The following Luftschiff questions and answers were compiled from several e- mails exchanged with Phil Eklund, the designer, in November-December, 2001. All questions were written in reference to the May 6, 1999 version of the Luftschiff rules. 1) Do bombs dropped on zeppelins cause critical hits? The summary in I13 indicates "no" on page 10, but "yes" on the back page of the rule book. A blunder. They do cause critical hits, add this to I13. I am changing the master. Good catch. 2) RNAS raids can arrive at 900m or 1100m altitude (J15). What determines which altitude should be used? If the raid consists of two aircraft, do they both arrive at the same altitude? Its your choice. The way I play it, If one plane, enter at 900m, If two planes one enters at 900 and the other at 1100. 3) The note at the top of page 13 talks about the HMS Vindex and its armament, but contains the phrase "... in the Mediterranean ...". The HMS Vindex also appears in several London Raid missions, not just the Mediterranean. In these London Raid missions does the HMS Vindex have the armament described in the note (14 MGs + Light Flak), or is it armed as a standard battle cruiser instead (2 x 3" AA, Light Flak, 14 MGs)? In the North Sea, the Vindex is a standard Battle Cruiser. It was modified for service in the Med. 4) When a British seaplane tender appears (J19), and it has two aircraft available, which aircraft starts aloft? Should I determine randomly, or assume the first aircraft listed starts aloft and the second one starts on the ship? This has been changed to state that one random seaplane starts aloft. 5) How is my crew's effort at snow removal from my zeppelin's elevators performed? Once I send a crew counter out onto the elevators, do they have to roll a "1" on the repair table or is it automatic? Does the effect of shoveling snow occur all at once (all 8 static lift recovered instantly), or incrementally (1 static lift recovered per turn/success)? Another good catch. Revise to read: In the Advanced game, the snow load is shoveled off (one step per turn) by sending a brave crew counter out on the stabilizer per L29. 6) When damage to an airplane reduces it's Never Exceed Speed to less than it's current speed, is the airplane instantly destroyed by overstress (per note following H5) or on a die roll of 1-2 (per I18 Airplane Critical Hits table on back of rule book)? The note following H5 was revised last year to state on a 1 or 2, to conform with I18. 7) I don't understand the weight loss associated with a control car being smashed or knocked off on the L39 Crash Landing Damage Table. The example, note, and text of L40 seem contradictory in regards to how much static lift in gained in each case. Can you clarify this for me? Also, does this lift increase include the counters that were occupying the control car at the time of the crash, or are they added up separately? You are right, this is messed up. Never was playtested, unfortunately. Does this work? NOTE: A desperate Zeppelin commander may deliberately knock the control car off the ground or on a peak. This will lighten Section A by 9 steps (plus the steps for any counters in the control car) and disrupt the entire Zeppelin crew. Those in the control car will die if a "1" is rolled, roll for each counter. Q: Now what about when a control car is smashed? Any weight loss associated with that, prior to the car actually dropping off the zeppelin? A: No. Q: The entries in the Crash Landing Table list the weight of the control cars when they are smashed, leading one to believe there is some weight loss associated with them. A: I am removing this weight reference for smashed cars. Thanx. Q: I noticed there's an empty square in the keel of Section D on the Type M zeppelin that is unlabelled. Is a counter supposed to be placed there? A: No. Just a spot where a counter can move to. 1) When an aeroplane has it controls jammed (critical hit #4), does that include the throttle? Is it allowed to use powered acceleration or deceleration? Control surfaces are inoperable, but the throttle remains undamaged. 2) Do Torpedogleiters require a die roll to hit their target, or is it an automatic hit if they successfully fly/dive into the ship's location at sea level altitude? I intended an automatic hit. However, I play with ZRCV rules now, and treat torpedogleiters like dive bombers, using Table V5. 1) How is ground-based or ship-based machine gun fire resolved? So far I've assumed that it's treated the same as aircraft MG fire, in that I count the distance from the MG source to the zeppelin and add that value to the roll of two dice, then check the result on the zeppelin's Cell Hit Distribution Table (aeroplane) for the closest section of the zeppelin. This all presumes that the zeppelin is at or below the maximum height for ground-based MG fire, of course. Is this correct? Should I be using the Cell Hit Distribution Table (antiaircraft) instead? Or should it be resolved in a manner similar to light flak or AA fire? A: It is treated the same as aircraft machine guns. I also play with deflection per ZRCV rule U14. 2) In order to bomb a target does the target have to occupy a space directly below a bomb-carrying section of my zeppelin after both zeppelin movement and British interceptor movement is completed, or can I drop my bombs by simply having passed over the target during that turn? In other words, do I have to plan my zeppelin's move (especially speed) so that the target is located directly beneath the zeppelin at the end of the turn's movement, or can I go screaming past at high speed and drop bombs from those sections that are deemed to have flown over the target during that turn? A: I play with that the bombs must end up directly over the target. This agrees with the anti-ship bombing rules in ZRCV, see V3. L30 should be rewritten to say: Whenever a section with bombs ends a move directly over a target, ... 3) Regarding ship movement, having played a couple missions with early-war zeppelins, it occurs to me that it could be impossible for a zeppelin to out- run a ship during a maritime segment, especially a battlecruiser or destroyer. If this happens, how does the maritime segment ever end? A: If playing the Advanced Game, it is possible for the Zeppelin to turn, see L10, and move off the other end of the map. This aborts the mission. Another way is to use up the 10 maritime cards, which will leave the ship behind as it goes over hostile land territory, or if it lands at its shed. 4) Do all ships move their maximum distance to the left every turn, even if this would cause them to move off the left edge of the map? This can happen either because the zeppelin is moving slower than the ship, or has made a decentralized turn and is flying "to the right". So far I've assumed that they will try to stay on the map (in other words, that they are trying to chase my zeppelin and not escape from it), but it can create a situation described in question 3 in which the maritime segment doesn't end. A: I play that the ships move to chase the zeppelin. They can move "up to" their maximum rate per F13. 5) It appears that neither clouds nor fog have any effect on air-to-air combat, except that airplanes on the ground can't start their engines during fog. Is that correct, or am I missing something? Should air-to-air combat be prohibited if one or both aircraft (airship and/or airplane) are within a cloud layer or fog bank? A: Yes. This is a mistake, it should be added to F10 that no air-to-air combat to or from any aircraft in clouds or fog. Q: I just encountered the balloon barrage for the first time. When it appears, does it extend across the entire mapsheet like clouds, or is it only assumed to be in the position where the card itself is located? I assumed the latter, otherwise my zeppelin would have had no time to avoid the balloons. A: Correct, it is the latter. I will clarify this. Q: I also just made a landing (a rather bad crash landing, as it turned out) for the first time. I assumed that the objective was to land when the last card (representing the zeppelin shed) was within the gray area on the mapsheet. Correct? A: Correct. It sounds like you finally got one home. Congrats. Q: Also, the zeppelin landing rule (L38) says that landing with any forward speed causes me to "roll 2 die for cell damage." My questions are: 1) Which cell(s)? 2) On what table? 3) Why, if the zeppelin has landed, is rolling for cell damage relevant? In case a gondola gets knocked off and the ship rises again? A: Change to read: Coming down with any forward speed (one or more) will automatically roll 2 die for cell damage (as if hit by anti-aircraft). This represents hull crumple. 1) I've been assuming that, except for when day changes to night as described in F1, aeroplanes will continue to pursue a Zeppelin from one mission territory to the next. For example, say on a London Raid mission I'm facing a British plane. While he's in the air and on the mapsheet, the final card of the Hostile mission territory passes off the end of the sheet. I now have to reshuffle the cards and draw 10 new ones, and start the homeward Maritime territory. Night becomes day, and the aeroplane remains on the mapsheet and continues to fight my zeppelin. Is this correct, or do aeroplanes never transition from one mission territory to the next? A: You are correct, they are as relentless as hounds. The Avro 504, with 8 petrol coins, is particularly insidious, although only a few were converted to an 8 hour tank. 2) I realized yesterday I've been overlooking the rule in J16 that says British ships are removed from the mapsheet when the Zeppelin shed is in play on the mapsheet. Is this true for both outbound and return maritime territories, or just return? If both, how are the ships "removed" during the outbound maritime territory, and do they still count toward the completion of the territory or do I draw a different card to replace them? A: Both. They are removed during outbound & inbound. They count toward the completion of the territory, they are just ignored (& removed). 3) Minor point: L32 says petrol may be pumped from one section's tank to an adjacent section's tank by performing mission A4 from the control car. I believe this should read A2, not A4. A: Right you are. I have corrected my copy. 4) Rule J24 says I can continue to search for targets over hostile territory if I choose. When is this decision required to be made? As soon as the last card of the initial hostile territory deck is placed on the mapsheet, or anytime before the last card leaves the mapsheet? It makes a difference because, if I don't have to make the decision until just before the final card leaves the mapsheet, I may get several game-turns of relatively low-risk flight over hostile territory because there are no new situation cards remaining to be drawn. A: Add as final sentence to J24: This decision may be made anytime before the last Hostile territory card leaves the map. 5) Finally, I want to recap an earlier question to make sure I understand. Rule F1 says that a mission territory is complete when the last situation card leaves the map. For maritime territories, it is possible that a Zeppelin may encounter a British ship that is as fast or faster than the Zeppelin (due to engine damage, or simply due to the slow speed of early-war Zeppelins). If this happens, then the British ship will remain on the mapsheet indefinitely and the maritime territory will never be completed. Is the only option for the Zeppelin in this case to abort the mission via rules L9 and L10? A: The appearance of the final maritime card, i.e. the zeppelin shed, will vanquish the pursuing British ships (i.e., they are removed.). Q: That's true for homebound maritime territories, but what about other maritime territories? On a London Raid, for example, how will I ever get to England if I can't move fast enough to get the ships off the mapsheet after leaving the Zeppelin shed? A: Change the fifth sentence in F1 to read: Any pursuing ships or planes turn back (are removed) with nightfall. Q: But isn't nightfall defined as the end of the maritime territory and start of the hostile territory? If so, that still leaves the question of how nightfall occurs if the maritime territory doesn't end because of the ship(s) staying on the mapsheet. A: You are correct that I have a poor definition of nightfall, and dawn. To make everything consistant, I believe the appearance of the first card of the new territory signals the change to night or day. This would be a rule similar to the rule that the Zeppelin shed card appearance banishes ships. Replace paragraph F1 with the following three paragraphs: F1. COMMENTARY. The deck of Situation cards is shuffled and ten cards are dealt, face down. This is for the first territory (maritime), as the Zeppelin travels over the North Sea, arriving at England after sunset. When this deck is used up, the entire deck is reshuffled and ten more cards are placed face down, for the night flight spent over hostile territory. F1a. NIGHTFALL During a raid, night is considered to have fallen as soon when the first hostile territory card appears on the map. Any pursuing ships or planes turn back (are removed) with nightfall. When those are used up, the deck is reshuffled and a final ten cards are placed for the Zeppelin's daytime return over the North Sea. F1b. DAWN Daybreak occurs when the first maritime card appears on the map after a raid over hostile territory. The maritime return trip happens during the day. Q: You might also add one more note after F13: NOTE: Ships are not brought into play, and ships already on the mapsheet are removed from play, when the card representing the Zeppelin shed is on the mapsheet, see J16. A: Great minds think alike, I had added to the note after F13 as follows: NOTE: Ships cannot be the first or last card drawn in the game, see D3. Ships are removed upon nightfall (F1a) or if the Zeppelin shed (J16) appears. Q: According to F1 in my version of the rules (May 6, 1999), "When this [the 10-card deck for the initial maritime territory] deck is used up, and all cards have exited the map, the entire deck is reshuffled. Ten more cards are placed, face down, and the first one revealed, for the night-time flight spent over hostile territory." Your revisions make it sound as if the transition from maritime to hostile territory, which also corresponds to the change from day to night, can somehow occur in spite of the fact that there are still ships on the mapsheet. A: Yes, the original rules (May of 1999) did not allow night to fall until all "day" cards were off the map. You have pointed out where that can cause problems. Therefore, I am proposing reversing cause and effect. Night will fall regardless of the machinations of humans. "Time and tide wait for no man." I am dissatisfied with my earlier definition of nightfall, because it is too sloppy. Not only ships, but planes with a lot of fuel can delay nightfall. This can be rationalized because the time element is so variable in the game, but still I need to avoid too much fiddling. The best way to do that seems to be what I suggest, by having nightfall come as soon as the first nighttime card appears on the map. Q: I thought the rules were pretty clear that aeroplanes turned back at nightfall, which was when the situation cards were off the map. A: Yes, I meant to say dawn. My mistake. Aeroplane night fighters seemingly can delay dawn, which bothers me. Q: My understanding (or maybe MISunderstanding, help me out here) from rule F1 is that ships, which are situation cards in play on the mapsheet, must be moved off the mapsheet via the normal movement rules BEFORE the transition from maritime to hostile (and also day to night) can occur. In other words, the removal of all cards, including ships, from the mapsheet causes the change from day to night. What you've proposed seems to indicate the opposite, that the change from day to night causes the removal of ships from the mapsheet. If that's true, then I don't understand what triggers the transition from day to night, the removal of all situation cards EXCEPT ships from the mapsheet? Or are you saying that the deck should be reshuffled and new cards be drawn BEFORE all the cards from the previous territory deck have left the mapsheet? A: When the ten day cards are all used up, and a die roll demands another draw, shuffle the deck of available cards and pick a new one. This will be the first night card, and all the day fighters and ships will be vanquished. Q: No reason why this shouldn't work, but there might be some ripple effects that you'll have to clarify or change elsewhere in the rules. For example, once the draw deck is exhausted do you continue to roll for new cards based upon the current territory's chance of occurrance, or the upcoming territory's? A: Good question. Current territory. Q: And when you need to reshuffle to create a new draw pile, do you take every card off the mapsheet and reshuffle, or just the ship cards? A: Good question. All cards taken off, except wind, snow, and solar heating. Q: And if it's the latter, what if the one and only primary target card is still on the mapsheet from the previous territory? Can it be bombed for victory purposes, even though it was not drawn from the hostile territory draw deck? A: The target cards signify Raids or peaks when over maritime or alpine. They should be removed if night falls, although this is odd if its a peak. Q: Also, do these new procedures apply to all instances when moving from one territory to another, on all types of missions, or just the night missions? A: All changes of territory. Your Ob'd Servant Philip Eklund Sierra Madre Games Co. 2525 E. Prince, #72 Tucson, AZ 85716 U.S.A. (520) 324-0523