Fire on board

[Monty crew]

Still new to game and would like clarification of fire damage. After you have used the extinguish fire action marker, does the fire marker on the ship damage track remain all the time or is it taken off ship damage track after extinguishing the fire. So is fire permenant damage to the ship and so fills a box on ship damage track until end of game. Many thanks.

[Bligh]

Hi Ken.
Fire damage markers on the ship Damage track is not removed, but on completion of the extinguishing action, the action marker and fire damage marker you have put in the Action box are removed. If you have not extinguished the fire or there are more than one fire aboard, you add further fire markers to the damage track each move until the action is carried out for all fires aboard.

Rob.

[Monty crew]

Ok thanks for your clarification, thought the fire marker might come off damage track. All clear now, many thanks for your time.

[Capn Duff]

Hi Kenneth, as Robs has said, fire damage is the only damage marker that can not be removed from the damage track, even if you use the damage repair action you can repair one box, except fire damage. Water damage can be pumped out once a repair of leak done but fire damage is perm. Plus remember that you get a fire damage marker on the damage track each turn for each fire chit in you special damage box. So you get three fire damage markers from a broadside its pretty much curtains for that ship as you can only extinguish one fire at a time per every other time, so multiple fires is Endex ��

[KirkH]

New to the game as well and my understanding of the fire damage rules means at a minimum one will have two fire damage counters on their ship damage track before they can extinguish the fire. Turn 1: ship takes fire damage. Turn 2: prior to planning phase ship takes fire damage and then during action phase ship plays extinguishing action - which is a delayed action. Turn 3: ship gains additional fire damage followed by fire being extinguished. From what I can see any time a ship takes fire damage it will gain a minimum of two fire damaged boxes. Is that correct? Thanks.

[Diamondback]

To be honest, sometimes I think that the official rules overpower Fire damage in the name of metagaming, much like WOTC giving the Axis & Allies USS Arizona a "Kill This Ship First Even If It Costs Half Your Fleet" special ability. Granted, when there's a fire at sea all hands run TO it to get it put out above all other priorities, but it would seem to me if you take a Fire and a Flood in the same turn the Flood should have a chance to kill a Fire.

Kirk, my understanding is the same as yours. Basically, if you have a Swan take a fire hit you might as well go straight to "ram it into the closest enemy ship you can find and Abandon Ship." (Though I'd like better Lifeboat mechanics for this...)

[KirkH]

I've read and re-read the rules on fires and that's what it appears to say. Any fire will cost you a minimum of two full damage boxes. As you said, a fire onboard is always a priority and I'd think it would be especially so on a ship made entirely of wood. Maybe I'll have to house rule it and say if the repair is the only action performed the following turn that it can be accomplished in one turn, limiting the damage to only one damage square. Of course the penalty would be that nothing else could be accomplished that turn.

[Bligh]

Firstly welcome to the Anchorage Kirk. Do not forget to introduce yourself to your shipmates on the Report for duty thread.
I personally limit the fire damage to one chit unless the crew are reduced to under 50%. After that the fire is as in the rules as written.
All my playing partners adhere to this. When they have driven miles for a game if it ends too abruptly they tend to feel somewhat miffed.

Rob.

[Argo]

Hi Kirk,
our group reads the official rules concernig fire the same way as you do.
But we are also of the opinion that these rules seem to be a bit "overpowered".

Our houserule is that the "extuingish fire" action marker may be played "in advance" when there is no active fire on board. To indicate that a number of crewmen are already standing by at key points in the ship to immediately extinguish an emerging fire.
If you have played it in advance, an emerging fire is extuingished at the end of the next round and therefore only causes one permanent damage.

[DeRuyter]

Same reading of the rule and I have always limited the damage much like others have said. If you are using advanced crew rules and you are low on crew and therefore actions watch out.

[KirkH]

That house rule basically accomplishes the same thing my house rule would do, which is to reduce the impact of fires. I may try my rule a few times and if it doesn't feel right maybe try it your way.