The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

Investigate the Sea?

  • Yes

    Votes: 593 80.4%
  • No

    Votes: 145 19.6%

  • Total voters
    738
More analysing.

They definitely want to attack the void-space over Dis. I want to avoid this, but which approach is more likely to succeed in that?
Plan Subtle approach destroys a substantial amount of their escorts, possibly making them focus their fleets on protecting the transports even more and therefore not attacking void-spaces we defend.
Plan Wreck destroys even more of their escorts, as well as some targets of opportunity, making any battles over Dis slightly less favourable for them, but probably nothing to write home about. But it also tells them that they are being predicted.
Knowing that they are being predicted, the Valinor high command has to wonder: "How long have these bastards been predicting this invasion? How much do they know, and have they already prepared enough for us that they think they can win?" It's gotta make them nervous about this entire war, paranoid, and second guessing if they are doing enough.
Plan Wreck might make the enemy think that they are walking into a trap. But knowing that the Trust is also being attacked by a large Waaagh, and not knowing exactly how much we know, they shouldn't get desperate just yet, just nervous and cautious.
So long as the enemy think they are making progress, they won't try anything drastic, is my impression from what Durin has been telling us. They'll get their troops on the ground, and if we conserve our ground harassment, they should think; "They can predict us, they can harass us, but they can't stop us". Maybe.

That said, in order to maximise their available resources, the enemy will want to move all their ground forces before even thinking about sacrificing their battleships (besides, they have to get their armies in position to take advantage of unfortified breaches from kamikaze attacks).
Then, would they attack the Dis void-space during this wave, or wait until they actually need that void-space? The former lets them apply a larger, less harassed force to that attack, the latter lets them escort their transports with a fleet that hasn't been depleted by a serious battle. I think they'll probably attack, and then retreat when they see that the resistance they're dealing with isn't worth it to them - not yet.
They don't know right now that they'll likely have to kamikaze, and again, they'll have to guard their transports all the closer with their main fleet if they are deprived of enough escorts.
Furthermore, if they kamikaze while their armies still aren't in position, then we can fortify whatever breaches they might score in the meantime.
With plan Subtle, they are all the more likely to underestimate the harassment we'll be able to apply, and therefore to postpone the battle above Dis.
Based on their numbers, there is no way we can stop them if they decide to go MAD.
Actually, with the orbital defences and fire support from Dis, Durin says that "there is a decent chance that you will be able to hold the area directly above Dis for a considerable time". A "considerable time" might be until all their troops have been landed. Then they'll have no more use for the fleet besides orbital support or kamikaze, so they have plenty of reason to fight for the void over Dis, and none not to do so.

The enemy is likely to take the void-space over Dis at around the same time whichever option we go with here.
At some point, we probably will have to go Blatant. If that point is early enough, being subtle here will have been for naught.
All of which leaves us with these question: Will that point be reached before or after they're done unloading all their troops? Will we be best served just going full blatant here from the start?
@Durin
How nervous will the enemy become if they figure out that they are being predicted?
 
Last edited:
Holy shit that's a lot of Abomination fucks to kill. We need more gun for this.

Tech trading and Rosklide just went up on my priorities list. Anyone got any ideas of what we can trade the Eldar for webway access? Besides the DE info of course.
 
While the fact they have bunch of daemonships (angylships?) is worrying by itself I think it's to our benefit, since they almost guarantee that Avernus natives like Island Turtles will add to our anti-orbital fire.
 
Yeah, thinking it over, what I'm getting to is that, between Plan Wreck and Plan Subtle, wreck is the most likely to backfire. And we don't need to kill a lot of escorts, just enough that we can get some good ambushes against the battleships and transports, which will likely be easier with unrevealed prediction than with fewer enemy escorts.
 
It's also worth pointing out that we may be able to do more damage over the week with subtle, or at least keep the casualty rates on our side lower - if they figure out we've predicted them early on in their week long advance towards Avernus, then they may just stop their predictable and easier to pick off patrols, change their routes up, or just move all their forces into a big ball to force any harassing forces to engage a larger and more dangerous fleet.
 
[X] Plan Subtle Ambush

Once we go full blatant about knowing their plans the Abominationists will either go forward with the compromised plan (which plays into Sarnow's hands) or will try to make new decisions on the spot (mass confusion). In either case, the bonus will be best utilized when we have all the home ground advantage (orbitals, cities, Avernus) working alongside our fleet.
 
Last edited:
More damage over the week?

A stationary fleet is far less vunerable to harrassment than a moving one. Once their are over Avernus harrassment will be very hard. Look at Fjord IV invasion: Once we had reached the planet the DARL ELDAR harrassment stopped.
 
Remember, they don't have their entire Crusade force here. They didn't have enough spacelift capacity available, so the transports and mass conveyors are going to be making multiple trips once the Crusade starts landing forces. They will need to be escorted on those trips for more forces, or our own surviving ships will be able to massacre the transports once they leave the protection of the Crusade fleet. If we weaken their escort craft enough, they'll be forced to either risk sending the transports back with inadequate protection, or risk leaving to few forces to hold orbit, and their deployed forces being left cut off, to either be destroyed from orbit or left to wither on the vine without supplies.
 
Nah we got plenty of gun.
For Avernus yeah, I figure all the warpy shit will provoke a violent reaction. But if say, Vanaheim was attacked in a similar situation? I'd be concerned.

We also need more gun so we can engage such forces and be able to win faster ergo less hulls needing to be rebuilt and less soldiers need to be born.
Anyway, divining DE enclaves
Wouldnt the Eldar have enough seers to do it themselves?

Are we expecting any reinforcements? From our reserves or the Ork task force once things are handled?
 
Would we want them, on Avernus of all places, leaving other worlds more vulnerable?
Thanks to the Order of Omens a third front isn't something we had to worry about. Plus, the reinforcements include about half a chapter of marines and many Knights.

Attrition from wildlife is inevitable, but I want to get rid of this crusade as fast as possible. We need avernite bodies to colonize Valinor's holdings after this anyways.
 
For Avernus yeah, I figure all the warpy shit will provoke a violent reaction. But if say, Vanaheim was attacked in a similar situation? I'd be concerned.
Vanaheim are the bunch I'm least worried about, best orbital defences in the Trust remember.

Wouldnt the Eldar have enough seers to do it themselves?
Seers sure, ones that can bypass any ward below divine level, remain undetected and do it from anywhere.

I don't think they have many that can do that.

We need avernite bodies to colonize Valinor's holdings after this anyways.
Lets actually take Valinor's worlds first.
 
Remember, they don't have their entire Crusade force here. They didn't have enough spacelift capacity available, so the transports and mass conveyors are going to be making multiple trips once the Crusade starts landing forces. They will need to be escorted on those trips for more forces, or our own surviving ships will be able to massacre the transports once they leave the protection of the Crusade fleet. If we weaken their escort craft enough, they'll be forced to either risk sending the transports back with inadequate protection, or risk leaving to few forces to hold orbit, and their deployed forces being left cut off, to either be destroyed from orbit or left to wither on the vine without supplies.
I'm pretty sure the entire crusade itself is here, the second pass would only bring standard Guardsmen from Valinor. Remember this is suicide run for them, if they could they would continue to ship the troops until they bring every troop and citizen down to their last child with a sharp stick.
Wouldnt the Eldar have enough seers to do it themselves?
Unlike Ridcully they can't go "LOL, WARDS".
 
Thanks to the Order of Omens a third front isn't something we had to worry about.
Implying our diviners aren't busy enough already. But fine, assuming we can bus such elites back and forth rapidly, I can see getting some elites in without it now tipping our hand about predicting this attack. Regular troops should be able to hold any split attacks until we can get reinforcements there.
We need avernite bodies to colonize Valinor's holdings
Why Avernite ones in particular? And we have enough overextension already (just be glad this isn't EU4), so we might want to leave those worlds to the Blood Dragons. At least share with them.
the second pass would only bring standard Guardsmen from Valinor.
Actually, Durin says this wave of ground forces is
What they bring in the next wave might depend on what happens from here on. But they probably still have some of their more elite forces back on Valinor.
 
Last edited:
Why Avernite ones in particular?
Chaos resistance, apparently the Nilfar don't do too well off Nilfheim.

They're also the only worlds the council would seriously consider Avernoforming.

And we have enough overextension already (just be glad this isn't EU4), so we might want to leave those worlds to the Blood Dragons. At least share with them.
While I agree we shouldn't take them yet, the worlds are impractical for the Blood Dragons to take, they're on the other side of us.
 
Why Avernite ones in particular? And we have enough overextension already (just be glad this isn't EU4), so we might want to leave those worlds to the Blood Dragons. At least share with them.
Avernite humans have 2 cultural traits that help against Chaos corruption. Colonists on former-Chaos worlds will need that to survive.

EDIT: Here they are:
Pious (-5% cultist recruitment, +1P)- The people of Avernus have always had a strong faith in the Emperor, even in the years immedatly following his death.
Strong Will (-5% cultist recruitment, +10 to all rolls to resist mental effects, +5 against Chaos Psykers, +1P) - The people of Avernus have been forced to develop strong wills and a resistance to Warp trickery due to the environment that they live in. As a result of this they are more resistant to the lure of Chaos then most and are eminently well suited to combat with Psykers.
 
Now I kno0w what we forgot in the last meeting: Asking for the colonization right to one of the planets of Valinor and to turn it into a death world.
 
Back
Top