Okay, I don't see any other threads about this, so:
SOM, pg. 40 lists the "Boarding Resistannce" value of a starship when using the abstract rules as:
BR = defending starship tier + security modifier + training modifier.
Simple enough, charts on pg. 41 are perfectly clear. But the attacking boarding party uses this formula to determine results:
d20 + boarders' tier + complement modifier + training modifier
Why is there a d20 in there on the attack but no basic 10 on the defending side? You get 10 for AC, TL, KAC, EAC - really any defensive stat in the game where a d20 attack roll is involved. This whole subsystem's a little wonky, but that's the biggest break with the general mechanics.
Without that 10, even a fairly tame boarding effort (eg a single breaching pod of specialized robots - 11 BP and an expansion bay for that) can be starting with adds that are higher than the base BR, and it only gets worse if there's a major NPC officer leading it or the party can't spare people to actively defend the ship - say, because they're in a starship combat at the time, which is the norm for these rules.
So - typo? Part of the problem is the crazy generous complement modifier chart (defenders have to outnumber attackers by more than 5:1 to apply an actual penalty to boarders) but I'm convinced the lack of a base 10 in BR is the real problem, and wholly unintended.
