Sometimes it becomes necessary to hide ships. This may be because the ships are trying to escape enemy forces; sometimes it is because the ships wish to avoid detection so that they can ambush enemy forces. The terms Ambush or Camouflage apply to both types of field which operate under the same principle. The ambush field works by trying to block out optical and electronic signals, shielding the hidden units from prying eyes.
The Cylons use the term Ambush because that is what they generally use them for, while the Colonials use Camouflage fields mainly to hide their troops and stations. In the following section, both words are used interchangeably and both types of field can be used to either ambush or camouflage..
There are two terms, which are used to describe ships in various states here:
Detected: This term is used to describe a ship which has been detected but not identified. A counter is placed on the board for all detected ships, and these move like normal ships, but unless they do something to give themselves away, the opposing player will not know what that ship really is. They will know whether it is a ship, fighter flight or shuttle only. Only ships within an ambush field may be detected. Once out of the field, they are always identified.
Identified: An identified ship is one that has been detected and the opposing player knows all about it, such as the ship type. In most normal games, all ships on the map are considered identified.
Ambush fields require a certain amount of honesty amongst players, probably a little bit more than usual. Players can make opposing players dice rolls and plot their own ships on paper. If this trust can not happen, then a referee or third player will be required to make these rolls and check all plots.
Almost any ship, with time, can generate ambush fields. Exceptions to this include all civilian ships, fighters and shuttles which cannot create ambush fields. However creating an ambush field takes time, and thus may not be conducted during a game, they must be generated before the game starts.
Any ambush fields that are operating at the game start, will be specified in the scenario, as will the ship controlling the field, and the strength of the field.
When generated, an ambush field covers a certain amount of hexes, centred on the controlling ship. This area is always a radius and never an irregular pattern. All units within this radius are hidden from units outside the field. As such, they are taken off the board and their movement and actions plotted on a scrap of paper. When they are detected, the unit is placed back on the board, but turned upside down. The counter therefore shows that a ship is present but allows for no details to be revealed.
In addition, the ambush field has a rating which determines the strength of the field, this ranges from +1 to +3. Only scout ships may generate +3 rating ambush fields, patrol boats are limited to +1, while other ships may generate +1 to +2 fields.
Units inside an ambush field can perform certain actions without giving themselves away. These include moving and launching and recovering fighters. Scouts may also spend scout points, but if the total amount of modifiers on a ship exceeds the rating of the field, then that ship will be detected and should be placed on the board.
For example, if a CL was in a rating +2 field and had three points of ECM given to it by several scouts nearby, then it will show up like a lighted beacon on enemy scanners.
Any other action, like the firing of weapons, will cause the ship to be detected.
An ambush field has the ability to move. If the controlling ship moves, then the ambush field will move with the ship, always centred on it. The faster the ship is moving, the greater the chance of detection as the ambush field loses its coherency. Note that while the controlling ship may move at a differing time to other ships that hide within it, provided all those ships stay within the field at the end of the movement phase, they will remain hidden throughout the turn.
Every ship in a fleet has a chance of detecting any and all ambush fields that might be floating around the board. Based on the range of a particular ship to the ambush field, use the following table to determine the detecting number. This should be rolled (or less) on 2d6 with the modifiers listed.
| Range | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3-5 | 6-15 | 16-20 | |
| Capital Ship | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Fighter/Shuttle | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | - |
Modifiers:
-1 If the ship has a Flag rating
-1 Per scout point spent by a scout ship on its detection rolls
-1 If the fleet has partial information on a particular ambush field
+ The rating of the ambush field
-1 If the field controlling ship is moving at speed 1-2
-2 If the field controlling ship is moving at speed 3+
All detection rolls should be made in segment 7 "Lay or detect mines" of the Movement Phase, before any missiles are fired. While there is no reason not to, ships never have to detect ambush fields, but if there is no cause to suspect an ambush field sensors will not be actively panning for them as it gives the fleet away with all the active signals being sent out.
The player controlling the ambush field should make all dice rolls, and they should be made in secret, which means that the opposing player will not know the number required to detect the field, and thus the range.
Sometimes there are multiple ambush fields on the board. If this happens, then a separate dice roll will have to be made for each ship detecting each field. Remember that every ship has one chance to detect every ambush field. The detection number may well be different for each field, and the Partial Information bonus only applies to specific fields.
If the detection roll is failed by 1 point, then the sensing ship knows that something is out there, just not what exactly and where. Gaining Partial Information gives the fleet a -1 on all future detection rolls against that specific ambush field only. In addition, the ambush player must tell the sensing player in which fire arc the ambush field is in, and what base detecting number is currently needed (without any modifiers) to detect that field. If the field is currently moving that turn, then the direction of travel must be declared, but not the speed.
If any ship appears on the map for one reason or another (such as it doing something to give itself away), then partial information is automatically given for that field.
If the detection roll is made, then the sensing player knows exactly where that ambush field is, and in addition knows the extent of the field, its strength and the location of all units within the field, and its current speed and direction of travel. These units are considered to be detected. From then on, that ambush field will always be visible on the board.
Once units have been detected through an ambush field, they can be attacked. Combat is handled as normal, save that attackers firing from outside to inside the screen will suffer a die roll modifier equal to the strength of the field. Shooting from inside to outside will not incur any such modifiers.
The ambush field acts as a barrier to all electronic warfare and weapons fire that passes through the field, although this only acts on the way into the field, not the way out. This means that all weapons fired through the field gain a modifier to their die roll, but in addition, all electronic warfare passing through the field does so to. Effectively, treat all ships within the field as being protected by a variable amount of ECM and Missile Disruption equalling the field strength. Normal maximum modifiers of ±3 are still in force.
Enemy scout ships can do two things. Either they can use their scout points to try and rid the penalties by using their abilities to target individual ships - a scout could apply ECCM to counter the effects of the field for example - or they can use some new special abilities.
Identify (target effect): This ability is used to determine what a particular ship is. Unlike normal EW, the EWE of this ability is 20 hexes, the maximum detection range of ambush fields. A number of scout points equalling the strength of the field must be spent, and if so, the target ship is fully identified. Its counter should be properly labelled and placed on the map. Note that a ship not detected cannot be identified. If more scout points are used than the rating of the field, there is no additional effect. Note also that the ambush player does not have to tell the scout player the strength of the field, only whether their identifying attempt has worked or not. Over time though, the strength of the field can be calculated using this ability.
An ambush field need not have been discovered for this ability to be used.
Mass Identify (area effect): This ability is designed to try and blanket the effects of the ambush field so that scanners can identify all ships within it. It is better than the standard Identify ability in that if successful, all ships within the ambush field will be located and identified, meaning that there will be no hidden ships within the field anymore. Unlike the standard ability though, the ambush field must have been located first. In addition, normal EWE is in effect. The scout point cost of this ability is quite expensive too, so several scout ships in the same turn may pool their scout points for this. The scout point cost is equal to the rating of the field multiplied by 2. By spending this amount of points, all ships within the field will be detected but not identified. By spending a number of points equalling the field rating multiplied by 3, all ships will be detected and identified.
One easy way for any unit to defeat any and all effects of the ambush field, is to move into it. There are no penalties for moving through the field. Once in, all units within the field are detected and identified and so should be placed on the board correctly labelled. Any ship within the field is not effected by the field itself, so will not get any protection from the field from other units within the field. Thus units can attack each other without having to add the field rating. This applies to electronic warfare from scout ships within the field as well.
While units outside the field will get the benefits of knowing what is exactly within the field, they will still have to contend with the field rating until they move inside, or the field is dropped.
If ships on the side of the ambush field enter that field to get away from an enemy fleet, then they will gain all the modifiers of the field, but they will not actually be able to hide and will remain identified. This is because ships have already got the signature of the fleeing ship locked and they will be able to track it, even within the field. If all pursuing ships left the board and then came back, then the fleeing ship would be able to hide as it could have shut down its engines and power sources and created a new signal for itself.
Losing an ambush field can be accomplished in two main ways. Firstly, the controlling ship can be destroyed. If this happens, then the field is dropped once the ship is destroyed. As all combat is effectively simultaneous, this will happen in segment 10 "Apply all Damage effects" of the Combat Phase.
The other way for the field to be lost is if the controlling ship drops it. The field can be dropped in the Initiative Phase of the time, and once dropped may not be raised again. All units within the field will become visible and will lose all elements of surprise (although they may be surprised themselves!).