Well as much as I'd love to see a pursuit special with a fusion lance do something a warthog with spartans might do, I think the greater mass of Medusa's + the 2 advantages from the mortars + more psyckers is much better value. I can't see anything else in the list we can afford that's better than that.
Well as much as I'd love to see a pursuit special with a fusion lance do something a warthog with spartans might do, I think the greater mass of Medusa's + the 2 advantages from the mortars + more psyckers is much better value. I can't see anything else in the list we can afford that's better than that.
The only other thing that would be worth purchasing is using the new tech we have to make both the Ravens and Pursuit Specials seriously more dangerous by arming them with tripple flamers 'death to all infantry', and double medium lasers for medium range. Then hand the plasma guns to the Ravens. But I'm unsure how much heat the Pursuit Specials can handle. The cost would definitely be the cost of the new weapons, but not sure if it would cost that much more. Old rockets sold to the Dorians, probably? Maybe. Who knows. Not important.
The only other thing that would be worth purchasing is using the new tech we have to make both the Ravens and Pursuit Specials seriously more dangerous by arming them with tripple flamers 'death to all infantry', and double medium lasers for medium range. But I'm unsure how much heat they can handle. The cost would definitely be the cost of the new weapons, but not sure if it would cost that much more. Old rockets sold to the Dorians, probably? Maybe. Who knows. Not important.
@Murks74: a) Do all our troops have proper chemical weapons protection?
b) How much would it cost us in production to load up our two Pursuit Special PL with rockets instead, and hand the plasma cannons off to two Ravens? (Not sure if we even could hand the Pursuit Specials medium lasers, because of heat issues..?)
c) How many flamers does Joseph Brauer think a typical heavy mech would need hitting it at the same time to just shut it down and keep it shut down till it melts?
d) For COMPLETELY UNRELATED REASONS, would putting two flamers on some of those medusas instead of medium lasers be an option? Not sure we would even if we could, but curious.
e) Would swapping out the weapons on all the Pursuit Specials (aside from the EMP) to "Three Flamers, Two Medium Lasers and a set of rockets" be possible? Dropping the rockets and putting in more armor is tempting, but probably a lot more work, so... Keeping it simple. But no idea what the heat management is like on the Pursuit Specials.
a) Normal INF no. The Strike teams have full protection.
b) I will allow for half their build cost. Unless you just want to rip the guns out thats free.
c) Enough for it to be unfeasible. Flamers are mainly anti infantry/enviroment weapons. To use them you would also have to get into the stomp zone.
d) Yes you could build a vehicle like that.
e) Flamers need a fusion reactor.
Out of all the weapons we've used so far, which ones have been most effective at taking down mechs? Bc while I imagine the Houseguard has some infantry in it, I have a strong suspicion it's mostly big scary mechs.
...wait... This seem to be two completely different designs. One with and one without fusion reactors. I wouldn't mind at all of the Pursuit Specials could be converted that easily to fusion, but this is probably just a bug.
@Murks74 : Would it be possible to put the actual used designs in "SitRep" or something..?
I feel like we haven't made much use of Shen's abilities in terms of unique construction or engineering projects. We've built some cool experimental vehicles and of course her learning stat has helped many research rolls, but I'd love to take the opportunity after we've secured the planet to engage in some truly ambitious projects. Just need to find a new problem we can justify spending inordinate amounts of resources on.
I feel like we haven't made much use of Shen's abilities in terms of unique construction or engineering projects. We've built some cool experimental vehicles and of course her learning stat has helped many research rolls, but I'd love to take the opportunity after we've secured the planet to engage in some truly ambitious projects. Just need to find a new problem we can justify spending inordinate amounts of resources on.
Thing is... it doesn't have to be big or expensive to be game-changing. Honestly, Medusa with ferro-fibrous armor, so they can mount a flamer too? Murder on the grasslands and steppes. Shens abilities used on optimising those Herc power armors? Game-changing everywhere infantry matters. That VTOL I suggested a turn or two ago? Just flat-out unfair against Chryssalids. Production and sales of Gremlins to earth? As long as the war on earth is going on, we will never run out of customers. They are just that good.
BigHuge projects can look shiny, but if we make the small stuff really effective instead? MUCH more useful at the strategic scale. It would mean Shens tech would change the flow of battle everywhere. Not just a few places.
...wait... This seem to be two completely different designs. One with and one without fusion reactors. I wouldn't mind at all of the Pursuit Specials could be converted that easily to fusion, but this is probably just a bug.
At a rough estimate, we have the following potential routes to go when it comes to this turn:
"Infantry & Tanks"
Aquisitions:
- 30 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
- 15 Mortar Teams x3
- 20 Psykers x3
- 5 Spark
Production:
- Medusa x15
Or...
"Balanced airforce, infantry and tanks"
Aquisitions:
- 26 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
- 15 Mortar Teams x3
- 20 Psykers x3
- 5 Spark x2
Production:
- Medusa x13
- Modify "Pursuit Special Mk1 EN/PL" to "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun". Hand the plasma gun to a Raven x 2
Or...
"Airforce & Tanks"
Aquisitions:
- 22 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
- 120 Fusion lance for a Raven
Production:
- Medusa x11
- Modify "Pursuit Special Mk1 EN/PL" to "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun". Hand the plasma gun to a Raven x 2
- Build one Pursuit Special Mk1 with "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun"
Thoughts?
We could technically also go for hordes of Dorians, but I'm worried that if we do we would risk routs because they would be way too green. Not to mention problems controlling them. We don't want to take over the capital just to have our irregulars burning the place down. The one company of Dorians we have now we should be able to get at least somewhat up to speed.
Thanks for that Anti. I'd have to pick "Balanced airforce, infantry and tanks" out of the three. I think it makes a lot of sense to upgrade our extant medusa's and get more value out of them as opposed to building a few more weaker ones.
Honestly.... having some extra supplies ready when going into a war is probably a good idea.
@Murks74 : Would 10 influence be enough to buy a storage space worth of supplies? Or, alternatively, chemical weapons protection gear? We have the warehouses needed, and then some... Trying to decide between 2 sparks, more supplies and an extra Dorian platoon. Also unsure if we could give the other two ravens medium lasers or not. With weight left over for at least some missiles or bombs, if they want them. Not even sure if we should. Perhaps ask the pilots about it?
Also, question to the thread: We now know that our opponent has Dropships. But we don't know what kind. Does that mean we have to have weapons capable of shooting down a dropship?
@Murks74 : Would 10 influence be enough to buy a storage space worth of supplies? Or, alternatively, chemical weapons protection gear? We have the warehouses needed, and then some... Trying to decide between 2 sparks, more supplies and an extra Dorian platoon. Also unsure if we could give the other two ravens medium lasers or not. With weight left over for at least some missiles or bombs, if they want them. Not even sure if we should. Perhaps ask the pilots about it?
"Father, that's a bad idea. This will only unite them against us, giving them a common threat to rally against." "I don't care, Stephan! I'm tired of these primitive bandits encroaching on my territory. They took out Malcolm's men, and whoever is backing them has emboldened them. Now, make sure those bombs are loaded so we can gas these pests the next time they dare to attack."
Influence cost: 30+45+40+10+10+5 = 140 of 143
Production cost: (15x230k) = 3.45 of 3.6 million C-bills
[] Plan: "Balanced airforce, infantry and tanks"
- [] Aquisitions:
-- [] 26 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
-- [] 15 Mortar Teams x3
-- [] 20 PsiOps x2
-- [] 10 Chemical weapons protection gear
-- [] 10 Supplies stockpile x2
- [] Production:
-- [] Medusa x13
-- [] Modify "Pursuit Special Mk1 EN/PL" to "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun with half a ton of ammo". Hand the plasma gun to a Raven x 2
Influence cost: 26+45+40+10+20 = 141 of 143
Production cost: (13x230k) + 470k = 3.46 of 3.6 million C-bills
[] Plan: "Airforce & Tanks"
- [] Aquisitions:
-- [] 22 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
-- [] 120 Fusion lance for a Raven
- [] Production:
-- [] Medusa x11
-- [] Modify "Pursuit Special Mk1 EN/PL" to "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun with half a ton of ammo". Hand the plasma gun to a Raven x 2
-- [] Build one Pursuit Special Mk1 with "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun with half a ton of ammo"
Influence cost: 22 + 120 = 142 of 143
Production cost: (11x230k) + 470k + 470k = 3.47 of 3.6 million C-bills
The supplies stockpiles because more supplies is never a bad thing when going on the offensive.
@Murks74: Do we think we will be able to strafe heavy mechs inside Amaris City? Or not?
Fair!
I like these. The Fusion Lance Raven sounds awesome, but I worry it's a case of shiny object syndrome. I feel like the more balanced approach is a better bet. Even if I do look forward to Otto joining the fray in his Royal Uber Mech and getting melted from atmo.
As long as we don't know if the airforce can be used in the city, this by far seems best. Too bad we don't have a good fusion based 35-ton tank design to put a fusion lance on - but alas, we do not.
The supplies stockpiles seem... kind of critical to me, the more I think of it. Running out of grenades and combat supplies or for that matter repair parts in the middle of a push would just be sad. Logistics wins wars. And we do have enemies that absolutely would interrupt our supplies if they can. (No, not the Advent. Miss Bitchface.)
This way they would probably have to do it so obviously that it goes straight into "traitor" territory to have an effect.
A plan option I overlooked is this:
[] Plan: "Cannon Fodder"
- [] Aquisitions:
-- [] 26 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
-- [] 15 Mortar Teams x3
-- [] 10 Chemical weapons protection gear
-- [] 10 Supplies stockpile
-- [] 10 dorian auxiliary Light Infantry platoon x5 (Basically another company of them)
- [] Production:
-- [] Medusa x13
-- [] Build one Pursuit Special Mk1
A bit unsure about this, but as long as we don't try to depend on them for too heavy combat, another company of Dorians is probably quite useful. Basically backup for someone else so we don't get swarmed too badly.
Sorry for the wait. Amaris city is fortified.
That means aa installations just warning you. Unless you blow them up strafing runs are going to be a bit risky.
[] Plan: "Balanced airforce, infantry and tanks"
- [X] Aquisitions:
-- [X] 26 Elerium for the Medusa fusion reactors
-- [Y] 15 Mortar Teams x3
-- [X] 20 PsiOps x2
-- [X] 10 Chemical weapons protection gear
-- [X] 10 Supplies stockpile x2
- [X] Production:
-- [X] Medusa x13
-- [X] Modify "Pursuit Special Mk1 EN/PL" to "Two medium lasers, three rocket launcher fifteens, and a mech machine gun with half a ton of ammo". Hand the plasma gun to a Raven x 2
Diplomacy actions (choose 1)(Seif Bahar diplomacy 18)(+15 on rolls involving PR):
"If we're considering diplomatic negotiations, we should act swiftly. Delaying further would limit our room for meaningful talks. Otherwise, we could explore last-minute agreements with other nations to secure additional military support if our current forces seem inadequate."
[]petition the council for military support (what type?)
Pulling directly from the armed forces of council nations will allow you to rapidly increase your capabilities, but some nations might press for some concessions at a later point.
[]directly approach a nation or alliance to trade or call in a favor for material or military support.(One of US Favor, EU, SAA (South American Alliance), Asian Combine, AU (African Union), ODP (Oceanian Defense Pact) or IMC (Islamic Military Coalition))
[]try to scrounge up (What? (Almost anything you can find inLW andLW2 goes, you just cant use this to get around influence costs.) from X-Com stocks.
[]Gather support in X-COM (influence equal to (1d100+dip))
[]arrange training for more colonists
Advertising the opportunities and making deals could allow us to form a bigger initial colonization effort.
[]Say Hello to (who?)
Trying to open diplomatic talks with some of the locals might be beneficial and allow us an easier arrangement or takeover by backing them. But there is no telling how they would react to our existence.
[]Recruit other independents
The Dorians are able to bring us in contact with some other communities which do not fall under Von Strangs control. While these are unlikely to provide much meaningful military support, we do not know for sure and they are likely able to contribute in some other way.
[](write-in)
Military actions (choose 1)(Col.Christopher Salcido martial 18)(+1 advantage from Firesupport in combat):
"Commander, I think it's time for decisive action. Our adversaries are currently off balance and trying to muster a response. To maintain the upper hand, we should continue to act and retain the initiative. Assuming Agent. Brown's intelligence report regarding the baronies forces is accurate, we have a good chance to pull this off if we use every tool at our disposal."
[]Develop zero g tactics
With the influx of captured personnel and the gathered experience we can enhance our ability to do combat under these conditions.
[]Raid Wardens
With the wardens in somewhat regular conflict, we could hit a few of them to gather intelligence and material. This would allow us to acquire a number of battlemechs and also heat up the conflict with the mountain tribes. Keeping everyone looking the wrong way.
[]Assault Amaris City
Coming out of the shadows and taking the battle directly to the Von Strang's seat of power is risky, but it might just allow us to cut the head off, before the rest can respond. Having gained access to the citadel itself this will be significantly easier to pull off.
(starts an operation)
[]Start operation with the aim too?
-who?
-no action for involved ppl.
[](write-in)
(Free)
[]Train (Company)
With X-Com not often fielding units above platoon size, doing proper training and integrating command structures to get the individual platoons used to each other will increase the companies effectiveness in battle.
Stewardship actions (choose 1)(Evan Scoot stewardship 16)(Reattempting an action lowers the dc by an extra 10 and crit fails will only happen on 1-2 not 1-5.):
"That's a good amount of prep we did for our rail infrastructure. The throughput we will eventually achieve will be a sight to behold. I have also been asked to provide maps of the area. I assume they are already preparing to ship parts for cement factories and the like."
[]Start production of gremlin support drones dc50 [0/3 Weeks]
Getting the designs finalized and put into production will take some time. As will procuring all the needed materials. And this will be no easy feat producing gremlin drones will be expensive.
[]Start production of SPARK drones dc50 [0/2 Weeks]
The newly installed nanoforges, assembly lines and other equipment finally allows us to produce our own SPARK's. GIving us greater access to these reliable and disposable assets. [SPARKS will cost 300]
[]Prepare gate expansion [2/- Weeks]
Preparing the laying of an extensive network of rails will greatly increase the gate throughput which will come in incredibly handy as soon as the planet is declared as safe.
[]Prepare the city for habitation [0/- Weeks]
Preparing the ruined City for Habitation ahead of time might ease the transfer of colonists further down the line.
[](write-in)
Intrigue actions (choose 1)(Agent. K.Brown intrigue 24)(???):
"Our operatives that managed to infiltrate the citadel have been hard at work gathering intelligence and identifying weak points that we could take advantage of. We have also managed to assess the available forces of the barony. Currently, the barony has approximately 45 mechs, with an estimated 34 still in operational condition. We've so far managed to neutralize around ten of their mechs. Of these mechs, around half are controlled by various wardens, while the rest fall under the direct command of the Baron, with an emphasis on heavier units there.
In terms of mobility and force projection, the barony possesses two dropships: one Union, primarily used for transporting Guard units, and one reconfigured Mule, which serves as a cargo hauler to ferry warden units along with infantry and vehicles. Additionally, they have one jumpship somewhere in the system. In the realm of aerospace support, they originally had five saber ASFs, but we've since dealt with two of them.
Amaris city and the citadel itself are heavily fortified, boasting substantial perimeter walls, integrated gun systems, and numerous bunkers, the result of fortification efforts spanning over a century. However, their standing army consists of only a couple of hundred soldiers, though they can call upon a sizable pool of conscripts and levies in the event of an attack."
[]Signal listening Easy
Trying to pick up radio signals from this far away is unlikely to result in a lot of concrete data but it should give you a few starting points of what the local populace is up to.
[]Ask the peasant Easy
Gathering intelligence among the local subsistence farmers might yield some intelligence without any real risk to the operatives, but the close knit nature of these small communities will make it near impossible to fade into the background.
[]Gather Information on (what?) Easy
Telling our operatives to keep their eyes open and frequent the local bars can yield a surprising amount of findings (and an equally surprisingly large bill). Not that these would be the only avenues used here.
[]Assassinate leadership silently (Medium)/ loud (Easy)
Cutting the head of the snake might sound like a good way to create some chaos. But this carries some risk to the operatives and the optics of assassinating a head of state, however small that state is, with which you are not even in conflict or even knows about you might not be the best. If anyone ever finds out about it that is.
[]Map military targets Medium
Knowledge of the defenses could be invaluable, should it come to military or sabotage operations in the city.
[]Search for discontents Medium
There surely are potential assets who are unhappy with the current leadership. Some could likely be persuaded that their new friends are the better option.
[]Subvert person of interest (who?) (difficulty depends)
Subverting one of the bigger players around through intimidation, brain washing or blackmail would make operations significantly easier, but might introduce yet another security risk.
[]Sabotage Defenses Amaris City
Damaging armories, artillery and anti-air systems ahead of an attack could prove highly beneficial, but might forewarn our adversaries if noticed.
[](write-in)
Research actions (choose 4)(these will net you influence)(Tina Emerson learning 30)(+1 learning for every crit success)(+10 on rolls involving biology):
"No time Lily, got a giant stompy robot to take apart. And yes I believe we could try and build our own gauss weaponry now."
Note: analyzing something might open up further research projects
[]basic KF drive Theory dc120
We do not have much to work off of. Still where there is data there is a thesis.
[]develop a vehicle dc80
(write-in a design or give me the capabilities that you want.)
[]Adjusted Food Crops III
rewrite
Preparing some food crops for the local circumstances will allow us to diversify our food production. Reducing the risks and possibly allowing us to scale colonization up faster.
[]analyze srm launcher dc50
A magazine fed missile launcher firing short ranged missiles with a rudimentary guidance package.
[]analyze XL Fusion Engine dc70
Getting the powerplant on the Demon working again was a pain. So hopefully poking around and running some experiments won't break it.
[]analyze PPC dc60
The Griffins energy weapon which was used to nearly shoot down our skyranger, it also seems to have some secondary effects on electronic systems.
[X] analyze Mech [Wasp] [1/2] dc60
Having managed to secure a fully intact Battlemech it is now possible to begin a thorough analysis of its features, construction and technology. Due to the extensiveness required to gather satisfactory levels of data, this will be highly destructive barring any further use of the machine.
[]Simplified gauss cannons
It should be possible to recreate some gauss weapon based upon the technologies we have developed so far. Due to miniaturization concerns we will start this work with large scale cannons. Hopefully creating an effective main weapon for our tanks and other vehicles.
[](write-in) Personal actions(choose 1):
[]manage construction(where?) (supports all build actions in a location 1d6->1d8)
[]support action (adds Shen's appropriate attribute to actions)
[]modify an existing piece of equipment (what?)
[]supervise action (Shen takes an advisor action with a -20 modifier)
Infrastructure Actions:
You have 14(30-11 buildings-5 aircraft) engineering teams available, each contributing 1d6 BP to a project it is assigned to. Overall BP contribution is capped at 80 BP for now because of gate throughput.
Gate Base:
(Barracks 3U | Well 3 | Fort 3 | Capacity 300 | Hangar 3U | Airstrip 3) | Store 2 (1 Explosives)| Silo 2)
(Lab 4/4SciU | Med 3 | Work 3/3Eng | FoundryU 4/4 Eng | Command 3)
Gate, Fission Reactor 4Eng, Hyperwave Relay, Training Center, Dropship facilities, Road to Radar Base, Ruined Village
-[] Upgrade Medical Facilities in Gate Base to Advanced (22/24)
-[] Upgrade Workshop in Gate Base to Advanced (20/24)
Radar Base:
(Barracks 3 | Well 2 | Fort 2 | Capacity 250 | Hangar 1 | Radar 3 | Store 1 | Silo 1)
Satellite Uplink,
Ruined Village:
(Barracks 2 | Well 2 | Fort 2 | Capacity 200 | Hangar 1| Store 1 | Silo 1)
Primary Installations (Only the globally highest ranked building has an effect.)
-Foundry (production of equipment)(higher rank means more complicated equipment can be produced)(+1 engineer per step to man)
-Workshop (maintenance and repair of vehicles, as well as modification of equipment)(-10% vehicle/SPARK losses per step)(+1 engineer per step to man)
-Medical Facility (medic!!)(-10% casualties per step)
-Laboratory (better workspace for researchers to analyze and preserve samples)(you may only employ research teams equal to Lab rank)
-command bunker (you may have a number of outposts equal to rank) Secondary Installations(Buildings have a local effect.)
-Water well (water supply for 100 per rank)
-Barracks (may comfortably house 100 per rank)
-Fortifications (trenches, earth bunkers and simple obstacles, also all the sandbags)(gives garrisons fortification advantages)
-Airstrip (needed for the operation of raven interceptors, kind of obvious from above, each rank increases effectiveness of air to air sorties flown from it (+1 modifier per rank))
-Hangar (can hold 2 raven or 1 Skyranger per rank)
-Storage depot (may stockpile supplies per rank, these may be spent in operations)
-Cruise missile silo (may hold tactical nuclear missiles or conventional ones for support)(can have missiles equal to rank ready to fire)
-Radar(offers warning of incoming air units, allowing interception, observing for contacts)
(Building the first rank underground costs +12 build points, but makes it near impossible to detect from afar and offers protection from attacks.)
[](teams) build (installation))(where?) to field 0/3BP
[](teams) move (installation))(where?) underground 0/12BP
[](teams) upgrade (installation)(where?) to basic 0/6BP
[](teams) upgrade (installation)(where?) to improved 0/12BP
[](teams) upgrade (installation)(where?) to advanced 0/24BP
[](teams) clear a road towards (where?) 0/6BP
As usual please tell me if you find any errors. I am currently not enacting any moratorium. You guys have been decent so far with discussing your plans before voting for them, try to keep it that way please.
That's... tricky. I would say the major question now is if we try Diplomacy or Subversion on Stepan Von Strang.
Yes, we know that Stepan Von Strang is a lot better than Otto Von Strang. Trouble is, Otto Von Strang is so bad that that's a very low bar to clear. Also, Stepan is probably better at diplomacy than we are, and the Rim Worlds Republic they want to reestablish is kind of riddled with backstabbing to a ridiculous degree. Stepan might be better than that. Or he might not. We don't know. The only thing we actually know is that Stepan wants a reputation that's better than that, and is willing to argue with his father - and risk resources - to make it happen.
a) I want to try the diplomatic route, but I have no idea how to make that work.
b) We could do mind control Stepan, then assassinate Otto next turn. Which works, but will also burn bridges with Stepan it might not be neccessary to burn. Possibly. Maybe.
c) We can try pulling in reinforcements and blast in the gates of Amaris City, but we don't have the Anti-Mech tanks (Medusas) needed to do so. Yet. They are being built, so we should have 30+ of them next turn, which we absolutely will need.
d) We suspect Stepan will try to attack out with dropship/house guard units this turn. Failure on Diplomacy and/or Subversion could normally have had that drop in the middle of our base. Thank god for Safehouses from the Dorians.
Anyway.
@Murks74 : What would the current difficulty levels be for Subversion on Stephan Von Strang, Otto Von Strang and/or Jermaine Griffin?
