WCRPG: Vespus

[capi3101]

Had a thought for the first mission today - we've all had to do those gawdawful capship missile interception missions. You know, where the Cats have launched way more many missiles than they should've had available to them and you have to shoot them all down because if you let so much as a single one through your carrier explodes in a big fiery ball that's visible from the next star system over, a virulent plague breaks out that renders the entire Sector uninhabitable until after the heat death of the universe, and the gods of Wing Commander sneak into your house in the middle of the night to fill your shoes with Miracle Whip. Right?

So how about a gawdawful capship missile escort mission? Stick it to the Cats for once, eh? Eh?

I've also had the notion of a limited torpedo stock. The players only have an 8-strong squadron of Lead Sleds with which to launch torps, and those only carry one apiece, so I'd seriously have to curtail the available stockpile if I went that route. I can see the lack of advanced firepower being challenging, especially if I go with my original vision of a campaign where killing capships was paramount to success.

 

[capi3101]

I suppose I could always swap out the Thuds for something with more punch. There'd be hangar space issues to consider, though...Gladii, perhaps (the Armada kind, of course).

Scratch that - Gladii also only carry one torpedo. And Banshees are quite a bit bigger than Thuds.

 

[capi3101]

Hey, quick question about this image:

Now, I'm sure y'all could've guessed that I'd be using it for the front cover when this campaign goes to print (that was pretty much a given). My question is, does anybody have the original backdrop image? By which I mean the one where Mark Hamill and John Rhys-Davies aren't standing in the foreground. I'm thinking about the back cover here...

Work still going slowly; mainly trying to work out the logic of the campaign and so far I'm not sold on everything.

 

[Whistler]

I suppose I could always swap out the Thuds for something with more punch. There'd be hangar space issues to consider, though...Gladii, perhaps (the Armada kind, of course).

Scratch that - Gladii also only carry one torpedo. And Banshees are quite a bit bigger than Thuds.

Is the Sabre too old an idea? Maybe the 2 seater variant used aboard Tarawa since with the wings folding they could squeeze the fuselage in. 2 seaters also add another possible story and play dynamic. Standard issue was 2 torps in a bomber role, just a bit more firepower and not a stretch for the mass. A Tallahassee might still have a light bomber squadron featuring Sabres.

 

[capi3101]

The impression I've operated under is that most of the WC2-era craft (including Sabres) were destroyed at the Battle of Earth and Confed subsequently retired them all. That said, Sabres would work for an extra torpedo mount, but the Thuds are about eight times as strong in terms of defenses and gunpower and there wouldn't be a great deal of space savings in switching over (you can fit ten Sabres in the same space as eight Thunderbolts).

Crossbows, on the other hand...

I dunno...if I'm going with the notion that the ship is an average, run-of-the-mill Tallahassee, it should have Thuds. I'll give it some more thought.

 

[capi3101]

Holy crap - I just realized today I don't have any rules in WCRPG for shooting down capship missiles. That's a major oversight. Makes me wonder if there's anything else the game's missing.

Fortunately, I haven't proofread any of the affected chapters just yet, so slipping in a set of rules shouldn't be difficult. Going to need them before I can go any further with Vespus, though.

EDIT: Looks like that's the only major bit missing and I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to handle it. Question becomes how much damage can they take before popping. If anyone knows or has a firsthand estimate, I'd love to hear it; otherwise I can just make something up.

 

[TEOC Viper]

EDIT: Looks like that's the only major bit missing and I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to handle it. Question becomes how much damage can they take before popping. If anyone knows or has a firsthand estimate, I'd love to hear it; otherwise I can just make something up.

While i've not paid very much attention to your entire conversion process *curse you life* in TEOC we treated CSMs like any other targetable object just with it's own 'missile' class. I don't have access to my newest database at the office, or the hard modifiers for the size type that the old man hard coded into the host combat program, but if my memery serves me well... in our game a CSM carries 35 hit points and could be attacked twice total in a round and the 'AI' for the missiles carried some fairly high defensive modifiers on the rolls. Dunno how that factors into what you're thinking, and your value system, but it's how I remember us doing it when CSMs were common place for us.

Sorry for the run ons, work day's over and I wanted to write this before I walked out the door.

 

[Whistler]

In my experience I found it rather easy to eliminate CSMs after detection. In my opinion they should be difficult to intercept (speed/trajectory) but they flew fairly straight and big blob of a target once in range. Skipper missiles on the other hand... *shudder*

 

[capi3101]

but if my memery serves me well... in our game a CSM carries 35 hit points and could be attacked twice total in a round and the 'AI' for the missiles carried some fairly high defensive modifiers on the rolls. Dunno how that factors into what you're thinking, and your value system, but it's how I remember us doing it when CSMs were common place for us.

I've got a copy of the TEOC regs which I've been looking at today, actually; Most of the files are dated 8/29/1999. Wcrpg-s.txt says that CSMs take 30 points of damage; has that been updated.

Good news there is that I can pull a comparison between damage points in TEOC and WCRPG and derive an appropriate defensive value for CSMs in WCRPG. I think it'd be easiest to handle them like a fighter (i.e. make up a stat table for them).

Looks like I included none of the rules I'd originally intended for ordnance (range penalties, ability to be shot down, etc.). Sure am glad I caught this now and not after the game went to print...

 

[capi3101]

This morning I'm debating as to whether or not I want to re-use the same set of generic Kilrathi pilots I used for Enyo. I haven't really got a good reason not to aside from their customization to the pre-WC1 era, which can be easily updated. I am thinking of tossing in an Ace encounter in Vespus, probably either in mission 3 or mission 4.

I suppose I should also be trying to figure out if I want to recycle the Terran pilots as well. Leaning towards not. I am going to need a group of 8-12 pilots no matter what.

Actually, this would be an opportunity to ask for submissions: anybody out there want to submit a pilot for Vespus? They'd get a crack at saving Concordia from a watery fate (or not)...

Also going to need a chief comms and a barkeep, or maybe a chief tech instead of a barkeep this time around; the pacing of the whole campaign is going to be pretty fast timewise and I'm not sure there will be time for Rostov Hairballs...

 

[Whistler]

Actually, this would be an opportunity to ask for submissions: anybody out there want to submit a pilot for Vespus? They'd get a crack at saving Concordia from a watery fate (or not)...

I'd like to submit my old roleplay character if possible. His timeline had him on the Leyte Gulf during the Battle of Terra. Didn't make it to the Hermes until Blair's days on the ol'Vic. He's a 10 year vet by BoT. So how much aging and growth should I give him for the Battle of Vespus time period? Still familiarizing myself with the character creation. I don't want to overpower him for the campaign but he's competent at his job. Didn't make Colonel till his posting aboard TCS-Hermes.

My timeline up to then:
Timeline of Service

• 1 Enlisted in the Terran-Confederation Space Armed Forces academy on 2660.277 at the age of 19, and graduated with honors at the top of his class on 2661.139.

• 2 Campaign on Board TCS-Wolfhound in the Deneb sector, 2661-2663. End of Campaign- Received promotions fast due to heavy losses during Deneb Campaign, reaches the rank of Major.
• 3 Transfered to the TCS-Leyte Gulf on 2663.245.
• 4 Campaign on board TCS-Leyte Gulf, serving in the defense of Olympus Station in Ghorah Khar System. 2663-2666
• 5 Reaches the rank of Lieutenient Colonel on 2665.327 for singlehandedly warning the Leyte Gulf of oncoming Kilrahthi task force to destroy Olympus station and taking out 2 Fralthra heavy crusiers, 1 Dorkathi troop transport, 1 Kamehk Corvette, and 15 fighters. Awarded "Medal of Valor" with diamonds.
• 6 Participates in the Battle of Terra on 2671.105 resulting in heavy losses. His Sabre was destroyed, but he ejected, but not before launching a torpedo spread at a Fralthra heavy crusier, destroying it. Recovered and treated for radiation poisoning due to Fralthra explosion.

Apologies if it seems a little garish...I wrote this when I was 14.

 

[capi3101]

Alright. We'd need a reason for him to be transferred to TCS Bhopal after the Battle of Earth. With the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he'd likely be serving as ship's CAG...personnel shortage probably.

Vespus takes place just prior to the start of WC3, so we're only talking about six months after the Battle of Earth, tops; aging the character shouldn't be an issue.

In the Who's Who, I gave characters with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel five to six hundred hero points. Given his age, I'd lean towards 500. Maybe 400 if that seems too much.

I'd give his radiation exposure some serious thought; as I mention in Chapter 12.3, some of the higher exposure categories have permanent effects even with successful treatment.

Let me know if you need help with stats generation; that's a section I have yet to proofread so I don't know if it's as clear as I think it is.

 

[capi3101]

Got the campaign page created on the wiki this morning; went ahead and uploaded my notes so far. Shouldn't be revealing anything I haven't already talked about so far. Maybe the size of the groups...

 

[Whistler]

In the Who's Who, I gave characters with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel five to six hundred hero points. Given his age, I'd lean towards 500. Maybe 400 if that seems too much.

500 makes a good average. He is an Honor-Grad from The Academy. I won't spit at the idea of 600 points based on his past but ultimately it's up to you.

I'd give his radiation exposure some serious thought; as I mention in Chapter 12.3, some of the higher exposure categories have permanent effects even with successful treatment.

Not a problem, 2 - 3 months in the hospital with time in a "Rad" Ward, 2 months of rehab to get him back up to full physical (and mental) shape, a few weeks to a month at most to re-certify as flight-ready. Some of the effects I'll have to look at in detail. They might make good negatives to boost the point pool.

Alright. We'd need a reason for him to be transferred to TCS Bhopal after the Battle of Earth. With the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he'd likely be serving as ship's CAG...personnel shortage probably.

Vespus takes place just prior to the start of WC3, so we're only talking about six months after the Battle of Earth, tops; aging the character shouldn't be an issue.

I can see that High Command might put him in a lower-threat level (they assume) area-of-operations as a way to ween him into active duty combat and possible future carrier wing command. Shit will hit the fan naturally and he'll have to do his job and prove himself regardless. I just ask that he not be a scripted KIA, leave it to the dice. That's the kind of hectic nature that makes it feel like Wing Commander.

Let me know if you need help with stats generation; that's a section I have yet to proofread so I don't know if it's as clear as I think it is.

I'll assume for now he's an NPC? I'll start creation based on a PC and modify if need be from that. Will take a little time but when I have a rough-draft I'll PM my character sheets and not tie-up the boards. I should note that he's not the type to sit in his office while his pilots are burning cats. Having an office at all for him is a new experience at this point in his career.

 

[capi3101]

500 makes a good average. He is an Honor-Grad from The Academy. I won't spit at the idea of 600 points based on his past but ultimately it's up to you.

You're making the character, so it's your call. I'll back it either way.

I just ask that he not be a scripted KIA, leave it to the dice. That's the kind of hectic nature that makes it feel like Wing Commander.

No problem. If I did anything like that at all, it'd be in mission 5B; even then I prefer folks to get toasted by dice than by script.

I'll assume for now he's an NPC? I'll start creation based on a PC and modify if need be from that. Will take a little time but when I have a rough-draft I'll PM my character sheets and not tie-up the boards. I should note that he's not the type to sit in his office while his pilots are burning cats. Having an office at all for him is a new experience at this point in his career.

I set things up with the last two CAGs (Major Cardenas in Prelude and Lieutenant Colonel Blakely in Enyo) so that they could be either a PC or an NPC. It's worked well so I'll probably do it again. Basing him as a PC is probably best; it covers both possibilities.

 

[capi3101]

#blow_dust_off_thread

So, lately I've been working on the pre-built characters. I've got most of them to the point where I'm ready to begin building stat blocks at this point. I am having some trouble coming up with the callsigns for about half a dozen pilots, so I figured I should let y'all take a crack at them. Here are my rules:

Rule #1: Nothing that's been used elsewhere already (so no Paladins, Stingrays, Vaqueros, etc.)

• Corollary #1: The callsigns used so far are Taxicab, Quiche, Polock, Waltz, Gurney, Meatball, Rug, Whistler, Goddess, and Testes.

Rule #2: Nothing that sounds majestic (no Falcons, Hawks, Gryphons, etc.)
Rule #3: The more vulgar or derogatory, the better. I'd prefer no curse words but I'll take 'em if they're used creatively.

General guidelines - reference the Wikipedia article.

And here are the names of the characters I still have left to do:

• 2LT Pao, Dai-lin - Male, Chinese Descent, Ambidextrous, 1.9m, 90 kg, Age 25 (2644.247), Born at Remus Refinery, Pollux System, Humboldt Quadrant, Gemini Sector
• 1LT Nicolayic, Onenn - Female, Brittanic Descent, Right-handed, 1.6m, 50 kg, Age 31 (2638.114), Born at Nuevo Brest, Celeste, Terra Quadrant, Sol Sector
• MAJ Adjeng, Erna - Female, Indonesian Descent, Right-handed, 1.5m, 60 kg, Age 35 (2634.088), Born at Baru Riau, Chemla, Gegarin Quadrant, Hawking Sector)
• CPT Jelenovicz, Karel - Male, Galatian Descent, Right-handed, 1.8m, 120 kg, Age 32 (2637.007), Born at Aetos Dios, Aquila IV, Petrov Quadrant, Sol Sector
• 1LT Weber, Helena - Female, Dutch Descent, Right-handed, 1.5m, 55 kg, Age 30 (2638.362), Native Landreicher, Born at Nieuw Zederik, Orleans, Gonwyn Quadrant, Landreich Sector
• 1LT Raj, Lakshman Avtar - Male, Indian (Sikh) Descent, Left-handed, 1.6m, 80 kg, Age 33 (2636.046), Born at New Raipur, Oxford, Potter Quadrant, Gemini Sector

First come, first serve, and I reserve the right to change my mind.

 

[Silent Hunter]

OK, can I suggest "Dilly" for 2LT Pao ("Dilly Dai-lin") and "Andon" for 1LT Nicolayic?

 

[capi3101]

"Andon Onenn"...and on, and on. Good one.

Both of those are good. Anybody got any other suggestions?

Lt. Weber has me thinking of spiders for some reason...got it. "Longlegs". A double entendre...

 

[capi3101]

#cast_spell_of_lesser_thread_necromancy

Work is under way on missions. I'm trying to get the framework of each mission down, so at the moment it's not much more than notes, but things should go pretty quickly after that.

I'm not really liking the second mission so far. What I've got is essentially a repeat of the fourth Prologue mission from Saga (the one where the Cats ambush Wellington and almost everybody dies), except that the goal of the Zartoth is to confuse the pursuing Confederation forces and lead them away from the Kilrathi task unit heading towards Vespus Prime. So essentially it's 4 Nav Points of nothing and I figure that some bright player might know what's going on and call an abort. Sounds boring as hell.

Any ideas for things I might be able to do to jazz the mission up?

 

[Whistler]

Skill check to decode the signature of the target at each nav? Depending on score it may come back as different ships or even the Zartoth itself. As to getting strung along, it's not if the player is smart enough to know better, it's the character that is. Dice governs all.