I have sent each commander a copy of their submitted battlegroup article edited and formatted for review, correction (if I messed something) or addition (if seeing the document in format triggers a thought of something they wanted to say but forgot at the time).

A reminder that sending the article back to me noting "I have made some edits/changes" means I go through the work of re-editing the whole document to make sure the change did not create an issue. So only send me a list of changes and where to make them. Otherwise I would appreciate a "I have reviewed this and see no issues" or something similar so that I know you are good with things and not remaining silent because you think it will upset me to point out that I messed up something.

By Eddie E Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Tuesday, January 07, 2020 - 05:47 pm: Edit

Steve everything looks fine.

By Soeren Klein (Ogdrklein) on Thursday, January 09, 2020 - 03:56 am: Edit

SPP,

I found no issues with the article for Federation Task Force 1.01.


Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Sören Klein

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 12:13 am: Edit

A message comes across the emergency channel. "My opponents, this is the Tholian Commander. My scout has detected the approach of a very large swarm of shuttles; they appear to be of Fralli origin.

"May I respectfully suggest we put aside our differences in the face of this common threat. Should these Fralli gather these crystals, it is conceivable that they could potentially build a frightening number of ships; something that can turn VERY ugly VERY fast."


(Just for grins, how would you all, with your "Rivals" deal with this sort of situation? )

By John L Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 12:31 am: Edit

Uh, WRG's in defensive mode (if we must deal with a swarm of shuttles).

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 12:59 am: Edit

I wouldn't look at them.

By Soeren Klein (Ogdrklein) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 11:48 am: Edit

Retrograde?


Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Soeren Klein

By Eddie E Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 12:34 pm: Edit

Remember in terms of the scenario retrograd is not allowed.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 02:46 pm: Edit

Remember that with four points of ECM the shuttles cannot score a single damage point beyond three hexes range, will score an average one damage point per six shuttles at three hexes range.

A retrograde against shuttles can work because they are only Speed 6 (or Speed 8 if advanced types, or Speed 12 if non-advanced with warp booster packs, or Speed 16 if advanced with warp booster packs).

You have them in a dilemma in that the if they go erratic, it costs them a hex of movement and adds four more points of ECM to their own fire (and to your own fire), but at that point you can put up another point of ECM and their fire is shifted by three, meaning until they drop erratic maneuvers they cannot hit you at all at any range greater than two hexes, and if you put up your last point of generated EW as ECCM, your own fire is only shifted by one.

If they simply chase you in a large stack, their slow speed lets you lead them around in a large circle on a fixed map, so they would have to divide in an effort to corner you and get close enough to actually score damage when you are forced to try to break through them rather than be pinned against a wall.

In the end, the only two empires the Fraili would fear would be the Vudar (Ion Pulse Generators) and the Jiindarians (Warp-Augmented Rail Guns), and the need to keep some dispersion so that the small number of T-bombs available does not slaughter too many shuttle stacks at one time.

Other than that, they would simply move directly to the asteroid en-masse, land, grab all the crystals they can (hiding which shuttles have crystals among the shuttles that do not) and then take off and leave the map as quickly as they could. Offensive action against any of the opposing forces is, for the Fraili shuttles, pointless.

Get to the asteroid, get the crystals, and run.

Those whose shuttles are destroyed will have their names emblazoned on the wall of heroes!

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 04:58 pm: Edit

Note that T-bombs force the Fraili shuttles to work in stacks of six shuttles. The problem is that they need to mass the shuttles to actually score enough damage with the phaser-3s to accomplish something, but a single T-bomb can destroy every shuttle in its hex or adjacent to it. So they need to enter each hex with six shuttles, because six is the highest target count a mine can be assigned. Thus the first six shuttles to move adjacent to a mine with a target count delay guarantees detonating it, whereas if you moved only five shuttles next to it, the next time your shuttles move the stacks of shuttles behind the first five would also be in the blast radius. Thus a retrograding ship would be constantly trying to pick off just one shuttle in a stack of six to make the Frali player think that stack is about to move next to a T-bomb, and so re-think his next move.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Saturday, January 18, 2020 - 07:32 pm: Edit

All six ships in the Tholian battleforce have two transporter bombs each. IF the "Secret Placement" rule (M2.6) is in effect, the Fralli won't be able to find them (M7.323). Even if all twelve are out, the specific exclusion of shuttles in the general rule on minefield detection (M7.11) will leave them clueless about it!

Meanwhile four of the combat destroyers can beautif... Uhh, destroy one shuttle per six stack... With long range fire while the scout and fifth combat destroyer lay a web around the Dilithium Asteroid. Once layed, the advancements in Web technology by Y175 (G10.322) will mean that it'll take only 21 units of power to make the web temporarily impassable to the Fralli (G10.511).

More will, of course, need to be put in to compensate for natural Web deterioration (G10.4), but I think that if I can get enough energy into it to have 108 points of aggregate strength by Turn #9, it should still be strong enough to keep the Uglies out until the rock disintegrates without having to get close to that shuttle fired Phaser-3 storm.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Sunday, January 19, 2020 - 12:45 am: Edit

You can set a mine to detonate on size classes other than shuttles to have more control over when it detonates if you think that's helpful. Also fake t-bombs can make things exciting when combined with this.

A ship three hexes away across from a tbomb shuttles are adjacent to could detonate that tbomb if it was set for the ship's size by moving next to it. Cloaked ships can also lay tbombs in a good location, then decloak and set it off. There are ways.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 09:04 am: Edit

Steve Petrick:

Question for future battle forces submissions:

Would small or large transports mentioned in Captains Log#50 proposals board (Loren Knights contribution) be legal?

They are ships assembled from the command module and drive section of large or small freighters, with two (or only one) skid(s) and a duck tail(Skids and duck tails were published in modules R8 and R11.).

A careful reading of the existing battle forces for captains log would seem to allow it for most articles, except those cases where most ,module R8 ships are specifically excluded. (And in that case only the general and LASH skids were listed, and the large and small general ducktails.). Module R11 had a larger collection of skids and ducktails, and module R11 is a regular module, and not normally excluded as the system defense ships in module R8 have occasionally been.

I am not asking to propose an entire battle force of such ships (the command rating and lack of seeking weapon control channels would make such a option very problematic.). But one or two small ships might use a small amount of BPVs that would help fill up a 550 point battle force.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 01:14 pm: Edit

Jeff Wile:

Rule #13 second sentence: "No other cargo ships may be purchased; this includes fast transports, cargo liners, etc."

NOTE: "cargo liners is a typo and should have been "cruise liners." (Somewhat surprised that mistake was not caught er this point.)

There is also the minor point that a small freighter (or a large freighter) with skids is not capable of the "transit/patrol" speeds of warships, so such a ship is unlikely to be part of an offensive battle group. Such ships generally show up as something to be "escorted" or "attacked" in a battle group scenario and generally are outside of the battle group BPV in such cases.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 02:11 pm: Edit

Steve Petrick:

In reference to small freighter speed, the harbor tug, with what amounts to a skid center section, has a different movement cost of 1/4=0.25.

Is a small free freighter control module, drive section and skid not of a similar size?

My error, I assumed that a “small transport” (as it was termed in captains log50) would be similar.

I did not realize that freighter speeds were fixed and independent of the mass being moved.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 05:23 pm: Edit

Jeff, THIS scenario mandates no cargo ships. Other scenarios might REQUIRE them.

As much as I've enjoyed working on this one, I'm looking forward to participating in future ones.

(Whether SPP will allow me or not, especially after how ANNOYING I was with this one, is something I can't make bet on at this time... )

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 05:39 pm: Edit

Jeff Wile:

Please do not mistake "tactical speed" (on map combat operations) with "strategic speed" (getting to the map to handle the situation).

Most Battle Group Articles are about your task force racing to the area because you can get there to accomplish something (like rescue the convoy, or the scientists, or block the marauding enemy squadron). That means you are dropping out of the "high speed run" to get there and going slow enough that the touch of an enemy phaser-3 will not vaporize your ship. And it means the merely freighters that might have been delivering supplies to your ships have been left far behind even if they are now struggling to reach you.

On the map, a large armed freighter is as fast as any warship (even a "fast" ship or an X-ship) because the speed is limited to Speed 31 for combat.

While large armed freighters are capable of disengagement, they are not as fast as a warship GETTING THERE, which is the point I was making.

If we are fighting over the colony planet of Algeris IV, and there are a couple of armed freighters, or even a local defense ship built on a small freighter command and drive section with some skids, sure they will most likely participate in the defense (in the case of the "local defense unit," is what the crew gets paid the big bucks for).

But those units will be a lot slower (like the speed of a Monitor) in trying to reach the convoy being attacked halfway between Algeris IV and Denivov III compared to your police cutter.

And while you might burn a few points to have one, does it really make sense to drag a Federation Express or an Armed Priority Transport into a battle where they do not belong just to see hem explode like fire crackers when they annoy the enemy? You must really, really, REALLY like writing those "letters of condolence" (GRIN).

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, January 31, 2020 - 09:19 pm: Edit

Jeff Anderson.

Read the first sentence of the first post with today’s date.

Especially the section that reads (in part) “...for future battle force submissions.”

The question has nothing to do with the current topic, being directed at future submissions.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Saturday, February 01, 2020 - 06:10 pm: Edit

I think we're on the same page, Jeff.

Apparently, in my attempt to try to be clear on things, I created confusion.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 05:17 pm: Edit

BATTLE GROUP 550 "BATTLE GROUP" For CL #55

IMPORTANT, READ THIS FIRST BEFORE READING THE REST OF THE INSTRUCTIONS:

In all cases, no more than one battle group may be submitted for a given empire. Empire selection is first come, first served. If player A submits a Kzinti battle group, player B cannot.

* The scenario this battle group is tied to will be revealed at a later date.

* Submissions can be made using any ships available in SFB, subject only to the rules above and herein.

* NOTE: No more than ONE battle group may be submitted by any given author without the permission of ADB, Inc. Submission of more than one battle group without the permission of ADB, Inc. will result in automatic rejection of all battle groups submitted by that author for this Battle Group article.

* The above does preclude Author A from submitting a Klingon Battle Group after Author B has done so, and Author A (or Author B) cannot submit two Klingon Battle Groups, or a Klingon and a Romulan Battle Group. If all empires do not have a submitted battle group when the publication date draws near, this restriction may be lifted.

* Submitters must post their force selection, including Commander’s Option selections, into this topic for review by their peers.

* Note that we are NOT going to provide the opposing force at first. The players will have to create their battle group “blind.” The opposition will not be defined until some time after 30 November 2022. If you do not submit a force prior to 30 November 2022

* Tactics articles (written after the opposing force revealed) must be submitted by the end of 15 December 2022 by email to Steven Petrick at: Rules@StarFleetGames.com (which must include a copy of the force selection and the submitter’s NAME AND STATE/PROVINCE IN THE BODY OF THE SUBMISSION SO THAT THE NAME GETS DOWNLOADED WITH THE BATTLE GROUP AND NOT LOST IN THE EMAIL HEADER).

* The general idea for tactics is that they should be at least three paragraphs, but not more than a column (half a page) in Captain’s Log. We are continuing the new format for Captain’s Log, as some readers like the tactics articles associated with the battle groups, and some simply like the battle groups created to the BPV.

* If a submitter needs to revise his battle group (before the enemy is revealed) and resubmit it, he may do so, but must note that it is a revision and include the revision date and the date of the post revised. No revisions will be accepted after 30 November 2022.

1. The BPV that can be spent to construct the force is limited to 550 points, including the BPV of all ships, fighters, drone speed upgrades, refits, and Commander’s Option Points. The battle group must adhere to the strictures and command limits set by (S8.0). No ship of size class 2 or size class 3 or with a movement cost of 0.67 or greater may be selected as part of this battle group.

2. The year for the battle group is Y175. Technology not in general use by this date cannot be used in this battle group. For the above purposes all Seltorian ship classes that otherwise meet the restrictions that arrived with the Hive Ship Burning Torch of Vengeance or entered service after the Burning Torch of Vengeance arrived are, I say again are, available.

3. For purposes of this scenario, no ship in a Tholian force can include a web caster or web casters, and web snares are not available by (E13.14). NOTE: Any Tholian force including a web caster must, by definition, be formed from Tholian home galaxy ships and cannot use variants of ships that appeared only in the Milky Way Galaxy. Such a force with web casters would have represented a task force in the pre-revolt Tholian home galaxy. In this respect, there may be two Tholian forces submitted, one for their home galaxy, and one for the Holdfast. Note that this pretty much limits a home galaxy force to patrol corvettes and Neo-Tholian frigates.

4. The following cannot be used: Fleet repair docks, minelayers/minesweepers, commando ships and other troop transports, monitors, survey ships, police flagships, police carriers, tugs (to include LTTs and theater transports), and X-ships (to include partial X-refits). Unpublished designs from Star Fleet Times, Module E1, Module E2, Module R107, or any edition of Captain’s Log cannot be used without permission from ADB, Inc. Conjectural units (including Campaign Conjectural units), to include unbuilt variants, cannot be used; no exceptions will be made. Note specifically that if a specific unique ship or ships were in fact built, but were destroyed prior to Y175, it is considered to be a conjectural unit since it no longer exists. Any ships that are desired under the “prototype exception” cannot be used without permission from ADB, Inc. Email Steven Petrick at: Rules@StarFleetGames.com to request permission.

5. Carriers must have their required escorts. These must be formal escorts, such as the FFE or F5E, as provided by the carrier’s ship description for the year (as modified by Module G3A). (You cannot have an FWE to escort your E4V!) You can have as many carriers as you want (within the BPV, size class, and command limits), but each must have its own escorts and the number of fighters must adhere to the restrictions of (S8.0). Carriers can have less than their full contingents of fighters as given in (S8.23) and (S8.312). Escorts cannot be included without their carrier. All escorts must have full aegis unless their ship description says they never received full aegis, e.g., Romulan BHE or SNE escorts. FCRs are not available for use as substitute escorts and cannot be purchased as part of this battle group. Police carriers, which do not require escorts, can be taken in this battle group, but no more than one such unescorted carrier may be taken. Players may request to replace an escort with a smaller escort, but small escorts cannot be replaced with larger escorts.

6. Purchase of Commander’s Option Items is not restricted beyond normal rules, i.e., 20% of BPV for non-carriers, etc., and that they are included in the maximum of 550 BPV. See (S3.2).

7. Interceptors and PFs are not available at all.

8. Mercenaries: No Orion (or Jumokian if a Magellanic force or Iridani or Bolosco if an Omegan force) ships can be included as mercenary units within an empire’s battle group, e.g., a Gorn group cannot use a mercenary Orion DW. An all-Orion (or Jumokian if a Magellanic force or Iridani or Bolosco if an Omegan force) group may be used. (Obviously a mercenary group hired to support the empire’s operations.) The cartel must be defined and only one of the battle group’s ships may be an independent from outside the cartel’s normal operating area.

9. Battle groups may be constructed entirely of ships from Module C4 and Module P6, to include the Hispaniolans, but the restrictions that all units of a given battle group must be from a single empire remains in force, e.g., a Frax or Qari group may be provided, but not a mixed Frax-Qari group. Omega and Magellanic battle groups can be submitted under these same restrictions, i.e., the ships must all come from one empire and the units must be available in the year (Y175) of the battle group article. Battle Groups may be built for the empires in Module E3 (Boark Star League), Module E4 (Peladine Republic), or Module C6 (Paravian Raiders and Carnivon Hordes).

10. A WYN battle group may be submitted, but such a WYN force must consist of ships that are able to exit the WYN Radiation Zone as manned combat units, and in the year of this battle group this limits them to WYN-Orion ships and various fish ships. Andromedans can participate in this battle force, but only one ship may be equipped with a displacement device, e.g., a Python.

11. Maulers are not available in this battle group. Battle groups cannot include a commando ship or other troop transport (excluded by rule #19) or a survey cruiser variant (excluded by rule #4).

12. No ship modifications (S3.3) or (S7.0) are allowed; see rule #18.

13. Tugs may not be purchased, this includes tugs of any type (tugs and transport tugs), light tactical transports, and theater transports. No other cargo ships may be purchased; this includes fast transports, cargo liners, etc. Ships that are warships and just happen to have a few boxes of cargo, such as most Orion ships, are not excluded by this rule. Ships that are essentially standard warships but just happen to also be tugs, e.g., most Bolosco ships and all Jumokian ships, are eligible for purchase by those respective empires.

14. Off-map drone bombardment is not possible. Captured ships (WYN-Orion ships are not “captured ships,” Romulan Kestrel series ships are not “captured ships”) cannot be used. A maximum of one unique ship (to include Limited Production Unique, Limited Production 2, Regular Production Unique, Regular Production 2, and Unique) may be used subject to other restrictions. Regular Production Warships, Limited Production Warships, Regular Production Limited, and Purchased ships can all be used subject to other restrictions. See the warship-status column of the Master Ship Chart in Module G2 or Module G3, or the Omega Master Rulebook, or the Module C5 rulebook, Module E3 rulebook, and Module E4 rulebook, as appropriate to the empire. No more than one ship with a shock rating in Annex #7S may be part of this battle group.

15. “Heavy War Destroyers” are not available and may not be used.

16. Police ships, to include police flagships (maximum of one) can be taken. This includes heavy police ships. This means that the Klingons can use E4Is or F5Is, as E4Bs and F5Ks, etc.

17. No Legendary Officers. No Poor Crews (except Klingon penal ships; no submitted Klingon battle group may have more than one penal ship). No Outstanding Crews. No Legendary Ace fighter pilots. No Ace pilots, and no Green fighter pilots. No Green or Ace PF (Interceptor) crews.

18. Partial-X refits are not available.

19. National Guard ships from Module R8, Module R9, or Module R11 may not be used. Early Years ships from Module Y1, Module Y2, or Module Y3 may not be used. Auxiliary warships, to include WYN auxiliary warships, cannot be included in any battle group.

20. Selected entries will be published in Captain’s Log #50 and its supplemental file.

21. A detailed cost breakdown must be included. List each ship, its cost (to include any optional weapons mounts), and the cost of any added equipment separately. See previously published battle groups in recent editions of Captain’s Log for the correct format. NOTE: PLEASE SEE A PREVIOUS CAPTAIN’S LOG FOR THE FORMAT. Battle groups in the correct format (i.e., those that require less ADB, Inc. time to format) will be given priority ahead of other battle groups submitted for a given empire.

22. All of the above limits are cumulative. ALL of the limits apply. No item provides an exception to any other item unless specifically noted as doing so.

23. Tactics that rely on retrograding will result in automatic rejection. You are required to fight, not simply show the flag.

24. All battle groups need to be submitted by 2400 hrs CST, on the evening of 30 November, 2022. The opposing force has been selected and will be revealed by close of business early in December, 2022. Tactics articles must be submitted by 15 December, 2022.

By Alex Chobot (Alendrel) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 06:46 pm: Edit

EAGLES IN THE SHADOWS

This does draw one ship from CL51, the BHB, but I thought it would be fun to make a force featuring Module R4J.

BHB Shadowwing (100); 2x T-bomb (+8) = 108

WHB Shadowclaw (70); rear phaser refit (+3); 5x G-II fighters (+35); 1x T-bomb (+4) = 112

BHAB Skyshadow (97); 2x T-bombs (+8) = 105

SNB Mustela (75)

SNB Luter (75)

SNB Squalus (75)

Force Total: 550

By Alex Chobot (Alendrel) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 07:24 pm: Edit

Although I’m also strongly considering dropping the Snipes for another two BHB - after loading them with T-bombs and fitting a second on the WHB, that would leave 5 BPV for some upgrades to the Marine complements, and yield a full BattleHawk squadron with sort of carrier support.

I’m really feeling the lack of a BattleHawk scout though!

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 07:25 pm: Edit

I am proud to see this as the first force posted.

And the BHB is perfectly appropriate for inclusion with an R4J battle force!

By Alex Chobot (Alendrel) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 07:36 pm: Edit

Mike, as a CL published ship it does require ADB permission, but given the context I feel reasonably confident

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 08:16 pm: Edit

Paravian Raiding force.

Gregory Flusche Uss Virginia.

DWL Werner Preuss 108 + 2t-bombs 8 = 116

DW Friedrich Altemeier 99 2t-bombs 8 =107

DW Fritz Höhn 99 2t-bombs 8 =107

FFV Otto Schmidt 75 4DC 4 =79
6 crane FTRs 54

FFA Emil Schappe 87

Total 550