As a reminder I get the questions from all sources: Email, discord, facebook and blog comments. I do reword them a bit to fit the blog format and due to the fact that many are questions I have been asked by multiple people.
If you post your question as a blog comment, I promise I will include it in the next week round up. (unless I skip a week, then itll be the next one after that :) )
General questions:
Do you ever make rules just for yourself that we don't get to see?
On occasion yes and usually for fun and my own enjoyment. I am currently working on a vanity project for myself which is basically 2nd edition 40K, adapted to various 19th century conflicts.
Should I house rule when I playtest my own rules?
I think this is a bad idea unless you realise something is completely wrong. Play at least a few turns with the rules as you wrote them down, then revise and reset.
Five Parsecs questions:
How does recruiting work if my campaign crew size is not 6?
You substitute the actual crew size you are using for your campaign. Note that this is what you pick at the start, not your current crew. So if you are playing a 5 crew campaign, then you recruit automatically if you have less than 5 crew, instead of 6 as it says in the book.
K'Erin with boarding sabre. How does the dice work?
Roll twice and pick the best (K'Erin). Then choose if you wish to reroll (Sabre). If you do, you must take the final result.
Is there an official answer to when you should determine the identity of a new rival?
The intent was to roll by the time you are fighting them, but a lot of players prefer rolling when the rival is assigned to you. It works fine either way.
Five Leagues questions:
If I am backed into a corner and lose the combat but don't die, do I fight again?
Yes. You keep fighting until you die or win (pushing the enemy back).
All 5X games:
Are enemies aware of my crew if they cant see them?
Yes. Unless an AI rule specifically refers to line of sight, assume the AI is always aware of your crew. You may of course choose to roleplay it a bit more realistically, but in that case you really ought to make it apply both ways.