Author Topic: Theban Empire  (Read 38191 times)

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Offline Paul M

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Re: Theban Empire
« Reply #225 on: April 11, 2021, 02:31:15 PM »
Yup there are bunches in Starfire where it is like that Kurt.   It is part of what makes the dynamic of the game go.  Also the generational changes as technology advances.  Part of what I thought they killed in Galactic Starfire and later editions.   Fighters have been seriously nerfted by the addition of S0, Ai, Dz and Zi.  Basically they remove the ability of a fighter user to wear down the enemy as you can't knock ships out of datalink, you can't as easily get into the blindspot to launch your fMs, the passives are a lot higher so you need more fighters hitting.  I wasn't intentional but boy does it make it impossible to reproduce the Rigillians from ISW3.

Starslayer was basically saying GBs are too easy to kill with the shoot on them with a -3.   There is some truth to this, as once the GB is into sprint range of a Wa armed ship they die in job lots.  Beam weapons shooting only once are less effective but still dangerous.  I have to admit that I still think they are too un-affected by minefields, but doing it according to the new rules seems to swing way to far the other way...they basically evaporate in the field (10 mines fired per squadron 10 to hit, reduced to 7 so 7 hit; then for prototype GBs 2, 2, 3 mines attack each gunboat and mine attacks are 5 to intercept no doubling up so:  25%/25%/13% of the time they are stopped so basically 1-7/1-7/1-9 each proto-GB dies.  That is too much, but the 1 in 10 to-kill is way too small (it is correct for the older mine and PD rules though).  An unsupported GB strike seems to require closing the distance extremely fast, we even added 1 MP to the prototype GB otherwise they were too slow.   We also changed them to have 2 in-line racks rather than the 2 side ways racks they have in the UTM.  This allows them to carry missiles and ripple fire fMx and such.

The d10 does make things scale coarsely...and a +1 or +2 becomes huge.   EDMs just are more rolls so I'm not sure what you mean.  EDMs have a 3, 4 or 5 in 10 chance of decoying an inbound missile.   You still have to roll. 

The UTM is not officially available and technically isn't available at all being part and parcel with copyrights and such...that being said I feel it is likely that if you express an interest in it...somehow it may show up in your inbox.

From the point of view of the Urloki they would be happy to take out the Cervii but they face a 100 HS closed WP on the Cervii side.  It is guarded by BS4's and presents a challenge much like what the TFN faced in the end of the Theban war.  Anytime I work out how many pods I need the numbers come up as obscenely high.  Possibly with the SCN contributing more advanced pods it becomes do-able...or with armoured bricks to sweep the mines....how many are on the closed WP?  100, 500?  Even Urloki crews would have a heck of a time...for a BB sized ship 2 or 3 mines from the 25 attacking per pattern would hit...and they would be stopped on a 6...so 100 patterns could be survivable by the 1st ship, the second ship would face 50 reduce them to 25, the 3rd ship would face 25 reduce them to 12 the fourth ship would reduce them to 6 and the 5th ship would take that down to 3 patterns which would be removed by the SBMHAWK waves.  Only the rules about how the mines react to transits on top of them make this even work....and there are ways around it for the defenders. 
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 03:33:21 PM by Paul M »
 

Offline Paul M

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Re: Theban Empire
« Reply #226 on: May 14, 2021, 03:56:06 AM »
Turn 299
Romulus Star System
Survey Force One--Initial Grav Survey underway

Centurion Charles DuPont swore softly as the message of the text decrypted on his screen.  "What have you got there Lucy."  The sensor signals built a map on the other screen and the pulse of a drive field contact was clear.  The first message had come in 2 hours earlier, this message was an hour old more or less, as his Discovery class survey cruiser was some 15 minutes from the survey support vessel whose communications suite was tieing his dispersed command together.

The drivefield had shown up on the Pathfinder 3's scanners and her commander had initiated first contact protocols.  About 40 min later he had known about this, and right now the contact group was diverting from a grav survey of the inner systems lower half to take over the job of talking to the Aliens.  Only...they were not talking.  Infact, and this is what had spooked his on-site CO they were not doing anything one expected.  The contact was moving insystem at military cruise speed...not that unusual:  Survey Command prefered to not use military grade pscionic amplifiers but you could make the argument either way.  But from the point they showed up they could see there was a habitable world and while you could exclude a major population from the detection range...the drive field they would have detected would say this system had a population.  Various SOPs existed for that...including retreat...but no one didn't usually stop and let the natives come out to say hello and at the same time didn't attempt to start talking to them.   But not these people...for the last 2 hours Pathfinder 3 had sent everything it had over the whole frequency range and gotten nothing back.

He looked at the message and nodded then started to type.  Pathfinder 3 was headed for a rendevous with the other 2 destroyers of the division.  They were the latest Pathfinder refit and were intended for close warppoint defense as well as survey work.  Their problem was a lack of anything like long range firepower but close in the destroyer divisons laser mounts were still a threat.  He paused and then started typing more.  He most certainly had a bad feeling about that drive field contact.

Orders went out to SF1's distributed ships.  The Discovery class CLs were to loop back to the entry warp point, the Searchers were to rendevous with each other and head home as well.  The Pathfinders were to rendevous with each other. 

....

The three Pathfinders rendevoued and launched their 3 assault shuttles.  The 3 shuttles that had been following them peeled away to return to their mothercraft.

....

"Well that ... explains that...."  The wireframe of the alien assault shuttle was decidedly familier.  It was, infact, the basis for the advanced assault shuttles carried on the Pathfinders, and they had just driven off the ones he had seen.  His back popped as he stretched.  "We got lucky."  His first officer nodded.  "That we did, a few weeks earlier and we would have all been in the inner system."  Centurion DuPont started typing more orders.  His resupply vessel would load the 3 pinnances it had with supplies for the Pathfinders and they were to take a trip to the outer system where the remains of its formation formed a loose cloud around the star.  That would give them 3 months and stop them from having to reveal the entrance warp point.  Unfortunately it was a type 4 so would be easy to find but fortunately it was also at 29 LM from the primary and it would be a while before the aliens would approach it.  More CDs were launched these ones containing the identity of the contacts.  It would be a week before they arrived at their final destination.

....

"Not so much of a surprise."  The latest report from his Pathfinders was they had gunboats following them now.  Those particular alien ships all carried gunboats.

....

SF1's ships slid around the aliens who had turned back when the Pathfinders had crossed the 32 LM mark.  One by one or in a small group they formed up.  One of the Highlander class heavy cruisers remained in Romulus to keep an eye on the aliens.  Drive field down it was unlikely to be spotted and the other two CAs of its division plus the 9 armed pinnaces in the 3rd survey support vessel were ready to support it.

Turn 299/Turn 300

The Courier Drones launched earlier arrive at the fleet bases in Waymeet and Surprise.  The ships stationed or passing through those systems are ordered to move to support SF1.  The other drones take longer and cause a much bigger stir when they download to a station linked into the communications network.  Shanirian Naval Command orders 1st Fleet to prepare for departure.  All its capital ships still need refits but the rest of the fleet prepares to get underway.