This plan is based on combat being able to start immediately after deployment. Basically treating deployment like a normal turn that skips the move step. Celeshiro can confirm if that's accurate or not.
Aye, Pelicans act in the Transport Phase, after the Movement Phase right before the CQC Phase. So you can absolutely drop units straight into combat and then start getting stuck in.
Also I appreciate the map representing the intended movements, that'll definitely help out in visualizing your intended movement.
Looks like Lukepop's plan is solid then. Not to mention, if one of the hangers is occupied by CQC, shouldn't that reduce the overall available Sorties?
Looks like Lukepop's plan is solid then. Not to mention, if one of the hangers is occupied by CQC, shouldn't that reduce the overall available Sorties?
It's mentioned that in the CQC phase, there's usually only one victor and the other is 'shoved' off per say. If you happen to win one of the tiles, one of the two squadrons is probably going to lose planes from your people seizing/destroying whatever they can get their hands on. You'll likely do considerable damage given that they cannot defend themselves, and that damage will carry over as they cannot repair at the moment.
But you'll need to capture/drive off both hangers to achieve the strategic objective which is forcing the Airwing to totally relocate and burn their next sorties on that.
[X] Plan For House Iris
-[X] [Battalion] 1st Black Roses
--[X] Sec 1 E4 - Pelican
-[X] [Battalion] 1st Royals
--[X] Sec 1 F4 - Pelican
-[X] [Battalion] 1st Easters
--[X] Sec 1 G3 - Pelican
-[X] [Battalion] 1st Panthers
--[X] Sec 2 C5 - Pelican
-[X] [Battalion] 1st Tigers
--[X] Sec 2 B4 - Pelican -[X] [Evacuation] Permit evacuation of civilians and wait for the battlefield to clear.
Slight edit to send Royals into the airfield as well, with Easters as their backup. It's nasty business for them - probably the worst job we're going to give for the whole battle. But the chance they pull it out and let us deploy next turn is unfortunately worth it. The Big Cats are now on sector 2. For House Iris.
Key:
Yellow Dot = 1st Black Roses
Blue Dots = 1st Andernian Guards
EDIT 3: If you do see this Celeshiro, could I ask when do we get buffs from Violet? I believe you mentioned that leaders buff their units, depending on their Martial as well as other factors such as being the leader of their faction/house. Currently we've only seen Violets leadership affect our Stratagem income. She also rallied the Brilliance Knights, but that didn't seem to be what you meant.
Finally saw this question and I'll say that was a bit of the early system before the big design overhauls. The plan now is that direct bonus to combat will be applied to "Flagship units" that basically is the character in combat themselves and have unique features such a higher veterancy cap. They'll be properly detailed and explained when your Battlegroups start accumulating enough experience to form these special units.
For a really shorthand version/comparison, these bodyguard units would be something like the Praetorian Guard of those hardened veterans.
That sounds really cool! Will these "flagship units" be limited to ground units or will we be able to have special air wings and flagships? As dangerous and unpredictable as space combat is, having one of our characters lead from their own Flagship would be cool.
As a followup, if there can be multiple kinds of special units, can characters have/fit into multiple? E.g. can a character have a flagship as well as a personal guard but they can only be present at and buffing one of them?
I'm reminded of properties like star wars where many of the leading characters had a special ship, but also fought in ground battles as well. In particular the prequel trilogy/clone wars animated show where Anakin had his clone troopers as well as his starfighters.
That sounds really cool! Will these "flagship units" be limited to ground units or will we be able to have special air wings and flagships? As dangerous and unpredictable as space combat is, having one of our characters lead from their own Flagship would be cool
As a followup, if there can be multiple kinds of special units, can characters have/fit into multiple? E.g. can a character have a flagship as well as a personal guard but they can only be present at and buffing one of them?
Only personal command of one at a time, though these flagship units should still be deployable even without direct command. They are quite formidable in their own right with a higher veterancy limit.
I'll reveal the sealed orders now then. As a reminder, I made these before I even posted the battle situation to you lot, and I have not touched them since then. Let's see what your sister had decided.
Bastion Orders
Evacuation Permitted
1st Militia to Sector 2 C4
2nd Militia to Sector 2 C5
Alarms blared throughout the empty streets of Bastion the moment sensor officers frantically reported incoming contacts, aerial blips that could only be incoming Pelican dropships. Demands for immediate interception were met with helpless shrugs from Hornet maintenance crews, the dated aircraft now finally showings its age with several out-of-production parts that require extra care for proper operation. So as much as the older pilots were ranting and raving to live up to their name, their planes were still stuck helpless in the hangers next to the airfield.
However, they were not fully defenseless. Bastion Airstrip had naturally been recognized as a critical point of interest on both sides of the conflict and the defenders had made the appropriate preparations, infantry hastily setting up fire positions right outside the critical facilities. They occupied the air control tower and dragged out whatever barricades they could, trying their best to ready themselves for the incoming assault. More than once, the soldiers glanced at their seized weaponry and glumly noted the lack of any heavier ordinance that could stop the incoming Pelicans.
They were going to have to weather the attack the old fashioned way now.
The nervous anticipation wasn't solely theirs, though they had no way of knowing. Across the various passenger compartments of the Pelicans, there was a matching aura of trepidation when the updated mission orders came through. The soldiers of the 1st Royals were silent when they were informed that the new battle plan called not for calculated pressure from afar, but for direct close-quarters engagement. They were to attack the southern hangers directly while the allied Brilliance Knights took the north, with the intent of trying to immediately clear and force the defenders out.
It was a tall order, one that left many staring slightly numbly at their new orders. Then, with grim determination, one of the officers exhaled and began to softly sing. "It's a long, long way to Andernia three…"
Slowly, gradually, others began to pick up the tune and it eerily echoed through the shared communications link, filling the speakers of the Pelicans while the pilots stoically mapped and vectored for the final approach. Standby notices filtered through to the infantry kits but they still kept chanting while mechanically loading their weapons and checking their gear one last time. There was only a single faltering moment when the defenders opened up and began to try to pepper the Pelicans with light arms fire, the soldiers within losing their voice for a brief second when they realized it was time.
Then it came back with a roar from the throats of the 1st Royals "There'll be nowhere to hide, when the guards come about!" There was the thump of the Pelicans' automatic turrets suppressing the defenders to punctuate the moment. "ROYALS! HURRAH!"
The passenger doors swung open and the 1st Lily Guard leapt into their trial by fire, rappelling down the dropped cables.
(Critical Check (2nd Settlers): 43 -17 (Last Hit) = 26)
(Random Critical Effect: Rout! The unit panics and flees!)
The 1st Royals set their legacy in their unit's history there and then.
The enemy hadn't even manage to recover from the suppression from the transport craft before the troops of the upstart Solar Princess were upon them. All the sweat and effort put into fortifying the position was for naught when their opponents were already in their midst, and any form of discipline was broken immediately when those few who managed to raise their issued weapon were immediately cut down by a hail of high-power rounds.
Panicked cries rang out and the soldiers of the 2nd Settlers, barely-equipped volunteers, grabbed whatever they could and ran for their lives. They didn't care that they were fleeing out into the open fields, whatever was the fastest and quickest exit from the death that awaited them. They abandoned their positions and moments later, these same positions were then swiftly taken over by the focused infantry that wasted no time to indulge. Only a single message being passed up the chain of command indicated their jubilation.
"The 1st Royals have seized the tactical objective!"
In comparison, when the Pelican doors opened for the 1st Black Rose, they were silent when they took a running start and leapt out of the transport craft. They deployed from a greater height and without any rappelling gear, yet there was an eerie serenity and surety to all their movements. This was soon proven when miniature jets on their suits activated and quickly arrested their descent velocity, allowing the augmented humans to then smoothly tuck into controlled rolls and landings without pause or hesitation.
Unlike the defenders of the southern hangers, it looked like those who had been assigned to the north were made of far sterner stuff. They actually had proper-looking uniforms and had a disciplined coordination to them, especially with individual squads immediately adjusting to take aim at the calm Brilliance Knights. Mismatched weapons were raised and fired.
Only for the invaders to already be running, hands reaching behind to nimbly grab and equip the generously provided LLA4 Battle Rifles from their mysterious employer. These were fired one-handed while strafing the defending positions, the recoil barely an issue for the enhanced warriors. Then once a gap was created, the 1st Black Rose leapt forward, free hands pulling at sheathed hilts to unveil blessed weapons that had any Helmsmen, traitor or loyal, go weak at their knees.
Circuit Blades.
After a few more ineffective shots that did nothing, the leadership of the 1st Pioneers decided it was not worth losing more troops like this. "Pull back! Back, cover our retreating comrades!" A tactful order meant to disguise the retreat as a valiant rearguard to cover the panicked rout of the 2nd Settlers. With surprising cohesion, the battalion began to withdraw to the road nearby to set up a new firefight position.
The 1st Black Rose watched them go impassively before one let out a long sigh through their private line. "Can't say it feels good to kill old colleagues," One admitted and the feeling was silently shared. But they were a mercenary unit now, and they had a contract. "To allied units: we have secured the tactical objective."
The battle for Bastion Airfield was only one part of the invasion however. It was a strategic objective for sure, but the real prize was the trying to capture the city itself, necessitating control over valuable points of interest identified by intelligence planners. One such objective was a resource extractor that sat along the molten coastline, a facility meant to harvest valuable minerals that bubbled up from the planet's core. The 1st Tigers and 1st Panthers were tasked to seize it therefore, and their Pelicans came in to drop the soldiers off in the industrial park district.
It was none too soon, as it soon became apparent that the city's defenders recognized too the objective they wanted to protect. Their soldiers were already advancing steadily up the streets when the Pelicans came by and dispensed their cargo, and they immediately picked up the pace to storm the building complex that the 1st Panthers had seized for their operations.
Room to room firefighting ensued, across hallways and between staircases. It was surprisingly brief before with great reluctance, the city's defenders withdrew and dragged their casualties into an adjacent block. The 1st Panthers took a moment to catch their breath, then hastily manned fire positions to prepare for grueling attrition that so characterized urban combat.
(Critical Check (1st Pioneers): 34 -3 (Last Hit) = 31)
(Critical Effect: Confused Withdrawal! The unit scatters!)
The 1st Pioneers fired frantically at the Brilliance Knights in the distance, but to their continued frustration, the invaders seemed to simply weave between the bullets before ducking into cover. The frustration began to feed into desperation, especially when the self-declared rearguard came under fire again and that was the final straw that broke coordination between the units. "Are we attacking? Or are we retreating!"
"I don't know, just...go there!"
"I guess we did our job? Anything to get out of this nightmare!"
The 1st Black Rose and 1st Royals fired sporadically, but didn't pursue the fleeing enemies too intensely. They had the airfield secured- there was no reason to pursue the fleeing opponents any further. Rather, they turned inwards to the captured hangers and began to methodically go through to destroy any aircraft they could find, anything to reduce the danger for their ships in orbit. A dark satisfaction settled over them, a grudge paid back for the damage done to HMS Callerya.
Over in the city, it had evolved into the predicted slog of urban warfare of peaking through windows and firing across streets at distant targets. Nothing more than minor casualties were had and both sides settled in for a predicted competition in endurance. However, the invaders had still managed to successfully take control of the extraction facility and lay claim to the resources within. With this cut off, the city's fall should hopefully come sooner.
Sector 1: House Iris (1)
Sector 2: Contested.
Sector 3: None.
Sector 4: None.
Sector 5: House Iris Separatists (1)
Tactical Objectives: House Iris (3)
Total House Iris: 4
Total House Iris Separatists: 1
- I dunno what mania possessed me to finish this in one sitting. Pardon any mistakes, should only just be labeling but stats should be all good.
- The performance of the 1st Royals made my jaw drop. Your first unit...they really made a name for themselves there, and the first ground battle rolls as well. Incredible.
- I think that there is a delicate balance right now between how tanky units can be when just absorbing minimum damage, then the peril of failing crits. It's an interesting one that could cascade and lead to further openings to strike. An interesting feeling where it's almost like units are pressing against one another until the other stumbles or falters to then claim the initiative.
- I think that there is a delicate balance right now between how tanky units can be when just absorbing minimum damage, then the peril of failing crits. It's an interesting one that could cascade and lead to further openings to strike. An interesting feeling where it's almost like units pressing against one another until the other stumbles or falters to then claim the initiative.
This reminds me of medieval combat where the two sides would prob and clash, but wouldn't take all that many casualties. The main glut of losses comes when one side breaks and runs, leading to them getting run down and killed.
Also, how exactly are we doing combat effectiveness here? A realistic approach where even a 15% loss is devastating? Or a more arcade approach where even at 50% combat effectiveness a unit is still able to put up a decent fight?
1st Royals are getting all the medals for this. I also note that all engaged units so far only have militia weapons. Are the command battalions with actual weapons in Sector 5... or did the foolish sister leave them in Section D4?
Also, how exactly are we doing combat effectiveness here? A realistic approach where even a 15% loss is devastating? Or a more arcade approach where even at 50% combat effectiveness a unit is still able to put up a decent fight?
That was beautiful writing, and a hell of a roll for the 1st Royals. They rose to the challenge, and even further beyond. There's nowhere to hide when the guards come about - they've more than earned the prestige of their position.
The Big Cats acquitted themselves well too. Particularly since they were basically ambushed. Easters did solid work but this wasn't really their battle to shine in. At least not yet. We'll see what the enemy try next turn.
My thoughts for next turn are to have Royals and Easters hold down the airport and lay down long-range fire on the troops in their sector. Then move Black Roses into sector 2 and have them go to town in CQC. We probably have a turn before the airwing is back online, so I think we should make the most of it. Then of course the other four Pelicans can drop the 2nd Guards into sector 2. Surround them, and give 'em hell.
Two quick questions Celeshiro, what happens if a unit rolls a rout whilst they're surrounded? Do they surrender completely? Similar question, what happens if they lose a CQC whilst surrounded? If so, we might want to try and pull that off against the battalion in S2C4 or S2D6 (Sector 2 C4 and sector 2 D6).
Oh, separate question(s): is this just from our sisters naming conventions or do cities automatically get a unit or two to defend with?
As far as I remember her only units were the frontier guard. Or... did she get the frontier settlers for "free" , and then this is the from militia stratagem? If she did get the frontier settlers raised "for free", did the settlers still contribute to her militia level?
EDIT: I will note, moving out the Black Roses will mean that their fort is able to be "taken" in CQC this turn. As far as I know, If units in a fort don't move, then you can't move into that tile from more than a tile away - unless you use transports. So honestly I might just want to drop one of the 2nd Battalions onto their position. Keep the numbers on our side after we move out the Knights. On the bright-side, they won't be able to rush the Royals next turn.
Two quick questions Celeshiro, what happens if a unit rolls a rout whilst they're surrounded? Do they surrender completely? Similar question, what happens if they lose a CQC whilst surrounded?
It'll depend on the situation at hand. If they surrender, that's easy enough but if they decide to fight to break out, they'll be smacked with a free attack on the way past the unit they forced their way through.
As far as I remember her only units were the frontier guard. Or... did she get the frontier settlers for "free" , and then this is the from militia stratagem? If she did get the frontier settlers raised "for free", did the settlers still contribute to her militia level?
The settlers are the militia auxiliaries that were put to pad out the Frontier Guard, they've been there before. The militia are the militia units she raised this subcycle.
The settlers are the militia auxiliaries that were put to pad out the Frontier Guard, they've been there before. The militia are the militia units she raised this subcycle.
So basically, the other Frontier Guard regiment is still on its way. It's kind of odd though. If the Pioneers are the command battalion, why are they only carrying Militia Weapons? They should be better armed than that.
My thoughts for next turn are to have Royals and Easters hold down the airport and lay down long-range fire on the troops in their sector. Then move Black Roses into sector 2 and have them go to town in CQC. We probably have a turn before the airwing is back online, so I think we should make the most of it. Then of course the other four Pelicans can drop the 2nd Guards into sector 2. Surround them, and give 'em hell.
Honestly, I'm rather tempted to drop the 2nd Guards onto the Frontier Headquarters and eviscerate their command and control. On the other hand, well, there's merit in reinforcing our positions in Sectors 1-2 against the reinforcements. On the third hand, the foolish sister doesn't realize every Guard battalion has AA weapons, and I can't wait to see what happens to her Pelicans.
EDIT: I will note, moving out the Black Roses will mean that their fort is able to be "taken" in CQC this turn. As far as I know, If units in a fort don't move, then you can't move into that tile from more than a tile away - unless you use transports. So honestly I might just want to drop one of the 2nd Battalions onto their position. Keep the numbers on our side after we move out the Knights. On the bright-side, they won't be able to rush the Royals next turn.
Considering we just routed both enemy units there last turn, I doubt they're up for a counterattack. We can move the Easters in to replace the Black Roses.
Not at this moment, ship weapons currently begin on "the block a few miles away from the intended target" in terms of shot accuracy. Firing in Zero-G and firing in atmospheric conditions are two very different things.
Ships are more for saturation bombardments while aircraft handle precision strikes.
