Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Text of Message Received from Starfleet Monitor Station At Delta Quadrant End of Durandal Wormhole

Text of Message Received from Starfleet Monitor Station At Delta Quadrant End of Durandal Wormhole:

Contact established with First Maje Jabin of Kazon Ogla Sect. Humanitarian assistance offered to Kazon has resulted in cordial conversations, and a promise of more in the future. Kazon are suffering from lack of water and natural resources. Pirates are also preying on Kazon ships.


Ambasaador Endara Khan
USS Exeter
Delta Quadrant





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Captain's Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 1008.01

Captain's Log
USS Guadalcanal
Stardate 1008.01
In orbit of Oshionion 6

We entered orbit of Oshionion 6, following sensor readings in pursuit of the Romulan Warbird Praex, which was responsible for the destruction of the USS Copernicus. Shortly after entering orbit, we used excess warp power to 'flash-detect' the cloaked warbird. While electronic countermeasures from the Praex negated our advantage, we still brought down half of the warbird's forward hull. The Praex continued around in an opposite direction, but we took down a large part of its aft shields. As we were coming back into range, however, the Praex had cloaked. On our last sensor pass, their plasma torpedo was half charged. We are maintaining sufficient speed to evade the plasma, and with luck we'll soon be in a position beam troops over. It's my hope that we can at least download her computer core before we're forced to destroy her.

(Moderator's note: Unusual as it would be for a Captain to record a log during a battle, I also wanted to show what can be done to combine heavy combat with the ongoing story. I don't know if the Guadalcanal will win, or if it will be able to download the Praex's computer core. The way I figure, the planet is a big one, and right now there is a few minutes break as they try to find the warbird. At that point the Captain might gather his thoughts. And the tactical insight could be useful later on.)

I have the combat logs so far. They are a bit involved, and while I like the notation... it is a logical method for tracking precise movement and position, especially in orbit and with sometimes changing targets. So here, have a look, and feel free to comment:

A=USS Guadalcanal
B=RIS Praex

A
Roll [8]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [000]
Init Bearing [180]
Init Range [4]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [000]
Proj Bearing [135]
Proj Range [5]
Proj Speed [2]
Defense/ECM [6(3)]
Offense []

B Position Seven
Roll [11]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [000]
Init Bearing [270]
Init Range [4]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [000]
Proj Bearing [315]
Proj Range [4]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [cloaked/10(5)]
Offense []

Result: tie
Damage to A:
Damage to B:


A
Roll [8]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [000]
Init Bearing [135]
Init Range [5]
Init Speed [2]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [45]
Proj Bearing [90]
Proj Range [6]
Proj Speed [3]
Defense/ECM [initial 3/add8(4)]
Offense []

B
Roll [6]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [000]
Init Bearing [315]
Init Range [4]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [000]
Proj Bearing [000]
Proj Range [4]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [cloaked/initial 5/add 6(3)]
Offense []

Result: tie
Damage to A:
Damage to B:


A
Roll [15]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [000]
Init Bearing [90]
Init Range [6]
Init Speed [3]
Proj Target [Planet]
Proj Course [315]
Proj Bearing [45]
Proj Range [6]
Proj Speed [3]
Defense/ECM [10 pts sensors flash detect Praex at bearing 315 range 8/initial 4]
Offense [4pts phaser/1pt photon rolled 2(X2)]

B
Roll [8]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [90]
Init Bearing [000]
Init Range [4]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [135]
Proj Bearing [45]
Proj Range [4]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [begin decloak/initial 3/add 6(3)]
Offense [1/4 charge plasma]

Result:
Damage to A: none
Damage to B: 2/4 damage to Praex fore hull


A
Roll [14]
Init Target [Praex]
Init Course [315]
Init Bearing [315]
Init Range [8]
Init Speed [3]
Proj Target [Praex]
Proj Course [270]
Proj Bearing [225]
Proj Range [9]
Proj Speed [4]
Defense/ECM [6(3)ECM]
Offense [8pts phaser to Praex Port Shield]

B
Roll [11]
Init Target [GUAD]
Init Course [135]
Init Bearing [225]
Init Range [8]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [GUAD]
Proj Course [180]
Proj Bearing [180]
Proj Range [9]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [Complete decloak/initial 3/10(5)ECM]
Offense [2/4 charge plasma]

Result: tie
Damage to A:
Damage to B:


A
Roll [15]
Init Target [Praex]
Init Course [270]
Init Bearing [225]
Init Range [9]
Init Speed [4]
Proj Target [Praex]
Proj Course [225]
Proj Bearing [180]
Proj Range [10]
Proj Speed [4]
Defense/ECM [3(retained)]
Offense [15 pts phaser to Praex aft shields]

B
Roll [10]
Init Target [GUAD]
Init Course [180]
Init Bearing [180]
Init Range [9]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [GUAD]
Proj Course [225]
Proj Bearing [135]
Proj Range [10]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [10(5)ECM]
Offense []

Result:
Damage to A: none
Damage to B: 5/17 pts damage Praex aft shields


A
Roll [9]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [225]
Init Bearing [315]
Init Range [6]
Init Speed [4]
Proj Target [Planet]
Proj Course [180]
Proj Bearing [270]
Proj Range [6]
Proj Speed [4]
Defense/ECM []
Offense []

B
Roll [11]
Init Target [GUAD]
Init Course [225]
Init Bearing [135]
Init Range [4]
Init Speed [1]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [180]
Proj Bearing [90]
Proj Range [4]
Proj Speed [1]
Defense/ECM [begin cloak/8(4)ECM]
Offense [3/4 charge plasma]

Result:tie
Damage to A:
Damage to B:


A
Roll [9]
Init Target [planet]
Init Course [180]
Init Bearing [270]
Init Range [6]
Init Speed [4]
Proj Target [planet]
Proj Course [135]
Proj Bearing [225]
Proj Range [6]
Proj Speed [4]
Defense/ECM []
Offense []

At this point, the Praex might just turn around and surprise the Guadalcanal. One plasma shot will seriously hurt the Guadalcanal, while one more serious heavy shot could break the Praex's glass jaw and open it up for internal damage and boarding parties. And of course the Guadalcanal has the 'experienced' rating advantage that Captain Murphy will use to full advantage.


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The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Summary of Events Stardate 0908.29

Summary of Events
Stardate 0908.29

Examination of the data core discovered the USS Guadalcanal in the Keloda system, as well as intel provided by Starfleet Lieutenant Barrow of the USS Copernicus reveals that the Romulans have entered the Delta Quadrant. Lt. Barrow confirmed that the D'deridex Class RIS Praex destroyed the Hawking Class USS Copernicus in an unprovoked attack. The Copernicus had previously tracked the Praex from Jibalia III to Keloda. The Guadalcanal tracked the Praex to Oshionion 6, and is currenty engaged in combat operations. The Copernicus had been assigned to investigate the mystery of Jibalia III.

Construction of Starbase Lighthouse approximately two-thirds complete under supervision of Admiral Nogulich and USS Frank Houghton. Captain Ecklund reports no evidence of the apparent Romulan incursion through the Durandal wormhole. Starfleet Signals Intelligence Branch is scanning the region for evidence of cloaked transit.

IKS TorQwI' and QorDu' Assault Group entered the Durandal wormhole on schedule and has gone on unspecified manuevers.

USS Exeter, carrying Federation Ambassador Endara Khan has not transmitted scheduled progress reports since entering the Delta Quadrant. There is no indication that contact has been established with the Kazon Ogla sect.

Starship USS Archer has been dispatched to investigate disappearance of civilian ship CS Horizon.

Jamming Cruiser USS Richard Nixon (Class ship) launched from Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. USS Fox Mulder and USS Dana Scully are currently under construction.


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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Start of Orbital Combat

The USS Guadalcanal entered orbit of Oshionion 6 and, after orbiting a quarter of the planet, was fortunate enough to 'flash-detect' the Warbird Praex while it was still cloaked. A quick volley of phasers and a photon torpedo destroyed two of the Praex's four forward hull platings. The Praex is decloaking and charging its plasma torpedo. Tomorrow the Guadalcanal will have to try get some damage done to the Romulan shields and accelerate out of range before the plasma torpedo is charged. One shot of that can bring down a shield facing.

Lessons learned here involve how to decide initial position in single player games. Rolling the dice to randomize the IP seems to be the answer as always. Using the ten sensor points to 'flash-detect' a cloaked vessel is effective, if you have line of sight and are lucky. Another lesson is more accurately calculating range from ship to ship in orbiit. The Guadalcanal was swinging into a wider, faster orbit on a general course of 045 when it detected the Praex at a bearing of 315. I had a bit of trouble calculating range at that point. It'll be sorted out by the time this battle is complete.

More next time...

Kapact

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Friday, September 26, 2008

Captain's Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 0908.26

Captain's Log
USS Guadalcanal
Stardate 0908.26

Our investigation of the black box has moved forward, but in a direction that makes me long for a problem as simple as as a Korgath cruiser. The black box comes from the missing science ship USS Copernicus (which, coincidentally, had been assigned to investigate the mystery of Jibalia III), and there is evidence in its data core implicating the Romulans in its destruction. Lieutenant Barrow, who was a science officer on the Copernicus, has recovered from minor injuries. He told me that the Copernicus had detected a stream of elevated nuetrinos slowly dispersing along a warp trail that led from Jibalia III to the Keloda system. That was where they were ambushed by a cloaked Romulan warbird. Before they were destroyed, Captain Brown of the Copernicus sent Barrow down to the planet with the black box to make sure that word got out no matter what happened. Barrow found the same levels and equipment that we discovered. We were about to return to the surface when we detected another nuetrino stream leading toward the Oshionian system. It's pretty obvious what we're going to find when we get there.

I know that there's a great deal of political turmoil on Romulus right now, considering that the Senate has been assassinated and Shinzon is dead. I also know that there is an opportunity for war or peace with the Romulans that we  haven't known since the twenty-second century. But I'm not about to let them get away with murder. Nobody really has a claim to this part of space, but that doesn't make it okay to destroy innocent science vessels. I'm also concerned that there really is no way to bring these people to justice, and we can't really throw a shipfull of Romulans into our brig. Just like the Earth-Romulan war of the twenty-two fifties, this situation allows for very little quarter. I've never intentionally set out to hunt out and destroy a ship before. There has always been at least the hope of forcing a surrender and bringing them to some kind of justice. This is like something out of the ancient west of my ancestors, with pioneers sometimes forced to mete out some rough justice. This is a good ship and an experienced crew. I don't doubt that we can take the Romulans. It's just an ugly business that I'm not looking forward to.



What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Another Level for Heavy Combat

Not doing much for the storyline here, but I'm starting to work out ship-to-ship maneuvering around a planetary body. It complicates matters a bit, because players (or overworked moderators) will need to note things like course and bearing, and concern themselves with their position and range relative to each other, as well as the local planetary body. Course (with 'up' being 000 degrees, 'down' being 180 degrees, and so on), bearing (the position of the planet relative to your ship), and range to the planet. Dividing the planet into eight separate 45 degree segments (000-45, 45-90, 90-135, 135-180, 180-225, 225-270, 270-315, 315-000) creates a pretty effective positioning system, and by keeping this in mind as you note range, course and bearing lets you plot your position pretty accurately. We aren't talking GPS obviously, but for a starship in orbit, it's effective enough. And how do we define ranges 1, 2, 3 anf 4? Range 1 is the range at which you have LOS (line of sight) at 45 degrees separation. Range 2 is the range at which you have LOS at 90 degrees. Range 3 is the range at which you have LOS at 135 degrees. Range 4 is the range at which you have LOS at 180 degrees. So the range calculation is actually abritrary and dependant upon your position relative to your opponent and the planet. All of that covers range to the planet and is just used to calculate LOS. Ship-to-ship range is calculated normally. The actually length of the ship is one unit of range.

The point to all this is the opportunity to have orbital combat, using the planet as an obstacle, or tool, depending on your point of view. Weapons and transporters all require line of sight. This will also require a slightly modified combat phase template to include the course, range and bearing. Anticipate fine-tuned rules on transporting boarding parties as well as lowering shields for transport, as well as hit and run parties using existing rules for ground combat. This is all with the aim of providing yet another level of gameplay available to heavy combat players. And as always, players are encouraged to write logs, in prose, for others to read.

I'm aware that Fantasy Trek gets a fair number of visitors, and while I'd certainly appreciate a bit of feedback, and maybe even someone gutsy enough to be a beta tester, I'm just glad that people are looking in. I write fiction and poetry because it gives me, in effect, a free book that has everything in it I'd like, and Fantasy Trek serves the purpose of giving me a free Star Trek game that has every element I could ask for. The point is, Fantasy Trek is a free Trek game for anyone who wants to play it. It may not have flash graphics or a smart AI, but it still requires thought and imagination. What's more, anyone can write scripts for it. No C++ required. And that reminds me of something else. "Enterprise" fans, I'm planning to write a series of scenarios to make a playable "Xindi" game. All of the story arc episodes of season three will be the first big Fantasy Trek Mod. The PC game that should have been. "Star Trek Enterprise: Xindi" for Fantasy Trek. Who doesn't wish they could have that game, and for free?


You're welcome to be a part of it.

Kapact

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Federation Jamming Cruiser Text SSD

This is a text SSD for a Federation Jamming Cruiser. It's a basic frigate spaceframe with shields and hull beefed up, weapons and some internals (fire control, weapons, redundant warp and batteries) stripped out in favor of six ECM generators. The ECM generators provide continuous ECM, one unit per generator. The jamming cruiser doesn't roll. It's navigation is slaved to whichever ship the player controls, and acts as a wild weasel, forcing attacking ships to beef up ECCM and/or waste their fire on the jamming cruiser while the control ship proceeds unmolested. The only downside is that the interference from the jamming cruiser prevents the control ship from targeting any enemy ships. The jamming cruiser is, therefore, strictly an escort ship. There is no offensive advantage to it. Yet :)

FEDERATION JAMMING CRUISER

SHIELD GENERATORS 1 2 3 4 5 (1 IN 10 NEEDED)

DORSAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

VENTRAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

PORT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

STARBOARD SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

FORE SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

AFT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22


Hull

Fore 1 2 3 4
Aft 1 2 3 4
Port 1 2 3 4
Starboard 1 2 3 4
Dorsal 1 2 3 4
Ventral 1 2 3 4

INTERNALS

Bridge 1
Aux Bridge 1
Sensors 1 2
Impulse 1 2
ECM Generators 1 2 3 4 5 6               
Batteries 1 2
Warp 1 2

Internal Damage Chart
Roll 1 dice
1=Bridge/Auxiliary Bridge
2=Sensors/ECM Generatorrs
4=Impulse
5=Batteries
6=Warp Core

If you roll a number for a system that is already destroyed, you roll again.




What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Summary of Events Stardate 0908.22

Summary of Events
Stardate 0908.22

Construction of Starbase Lighthouse approximately one third completed under supervision of Admiral Nogulich and USS Frank Houghton. Despite cooling of diplomatic relations with Klingon Empire, IKS TorQwI' and QorDu' Assault Group arrived on station as per joint access agreement. Scheduled joint military exercises with QorDu' Assault Group cancelled until further notice.

USS Guadalcanal diverted to Keloda system in Delta Quadrant to investigate Federation data core 'black box'. The data core was recovered, along with a crewman from the science ship USS Copernicus, which had lost communications with Starfleet monitor stations on the Delta Quadrant side of the Durandal five days ago.  The crewman, who's identity has not been released, is recovering in the Guadalcanal's medical bay. There is no evidence yet of the fate of the Copernicus.

Romulan Warbird Decius launched two days ago en route to military trials in an undisclosed location.

USS Exeter, carrying Federation Ambassador Endara Khan, entered the Durandal wormhole, and will set course to seek out representatives of the Kazon Ogla sect. She is
authorized to use extraordinary measures to open diplomatic relations.

Fast Penetration Cruiser USS Xerxes launched from Starbase Deep Space Nine on undisclosed orders.

Civilian ship CS Horizon remains missing.


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http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Summary of Communique Received From Klingon Ambassador Khamarag

Unescorted allowance of Federation and Federation region starships, including civilian and scientific vessels in Klingon space hereby restricted. Joint access territorial projects, including the Durandal wormhole will proceed as agreed. Federation citizens are advised that visitation visas on Klingon worlds will not be extended. Joint military exercises and officer exchange programs hereby cancelled until further notice. Communications with this office will not be accepted.


What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Friday, September 19, 2008

Revised Heavy Combat Rules (Including Plasma and Emergency Warp)

Appendix 4: Heavy Combat Rules

(note: these rules may be amended for balance or to take into account new ships/systems as the game advances. The game owner is the final judge in all rule-related questions)


For purposes of balance, a ship not equipped with directed energy weapons rolls two six-sided dice, while a ship with directed energy weapons rolls three. This is to ensure that non-directed energy weapon ships don't have a disproportionate amout of points with which to apply ECM or shield reinforcement.


Movement.

Speeds are indicated in increments of one point. Players can use one rolled point to accelerate or deccelerate by one point of speed. A speed of one moves your ship one unit per turn. One unit is roughly equal to the length of the ship. For purposes of play, different ships of the same class are assumed to be approximately the same length.

Rotating in place while firing is possible, but only half of directed energy will hit initial target. If a targetted ship rotates to avoid fire, it will still take full effect on the initial shield facing from any directed energy weapon (phasers, beam disruptors) on the first phase of the turn. Damage from torpedoes and packet disruptors are divided. If a ship fires a directed energy weapons while rotating, the damage is divided. If a ship fires photon or packet disruptor while rotating, damage is not split (because it tracks to the designated target).

Turn Ratios:

Used for turning on a map, or rotating in place. 1/1 means you can turn one shield facing in one turn. 1/2 means you can turn one shield facing in two turns, and so on.

Freighter (F) 1/1

Frigate (FF) 1/1

Destroyer (DD) 1/2

Light Cruiser (CL) 1/3

Heavy Cruiser (CA) 1/4

Dreadnought (DN) 1/5


Targetting specific system: 1 in 10 chance of doing 1 point of damage. (Refer to chart if using two 6-sided dice.)

2(total) =1

3=2

4=3

5=4

6=5

7=6

8=7

9=8

10=9

11=10

12=reroll


Beam Disruptor/Phaser Rules:
Phasers and Beam Disruptors track to port/starboard/dorsal/ventral
Max range is 10 (X.5)
Range 9 (X1)
Range 8 (X2)
Range 7 (X3)
Range 6 (X4)
Med range is 5 (X5)
Range 4 (X6)
Range 3 (X8)
Range 2 (X9)
Close range is 1 (X10)

Defensive Phaser Rules:
Phasers and Beam Disruptors track to port/starboard/dorsal/ventral
One point to fire. Roll for damage, Roll 1d6
Max range is 5 (X.5)
Range 4 (X1)
Range 3 (X2)
Range 2 (X3)
Close range is 1 (X4)
(damage totals ending in .5 round down)

Photon Rules:
One pt required to fire photons. In all photon equipped ships, if a ship has at least two launchers, one will cover all forward arcs while the other will cover aft arcs. All photons can track to ventral or dorsal arcs. Photon Torpedoes can be launched every other turn. Separate roll for photons. Roll once for 'to hit' (at range 8-10). Roll again for damage. CA has a max of 20 torpedoes.
Range 1-3= X8 multiplier (Range 1=additional 1/4 damage to attacking ship). Always hits.
Range 4-7= X4 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 8-10= X2 multiplier. Needs 3-6 to hit.

Packet (Klingon) Disruptor Rules:
One point required to fire disruptors. Klingon disruptors fire forward only, but can track to dorsal and ventral arcs. Disruptor Bolts can be launched every third turn. Separate roll for disruptors. Roll once for 'to hit' (at range 8-10). Roll again for damage.
Range 1-3= X8 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 4-7= X4 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 8-10= X2 multiplier. Needs 3-6 to hit.

Plasma Torpedo Rules:
Four points required to fire plasma torpedo, and 1 point per turn to maintain charge. (1 point per turn over four turns). Plasmas can track to all arcs. Plasmas always hit. Damage according to range chart. Plasma torpedo tracks to original target, moving three spaces per turn.
Damage Multiplier:
Range 1-3= X30 (Range 1=additional 5pts damage to attacking ship).
Range 4-7= X20
Range 8-10= X15

(Note on Plasma defense: Batteries provide emergency warp power for burst of speed. Two spaces per turn. During use of emergency warp, no other actions possible. Each use of emergency warp depletes one battery.) At Range 5+, plasma's can be destroyed with ten pts damage from any weapon.

Cloaking Rules:
Cloak renders ship invisible and untracable. Cloaking requires 1 point to initiate and maintain. Cloaked player must keep track of his movements/position relative to opponent(s), and must report movements to moderator (if there is one) Ships cannot remain cloaked for more than ten consecutive turns. Ships cannot fire when cloaked. Cloaking ship has neither shields nor weaponry for one turn prior to, and one turn after cloaking device activated. Countermeasures can be used to protect vessel while cloaked, and cloaking/decloaking. If opponent manages to hit cloaked vessel, damage goes straight to armor, hull and internals. Player rolls 6-sided die to simulate attacking ship's attempt to hit cloaked vessel. Roll of 1 is required on a 1d6 roll.

Lack of Sensors Rules are similar to cloaked rules. If a ship has lost as much as 1/2 sensor capacity, 1-3 (6 sided die) necessary to hit with any weapon. With complete loss of sensors, player rolls 6-sided die to simulate attacking ship's attempt to hit the opponent. Roll of 1 is required on a 1d6 roll.

If ship with 'experienced' rating has 10 points to devote to sensors, cloaked vessel can be 'flash' detected at range of 4, for that turn only. Targeting is possible for that turn only. If they hit, damage goes straight
to hull and internals.

Max of two points (pre-multiplier) can be used to repair two systems over 3 turns

Loss of Impluse engines means you can't manuever. Loss of half of impulse capacity means it takes twice as long to move. Turn ratio is doubled as well. Loss of warp capacity restricts you to 1 repair point per turn. Any other action requires repair of warp systems.

Two points can be used to move laterally. For example, if ship A rolls to port, ship B can use two points to move laterally to maintain desired shield facing. You can't fire while moving laterally, and any fire received hits the shield facing the enemy. Due to the stress placed on the spaceframe, you can only move laterally every two turns. Same rule applies for HET (High Energy Turn). One battery can also be used for an HET. An HET allows the player to turn in any direction immediately. The same limitation placed on lateral moves also applies to HET's.

One point of shield reinforcement takes two points. Shield reinforcement can last to a second turn if it isn't fired on. Then shield levels return to normal.

One point of countermeasures takes two points. Countermeasures can last to a second turn if it isn't fired on. Then levels return to normal.

If a ship loses 3/4 of its internals, it is subject to catastrophic damage, calculated as such: (1d6):

Roll: 1
Lose Additional Internals: 6
Roll: 2
Lose Additional Internals: 5
Roll: 3
Lose Additional Internals: 4
Roll: 4
Lose Additional Internals: 3
Roll: 5
Lose Additional Internals: 2
Roll: 6
Lose Additional Internals: 1
(Round up or down if necessary. If your calculation ends up at .5 or less, round down. .51 or up round up)

Shuttle/Fighter Rules:
Loss of shuttle bays prevents launch or recovery of shuttles/fighters. Shuttle's max speed is 4. Fighter's max speed is 3. Fed shuttles are armed with defensive phasers. Klingon/Romulan shuttles are armed with defensive beam disruptors. Shuttles can withstand 15 points damage. Federation fighters are armed with standard phaser and photon torpedo. Klingon/Romulan fighters are armed with standard beam disruptor and photon torpedo. Fighters can withstand 20 points of damage. Any attempt to target a shuttle or fighter is subject to 1-3 on a 1d6 roll to account for maneuverability of the small craft. ECM Support Shuttles generate a constant 5 point ECM support as long as they remain within three spaces of launching ship (or other ship, as designated by Command and Control ship. Maximum of four ECM Support Shuttles can be assigned to a single ship at a time.

Multipliers For Experience In Ground Combat/Boarding Party Action
in ground or boarding party:
• Presence of Captain adds a point to each die rolled
• Presence of Security Chief adds a point to each die rolled
• Presence of CMO removes 1pt damage per crew per round
• Presence of Science Officer gets past system-specific security codes
• Presence of Communications Officer translates any alien language

Benefits of Experience Points:

Five Points= "Experienced"
Ten Points= "Veteran"
Twenty-Five Points= "Elite"
Fifty Points= "Legendary"

Rewards for Experience Points:

"Experienced"
• Heavy Combat: Five 'Hero Points'*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial five points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 1d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: One extra ship of Light Cruiser or lower class

"Veteran"
• Heavy Combat: Seven "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial seven points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 2d6 rolls added to ranks
• All Game Types: One extra ship of equal or lower class

"Elite"
• Heavy Combat: Ten "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial ten points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 3d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: Two extra ships of equal or lower class

"Legendary"
• Heavy Combat: Fifteen "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial fifteen points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 5d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: Freedom to create as many ships as you can handle
• Game-wide access to contributing/editing scenarios
• Moderator status consideration

*"hero point"= one opportunity to turn faster, repair a system quicker by one turn, restore a shield box in a single turn, reload a photon or packet disruptor in a single turn. Essentially, any action that a more experienced crew (such as a 'miracle worker') could do quicker, you can do once by using a "hero point". Any disagreement about the use of a hero point will be decided by the owner or moderator.

Combat Veteran Intuition:
Any player who has conducted five heavy combat exercises has the ability to suspect the presence of a cloaked ship lying in wait. The method for this is for the combat veteran to roll a 1d6. A roll of 1-3 allows the veteran to fire randomly or simply maximize countermeasures without proof of any cloaked ships. An 'Experienced' rated player can also attempt to flash-detect using the appropriate rules. This comes into play in single-player games when a player is going against a cloaked opponent but shouldn't know that, or if an experienced player wishes a moderator to give them random surprises.

One experience point rewarded for:
• Five Heavy Combat engagements or
• Ten Basic Combat engagements or
• Five post-length (100+ words each) log entries
• Ten "What Are Your Orders, Captain?'", "Captain's Log", or other Command College exercises.

Klingon CA Text SSD

KLINGON CA

SHIELD GENERATORS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (1 IN 10 NEEDED)

DORSAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

VENTRAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

PORT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

STARBOARD SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

FORE SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

AFT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Hull

Fore 1 2 3 4
Aft 1 2
Port 1 2 3
Starboard 1 2 3
Dorsal 1 2 3 4
Ventral 1 2 3 4

INTERNALS

Bridge 1
Aux Bridge 1
Fire Control 1 2
Photons 1 2
Sensors 1
Armor 1 2 3 4
Cloak 1 2
Disruptors 1 2
Impulse 1 2
Batteries 1 2 3 4
Warp 1 2 3 4
Transporters 1 2 3 4 5

Boarding Parties 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Klingon Internal Damage Chart
Roll 1 dice
1=Fire Control/Bridge/Auxiliary Bridge
2=Sensors
3=Armor/Cloak/Disruptors/Photons
4=Impulse
5=Batteries
6=Warp
If you roll a number for a system that is already destroyed, you roll again.

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Federation CA Text SSD

FEDERATION CA

SHIELD GENERATORS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (1 IN 10 NEEDED)

DORSAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

VENTRAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

PORT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

STARBOARD SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

FORE SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

AFT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Hull

Fore 1 2
Aft 1 2 3 4
Port 1 2 3
Starboard 1 2 3
Dorsal 1 2 3 4
Ventral 1 2 3 4

INTERNALS

Bridge 1
Aux Bridge 1
Fire Control 1 2 3
Photons 1 2
Sensors 1 2
Phasers 1 2
Impulse 1 2
Batteries 1 2 3 4 5 6
Warp 1 2 3 4 5 6
Transporters 1 2 3 4

Boarding Parties 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Federation Internal Damage ChartRoll 1 dice
1=Fire Control/Bridge/AuxiliaryBridge
2=Sensors/Transporters
3=Phasers/Photons
4=Impulse
5=Batteries
6=Warp Core
If you roll a number for a system that is already destroyed, you roll again.


What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Romulan CA Text SSD

Here is the Romulan Heavy Cruiser, untested. Tthat'll come soon. Much as I love the Excel-based SSD, I realized I was really duplicating my efforts when I made a text version to actually play with and modify. They were slowing me down, and really were very basic block diagrams. So here is the Text SSD of the Romulan Heavy Cruiser.

ROMULAN CA

SHIELD GENERATORS 1 2 3 4 5 6 (1 IN 10 NEEDED)

DORSAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

VENTRAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

PORT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

STARBOARD SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

FORE SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

AFT SHIELD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Hull

Fore 1 2 3 4
Aft 1 2
Port 1 2 3
Starboard 1 2 3
Dorsal 1 2 3 4
Ventral 1 2 3 4

INTERNALS

Bridge 1
Aux Bridge 1
Fire Control 1 2
Plasma 1
Sensors 1
Armor 1 2 3 4
Cloak 1 2
Disruptors 1 2
Impulse 1 2
Batteries 1 2 3 4
Warp 1 2 3 4
Transporters 1 2 3 4 5

Boarding Parties 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Romulan Internal Damage Chart
Roll 1 dice
1=Fire Control/Bridge/Auxiliary Bridge
2=Sensors/Transporters
3=Armor/Cloak/Disruptors/Plasma Torpedo
4=Impulse
5=Batteries
6=Warp
If you roll a number for a system that is already destroyed, you roll again.

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Thursday, September 18, 2008

First Romulan Heavy Cruiser in Spacedock

Time to celebrate, Romulan fans. The first Romulan heavy cruiser has been designed, along with some revised heavy combat rules to deal with them. I'll post the specs tomorrow and send it, and its plasma torpedo against someone shortly thereafter.

Have fun :)

Kapact


What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Captain's Log USS Guadalcanal Stardate 0908.18

Captain's Log
Captain Mike Murphy
USS Guadalcanal
Stardate 0908.18

A Starfleet 'Black Box" was detected in the (binary) Keloda system, approximately 50 lightyears from the Jibalia system. We proceeded at maximum warp, and detected a series of five levels underneath the surface of an otherwise arid, uninhabited planet. Sensor scans were difficult to obtain. We could not get a transporter lock on the black box. We were able to determine, however, that the black box was on the bottom level. Landing party consisted of:

Captain Mike Murphy
Science Officer T'Par
Chief of Security T'Char
CMO Susan Whittaker
Comm Officer Mark Valoran

Each level had an unstable entrance, and despite scans by the science officer, members of the landing party sustained minor injuries. Each level also had a jamming device that our science officer defeated easily.

On the first level, we detected a life reading that turned out to be a mostly incoherent Starfleet officer. The only report we received from him at that time was that no other Starfleet personnel were present. CMO returned to ship with patient. An energy reading we had previously detected was a piece of unknown alien equipment. Our attempt to utilize the device was unsuccessful. Unidentifiable debris found on the level was mildly radioactive. Minimal damage to all members of landing party. We proceeded to the next level.

An EMP device of unknown origin on the second level was easily defused. Communication with ship was lost, but we proceeded without incident to the third level.

On the third level, we discovered a powered transporter pad. Scans attempting to ascertain its origin or any programmed destination were inconclusive. Experimentation (over the objection of science officer) failed to produce results. A uniform of unknown origin was found and retained for further study. We proceeded to the fourth level.

While on the fourth level, we received a transmission from a Klingon claiming to be of pirate Korgath alliegance warning us off. Despite our concerns for the ship in orbit, we chose to ignore the warning and push on. Shortly thereafter, moderate seismic activity resulted in slight injury to the security officer, but we proceeded to what we were certain was the final level.

On the fifth level, we detected traces of unidentifiable DNA. It was scanned and stored for further analysis. Despite a power outtage of unknown origin that disabled all of our equipment and literally plunged the expedition into pitch blackness, the black box was located. Fortunately, the box's internal power supply was still functioning. An emergency homing signal activated, and the landing party beamed back to ship. Analysis of the uniform and DNA, as well as questioning of the starfleet officer will hopefully add to the story that the black box tells us. The Korgath transmission remains a mystery, as there were no other ships in the area, and First Officer Lukara reports that the transmission was not received by the Guadalcanal.

Simple Ground Adventure

Here is a simple, five level ground adventure. There is no combat involved. It strongly resembles a short, siingle-player "Dungeons and Dragons" game, in that type and experience of crew act as multipliers. Each level has a few obstacles that are spelled out pretty simply, as well as 6-sided dice rules. I've left the choices to a minimal to make it work better for a single player. This will result, at its completion, the raw material for a captain's log, and again, five of these missions give a new crew the "Experienced" rating. The Guadalcanal, after five of these, will get the "Veteran" status.

I haven't stopped working on the text-based tactical maps, but I also realized it wasn't required for this. Here is the set-up, rules, and gameplay. The written summary "Captain's Log" will be in a separate post.

-------------------

Presence of CMO removes 1pt damage per crew per level
Presence of Science Officer gets past Jammers, reduces possibilty of damage at entrance/increases damage each crew can sustain from 15 to 20.
Presence of Captain increases damage each crew can sustain from 15 to 25.
Presence of both (max increase) increases damage each crew can sustain to 30


Crew:
1) Captain Mike Murphy 30/30pts
2) Science Officer T'Par 30/30pts
3) Chief of Security T'Char 30/30pts
4) CMO Susan Whittaker 30/30pts
5) Comm Officer Mark Valoran 30/30pts

Level One:
Entrance: w/science officer 4/6 chance to avoid 3pts damage w/o science officer 2/6 chance
1) 3 pt
2) 3 pts
3) no damage
4) 3 pts
5) 3 pts

Jammer: science officer gets past-otherwise crew needs to roll 8pts each (no scanners, comm past jammer): Science Officer Present.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Life Reading:
Friend/Foe/Neutral For Foe/Neutral, 3/6 chance combat. Or sacrifice one crew to walk them to surface: Friend. Starfleet Officer. Reports no other crew. Otherwise can't talk. CMO returns officer to ship.
1)
2)
3)
4) Returned to ship
5)

Energy Reading: 3 chances, 1/6 chance to deactivate all jammers
result: unable to utilize alien equipment.

Debris: harmless/not. if not, 3 pts damage.
1) 3pts
2) 3pts
3) 3pts
4) returned to ship
5) 3pts

Exit.
Results:
1) Captain Mike Murphy 24/30pts
2) Science Officer T'Par 24/30pts
3) Chief of Security T'Char 27/30pts
4) CMO Susan Whittaker 24/30pts Returned to Ship
5) Comm Officer Mark Valoran 24/30pts

Summary of Level One:
Entrance unstable. Despite scans by science officer, minimal injuries to all but security officer. Science Officer defeated jamming device. Life reading detected was mostly incoherent Starfleet Officer. Reported that none others were present. CMO returned to ship with patient. Energy reading was unknown alien equipment. Attempt to utilize unsuccessful. Debris found radioactive. Minimal damage to crew. Mission proceeds.

Level Two:
Entrance: w/science officer 4/6 chance to avoid 3pts damage w/o science officer 2/6 chance
1) 3pts
2) no damage
3) 3pts
4) returned to ship
5) no damage

Jammer: science officer gets past-otherwise crew needs to roll 8pts each (no scanners, comm past jammer): Science Officer Present.
1)
2)
3)
4) returned to ship
5)

EMP: need total of 30 pts in two rolls to defuse. otherwise, no scan, comp, lights. (then you have 5 chances of 1/6 to move through each level: Successful
1) 2/5
2) 6/3
3) 5/6
4) returned to ship
5) 5/3

Lose Comm With Ship (comm with ship can add captain bonus if captain is absent): Captain present: no effect

Exit.
Results:
1) Captain Mike Murphy 21/30pts
2) Science Officer T'Par 24/30pts
3) Chief of Security T'Char 24/30pts
4) CMO Susan Whittaker 30/30pts Returned to Ship
5) Comm Officer Mark Valoran 24/30pts

Summary of Level Two:
Entrance unstable. Despite scans by science officer, captain and security officer injured. Science Officer defeated jamming device. EMP device of unknown origin defused. Comm with ship lost. Mission proceeds.

Level Three
Entrance: w/science officer 4/6 chance to avoid 3pts damage w/o science officer 2/6 chance
1) no damage
2) no damage
3) no damage
4) returned to ship
5) 3pts

Jammer: science officer gets past-otherwise crew needs to roll 8pts each (no scanners, comm past jammer): Science Officer Present.
1)
2)
3)
4) returned to ship
5)

Transporter Pad: choice: step on or no. 1/6 chance skipping next level. Stepped on, no effect

Uniform: Friend/Foe/Neutral: Neutral. Unidentified alien.

Exit.
Result
1) Captain Mike Murphy 21/30pts
2) Science Officer T'Par 24/30pts
3) Chief of Security T'Char 24/30pts
4) CMO Susan Whittaker 30/30pts Returned to Ship
5) Comm Officer Mark Valoran 21/30pts

Summary of Level Three:
Entrance unstable. Despite scans by science officer, minimal injury to communications officer. Science Officer defeated jamming device. Powered transporter pad found. Scans inconclusive. Experimentation failed to produce results. Uniform of unknown origin found. Mission proceeds.

Level Four:
Entrance: w/science officer 4/6 chance to avoid 3pts damage w/o science officer 2/6 chance
1) no damage
2) 3pts
3) no damage
4) returned to ship
5) no damage

Jammer: science officer gets past-otherwise crew needs to roll 8pts each (no scanners, comm past jammer): Science Officer Present.
1)
2)
3)
4) returned to ship
5)

Transmission:
Friend/Foe/Neutral:
result: Foe Klingon Korgath

Seismic Disturbance:2/6 chance 3pts damage each
1) no damage
2) no damage
3) 3pts
4) returned to ship
5) no damage

Exit.
Results:
1) Captain Mike Murphy 21/30pts
2) Science Officer T'Par 21/30pts
3) Chief of Security T'Char 21/30pts
4) CMO Susan Whittaker 30/30pts Returned to Ship
5) Comm Officer Mark Valoran 21/30pts

Summary of Level Four:
Entrance unstable. Despite scans by science officer, slight injury to science officer. Science Officer defeated jamming device. Transmission from Klingon claiming to be Korgath warns us off. Warning ignored. Seismic activity: slight injury to security officer. Mission proceeds.

Level Five:
Entrance:w/science officer 4/6 chance to avoid 3pts damage w/o science officer 2/6 chance
1) 3pts
2) 3pts
3) no damage
4) returned to ship
5) no damage

Jammer: science officer gets past-otherwise crew needs to roll 8pts each (no scanners, comm past jammer): Science Officer Present.
1)
2)
3)
4) returned to ship
5)

DNA: Can/Cannot analyze: Analyzed Friend/Foe/Neutral: Neutral(Unknown)

Power Outage: fan out. Each crew has 1/6 chance to recover before beamed back to ship.
1) 2
2) 1
3) 6
4) returned to ship
5) 4

Black Box Recovered, activate homing signal, returned to ship

Summary of Level Five:
Entrance unstable. Despite scans by science officer, minimal injuries to captain and science officer. Science Officer defeated jamming device. Unknown DNA detected, stored for analysis. Despite power outage, Black Box located. Homing signal activated, landing party beamed back to ship.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Captain's Personal Log USS Frank Houghton Stardate 0908.15

Captain's Personal Log
Captain Walter Ecklund
USS Frank Houghton
Stardate 0908.15

The construction ships Vandalay and Alexander arrived on station this morning and immediately began to assemble prefab pieces of the station. Even at the accelerated rate that these new Doohan Class construction ships work, Starbase Lighthouse won't be operational for another three weeks. In the meantime, Admiral Nogulich will have complete use of every amenity the Frank Houghton has to offer. That will no doubt include meetings with Klingon representatives from the IKS TorQwI and QorDu' Battle Group.

Admiral Nogulich is certainly less obtrusive than the average flag officer. She hasn't interfered with any ship operations, and in fact has used her influence to streamline operations on this assignment. She reportedly even has connections high in the Klingon Defense Force that might come in handy.

There have been an almost unending series of civilian ships passing at extreme sensor range, no doubt having a good look at what's being built here in the Triangle Zone. Some sensor beams were a bit more intrusive than regulations permit, and all offenders were duly warned off. On one hand, this is a unique area of space. The borders that exist here, marked by unmistakable buoys, separate Klingon and Romulan space from ours, but those lines tend to blur from time to time. We are just as likely to see a Korgoth  cruiser as a Klingon privateer or a Romulan sensor trawler. By the letter of the law, they aren't allowed, and we're authorized to employ deadly force to keep them away. But the reality of the situation is a bit different here. All three powers play a game here with 'private' ships. It isn't exactly a state of undeclared war here, and it isn't exactly lawless. But it's close.





What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Summary of Events Stardate 0908.14

Summary of Events
Stardate 0908.14

Sovereign Class USS Frank Houghton arrived on station at Durandal system to oversee construction of Starbase Lighthouse. Construction ships USS Vandalay and USS Alexander assigned to begin assembly of major structures immediately. IKS TorQwI and QorDu' Battle Group are due on station within 48 hours. Admiral Nogulich, currently residing aboard the Frank Houghton, will assume command of Starbase Lighthouse upon its completion.

USS Zarkov, assigned the investigation of the phemonenon of the planet-sized computer components reported by the USS Guadalcanal at Jibalia III, arrived with Frank Houghton group and entered Durandal wormhole. It is due to arrive in Jibalia sector within 24 hours. The Guadalcanal, having completed lengthy simulated tactical exercises with the IKS DuranQo, will provide whatever support the Zarkov requires over the course of its investigation.

USS Exeter arrived in Durandal sector to pick up Ambassador Endara Khan. It will proceed without delay through the wormhole and into the Jibalia sector. Her mission is to establish diplomatic relations with Kazon Ogla sect. Federation council has authorized Ambassador Khan to consider sharing of limited replicator technology if necessary in order to establish dialogue. Note objections from Klingon diplomatic mission over this authorization.

Civilian ship CS Horizon vanished with all hands while en route to Gamma Hydra sector.

USS Guadalcanal, upon completion of multilevel tactical exercises is awarded five experience points, and attains 'Experienced' rating. Guadalcanal will next take part in planet-bound tactical exercises.



What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Progress on Ground-Based Campaign

I'm building one of five planned levels for Captain Murphy and the crew of the USS Guadalcanal to investigate. It'll be just one part of a mission (five part minimum) that will offer alternatives for those who want combat, or don't, or just want to be surprised. Not to say there won't be any shots fired. There might be hand phasers fired at bad guys, but that won't be the point. The narrowly defined mission objective will be the point.

I was thinking that the multilevel campaign covered every aspect of play. What it didn't cover, of course, was the old 'quest', Dungeons and Dragons type adventure.

Assuming that my simple text map will survive cut and paste and email, here is the tiny bit of a map that I've put together:



123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
A_EE____________________________________??_________
B__________________________________________________
C__________________________________________________
D_________________________________________________E
E_________________________________________________N
F____________________BLOCKED______________________E
G____________________BLOCKED______________________R
H____________________BLOCKED______________________G
I_________________________________________________Y
J__________________________________________________
K__________________________________________________
L________________________??________________________
M__________________________________________________
N__________________________________________________
O__________________________________________________
P__________________________________________________
Q__________________________________________________
R__________________________________________________
S________LIFE-READING__________________________??__



Assume that this is a rough sensor reading, with a bit of interference. The "EE" in the top left corner is the entrance. Question marks are obviously indeterminate readings. Things are pretty self-explanatory. Somewhere (probably the bottom-right "??") Is an exit to a further level. You can assume that the landing party won't know the details until they beam down and enter the map. And each level will have at least a few obstacles. From the moderator's point of view, I'll put in a few sort of multiple choice obstacles. Each obstacle will have 3 to 6 possible outcomes, depending on the roll of dice. And I'm thinking that given the proper choices, you may be able to pass through every level without using the phaser... as a weapon, anyway. So at the same time I'm building the maps and walkthroughs, I'll write the scenario. I'm also thinking about another heavy combat session, just for the fun of it.

More next time

kapact


What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Multilevel Campaign Conclusion: Stardate 0908.10

The IKS Kor6, IKS Krueg5, IKS Genghis Khan2, IKS Drunken Warrior5, IKS tIQghoB3 attempt capture of Federation Planet at coordinates K,L,M/29. Using the personal combat tables, the combined boarding parties of the Klingon fleet (245 teams)completely overwhelmed the 100 defending teams the planet had.

After I'd completed ten engagements of personal combat, I realized that the battle (from the Federation point of view) was hopeless, and surrendered in order to minimize casualties. The fate of the planet now rests in the hands of the diplomats. And thus ends this campaign. (One more note here. I decided that since it was such an incredibly one-sided battle, there was no real reason to post the combat logs. Just remember, there were five ships rolling five six-sided dice against a single planet rolling five. The planet would have to roll at least a five and the ships would need, at the same time, to each roll just a one in order for the planet to win an engagement. Not quite impossible, but almost.)

During the course of the campaign, I learned about fleet manuevering and engagement. I didn't really address the number of transporters on each ship as I had intended. That's really just because I thought it could complicate the 'basic combat' rules too much. That sounds more something for the advanced combat. While the respawning idea was interesting (especially when the Federation shipyards really started to fall), the administrative work of numbering the 'respawns' got to be a pain after a while, but it's a good idea that I don't plan to stop. What I might do is limit the number of respawns to five. That could add a bit of pressure to both sides.

The next campaign is going to be different. A simple scenario, but taking the game from space-based to planet-bound. Probably five levels, drawn on either an Excel worksheet or on the text-based map. In the meantime, the USS Guadalcanal has earned five experience points, and now has an 'experienced' rating.

That gives the ship access to advanced missions (that's something yet to be determined), as well as the following advantages in combat:

Adavanced combat:
Five opportunities to turn faster, repair a system quicker, apply extra sensor power to detect a cloaked ship, etc

In basic combat:
Five extra shield points. It would then take 10 points of damage to bring down the shields, then 10 more to destroy the ship. This is to reflect the improved performance of the crew, and the resulting advantage in combat.

Ten experience points gives you 'veteran' status. Twenty-five gives you 'elite' status, and fifty gives you 'legendary' status. Rewards obviously go up accordingly.

I'll post something soon on the planetary adventure. Anybody with any comments or questions is encouraged to speak up. You can do that by commenting on the blog post.

Cheers :)

Kapact


.

What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Monday, September 8, 2008

Multilevel Campaign Update Stardate 0908.08: The Last Shipyard

All Klingon ships in Federation space regrouped near the Klingon shipyards to join with the respawned fleet. From there they set course for the last Federation shipyard, as the Federation fleet moved off to go after undefended Klingon shipyards. The Klingons immediately attacked the Federation shipyard. The shipyard was destroyed, but it took four of the attckers with it. Here are the combat logs:

IKS Kor5, IKS Chang5, IKS Drunken Warrior4, IKS Genghis Khan2, IKS tIQghoB2, IKS Krueg5 attack Federation Shipyard One at coordinates F,G/21

IKS Krueg5 rolls: 96  Allocation: 56o,40d
IKS Kor5 rolls: 48  Allocation: 48o,0d 
IKS Chang5 rolls: 72  Allocation: 72o,0d
IKS Drunken Warrior4 rolls: 120  Allocation: 90o,30d  
IKS Genghis Khan2 rolls: 96  Allocation: 56o,40d     
IKS tIQghoB2 rolls: 72  Allocation: 72o,0d   
UFP Shipyard One rolls: 112  Allocation: 15o(KOR),15o(CHA),45o(DW),15o(TIQ),22d

Result:
IKS Krueg5 damage: undamaged
IKS Kor5 damage: destroyed
IKS Chang5 damage: destroyed
IKS Drunken Warrior4 damage: destroyed
IKS Genghis Khan2 damage: undamaged
IKS tIQghoB2 damage: destroyed
UFP Shipyard One damage: destroyed

surviving ships:
Krueg5
Genghis Khan2

In the meantime, the four remaining Federation ships made a third assault on Klingon Shipyard wej.

USS Endeavour5, USS Chang5, USS Genghis Khan6, USS Guadalcanal5 attack Klingon Shipyard wej at coordinates F,G/13

USS Endeavour5 rolls: 24  Allocation: 24o,0d
USS Chang5 rolls: 96  Allocation: 60o,36d
USS Genghis Khan6 rolls: 36  Allocation: 36o,0d      
USS Guadalcanal5 rolls: 144  Allocation: 90o,54d    
IKS Shipyard wej rolls: 72  Allocation: 15o(END),42o(CHA),15o(GK),0d

Result:
USS Endeavour5 damage: destroyed
USS Chang5 damage: 7/15
USS Genghis Khan6 damage: destroyed
USS Guadalcanal5 damage: undamaged
IKS Shipyard wej damage: destroyed

Surviving Ships:
USS Chang5
USS Guadalcanal5

The two remaining Federation ships moved immediately to Klingon Shipyard loS. There was virtually no hope of victory. All they could hope for was to make the Klingon victory expensive. And of course, the Klingon ships still need to get past planetary defenses, so the Chang5 and the Guadalcanal5 were still making a difference. Here are the combat logs:

USS Chang5, USS Guadalcanal5 attack Klingon Shipyard loS at coordinates J,K/13

USS Chang5 rolls: 96  Allocation: 96o,0d      
USS Guadalcanal5 rolls: 144  Allocation: 84o,60d     
IKS Shipyard los rolls: 168  Allocation: 15o(CHA),75o(GUAD),88d 

Results:
USS Chang5 damage: destroyed
USS Guadalcanal5 damage: destroyed
IKS Shipyard los damage: destroyed

With all of the Federation Shipyards destroyed, that heroic effort spelled the end of the Federation offensive effort. All that remains is the Klingon assault on the Federation planet. To simulate planetary defenses, I decided to roll two dice, and multiply that by 50. That would then be the offensive and defensive system orbiting the planet. Sadly for the planet, the roll came to just 2. So the planetary defenses had 100 offensive points and 100 defensive points. Here are the combat logs:

IKS Chang6, IKS Kor6, IKS Krueg5, IKS Genghis Khan2, IKS Drunken Warrior5, IKS tIQghoB3 attack Federation Planet at coordinates K,L/29

IKS Chang6 rolls: 60  Allocation: 30o,30d
IKS Kor6 rolls: 48  Allocation: 0o,48d
IKS Krueg5 rolls: 84  Allocation: 42o,42d
IKS Genghis Khan2 rolls: 84  Allocation: 42o,42d
IKS Drunken Warrior5 rolls: 48  Allocation: 0o,48d
IKS tIQghoB3 rolls: 60  Allocation: 0o,60d
Fed Planet Def rating 100/ Off rating 100 Allocation: 45o(CHA), 55o(KRU)

Result:
IKS Chang6 damage: destroyed
IKS Kor6 damage: undamaged
IKS Krueg5 damage: 13/15
IKS Genghis Khan2 damage: undamaged
IKS Drunken Warrior5 damage: undamaged
IKS tIQghoB3 damage: undamaged
Fed Planet damage: Offense/Defense Systems destroyed

Note again that the planetary defense systems targeted specific attacking ships in order to best affect the outcome. With the planetary defenses destroyed, the five remaining Klingon ships will start beaming down boarding parties... tomorrow. For that, the planet will 100 security teams. Considering that the five ships have 45 boarding parties each, it should be a foregone conclusion. (Why 45 instead of the normal 30? Because during a ship-to-ship capture attempt, the attacking vessel is still in the middle of a battle. In this case, the only battle is on the surface, so the attackers can throw all the troops they have at the defenders. That's why defending ships in ship-to-ship capture attempts have 45 defenders.)

So again, the situation for the final day is this: IKS Kor6, IKS Krueg5, IKS Genghis Khan2, IKS Drunken Warrior5, IKS tIQghoB3 attempt capture of Federation Planet at coordinates K,L/29... tomorrow...



What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek: The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Multilevel Campaign Update Stardate 0908,07

The assembled Klingon fleet made a major push to break the back of the Federation defenses. After manuevering around a single defending starship, the fleet of six warships fell upon Shipyard Five. Here are the combat logs:

IKS Kor4, IKS Chang4, IKS Drunken Warrior3, IKS Krueg4, IKS Genghis Khan, IKS tIQghoB attack Federation Shipyard Five at coordinates K/L,25

IKS Kor4: 96  Allocation: 70o,26d
IKS Chang4 rolls: 96  Allocation: 70o,26d
IKS Drunken Warrior3 rolls: 120  Allocation: 70o,50d 
IKS Krueg4 rolls: 48  Allocation: 0o,48d 
IKS Genghis Khan rolls: 96  Allocation: 70o,26d   
IKS tIQghoB rolls: 72  Allocation: 70o,2d 
UFP Shipyard Five rolls: 308  Allocation: 63o(KR), 49,49,49,0,49,49d

Result:
IKS Kor4 damage: undamaged
IKS Chang4 damage: undamaged
IKS Drunken Warrior3 damage: undamaged
IKS Krueg4 damage: destroyed
IKS Genghis Khan damage: undamaged
IKS tIQghoB damage: undamaged
UFP Shipyard Five damage: destroyed

In this case, the shipyard was lost, but it managed to destroy one of the attackers (the IKS Krueg4) in the process. The surviving Klingon fleet moved quickly to attack another shipyard before any defenses could respawn. Here are the combat logs:

IKS Kor4, IKS Chang4, IKS Drunken Warrior3, IKS Genghis Khan, IKS tIQghoB attack Federation Shipyard Four at coordinates H/I,25

IKS Kor4: 108  Allocation: 75o,33d
IKS Chang4 rolls: 48  Allocation: 48o,0d
IKS Drunken Warrior3 rolls: 36  Allocation: 36o,0d 
IKS Genghis Khan rolls: 60  Allocation: 60o,0d    
IKS tIQghoB rolls: 60  Allocation: 60o,0d  
UFP Shipyard Four rolls: 196  Allocation: 49o(KOR),30,30,29,29,29d 

Result:
IKS Kor4 damage: destroyed
IKS Chang4 damage: undamaged
IKS Drunken Warrior3 damage: undamaged
IKS Genghis Khan damage: undamaged
IKS tIQghoB damage: undamaged
UFP Shipyard Four damage: destroyed

Again, the shipyard had no hope of surviving the attack, but it managed to destroy the IKS Kor4. A noble sacrifice that helped Federation starships come out on top of a major fleet encounter a short time later. During that battle, ships on each side combined and sometimes divided available offensive points to suit the situation and react to conditions. In the end, the four Klingon ships were destroyed, but they managed to destroy three Federation starships.

IKS tIQghoB,IKS Genghis Khan,IKS Chang4, IKS Drunken Warrior3 attack USS Gordon4, USS Guadalcanal4, USS Entebbe3, USS Endeavour5, USS Chang5, USS Genghis Khan6 at coordinates H,23

IKS Genghis Khan rolls: 72  Allocation: 40o (ENT),32d
USS Entebbe3 rolls: 48  Allocation: 8o (DW),40d
USS Guadalcanal4 rolls: 84  Allocation: 47o(GK),37d 
IKS Drunken Warrior3 rolls: 72 Allocation: 15o(ENT),57d 
USS Genghis Khan6 rolls: 48 Allocation: 24o(DW),24d
IKS Chang4 rolls: 96  Allocation: 52o(GUAD)37o(GK),0d
USS Endeavour5 rolls: 72  Allocation: 40o(DW)15o(CHA),17d
IKS tIQghoB rolls: 72  Allocation: 36o(GOR),36o(CHA),0d
USS Gordon4 rolls: 84  Allocation: 63o(TIQ),21d
USS Chang5: 108  Allocation: 51o (CHA),57d

Result:
IKS Genghis Khan damage: destroyed
USS Entebbe3 damage: destroyed
USS Guadalcanal4 damage:  destroyed
IKS Drunken Warrior3 damage:  destroyed
USS Genghis Khan6  damage: 13/15
IKS Chang4 damage: destroyed
USS Endeavour5 damage: undamaged
IKS tIQghoB damage: destroyed
USS Gordon4 damage: destroyed
USS Chang5 damage: undamaged

Surviving Ships:

USS Genghis Khan6
USS Endeavour5
USS Chang5

What we're left with is this: IKS Krueg5 has launched. IKS Kor5 is two turns away from launching. IKS Genghis Khan2, IKS Drunken Warrior4, IKS Chang5 and IKS tIQghoB are four turns from launching. The Klingons still have five shipyards. The USS Entebbe4 is four turns from launching. The USS Endeavour5, USS Chang5 USS Genghis Khan are in formation, two spaces from the single surviving shipyard. The USS Guadalcanal5 and the USS Gordon5 cannot begin construction until after the Entebbe4 launches.

The Klingons still have some work to do. By the time they can reach Federation forces, they'll have as many as four to deal with. What I'll probably have them do is engage those four defenders, and assuming that they lose at least three ships, I'll have the survivors sit next to the Federation shipyard and destroy whatever comes out individually until the rest of the respawned Klingon ships arrive. Then they'll destroy that last shipyard and move on to occupy the planet. I'm figuring at least three warships will be needed to do that.

This campaign has lasted longer than I thought it would, but I've learned quite a bit while playing through it. And just so you know, the USS Guadalcanal (the real one, outside of the in-game holodeck) gets five experience points for this. That is to reflect all of the different things learned, and the time put into it. If you want to earn those kind of experience points for your ship and crew, this is a good way.



What is Fantasy Trek?
The Only 'Star Trek:The Experience' You Can Still Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Test Simple Tactical Map

Folks, this is an attempt to open the game up even wider, by getting rid of the need for Excel to read and/or modify a map. This is, hopefully, a simple text document grid map that should fit, format-wise within the blog page, which seems to be the smallest page. Obviously this is just an ultrasimple idea, but I also figure that anyone can handle a format this simple.


123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
A__________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________
C__________________________________________________
D__________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________
F__________________________________________________
G__________________________________________________
H__________________________________________________
I__________________________________________________
J__________________________________________________
K__________________________________________________
L__________________________________________________
M__________________________________________________
N__________________________________________________
O__________________________________________________
P__________________________________________________
Q__________________________________________________
R__________________________________________________
S__________________________________________________


If this works, it'll give everyone more of a picture of what I'm doing, and enable anyone to view and modify maps. Can't get much simpler than that :)


Kapact

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Summary of Events Stardate 0908.06

Construction of Starbase Lighthouse near the Durandal wormhole is finally scheduled to begin following a long series of delays and negotiations with the Klingon Empire, who claim that their warships first explored the system twenty years ago. Under the terms of the agreement, the Klingons will maintain a presence on the station, and Klingon ships will have equal access to regions explored in the Delta Quadrant.

A Federation science ship, the USS Zarkov, is en route to the Durandal wormhole to investigate reports from the USS Guadalcanal of a planet-sized biological computer component in the Jibalia sector of the Delta Quadrant. According the the Guadalcanal's science officer, the C Class planet is in fact a thin shell, covered with a layer of soil, but lined on the interior with biomechanical computer circuitry. She estimates that it is one of perhaps hundreds of similar planet-sized components in a vast network.

In the Jibalia sector, the USS Guadalcanal has begun testing of a combat training facility, working closely with the Klingon warship IKS DuranQo to prepare for  anticipated conflict with the Kazon Ogla sect, which claims territory close by the Jibalia sector. The facility, which uses a combination of holoprojectors and sensor grids to simulate large-scale fleet movements as well as ship-to-ship combat and boarding party action, has been used for training in the Klingon Empire since before the signing of the first Khitomer Accords.

While the Federation prepares for possible conflict with the Kazon Ogla, Ambassador Endara Khan has been dispatched to seek out peaceful relations with the Delta Quadrant residents. The newly commissioned Akira Class USS Exeter will transport the Ambassador to Kazon space and remain on station in a support capacity.



What is Fantasy Trek?
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Friday, September 5, 2008

In case you're wondering what that was all about...

I am working on a map grid that can be made on a text document. Can't get any more accessible than that. I learned that this format allows 34 single spaces across this page. That way I can put the map up here....


Kapact

test

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Multilevel Update

After the destruction of Federation Shipyard Two, the IKS Drunken Warrior2, IKS Krueg4, IKS tIQghoB attacked the USS Endeavour4 and USS Genghis Khan5 at coordinates L,23. For this engagement, I thought that since we had three ships taking on two, the starship commanders the quite sensible opportunity to direct their fire to the enemy of their choice. Easily noted here in the combat logs, where (for example), the IKS Drunken Warrior2 directs its offensive weaponry at the USS Genghis Khan5. I'm aware that simplified combat is less simple than it used to be, but that is mostly for fleet operations like this. Here are the combat logs:

IKS Drunken Warrior2 rolls: 84 Allocation: 39o(GK),45d
USS Genghis Khan5 rolls: 120 Allocation: 50o(DW),70d
IKS Krueg4 rolls: 84 Allocation: 26o(GK),58d
USS Endeavour4 rolls: 60 Allocation: 30o(DW),30d
IKS tIQghoB rolls: 60 Allocation: 35o(END),25d

Result:

IKS Drunken Warrior2 Damage: destroyed
USS Genghis Khan5 Damage: destroyed
IKS Krueg4 rolls Damage: undamaged
USS Endeavour4 Damage: 5/15 (shields down)
IKS tIQghoB rolls Damage: undamaged

------------------------------------

Once the Endeavour4's shields were down, the Krueg4 and the tIQghoB attempted to capture it (still at coordinates L,23). Combat proceeded between the boarding parties until the Endeavour's boarding parties dropped below ten. At that point, the Endeavour4's captain attempted and succeeded in self-destructing (by rolling a 1 on a single six-sided die. Here are the personal combat tables:

IKS Krueg4
Boarding Parties
23/30

IKS tIQghoB
Boarding Parties
23/30

USS Endeavour4
Defenders
7/45

a= IKS Krueg4 boarding parties
b= IKS tIQghoB boarding parties
c= USS Endeavour defenders

engagement 1
1a. 5 1b. 2 1c. 6
2a. 5 2b. 6 2c. 1
3a. 1 3b. 1 3c. 3
4a. 6 4b. 3 4c. 4
5a. 2 5b. 3 5c. 2

engagement 2
1a. 4 1b. 3 1c. 4
2a. 6 2b. 5 2c. 3
3a. 3 3b. 4 3c. 4
4a. 3 4b. 3 4c. 1
5a. 2 5b. 2 5c. 5

engagement 3
1a. 6 1b. 5 1c. 6
2a. 2 2b. 6 2c. 6
3a. 2 3b. 3 3c. 2
4a. 5 4b. 1 4c. 2
5a. 4 5b. 5 5c. 3

engagement 4
1a. 6 1b. 1 1c. 5
2a. 3 2b. 1 2c. 5
3a. 3 3b. 4 3c. 6
4a. 2 4b. 1 4c. 1
5a. 6 5b. 2 5c. 2

engagement 5
1a. 3 1b. 5 1c. 1
2a. 1 2b. 6 2c. 5
3a. 2 3b. 3 3c. 1
4a. 5 4b. 1 4c. 2
5a. 3 5b. 4 5c. 2

engagement 6
1a. 1 1b. 1 1c. 3
2a. 2 2b. 1 2c. 3
3a. 1 3b. 2 3c. 1
4a. 1 4b. 6 4c. 2
5a. 6 5b. 5 5c. 5

engagement 7
1a. 5 1b. 2 1c. 2
2a. 6 2b. 6 2c. 5
3a. 6 3b. 3 3c. 4
4a. 5 4b. 6 4c. 4
5a. 3 5b. 6 5c. 1

engagement 8
1a. 1 1b. 4 1c. 2
2a. 1 2b. 2 2c. 3
3a. 6 3b. 4 3c. 5
4a. 2 4b. 1 4c. 6
5a. 6 5b. 3 5c. 1

engagement 9
1a. 6 1b. 3 1c. 6
2a. 6 2b. 6 2c. 4
3a. 1 3b. 1 3c. 1
4a. 6 4b. 5 4c. 2
5a. 6 5b. 4 5c. 3

After 9 engagements between boarding parties, USS Endeavour4 self-destructs in order to avoid capture.

So here's where we stand: A Klingon fleet, (IKS Krueg4, IKS tIQghoB, IKS Genghis Khan, IKS Chang4) is two spaces away from Federation Shipyard Five. The USS Chang5 is in position to intercept that fleet, but it would do better to face off the Fleet with support, either from the shipyard or other Federation ships. The Klingon fleet needs to so its work quickly, because the three remaining shipyards will launch reinforcing starships in five turns. Those three shipyards are being individually guarded by the USS Gordon4, the USS Entebbe3 and the USS Chang5. Our Klingon Fleet needs to somehow eliminate Shipyard Five before those ships respawn. In the meantime, the IKS Drunken Warrior3 and the IKS Kor4 have joined up at N,15 (near the Klingon edge of the border), and are moving to join the battle. They might actually try to catch any lone Federation starships and attempt a capture.

While the Klingons definitely have the advantage, the Federation is still easily able to hold their own and effectively spoil Klingon plans. That won't change until the Klingons destroy another shipyard and (preferably) capture at least another Federation starship.