In the current F&E Omega folder, there are distinct sub-threads for several proposed Omega empires, such as the Mæsron Alliance and the Federal Republic of Aurora. In principle, perhaps this thread could be moved there if it was a worthwhile option to do so; in practice, I wouldn't want to unduly trouble anyone at ADB if such a move was unwarranted.

In Captain's Log #50 and Captain's Log #52, a collection of rules and SSDs were provided for the first of what Bruce Graw referred to in Captain's Log #36 as "Omega's Lost Futures": the Zosman Marauders. CL50 presented the Zosman heavy cruiser, light cruiser, destroyer, and frigate; these have since been made available for purchase on the Shapeways storefront. CL52 presents the Fence cruiser (a long-range cargo/repair variant of the heavy cruiser) and the Syndicate base, as well as an "update file" which delves into this faction in more detail.

This might be too much to post in one go, so I'll start with a little historical context and move on to more game-related thoughts in a separate post:

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The Zosman "home" territory is to the "east" of the Omega Octant hex map, over in the Phi Sector on the Milky Way galaxy map. As noted in the Zosman history portion of the CL52 update file, the Zosmans first arrived in the Phi Sector from their ancestral home in another galaxy in -Y55. They took a slow and methodical approach to outward colonization, but had their new heme world and 12 colony worlds up and running (with a 13th colony world in the works) when a "galactic weather event" know as the Cataclysm swept through their region of space in c. Y70, devastating their civilization.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, the home world was able to re-integrate the eight closest colony planets into the Zosman Collective, as well as to later settle three new "worlds of the outer core". The five outermost colonies became the "Marauder worlds"; each was left independent of one another (and of the Collective government). Determined never to face another Cataclysm alone, these Marauder worlds spawned the first Zosman Marauder cells, which began operating in Mæsron and Probr space in Y107. Officially, the Collective condemns the Marauder cells' pirate activities; unofficially, their worlds benefit at least indirectly from the ill-gotten gains being fed into the Zosman trade network over in the Phi Sector.

(Although, given the up-front costs needed to set up a network of Marauder cells so far from home, one might wonder if the protestations of the Collective government should be taken with a grain of salt, akin to how one ought not to believe the "official" Klingon account of just what is going on between the Empire and the Vudar Enclave...)

While the first Zosman base was uncovered in Y114, the first real breakthrough was in Y141, when the Mæsrons found a means of counter the Zosman Stealth field. However, the Zosmans found a way to improve their Stealth field technology in Y148 - by which time the onset of the Mæsron Civil War and Collapse enabled the Marauders to re-establish their "on-map" operations. Over time, the Zosmans would offer their services as mercenaries, though they remained bitterly opposed to the Bolosco Merchant Guilds and developed a fierce rivalry with the Iridani Questors. (It,S been speculated that the Bolosco and Zosmans had already been enemies prior to their respective arrivals in the Milky Way, yet neither side is willing to discuss the matter.)

Several the Zosman worlds in the Phi Sector would be devastated and/or sterilized by the Andromedans and Souldra during the Invasions of the Sixth Cycle. Nonetheless, enough Zosmans survived for them to remain a threat throughout the subsequent Seventh Cycle of Omega Octant history.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Monday, March 30, 2020 - 08:45 pm: Edit

The key to Zosman operations - both in the Phi Sector and across the Omega hex map - is their ubiquitous Stealth field. All Zosman warships, bases, fighters, and PFs possess this technology, though they cannot install it into captured hulls as it is woven into their own designs.

In SFB terms, an active Stealth field prevents the Zosman ship from being detected above Tactical Intelligence Level J - which includes levels S1 through S5. This both allows the Zosmans to mass their forces for attacks on enemy targets and enables their Syndicate bases to hide in open space. Also, an active Stealth field requires both the ship itself and its opponent to act as if both are fighting under passive fire control. As with a cloak, there is a significant energy cost to run the Stealth field.

In order to maximize their use of Stealth field technology, the Zosman Syndicate base looks similar to an Alpha Octant fleet repair dock. Although a Syndicate base has no residual impulse boxes, so cannot move by itself. Instead, two Zosman heavy and/or Fence cruisers can work in tandem to tow a Syndicate base, akin to how two Alpha Octant cruisers may tow an FRD under (421.23). Not only may all three docked units run their Stealth fields at once, the Syndicate base is designed to enable Zosman ships to leave their Stealth fields off while docked internally while being protected by the base's own Stealth field.

The Fence cruiser helps connect each Syndicate base back to its home Marauder world. This ship has a greatly enlarged cargo bay relative to the heavy cruiser, plus a limited repair capability which allows it to patch up a damaged Zosman raider just well enough to allow it to limp back to the nearest Syndicate base.

Now, it's as yet unknown what kind of operational and/or strategic movement limitations there are for Zosman ships moving while operating the Stealth field - let alone if it is both Stealth-ed and helping to tow a Stealth-ed Syndicate base. But for comparison's sake, a FireHawk is reduced from six to two hexes of operational movement while cloaked (203.81); two uncloaked FireHawks can move three hexes a turn if towing an uncloaked FRD (421.21); while presumably two cloaked FireHawks towing a cloaked FRD would move only one hex per turn, if both restrictions are to be combined.

Also, as with fleet repair docks, Syndicate bases do not have positional stabilizers. Since FRDs cannot operate as a strategic movement node (421.4) unless used as an end point for strategic movement by a repair ship (422.3). If the same is true for Syndicate bases, would a Fence cruiser's limited repair capacity be enough to allow for a similar exception?

Weapons-wise, the Zosmans use both weapon and system modules; a system module can take the place of a weapons module, but not vice versa. (In lieu of the full range of module types used by the Zosmans historically, the current playtest SSDs use abstracted weapon and system module types.) These could either be handled the way that Romulan modules are (by listing separate SIT entries for given module configurations) or be simply ignored. In any case, the Zosmans have plenty of boarding parties, so might qualify for the same kind of Marine bonus provided to the Gorns and Seltorians at present.

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Of course, since any sort of Omega project for Federation and Empire is a long time off, if it were to ever be an option at all, one might wonder why I'm bothering to speculate on the Zosman Marauders at this time.

For what it's worth, the "extra-galactic" origins of the Zosmans could, perhaps, allow for playtesters to consider sending them to one or more of the Alpha Octant's "off-map" areas, and using them as an alternative to the Orion Pirates - or perhaps even set the Orions and Zosmans up as rival pirate (and/or mercenary) types. Actually, I think it would be interesting to have the Zosmans settle in one off-map area and put the Bolosco (who are also extra-galactic in origin) in another, and have both factions build up their respective "on-map" networks while squaring off against one another wherever those networks intersect.

Or, if the Lesser Magellanic Cloud were to be presented at some point, perhaps a Zosman (and/or Bolosco) presence in the LMC could be speculated upon.

In any case, I found the combination of the Stealth field and their modular technology to make for an interesting challenge to account for in game terms - though, as always, whether anyone else agrees with me on this or not is quite another matter...

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 11:10 am: Edit

To be honest, I suspect that the Zosmans, Jumokians, and the Tholian Old Galaxy Raiders will all use the basic mechanics that the Orions use, if any of these areas ever get added to F&E.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 05:51 pm: Edit

If the onus is solely on using the Zosmans as "on-map" pirates and/or mercenaries, perhaps.

One could go so far as to allow a Zosman player to run their own Marauder cell: keeping track of their Syndicate base's location (or relocation, if necessary), their sponsoring Marauder world's Fence cruiser shipments, and so on. Or, one could abstract it out the way that Orions can be at present.

Actually, for a cell operating in or close to Chlorophon space, any ships marked as using energy howitzers could perhaps gain the ship capture benefits which Seltorian shield crackers possess under (326.242). As an aside, M81 Pirate ships equipped with shield crackers might well get the same type of bonus.


However, depending on how "campaign compatible" the Zosman Collective in the Phi Sector might one day become over in Star Fleet Battles, one might then be able to consider using the Zosmans as a playable empire in some sort of F&E context.

Historically, this would be a way to cover the Andromedan and Souldra attacks on the Phi Sector in the Sixth Cycle. But in a "free campaign", a more fully fleshed-out Zosman fleet might be the most viable of the "pirate" factions in known space to be able to make the kind of transition which SFB Module C6 permits for the "lost empire" Paravians (who may be used either as long-range raiders supported by Raid Motherships, or as a "traditional" empire instead).