Skim the Surface
Starships of the Galaxy, page 28.
This maneuver allows a starship to get down beneath a larger ship’s shields, Dealing damage that bypasses shields and directly impacts on the hull.
Time: Full-round action.
Target: One starship or space station of Colossal (frigate) or larger in size whose fighting space you fly through.
Make a Pilot check: You may move up to twice your speed, passing through the target’s fighting space before ending your turn in an unoccupied square. When you enter the target’s fighting space, you attempt to dip below the target’s shields, allowing you to make a single weapon attack against the target that ignores the target’s SR. You take a penalty on your attack roll while making this attack, determined by the result of your Pilot check:
DC 20: you take a −10 penalty on your attack roll.
DC 25: you take a −5 penalty on your attack roll.
DC 30: you take a −2 penalty on your attack roll.
DC 35: you take a −1 penalty on your attack roll.
Special: If your Pilot check result to activate skim the surface is 19 or lower, you collide with the target vehicle. You may not attempt to avoid the collision, but the target may do so if it wishes.
Any gunners abaord a ship using skim the surface that has readied an action to attack during the maneuver may take their attacks when the pilot does. Such attacks ignore SR and take the same penalties on the attack roll as the pilot does. gunner who readies an action to attack in this way moves their place in the initiative order to immediately before the pilot’s, as normal.