The Omniverse of a God named Rod

The Omniverse of a God named Rod
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Friday, May 25, 2012

The Game of Empires

Starfleet the Boardgame

The Board represents three-dimensional space. One inch is a parsec; a Sector has six parsecs (20 light-years) to a side.

Time and Distance
"Faster than light; no left or right"
Starship time is based on the Stardate.
1000 is an earth year. 1 is a shift of 8h 46m 36s
One space (3.26ly; 1pc) takes a week at 200c (2 weeks at 100c wF5)
One sector (20ly; 6pc) takes a week maximum warp 1200c;
- emergency speeds are for fast deployments (6x)
- maximum range for scans and communications
Travel across a sector takes about month at a safe cruising speed of warp 6 (216c) CA4;
Fast response deployments (maximum 20 ly in a week) are at warp 8 (1,000c); a week maximum warp 1200c, ie F1
Max range is 100 ly [30 pc] in explored space; 2 months.

.1 (.4, .7) Alpha shifts, command staff; .2 (.5, .8) Beta shifts; .3 (6,.9) Gamma "graveyard" shifts;
Stardate .9 is set aside as the primary briefing and preparation for a mission assignment, prior to planetfall or arrival at .06 or "0600 hours."

Birth of Federation and Empires
Begin with 25 Points to purchase a Home world (H10), three starships (CR3, DD2, SC1), two colonies (max 5 each), and any claimed space (1 Point) in the home sector.
H10 is a warp capable, self-sustaining society;
C1-5 colony
CR3 multi-purpose cruiser
DD2 military destroyer
SC1 explorer scout
A previously unexplored parsec of space costs 1 Point to claim. A colony and any claimed space must have a connection to the Home world.

Economic Points or EP is the currency of exchange for The Game.

... To Explore strange New Worlds...
A Sector may hold 200 stars of which no more than 20 are main sequence (could be part of a binary, or rare trinary system) with 10 possible close to terrestrial worlds. As well as other random astrophysical phenomena. And possibly a warp capable planet amongst a few civilizations.

A world is "controlled" when a Mission is completed, and a team of specialists are left there. They usually consist of a central command, 2x the staff, 3x the specialists, 4x the security. A Point is started for that world, representing the "flag,"

Colonies can have thousands [Level 1] up to hundreds of thousands [2] in population.
Native inhabited worlds can have millions [3] to ten billion [5] in population.
Industries and technology can be from stone age [1] to warp capable [5].
World Production Ratings [GPA] equal the sum of the above * Note: The United Federation of Planets forbids the exploitation of pre-warp societies.
Colonies either cost points to maintain at first or produce, trade, and maintain a steady economy based on its population.

Build and develop, Scientific Outposts, Colonies, and Starbases in controlled worlds.
Shipyards; Starbases, and Starships are constructed at shipyards at GPA/10 Points per year
- for example, a CA4 heavy cruiser will take 4 years to build on Earth.

Sector defenses are defined as the sum total GPA of the Sector and the current ship deployment. 

Ships are...
Constructed at shipyards at the rate of 1 superstructure a year at a 10 point planet or system;
Resupplied at any friendly planet or post 10 x its points production
Repaired at starbases in half the time at four times the cost.

Early Warp Two 10c Period
Move each ship one parsec and perform a ship specific Task;
Explorers [EX1] explore any one phenomea, or survey a planet for a possible outpost;
Freighters [TR2] and escorts [ES1] as a convoy- establish, build, or resupply outposts;
Draw an Episode/Event/Encounter [3E] card for each ship to move to (1 Action per parsec, up to six parsecs sensor range) and the Task drawn (using remaining Actions).
Pay 1 EP from the Treasury towards a ship construction and any colony growth.
End one year Turn.

2 Cruisers [CR3]
3 Light Destroyers and Scout classes [DD2; SC1+]
6 Fast Frigates, Fighters, Gunships, and Escorts [FR1]
... comissioned in six years from 3 shipyards

Assign Actions, which represent operations priorities, to each of the following: Movement and crew assigned to Science, Combat, and Command.

Move an Explorer Scout one parsec space per Action allocated to movement - up to 6 parsecs- to a system with an earth-like world or a "point of interest" and begin a preliminary survey Mission;
Move to a system and complete a Scientific or Sociological survey Mission;
OR move to an adjacent unexplored Sector and drop a navigational bouy at its border;

Deploy a Military Destroyer one parsec space per Action allocated to movement - up to 5 parsecs to Respond or complete a Military Mission, as in posting a base detatchment on a planet or moon;
OR move to an adjacent Sector and drop a sensor bouy at its border.

Assign a Cruiser one parsec space per Action allocated to movement - up to 4 parsecs- to establish an Outpost Level 1 on the discovered earth-like planet;
Perform a Scientific or Sociological survey, or Military Mission; or a First Contact or Diplomatic Mission in the later years.
End six months Turn

Continue with "monthly" explorations and establish another Outpost;
Both ships must return to the Home world for resupply and evaluations.
End Year One

From the Home world, move a convoy (no cost) and Cruiser escort to establish a Colony around an Outpost, at the speed of one parsec per month;
The Cruiser may perform a six month patrol Mission, or immediately return Home to pick up another Convoy.
End Year Two

Any ship
*Move to an adjacent parsec of space and complete a Scientific or Sociological survey Mission (exploration)m Colonization, Trade, or other specialty Mission;
OR move to an adjacent unexplored Sector and transmit a log and flight plan at its border.

Comtinue to explore, establish Outposts, survey, and patrol along the sectors immediately surrounding the Home world.
End Period specific with two Colonies and the Home world with trade and commerce between them.

Systems Checks "drills" occur during transit
Missions are declared for all ships and units in play
Encounters are acted upon at random
Combat may occur at this point
Resolve all issues and reward points and penalties
Diplomacy each world with an advanced enough civilization may be approached by Diplomatic, Military, or Espionage Missions.

Small Empire
Scale: One parsec space; 20 light-years [6pc] range; 200c, wF6[5.34 new]
One sector: Home world [10EP], 2 Colonies [5 ea], 5 small colonies [5];
Fleet: CR3, SC1+, FR1; 1 Army, 2 Battalions, 3 Companies

Interlude... a Chronology
2265 Starfleet consists of about 100 Class I starships consisting of the following,,,
1 Dreadnought [DNG6]
12 Heavy Cruisers [CA4]
20 Medium Cruisers [CR3]
30 Light Destroyers and Scout classes [DD2; SC1+]
40 Fast Frigates, Fighters, Gunships, and Escorts [FR1]

2280s 1,000 starships
1% Advanced Design starships [AD6]
2% Battleships [BB 5 pts]
3% Refitted Heavy Cruisers [CAR4+]
4% Heavy Cruisers [CA4]
20% Medium Cruisers [CR3]
30% Light Destroyers and Scout classes [DD2]
40% Fast Frigates, Fighters, Gunships, and Escorts [FR1]
... plus Heavy Support ships

2300 goal of a 1,600 Starship Fleet
... see more History 101 below

"4X"
Explore "points of interest" in a sector
Expand by planting Colonies, Outposts, bouys, and Bases
Exploit using treaty Diplomacy and trade Economics
Exterminate using Starship Combat and Fleet Forces

Trader Captains and Mercheant Princes Commerce in game terms is simple. Establish trade partners and routes. Play the Market.

Creating an Episode
‘The Hook’ followed directly by “the Briefing “introduces the story and setting with a quest, problem, issue, or surprise which draws you into wondering what will be the consequences of that action
Act one- straightforward following of the storyline…
- “72 hours ago’ or an investigation with character assignments
Act two- a complication
Act three- a ‘twist’… everything seems to fall apart. Regroup
Act four- a fight… ground or starship combat
Final act- putting it all together

Surprise!
Unknown or new astronomical phenomenon or ship encounter;
Draw a Mission to complete using crew assignment Actions.
Perform Science, Command, and Psychological checks vs. opponent’s values - NPC has d10;
If unsuccessful, repeat until success, or quit, or Combat

War
Fleets of the tens and hundreds

- 3 Attacks vs 4 Defenses for a "robot" fleet
Small fleets and skirmishes
- FRAG Rules
Starship Tactical Combat Round - 7 Actions each - NPCs use 3 Attacks To-Hit, 4 Defensive Saves
Remove any Unit with Hull reduced to zero or less.
Ship to ship
- To-hit per weapon in ten second Rounds

Combat Potential, Early period upgrades
Explorer SC1
- one phaser (fwd)
Destroyer DD2
- 1 photon torpedo tube (fwd) and one phaser 360 turret, OR
- 2 phasers (p/s)
Cruiser CR3
- 1 photon torpedo tube (fwd)
- 2 phasers (p/s)
Advanced Level
Frigate FR1
- one phaser (p/f/s)
Fighter Squadron (6)
Scout SC1+ (DD2 hull)
- 1 phaser 360 turret
Heavy Cruiser CA4
- 3 phasers (f/p/s)
- 1 photon torpedo tube (x2 fwd)
- variants Command CC, Strike CS, Carrier CVA/B, Battlecruiser BC
Battleship BB5
Advanced Design AD6
- Dreadnought DN/DNG

Planetary Defense /Militia PDU3
Defense Platforms (stationary) FP1
Starbase SB6 to 10
Strategic level
One sector a month starship fleet (200c)… fast deploy five sectors at 1,000c
- the same procedures as above, except randomize 3 Episodes each sector a ship is in.

Ground Adventures
Movement Phase
Walk down hallway, room, or open terrain 0:03 every 5' [1.5m] to 30’ [10m] run, max
0:03-:10 Observe immediate environment
0:10 Perform Action check or Skill roll
If unsuccessful, repeat until success or quit
- points received equals Difficulty less number of repeated tries

Surprise!
Obstacle or NPC Encounter... ten second Rounds
Perform Intelligence, and Psyche checks vs. opponent’s values - NPC has 3 INT, 4 PSY
If unsuccessful, repeat until success, or quit, or Combat
Melee or Close quarters Combat Round - 7 Actions each - NPC uses 3 Attacks To-Hit, 4 Defensive Saves
Remove any Unit with 3 hits accumulated (simple), or Health of zero or less

Strategic level
600 miles a day surface Unit deployment… air deploy 3,600 miles maximum range
- the same procedures as above.
Combat: 3 Attacks vs 4 Defenses each Unit Strength.
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The Kligon-Federation frontier - Earth view

Klingon view

The Joust
Two opposing ships approach at sub-light. In a ten second Round, each ship is able to fire it's complement of weapons and employ defensive measures... shields and evasive maneuvers.
 
The Asteroid Game
One ship must pass through a field of debris, both natural and manufactured. Power is distributed to evasive maneuvers, facing shields, and weapons arcs every ten second Round. An asteroid, debris, or gravitic mine will appear at random every three second Phase.

The Cloud Game
As above, power is distributed to evasive maneuvers, rotating shields, and weapons arcs every ten second Round. In any of three dimensions, a ship decloaks.

Invasion!
Three ships on Klingon frontier patrol have missed their monthly communications reports.
Five warships have appeared in our sector on an intercept course!
Defend the Home world! or we all die trying!

Prior to stardate 3198.4 Errand of Mercy, Organian Intervention, mid-2267
Three forward ships along a shared frontier attack three opposing ships on patrol one-on-one. For every defender destroyed, detection is reduced by half. One sector and five weeks later, a 5-ship invasion fleet battle a hastily formed defensive fleet. A third invasion wave attacks the Home fleet, again five weeks later. Every opposing ship must be destroyed, or have retreated, in order to win.

Each Player is dealt thirteen starships.
Create three fleets of 3-5-5 with total values lowest to highest.
The defender places the first three ships face up in separate sectors along the border. The invader attacks each with with the first three ships. If all defenders are destroyed, the game continues. If only one defender is destroyed, the defender may activate three mothballed ships to be used in the last round.

Five-Year Mission
Apply up to a hundred assignments in a five-year for every ship or fleet in a sector. Apply Final Evaluation Points at the end of a mission.

Starships are represented by Pieces, Cards, Sheets, and Links...
Pieces are moved on a board
Cards show areas for Actions, Weapons, Systems, and Prestige
Sheets provide more extensive information and history
Links connect to other web resources with regards to the ship amd class.
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From war to hand-to-hand, combat is simply eliminating a number of opponents in a given amount of time. Avoid being hit without falling "out of the game." Last man standing is the winner of the conflict.

see The Game 101 below

Starship Deployment and Order of Combat

Construction 2 CR, 3 DD, 3 SC, 3 FR [U$ 18 trillion] in six years
Cruiser, multi-mission package swap-outs [CR3]
Destroyer, maneurable armament [DD2]
Scout, frigate hull with largest sensor suite [FSc1]

10 ships [20 pts] for three frontier sectors
1 Heavy Cruiser [CA4]
2 Medium Cruisers [CR3]
2 Light Destroyers [DD2] and 1 Scout classes [SC1+]
Fast Frigate, Fighter, Gunship, and Escort [FR1]

Order of Combat
Frigate [FR1], Scout [SC1+], Medium Cruisers [CR3]
Fighter, Gunship, and Escort [3FR1]; Destroyers [2DD2]
Medium Cruiser [CR3], Heavy Cruiser [CA4]

103 ships [214 pts]
1 Dreadnought [DNG6] experimental
12 Heavy Cruisers [CA4] fleet ships for 32 sectors
20 Medium Cruisers [CR3] various missions
30 Light Destroyers and Scout classes [DD2; SC1+]
40 Fast Frigates, Fighters, Gunships, and Escorts [FR1]

The Game 101
Deploy units around a Flag, leaving no empty spaces. Each element (strength) may be moved once per Turn.

Armageddon
All out war results in the elimination of all opposing forces and occupation of the entire theater of combat, ie The World.

The Campaign
Weeks to months of strategic attacks, withdrawls, re-grouping have the objective of obtaining the most resources, while holding on to your own. Land area, food, minerals, industrial complexes, as well as the population are commodities.

Army troops and Navy fleets
Each Unit has 3d attacks and 4d defenses each Turn.
Infantry, Mobile, and Tanks
Foot soldiers use 1d10/3 attacks to eliminate adjacent opponents;
Mounted or motorized vehicles move up to six spaces and fire forward R&L the remaider of the Actions;
Tanks move one space and fire forward one d10 shot per Turn.
Mob Rules

Hand-to-Hand

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Stats of Game Pieces
200 lbs (100 kg) Human(-oid) 4/2 AP fatal/cripple
50 ft diameter (1-10 fatalalities) blast zone (artillery shell)
One block (1 kiloton) 10,000 casualties
One mile (1 megaton) 1 million casualties
1 Superstructure point, Starship Tactical Combat
1 GT "planet buster" 100 million - 1 billion casualties
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History 101
2151 Comission first warp five cruiser [3EP] NX-01 Enterprise
Mission: Exploration... up to 30 Episodes a year; 1-6 parsecs between Episodes; 100 light-year arc

First 3 years
Build a scout [2EP] and frigate [1EP] at one shipyard

Next 6 years
Builds: +2 shipyards, 1 cruiser, 3 type 2, 6 type 1
Missions: Exploration, military patrol, multi-purpose

Tenth year evaluation
Colonies: 2 major production centers, ie, food, mining; some minor established settlements
Current fleet: 2CR, 2DD, 2SC, 7 type 1s [13n20EP]
Construction: 2CR, 3DD, 6 type 1 in year six every six years
Original design Warp 2 (10c) convoys, no EP cost, as needed

2257-61 Romulan War
Earth Convoys 1-3 TE+ES vs 1-3 R-FR1s per skirmish

2240s Klingon War
1-10 F-ships, ie, 3FR, 2DD, 1CR vs 1-10 K-ships, ie, 3D2, 2D4, 1D6 [10EP] per skirmish
3 CA4 under construction
10 ship fleet
1CC, 1CA, 1CVA, 2CR, 2DD, 1DDG, 3FR, 1SC

2245 3 CA4 Constitution class heavy cruiser "starships" commissioned; up to 12 contracted

2266 Starfleet consists of about 100 Class I starships consisting of the following...
1ASX, 12CA, 20CR, 24DD, 6DDG, 30FR, 10SC
1 Dreadnought [DNG6, KB10, R-CON]
12 Heavy Cruisers [CA4, KD7C, RV8]
20 Medium Cruisers [CR3, KD6/7, RK7, RV6]
30 Light Destroyers and Scout classes [DD2; SC1+, KD4, RV4]
40 Fast Frigates, Fighters, Gunships, and Escorts [FR1, KD2]

Federation Class I starships, 2266
Each Point is one superstructure, one terrawatt output.
Mass 50,000 metric tons; Crew 100; Weapons, bank, double tube; Defenses, 1 each
Weapons, 2 types: Torpedoes [2]; Phaser banks fwd/port/stbd/aft
Defensive saves, 4 kinds: Maneuver; ECM/ECCM; Shields; Armor
DN5 Federation class Dreadnought, Battlecruiser BB5, Dreadnought ASD6; 500+ crew; weapons classified
Torpedoes [2]; Phaser banks fwd/port/stbd/aft; Armor+1
Constitution class Heavy cruiser CA4, Strike cruiser CS; 200,000mt; 400 crew;
Torpedoes [2] fwd; 3 Phaser banks fwd/port/stbdManeuver; ECM/ECCM; Shields; Armor
Anton class multi-mission Cruiser CR3, Carrier CV, Transport CT, Colony;150,000mt; 300 crew;
Torpedoes [2] fwd; 2 Phaser banks f-port/f-stbd; Maneuver; ECM/ECCM; 2 Shields
TG/TR Ptolemy class tug/transport
2 Phaser banks f-port/f-stbd; 3 ECM/ECCM; 2 Shields/tractor
Siva class Destroyer DD2, Scout SC, Diplomatic SD;100,000mt; 200 crew;
2 Phaser banks f-port/f-stbd; 3 Maneuver; 2 Shields
DDG Aegis missle destroyer
Torpedoes [2]; Phaser bank fwd; 3 Maneuver; 2 Shields
SC1[S] Cygnus class scout
Phaser bank fwd, 4 Maneuver; ECM/ECCM
FR1 various mass 1 ships
Frigate FR1, Fast patrol ship FF; 50,000mt; 100 crew;
Phaser bank fwd; 6 Maneuver

2272-2285 Movies Era
BX Excelsior class test beds
CAR Enterprise class heavy cruisers
NCA Miranda-Soyuz class multi-mission cruisers
DDG "Aegis" class destroyers
FFQ 3 ship frigate squadrons

2295 "Generations"

2264 "Next Generation"
CA4 Galaxy class
CR3 Akira, Steamrunner, Nebula class
CL2 Intrepid class

2280s post-Series Era
BB5 Sovereign class
CR3 Luna, Vesta class
... various special mission classes ,+1EP "package"
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Avengers HQ

Avengers Assemble... Avengers Initiative... Marvel Avengers

It dragged for an hour and a half.

Scarlet Johansen is hot and great as a martial gymnast. The Black Widow should have been the Wasp.

Using an aircraft carrier as the SHIELD Helicarrier made for a more realistic platform than any CGI vehicle used before.

The Hulk knocking Thor sideways, priceless!
Loki's look of astonishment after Hulk wiped the floor with him, haha!

Thanos is Loki's ally/provider of troops. Should have been Galactus or Skrulls.

The diner scene at the end was hilarious.