Revenant · Board game rules
When does "When using a Dropship" trigger with Frigates?
Quick answer
A Frigate can trigger the Dropship-style "land on a planet" action only when a player chooses that specific Frigate action, following the exact same landing rules as a Dropship.
Details
The Frigate has three possible Main actions, one of which is "Land on a planet. Resolve one of the two Planet actions and take the Discovery Data cube (like a Dropship)" [p.4 — Frigate (player ship)]. This means the Frigate uses the identical procedure defined for Dropships: it must move onto an unoccupied Planet card adjacent to its Sector, this landing does not count as a move, and it stops the Frigate's movement for that turn [p.4 — Dropship (landing on Planets)].
Once landed, the Frigate resolves one of the two Planet card actions exactly like a Dropship would — one action is always a Mining location, and one represents the corrupted part of the planet (choosing it grants 1 Corruption) [p.4 — Dropship (landing on Planets)]. The Frigate also collects the Discovery Data cube from the Planet card, which goes toward the Frigate board's Discovery Data cube collection (draw a Hidden Influence card upon collecting a third cube) [p.4 — Dropship (landing on Planets)].
If a planet already has another ship on it, it's considered occupied and the Frigate cannot land there, same as a Dropship [p.4 — Dropship (landing on Planets)]. Frigate actions can also be modified by Equipment cards or by placing certain Crew figures on the Frigate, which may alter how this "land on a planet" action functions [p.4 — Frigate (player ship)].
Watch out: This Dropship-style trigger only applies if the player specifically selects "Land on a planet" as their Frigate's Main action — the other two Frigate options (dealing damage, or adding an Absorber) do not involve planets at all [p.4 — Frigate (player ship)].