I'm guessing it has something to do with it being a Scheduled Vote - whether it's some of the parameters being different or just the system itself being glitchy. As you noticed, your Ad Hoc vote had the correct number of votes, and the previous Scheduled Vote also had ... significant issues with the vote count. Might be worth asking in the TechHelp section if it happens a third time and the parameters are the same as the Ad Hoc.
She'll get proper warship opponents. Bad rolls means worst encounters afterall. If there aim sucks, well, thats there own fault. They should have upgraded there Armaments.
Also, bring it princess bottom feeder. Yorck has a torpedo just the right size for that smirk.
Hey everyone, my apologies for the lack of updates. Work on it continues as always, but IRL concerns - amongst which massive amounts of overwork - and some minor difficulties with the writing...well, things could have been better.
However, with some luck, the next part in Yorck's journey can begin later tonight. Thank you all for your patience!
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean, ??/??/????.
"Kapitän zur See, herr Leopold Ritschel!"
"At ease, men. Thank you for waking me, Leutnant zur See. What is the situation, meine herren? The aide who woke me reported news of a convoy being spotted."
"Indeed, herr Kapitän. Six large cargo vessels flying the white ensign and two escorting destroyers, no cruisers or other vessels have been spotted so far: We suspect this to be the convoy that the Oberkommando wants destroyed."
"Gut. We will do so, then - if it makes the Oberkommando happy, it also probably pleases the Kaiser. Status of the crew, fuel, ammunition stores? What for aid can we expect from allied forces, or possible enemy reinforcements?"
"With the exception of the five men in sickbay and eight suffering from their first sea travels, Yorck's crew are all accounted for and ready for combat, mein herr: Ammunition stores, with the exception of two hundred and forty 21cm and three hundred and twelve 10.5cm shells expended during training, are intact. We remain fully stocked with fuel, enough for at least 11,000 nautical miles, and an ambush on this convoy will not deplete our fuel reserves below the expected parameters: However, no reinforcements for us will appear, herr Kapitän. We are alone."
"Gut, sehr gut. Radio room to signal to OBK: 'Yorck reporting. Convoy spotted, to engage as soon as the opportunity presents itself: Risk to ship and crew expected minimal. Prizes to be taken if situation allows. To report back on conclusion of engagement.' Send it alongside our regular report to the OBK at 0800 hours, and prepare the crew for combat action at 0930."
"Jawohl, mein herr!"
[X] Full speed ahead, join up with the convoy.
Engaging the Abyss' pawns that were chasing the convoy...it was something they would ill expect, an assault from an unexpected direction and location. With precise aim, helped by some salvoes to guess the range and then a ferocious bombardment from long range the pursuing force could quickly be destroyed, the spirits contained within the organic tumours holding their hulls together freed from their imprisonment: It could be a glorious moment, displaying the full might of the Kaiserreich to both the fleeing convoy and the Abyss that tried to taint you!
...But the convoy that had grabbed your attention in the first place would in the confusion and madness of battle likely make their escape, and it would make it much more difficult for you to regain their trail if darkness fell compared to an immediate intercept - and failing to do so, even if you knew their rough course, would make their distance to you during the night ever longer, the risk of them being sunk even higher, and would remove your sole lead leading to civilisation. And with how the sun was already descending, it was not impossible for the night to fall sooner than expected.
No grand fight against the Abyss then - an escort mission seemed to be in order instead. It wasn't something you had much experience with, with your only task of this nature that you remembered being an escort mission in Norway, and memories of that place were...vague? It was odd, to both remember certain events, yet only get vague impressions of others...
'Feeling' the engineers give you a thumbs up, you kicked up speed to the maximum of 34 knots, the little screws attached to the rudderheel of your shoes roaring to life and kicking up much more power than what their small size should have been capable of! Perhaps, if the screws gave so much power with such small a size, would your cannons be the same? You had noticed their smaller size compared to those on your steel hull, but if things followed the trend you were beginning to see, then they would perform in combat just fine.
Coming ever so closer to the fleeing cargo vessels, however, they had apparently not left undamaged in the time that it took for the He42 to return and for you to arrive within sighting range: One of the ships had its utterly gigantic white superstructure smashed by shellfire and was on fire, and even several kilometres away you could smell the acrid black smoke - the containers on deck, so many you couldn't even count them all, were being dumped overboard by the dozen, bobbing up and down on the waves before they began to rapidly sink to the bottom of the seas.
At least the ship was still afloat and the convoy proceeding at a rapid pace - but through your opticseyes, you could see that this wasn't something that would last for long as the tainted, nay, the puppeted souls of the destroyers were moving in pursuit: Though still some distance away, their cannons were already firing salvoes to estimate the range. But despite the corruption of the Abyss and the distance involved, the sound of the cannons did reveal some things.
"That sound... Not loud enough for 15cm cannons, not soft enough for 10.5cm cannons... Maybe a 12.7cm cannon? Perhaps a French 13cm-?"
"Ze! Zeee!"
A fairy scrambled out of your breast pocket wearing an oversized Marinehelm, and with a frantic salute began a report from the observation crew. Things were not looking good, judging from the way you could hear a loud thunderclap of an explosion in the distance and see an enormous pillar of seaspray!
The range has changed.
Long Range => Medium Range
Reconnaissance Roll, Yorck:
Detection roll autopass.
No changes to the numbers of enemies or the Human convoy.
Reconnaissance roll, unknown forces
1d50 = 39 + 0 + 0 = 9
Yorck EVA: 32 Yorck has been spotted!
Abyssal Force Reaction:
1d100 = 39 + 10 (On the Hunt) + 10 (Blood in the Water) = 59
DC: 40 (engage convoy), 50 (engage Yorck), 80 (disengage)
Abyssal forces abandon their assault on the convoy and engage Yorck.
Can the convoy contact Yorck through radio?
1d100 = 42 + 5 (modern technology) - 7 (????????) = 40
DC: 50
Contact has not been established.
Luckily, it was not one of the cargo ships but instead a group of the containers that had been thrown overboard, but the fairy had not emerged to merely report an exploding group of containers: The Abyssals had apparently spotted you and headed towards you on an intercept course at a speed your observers were calling positively break-neck - their attention span either ridiculously short or their new orders causing them to drop everything they had been doing to intercept what, for them, could look like reinforcements for the convoy they had been hunting.
Eight 21cm cannons pre-emptively loaded shells as you tightened your gloves and the crew readied themselves, the chittering and squealing of the Abyss coming closer.
Combat it is, then. Jot Dora!
The Abyssals are approaching the convoy - and without assistance, it is doomed. Luckily, depending on how you look at it, the enemy has decided to engage you instead.
[ ] Kriegsplan Rheinübung
Long-distance shooting is perhaps not the best option, but it certainly reduces the number of shots that can hit you. The destroyers can't use their torpedoes, and sub-15cm cannons are famously bad at penetrating deck armour - at long range, you can sink the Abyssals with impunity. That the Abyssals will leave the convoy alone is but an additional plus. Yorck will move to maintain a relatively long distance and engage the Abyssals from range, trying to lure them away from the convoy.
[ ] Kriegsplan Thor
Medium-range combat combines the benefit of having a better chance at hitting the Abyssal destroyers with the lack of risk regarding the enemy torpedoes, but at the same time, brings with it the risk of being outmanoeuvred by the enemy destroyers and the Abyssals deciding to split - a couple to engage you, one to eliminate the convoy... At medium range, utilizing both main and secondary cannons, Yorck will engage the Abyssals with all due haste.
[ ] Kriegsplan Blau
A close-range assault is in order, allowing you to use every single weapon at your disposal - from torpedoes to cannons, these Abyssals will feel your wrath! Utilizing your thick armour plating, speed and armament, cleaning away the stains that they are will be an easy task, though you need to watch out for torpedoes and collateral damage to the convoy itself... Yorck will engage the Abyssals in a close-range engagement in an effort to destroy the destroyers as quickly as possible with everything at her disposal.
AN: The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry...in this case, luckily, not too wrong. VOTE CLOSED UNTIL 12:00 GMT, UTC +01:00!
Hello everyone. Thank you all for your continued patience! I do wish to offer my apologies for the small amount of...Yorck things. Chapter size will, hopefully, gradually increase as we enter the wider world, interact more with Kanmusu and the rest of humanity, and more!
A shame to throw away the chance for a flanking maneuver only to not make contact with the convoy anyway, tho poetic in that failing to prioritise the battle over area and timeline information, we have instead sacrificed the initiative on both.
I think I'm going to vote for either Kriegsplan Rheinübung or Kriegsplan Thor but I'm not sure which as both have their advantages and disadvantages as I'm not entirely sure on Kriegsplan Rheinübung with the Abyssals focussing in on us and ignoring the convoy. I'm cautious of the risk of some of them splitting off and trying to engage the convoy if we go short range with us unable to intervene.
A shame to throw away the chance for a flanking maneuver only to not make contact with the convoy anyway, tho poetic in that failing to prioritise the battle over area and timeline information, we have instead sacrificed the initiative on both.
Hmm yeah something that often happens in quests I've noticed, People prefer to take the option that gets them into contact with something or what they see as a safe bet when sometimes that's not best idea. Which I can understand people are inclined to take options that have the most reward and least risk in there eyes. But in this case that failed completely as we are not in contact with those ships and the Abyssal forces are gunning for us anyway. So we failed to contact them and are engaging the Abyssal force without a chance to flank as you said.
Which for me can be frustrating for me since I am inclined to take risks if I feel it's worth it. Since sometimes it's better to take the risk then the "safe" option and lose initiative even if there's no clear reward. But anyway that's my opinion and I won't claim I'm always right, and anyways the vote is over and we're engaged now anyway so best to sink them and be done with it.
Hmm yeah something that often happens in quests I've noticed, People prefer to take the option that gets them into contact with something or what they see as a safe bet when sometimes that's not best idea. Which I can understand people are inclined to take options that have the most reward and least risk in there eyes. But in this case that failed completely as we are not in contact with those ships and the Abyssal forces are gunning for us anyway. So we failed to contact them and are engaging the Abyssal force without a chance to flank as you said.
Which for me can be frustrating for me since I am inclined to take risks if I feel it's worth it. Since sometimes it's better to take the risk then the "safe" option and lose initiative even if there's no clear reward. But anyway that's my opinion and I won't claim I'm always right, and anyways the vote is over and we're engaged now anyway so best to sink them and be done with it.
Indeed. Taking risks is a pivotal part of warfare. War is not a matter of ideal trade, but rather favors calculated sacrifice and oppertunistic leaps of faith. There are times when an advantage must be pressed not for the sake of gain, but instead to increase the enemies loss. It will be essential to capitalize on these opportunities, less the abyssal forces arrayed against us grow insurmountable through number advantage alone.
Indeed. Taking risks is a pivotal part of warfare. War is not a matter of ideal trade, but rather favors calculated sacrifice and oppertunistic leaps of faith. There are times when an advantage must be pressed not for the sake of gain, but instead to increase the enemies loss. It will be essential to capitalize on these opportunities, less the abyssal forces arrayed against us grow insurmountable.
Exactly, sometimes the safe option is the worst option to take and risk is needed after all in war there is the fog of war that makes it hard to know everything about a given situation and sometimes a gamble is indeed the best choice to take.
At least the convoy should know that we are there and see us attack the dds so they know we are not an abyssal right, if we didn't go strait in wouldnt the convoy had been sunk
