Sector Monitoring Metrics.
Just something I am playing around with to try to give you some insight into how progress is going without either driving me bonkers tracking everything, especially since I could not tell you everything since that would be unrealistic anyway. With a friendly and early approach directly to the Imperium you can probably gain a vague since of how they are doing which will be tracked by these metrics… maybe.
As turns progress you would get updates as well as some insight into how the actions you took changed things… at least direct changes. Indirect changes knocked on just from your interference will be up for argument.
I may develop concrete numbers which are reduced but most likely I will just use a percentage of Sector's normal level. Or if conquering a whole sector in a decade or less becomes a thing (like crusades?) maybe I can set it up as the expected potential of the sector with the percentage being how far along you are.
Effectively these metrics represent the Health of the sector from a certain perspective… potentially if you have spies in the enemy you may learn more than one set of metrics. In the Gothic case you can learn how the Imperium thinks its doing, but potentially how Chaos thinks the Imperium is doing (given enough spies in their ranks), or use divination and other sources to develop your own independent view (not really valuable use of effort with another source unless you distrust it). In more complicated situations like say Jericho Reach, you could have multiple factions with their own status in the same sector as well as their intelligence on each other. IN Gothic Sector the Chaos, Pirates, Ulthwe, and Dragon Kings may be part of the expedition but most are either not possessing worlds in Sector or have so little skin in the game it doesn't matter so basically the Imperial one is the only one that matters. Although I suppose its possible Chaos or one of the Pirate factions may develop a need for Metrics.
So what do you think? Tweaks, some other completely different system to give you a sense of accomplishing things while keeping the details vague for my sake?
Territory: Represents health of planets, stations, and populations. IE the thing that both produces and is served by all the other categories. Damage to Territory is the result of ravaged infrastructure and slain populations. Level of Territory acts as a long term cap for other categories although those categories can temporarily be higher for one reason or another.
Stability: Represents the health of societies and workforces of Territory. Panic, riots, heretical cults, sabotage, and other forms of instability disrupt the flow of Supply. Loss of Stability can harm Territory but needs to be relatively intense for long durations to manage it. Loss of Territory (or threats of loss of Territory), can also reduce Stability, even beyond acting as a cap for it depending on how it was reduced, ie acts of terror. For example a planet being blockaded may reduce Territory for the sector due to lack of access to those resources but depending on what that planet produces and how needed it is the hit to Stability may be greater yet. Chaos forces are especially good at attacking stability directly using cognitohazards, cult formation, and horrific fear inducing tactics. Depending on specifics Stability can be improved by publicly defeating a threatening warlord. Keep in mind that this rating is a judgement from only one side of the conflict. Arising cults or Humans convinced to serve the Greater Good by the Tau would decrease Human stability even if potentially adding to or not effecting other groups.
Supply: Represents the logistics network of the Sector. This includes both production and transportation. Raids on stockpiles and piracy on transport ships can damage Supply directly without effecting Territory. Territory damage can be temporarily ignored by Supply assuming sufficient stockpiled resources and spare parts and the needed transportation are kept going. Stability can limit Supply as fearful workers are less productive and steal from warehouses or transports or have urgent requests that take up normal Supply limits. Damaged Supply limits Military ability to deploy.
Military: The fleets and armies available to a Sector. With Military maxed out the Sectors Generals and Admirals can bring their full force to bear. Military can be damaged directly in battle of course. It also can be limited by lost Supply as ships and armies run out of consumables. In longer term situations damage to Stability and Territory percolate up to Military from sheer lack of manpower and equipment support although stockpiled Supplies can keep a military going without for a time. Damaged Military means Admirals and Generals of the sector suffer penalties for deploying the forces needed to protect the sector. Repaired ships, healing soldiers, restored supply lines and out-sector reinforcements, Military is one of the traits most likely to bounce back in war relevant timescales. In very mechanical terms, damage to Military gets converted to penalties to Sector Force Commander's stratagem rolls each season as he lacks the forces to do what he wants (or his forces are unable to move due to lack of people or supplies).
For Chaos
There are nine warbands, Abaddon and Planet Killer's group in one and 8 others somewhat independent groups.
For a sense of authenticity can you guys help me name these 8 groups, their leaders and a one liner about their favored methods or aesthetics? For each one I adopt I will give a +1 to a die in a combat at a time that make it most effective, ie nudging a die to success when you needed one more success to achieve something.
But if we had an Observatory Ship with the fleet this would be more okay?
Mostly, ish, sorta.
If your expedition has an observatory ship you can spend time to get intel. So you could have your observatory ship hang out a season to get the scoop next season. Of course it also gains a nice combat bonus so you maybe don't want to keep it sidelined.
You can also spend AP and work it through the observatory ship and the results will have a bit more immediacy and local usefulness than one back home 10,000 lightyears away. Whether that is useful depends on the questions though.
If we could tow the ship to a system with a shipyard the cost would effectively halve, right? How difficult would it be to do that?
I mean sure, easy enough within a sub-sector. more trying if crossing sectors or multiple sectors.
Where do you have this shipyard? Your only shipyard built right now is the templeforge which only services templeships. The gemini yard under construction might work but is on the wrong side of the galaxy.
In the future would it be effective to have something like an 'atelier ship' to handle repairs in-system for stuff, or would we need an actual yardship?
An atelier ship would be useful in manufacturing Logistics for an expedition which can produce jury rigged field repairs to get something running again albeit with compromises and still in need of full repairs.
Actual full repairs on site would need a shipyard, mobile or otherwise. Your advantages in quick building make the value of a mobile shipyard vs having the AP saved up to build them on site as needed dubious.
If you find a decent base location you can get a ramshackle (by your standards) base [which has a repair and maintenance shipyard, a storage facility and a torpedo launcher for defense] going for 12 AP. And you can build a naked shipyard for 9 as you know. You would not be proud of this base and treat it like a pirate depot but it could be done.
😅 ), that I look forward to the DK utilizing.
