Warhammer 40k: 4X-Strategy in M42

Game Master Swordwhale

Question on the battle moons, do they protect themselves or can they strike the planet?

They are meant to supplement the ground-to-orbit defence capabilities of the planet. They are geostationary at opposing sides of the planet and protect its two continents.
While not intended for hround-to-ground usage, they could be used. Although suffering quite a bit lethality and precision in the process.

I'll post tomorrow hopefully.

By the way guys, this is Azih!

Also I'm going to be starting a new job on the 22nd. Unknown what that'll do to my ability to post. Probably definitely not good though.

Yay new job?

Then, good luck with at your new job first of all things.
Then again: the major work in this game was setting it up and that you did quite well already.
As noted in the recruitment thread, I imagined one in-game round to go one week in pbp time, half a week at the fastest to account for the amount of work each round requires.
I am optimistic for that to work out for most people :-)

@Army-size: It is a bit on the large side of composition given it is roughtly twice the size of what I considered to be an average IG battlegroup.
BUT, in this case, it seems perfectly reasonable as it is both an IG recruitment world and your fortress against the tyranids, so you sending 'a bit more' to end things quickly seems perfectly viable.

@Gameplay:
I envision 3 phases for major (offensive) wars.

1. Preparation Phase: You muster your forces and meet up with allies, then dive into the warp and fly towards the system.

2. Arrival Phase: You arrive in system, get an updated situation report and make initial plans how to deal with the situation (this might incorporate retreat and/or call in reinforcements if things went south while you were en route).

3. Battle Phase: Now things get hot, broadsides are fired, dice are tossed and blood is spilled. Depending on how the war goes and how big it is, this phase may be repeated several times until the war is won/lost. You can change plans & issue orders after each round to adopt to new situations.

We are in phase 2 now, with phase 1 somehow mixed in due to it being a scenario.

Thanks for the well wishes.

So right now I'm going with

0.5 superheavy
2 armor
4 special
6 regular

which is 26 'units'. (1 regular being one unit of strenght)

Can I say very roughly that 12-14 'units' of strength is a battlegroup?

My initial idea was:
- 3 regular
- 3 advanced (or 6 'unified' cost)
- 1 armoured (or 4 'unified' cost)
Making a total of 13.
So yeah, 12-14 is 'on the spot' indeed :-)

Yeah I jumped the gun a bit but that actually was not my intention.
Basically one of the traits the Astartes should have(at leaste fluff wise) is that you don't get to say where they show up. They just do wherever they think they should.
So my intention was for everyone else to plan their move and then get contacted by the 'unexpected' Astartes battle group when they translate into system. I just got too trigger(type) happy and wrote up what was supposed to happen later after the leader conference. And everyone else followed after the bad example xP
Sorry 'bout that.

I'm good with that. This is all a calibration round anyway.

I'd say that the Mechanicus would actually work similarly wouldn't they?

In terms of preparation then I'd say the IG and IA can only assume the presence of each other in Phase 1. In terms of the game then they might 'over prepare' whenever one of the other forces decide to show up and that can be sorted out in adjustments in Phase 2.

No problem.
That's why we are doing this, right?
To get a feel for things.

And yet again, this approach will only happen for the really big / important battles. The majority of battles we can streamline.
I encourage everyone to throw together a couple of 'basic patterns' for your respective faction. So, typical strategic approaches you will adhere to, unless matters are dire enough to force you to reconsider.
Similar to the combat doctrines of the Lightning Claws.

As a guidance, here a few of the typical scenarios:
- Defend a system from an expected invasion.
- Attack an enemy system
- Reinforce an enemy occupied imperial system
- Reinforce an imperial system currently under attack from enemy forces

For resolving smaller conflicts, I will take a look at those base stratagems.

It seems unreasonable to have an IG super heavy assigned to anything less than a big/important battle. So none of my regular battlegroups will have a Knight. That seems correct.

Ya. The AdMech is pretty independent, but maybe not as independent as the Astartes. Especially the chapter we are blessed to have with us. We probably won't notice they're there until they're gone.

No problem.

That's why we are doing this, right?
To get a feel for things.

And yet again, this approach will only happen for the really big / important battles. The majority of battles we can streamline.
I encourage everyone to throw together a couple of 'basic patterns' for your respective faction. So, typical strategic approaches you will adhere to, unless matters are dire enough to force you to reconsider.
Similar to the combat doctrines of the Lightning Claws.

As a guidance, here a few of the typical scenarios:
- Defend a system from an expected invasion.
- Attack an enemy system
- Reinforce an enemy occupied imperial system
- Reinforce an imperial system currently under attack from enemy forces

For resolving smaller conflicts, I will take a look at those base stratagems.

Most of this post has been added to the Combat section of the notebook

- Defend a system from an expected invasion
With it's strong standoff potential, the first line of defense is often punishing indeed. Void warfare is an exercise in strategic withdrawal to maximum lance range, using superior speed and long range weapons to pick apart the enemy with mechanical precision or luring enemy ships into pockets of crossfire to be quickly disposed of.
If that line is subverted, avoided, or, Omnissiah forbid, defeated, the ground war will be nothing like the void.
On the ground the mechanicus is an unstoppable tide. Using it's specialist forces, it breaks the line into fragmented chaos, then the steadily advancing Skitarii and Secutarii forces mop up at a constant, steady, indefatigable rate. The landing zones, if any, are quickly located and suppressed. Never is a moment of rest given. Never a moment of peace for the enemy to settle in and gain a foothold or reorganize their force. It is constant, grinding war from the moment the first drop pod crashes down to the moment of the last soldier's gruesome death.
Typical deployement: 2 Killcades, two detachements of Knights, four regiments of Skitarii

- Attack an enemy system
The Mechanicus on the offence is like resisting a meteor. The Mechanicus does not take a planet unless necessary. That task has been given to the Guard. Instead, the Mechanicus may arrive at a world to recover some lost tech or information that is important to them. In this case, the area around the target is pacified from orbit, then the required troops are landed in the middle of the fire from heaven and go about their work.
If taking the planet is necessary, they will do so as a rolling tide. The Legio Vindicatus will walk, and Omnissiah save the faithful.
If focused strike: orbital bombardment of "local" resistance followed by at least 1 regiment of Skitarii and 1 Killcade supported by a Castellan Knight.
If planetary invasion: The Titans walk. At least one Warlord deployed with 2 pairs of Warhounds and 2 detachments of Knights with accompanying Secutari and specialist forces as necessary.

- Reinforce an enemy occupied imperial system
The Mechanicus is not idle when a system falls that is of import to them. Retribution is swift and decisive. First, the lines, if they exist, are stabilized with Servitor and Skitarii, then enemy supply lines are lanced from orbit and the counter-attack begins.
Typical deployment: Highly dependent on ground situation.

- Reinforce an imperial system currently under attack from enemy forces
The Mechanicus really likes hammers and anvils. If the situatoun allows, they will land behind enemy lines, Titans andall if required, and proceed to make the enemy's day VERY UNPLEASANT as they roll up the foe like a steel tide.

I've added this to the notebook

As Magos Sparkswright takes care of securing valuable research, Archmagos Fulcrum sits in orbit over the Forge By Iron Wrought. Even after a full crusade led by the Lord Commander of the Imperium himself, the Imperium was a shadow of its true self. Fulcrum himself had lost much of his former Skitarii forces to fierce fighting upon his primary hive, Fires of Industry, and the rest had to be stationed here upon By Iron Wrought to root out the last of the Chaos taint.
Then the emergency at Atria threatened the prototype of his Warlord grade drop harness. He was forced to deploy specialized forces that he was only now regaining the ability to replace. He dearly hoped that the Magos would not let him down.

This game is going to have me chomping at the bit constantly, isn't it. :)

Well since the proposed pace of the game is 1 post a week max...
You might want to ask your mechanicus guys about that emotional recalibration stuff =3

Hey guys I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow for about five days so any posting will be real sporadic until the 16th or so!

Also I'm starting a new job on the 22nd. I have NO idea what that'll do to my posting rate but at least for a while it'll be slow for sure as I figure out how much free time I will have. Might even be more as the commute is shorter but we will see.

Well since the proposed pace of the game is 1 post a week max...

You might want to ask your mechanicus guys about that emotional recalibration stuff =3

Truth, this is.

I did say one round per week.
While that may be one post a week, for bigger wars (like this trial one) with a bit of back'n'forth we most likely look at more than one post a week.

Hey Ghost, real life sucked me in pretty far and I lost track of what I was in the middle of here. Can you remind me what assets you need me to develop for the Blood Ravens chapter?

Ah, welcome back, we missed ya :-)
***
5 Chapter Holds.
-> Recruitment places, fortresses, resource sources, ...
(From the BR fluff, I'd consider the massive library & reliquary aboard your flagship to be a hold actually)
Have a look in the notebook under The Glaxy -> Player holds for ideas or discuss with the guys here.
You may combine holds with other people.
***
Your fleet.
I think you got that one quite far already.
***
Your ground troops.
Well this one is still in the flux tbh.
Currently, we have two possible ideas. I am interested in your input.

One is quite coarse-grained, dividing the chapter into the Codex-described 10 companies, each consisting of two demi-companies (with 5 squads each).
Plus some tank & Dreadnoughts.
This option you can find under Units&Armies -> Astartes. There is also a list of the number and types of your demi-companies. You'd simply choose the exact load-out (as there are 'normal' and Primaris options for all types available).

The other is much more fine-grained, tracking the progress of a squad through the ranks of Scout -> Devastor -> Assault -> Tactical -> Veteran. You'd still field demi-company-sized detachments of the chapter (so 5 squads) but it is your call in what composition they are fielded, as 'higher' ranked units can still be equipped like 'lower' ranks, if you need an all-assault formation for example. You can find some notes for that option under Units&Armies -> Brainstorming Astartes.
I like this one quite well, as it depicts the way Astartes 'recruitment' works pretty damn well and also gives quite a bit more customizability for your forces.

And you can hop into the gameplay test while you're building! :D

I feel like, "Hey! Welcome back! Here's ALL THE STUFF TO DO!"

Sounds good. And yeah, @choon, a bit like drinking from a fire hose.

Having some fleet-based elements as holdings makes sense. I would like to make the flagship into one of the holdings rather than just the library inside it. Perhaps the Omnis Arcanum can be a truly massive member of its class. Perhaps something between a standard battle barge and an Ark Mechanicus.

Would the Aurelia sector count as one holding, or would each planet therein count as a holding?

I very much like the idea of pairing up with Choon on the (remind me which one) forge world.

As for ground troops, I feel like the small numbers and flexibility of Space Marines would lend itself more to the squad level composition. It means more bookkeeping for me, but I think it would much better convey the feel of a Space Marine force. Even a demi-company would not normally be composed of all one type of marine.

Do you want the forgeworld with the Titan Legion, or the forgeworld with the massive industrial output?

The forge By Iron Wrought is the Titan forge and focuses almost exclusively on that. It can make up to three titans at once by current numbers.
The other, Fires of Industry, is the one with the orbital shipyard and is not specialized in anything, unless you count producing absolutely stupid amounts of war materials.

LOL .. both?

But in all seriousness, I think the one with high industrial output would be better for me. I see it as a source of possible initiates as well as a source of war materiel.

Has anyone put together a feudal world for Imperial Knights yet?

Fires of Industry it is then!

Yes. The world Glory-B is a pseudo-feudal world and center of IG recruitment/training.

How do you see the shared responsibility for Fires of Industry being distributed?

@GoW - how large of an Astartes force should I commit to the playtest?

Fires of Industry also makes the Knights for Glory B. It might as well be the mechanicuses diplomatic outreach planet.

Archmagos is a... friendly guy, by AdMech standards. The recent dividing of the galaxy and his generally experimental mindset has led him to pursue a more -- let's call it coordinated -- approach to things. :)

I guess a demi-company similar to keen, with a strike cruiser and escorts should do the trick here.
If you have special interest in the system, you may come with a full company though.

One hold will be one planet.

And yes to the whole ship as a hold. Quite a big fellow of its type from the very old days, stuffed with Intel about pretty much any enemy the imperial ever faced and how to beat them best - and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

One of my regiments keeps a similar database of how best to snipe things, the Ballistarii Ironstriders.

Archmagos is a... friendly guy, by AdMech standards.

So you mean to say he will tell your family in which servitor your parts were recyclet. If asked nicely. =3

Precisely. ;)

How do you see the shared responsibility for Fires of Industry being distributed?

This is actually a really good question. I've thought of it like we have significant influence on the planet and have significant sway over what gets done. Not everything on Fires of Industry is AdMech stuff, after all. It's also a major supplier for the Guard and supplies the shipyards in orbit. So it could be that you've acquired a controlling interest in a portion of the output?

@GoW: how do you envision holds working, exactly. I mean, besides offloading some of the creative burden (which I don't mind in the least, in case you didn't notice).

I've also added a Blood Raven section to the Notebook, Lurch. So you can work in there should you wish and everything'll be nice and organized... kinda. It'll be in one place, at least.

Lurch, I have copied your fleet that you had set up previously into your chapter's new Section in the Notebook.

Yeah, holds...
I imagined them being 100% under your control.
Other planets of your 'faction' are normally under your control but are reigned by some NPC, so sometimes that may do stuff you did not intend.
Planets not of anyone's faction will act as NPC places.
As long as you have a presence in the system you may take ressources from the planet or have them recruit/supply units for you.

As for shared places, that depends.
In that example, Forge World - Astartes, I'd imagine the BRs having their own manufactorum complex (aka separate production slots) on the planet, as well as the ability to quickly recruit Tech-Marines there (otherwise they are shipped to Mars to learn there).
Basically, it is as if you simply had merged two planets into a more powerful one.
This helps?

So it effectively operates as two planets as far as our game system goes, but is really one according to the fluff?

Exactly.

My git is down for the moment but the data is safe and it'll be back, stronger than evAR.
I also have it checkout out locally, so only you guys won't see whats in there. Gotta trust me *evil laugh*
*cough* as I was saying, game on =3

Ah. Oh.
I did not see those posts from Friday and was still waiting for the Ravens to join the fun ;-)
Reading up ...

@Ravens: Nice Alias pict you found there :-)

@IG: Landing en-masse near one of the hives will require to first dispatch (or at least occupy) the flotillas above the hives as well as ensure the fort-moons are secured - or the landing operations will be very short and awful bloody.

In general, you are right of course.
In most battles, you will act through some intermediate person (rp-wise) but it is in fact not overly unusual for a general/admiral to be in an important warzone (but obviously mostly far from the front or aboard the best protected ship) because of the mentioned unreliable long-range communication in 40k.
Choon has elected a representative already and I like the way he is using it.
You would just be like: 'according to the General's orders, we will ...'
Stuff like that.
But in fact, you can act as if your general would be present.
No need to 'play dumb' if your general is not there.
We simply assume that any representative is capable enough.

According to the heresy book Legion and quite a few of the Ciaphas Cain books Lord Commanders are usually present at either large wars or important ones. They don't just sit back and relax while their generals do stuff but one Lord General is still only a single person so they have to delegate other conflicts.
You'll just have to decide whether the lord general has 'something better to do' right now.

Do I have a good read on which vessels are traitors?

P.S. I added an icon for the Blood Ravens to the tac-map. Not sure where you wanted me to come in.

I've lost the map... :(