Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
Yeah most of my ideas are useful at ground level due to a lot of RTS games so making tech for fleets isn't my specialty.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears (WH40k Design Bureau)
- Thread starter DaLintyGuy
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
My problem seemed to be not being able to organically put together a decent storyline for a single character with the correct detail. By myself at least.
Hence looking at a more organizational game.
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario(occasionally)
On the other hand, if a lot of the damage that gets through current armor is a side effect of the current armor flashing into plasma, which carries the force of the blow deeper into the ship, or if said internal void shields are in situations to block anti-armor attacks that specialize on penetrating armor and only armor(rather than clearing it away over large areas), it could be quite effective.
To prove that I have, in fact, accomplished something today:
-[X] 2nd Naval Squadron + 1st Torpedo Squadron + 2nd Torpedo Squadron + 1st Support Squadron + 1st Auxiliary Squadron + 6th Crusade Infantry Army & 1st Calavar Infantry Army + 1st & 2nd Bridgehead Armies + 1st Crusade Defense Army + Calavar Holy Shield Army + 1st Calavar Armored Army
--[X] Civilized World Oprechna : Probe in force and seek to destroy the foul sorcery found here if possible.
With confirmation of what the unexplained effects emanating from Oprechna meant for the future the Admiralty hastened to put together a force to eliminate it's blight from existence. It represented a deadly threat to the Crusade and Calavar not only due to the mobility it represented but also due to the reinforcements it could summon from without the Subsector. Such ships, if not denied access, could represent a critical threat to the shipping and second line vessels of the Crusade.
And so the invasion fleet pushed out of the docks. With the heaviest metal and biggest sticks in the fleet present it was hoped that this would be enough to break the enemy and cast down their blasphemous works.Yet not even a week out and the Navigators present rocked as if struck. When their minders carefully asked what was wrong they were told in fearful whispers that a great eye had turned to regard them. Soon after the Crusade force was reminded of the type of foe they sought to bring to battle.
Great tendrils coiled around the fleet, on the scale of planets and more. Their motions were not directly threatening as their clumsy motions were not guided by an inhuman intellect of this blighted dimension yet they were no less dangerous for it as the Immaterium was agitated by their passing. Charting a course became almost impossible.
Solving the problem through the simple expedient of pushing to the one spot the forces were attempting to prevent passage to, the Light of Faith and Light of Dawn were the first two ships to emerge into the Oprechna system. Their faith burning in their hearts they nonetheless accepted a sedate pace into the system as the odds of victory would be increased if all the Crusade vessels engaged in concert. The Traitors present here knew that the opposite was true and so nearly the full force of those vessels present burned out to meet them.
As the two formations neared to contact a handful of emergence portals flared across the outer system: Crusade ships, blown off course, doggedly making their way to the location that the Great Enemy had proven itself to be.
[Combat Initiated
Friendly Forces:
-4x Castigation-class Torpedo Corvettes
-1x Indomitable-class Heavy Frigate
-1x Long Arm-class Frigate
-1x Resolute-class Corvette
-1x Warrior-class Corvette
-1x Escort Carrier
-1x Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
-1x Ferryman-class Transport
-4x Auxiliary Transports
Enemy Forces:
-3x Iconoclast Raiders
-1x Infidel Raider
-9x Assorted Pirate Ships
-2x Polar "Gates"]
The Second Torpedo Squadron tried to break off in order to link up with the newly arrived members of the invasion flotilla but they were already committed. Most of the hostile warships could at least match the performance of Calavan engines. Any conceivable attempt to escape would do little more than turn the bow launchers away from the foe.
A quartet of Indignant Torpedoes were slammed away from the Calavan warships after last minute sanctifications and invocations of the spirits of the weapons to bring destruction and ruin to the enemies of Mankind and the Omnissiah. Riding plumes of star blood into the void they plunged like celestial arrows into the already dissolving formation of the enemy. Small pinpricks rose to meet them as boarding craft were pressed into service as impromptu interceptors and triggered the quiescent targeting systems built into the noses of the much more massive weapons.
First one, then two actinic flares pulsed out from the Traitor fleet as warheads struck home against the pirate vessels that bulked out the fleet and burst one apart like a hammer striking a ripe fruit. Yet the Castigation-class ships were now reloading their primary weapon, and there were a great deal more enemy ships still active…
Shells began crashing against the armor of both sides as the gunnery of both sides came into range. Discipline held aboard the Calavan torpedo ships and the two vessels calmly picked a single target to focus down: an Iconoclast Raider with markings more akin to the common pirate than cultists. Boarding craft joined the cacophony of shell impacts in slowly wearing through the Castigations' spaced armor yet the rabble held inside, while equipped to the same standards as Imperial Guard, were not a match for kill teams of Sisters of Battle leading parties of armsmen.
Even so the damage piled up as the Iconoclasts rammed volley after volley into the slightly weaker armor of their opposites. Once other Crusade craft approached the more effective of the Traitor vessels peeled off to engage, leaving a pair of pirate ships to try and force the boarding of the stricken vessels.
A handful of engagements formed around the site of the fist, as disparate Crusade elements were engaged by their Traitor opponents. Something that quickly died back down as the performance of the Crusade ships was made evident and found to be far too even for any raider's taste. The much faster Traitor vessels fled to the orbit of Oprechna and let the Crusade ships reform around the stricken ships of Torpedo Squadron Two. While ground forces secured the ships the squadron commanders met and agreed to press home the attack.
It was hardly the biggest display of military might the Crusade had borne witness to, yet seven warships acting in concert was nothing to sneeze at.
Something the enemy knew as well. Hence the use of the psychic foci built over the murdered world to summon daemons directly onto the decks of the unshielded torpedo corvettes as battle was joined. Twisting fiends slid and glided through the decks in pursuit of the crew even as the greater of their number sought out important locations for destruction. The bow of the Spear of Fury disappeared behind a bright flash as one of it's munitions were detonated by the unnatural intruders. Spot failures let some measure of horrors onboard most ships in the fleet but military training held and they were ruthlessly crushed by augmented garrisons.
Despite this last sorcerous measure, the enemy vessels were outmatched by the power of the heavy frigates the Crusade force had brought as well as that of the Starhawks brought to bear by the Due Excise. Two of their Raiders had been left burning hulks, one of which was burning through the atmosphere of Oprechna, and most of the pirate ships were broken by the power of gunnery they were never meant to withstand. With no defenders to hide behind the "Gates" of the world were subjected to bombardment by every source available, starting with naval gunfire and ending with the ramming of barely functional wrecks recovered from the battlefield.
With thunderous, sucking roars felt in the mind rather than heard, the blasphemous constructs built with a world worth of Human remains collapse into the Warp. So ends Interim Governor-Captain Mikale Hask, may he reap what he is owed for his defeat.
[Campaign Result: Victory!
Friendly Losses:
Heavy to Critical Damage across Castigation Corvettes (8+8+10+15=41M)
Light Damage to the gunline (12M)
Restocking ordnance (14M)
Enemy Losses:
2x Iconoclast Raiders
6x Pirate Ships
2x Polar "Gates"]
--[X] Civilized World Oprechna : Probe in force and seek to destroy the foul sorcery found here if possible.
With confirmation of what the unexplained effects emanating from Oprechna meant for the future the Admiralty hastened to put together a force to eliminate it's blight from existence. It represented a deadly threat to the Crusade and Calavar not only due to the mobility it represented but also due to the reinforcements it could summon from without the Subsector. Such ships, if not denied access, could represent a critical threat to the shipping and second line vessels of the Crusade.
And so the invasion fleet pushed out of the docks. With the heaviest metal and biggest sticks in the fleet present it was hoped that this would be enough to break the enemy and cast down their blasphemous works.Yet not even a week out and the Navigators present rocked as if struck. When their minders carefully asked what was wrong they were told in fearful whispers that a great eye had turned to regard them. Soon after the Crusade force was reminded of the type of foe they sought to bring to battle.
Great tendrils coiled around the fleet, on the scale of planets and more. Their motions were not directly threatening as their clumsy motions were not guided by an inhuman intellect of this blighted dimension yet they were no less dangerous for it as the Immaterium was agitated by their passing. Charting a course became almost impossible.
Solving the problem through the simple expedient of pushing to the one spot the forces were attempting to prevent passage to, the Light of Faith and Light of Dawn were the first two ships to emerge into the Oprechna system. Their faith burning in their hearts they nonetheless accepted a sedate pace into the system as the odds of victory would be increased if all the Crusade vessels engaged in concert. The Traitors present here knew that the opposite was true and so nearly the full force of those vessels present burned out to meet them.
As the two formations neared to contact a handful of emergence portals flared across the outer system: Crusade ships, blown off course, doggedly making their way to the location that the Great Enemy had proven itself to be.
[Combat Initiated
Friendly Forces:
-4x Castigation-class Torpedo Corvettes
-1x Indomitable-class Heavy Frigate
-1x Long Arm-class Frigate
-1x Resolute-class Corvette
-1x Warrior-class Corvette
-1x Escort Carrier
-1x Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
-1x Ferryman-class Transport
-4x Auxiliary Transports
Enemy Forces:
-3x Iconoclast Raiders
-1x Infidel Raider
-9x Assorted Pirate Ships
-2x Polar "Gates"]
The Second Torpedo Squadron tried to break off in order to link up with the newly arrived members of the invasion flotilla but they were already committed. Most of the hostile warships could at least match the performance of Calavan engines. Any conceivable attempt to escape would do little more than turn the bow launchers away from the foe.
A quartet of Indignant Torpedoes were slammed away from the Calavan warships after last minute sanctifications and invocations of the spirits of the weapons to bring destruction and ruin to the enemies of Mankind and the Omnissiah. Riding plumes of star blood into the void they plunged like celestial arrows into the already dissolving formation of the enemy. Small pinpricks rose to meet them as boarding craft were pressed into service as impromptu interceptors and triggered the quiescent targeting systems built into the noses of the much more massive weapons.
First one, then two actinic flares pulsed out from the Traitor fleet as warheads struck home against the pirate vessels that bulked out the fleet and burst one apart like a hammer striking a ripe fruit. Yet the Castigation-class ships were now reloading their primary weapon, and there were a great deal more enemy ships still active…
Shells began crashing against the armor of both sides as the gunnery of both sides came into range. Discipline held aboard the Calavan torpedo ships and the two vessels calmly picked a single target to focus down: an Iconoclast Raider with markings more akin to the common pirate than cultists. Boarding craft joined the cacophony of shell impacts in slowly wearing through the Castigations' spaced armor yet the rabble held inside, while equipped to the same standards as Imperial Guard, were not a match for kill teams of Sisters of Battle leading parties of armsmen.
Even so the damage piled up as the Iconoclasts rammed volley after volley into the slightly weaker armor of their opposites. Once other Crusade craft approached the more effective of the Traitor vessels peeled off to engage, leaving a pair of pirate ships to try and force the boarding of the stricken vessels.
A handful of engagements formed around the site of the fist, as disparate Crusade elements were engaged by their Traitor opponents. Something that quickly died back down as the performance of the Crusade ships was made evident and found to be far too even for any raider's taste. The much faster Traitor vessels fled to the orbit of Oprechna and let the Crusade ships reform around the stricken ships of Torpedo Squadron Two. While ground forces secured the ships the squadron commanders met and agreed to press home the attack.
It was hardly the biggest display of military might the Crusade had borne witness to, yet seven warships acting in concert was nothing to sneeze at.
Something the enemy knew as well. Hence the use of the psychic foci built over the murdered world to summon daemons directly onto the decks of the unshielded torpedo corvettes as battle was joined. Twisting fiends slid and glided through the decks in pursuit of the crew even as the greater of their number sought out important locations for destruction. The bow of the Spear of Fury disappeared behind a bright flash as one of it's munitions were detonated by the unnatural intruders. Spot failures let some measure of horrors onboard most ships in the fleet but military training held and they were ruthlessly crushed by augmented garrisons.
Despite this last sorcerous measure, the enemy vessels were outmatched by the power of the heavy frigates the Crusade force had brought as well as that of the Starhawks brought to bear by the Due Excise. Two of their Raiders had been left burning hulks, one of which was burning through the atmosphere of Oprechna, and most of the pirate ships were broken by the power of gunnery they were never meant to withstand. With no defenders to hide behind the "Gates" of the world were subjected to bombardment by every source available, starting with naval gunfire and ending with the ramming of barely functional wrecks recovered from the battlefield.
With thunderous, sucking roars felt in the mind rather than heard, the blasphemous constructs built with a world worth of Human remains collapse into the Warp. So ends Interim Governor-Captain Mikale Hask, may he reap what he is owed for his defeat.
[Campaign Result: Victory!
Friendly Losses:
Heavy to Critical Damage across Castigation Corvettes (8+8+10+15=41M)
Light Damage to the gunline (12M)
Restocking ordnance (14M)
Enemy Losses:
2x Iconoclast Raiders
6x Pirate Ships
2x Polar "Gates"]
In this case it was mostly unavoidable, as it was actively made much worse than normal dispersion. Otherwise, yes, some level of mitigation could have been achieved through Warp Drives built for that purpose.
Honestly, though, it sounds like most of the damage was caused by the daemons summoned onto the unshielded ships. That's a much easier problem to address, although losing that half-point of armor will really hurt.
67M of damage+reloads is worse than I was hoping for, but a lot better than it could have been. I'm not sure how tough Iconoclasts are compared to proper non-raider warships, but it's good to know that our ships are now comfortably superior to typical pirate vessels in the rest of the galaxy.
67M of damage+reloads is worse than I was hoping for, but a lot better than it could have been. I'm not sure how tough Iconoclasts are compared to proper non-raider warships, but it's good to know that our ships are now comfortably superior to typical pirate vessels in the rest of the galaxy.
Turn Seven Strategy Phase Results: Oprechna, Lativa, Hulk Hunting
[X] Plan Holding Steady
-[X] 2nd Naval Squadron + 1st Torpedo Squadron + 2nd Torpedo Squadron + 1st Support Squadron + 1st Auxiliary Squadron + 6th Crusade Infantry Army & 1st Calavar Infantry Army + 1st & 2nd Bridgehead Armies + 1st Crusade Defense Army + Calavar Holy Shield Army + 1st Calavar Armored Army
--[X] Civilized World Oprechna : Probe in force and seek to destroy the foul sorcery found here if possible.
With confirmation of what the unexplained effects emanating from Oprechna meant for the future the Admiralty hastened to put together a force to eliminate it's blight from existence. It represented a deadly threat to the Crusade and Calavar not only due to the mobility it represented but also due to the reinforcements it could summon from without the Subsector. Such ships, if not denied access, could represent a critical threat to the shipping and second line vessels of the Crusade.
And so the invasion fleet pushed out of the docks. With the heaviest metal and biggest sticks in the fleet present it was hoped that this would be enough to break the enemy and cast down their blasphemous works.Yet not even a week out and the Navigators present rocked as if struck. When their minders carefully asked what was wrong they were told in fearful whispers that a great eye had turned to regard them. Soon after the Crusade force was reminded of the type of foe they sought to bring to battle.
Great tendrils coiled around the fleet, on the scale of planets and more. Their motions were not directly threatening as their clumsy motions were not guided by an inhuman intellect of this blighted dimension yet they were no less dangerous for it as the Immaterium was agitated by their passing. Charting a course became almost impossible.
Solving the problem through the simple expedient of pushing to the one spot the forces were attempting to prevent passage to, the Light of Faith and Light of Dawn were the first two ships to emerge into the Oprechna system. Their faith burning in their hearts they nonetheless accepted a sedate pace into the system as the odds of victory would be increased if all the Crusade vessels engaged in concert. The Traitors present here knew that the opposite was true and so nearly the full force of those vessels present burned out to meet them.
As the two formations neared to contact a handful of emergence portals flared across the outer system: Crusade ships, blown off course, doggedly making their way to the location that the Great Enemy had proven itself to be.
[Combat Initiated
Friendly Forces:
-4x Castigation-class Torpedo Corvettes
-1x Indomitable-class Heavy Frigate
-1x Long Arm-class Frigate
-1x Resolute-class Corvette
-1x Warrior-class Corvette
-1x Escort Carrier
-1x Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
-1x Ferryman-class Transport
-4x Auxiliary Transports
Enemy Forces:
-3x Iconoclast Raiders
-1x Infidel Raider
-9x Assorted Pirate Ships
-2x Polar "Gates"]
The Second Torpedo Squadron tried to break off in order to link up with the newly arrived members of the invasion flotilla but they were already committed. Most of the hostile warships could at least match the performance of Calavan engines. Any conceivable attempt to escape would do little more than turn the bow launchers away from the foe.
A quartet of Indignant Torpedoes were slammed away from the Calavan warships after last minute sanctifications and invocations of the spirits of the weapons to bring destruction and ruin to the enemies of Mankind and the Omnissiah. Riding plumes of star blood into the void they plunged like celestial arrows into the already dissolving formation of the enemy. Small pinpricks rose to meet them as boarding craft were pressed into service as impromptu interceptors and triggered the quiescent targeting systems built into the noses of the much more massive weapons.
First one, then two actinic flares pulsed out from the Traitor fleet as warheads struck home against the pirate vessels that bulked out the fleet and burst one apart like a hammer striking a ripe fruit. Yet the Castigation-class ships were now reloading their primary weapon, and there were a great deal more enemy ships still active…
Shells began crashing against the armor of both sides as the gunnery of both sides came into range. Discipline held aboard the Calavan torpedo ships and the two vessels calmly picked a single target to focus down: an Iconoclast Raider with markings more akin to the common pirate than cultists. Boarding craft joined the cacophony of shell impacts in slowly wearing through the Castigations' spaced armor yet the rabble held inside, while equipped to the same standards as Imperial Guard, were not a match for kill teams of Sisters of Battle leading parties of armsmen.
Even so the damage piled up as the Iconoclasts rammed volley after volley into the slightly weaker armor of their opposites. Once other Crusade craft approached the more effective of the Traitor vessels peeled off to engage, leaving a pair of pirate ships to try and force the boarding of the stricken vessels.
A handful of engagements formed around the site of the fist, as disparate Crusade elements were engaged by their Traitor opponents. Something that quickly died back down as the performance of the Crusade ships was made evident and found to be far too even for any raider's taste. The much faster Traitor vessels fled to the orbit of Oprechna and let the Crusade ships reform around the stricken ships of Torpedo Squadron Two. While ground forces secured the ships the squadron commanders met and agreed to press home the attack.
It was hardly the biggest display of military might the Crusade had borne witness to, yet seven warships acting in concert was nothing to sneeze at.
Something the enemy knew as well. Hence the use of the psychic foci built over the murdered world to summon daemons directly onto the decks of the unshielded torpedo corvettes as battle was joined. Twisting fiends slid and glided through the decks in pursuit of the crew even as the greater of their number sought out important locations for destruction. The bow of the Spear of Fury disappeared behind a bright flash as one of it's munitions were detonated by the unnatural intruders. Spot failures let some measure of horrors onboard most ships in the fleet but military training held and they were ruthlessly crushed by augmented garrisons.
Despite this last sorcerous measure, the enemy vessels were outmatched by the power of the heavy frigates the Crusade force had brought as well as that of the Starhawks brought to bear by the Due Excise. Two of their Raiders had been left burning hulks, one of which was burning through the atmosphere of Oprechna, and most of the pirate ships were broken by the power of gunnery they were never meant to withstand. With no defenders to hide behind the "Gates" of the world were subjected to bombardment by every source available, starting with naval gunfire and ending with the ramming of barely functional wrecks recovered from the battlefield.
With thunderous, sucking roars felt in the mind rather than heard, the blasphemous constructs built with a world worth of Human remains collapse into the Warp. So ends Interim Governor-Captain Mikale Hask, may he reap what he is owed for his defeat.
[Campaign Result: Victory!
Friendly Losses:
Heavy to Critical Damage across Castigation Corvettes (8+8+10+15=41M)
Light Damage to the gunline (12M)
Restocking ordnance (14M)
Enemy Losses:
2x Iconoclast Raiders
6x Pirate Ships
2x Polar "Gates"]
-[X] 3rd Naval Squadron + 4th Naval Squadron
--[X] Shrine World Lativa (60LY): Anti-Raider patrol and reinforce against enemy attacks
The inhabitants of the Shrine World of Lativa were no stranger to hardship. Orks still came running out of jungles and mountains where settlers had seen little point in developing in order to revel in the simple joy of destruction and so soldiers were required to push them back into their wilderness fortresses. It had been some time since last an attacker had descended from orbit but not so long that habits had been unlearned.
Evacuations into the hearts of cities built for defense were carried out as soon as enemy vessels began to burn into the system. Soldiers reported to their armories in the tens of millions to be issued the heavy weaponry that was impractical to keep at hand when it was not in demand. The Daughters of the Emperor and the priests of the Adeptus Ministorum performed their duties, be it staffing aid centers, preparing for deployment into the thickest fighting, or exhorting the troops to do their utmost for Humanity and the Imperium.
But when the enemy made planetfall it was not Orks that emerged from the first drop pods but rather metal plated beings the size of Astartes that required firepower a step above that of the common lasgun to bring down. Bolters, autocannon, and other medium weight weaponry found purchase on their plating and laid the crafted soldiers low to release finger sized insectoids from interior compartments. Soon it became clear that all of the enemy were like this, even those that were built like skeletal children, and the enemy was given the name of the apocryphal destroyer: Locroft.
Six frigates took up position in orbit to safeguard Locroft troop transports, looking somewhat like jagged teeth. To the dismay and rage of the Human forces the Locroft pit the majority of their forces against the weakest positions first in order to break into and consume the defenders, as the missile battery built on the world prevented easy deployment into the major cities. Loping infantry analogues darted ahead of heavy tracked vehicles and medium weight walkers akin to a midpoint between Crusade Sentinels and Guardians, using projectile and missile weaponry to break positions and bodies.
The might of the Crusade reverted back into reality at the edge of the system, sent in response to the threat and with murder in their eyes. Despite the sluggishness of the Locroft ships the Xenos craft withdrew from planetary orbit with their transports in tow. Not content with that, as the Crusade squadron was not sent with a ground force with which to relieve the Shrone World, the Human ships hunted their opponents through the outer system.
After pinning a pair of the newly designated Wedge-class in a Jovian's secondary system and destroying them thanks to surgical strikes by Savior Mutiroles, additional Locroft vessels entered the system. Another four Wedge-class Frigates, each the match of the Indomitable, along with a pair of heavy Escorts that would prove to be carriers. Locroft strike craft would prove to be capable void superiority craft but weak bombers, carrying racks of small missiles for fighter clearance rather than weapons large enough to be a serious threat to the Crusade ships.
With the disparity of firepower it was the Crusade's turn to back off warily. There would be some skirmishing, but without a decisive edge one way or another the campaign would not be resolved in the void.
The Locroft ships, after taking stock of the situation, resupplied their ground troops and then returned back the way they came leaving but a pair of pickets on the edge of the system. With that, the Crusade force hung in Lativa's orbit, providing air support and orbital imaging to the troops on the ground.
[Campaign Result: Ongoing
Minor Xenos identified, designated "Locroft". Enemy is a quasi hive-mind of insect analogues that use their minor psychic talents collectively to pilot vehicles and exoskeletons in order to wage war and consume the flesh and souls of the fallen.
Situation on the ground is stable. While the Locroft space forces are too large to be conventionally defeated at this time as they practice convoy tactics and move in a body Lativa has been prepared for attack for some time now. An estimated four armies are present, thought to be two Mechanized Infantry, an Armored, and one of Superheavy factory-crawlers. Enemy forces are engaging in a bite-and-hold strategy, using the materials of population centers to add to fallen fortified complexes. Anti-orbital positions have been put in place.
12M in assorted repairs]
-[X] 2nd Patrol Squadron + 2nd Support Squadron + 1st Calavar Void Army
--[X] Space Hulk Hunting and Looting
The act of going out looking for Space Hulks to capture has a long and varied history. From the highest quality of forces being called upon to destroy the malfunctioning Warp drives that keep the agglomerates on the move to scavengers falling upon one that had kept put for a period out of luck or a handful of shots to destroy the Drives held within, these pieces of flotsam represented the chance for wealth and fame the likes of which was hard to imagine. After all, many storied artifacts had been pulled from their depths, all the way up to Battleship hulls, and the Cult Mechanicus would pay a princely sum for any STC tablet recovered from their depths no matter how useless it seemed.
Motivations on the Crusade fleet sent to hunt the things down were slightly more mixed. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the presence of Lexicalum officers the Calavan captains certainly knew how valuable the finds here would be. They also knew that they would be seeing a fracton of the true worth of whatever they recovered yet knew it to be their civic duty to do their best regardless lest they lose their head over it.
[Hulks found and tracked: 1d3 (base) + 1d4 = 5]
Reports of Hulks buzzed through the shipping lanes, causing Void Army elements and warships to fan out to hunt them down in more precision.
[Quality (5d20): 20, 7, 5, 15, 17]
The first prize was a small Hulk, one infested by Orks and a few bands of surviving Traitor crewmen from one battle or another. Dervaius Noctris himself led this first assault in a bid to keep the contents of the Hulk intact where a volley of cannon fire would cause considerable damage to the contents. Nobs and Possessed were reaped by the Knight Paladin and it's entourage as morbidly humorous supporting troops performed the tedious duty of securing the entirety of the Hulk's walkways.
Tedium turned to shock and amazement as an unfamiliar hull took shape on the topographical maps of the interior. Lean, angular, and deep, none could say quite who the vessel had once belonged to. Those elements within the deployed forces that had been exposed to the mysteries of the Omnissiah carefully went over the interior with a wary escort of soldiers and at least can confirm that the craft is derived from technology garnered from STCs, bearing numerous innocuous details that fit with the standardized templates that once secured Humanities dominance over the galaxy.
[Gain: A Strange Ship. Greater study will be required in order to make use of it.]
Some of the remainder of the finds turn out to be migrating Orks intentionally trying to find a Human planet to make landfall on and are understandably brutally purged, with the remnants fit only for the smelters. Another find is that of a half dozen turrets pulled from the mess that once came off of a true battlefield, pieces from multiple Imperial Escorts and at least one Cruiser present in the amalgam.
From the last Hulk that had been pinned down at great length comes something else entirely: the Superheavy contingent of an Imperial Guard army group. It is likely that these are not "true" Mars-Pattern Baneblades simply due to the number game but even so, the chassis and avenues for material research open up many options in addition to being a massive stick with which to beat the enemies of Humanity with.
[Gain numerous Weapon modules for Escorts and Cruisers, to be automatically revealed at the end of the Design Phase, and an Attachment of Superheavy vehicles that also provide a +2 bonus to creating a domestic variant.]
-[X] 4th Patrol Squadron
--[X] Uniary (40LY): Anti-Raider Patrol
-[X] 1st Naval Squadron
--[X] Pirate Hunting Patrol
Losses among merchant shipping continue to rise, to the point where operations may be affected in the near future unless action is taken immediately. Similarly, one of the patrol vessels fails to return at the appointed period. The Sure Wager, AMM-4, was listed as lost with all hands due to unknown causes by the Admiralty. Victim to Warp phenomena or a lucky Raider it couldn't be said.
[GM Note: Data will be updated Soon, probably tomorrow morning. Some ship data has been put up in the Intelligence Informational already. Also, I need a reminder of where the ships of the 3rd Patrol Squadron has been assigned for the last few turns, given the gap in my record keeping that has arisen.]
-[X] 2nd Naval Squadron + 1st Torpedo Squadron + 2nd Torpedo Squadron + 1st Support Squadron + 1st Auxiliary Squadron + 6th Crusade Infantry Army & 1st Calavar Infantry Army + 1st & 2nd Bridgehead Armies + 1st Crusade Defense Army + Calavar Holy Shield Army + 1st Calavar Armored Army
--[X] Civilized World Oprechna : Probe in force and seek to destroy the foul sorcery found here if possible.
With confirmation of what the unexplained effects emanating from Oprechna meant for the future the Admiralty hastened to put together a force to eliminate it's blight from existence. It represented a deadly threat to the Crusade and Calavar not only due to the mobility it represented but also due to the reinforcements it could summon from without the Subsector. Such ships, if not denied access, could represent a critical threat to the shipping and second line vessels of the Crusade.
And so the invasion fleet pushed out of the docks. With the heaviest metal and biggest sticks in the fleet present it was hoped that this would be enough to break the enemy and cast down their blasphemous works.Yet not even a week out and the Navigators present rocked as if struck. When their minders carefully asked what was wrong they were told in fearful whispers that a great eye had turned to regard them. Soon after the Crusade force was reminded of the type of foe they sought to bring to battle.
Great tendrils coiled around the fleet, on the scale of planets and more. Their motions were not directly threatening as their clumsy motions were not guided by an inhuman intellect of this blighted dimension yet they were no less dangerous for it as the Immaterium was agitated by their passing. Charting a course became almost impossible.
Solving the problem through the simple expedient of pushing to the one spot the forces were attempting to prevent passage to, the Light of Faith and Light of Dawn were the first two ships to emerge into the Oprechna system. Their faith burning in their hearts they nonetheless accepted a sedate pace into the system as the odds of victory would be increased if all the Crusade vessels engaged in concert. The Traitors present here knew that the opposite was true and so nearly the full force of those vessels present burned out to meet them.
As the two formations neared to contact a handful of emergence portals flared across the outer system: Crusade ships, blown off course, doggedly making their way to the location that the Great Enemy had proven itself to be.
[Combat Initiated
Friendly Forces:
-4x Castigation-class Torpedo Corvettes
-1x Indomitable-class Heavy Frigate
-1x Long Arm-class Frigate
-1x Resolute-class Corvette
-1x Warrior-class Corvette
-1x Escort Carrier
-1x Scorn-class Bombardment Ship
-1x Ferryman-class Transport
-4x Auxiliary Transports
Enemy Forces:
-3x Iconoclast Raiders
-1x Infidel Raider
-9x Assorted Pirate Ships
-2x Polar "Gates"]
The Second Torpedo Squadron tried to break off in order to link up with the newly arrived members of the invasion flotilla but they were already committed. Most of the hostile warships could at least match the performance of Calavan engines. Any conceivable attempt to escape would do little more than turn the bow launchers away from the foe.
A quartet of Indignant Torpedoes were slammed away from the Calavan warships after last minute sanctifications and invocations of the spirits of the weapons to bring destruction and ruin to the enemies of Mankind and the Omnissiah. Riding plumes of star blood into the void they plunged like celestial arrows into the already dissolving formation of the enemy. Small pinpricks rose to meet them as boarding craft were pressed into service as impromptu interceptors and triggered the quiescent targeting systems built into the noses of the much more massive weapons.
First one, then two actinic flares pulsed out from the Traitor fleet as warheads struck home against the pirate vessels that bulked out the fleet and burst one apart like a hammer striking a ripe fruit. Yet the Castigation-class ships were now reloading their primary weapon, and there were a great deal more enemy ships still active…
Shells began crashing against the armor of both sides as the gunnery of both sides came into range. Discipline held aboard the Calavan torpedo ships and the two vessels calmly picked a single target to focus down: an Iconoclast Raider with markings more akin to the common pirate than cultists. Boarding craft joined the cacophony of shell impacts in slowly wearing through the Castigations' spaced armor yet the rabble held inside, while equipped to the same standards as Imperial Guard, were not a match for kill teams of Sisters of Battle leading parties of armsmen.
Even so the damage piled up as the Iconoclasts rammed volley after volley into the slightly weaker armor of their opposites. Once other Crusade craft approached the more effective of the Traitor vessels peeled off to engage, leaving a pair of pirate ships to try and force the boarding of the stricken vessels.
A handful of engagements formed around the site of the fist, as disparate Crusade elements were engaged by their Traitor opponents. Something that quickly died back down as the performance of the Crusade ships was made evident and found to be far too even for any raider's taste. The much faster Traitor vessels fled to the orbit of Oprechna and let the Crusade ships reform around the stricken ships of Torpedo Squadron Two. While ground forces secured the ships the squadron commanders met and agreed to press home the attack.
It was hardly the biggest display of military might the Crusade had borne witness to, yet seven warships acting in concert was nothing to sneeze at.
Something the enemy knew as well. Hence the use of the psychic foci built over the murdered world to summon daemons directly onto the decks of the unshielded torpedo corvettes as battle was joined. Twisting fiends slid and glided through the decks in pursuit of the crew even as the greater of their number sought out important locations for destruction. The bow of the Spear of Fury disappeared behind a bright flash as one of it's munitions were detonated by the unnatural intruders. Spot failures let some measure of horrors onboard most ships in the fleet but military training held and they were ruthlessly crushed by augmented garrisons.
Despite this last sorcerous measure, the enemy vessels were outmatched by the power of the heavy frigates the Crusade force had brought as well as that of the Starhawks brought to bear by the Due Excise. Two of their Raiders had been left burning hulks, one of which was burning through the atmosphere of Oprechna, and most of the pirate ships were broken by the power of gunnery they were never meant to withstand. With no defenders to hide behind the "Gates" of the world were subjected to bombardment by every source available, starting with naval gunfire and ending with the ramming of barely functional wrecks recovered from the battlefield.
With thunderous, sucking roars felt in the mind rather than heard, the blasphemous constructs built with a world worth of Human remains collapse into the Warp. So ends Interim Governor-Captain Mikale Hask, may he reap what he is owed for his defeat.
[Campaign Result: Victory!
Friendly Losses:
Heavy to Critical Damage across Castigation Corvettes (8+8+10+15=41M)
Light Damage to the gunline (12M)
Restocking ordnance (14M)
Enemy Losses:
2x Iconoclast Raiders
6x Pirate Ships
2x Polar "Gates"]
-[X] 3rd Naval Squadron + 4th Naval Squadron
--[X] Shrine World Lativa (60LY): Anti-Raider patrol and reinforce against enemy attacks
The inhabitants of the Shrine World of Lativa were no stranger to hardship. Orks still came running out of jungles and mountains where settlers had seen little point in developing in order to revel in the simple joy of destruction and so soldiers were required to push them back into their wilderness fortresses. It had been some time since last an attacker had descended from orbit but not so long that habits had been unlearned.
Evacuations into the hearts of cities built for defense were carried out as soon as enemy vessels began to burn into the system. Soldiers reported to their armories in the tens of millions to be issued the heavy weaponry that was impractical to keep at hand when it was not in demand. The Daughters of the Emperor and the priests of the Adeptus Ministorum performed their duties, be it staffing aid centers, preparing for deployment into the thickest fighting, or exhorting the troops to do their utmost for Humanity and the Imperium.
But when the enemy made planetfall it was not Orks that emerged from the first drop pods but rather metal plated beings the size of Astartes that required firepower a step above that of the common lasgun to bring down. Bolters, autocannon, and other medium weight weaponry found purchase on their plating and laid the crafted soldiers low to release finger sized insectoids from interior compartments. Soon it became clear that all of the enemy were like this, even those that were built like skeletal children, and the enemy was given the name of the apocryphal destroyer: Locroft.
Six frigates took up position in orbit to safeguard Locroft troop transports, looking somewhat like jagged teeth. To the dismay and rage of the Human forces the Locroft pit the majority of their forces against the weakest positions first in order to break into and consume the defenders, as the missile battery built on the world prevented easy deployment into the major cities. Loping infantry analogues darted ahead of heavy tracked vehicles and medium weight walkers akin to a midpoint between Crusade Sentinels and Guardians, using projectile and missile weaponry to break positions and bodies.
The might of the Crusade reverted back into reality at the edge of the system, sent in response to the threat and with murder in their eyes. Despite the sluggishness of the Locroft ships the Xenos craft withdrew from planetary orbit with their transports in tow. Not content with that, as the Crusade squadron was not sent with a ground force with which to relieve the Shrone World, the Human ships hunted their opponents through the outer system.
After pinning a pair of the newly designated Wedge-class in a Jovian's secondary system and destroying them thanks to surgical strikes by Savior Mutiroles, additional Locroft vessels entered the system. Another four Wedge-class Frigates, each the match of the Indomitable, along with a pair of heavy Escorts that would prove to be carriers. Locroft strike craft would prove to be capable void superiority craft but weak bombers, carrying racks of small missiles for fighter clearance rather than weapons large enough to be a serious threat to the Crusade ships.
With the disparity of firepower it was the Crusade's turn to back off warily. There would be some skirmishing, but without a decisive edge one way or another the campaign would not be resolved in the void.
The Locroft ships, after taking stock of the situation, resupplied their ground troops and then returned back the way they came leaving but a pair of pickets on the edge of the system. With that, the Crusade force hung in Lativa's orbit, providing air support and orbital imaging to the troops on the ground.
[Campaign Result: Ongoing
Minor Xenos identified, designated "Locroft". Enemy is a quasi hive-mind of insect analogues that use their minor psychic talents collectively to pilot vehicles and exoskeletons in order to wage war and consume the flesh and souls of the fallen.
Situation on the ground is stable. While the Locroft space forces are too large to be conventionally defeated at this time as they practice convoy tactics and move in a body Lativa has been prepared for attack for some time now. An estimated four armies are present, thought to be two Mechanized Infantry, an Armored, and one of Superheavy factory-crawlers. Enemy forces are engaging in a bite-and-hold strategy, using the materials of population centers to add to fallen fortified complexes. Anti-orbital positions have been put in place.
12M in assorted repairs]
-[X] 2nd Patrol Squadron + 2nd Support Squadron + 1st Calavar Void Army
--[X] Space Hulk Hunting and Looting
The act of going out looking for Space Hulks to capture has a long and varied history. From the highest quality of forces being called upon to destroy the malfunctioning Warp drives that keep the agglomerates on the move to scavengers falling upon one that had kept put for a period out of luck or a handful of shots to destroy the Drives held within, these pieces of flotsam represented the chance for wealth and fame the likes of which was hard to imagine. After all, many storied artifacts had been pulled from their depths, all the way up to Battleship hulls, and the Cult Mechanicus would pay a princely sum for any STC tablet recovered from their depths no matter how useless it seemed.
Motivations on the Crusade fleet sent to hunt the things down were slightly more mixed. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the presence of Lexicalum officers the Calavan captains certainly knew how valuable the finds here would be. They also knew that they would be seeing a fracton of the true worth of whatever they recovered yet knew it to be their civic duty to do their best regardless lest they lose their head over it.
[Hulks found and tracked: 1d3 (base) + 1d4 = 5]
Reports of Hulks buzzed through the shipping lanes, causing Void Army elements and warships to fan out to hunt them down in more precision.
[Quality (5d20): 20, 7, 5, 15, 17]
The first prize was a small Hulk, one infested by Orks and a few bands of surviving Traitor crewmen from one battle or another. Dervaius Noctris himself led this first assault in a bid to keep the contents of the Hulk intact where a volley of cannon fire would cause considerable damage to the contents. Nobs and Possessed were reaped by the Knight Paladin and it's entourage as morbidly humorous supporting troops performed the tedious duty of securing the entirety of the Hulk's walkways.
Tedium turned to shock and amazement as an unfamiliar hull took shape on the topographical maps of the interior. Lean, angular, and deep, none could say quite who the vessel had once belonged to. Those elements within the deployed forces that had been exposed to the mysteries of the Omnissiah carefully went over the interior with a wary escort of soldiers and at least can confirm that the craft is derived from technology garnered from STCs, bearing numerous innocuous details that fit with the standardized templates that once secured Humanities dominance over the galaxy.
[Gain: A Strange Ship. Greater study will be required in order to make use of it.]
Some of the remainder of the finds turn out to be migrating Orks intentionally trying to find a Human planet to make landfall on and are understandably brutally purged, with the remnants fit only for the smelters. Another find is that of a half dozen turrets pulled from the mess that once came off of a true battlefield, pieces from multiple Imperial Escorts and at least one Cruiser present in the amalgam.
From the last Hulk that had been pinned down at great length comes something else entirely: the Superheavy contingent of an Imperial Guard army group. It is likely that these are not "true" Mars-Pattern Baneblades simply due to the number game but even so, the chassis and avenues for material research open up many options in addition to being a massive stick with which to beat the enemies of Humanity with.
[Gain numerous Weapon modules for Escorts and Cruisers, to be automatically revealed at the end of the Design Phase, and an Attachment of Superheavy vehicles that also provide a +2 bonus to creating a domestic variant.]
-[X] 4th Patrol Squadron
--[X] Uniary (40LY): Anti-Raider Patrol
-[X] 1st Naval Squadron
--[X] Pirate Hunting Patrol
Losses among merchant shipping continue to rise, to the point where operations may be affected in the near future unless action is taken immediately. Similarly, one of the patrol vessels fails to return at the appointed period. The Sure Wager, AMM-4, was listed as lost with all hands due to unknown causes by the Admiralty. Victim to Warp phenomena or a lucky Raider it couldn't be said.
[GM Note: Data will be updated Soon, probably tomorrow morning. Some ship data has been put up in the Intelligence Informational already. Also, I need a reminder of where the ships of the 3rd Patrol Squadron has been assigned for the last few turns, given the gap in my record keeping that has arisen.]
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- Location
- Florida
We just found an archeotech ship! Praise the dice!
It was a first turn run of AMM, that is to say it was literally the weakest kind of ship you had available.
Ah, shit. Welp, at least the problem of the Warp gates has been resolved. Really, the freaking locusts in our door step are less of a pressing issue then giving Chaos time to slip Deamonic bullshit into our sub-sector. With that said, our current "All the Dakka!" approach to naval warfare might be just what we need against them, as the biggest thing they have going for them is a frankly ludicrous amount of armor in their ships.
Anyway:
If this is the avarage. they seem to be really weak, weapon wise, but have a good suit of armor, shields and thrusters. Honestly, they are top of the line even in comparison to our ships. Which means that they probably still fall short of proper non-raider warships.
Anyway:
Well, this is what the Navy intelligence say about Iconoclasts:
If this is the avarage. they seem to be really weak, weapon wise, but have a good suit of armor, shields and thrusters. Honestly, they are top of the line even in comparison to our ships. Which means that they probably still fall short of proper non-raider warships.
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Happerry
Bat out of Hell
- Location
- Kanto
Hmm. What armies did we have on Lativa right now again? I'm not sure if we're outnumbered or not. Either way we should probably do some reinforcing there though. Wouldn't be bad to build more ground armies either, we're running low on ground forces as much as space forces it seems. Or at least I don't want to just leave one army to hold a zone when we're actively at risk of being invaded nowadays.
Less that, more you deployed a lot of armies to Oprechna and none to Lativa.
Happerry
Bat out of Hell
- Location
- Kanto
I thought there was already at least one on Lativa though? The one we left to garrison it back when it was under active attack by orks/needing regular anti-ork infestation efforts?
Lativa does have integral defenses, yes. Including your seconded army in exchange for the Sisters roaming with your forces. Hence why it still stands.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Hmm. Looking at the current technology section, there is an argument for using Standard Macrocannon Battery Mk. I still, even if we have Mk. II available. It's only 2M as opposed to 4M1A. Even if we have A going spare, the difference is 2 damage vs 3 damage. If the rest of a ship is cheap enough, say an armed freighter, it might make sense to use the tier 1 cannon for the lower production cost.
Something like...
Converted Freighter (1E, 3O) (3M):
--Rapid Shields 1M
--Macrocannon Mk I 2M
--Cargo Hold 0M
--Merchant Thrusters 1M
--Merchant Auspex 1M
--Merchant Bridge 1M
--Essential life support 2M
--Warp Drive 4M
Total cost: 15M.
Maybe throw in Barracks for 16M if we expect them to get boarded. Bastion-pattern boarding defenses are 3M and would be a significant cost on this little ship.
Meanwhile an Escort Carrier is 28M, almost double, and the War Hawk heavy frigates push 40M, close to triple that. An armed freighter is much cheaper than a proper warship, as befits it.
...If we're going to need to build armed merchants as supply ships to resist raiding pressure, maybe we can design an Armed Freighter hull? I know design actions are hellishly limited things, but the above is sort of not actually a very good armed freighter, with only one defense slot and only one cargo bay, while we still have to pay for life support, warp drive, etc.
Go for one engine, two utility (locked in cargo bay), two defense (locked in rapid shield and scaffold armor), one weapon (locked in macrocannon). A very single-purpose design, meant to be banged out cheaply.
How many armed freighters would we need to fix our supply issues, I wonder? One per fleet? Adding a second cargo bay probably doesn't actually double their effectiveness, they can only be in one place at a time.
Something like...
Converted Freighter (1E, 3O) (3M):
--Rapid Shields 1M
--Macrocannon Mk I 2M
--Cargo Hold 0M
--Merchant Thrusters 1M
--Merchant Auspex 1M
--Merchant Bridge 1M
--Essential life support 2M
--Warp Drive 4M
Total cost: 15M.
Maybe throw in Barracks for 16M if we expect them to get boarded. Bastion-pattern boarding defenses are 3M and would be a significant cost on this little ship.
Meanwhile an Escort Carrier is 28M, almost double, and the War Hawk heavy frigates push 40M, close to triple that. An armed freighter is much cheaper than a proper warship, as befits it.
...If we're going to need to build armed merchants as supply ships to resist raiding pressure, maybe we can design an Armed Freighter hull? I know design actions are hellishly limited things, but the above is sort of not actually a very good armed freighter, with only one defense slot and only one cargo bay, while we still have to pay for life support, warp drive, etc.
Go for one engine, two utility (locked in cargo bay), two defense (locked in rapid shield and scaffold armor), one weapon (locked in macrocannon). A very single-purpose design, meant to be banged out cheaply.
How many armed freighters would we need to fix our supply issues, I wonder? One per fleet? Adding a second cargo bay probably doesn't actually double their effectiveness, they can only be in one place at a time.
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Each ship is a long term prospect though, with their use becoming less and less existent the worse they are to begin with. Observe the armed merchant we send to patrol things, which probably got plastered by an unknown. So what we save in production we are going to eventually lose in repairs.
However, as purely dedicated supply dog guards, yeah that sounds about right.
Ah, I didn't see that. It looks like they've been updated again to note a very short range on the batteries, though, which helps.
As for the Locroft, loads of guns is probably not a good option against them. Armor 4 will reduce the effectiveness of our macrocannons a ton, even with thermo-cavitation shells. However, since they seem to have no shields at all, lances should be extremely effective.
@DaLintyGuy has previously said that each cargo bay on a freighter hull can move 10M worth of stuff a turn, so we'd have needed 10. Probably more soonish; we're still only getting 15 from Uniary, and that's bound to go up soon. However, I don't think we'll need it all next turn.
As for redesigning the freighter hull? Honestly, if we're going to burn a design action we should probably go for the bulk hauler hull. I don't think it's worth it right now. DaLintyGuy has also said that a freighter with one weapon would be threatening enough to make most raiders go looking for a softer target. The cheapest option would be:
- Converted Freighter (3M)
- Merchant Bridge (1M)
- Merchant Sensors (1M)
- Merchant Warp Drive (4M)
- Essential Life Support (2M)
- Barracks Housing (1M)
- Standard Macrocannon Battery MkI (2M)
- Cargo Hold (0M)
- Cargo Hold (0M)
- Merchant Thrusters (1M)
15M, and capable of moving 20M a turn.
Yeah, but adding one would cut the cargo capacity in half, so we'd essentially be paying more than double. We just can't afford that.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
A ship blown up by random space rock or oneshotted by a raider costs us 15M every time that happens. I don't know how often it would happen but I bet it's ' a lot ' . Humanity's vessels in the cold void and the damned Warp need both teeth and thick skins.
We need lance ships against the locusts.
Also, holy shit Archeotech ship. We'll get a shitload of goodies if we can get it safely to a proper Forge World.
I'd say we focus building lance frigates or corvettes. Whichever is better for us. We need to break the xeno threat. Lativa can't hold if the Xenos can keep on dumping armies on it.
But we'll also need convoy escorts/raider hunting ships.
Also, holy shit Archeotech ship. We'll get a shitload of goodies if we can get it safely to a proper Forge World.
I'd say we focus building lance frigates or corvettes. Whichever is better for us. We need to break the xeno threat. Lativa can't hold if the Xenos can keep on dumping armies on it.
But we'll also need convoy escorts/raider hunting ships.
Unarmored ships aren't that fragile. The base hull has a thick enough skin to not explode every time a rock or a couple of shells hit it, even on a civilian design. DaLintyGuy specifically said that we could do one weapon and two cargo holds and it would be enough-ish.