In Captain's Log #50, the CL50 Supplemental File, and Captain's Log #52 (all of which are now available on Warehouse 23 and elsewhere), one can find playtest rules and SSDs for the main "pirate" faction of the Omega Octant: the Zosman Marauders.

Further, a range of Zosman miniatures are available in both 3788 and 315 scale over on the ADB Shapeways storefront.

-----

Unlike the Orion Pirates (to include the Orion-hull Raider Cruiser Throne of Ozymondas, operating on behalf of the Federal Republic of Aurora), Zosman ships do not have any innate "passive" stealth capabilities.

Rather, as is the case for the Romulans and their infamous cloaking device over in the Alpha Octant, or with the Jumokian pirates and their distortion field generator over in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud, the Zosmans use an "active" system they must pay to operate: in this case, the ubiquitous Stealth field.

In addition to masking Zosman ship movements at an operational and strategic level, or keeping their FRD-esque Syndicate bases hidden deep in open space, Stealth fields operated at a tactical level oblige both the Zosman ship and its opponent to act as if they are both under the effects of passive fire control.

However, in Y141, the Mæsrons made a major breakthrough, enabling them to counter Zosman Stealth fields and to begin chasing down their now-exposed Syndicate bases in earnest. This would leave the Zosmans at a critical disadvantage until Y148, when refinements to Stealth field technology paved the way for a new wave of piracy.

------

I mention this particular period of time here, as I was hoping to start a discussion on how it could be used to enable playesting of the Zosman Marauder units in an historical context, without worrying about the use of the Stealth field right away.

This might allow a more incremental approach towards playtesting the current Zosman ships, not least in terms of gauging the many weapon options they can draw from. While bearing in mind the limitations imposed by the "update" file in CL52, there is quite a fair bit of variety out there, even when compared to the various Orion Cartels back in Alpha.

But, how well - or not - do the Zosmans take to each choice of weapons?

-----

For example: Zosman Marauder cells operating in Probr space can use the same quantum phasers, HEATs, and target accentuators the Probr themselves use. However, unlike Probr ships (which tend to split their HEAT arcs - or their TA arcs on accentuator variant hulls - to LS and RS), Probr-sourced heavy weapons in Zosman use are limited to FA or FH/FP firing arcs. Is this an issue for Zosmans operating as "pirates" against Probr convoys; as "raiders" against Bolosco merchants or Iridani Questors in the vicinity; or perhaps for Zosman ships serving as "mercenaries" alongside Probr battle squadrons?

As it happens, the Probr get caught up in a major anti-Sigvirion counter-insurgency from Y144 to Y150. So it's quite possible that, even in the absence of a viable Stealth field, Zosman ships might find themselves fighting on either side of this conflict... or even being at risk of falling to Sigvirion infection.

Of course, I didn't necessarily want to focus on the Probr alone: any number of other option mount configurations (and range of opponents) might be up for consideration in this era.

-----

So, I wanted to see if anyone here had thoughts on how they might like to see a would-be playtest scenario for the Zosmans, which perhaps enabled them to try out one key aspect of this faction (the weapon option variety) in and of itself, before turning to the other aspect (the Stealth field) at a later point in time.

Although, if no-one else thinks this kind of approach is worth considering, I suppose this might end up being a very brief discussion...

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 - 12:29 pm: Edit

Of course, just because the Stealth field itself is not viable in this time period, that does not necessarily mean the "on-map" Marauder cells are entirely out of options.

-----

For comparison's sake, consider the lengths to which the various empires (in Alpha, in Omega, and in the LMC) had to go in order to uncover the Andromedan Rapid Transit Network - once they realized what it was they were actually looking for in the first place.

An active satellite base has no active or passive stealth function. Indeed, once its positional stabilizers are operational, it must presumably maintain some degree of "live" operation, if only so that it can serve as a strategic movement node for DisDev-equipped Andromedan warships. And even then, finding satellite bases, and then getting to them in force fast enough to pre-empt the Andros from moving the base elsewhere, is a major task.

Since Syndicate bases do not have positional stabilizers, they don't need to send any kind of "beacon" for nearby Zosman warships. So even if the Stealth field is rendered useless, it's still possible to set the base up for "silent running" under (D17.75), in order to make it more difficult for Mæsron (or other) scout ships to actually find it.

Now, it is fair to say that relocating a Syndicate base is a different challenge to packing up and moving an Andro satellite base. In the case of the Andros, the delay is in deactivating the base's positional stabilizers; once this is done, the Mothership can beam the base aboard and use other RTN nodes in range to vacate the scene in haste. In contrast, moving a Syndicate base requires two heavy and/or Fence cruisers to dock to the base, and then to move it to a new location. So the act of preparing the base to be moved is quicker; the catch is how slow this combination would be in getting away from the vicinity.

Then there is the question of where the Marauder cell can in fact move the base. a cell located "deep" in a given empire's territory, far from an open border, might have a much more difficult time evading ongoing anti-pirate operations. However, a cell located close to unclaimed space (of which there is still a fair amount as of the Y140s, if one compares the Y100 and Y162 Omega hex maps) might have an easier time escaping and waiting for a new iteration of Stealth field technology to be passed over from the Phi Sector.

-----

On the other side of the equation, there would be the policy of the "host" empire from which the Marauder cell might be attempting to flee - and, indeed, of the other "third parties" one might encounter within certain empires.

The Mæsrons make a point of chasing down as many Syndicate bases as they can find, so as to clear as much of their space of the Marauder threat for as long as possible. Although, given how dangerously over-extended the Mæsrons are at this point n time - something that was brutally exposed during the course of the Civil War and Collapse - this grand anti-pirate operation was perhaps an attempt to mask the Alliance's true weakness.

However, even if the Mæsrons passed on this knowledge about Zosman Stealth fields to other empires, their own priorities might be very different.

Some of these empires might agree with the Mæsrons, in terms of wanting to chase down as many Syndicate base in their territory as they can. And yet, others might find it preferable to merely drive any local Marauder cells over to the other side of a given border - at which point they'd be someone else's problem. Still others might see this as an opportunity to leverage their ability to find (and, if necessary, destroy) such bases towards a favourable set of mercenary contracts.

For example: I could see the Vari taking this latter option, in preparation for their expansion during the Collapse. With only two Vari cells active as of the Y140s - the others were demilitarized under Mæsron occupation - there would be an urgent need to bring the newly-liberated cells back up to the status of active military powers. (The concept of simply seizing these worlds in order to unite all Vari under one rule was still several decades away.) So they'd have more to gain from leveraging as many Zosman ships as mercenaries as possible, so as to keep the Mæsrons busy, and to keep the Trobrin and Koligahr "honest", long enough for the Combine to successfully re-assert itself as a composite Superpower.

-----

Actually, there is the matter of those empires which, at this point in time, had yet to reveal themselves to the broader Omega community of star-nations.

An example of this is the Worb Technocracy, who are not discovered by the Hivers until Y157; or the Paravians of Omega, who do not become active until Y170 (and whose home territory is not discovered by the Trobrin until Y175).

Were any Marauder cells to stumble into their respective territories, it's quite possible that neither of them would be aware of the Mæsron ability to bypass the Stealth field. And yet, given how enervated such a cell might be by this point in time, would it make more sense to set up shop in these far-flung territories... or, perhaps, to cut a deal with the locals instead?

Personally, I'd split the difference, by having any Marauder cells fleeing to Worb space set themselves up locally as raiders, while having a cell in Omega-Paravian space cut a deal with the locals. Of course, in the long run, other Marauder cells might sign mercenary contracts with the Worb, while yet other cells might begin to raid the Omega-Paravians once they emerge as a larger empire on the Omega hex map.

But, if there is a more interesting set of options out there, well and good.

-----

That leaves the "transitory" factions: the Bolosco, the Iridani, and the exile Sigvirions.

No doubt the Bolosco would be eager to keep the Zosmans out of their home territory, and perhaps to sweep the adjacent Trobrin and Probr territories in order to prevent cross-border raids. Yet even the Bolosco are subject to the various commercial treaties and mercenary contracts they have signed up to - so they probably won't be able to make as forceful a push against the Zosmans in this time period as they might like to.

Individual Iridani ships, either on lone Quests or serving alongside another force (to include the Bolosco) would need no added motivation to fight the Zosmans if called upon to do so. Yet, so long as a given Marauder cell remains at large, the risk of ambush - even in the absence of the Stealth field - remains an active one.

As noted in the previous post, the Sigs instigate a major campaign in Probr space during this time period. yet there would still be exile ships lurking elsewhere in Omega; in which case, a fleeing Marauder cell better hope it has the latest round of inoculations lined up...