Something I pitched around a month ago and was ignored, was a Scout-capable variant of the CoM (R7.61). This is a need in campaign play (I would have been forced to create this SSD for a campaign I was running, because the Neo-Tholians (separate from the Archeo-Tholians) were going to make a showing as a race that several players would need to deal with) needed to have scout functions for campaign reasons (in this case, for exploring unmapped territory. But another campaign may need scouts for survey of map features or to extend reaction range) . Obviously this would be some form of a Conjectural design (such as an Unbuilt Variant). One could just as easily modify any of the other CoMs (such as the LCoM) using this same formula.

To make a scout version of the COM, I would replace the Ph-1s with Special Sensors and leave the rest as is (including leaving the WC in place). The justification for the design (if you want a historical reason to have NT scouts), is that the Milky-Way Tholians *could* build Special Sensors, even if the old-galaxy Tholians couldn't. The retrofit would have been done while swapping out the PCs for Disruptors.

It is important that the COM (in this case, the ScCom) has the special sensors, instead of the main hull (even though most of the main hulls there are bristling with weapons that will blind the channels). The Plug-In systems the Neos have with the COM is very powerful in terms of fielding the variant they need at the time, but maintaining a reasonable navy of heavy-hitters. They can certainly function as a modular navy, much like the admonition against tugs we recieved in (U7.4).

The flavor text might go along these lines: This design was originally suggested after the 312th first arrived and during the extensive refit they were undertaking. With the pressures of Operation Nutcracker, the design was shelved as uneconomical. The design surfaced again with the fleet refits of X-Technology, but was squelched when it was noted that the extensive weapon arrays of the ship would blind any good the scout functions would have for the fleet.

By Howard Bampton (Bampton) on Monday, September 15, 2014 - 05:22 pm: Edit

This would presumably have use (and be more practical to deploy vs. the more likely "use a PC or DD based version" answer), were the NeoTholian NFF & NDD hulls available.

By Thomas Mathews (Turtle) on Monday, September 15, 2014 - 10:10 pm: Edit

Matthew your idea is reasonably sound, but I believe it would work much better on the light command module used on the N-DD/N-FF hulls as opposed to the command module used on the N-CL and larger hulls.

Web Casters would blind special sensors and with few exceptions (the Fed GSC and variants come to mind) most scouts do not have any weapons except phaser-Is, phaser-IIIs and drones. Phaser-IIIs and drones do not blind special sensors, and phaser-Is may be down fired as phaser-III's

By Matthew Potter (Neonpico) on Monday, September 15, 2014 - 11:25 pm: Edit

Turtle:
Very true that Casters blind channels (G24.1341). The intent here is to create less of a EW platform (most likely what most people think of when they say "A Fleet Scout"), but more of a strategic scout platform. Granted, that the proposed Scout-CoM attached to a cruiser hull could provide a world of help to a fleet, it would only have 3 channels (replacing the three FH PH-1s) and would be using the rest of it's power for EW and web-generator stuff (more likely the former).

A Light CoM (R7.73) could be similarly converted, as mentioned above, by replacing it's (only) PH-1 with a Scout Channel. This would allow the Neo-Thols to field "light" scouts that would, even on paper, only be useful outside of combat.

I want to re-iterate that this proposal is not to generate killer EW-Platforms that can participate as a scout or warship as needed that combat turn, But to create a series of strategic-level scouts. I have no problems with creating a situation where the Neo-Thols have whimpy EW platforms, as long as they have something that can fill the gap in those situations where they need scout-like ships and they (for whatever local reason) do not have access to any of the Archeo-Tholian designs.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Monday, September 15, 2014 - 11:38 pm: Edit

If such CoM (or LCoM) variants were to exist, would they be likely candidates for conversion by the early Holdfast into scout variants of the YCoM (or YLCM) seen in Module Y3? Or would they simply not have bothered fielding any such variants of these stopgap hull types?


On the topic of survey hulls, it was noted in CL39's Tholians of Draco article that one of their ships, the Sojourner, was originally designed to fulfil that kind of role when it was built (and that it was a relatively "late" design, constructed at some point prior to the Revolt.) While no SSD for that ship has yet been published, it supposedly had some sort of technology which was not the same as a standard special sensor, but which was intended to assist it in carrying out its intended mission.

Perhaps, one day, we may get a better look at what kind of support variants the Tholians had in service back in the home galaxy?

(Indeed, I wonder what, if any, survey units the pre-Will Tholians might have used when they were first expanding across M81.)

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 05:27 pm: Edit

The original conception of the Tholian Home Galaxy was that they would not have a lot of things. Among these were mobile scout sensors [(R15.1C) and (R15.8)].

There is no way to create a command module like this, on either the Command Module or the Light Command Module, without in effect violating the existing rules background.

By definition your first step is to get SVC to agree to change the existing background, i.e., to issue "errata" for the Seltorians and Neo-Tholians.

By Richard B. Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 05:51 pm: Edit

Traditionally scout units replace heavy weapons with sensors. If the Tholians wanted mobile scouts on Neo-Tholian hulls I think they'd replace the particle cannon/disruptors. This would be non-historical obviously.

The command modules have little power for scout sensors when separated from the main vessel, but the rear section would be better able to power the sensors. Another factor is that replacing all the phaser-ones in the command module would leave it very poorly armed (1 web caster, 2 phaser-threes) when operating independantly (which is something the Neo-Tholians were known to do).