The Stars, Rent Asunder

Campaign Diaries & After Action Reports (AARs)
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

The DSU consists of the two powers that unified, the USK and PAA, the systems of Khorn-Tik'a, Nova Brasilia and Harloc-Kia.

That means four homworlds, two major colonies and one colony, or seven systems in total.

I'm going to be handling them like most unified powers I sometimes get--streamlining the main fleet, deciding which units are better for the purpose etc. Quite a few PAA units were weaker than their USK contemporaries, and the USK hull became the standard hull. But the Enterprise, Essex and Yucatan are still around, for the main fleet.

But the DSU is in the position whereby they're far and away the leading power, but with a lack of free Census, they're not going to get bigger by much (perhaps one extra system colonised) before the end of the year and hopefully a mass of new Census.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
Emiricol
Captain
Captain
Posts: 267
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:09 am
Location: Near Seattle
Contact:

Post by Emiricol »

I love the NPE rules. They make the game less predictable :) I think if you curb the DSU, a few unrelated INT powers would be far more interesting than one big one or a big alliance of them. It would give the DSU more to spend those diplomatic points on, really flex the NPE rules a bit. Few things are more satisfying than averting calamity on the Western Front by getting two hostile neighboring powers to fight each other instead of you.

I might do something similar with my Aloft the Republic campaign if the Salik menace is dealt with favorably. The UEA would love to start a war between two of their hostile neighbors, keep the fight going with diplomatic efforts, and sell war goods to both for the duration :)
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Thing is I'm already running close to a whole side of A4 for the turn orders. I might do what I usually do--put the NWA and the other splinter colonies into a single entry...

3001.05

The newly formed DSU starts life by moving exploration forces to the closest homeworld and construction of two new shipyards (one at New London and New America) is authorised. The sheer size of the DSU treasury and the raft of new designs in the pipelines means that a full refit and moving fleet units to their new positions can take place in three turns (I'm not using Extended Construction, as you may have guessed, simply because while its more realistic, sometimes a week passes without any turns being generated as a new plotbunny jumps into my head. A week or so ago it was an idea for a story which I'm still building the skeleton for, and I've been having an idea about a short-term VBAM campaign using the Commander system generation and several races. Its on the backburner, so to speak, but who knows when it might latch on and not let go)

Apart from this, not much happens (note: I may be changing this statement as my head is still working on the last couple of turns)

3001.06

The FC explores a jump lane that takes them bang into the middle of Neoni Soh. Both sides hit it off...the safety, that is. The FC explorers are destroyed by the active NR fleet as hostilities are declared.

A massive deterioration between the CEP and KRK occurs as both sides activate the same IND-2 power, the Free State of Horakh. The massive confusion ends when all three sides engage each other in a battle making up for ferocity what it lacks in scale. At the end, the FSH got off remarkably lightly, only requiring repairs to one of its heavy bases, but the CEP fleet is reduced to a few units and the KRK squadron is destroyed.

For the DSU, this is a nightmare. The fleet refit has just begun and fleets are nowhere near being filled out. For what its worth, the DSU declares hostilities against the KRK and lets the NR know that it will support their actions.

3001.07

The DSU succeeds in its hostilities check against the FC made as a result of the FC attacking the NR and the NR calling in their MDT.

The FC sends its fleet into Neoni Soh, just in time for the NR to activate its reserve units, which was the majority of NR fleet units. Both sides maul each other, but at the end of the encounter, the NR is the only fleet in existence, although down to two scout cruisers, a fleet carrier, a light fleet carrier and four battlecruisers and losing twenty flights of bombers, twelve flights of interceptors and having to land four remaining bombers and twenty-four interceptors due to inadequate basing.

In the north, the KRK and CEP war machines get rolling. The four reserve Titarias are activated for the KRK, while the Bismarcks are activated for the second time in two years. Despite a potential second front in the system of Horakh, the KRK doesn't have the supply range to attack through Horakh to reach Neue Europa in one battle, and can't wait for an invasion to be carried off to attack Neue Europa as they know soon the DSU will bring their bag of tricks to the party, and instead will attack through Farrikh to hit Neue Bavaria. The CEP knows this, but is worried that should they fail, the four Titarias with their single mass driver will level Neue Bavaria.

The DSU frantically moves its fleet units to their destination, but it will still be 3001.08 before they can stabilise supply lines to support the NR or the CEP. And that is not the most worrying thing. The fact is, if the KRK can defeat the CEP easily, they might be able to detach the main fleet to attack Nova Brasilia, the DSU's main entry point into the KRK, or even try to level Nova Brasilia with mass drivers and keep their assault units at Neue Bavaria to invade and try to strangle any possible attack by either the DSU or the CEP. The NR seems to be getting on just fine...

The FSH makes the technology breakthrough and is now an IND-3 power.

3001.08

The NR sends its fleet into Falgnoor and encounters the lone Rhitoraszak and two Kuraszaks they assume will be at Falgnoor. What they hadn't counted on were the twelve Fhuraszak light cruisers the FC hastily constructed. In the end, however, the superb jump by the NR and the fact that the FC were still working up their light cruisers proved to be the deciding factors. The NR destroyed the FC fleet, luckily without any damage whatsoever.

In diplomatic news, the NR had rejected an armistice offer made by the FC prior to the battle.

The CEP and KRK fleets meet between Farrikh and Neue Bavaria. In a move that helped the CEP to victory, the CEP commander sends his 60 flights of Viktors against the primary AD squadron of the KRK. The fact that the superb movement of the CEP helped them to secure the element of surprise also, it has to be said, helped this move. In the end, for minimal damage, the entire KRK fleet was destroyed.

The DSU fleet now are in position, and will move to Neue Europa next turn.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

3001.08 continued

The FC makes another discovery, this time linking to the KRK colony of Absilver. The KRK declares hostilities and the two Farrikhs in-system functioning as the system defence while the Beryllia and two Lithias were pulled back to Kryptonar easily destroyed the two FC explorers who were in no readiness at all

(Even without the -4 to the FC modifier for not making a hostilities check, the FC squadron already rolled a 1)

3001.09

The FC makes a second armistice offer. This time, the NR accepts. The FC is subsumed into the NR, but the sheer difference in size between the two empires, especially in census, means essentially that civilian and peacekeeping activities will remain divided between the two powers, and the military and exploration activities would become a unified operation between the two.

The KRK requests an armistice from the CEP and the CEP accepts. Both sides admit there was a massive mistake over the Horakh Incident (as the whole event has become known) and both sides return to their state of affairs ante-bellum--including the adoption of NAPs. The powers also sign a PT

(CM Notes: A bit of CM play here, but I believe its needed. The CEP and KRK before were pretty friendly, and it just took two political disasters to wipe the NAP and then declare hostilities. But both sides still have a Relationship over 50, and the DSU does as well. And the adoption of a PT by all three powers should ensure that two '1's doesn't cause a war. As the event happened when both sides discovered the FSH, I'm just taking it as that both commanders of the respective exploration forces were for some reason the Kryptonian and CEP version of Captain Jankowski)
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

3001.09 continued

The KRK constructs eight Cuprons and two Tungstarias as a last ditch attempt to defend Kryptonar from the CEP. Of course, with the war ending, these units will form the core of the new look KRK fleet.

The NR brings its fleet up to pre-war strength by constructing one Fhoshairan, three Fhotrairans, two Ghoshairans and four Ghotrairans and the necessary fighters to fill the carriers.

3001.10

The KRK constructs a further four Cuprons and two Titarias, and re-organises its fleet. The new builds are sent to Absilver to make up the primary task force that faces down the NR.

The NR does a fleet refit, converting its own scout cruisers into the slightly superior FC scout (better AF--4 vs 1) and constructing two FC assault cruisers and eight Ghotrairans to form the larger and better main fleet. Two new Rhitoraszaks are constructed, one at Falgnoor and one at Neoni Soh with attendent fighters, and four Fhuraszaks are built as the defence squadrons for both systems.

The DSU activates a new NPE, the Carnalim Empire. An INT-4 power, the Carnalim Empire has twelve systems in total and an economy very close in size to the DSU. The CE activated an INT-1 power, the Pyurvian Imperium, on the far side of the CE from the DSU. Both sides have not been at hostilities but the amazingly high XE stat for the PI--90--means even with a moderate Relationship only Normal Relations has been entered into.

(Still generating the CE at the moment. Their colonies are finished, but I've still got to do their bases. The CE have a superior tech base to the DSU--to be expected--and I decided that they'd have the Jammer trait as well. The way the fleet is shaping up is as a slightly better fleet than the DSU, but more expensive. Their main advantage, hopefully, will be the two classes of drone cruiser (S:AE strikers in a S:X form) and the drone DEFSAT which the CE employs, as well as those jammer cruisers.)
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Sorry updates haven't been forthcoming, but I keep on forgetting to bring along the turn updates.

A game year has gone past since the last update, but heres the news:

The Carnalim Empire has been a quiet power as of yet, but their diminuitive neighbours have had a change of name: the Unified Pyurvian Imperium. Amazingly, they activated a splinter colony which was able, somehow, to defeat the PI fleet in battle. As the PI automatically offered an armistice, I couldn't say that the PI would be subsumed by a power with less than half its income, so I joined the two powers together with the splinter colony leaders being very high-up in the PI government. The UPI has since colonised two systems and is very close to finally building up its fleet again, for the purposes (what else?) of facing down those Carnalim.

The Neonian Republic is no more. The DSU was neutral when the KRK and NR fought, but when the NR encountered and engaged a CEP squadron the alliance effect kicked in and the NR was destroyed in three battles. The KRK, which had fought the most, took Falgnoor and a colony system, the CEP the second FC system and the DSU took Neoni Soh in as a protectorate.

The FSH is now a CEP member world. As part of the armistice, the KRK seceded any claim over Horakh, concentrating on the NR, and the CEP went in.

The DSU has grown again, this time by placing two colonies in lucrative systems. New Canada and New Birmingham are new colonies but already wealthy.

And, in the last couple of turns, a new alliance has been discovered off New Wessex, now a member of the DSU after formally offering a unification. The three powers declared war first on the DSU and then on the CE when OFR scouts (the contact power with the DSU) discovered a CE system.

As of last turn, the DSU and the allied powers clashed between the OFR and New Wessex and the sheer shock of seeing the DSU fleet (the size as well as the uniformity of the designs indicating just one power) and the professionalism of the DSU decided the encounter.

(the threee allied powers are the Omazan Free Republic, Arunan Theocracy and Dvonkyi Union. The Dvonkyi are the larger power and had standard designs, the OFR went for smaller designs carrying ultralight fighters and the AT had drone cruisers)
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Another few turns generated.

The Omazan Free Republic is almost certainly finished. After massed bombardment against troop positions, the DSU landed a marine division onto a militia quickly thrown up to repel them. Omazlor, the homeworld, is now part of the DSU for now, and the CE have moved to the free world of Omazra with their entire fleet against at the most two heavy cruisers, four light fleet carriers, the exploration force, a couple of scouts and a bunch of frigates.

The DU and AT built up a potent fleet to face off with the DSU fleet and was actually more potent, in terms of total AS power, than the Unifed fleet that fought at the contact system a few turns before. But withering fire from the DSU and bad dice rolls by the AT and DU means, so far, the DSU seems to be capable of completing their conquest soon.

And even if the DU and AT had won, the DU were already at hostilities with a new power, the Devenarii Commonwealth, and their allies, the Grand Duchy of Nahetul and the Lhoren-Okhran Free Union, two DC splinter colonies unified and with a partnership with the DC. And the DC are larger than the DU.

At the moment, there are three alliances: the DSU/CEP/KRK alliance, arguably the most powerful one around (the DSU outproduces the DU/OFR/AT alliance alone) and with the CE as reasonably good friends (Co-Belligerency), the DU/OFR/AT alliance which is now doomed (OFR almost carved up and both DU and AT homeworlds within one turn's travel of Dvonkar, the system in which the DSU is in now) and the DC/GDN/LOFU alliance which is not that large, compared to the OFR/DU/AT alliance.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
mwaschak
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 854
Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:43 am
Location: The data mines of VBAM
Contact:

Post by mwaschak »

Thank you for the continued update.

-Jay
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Finally, the CE and DSU accept the Southern Alliance's armistice offers (automatically made every turn since the battle over the contact system since each side lost 200-350 EP of units) and splits the Alliance in two. The DSU takes over the AT, Dvonkar and Omazro, the CE takes Omazra and the rest of the DU, and Omazlor is administered jointly by the DSU and CE.

The DC arrives in Dvonkar ready to fight the DU, but finds a large DSU fleet in the system. Both sides, despite being pretty edgy, get off quite well and enter normal relations.

However, a cloud on the horizon has formed when the GDN explored a jump lane into DSU territory. Both sides are frosty but despite a positive hostilities check for both sides, they enter into normal relations.

The CEP smashes the LA fleet, an IND-2 power that made a declaration of hostilities soon after the CEP discovered them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

State of the campaign:

The DSU and CE are the largest powers around by a fair margin. Then comes the KRK and CEP, then the DC, UPI and GDN. Four splinter colonies and the LA make up the remaining nations.

The DSU, with its surplus EPs, seems determined to bring about a new era in the fleet. Better engine technology seems to be the order of the day along with attempting to mimic the CE's drone cruisers and jamming technology as well as improving the existing scout technology. Plans also exist to research mass drivers to put onto a small class of bombardment cruisers, but other members of the DSU are not so sure about it and would much rather see research into fighter technology, maybe along the lines of what they have seen with the DC fighters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As it is, I might pull the plug on this campaign in a few turns. Now the CE and DSU have an MDT between them, there are no chances of a really campaign-making conflict unless a really advanced race pops out somewhere and declares war. Even then, the DSU seems to have the luck of the dice.

And drone technology hasn't really been that great either in the campaign so far. As it is, only three powers have drones--the CE, the AT and a small power or splinter colony. I think it might be the way I've written the rules, but to be effective a drone cruiser needs a high CR rating (or be in a squadron with such a ship) and a lot of drone flights, but they are hideously expensive to maintain. Take the VaRuat drone cruiser, an AT design. It had 24 flights of drones and cost 9 EP to build, plus 8 for a full complement of drones. But it cost 5 EP a turn to maintain (4/1 for the cruiser, 1/24 for the drones).

I might change the carrier rules for strikers, maybe to +1 maintenance bracket for every 8 flights, maybe even 12.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Campaign End

When generating the last turn, the CEP offered and the DSU accepted an offer of unification. The DSU would then have been raking in 504EP in system income and 100EP from trade (worked it out that every single system would have been on a trade route with the nine trade fleets around)

Tried to work out how to police and refit the DSU and gave up--namely as the DSU was so large that a fleet travelling from one of the Arunan Theocracy former systems to Lelovra would have taken seven whole turns, and I decided to get three large fleets--which would have bankrupted the DSU even with its large economy.

I'm thinking of a campaign either with the primary power or powers as alien species or an alternate universe campaign with a European/Japanese alliance as the primary power. Difficult to decide. I'm just killing some time at the moment in between campaigns, mainly to clear my head.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
User avatar
MarkG88
Commodore
Commodore
Posts: 737
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:25 am
Location: Ohio

Post by MarkG88 »

Very vivid and fun campaign. Thanks for posting it really shows the depth you can get out of the VBAM system.
User avatar
murtalianconfederacy
Captain
Captain
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Aboard the MCS Bavoralkin

Post by murtalianconfederacy »

Well, gave up my replacement campaign after just two years. Played with two human and one alien power to start off with (they generated two splinters pre-campaign) and quite simply it wasn't 'fun' to game.

I'll try and get the campaign written out soon, but the main points were:

Two conflicts between the United Terran Coalition (an European-Japanese power) and the Central Asian Union (a Russian-Chinese power) that started when the UTC entered the New Rodinian Union, the CAU splinter colony, and ended when the CAU, after being beaten in round one of the war, lost two colonies, then had a secession attempt by another of its colonies (which was attacked by raiders as a special event which I resolved as them helping the colony) and then declared war on the UTC again, being subsumed into the UTC (phew)

Another conflict between the UTC and IC on one side and the Unaka-Maisharin United Kingdoms and New Central League (a UMUK splinter colony) on the other. The IC and UMUK knocked each other out almost when a battle that took eight of the nine turns ended with just three IC vessels on the battlefield, aided in no small part by the plethora of bad dice rolls by the UMUK after around turn 3-4. These three, however, had mass drivers and they bombed the UMUK colony whose system they were in. The UMUK offered an armistice and was accepted, and the war ended with a return to the pre-war borders.

A Berserker ship (ancient derelict) got released on the UMUK in a colony, and the vessel destroyed the three UMUK cruisers there then almost depopulated the colony in one go. This is where I stopped the campaign--it wasn't turning out as good as I'd hoped, to be fair.
Not every laser dot has a loaded gun at the end of it
Post Reply