Brathodon Dragonfire is fairly deceptive. When you look at it, at first glance it just doesn't seem that impressive. Sure, Ancient Dragonship Breath makes a Plasma R look like a Plasma K.

But unlike other Plasma ships the Dragonship has the Rate of Fire advantage. Sure they only have one Tube, but they get that shot every turn, sometimes twice a turn. Usually I use the Dragonbreath as manuever control. Creative jinking of the FA Arc Tracking to keep the enemy fleet facing the wall of Dragonfire anytime they try to come in for the close range battlepass. Also remember that Omega phasers, generally, do poorly against Plasma. Particularly the widely used Phaser-W coming in at low damage AND a 3-1 Plasma reduction.

The system you really want to look at for the Fleet Engagement is the Dragoneyes, and the Eye Focuser Enhancement, in my experience. You can do, for Omega Standards, some pretty good Sabre Dancing style with that, even easier as you have the 360 arc. And the Eyebeams tend to do more damage at a particular range than Omega Phasers, and even some of thier heavy weapons depending on how the rolling goes.

Flying them in a fleet is fun. If you have experience with Klingons you'll know the style. Yeah, you can run in and SMASH. You can do the Hydran thing and take thier best shot and have nearly your full power available. If it suits your style, say "•••• the Fleet, Full Speed Ahead". The enemy either takes out one or maybe two dragonships, at most depending on fleet sizes, and you smash, and the second turn is just cleaning up cripples.

Or you play the Range Game. Unless the enemy is capable of massing some heavy damage on your dragonships you'll find yourself coming up far ahead as thier shields cave in and weapons peeling off, while they're still plinking at your large fat scaley body.

Like I said, against the Branths if the enemy doesn't have somewhere like a +50% BPV advantage, you're going to rule.

ALso remember you're the fastest thing in Omega. You dictate the terms of engagement. They have to play your range game. They can't outrun your claws and they can't catch your tail.

By Kevin Humar-Barrett (Cheethorne) on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 11:33 am: Edit

Would a Branthodon fleet play out in a similar way against a fleet of Alpha sector ships?

Obviously, the phasers become more powerful and you have to be able to deal with large drone waves. The main downside that I can see is that the DN and BB class ships can't go speed 30-31 without using the 4-impulse speed burst, this does pose a problem when trying to keep a fleet together and at high speeds.

Do the baby dragons compare favorably against Alpha sector PFs. Obviously, they are weaker in general, but they are fairly cheap to purchase, so a set BPV fleet could theoretically have a number of them compared to actual PFs.

By Jonathan Jordan (Arcturusv) on Thursday, January 14, 2010 - 07:47 pm: Edit

It's about the upgrades. If you get a Murder of Dragonships (Murder just sounds like the right word for a group of them), with the Agile Tail enhancement even the Kzintis will have trouble putting forth a large enough drone wave to seriously threaten you.

We're just lucky that they haven't printed the Fighter Pouch yet as an enhancement, or suddenly Dragonships would become serious SCS groups.

But the telling weakness for me has been if you have a patient alpha player. If they're willing to dance and trade long range shots with you they'll come out ahead. Doesn't matter if it's photons, disruptors, or even Hellbores. Plasma empires are at a disadvantage though. My experience is that the Branths can do the Plasma Ballets and the Slam Dance a lot better than the Gorns or Roms. Haven't seen the ISC though. But I imagine the PPD would give them the advantage.

If the ALpha player though tries to close for the Overload shot, that's usually the end of it. The fed player in our group has tried to do the Photon Smash on the Dragonships quite often, and has always failed.

The other reason why the overload battle passes has failed was due to the wingbeats. Heavy plasma salvos that can get up to 5 hexes of range in an impulse really makes it hard to duck in and away like someone might do against a gorn or romulan player.

By Andy Vancil (Andy) on Friday, January 15, 2010 - 12:22 am: Edit

I would disagree that Omega phasers do poorly against plasma. First off, where are you getting the 3-1 damage reduction from? Most Omega phasers do 2-1, and PMs do 1-1. The Koligahr can handle plasma quite well.

What's more, most Omega phaser-1s do the same or better damage at range 1 compared to Alpha phaser-1s. The PW1 averages 0.3 less, but the PP1 and PR1 average 0.7 more, while the AP averages 1.2 more. And as noted above, the PM1 effectively does more than double the P1. The only exception is the PQ, which wants to stay at long range.

The Omega p3s tend to be slightly weaker at range 1, but not much. (They more than make up for it in other situations with their longer effective range.)

As for playing the range game, I don't see that as viable. You have to get up into the Old size of dragon before the eyebeams get significantly better than phasers, and the Branthodon does not have very many of them. Their PPs tail off significantly, as does the dragonfire. A slow attrition game at range means the Branth are getting worn down while their opponents can reinforce damage and turn new shields, thus neutralizing the dragons' bulk.

At close range, the Branth will be brutal. The wing buffet can help the dragonfire, although you do have to be careful due to (OG19.42131). The lower top speed of Omega ships will also help the dragonfire. But I'm not convinced that they would be overwhelming in an even BPV fight against most Omegans.

By Terence Sean Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Friday, January 15, 2010 - 01:42 am: Edit

I think it's Magellanic phasers that do 3-1 vs plasma.

By Jonathan Jordan (Arcturusv) on Friday, January 15, 2010 - 01:53 am: Edit

And Wide Angle, which are the most common type used there, at least according to my memory without looking it up. Think it's W, Q, P, AP, M, R, Gauss, for commonality. M does 1-1, but who uses it? Kolighar and... I know there's another one, maybe two others but I can't remember it. As opposed to the Wide Angle Phasers which are on quite a few.

By Andy Vancil (Andy) on Friday, January 15, 2010 - 11:26 am: Edit

That's the problem with using your memory. I can't find any rule that says the PW does 3-1.

The PW is probably the most common type, but it is very similar to the Alpha P1. Microphasers are used by Koligahr and somewhat by the Loriyill and Bolosco.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, February 04, 2010 - 11:28 am: Edit

Terry's right - it's the Magellanic warp-tuned lasers which have a 3:1 against plasma (and 4:1 against HEATs). Not so much of a problem when dealing with the local plasma-Es, but more troubling if dealing with certain visitors.


Oh, I had a question of my own.

Say that the Masters, for a laugh, decided to mix things up in Y130.

Rather than see Aurora move to the Omega Octant, have the Mæsron Alliance and United Federation of Planets swapped around. The Mæsrons would cover the on-map UFP territory, and vice versa. (The Orions would go to Auroran space, while the Aurorans would be placed in the Orion Enclave.)

Now, there's no data which indicates the Masters could do such a thing, but I'd ask to leave that aside for the moment.


It's worth noting that at this time, the Alliance had been usurped by the Vulpa, who had declared an Empire with their Council President as Emperor. So, short of a coup or civil war seeing the less aggressive Tazol and Wallimi species restore the balance, the Mæsrons would likely be somewhat restless in their new territory.


On the other hand, how would the Star Fleet of Y130 deal with the host of new neighbours? (At the time, the Mæsrons had conquered a swath of territory stretched across the Octant - which might leave the Federation overstretched, even without the matter of how they'd feel about the various alien worlds under occupation in their new territory.)


Personally, I feel that the Mæsrons would do well enough tactically - and would steamroll over the Romulans at the earliest opportunity. However, the Feds might have to withdraw from some of the more far-flung occupation areas and try to consolidate a core region of their new space, or risk finding themselves in trouble.

Any thoughts?

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 04:53 pm: Edit

The tactical primer I've seen for the Iridani in Captain's Log mainly focussed on ship-to-ship duels - which of course is relevant for many of the single-ship Quests a given knight would be sent on.

However, what kind of ship (and module, fighter, PF and other) composition might be recommended for larger Iridani fleets - and what kind of tactics might one suggest when trying to lead the space otters to victory?

I'm thinking of some of the kind of battles fleets like the Man-O-War-led Quest of the Flag of Y185, or more importantly those which would have been fought during the Grand Quest to liberate the home Cluster from Andromedan occupation and the subsequent anti-Andro Crusades into the Omega Octant.

(One idea I had was that a squadron of Bonnaventure variant ships, along with a flotilla or two of gunboats - which also have forward-oriented heavy weapon arcs - could be the 'hammer' to a force of broadsiding regular ships' 'anvil'. Although, I'm not sure how well, if at all, such a setup might work...)

By Sidney G. Kanouse (Konus67c7) on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 07:49 pm: Edit

I have a quick question about the Omega Sector. I have heard of heavy dreadnaughts in this sector, do they exist in print and what module are they in? I already have Mods 1-3, is 4 and 5 worth the money? Thanks.

By Andy Vancil (Andy) on Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 01:34 am: Edit

I've never seen any SSDs for Omega DNHs, although there was a Maesron BB in a Captains Log. O4 adds several races, just like O3, and includes the Bolosco Mercenary DN, which is very big. It also has the Branthodons (space dragons with platforms attached). The older dragonships are the biggest ships in the sector. I would certainly recommend O4 if you like O1-O3.

O5 has PFs, PFTs and the like. Get O5 if you want to see what they did with PFs in the Omega sector - they took some unusual approaches.

There are plans for additional modules that would expand ship selections, particularly later stuff, but they are still on the drawing board.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 03:18 pm: Edit

How much trouble can Souldra and Andromedan ships/fleets give each other?

On the one hand, the Souldra can't replenish themselves on Andro crew units; on the other, Andro PA panels don't like dealing with dark matter weapons all that much...

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Sunday, February 27, 2011 - 05:29 pm: Edit

Has anyone here had a go at flying the Vulpa blockade runner; and if so, what did you make of it?

On paper, it looks like an interesting ship to take on a raid or into a destroyer duel, but I was wondering how well it has acquitted itself in practice.

(One tactic I was envisioning for it was to alternate long-range fire from its flanking tachyon guns each turn, while keeping the prow TG held either as a deterrent should the enemy try to get too close, or as a hammer blow against a suitably-weakened foe.)

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Sunday, July 10, 2011 - 08:39 am: Edit

what is your favorite TM missile build do you use. Do you like to use a couple big ones with some low cost ones.

My favorite low cost one I like is
spd 20 (18) armor 8 explosive 4 with a p-3 this one costs 1/2 bpv. It does its thing with the p-3 but still hangs around to try to deliver its 4 damage payload. Your opponent has to decide if he really wants to do 8 damage to avoid 4.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - 04:22 pm: Edit

EDIT: Never mind; I should read the rules more carefully...

Have you tried those missiles with Alliance ships only, or with any of the other TM operators as well?

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 - 10:42 am: Edit

I have used them with Maesron ships will play them with Bolosco next. I like to pair that low cost TM with this 2.5 point cost one.
24 (18) armor 8 explosive 20 and a p3
have your p-3 fire at range 2 on the smaller ones then when the big one fires its phaser he might assume it is another 4 point warhead. And bolosco TMs might have different kinds of phasers

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 - 07:32 pm: Edit

we are doing a little Omega destroyer contest our first pairing was Hiver w/ 2 fighters ( the BPV is set around 95 ) and an Iridani with a weapons pod. One note the FEB is a really nice weapon and even though it suffers a penalty for firing at fighters it killed one and crippled the other. Oh and the target illuminator sucks not one die roll did it actually change the damage done in the battle. It might be of use on a larger ship where more weapons will be fired at once. It can be used to bluff your opponent light em up and your opponent might prematurely fire his weapons thinking you are doing an alpha strike. The Iridani won this battle but the Iridani was luckier than the Hiver when the internals were rolled.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, July 14, 2011 - 10:11 am: Edit

Have you considered trying an FRA destroyer against a Vulpa blockade runner? Could be an interesting matchup in the weight class you're looking at... on paper at least.

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Thursday, July 14, 2011 - 12:35 pm: Edit

we were going to give out the FRA to the person who had the least amount of ships left after the first round. I have the tobrin, alunda, sigviron, ymatrian, vari, bolosco, souldra, kolighar, and Iridani (won so made it to next round )

he has the hiver (out), phon, drex, loriyill, probyr, worb, maesron, ryn, and singer

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Friday, July 15, 2011 - 07:11 pm: Edit

oops the milssile with the
24 ( 18 ) armor 8 explosive 20 and a p-3 is a 3 point cost missile instead of a 2.5 bpv TM

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - 02:26 am: Edit

So, you are just using the standard Mæsron DD, then?

(The VBR could make for an interesting wild card; for one, it's one of the few published destroyer-sized Omega ships that can match the FRA DD for speed.)


Also, which Trobrin ship are you using? Since they don't have a destroyer, I suppose the closest thing they would have is the FFL.

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - 02:34 pm: Edit

standard Maesron DD can make up the point difference in TMs and we are using the FFL for tobrin

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Friday, July 22, 2011 - 12:22 pm: Edit

The next episode of DD elimination tourney Sigviron wins vs Maesron. Both ships did massive damage to each other. The sigviron decided after launching all of its torps on the first turn to only arm one at a time and run around really fast running out TM's. It is better to be able to hit with one torp at its optimum range than to hit with 3 ata bad range for them. The sig takes phaser damage real bad but the PE's were mostly used against TM's. But at the same amount of massive damage that we both had had left the sig with twice as much power combined with its better movement rate so it protects its power well.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Friday, July 22, 2011 - 01:54 pm: Edit

*remembers the Sigs don't have a destroyer either*

Which Sigvirion ship are you using for your match-ups?

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Sunday, July 24, 2011 - 10:06 am: Edit

the invasion frigate is 88 bpv