detection modifier.
Normal fighters and shuttles may only make 2 detection attempts per turn.
A dedicated scout channel must be powered and may not be used for any other purpose on the turn that it is used for detection.
In step 4: Sensor Lock-On Phase of the Turn, a player must allocate how his scout channels are going to be used for detection - whether they are going to give additional chances of detection, or whether they are going to increase the basic sensor chance of success.
Scout channels are blinded as normal, and on the impulses of blinding, they lose any bonus modifiers they may be giving.
Normal sensors are not blinded by weapons fire.
A ship trying to detect an ambush field has to roll a d6 and add various modifiers. The result needed depends on the range. Use the table from (D17.3) to determine the letter code that is generated by the ship type and the range to the detection field. This letter will produce a number (from the table below) which is the result needed (or greater) to gain information on the ambush field. This number will be modified by certain factors that are listed below. Note that all modifiers are to the number only, there are no modifiers to the letter code or range.
Note that the owner of the field will be the person to determine the letter code and will be the person to work out the modifiers. This information should not be given to the detecting player (although they will be aware of some of these modifiers from their ship status).
Colonial Asps, Cylon Wraiths and Heavy Scout Raiders should be treated as SWAC shuttles for purposes of determining their range.
All rolls for detection should be made in Phase 6B3: Tactical Intelligence Interrogation of the Lock-On Stage of the Turn.
Note that a sensor sweep using these rules will cover the entire map and thus has a chance to detect each and every ambush field that may be present, although multiple fields will require a separate roll per field.
| Letter | Partial Info | Full Info |
|---|---|---|
| A | 20 | 24 |
| B | 18 | 22 |
| C | 18 | 20 |
| D | 17 | 19 |
| E | 16 | 18 |
| F | 15 | 17 |
| G | 14 | 16 |
| H | 14 | 16 |
| I | 13 | 15 |
| J | 13 | 15 |
| K | 12 | 14 |
| L | 10 | 14 |
Modifiers to the die roll include the following:
+ Current Sensor Rating of the detecting ship
+2 per dedicated scout channel used for improving the detection chance
+1 per powered lab dedicated to information seeking
+1 if Partial Information is already known
-2 per field strength of the Ambush field
+ Speed modifiers of the ambush field generating ship:
| Speed of ship | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 0-4 | +0 |
| 5-8 | +1 |
| 9-15 | +2 |
| 16-20 | +4 |
| 21-25 | +6 |
| 26+ | +6 |
Undamaged fighters and shuttles are assumed to have a sensor rating of 6.
Crippled fighters and shuttles are assumed to have a sensor rating of 2.
Labs may be used to increase the chance of detection. Each lab employed in this way must be powered (1 energy point per lab powered) and can do nothing else that turn. However, each lab may add 1 to each and every detection attempt for a single group of sensors. Thus a ship operating scout channels as additional detection attempts will have to allocate their labs to individual scout channels.
Partial information tells the detecting ship that something is definitely out there. The field owner must tell the detecting player the letter code of information (this will tell the range bracket that the field is in) and also what fire arc the field lies in - LF, RF, LA, RA. If the field is moving, this is also known as is the hex direction of that movement, however the actual speed is not known. In addition, gaining partial information gives a +1 to all future die rolls.
Full information tells the detecting player exactly where the ambush field is, how big it is, what strength the field rating is, what speed it is moving at and what direction. Note that the contents of the field are not detected.
Note that once a ship has gained full or partial information on an ambush field, that data will be transmitted to all other ships of the fleet as standard.
If a ship has gained full information on an ambush field, then finding out what is inside that field is very easy.
The easiest way is to enter the field. Once inside, all ships and objects present will be automatically detected and this information can be communicated out to other ships in the fleet. A ship entering a camouflage field automatically knows that it is inside one.
If a ship is on the outside of the field, then they have to 'lend' O-EW points to cancel out the field strength. Each rating of the ambush field should be treated as a EW shift, thus to cancel the effects of a strength 1 field, the ship would need to lend 2 points of O-EW to the field.
Lending O-EW is done as (G24.219) with the exceptions that more than six points can be lent to the field.
Simply cancelling a field will allow that ship (and any that it is broadcasting to, which is presumably the rest of the fleet) to know the location of each and every ship within the field. However, ship types and classes are not known, but launched fighter flights will be easy to spot as a hex will contain eight craft.
Lending enough O-EW to give a shift of EW above the field rating will let the lending craft know the location and types of all craft within the field according to normal Tactical Intelligence rules.
To use this, the following table summarises the various EW points that need to be spent.
| Field Strength | Cancel Field | Shift Above Field |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | 16 |
Note that a lending craft does not have to have a lock-on to the field, but the ambush field must have had full information gained against it.
Additional O-EW lent to a field has no effect, and any O-EW lent to a field does not effect the craft inside at all.
Once craft within a field have been detected, then they may be attacked as normal, with the ambush field supplying its field rating as EW against the shots being made. Note that an ambush field provides no other protection for its contents, and the EW of the field is only applied against shots being made that have to penetrate the field. If all combatants are within the field, then no EW is applied.
Craft within a field are always free to shoot out, and the fields EW is never applied against the weapons fire being made, regardless of whom it is from.
As has been stated, ambush and camouflage fields are not infallible, and there are ways for a craft to give its position away even with the field up.
The following conditions will cause a craft to give its position away.
Moving, launching fighters/shuttles, having EW of less than the strength of the field, will NOT cause a ship to be detected.
Note that a ship giving itself away may cause opposing ships to realise that there is actually an ambush field present!
If a ship gives its location away, then that ship must be placed on the map. The ship type is not known, but the relative position will be. These ships can be fired upon as desired. Treat the range of the ship as if it were doubled, and then apply the ECM shift of the field to the die roll. This simulates the firing ships sensors attempting to get through the ambush fields strength without having a solid firing lock nor information on the ambush field itself.
In addition, any ship suddenly appearing on the map, whether it is from leaving an ambush field or by it giving its position away, automatically gives Partial Information to any detecting ship.
Until the ship stops doing actions that may cause it to be discovered, it will remain on the board and all movement will be known.
If a ship that has given itself away stops doing the actions that caused it to be detected, then it will again be hidden.
The general rule is that any normal SFB terrain that will void an SFB cloaking device will void a camouflage field. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
An ambush field has no attempt on terrain, and the field itself offers no protection from terrain effects. A ship with an operating field will not cloak spatial terrain.