Federation vs. Klingon Playtest

Gareth_Perkins · Post by **Gareth_Perkins** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:49 am

Is that complete, or will the basic VBAM rules be needed as well?

mwaschak · Post by **mwaschak** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:39 am

Gareth_Perkins wrote:Is that complete, or will the basic VBAM rules be needed as well?

That is complete as a stand alone product. Right now a lot of the text is dedicated to optional rules and the objective campaign system. We just have to see how much survives editing.

-Jay

Rainer · Post by **Rainer** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:49 pm

I would add that this project is a bit source-specific. While there are some clarifications and revisions to the rules, it is not quite a replacement for the basic campaign guide either.

Gareth_Perkins · Post by **Gareth_Perkins** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:23 am

Cool,

That was one of my bugbears with the JChronicles book - you needed both that and the VBAM book (plus possibly the Moderators Companion), and needed to refer between them within a section, as each had something to say about each different part of the turn or subject.

Much easier with everything in one place (especially as it's a .pdf product anyway),

Rainer · Post by **Rainer** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:24 am

Turn 4 is now complete.

The Feds did not come back with a stronger force and the locals at Battlecreek will surrender at the end of the turn as they finally realize the wisdom of joining the empire. If they had not surrendered, I would have switched to suppressing productivity next turn to prevent of a build-up of ground troops.

The recruited troops will still be dispatched to make sure my new subjects stay loyal.

mwaschak · Post by **mwaschak** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 2:05 pm

Rainer wrote:Turn 4 is now complete.

The Feds did not come back with a stronger force and the locals at Battlecreek will surrender at the end of the turn as they finally realize the wisdom of joining the empire. If they had not surrendered, I would have switched to suppressing productivity next turn to prevent of a build-up of ground troops.

The recruited troops will still be dispatched to make sure my new subjects stay loyal.

I was a little surprised the response was not stronger, but glad to see the victory conditions and operational framework is working. It will up tension nicely, but so far nothing too nasty has occured. I was thinking about some more tension modifications based on what happens on neutral planets.

On that note, pound for pound the CL is not on par with the D6 either. I need to regauge the starting forces ever so slightly.

-Jay

terryoc · Post by **terryoc** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:52 am

The Klingon D6 is about 130 points, the Federation CL is 115 points, and probably not even worth that much - it seriously lacks punch with only two heavy weapons.

The Federation NCL is probably closer to the Federation D6 in capabilities, although it may actually be a tougher ship than the D6.

mwaschak · Post by **mwaschak** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:37 pm

terryoc wrote: The Federation NCL is probably closer to the Federation D6 in capabilities, although it may actually be a tougher ship than the D6.

That is a good point. In a straight up fight the NCL seems to do better overall. However, the Federation frigate seems pound for pound better than the starting Klingon frigate, at least in my experience.

I am trying to balance scenario forces

.

-Jay

Rainer · Post by **Rainer** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:41 am

Turn 5 has been finished and it has been fairly quiet.

A Fed patrol has been snooping around one of our colonies but there is not much I can do about it right now. A F5W will be sent to investigate.

Otherwise several malcontents will be shipped off Battlecreek while loyal troops will be shipped in. I am also building factories in the system so that the population has something to do instead of grumbling.

terryoc · Post by **terryoc** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:39 am

However, the Federation frigate seems pound for pound better than the starting Klingon frigate, at least in my experience.

In FC, the Federation Frigate has a weird advantage in that it's got a little more discretionary power than the SFB version, which means it can load the torps while flying fast and using evasive maneuvers. It's VERY hard for any enemy frigate to deal with this.

To balance the starting forces, perhaps "spot" the Klingon an extra E4 light frigate or something?

mwaschak · Post by **mwaschak** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:55 pm

terryoc wrote: In FC, the Federation Frigate has a weird advantage in that it's got a little more discretionary power than the SFB version, which means it can load the torps while flying fast and using evasive maneuvers. It's VERY hard for any enemy frigate to deal with this.

I was actually playing a game with my friend Steve last Friday when this very thing happened. I had just enough systems working to maintain a fantastic speed, and keep the photon and drone firing.

In this "default" scenario on the Klingon border I am trying to balance the start forcing to coincide with the bracket technology system, which means I am trying to keep the initial start forces low tech.

So, I settled on:

Federation Starting Forces
1x Light Cruiser
3x Frigate
2x Convoys
1 Mobile Base
1 Frontier Shipyard @ Erasmus
3 Regular Ground Units

Klingon Starting Forces
1x D6 Heavy Cruiser
3x F5 Frigate
2x Convoys
1 Mobile Base
1 Frontier Shipyard @ Korrandi Prime
3 Regular Ground Units

What do you think?

With the current detection and long range scanning rules in place, I am curious how Dan will react to your frigate's pursuit.

-Jay

terryoc · Post by **terryoc** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 2:26 am

That setup looks good.

The Klingon's heaviest unit is better than the Federation's heaviest unit, but the Federation has better small units, so it should balance out.

Gareth_Perkins · Post by **Gareth_Perkins** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:11 am

Is tension a global variable, or is there a tension score held between each possible pair of Empires?

In other words, in a three player game is tension a single value representing tension in the region,

Or do the Feds have a separate Tension score with the Klingons and the Romulans, with them having their own tension score for Klingon-Romulan relations?

mwaschak · Post by **mwaschak** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:53 pm

Tension is a global variable. With that said I have tried optional rules for diplomatic tension that drove the current diplomatic situation, and determined when a war might start between two parties or if they trust each other enough to allow trade. That was starting to push the page limit so I may have to put the relationship tension system elsewhere (or just post it here).

Tension is really part of the smaller campaign, which us the VP system. The party that turns the sector in to a hot spot gets some serious VP penalties. It can be a fine line to walk for a player who receives some pretty aggressive orders from his superior commanders.

Please let me know if you would like some more information.

-Jay

Rainer · Post by **Rainer** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:42 pm

Just to keep you guys updated, we are currently busy going over the rules so that editing can commence. Book size is currently at 165 pages.