Okay, so just looked up our fleets and neighbours again and the results are... Interesting. Namely, we're definitely focused on the Periphery for where we need to look to get an advantage in the future, which we then exploit to fix up our current lack of development back home. Or you know, reverse that where we develop our home systems and use that to fund the exploration and exploitation of the Periphery. This is quite possibly why of our six fleets, three of them are Patrol fleets which have the largest vessel in them a singular heavy cruiser. The other three fleets have 1 battleship each and then three, four and one heavy cruisers respectively.
As for our neighbours, both of them are Great Houses which have a penalty to martial. The Al-Mufti are the Administrators, which considering our own problems there, we don't want our enemies because we want their help fixing our shit. Not too much though, we definitely don't want them using that help to gain a dangerous amount of influence over us. They're also bordered by House Ashoka who, whilst the Industrialists, also have a penalty to martial and serious internal problems that they'd want solved before they go to war with anyone.
The Massarde are the Artisans, which means again a penalty to martial whilst giving bonuses to diplomacy and learning. We can absolutely gain benefits from being their friends though we'll also want to keep an eye on the influence they gain. Whilst having someone else dictating your culture is less immediately dangerous them them running your administration, long term it's more crippling as your people wonder why they follow you, not them. But again, something we should be able to manage. Meanwhile they're bordered by House Sakir who also have a penalty to martial and frankly have bigger concerns than the Massarde in how they want to stab the Imperial Cult in the face, back and gut for taking their homeworld from them. And the fact they're also bordering House Yamato who are the warriors and thus likely eyeing the weakened Sakir with some interest.
What does this all mean? Well, it means that we actually shouldn't be pulled into major Great House wars soon even if we make friends with out two neighbours. Because their neighbours are either the Imperial Cult (which, if they're fighting against we have bigger issues than the fact we might get pulled into a major war) or severely distracted from warring the neighbour between us and them. Whilst they're all less interested in overt warfare to start with. As for covert warfare... None of the four have bonuses there, and some even have penalties to intrigue whereas we've got bonuses to intrigue and martial.
Sure, the bonuses aren't everything but it does indicate what paths the Great Houses prefer. Hence us having problems currently with a civil war and internal factions stabbing each other due to having a more martial and intrigue focused political system.
So having looked at all that... I've actually had the Atlas class come out even further ahead as the priority design to begin building. Because it helps us with the smaller patrol fleets which are the ones most likely to see heavy use. And having less combat power in exchange for better command capabilities is a good trade when it's still likely going to outgun anything it comes across in their area of concern. Meanwhile we'd still likely to keep the older heavy cruisers around for a while, just used to bring up all the battle fleets to at least 4 heavy cruisers, three 'combat' designs and one Atlas command cruiser.
I seriously wasn't expecting that. I thought for sure that there'd be at least be one faction which had a martial bonus, indicating interest in warfare, amongst either our neighbours or their neighbours which could have made things 'interesting' as we became friendlier with our neighbours...
Also @inquisition House Maryam's description seems to be missing a large chunk as it ends 'still overs are compelled'. Compelled what?
Oh yeah, need to actually vote. [X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
Also a correction. Al-Mufti border house Ashoka, not Sakir. Still the Industrialists though. Just got the name wrong because I was thinking of Massarde's neighbour.
As for our neighbours, both of them are Great Houses which have a penalty to martial. The Al-Mufti are the Administrators, which considering our own problems there, we don't want our enemies because we want their help fixing our shit. Not too much though, we definitely don't want them using that help to gain a dangerous amount of influence over us. They're also bordered by House Ashoka who, whilst the Industrialists, also have a penalty to martial and serious internal problems that they'd want solved before they go to war with anyone.
The Massarde are the Artisans, which means again a penalty to martial whilst giving bonuses to diplomacy and learning. We can absolutely gain benefits from being their friends though we'll also want to keep an eye on the influence they gain. Whilst having someone else dictating your culture is less immediately dangerous them them running your administration, long term it's more crippling as your people wonder why they follow you, not them. But again, something we should be able to manage. Meanwhile they're bordered by House Sakir who also have a penalty to martial and frankly have bigger concerns than the Massarde in how they want to stab the Imperial Cult in the face, back and gut for taking their homeworld from them. And the fact they're also bordering House Yamato who are the warriors and thus likely eyeing the weakened Sakir with some interest.
It does seem like that we're going to be the military might on our sphere of influence. Could go in a way of military alliance, our neighbors basically pay us to help protect their territory.
Meanwhile we'd still likely to keep the older heavy cruisers around for a while, just used to bring up all the battle fleets to at least 4 heavy cruisers, three 'combat' designs and one Atlas command cruiser.
It does seem like that we're going to be the military might on our sphere of influence. Could go in a way of military alliance, our neighbors basically pay us to help protect their territory.
Yeah, I went in there to try and figure out which design would be better in case we didn't get that answer of 'how does going for two cost' fully expecting to find out that we'd definitely be needing modern combat heavy cruisers in large numbers, thus making the debate between Atlas+Older Cruisers and New Combat Cruiser a lot more tense. Only uh... gestures upwards. It didn't exactly turn out that way.
Also strongly doubt that we'll ever be paid by our neighbours to help them garrison their territory. They're Great Houses so still have strong fleets, it's just they don't think of using them as much as we do. Also, just as we need to guard against their influence in culture and our administration, they'll feel the need to guard against our martial capabilities. So if we end up fighting together, I can definitely see them supporting us with loans and the like in exchange for garrisons and providing the bulk of the fleets, including new builds, doing the fighting. but only as long as we're actually fighting together.
I mean, the Atlas option outright says we're not going to be planning to retire the older class just yet if we choose it. Which is why I asked the question of if we can pick the Atlas and then one of the other two designs to replace the current ones as we produce the second design. Basically the idea there would be every squadron that has a heavy cruiser flagship, and every heavy cruiser squadron would have an Atlas for a command cruiser in all probability, meanwhile the rest of the ships in the heavy cruiser squadrons would be the new design rather than the older ones.
It's just... Well, we know it's possible but as you said, we still need to learn what the cost increase would be and then determine if it's worth the improvement over merely keeping the older design until we develop a new heavy cruiser design again and go for something meant purely for combat rather than command first, combat still important but not quite as much.
I mean, the Atlas option outright says we're not going to be planning to retire the older class just yet if we choose it. Which is why I asked the question of if we can pick the Atlas and then one of the other two designs to replace the current ones as we produce the second design. Basically the idea there would be every squadron that has a heavy cruiser flagship, and every heavy cruiser squadron would have an Atlas for a command cruiser in all probability, meanwhile the rest of the ships in the heavy cruiser squadrons would be the new design rather than the older ones.
It's just... Well, we know it's possible but as you said, we still need to learn what the cost increase would be and then determine if it's worth the improvement over merely keeping the older design until we develop a new heavy cruiser design again and go for something meant purely for combat rather than command first, combat still important but not quite as much.
I would say 20-25% more expensive - additional cost mostly comes from producing different parts. It'd be potentially alleviated somewhat by dealing with the Inefficient Ship Construction malus you have.
f we don't pick up the Atlas Heavy Command Cruiser now @inquisition can we pick it, or an iteration on it, later on without too much trouble? Or is it very much a 'chose now and expect to spend a lot of resources or wait a long time if you want command cruisers later'?
"House Maryam has a long and storied tradition of loyalty to the Emperor. A large portion of the Imperial Cult's hierarchy are scions of the house, and they were among the earliest supporters of the Cult's power-grab in the core. While a number of more pragmatic Maryam are beginning to eye the Cult's rule with suspicion and doubt, still others are compelled to support it thanks to their natural piety or through a pragmatic attachment to the current status quo. As it is, the Maryam will be the Cult and the Emperor's most loyal supporters - for better or for worse."
Adhoc vote count started by inquisition on Sep 23, 2021 at 11:17 PM, finished with 51 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Atlas-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
[X] Plan A Slightly Different Hammer
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Orel-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Roll in the Army, casualties be damned. These traitors can't be given leeway.
--[X] Execute the ringleaders of the revolt and disband the Guard.
[X] Rurikovich Gotta Keep Grinding
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Al-Mufti: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Al-Mufti, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory.
-[X] The Armies of Rurik - Officer Corps: Ivan's putsch has cost the Army a great deal. In particular, a large number of experienced and capable officers were lost - either as traitors, or wounded/killed during the brief groundside battle. Lord Kiril, as a result, has recommended a "crash course" of sorts for this new, young officer corps that will, if not bring them up to their old standard, at least cover the worst of the problems.
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Seizing the Means of Production: The destruction of Moskva's orbital shipbuilding during the battle was an unfortunate necessity - and now you have to deal with the aftermath. You will, instead of pouring valuable cash into building new shipyards, seize and convert civilian facilities. It might be far less popular, but it will be far cheaper and notably quicker.
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System: Kyiv and its star system Letom are part of the Rurikovich demesne, but its mining and extraction infrastructure are woefully out of date. Still, a great deal of material wealth might still be leveraged from the youngest Rurikovich world.
-[X] Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid): The Guard isn't the only threat. There are traitors in the ranks of the Army too - and this cannot be tolerated. Unleash the Okhrana's military police sections to scour the ranks and liquidate ay traitors.
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper: Discovering the secrets of this enigmatic Vault is of paramount importance. Lord Nasarov is practically beside himself, and has taken this discovery to be a confirmation of his long-held beliefs: that humanity is not the only, or even the oldest, interstellar intelligent race. Whether he is right or not, the Vault is certainly interesting.
-[X] Bioticist Heresy - Who are the Bioticists?: The Temple of the Immortal Cell, more commonly known as the Bioticists, are a new but rapidly-growing religion in the Periphery who, from what you understand, worship life itself and reject the divinity (and the existence) of the Primus. Grand Bishop Panin has asked you if it might be possible to send representatives to Mikhail and Norilsk, where they have established large congregations, to further understand this new threat to the hegemony of the Cult.
-[X] Trade Agreements (Social Call) - House Massarde: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Massarde, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory. Tag along with your diplomatic team and visit with the Prince. -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Aid Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid) -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] Aid Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper -[X] Daria Varyanova, the Young Colonel:
--[X] The Armies of Rurik - Rank and File: The casualties from the brief civil war have been high. Recruitment and training are necessary to replace the heavy losses suffered during the battle.
I would say 20-25% more expensive - additional cost mostly comes from producing different parts. It'd be potentially alleviated somewhat by dealing with the Inefficient Ship Construction malus you have.
Yeah, I think this is too expensive to go for the split initially. Instead focus on building up our numbers of Atlas classes whilst removing the malus. Once the malus is gone, that's when we'll be looking at building heavy cruisers in enough numbers to make it so we're looking at replacing the 'fighting' heavy cruisers rather than flagship or squadron leader heavy cruisers. At which point we can either grab the old design or will have made multiple technology developments or a single crucial breakthrough meaning a redesign is better.
What are we looking at for solving the Inefficient Ship Construction malus @inquisition ?
[X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy)
-[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya
-[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
Adhoc vote count started by inquisition on Sep 30, 2021 at 12:42 AM, finished with 58 posts and 14 votes.
[X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Atlas-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
[X] Plan A Slightly Different Hammer
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Orel-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Roll in the Army, casualties be damned. These traitors can't be given leeway.
--[X] Execute the ringleaders of the revolt and disband the Guard.
[X] Rurikovich Gotta Keep Grinding
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Al-Mufti: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Al-Mufti, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory.
-[X] The Armies of Rurik - Officer Corps: Ivan's putsch has cost the Army a great deal. In particular, a large number of experienced and capable officers were lost - either as traitors, or wounded/killed during the brief groundside battle. Lord Kiril, as a result, has recommended a "crash course" of sorts for this new, young officer corps that will, if not bring them up to their old standard, at least cover the worst of the problems.
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Seizing the Means of Production: The destruction of Moskva's orbital shipbuilding during the battle was an unfortunate necessity - and now you have to deal with the aftermath. You will, instead of pouring valuable cash into building new shipyards, seize and convert civilian facilities. It might be far less popular, but it will be far cheaper and notably quicker.
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System: Kyiv and its star system Letom are part of the Rurikovich demesne, but its mining and extraction infrastructure are woefully out of date. Still, a great deal of material wealth might still be leveraged from the youngest Rurikovich world.
-[X] Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid): The Guard isn't the only threat. There are traitors in the ranks of the Army too - and this cannot be tolerated. Unleash the Okhrana's military police sections to scour the ranks and liquidate ay traitors.
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper: Discovering the secrets of this enigmatic Vault is of paramount importance. Lord Nasarov is practically beside himself, and has taken this discovery to be a confirmation of his long-held beliefs: that humanity is not the only, or even the oldest, interstellar intelligent race. Whether he is right or not, the Vault is certainly interesting.
-[X] Bioticist Heresy - Who are the Bioticists?: The Temple of the Immortal Cell, more commonly known as the Bioticists, are a new but rapidly-growing religion in the Periphery who, from what you understand, worship life itself and reject the divinity (and the existence) of the Primus. Grand Bishop Panin has asked you if it might be possible to send representatives to Mikhail and Norilsk, where they have established large congregations, to further understand this new threat to the hegemony of the Cult.
-[X] Trade Agreements (Social Call) - House Massarde: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Massarde, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory. Tag along with your diplomatic team and visit with the Prince. -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Aid Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid) -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] Aid Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper -[X] Daria Varyanova, the Young Colonel:
--[X] The Armies of Rurik - Rank and File: The casualties from the brief civil war have been high. Recruitment and training are necessary to replace the heavy losses suffered during the battle.
Adhoc vote count started by inquisition on Sep 30, 2021 at 12:42 AM, finished with 58 posts and 14 votes.
[X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Atlas-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
[X] Plan A Slightly Different Hammer
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Orel-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Roll in the Army, casualties be damned. These traitors can't be given leeway.
--[X] Execute the ringleaders of the revolt and disband the Guard.
[X] Rurikovich Gotta Keep Grinding
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Al-Mufti: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Al-Mufti, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory.
-[X] The Armies of Rurik - Officer Corps: Ivan's putsch has cost the Army a great deal. In particular, a large number of experienced and capable officers were lost - either as traitors, or wounded/killed during the brief groundside battle. Lord Kiril, as a result, has recommended a "crash course" of sorts for this new, young officer corps that will, if not bring them up to their old standard, at least cover the worst of the problems.
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Seizing the Means of Production: The destruction of Moskva's orbital shipbuilding during the battle was an unfortunate necessity - and now you have to deal with the aftermath. You will, instead of pouring valuable cash into building new shipyards, seize and convert civilian facilities. It might be far less popular, but it will be far cheaper and notably quicker.
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System: Kyiv and its star system Letom are part of the Rurikovich demesne, but its mining and extraction infrastructure are woefully out of date. Still, a great deal of material wealth might still be leveraged from the youngest Rurikovich world.
-[X] Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid): The Guard isn't the only threat. There are traitors in the ranks of the Army too - and this cannot be tolerated. Unleash the Okhrana's military police sections to scour the ranks and liquidate ay traitors.
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper: Discovering the secrets of this enigmatic Vault is of paramount importance. Lord Nasarov is practically beside himself, and has taken this discovery to be a confirmation of his long-held beliefs: that humanity is not the only, or even the oldest, interstellar intelligent race. Whether he is right or not, the Vault is certainly interesting.
-[X] Bioticist Heresy - Who are the Bioticists?: The Temple of the Immortal Cell, more commonly known as the Bioticists, are a new but rapidly-growing religion in the Periphery who, from what you understand, worship life itself and reject the divinity (and the existence) of the Primus. Grand Bishop Panin has asked you if it might be possible to send representatives to Mikhail and Norilsk, where they have established large congregations, to further understand this new threat to the hegemony of the Cult.
-[X] Trade Agreements (Social Call) - House Massarde: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Massarde, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory. Tag along with your diplomatic team and visit with the Prince. -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Aid Chistka - Purge the Military (Paranoid) -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] Aid Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper -[X] Daria Varyanova, the Young Colonel:
--[X] The Armies of Rurik - Rank and File: The casualties from the brief civil war have been high. Recruitment and training are necessary to replace the heavy losses suffered during the battle.
Hollows out a Quark Star and constructs a fortress inside it
Well folks, I've got a bunker we can share if the whoof trajectory is unfortunate that I'm sure will be strong enough to resist it. Just ah... Make absolutely certain the Shell Stabilisation System never fails. I couldn't get any redundancies and all the brochure suggests for doing if said system fails is 'complete prayers within attoseconds'.
Hollows out a Quark Star and constructs a fortress inside it
Well folks, I've got a bunker we can share if the whoof trajectory is unfortunate that I'm sure will be strong enough to resist it. Just ah... Make absolutely certain the Shell Stabilisation System never fails. I couldn't get any redundancies and all the brochure suggests for doing if said system fails is 'complete prayers within attoseconds'.
[X] Plan: Hammer to Build, Hammer to Flatten
-[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde
-[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods
-[X] Exploitation of the Letom System
-[X] Infiltration: Information is power
--[X] Moskva
-[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper
-[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff
-[X] Personal Action
--[X] Go Recruiting (Diplomacy) -[X] Major Tatiana Chernova
--[X] Find and kill Commandant-General Natalia Izhmorskaya -[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov
--[X] The Butcher's Bill - Rubble
-[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova
--[X] Modernization - R&D
---[X] Light Cruiser
-[X] Naval R&D
--[X] Heavy Cruiser
---[X] Atlas-class
--[X] Frigate
---[X] Nagumo Inari-class
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
From the Ministry of State (DIP)
[X] Trade Agreements - House Massarde: Trade already exists between Houses Rurikovich and Massarde, though with your regime recognized and accepted by your neighbor, we can attempt to expand trade agreements with the lords and corporate forces of Al-Mufti territory.
Cost: 10,000 dinars
Difficulty: DIP difficulty 45
Time: 1 turns
Reward: An increase to trade income from House Massarde.
Costs: 10,000 dinars Roll: 52 (37+5+10) - Success Result: A blitz of political and financial canvassing has proven effective in expanding your economic reach to the territory of House Al-Mufti. The Sultan, in your last meeting with him, appeared to be quite pleased with the idea, and the well-oiled efficiency of the Al-Mufti political classes means an increase in well-stocked, well-protected freighter convoys arriving in Moskva's orbit. +1500 base trade income with House Al-Mufti.
From the Ministry of War (MAR)
[C] The Armies of Rurik - Officer Corps: Ivan's putsch has cost the Army a great deal. In particular, a large number of experienced and capable officers were lost - either as traitors, or wounded/killed during the brief groundside battle. Lord Kiril, as a result, has recommended a "crash course" of sorts for this new, young officer corps that will, if not bring them up to their old standard, at least cover the worst of the problems.
Cost: 15,000 dinars (2,000 dinars per turn in upkeep)
Difficulty: MAR difficulty 50
Time: 4 turns
Reward: "Brain Drain" effect will be removed from your ground forces; potential Ground Forces-specialization Hero Unit recruited
[X] Repairing Fleet Manufacturing - Traditional Methods: The destruction of Moskva's orbital shipbuilding during the battle was an unfortunate necessity - and now you have to deal with the aftermath. The best way to do it, while it is much more expensive, is to simply build new shipyards - the old ones were damaged far beyond repair.
Cost: 50,000 dinars (5,000 dinars per turn while building)
Difficulty: MAR difficulty 45
Time: 4 turns
Reward: Orbital shipbuilding infrastructure will be repaired, allowing for the removal of the Orbital Damage status; +1 to Military Shipyard in Moskva
Costs: 50,000 dinars Roll: 71 (53+6+12) - Success Result: When it comes to repairing House Rurikovich's shattered orbital infrastructure, Dame Egonova's political allies in the Senate (as well as the corporate interests she and her friends represent) have done a stellar job so far. A coalition of companies, subsidized by the Exchequer and assisted by direct intervention by the Home Fleet's engineers, have made steady progress in the removal of orbital debris and the construction of new offworld fleet construction facilities. It will be some time (estimated to be about 2 years) before the shipyards are restored to full functionality, but already the signs are good. In 4 (now 3) turns, "Orbital Damage" status will be removed, and 1 Military Shipyard will be completed in orbit of Moskva.
From the Ministry of the Exchequer (STE)
[X] Exploitation of the Letom System: Kyiv and its star system Letom are part of the Rurikovich demesne, but its mining and extraction infrastructure are woefully out of date. Still, a great deal of material wealth might still be leveraged from the youngest Rurikovich world.
Cost: 30,000 dinars
Difficulty: STE difficulty 45
Time: 2 turns
Reward: +1,000 to income; +1 Extraction districts on Kyiv; +1 Orbital Extraction districts; +2 building slots on Kyiv; new STE options
Costs: 30,000 dinars Roll: 107! (88+8+11) - Critical Success! Result: Even more impressive on the Exchequer's part is the sudden and rapid development of the Letom System. Initial reports from Dame Egonova's experts implied that, all things going well, the planned expansion of the Letom System's extraction infrastructure would take at least a year to reach completion. Egonova and the engineers managed it in less than six months, using a combination of generous subsidies and directly-funded construction. +1000 to base income. +1 Extraction districts on Kyiv. +1 Orbital Extraction districts in the Letom system. +2 building slots in Kyiv (1 orbital, 1 land)
From the Okhrana (INT)
[X] Infiltration: Information is power. Agents of the Intelligence Post will attempt to glean political, economic, and military information on the current rulers of the fief in question. Requires at least a Listening Post in the system.
Cost: 1,500 dinars
Difficulty: INT difficulty 45
Time: 1 turns
Reward: Receive a report on the current situation in the fief in question. This will include military, political, and economic. May open up other INT options.
Costs: 1,500 dinars Roll: 44 (25+13+6) - Failure (just barely) Result: The chaos of the Guard's failed putsch and the still-extant chaos of Moskva itself has made it difficult to sort fact from fiction. To his own intense chagrin, Colonel Lisitsyn - still smarting from the Okhrana's failure to anticipate the second Guard revolt - is forced to report his failure to you. Attempts to glean more information through the Okhrana have failed to produce tangible results.
From the Ministry of the Sciences (LEA)
[X] Khrabrost III - Dig Deeper: Discovering the secrets of this enigmatic Vault is of paramount importance. Lord Nasarov is practically beside himself, and has taken this discovery to be a confirmation of his long-held beliefs: that humanity is not the only, or even the oldest, interstellar intelligent race. Whether he is right or not, the Vault is certainly interesting.
Cost: 5,000 dinars
Difficulty: LEA difficulty 55
Time: 2 turns
Reward: ?
Costs: 5,000 dinars Roll: 97 (79+13+5) - Success Result: Progress has been made at last in the excavation of the Khrabrost dig site. Though little information as to the ancient facility's creators has been found, its purpose is becoming increasingly clear. It is a vast archive of information, stored in organic "biodrives" that are each capable of containing thousands of terabytes of knowledge. Though the endpoint of the labyrinth has not yet been found due to the inherent dangers and difficulties of exploring it, the sheer number of these biodrives means that the information presumably stored on all of them is incomprehensible. Unfortunately, your scientists have been able to only piece together snippets, as the drives require some sort of "biological interface" that Nasarov's eggheads have so far been unable to reproduce. But the little information that has been decoded is fascinating in itself - a starmap, seemingly designed to be as legible as possible to people of varying languages or brain chemistries - has stoked the imaginations of your researchers. The Dig Site has revealed a starmap, showing three star systems within Rurikovich reach, all in the Periphery. You may launch expeditions to these systems as you see fit. There is still much to learn from the Khrabrost Archive.
From the Grand Bishopric of Moskva (PIE)
[X] The Augurs - Request New Staff: Now that you've achieved basic diplomatic relations with the Cult's leadership council, you have a number of new options available for your perusal. With these relations, you have the opportunity to request staffing support from the Cult, either on an individual level and on a bureaucratic level.
Cost: 10,000 denars
Difficulty: PIE difficulty 50
Time: 1 turn
Reward: Gain a new religious-focused Hero Unit. With a critical success, +1 Piety initiative available per turn.
Costs: 10,000 dinars Roll: 44 (27+4+13) - Failure Result: Your attempts to solicit further staff from the Cult's hierarchy on Terra have proven a failure. Bishop Panin's influence does help, for a time, but it seems that the Cult's political apparatus is far too busy with its own internal problems - and they don't appear to trust your regime yet. In the end, you are met with polite apologies and endless lists of excuses. Better luck next time, perhaps.
Personal Actions
[X] Go Recruiting (DIP): The Empire is a vast place, and you are always in need of talented individuals to assist you in your bid to… well, you don't know yet. Choose one of the six stats, and depending on the roll you will receive a Hero Unit. The specialization will be random. NOTE: This personal action cannot be taken for five years once successful.
Cost: Variable
Difficulty: 40 difficulty in specified stat (DIP)
Time: 1 turn
Reward: A random Hero Unit specializing in the stat indicated
Costs: 5,000 dinars (If you accept Metaxas's offer) Roll: 41 (31+10) - Success (phew) Result: You need a diplomat. That much is obvious, but who to choose is a much harder question to answer. Two profiles sit on your desk, each one bringing possible benefits… and possible rewards:
Baselios Metaxas is a trained diplomat of no small reputation, having spent all of his career playing the games of the Great Houses on Terra and in the salons and courts of the galaxy's palaces. He was most recently a Metaxas attache to the Court of House Armitage, though the most recent election of a new Archon on Olympus has left him out in the political cold. He has thus offered his services to you for a commission of 5,000 dinars, no small sum for a single man, and his motives and ultimate goals may be suspect - but he has experience, connections, and a positive reputation diplomatically. Is he worth the risk… and the cost?
Felix Yusopov is the son and heir of your Minister for State, Duke Pyotr Yusopov. You have known him to one degree or another since you were both children, as he was a common guest at your mother's court, but you and he were never truly close friends in the same way Tatiana is. His father, having learned of your desire to hire a dedicated diplomat, has none-too-subtly been pushing Felix - as both a diplomatic advisor and, rather awkwardly, as a potential marriage candidate. Accepting him would come at no monetary cost, but politically it will tie you ever closer to House Yusopov, and possibly give the Duke the wrong idea.
Hero Actions
[X] Major Tatiana Chernova - Find and Kill Comamndant-General Izhmorskaya
Costs: None Challenge: INT 50 challenge Roll: 66 (37+21) - Success Result: It is several weeks into the nail-biting crisis when you receive the first intelligence that Commandant-General Izhmorskaya was found dead in her field command post, victim of an apparent poisoning with a powerful nerve agent. The Guard's leadership is almost immediately thrown into disarray, with various units of the rogue army going their separate ways and the remaining core of officers engaging in a game of backstabbing even as your forces close in. Tatiana deserves a raise. +10 to attempts to deal with the Guard.
[X] Commodore Pyotr Chekhov - The Butcher's Bill - Rubble: Posadka was hardest-hit during the short sharp shock of a coup, but other cities across Moskva have suffered severe infrastructural damage. At the very least, it is necessary to remove some of the worst of the rubble in preparation for repairs and improvements.
Cost: 10,000 dinars
Difficulty: STE difficulty 40
Time: 1 turns
Reward: Small increase to Love, +2 building slots on Moskva, open other STE actions
Costs: 10,000 dinars Roll: 13 (3+10) - Crit Fail Result: Commodore Chekhov is a Navy man, through and through. This was proven definitively when you made the unfortunate mistake of assigning him to the difficult task of clearing out the rubble choking Moskva's cities. Despite his own personal protests that he was the wrong person to handle this initiative, he genuinely did try his best - but his attempts to mobilize Army units for the task led to them resenting him. His further attempts to effectively conscript a number of large construction conglomerates led to a backlash in the Senate, with several prominent magnates submitting an angry petition to your office demanding his removal from the project. And in the end? Well, in the end, nothing got done, and the cities are just as choked with debris as they were at the start of the whole project. To his credit, Chekhov has accepted full responsibility for the bungling, even as a number of different groups are now clamoring for his head. Chekhov gains trait "Just a Spacer," giving him -2 STE and -5 to all planetary initiatives. -3 penalty to Love.
[X] Colonel Daria Varyanova - Modernization - R&D (CL): It might be possible to use this disastrous loss of ships as an opportunity to modernize. The Ministry of War can draft a few options. Specify the class of ship you'd like to plan out. (Dreadnought, Battleship, Battlecruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Destroyer, Frigate, Cutter)
Cost: 5,000 dinars
Difficulty: MAR difficulty 40
Time: 1 turn
Reward: A list of potential designs for your perusal
Costs: 5,000 dinars Roll: 34 (8+21+5) Result: A sheepish Colonel Varyanova comes to you empty-handed. Apparently there was a lot of disagreement over doctrine and supply during the design board meetings, with arguments getting loud and occasionally physical. Though a few out-there or particularly uninteresting designs have been recorded, there's nothing of any interest to your ministry. No penalties applied, but R&D has failed to provide a new ship design for a light cruiser.
____
-[X] Crisis: Preobrazhensky or Praetorian?
--[X] Attempt to come to a negotiated settlement with the Guard's remainder to avoid bloodshed.
--[X] Put the ringleaders on trial and disband the Guard
Results: With the death of General Izhmorskaya, the internal divisions within the Guard's ranks - Samaran versus provincial, officer versus enlisted, political versus opportunistic plunderer - reared their heads. It only took a few hours before the first violence began to break out, with Izhmorskaya's officers quickly resorting to open combat over leadership. As a result, you proved able to squeak through a ceasefire, followed by something approaching a surrender from the largest remaining contingent once you promised to refrain from any summary punishments. Once the main contingent laid down their arms, other capitulations began to trickle in; soon, what had once been a rampaging rogue army became a dwindling collection of isolated bandit companies… and the noose is tightening.
Trial of the Leadership:
STE Challenge, 40: 114! (98!+16) - Crit Success!
Results: Though most lords of the Empire would've been happy with simply summarily executing these rebel generals, your insistence on public trials - in a continuation of your policy vis a vis Ivan - has done you credit among the more legalistically-inclined of your vassals. Even as your regime's judges dutifully return the customary death sentences for treason, you have begun to gain a reputation for fair legal treatment among your citizens and your neighbors. Gain Fear +3, Love +2, and trait "The Judge" - +3 STE, +10 to judicial initiatives. The Guard has been disbanded and neutralized as a political and military force, even if stragglers are still scattered across Samara raiding and plundering.
____
Random Events:
(Every turn I will roll for a Boon, an Event, and a Disaster. If the Boon roll is above an 80, a positive event will occur. If the Event roll is between 40 and 60, a "neutral" event happens. If the Disaster roll is below 20, a serious new problem arises.)
Boon: 6
Event: 44!
Disaster: 84
Event: The Revolt of 2674
You receive a missive from the Diplomatic Ministry - Galactic-scale conflict might soon come to the Empire once again. Though far away from your region of the Orion Arm, it has come to your attention that Houses Falkenhafen and Sakir have allied (at least temporarily) against the power of the Cult, and thus against the Imperial order. They cite the increasing interference of the Cult in internal Great House affairs, and the increasing grind of the Cult tithes on their treasuries. This is hardly a new development; revolts against the Cult and its dominance over Imperial affairs happen once every few decades or so, and in most cases are an example of a particular clan attempting to squeeze concessions of some kind out of the Imperial government, and rarely are they ever committed attempts to overthrow the Imperial order. Already House Maryam has declared its intentions to defend the Cult and the Emperor's prerogatives, though no other houses have broken one way or another. If the conflict remains local, it could mean only minor trade disruptions and price fluctuations; but if it expands, drawing in the other families, it could be a major disruption indeed.
____
HA! I actually managed to post within a year this time! I'll be posting one more thing tonight, and then tomorrow I will post the start of the next turn. Thanks again y'all, and enjoy!
Current Head: Duke Vasily Dariovich Goryemkin Current Heir: Lord Nomlanga Vasilevich Goryemkin Fief: Duchy of Mikhail Home System: Koloss Main Home: Sandstone Palace, Matatsa/M'tatha, Mikhail
The Duchy of Mikhail and its Goryemkin dukes, much like Norilsk and its Aristarkhov rulers, is culturally very different from the "Rurikovich core" of Moskva, Kyiv, and Dnieper. First settled by Hausa African pioneers in the days before the Second Empire brought the Periphery under its control, the planet was originally known as Gajjimare (Gadzhimar to the later Slavo-Hausa inhabitants) after an ancient serpentine deity. Gajjimare was a more verdant world in those days, though hardly to the degree of the ideal "garden world," with civilization mainly keeping to a number of fertile river valleys and coastal deltas for the first thousand years of its existence.
The history of the Goryemkin is surprisingly well documented for those who do not know them, but to those who have studied or interacted with the House, it is easy to see why - the Goryemkin are obsessive chroniclers. Mika'ilu Goryem was a Hausa leader from the settlement of M'tatha, and as well as being a brilliant administrator and a seasoned warrior, Mika'ilu (known popularly as Hikimyy, or "The Wise" in Slavo-Hausan) was a prominent polymath and scholar, and would become something of a mini-Rurik for his own people.
By the time he came to power, generally agreed to be 2771 Saratov (-27 Shahzad), the Slavo-Samarans of a young Moskva - and the progenitors to House Petrov of Dnieper - were already beginning the first stages of an encroachment on the relatively sparsely-populated Gajjimare. For the first 50 years or so, the new arrivals kept to new settlements around the oases of Gajjimare's deserts, an arrangement the Gajjimarans were content with - but as more arrived, wars began to erupt over dwindling supplies of arable land.
The Mamayewa, or Invasions, would ultimately last for about 200 years, and result in a drastic cultural shift away from traditional Earth-related Hausa society and towards a hybrid of Hausa and Slavo-Samaran - but it was by no means an easy or bloodless process. Sectarian violence was already a common occurrence by the time of Mika'ilu's succession, and the wars across its surface were taking an economic and ecological toll. In these wars, due to the deployment of nuclear weaponry and large-scale bombardment by Slavic ships, the fragile ecosystem of the planet collapsed, never to return to its prewar state of verdancy.
In 2788 Saratov (-10 Shahzad), Mika'ilu rallied his banners and launched a planetwide campaign of conquest to lay to rest the sectarian conflicts of his homeworld. Adopting a conciliatory "middle way" between the traditionalism of the Hausa natives and the pioneering spirit of the newcomer Slavs, Mika'ilu managed to bring prominent factions from both sides together under his aegis. By 11 Shahzad, the largest families on both sides had either bent the knee to Mika'ilu or been conquered and wiped out, leaving him free to declare himself Sarki - or King - of a rechristened Gadzhimar. With the various factions of the planet more or less united under one banner, Mika'ilu's family - now known as the Goryemkin - were able to fend off almost a century's worth of additional Slavic invasions. Over time, the distinction between Slav and Hausa blurred and eventually disappeared thanks to intermarriage and pure necessity - in fighting the latter-day Slavic invaders, the "Gadzhimarans" were forced to unite to defend homes and territories that were equally under threat. By the 100s Shahzad, the invasions had mostly stopped - and Goryemkin control over Gadzhimar was unchallenged.
It should be noted, of course, that the only reason Mika'ilu - or Mikhail, to his Slavo-Samaran subjects - would establish such a stable and united society is that he is reported to have lived for a very long time. By the time he died in 65 Shahzad at age 92, no one remembered a time before his family's rule - and thus a unified, stable realm was left to his eldest son Hasan - beginning a family line that lasts to this day.
Gadzhimar was quiet for the most part for the rest of the Second Empire. It wouldn't be until 450 Shahzad - the height of Rurik's Conquests - that the isolated world would be forced back into prominence. As with everyone else he conquered, when Rurik came, he left an indelible mark. House Goryemkin resisted more bravely than most, with its matriarch Aisha Goryemkin leading a brutal and successful guerilla campaign against Rurik's forces. Though she would eventually be captured, Rurik showed his characteristic "pragmatic mercy" and allowed her to rule the Koloss system as the subordinate Duchess of Mikhail. This is the situation that would effectively become permanent up until the modern day, with House Goryemkin ruling a newly-rechristened Mikhail from their Sandstone Palace.
The Goryemkin have since developed an intense and often-violent rivalry with House Yusopov, their fellow vassals. It is in part a leftover of the bitter rivalry with the Yusopovs' predecessors in House Petrov, and in part due to their fundamental disagreements as the two most powerful vassals of House Rurikovich. When their political sniping and intrigues fail, the two have often come to blows - and when a weak Rurikovich sits the Emerald Throne, those blows can be immensely destructive.
The Goryemkin have also taken to the Imperial Cult like ducks to water. Demographically, the prominence of the Imperial faith is stronger on Mikhail than anywhere else in Rurikovich space, and the clergy of Moskva is disproportionately populated by Mikhailese clergy. They are the most scholarly of the Rurikovich vassals, lacking the idyllic agrarianism of the Yusopov or the rugged iciness of the Aristarkhov, but as Duchess Maria Yusopov learned, underestimating them militarily is a quick way to an early grave.
Huh, we're not an Expert at Stewardship so long as our Focus is giving at least a +2 to it. It's currently +3 because it's our main Focus. On the other hand, the Commodore is now just barely Poor at Stewardship. I think we're going to have to keep him assigned to Martial, Piety and Learning options...
Also 'Yay', we've got the once-a-generation revolt against the Cult going on. But this time it's more serious than normal as it's two Great Houses rather than the normal one. Not sure if we should be hoping it becomes worse, spreads, or if it should stay contained. Because it's on the other side of the Empire and so is least likely to effect us at this time. But on the other hand, might see the Cult increasing tithes from those 'loyal' if it spreads.
Also we absolutely need to investigate those three systems ASAP. The easy resolution to the Guards revolt was also great, and it didn't cause massive casualties and widespread damage just as we started to get past the same from our brother's coup. Not sure which Advisor to choose...
I do find it amusing how the Boon and Disaster rolls were the opposite of what they needed to be.
I'll be posting one more thing tonight, and then tomorrow I will post the start of the next turn. Thanks again y'all, and enjoy!