The Battle for Saguntum III: Centauri vs Earth Alliance

Turn/Time: Turn 3/January, 2261

Scenario: Annihilate

Terrain: Two 8″ radius Density 6 Asteroid fields in the middle of the table.

Situation: An EA task group jumps a smaller Centauri carrier group during scouting of an unexplored Major System. Outnumbered, the Centauri must cause as much damage as possible before withdrawing.

ToE:

The Earth Alliance:

TG Acheron, consisting of

• 1x Omega (EAS Acheron)
• 1x Nova (EAS Vauban)
• 3x Hyperion (EAS Aeneas, Clio, and Omdurman)
• 2x Oracle (EAS Delphi and Pythia)
• 4x Artemis (EAS Artemis, Telemachus, Chimaera, and Manticore)
• 2x Olympus (EAS Pompey and Scylla)
• 2x Starfury Wing (1689th and 1776th Combat Wings)
• 2x Thunderbolt Wing (1066th and 98th Assault Wings)

The Centauri Republic:

• 1x Primus
• 1x Balvarin
• 1x Darkner
• 1x Dargan
• 2x Corvan
• 1x Vree Xixx

Setup: The Centauri set up their forces in a compact line towards the center of their table edge. I split TG Acheron into two sub elements, one based on Acheron and her escorts and one based on Vauban and hers, and placed them roughly on either side of the asteroid cluster. I placed the three Hyperions in the middle of my edge as a mobile reserve.

  

The Battle:

Turn 1:  Screened by their stealthed Corvan scouts, the Centauri fleet stayed clustered and rapidly closed with Vauban and her group, which likewise strove to come to grips with them as quickly as possible. The 1689th’s Starfuries actually reached effective weapons range of the Centauri fighters, but the stealth systems of the Rutarians completely frustrated the more primitive Earth tracking equipment and no lockons were achieved. In the meantime, the Centauri were busily concentrating their superior ranged firepower on the EA capital ships and EAS Pompey went up in a ball of expanding gasses without even firing a shot. Acheron and her escorts strove to close on the flank, but were hampered by the rocks and debris of the asteroid field. Fortunately, the fighters of the 1776th and 98th were not similarly hindered, and streaked through the tumbling asteroids towards the enemy.   

Turn 2: The right half of the battlefield became a chaotic mess of furious dogfights as the Starfuries closed in to deal with the Rutarians ship to ship. Once in visual scanning range, the Centauri cloaking was useless, and the Earth fighters tore into their opponents with a vengeance. A battle laser from the Darkner smashed into Vauban’s engine room and drastically reduced her speed, leaving her helpless in the front arc of the advancing Primus. Unable to escape, Vauban’s captain turned her broadside to the enemy and prayed for a lucky critical. Sadly, his prayers went unanswered: the broadside shot did minimal damage and the Primus’ salvo blew Vauban into flinders. She was soon avenged, as concentrated fire from Omdurman and Clio, who had joined the fight, shredded the Darkner (identified from wreckage as HMS Sestarii) who had doomed the ill-fated Nova. Prowling the edge of the battlefield, the intrepid captain of the Pythia lined up his boresight laser on the Xixx and fired, crippling the unlucky Vree. Beyond the fray, the Balvarin continued to clear her fighters for space as fast as possible.

Turn 3: Though the newly launched fighters from the Balvarin continued to engage the Starfuries, the Earth Alliance had effectively gained fighter superiority, and the 1066th and 98th’s Thunderbolts began their missile runs on the Centauri capital ships. Though they failed to score major damage, the Thunderbolts did whittle down the Centauri interceptor defences. Acheron was rapidly closing on the Centauri left flank, and their Admiral realized this was his last chance to cause major damage before the trap closed. The Dargan lined up carefully on Omdurman and ripped into her with both her frontal and starboard weapons, tearing her apart. Hungry for vengeance, her sister ship Clio trained her own beam weapon on the Dargan (identified from wreckage as HMS Gallico) and blew it in half. One fragment tore into the already crippled Xixx (identified from wreckage as VCS Lawgiver) and destroyed it, while another slammed into one of the Corvans, causing massive damage. A salvo from Pythia killed the last of the Corvan’s crew, rendering it dead in space.

   

Turn 4: As Acheron closed in, the Centauri Admiral gave the signal for his group to scatter and withdraw. The Balvarin slipped off the table edge and escaped, while the remaining Corvan ran for the side of the board. This left the Primus without support, and her captain opened a jump point and trusted the sturdiness of his relatively undamaged ship to see him through it. At first, it seemed as though the captain’s gamble would pay off as the railguns of Acheron’s Artemis escorts hammered at the Primus’ hull. His luck ran out, however, when Aeneas hit  her magazine (Vital Systems, Secondary Explosions), and a cheer went up throughout the Earth fleet as the Centauri battleship (identified from wreckage as HMS Emperor’s Wrath) blew apart.

Turn 5: As the Starfuries mopped up the remaining Centauri fighters, the last Corvan silently slipped off the board and escaped.

Analysis: Tough battle. I tried for a classic Billy Howe pin ‘n flank, but thanks to the asteroids couldn’t quite pull it off. The terrain kept Acheron from closing in a timely manner, and as a result poor Vauban got to face the Centauri alone for three turns with fatal results for her crew. While my Thunderbolts didn’t have the overwhelming effect I was hoping for, they did good service in reducing interceptor values, and I’d definitely continue relying on their presence. Still, despite the loss of the Nova, I have the Strategic Target, a largely intact TG, and he has one less Primus…not a bad trade all said and done.

Giving George His Due

Wow…busy day today as I finish catching up on all the craziness that accumulated in my absence both at home and at work. I’m just getting started on the first Centauri/EA battle and should have that up sometime tomorrow.

Meanwhile, some of you may remember that I said unkind things about George Washington in a previous post. While I still can’t embrace the man’s politics, I am willing to concede that he was indeed a Hardcore Individual as the following decidedly not work safe tribute amply demonstrates.

     

The Battle for Flux: Centauri vs Raiders

Turn/Time: Turn 3/January, 2261

Scenario: Annihilate!

Terrain: None

Situation: Having discovered a nest of Raiders in the Flux system, the Centauri fleet moves in to destroy them and secure the area in its first campaign engagement.

ToE:

The Centauri Republic:

• 1x Primus
• 2x Sulust
• 1x Corvan
• 1x Altarian

The Raiders:

• 2x Battlewagon
• 1x Strike Carrier
• 1x Modified Freighter
• 2x Bellerophon Battle Sattelite

Setup: The Centauri deployed their ships in a tight pack on their table edge. The raiders deployed one sattelite at each end of their table edge and their ships in a line strung out along it, one Battlewagon anchoring each flank:

The Battle:

Note: Turn headings are color-coded according to which side won the initiative.

Turn 1: The Centauri rolled poorly and the Raiders won the initiative, forcing the Fanheads to set up and move first. Both fleets closed, but did not end the turn in firing range, and the Battlewagons and Strike Carrier used the time to get their Delta-V2s into space.

Turn 2: Both sides maintained their formations, and began to exchange fire. The Centauri concentrated their battle lasers (using Concentrate All Firepower) on the Battlewagon on the left flank with their Corvan scout directing, and the weight of their firepower wreaked tremendous carnage. The combined battle laser damage crippled the hapless Battlewagon, with the Primus causing an additional�Weapons critical which reduced her enemy’s firepower. The Raiders returned fire with their own beam weapons, but their ships were so dispersed that they could not concentrate for effect. The Primus also managed to clear one of her Sentri flights for space…just in time to face the oncoming horde of Raider fighters.

Turn 3: The tilting point of the battle had now been reached as the fleets closed to knife-fighting range. The V2s swarmed over the larger Centauri capital ships, but their tiny guns were completely ineffective. The right flank Battlewagon tore into the Primus with her boresight laser, causing thruster damage and slowing, but not stopping, the Centauri flagship. Her escorts returned fire with more effect, one Sulust finishing off the crippled Battlewagon while the other pumped all the firepower of its front arc weapons into the Modified Freighter, blasting it into a glowing fireball. The Raiders’ Strike Carrier managed to get a lock on the stealthed Corvan and destroyed its engines with a single lucky shot, rendering the scout dead in space.

Turn 4: Centauri fleet handling and concentrated firepower had wreaked a dreadful toll on the Raiders. Now the remaining pirates could only sell their lives as dearly as possible. Fighters continued to swirl around the Centauri capital ships, but with little effect as the Lion of the Galaxy stalked his prey. One Sulust damaged the lone Strike Carrier while the rest of the fleet concentrated on the remaining Battlewagon. A final front arc volley from the Primus tore into her hull and left her a dead hulk running endlessly into the void on her own inertia.

Turn 5: With the Raiders reduced to one capital ship, the Centauri began to methodically clear fighters from the area. Both lucky shots from their shipboard weapons and the work of their outnumbered Sentri squadrons destroyed several Delta-V2 flights. The carrier was not neglected, however, and fire from the Sulusts crippled the delicate ship.

Turn 6: Crippled and with no chance to escape, the last pirate ship on the map struck her colors when so ordered by the enterprising Captain of one of the Sulusts.

Turns 7-8: With the Raider fleet destroyed or captured, the Centauri destroyed the defense sattelites at range without taking any return fire.

Analysis: A resounding Centauri victory, due primarily to poor initial placement by the Raiders. The pirates were too far away from each other to provide supporting fire, and their defense sattelites didn’t even�factor into the battle. While the Raiders were able to maintain fighter superiority (largely due to numbers), their absolutely abysmal dice rolls unfortunately removed any advantage this might have given them. The Centauri were simply able to do what they do best – kill things with massed battle laser fire.

White Knights and Red Lancers: Return from the Poconos

Drama is past, conference is over, and regular updates should be resuming shortly.

The conference itself (a regional SIRSI library automation conference) was actually very worthwhile to me. I got a lot of good information about federated searching (something we may be implementing soon at work), using blogs to publicize library events, and podcasting. While a podcast for this humble blog is probably far, far in the future, a podcasted tour of my workplace to help orient students may be likely, and if that happens I can refine my technique in case I ever DO want to make an ACTA podcast. 

I also got to see something of western Pennsylvania. The conference itself was in Williamsport, which struck me as a city in transition. Formerly a prosperous lumber town and county seat, Williamsport seems to be adjusting to the demise of its major industry by attempting to lapse into the “small-town-tourist” feel. The sections of town where the lumber magnates built their homes, for example, are gloriously restored and definitely worth seeing if you like Victorian architecture. Other sections are, frankly, decaying with dilapidated old buildings and empty boarded up storefronts. It’s as though part of the city embraces the tourist trade, while the other part prefers to be left alone to die peacefully.

But, I hear you say, shut up about federated searching and tourist economics. Give us gaming on your supposed gaming blog!

Well I did not, in fact, neglect my hobbies while I was in Williamsport. I scouted out two local stores via the internet and visited both. Sadly, the impression I got of the local gaming/comic geek scene was not encouraging.

First on my list was The White Knight’s Gameroom, largely because my own game store in Philly doesn’t carry Babylon 5 RPG products and I wanted to see if I could get my hands on the RPG’s ship guide for fluff purposes. It was a straight shot down the road from where I was staying, but the store was locked up tight and stripped bare inside…it would appear that the market in Williamsport was unkind for an independent game retailer. Their website’s schedule is still updated, so it appears the store’s community survives in some form.

My next stop was Not Just Comics, on the same street but closer to the “Downtown” area. This place could actually have been called “Just Comics and Not Much of Those Either”. It had virtually nothing that wasn’t a Marvel or DC title, and almost no trade paperbacks. This was a particular problem for me because I tend to favor trades over issues, especially when I buy Marvel/DC stuff. Along with the comics, there were various collectibles (largely movie-era Batman stuff) and a dusty shelf with a virtual museum of old Star Fleet Battles products (pre-Captain’s edition), and several nice Grenadier and Ral Partha boxed sets (including the original Dragonlance Draconian set). Sadly, the employee couldn’t tell me wether they counted as memorabilia or were actually for sale (note to retailers: if you display memorabilia, either mark it as such or display it where the customer has a noticeably difficult time touching it). I had a dinner reservation and couldn’t wait for the boss to arrive and sort it out.

All in all, this was discouraging. If a comic shop and game store a mere six minutes from a major tech college campus aren’t thriving, what does it say about the state of the hobby as a whole? The presenter for the podcast seminar I attended happened to be both a gamer and a local, so I brought this question up with her. She says the campus gaming scene is actually thriving, though it’s largely devoted to online games. Perhaps this is just another side effect of the greying of my iteration of the geek scene as a whole…the market’s there but traditional game and comic retailers can’t tap into its youthful mindset enough to attract customers.

My shopping efforts were, however, made totally worthwhile by my investigation of The Red Lancers Military Miniatures, in Milton, PA. Milton is what Williamsport is attempting to regress to…a picturesque small town. The Red Lancers is geared to the collector rather than the wargamer, so if you want something under 1/35 scale you’re generally out of luck (my search for 15mm sepoys continues). That said, the selection and range is still incredible and if you want to paint pieces for display, this is where you want to go. Like all good shops of this type, it’s run essentially by one guy who’s a hobbyist himself, and he’s very knowledgeable and helpful. I picked up two 18th Century British soldiers (one circa 1758 and one circa 1775), both of which will be painted as 10th Foot. I also found a nice figure of Guan Yu, from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which I snagged as well (no Cao Cao sadly). I’m looking forward to painting these…I’ve never done anything larger than 25mm, and I suspect that a lot of my small-scale painting “tricks” won’t work as well. This may even be time to try layering over my traditional inking/drybrushing methods! Red Lancers does a lot of business via mail, so if you’re into painting and want to support one of the few minis-only shops left these days, hit the link and give them a try. Be warned though: their online catalog is tough to browse.

My trip summary would be incomplete if I did not mention my Tuesday night dinner at Williamsport’s Peter Herdic House. This restaurant is situated in a former lumber baron’s home, on one of the most restored of Williamsport’s classic streets. Beautiful surroundings, great old Victorian house. In addition, the food was incredible. I’m a big fan of local produce…it’s the only way you really get a “taste” of a new place. Besides being just generally good, everything I ate came from local farms from the shad in my appetizer, to the asparagus, to the rack of lamb. Definitely worth hitting if Victorian inn/restaurant is a combination that works for you.

So there…diary style post ended. This Saturday I fight my first battle against the Centauri, and hopefully should have those results and a couple others posted by Tuesday. 

And Then What Happened?

A sad combination of running annual stats at work, real-life personal drama, and being ill have all conspired to stop the news coming from the front. And if that wasn’t enough, I’m going to be out of town till Wednesday. Nevertheless, persevere through these dry times, blog readers, for when I return there will be a party.  Or at least posts. I have at least two battle reports with pics to share, some notes on building the dreaded Shadow Omega, and another installment of True Tales of Weeding in the works. And if you can’t wait till after Wednesday…umm…pool your money and buy me a laptop or something.

Turn 3 EA Retrospective: Is the Best Defence a Good Offensive?

If Turn 2 was my stepping stone to the stars, Turn 3 begins my fight for the right to stay there. I expected to throw down in multiple systems, and the universe clearly decided to cater to those expectations.

It was, of course, inevitable. When you are a tiny power next to a large and expansionist power, and in particular when said power is run by Rich (whose rapacity in other strategy games is legendary in our local gaming circles), you’ve got a fight on your hands. Rather than reacting as the defender, therefore, I sought to bring the fight to him in as many places as I could achieve local superiority.

In essence my plan is not to “win” against the Centauri, a feat which is currently impossible given the huge disparity between our economies. Instead, following the examples of great military thinkers such as Sun-tzu, Mao Tse-tung, Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, George Washington*, and the guys from Gundam Wing, my objective is to make it so difficult and painful for them to achieve anything that they give up and go somewhere else.

Will it work in these circumstances? Here the Magic 8-Ball returns “Answer Unclear”. Most “low-intensity” opponents succeed because they had outside help from someone more powerful. Mao and Guevara had the Soviets. Ho had China. Washington had the French. I, on the other hand, have the equally tiny Minbari.

They all also had something else in common: opponents whose systems of government were based on at least some degree of popular support. While the Centauri, of course, have the Centaurum, the Centaurum’s not going to intervene in any meaningful sense in the context of this game. If Rich decides I have to die, then die I will no matter how many Fanheads I kill or how many Centauri ducats the Emperor has to squeeze out of the nobles. I have to break his will, not just enough of the Centaurum’s collective resolve to force a peace.

As a result of this strategy, the map didn’t change a whole lot:

At the bottom of the screen is Saguntum III, where TG Acheron is contending with a much smaller, though still sizeable, Centauri force (1 point at War priority to my 4). In Caesar’s Folly, TGs Leonidas and Pegasus  have combined into a massive War(8) priority force in hopes of eliminating the sizable Centauri fleet concentration (War(4)) there. I also fortified the Agricultural world I hold in that system in order to secure the supply point and make it that much more resource – intensive for the Fanheads to evict me.

The main problem is that by concentrating on the Centauri I’ve had to leave my Raider issues in Moshelle completely unattended to for now. While the RR drain is annoying, the real problem is that without securing Moshelle I can’t move on to claim the Major Systems (Turbanos and Da’Valk) beyond…systems I badly need to jump-start my economy. 

*I can’t believe I used “George Washington” and “great military thinker” voluntarily in the same sentence. My Loyalist street cred just took a nosedive.