Can someone Explain Overpower Starship Combat Action to me.


Rules Questions


So let's start with the description of the Action.

Overpower (Engineering Phase, Push)

If you have at least 6 ranks in Engineering, you can spend 1 Resolve Point and attempt an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × your starship’s tier) to squeeze more out of your ship’s systems. If you’re successful, this functions as the divert action, but you can send extra power to any three systems listed in that action. This action and the divert action can’t be taken in the same round.

My question basically boils down to the fact that I don't know what Extra Power means.

It says to treat it like the divert action. So does that mean you only choose one system but it gets Double the power, Triple the power? If so what does that mean for Weapons? Do they treat dice rolls of one as a three, or ones and twos as three? Or is it a choice of two out of three of the options? You can essentially use the Divert action on two of three systems.

I only saw one thread talk about Overpower and it was asking if you can do all three actions. Someone said nope with the reasoning of "It has to say you can or you can't. Divert is diverting, whether you divert to weapons or divert to shields or divert to engines.
Sorry, you can't all just keep adding more plugs to the same outlet. That's not safe even by starfinder standards :)"

Which I'm fine with I just need to know what the Extra power actually means because to me this is super vague whereas Divert Power is super Specific.


If you succeed at Overpower, you get to use the effects of a successful Divert on three systems. Divert is a different action that normally only affects a single system out of four possible choices.

So by increasing your DC and spending a RP, you can triple what is probably the most common engineering action. Instead of being limited to a choice between boosting engines (+2 speed), weapons (the very weak and uncertain increase to 1s rolled), science officer actions (+2), or restoring shields (5% PCU of your power core), you do three of the four.

Being able to boost both speed and shields in the same round is strong once you've taken shield damage. If you have a science officer actually doing something that matters then the +2 on that is the obvious third choice. Weapon boost remains pathetic unless you're doing something weird like linked railguns tossing huge numbers of d4s. Then it's just mediocre.

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