Important links:

>The story so far (Get up to speed quick!)
https://pastebin.com/54Vfvsff

>Archive
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Dark+Empire

>Pastebin for info dumps
https://pastebin.com/u/Timekiller21

>Twitter feed I use to announce planned game times.
https://twitter.com/DarkEmpireQuest

>This is the map system I use for planning
http://www.swgalaxymap.com/

>And this is a gold mine resource for Star wars info, take with a grain of salt since this universe follows its own continuity.
http://starwars.wikia.com/

>Official political map
http://imgur.com/a/BVqbQ

I allow between ten and twenty minutes for voting depending on the importance of the issue and how divided the vote is. If the vote is tied up, I usually allow an extra five minutes for a tie breaker, and if no one votes, I roll for the tie breaker (The will of the Dark Side).

I always try to incorporate (and encourage!) write ins if they don't violate the spirit of voted decisions, though I may edit or tweak them to fit better.

I also am always open for questions should any arise.

#ChissBabiesNoaw

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The division assembled in high Corellian orbit over the next hour. It wasn't much longer after that when sudden activity roused you from your thoughts.

"Commander!" a panicked cry comes from your sensor officer. You hear the trilling of the hyperspace detection array even as she speaks. "Multiple contacts, capital-grade, emerging from hyperspace," Sensors continues, trying to collect herself. "Eight contacts total- No, twelve!"

The tactical display shows a growing rebel force at the edge of Corellia's gravity well. You could see Imperial-Class Star Destroyers, marred with the crimson markings of the rebellion, alongside them the lumpy, irregular shapes of Mon Cal cruisers, a pair of huge Dauntless-Class, all accompanied by a menagerie of escort craft. You saw stolen Carracks, Nebulon-Bs, Corvettes, re-purposed freighters, Assault frigates, even a few, small, purpose-built Mon Cal escorts.

In addition to these, and perhaps most alarming, you saw a pair of CC-7700 interdictor frigates and a Strike-Class that had decidedly after-market lumps on its hull that could have been retrofitted gravity well projectors. Now, these ships were spreading into combat formation and disgorging scores of fighters.

Twelve enemy capital ships, an entire combat fleet, tasked with capturing Corellia. Opposing them, only your four Star Destroyers.

"By the Emperor," Tactical swears nearby.

"Get a hold of yourself," you chide, louder than you meant, adrenaline hampering your ability to sound calm. You were outnumbered three to one, and outgunned nearly as much, with the outdated fighters your division carried, you were even more badly outclassed.

This was no probing attack.

"Commander, all communications are down," Comms says, "It may be possible to circumvent the jamming but they're blocking multiple frequencies. It'll take some time."

"We still have local coms?" you ask.

"Yes, ma'am. Limited to line of sight."

"Get a picket ship out of jamming range and we'll use that as a relay to the outside if we need to," you say.

"Ma'am, should we scramble Ties?" Tactical asks.

Normally, this wouldn't be a question, launching fighters should be a given. But without exclusively hyperdrive equipped fighters, any Ties you launch would have to be recovered before any potential hyperspace jumps. That, or left behind.

>No, we can’t stand up to that sort of force, we'll withdraw
>Yes. Launch all fighters and prepare for battle
>Write in

(More options to follow both)

>>1798905
>Yes. Launch all fighters and prepare for battle

>>1798898
Uhull Best quest is here. Let's blow up some rebels!!!

Also can we contact the forces in Corelian? Just to give then a headup that something strange is happening and stablish a time frame to get back to him in case we end up jammed.

>>1798905

>You were outnumbered three to one, and outgunned nearly as much, with the outdated fighters your division carried, you were even more badly outclassed.

They don't have the slightest chance.


>Yes. Launch all fighters and prepare for battle

>>1798922
>can we contact the forces in Corelian
Assume you mean Rendilli?

Rendilli system is still totally out of contact.You can send off a courier or a message drone, it'll just be much later (hours) by the time it gets there

>>1798905
>No, we can’t stand up to that sort of force, we'll withdraw

>>1798905
What kind of local defenses are there? Do we have any shipyards or the like that can augment our ships?

We should send a few small runners in different directions to hopefully get out of range of the interdictors and call for aid.

>>1798956
>empire running away

spot the rebel scum

>>1798948
Corellian doesn't have a imperial land forces? Not even a golan station?

Also tottaly gonna send our sith toward one destroyer and take it back to the empire. If possible that is.

>>1798969
We send the curriers to Lobkin to i form him about Corelian. But we need to hold the line.

>>1798969
A picket ship was sent out of jamming range to act as a relay for you, other escorts can be dispersed as well, that's not a problem.

>Local defenses
None to speak of. Corellian orbital faciltiies have point defense and small-scale weaponry, not enough to turn the tide of this battle, and drawing the enemy over to it would likely turn the shipyards etc into a target

>>1798972
>Corellian doesn't have a imperial land forces? Not even a golan station?
Sadly none. If it ever did, either teh last warlord destroyed it, or the previous attempt ot capture it did.

>Sith
Something to remember, Sallin, and all Komissars aren't Sith, and aren't even the most combat effective Dark Side Adepts. They are mostly valued for their loyalty to the cause.

Skill level is abysmally low compared to Jedi or Sith. Sallin is not a one man killing machine

>>1798977
In the absence of significant static military assets to assist us defensively (and since we don't want to make the shipyards a target) We should try to play cat and mouse with the rebels.

Get the crews to their fighters but don't launch. Make it appear like we are retreating and then come about with a vengeance and launch all fighters at once then. If the rebels split their force to chase us or get spread out we can do some real damage.

>Yes. Get the crews to their fighters and prepare for battle

>>1798995
We just need to move away from Corellian the rebels will think we want to runaway they will get cocky and if they persue it will be just a small force the rebels aren't exactly a well organized military.

>>1799002
Writing, meant to add

>>1799003
Exactly. I agree.

If we move away and the rebs pursue with a partial force we can turn and catch them off guard, if they pursue with the entire force we can lead them away from the planet until reinforcements arrive.

We can't win with a straight up fight unaided, but we can be tricky and painful until reinforcements get here.

Oh shit, motherfucker it's TimeKiller's new combat system!

While I write, here is a primer on the new dice system we'll be using so everyone can start complaining planning ahead.

***

I'll be utilizing a new dice system designed to quickly (and decisively) resolve combat. We're talking battles completely resolved in between 1-5 dice rolls. It's entirely feasible this particular battle will be over in one roll, if the odds are stacked badly enough to start or rolls very lucky/unlucky.

Don't expect leeway or mercy.

To this end, the best advice I can give you with using this system is from Sun Tzu himself: "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

Alana does have one advantage. She is an inherently gifted leader, perhaps one of the best in the Empire. To that end, she uses only the best of three D20 rolls for her roll.

In battle, all that must be done is determine a plan, execute it, roll 1D20 (where I select the best of the first 3). And then observe the results. Each such roll counts as a "phase" of the battle. Typically the first phase is the "skirmish phase" where picket ships and fighters clash. Each subsequent roll is the main "melee" battle. This occurs until one side or the other is destroyed or opts to withdraw.

I'll be keeping the hard numbers behind the scenes as best I can. If everyone REALLY wants to see them they can, but I find number crunching dull. I'd rather try to relay that information via flavor text.

Instead of "you have 5 HP and do 1 damage" it would be "Your fleet is at less than 10% combat capacity, many of your ships are totally out of action, escape pods filling the space around you. Your flag ship maneuvers through a cloud of destroyed Ties, its engines faltering from the strain put on them". Second one seems more fun to me, but what do I know?

Before the rolling starts, I'll be giving players a chance to pick the strategy they want to assume during the battle. Things like:

">Avoid combat, try to lure them away"
">Attack headlong, victory or death"

Which will determine stats behind the scenes.

Write ins are still very much welcome.

It's important for me to stress, combat will be MUCH quicker, again, it could all come down to a single dice roll, so don't expect to be given endless opportunities to accomplish a goal.

>>1799008
If we can i would vote to put a minefield using the mines in our bombers to create a scream to block any persuers. Or even put some of our stormtroopers in the shipyards to protect it and kill any rebels that try to take it.

>>1799012
So we have 5 actions/rolls to conclude a battle? I kinda like this system...but i don't like rolling 1d20. Mostly because i end up rolling bad in then.

>Don't expect leeway or mercy.

As it should be.

>>1799037
You have however many dice rolls before one side or the other is defeated. This is a "roll over" system, each force has an attack value, a defense value, and HP. Every point you roll over their defense is a point of damage. Bonuses and things apply.

For example: your division has 11 HP. The Rebels have 33.

if they Roll, 11 points above your defense value, your entire division is wiped out. Poof. Dead, battle over in one roll.

This is possible but more likely there will be a few exchanges of fire.

Does that make sense?

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"All ships, red alert," you say, "Get the crews to their fighters."

"Ma'am?" Tactical asks, his mouth agape, "We're going to fight?"

"These orders aren't up for debate, Lieutenant!" Bastra shouts, descending on your tactical officer like a force of nature, "Get those damned fighters ready or Emperor help you, I'll shove you in a Tie and put you out there!"

Tactical works his jaw a moment, eyes wide, "Y-yes, sir!"

Bastra's iron fist aside, you understood your tactical officers shock. 3 to 1 odds weren't exactly favorable, even in the best of circumstances. Your mind was racing with possibility. You were more in favor of trying to string out the Rebels and attack them piecemeal, akin to your strategy at Aradia, it would be risky, but it was likely your best shot.

"Get a squadron of Bombers per Destroyer loaded with mines," you say, "We might not have enough to stop the rebels, but we can put the fear of death in their hearts."

"Ma'am, Ironclad reports they have successfully cleared jamming range, ready to relay any message," Communications says.

"Send another report on our current status to Commander Stoble if he can be reached," you say automatically.

"Should we call for Commander Lavorem and 3rd Division to leave Duro and join us here?" Bastra asks you quietly. Another four Star Destroyers wouldn't turn the tide, but it would help even the odds a bit. The downside of course was that Lavorem, despite being relatively close, was still likely a few hours away at best.

>Yes, we need him. Order Lavorem to make best speed for Corellia at once
>No, we need to hold Duro in the event there are further Rebel attacks

>>1799050
This is gonna be fucking cancer.

>>1799053
>No, we need to hold Duro in the event there are further Rebel attacks

>>1799050
I think that makes sense. So, for example, if we have a defense value of 15 and the rebs have an attack value of 10, if they roll a 16 or higher our division would be completely wiped out. On the other hand, if they rolled 5 or lower we would take no damage because they didn't get past the defense value. Am I reading you correct?

>>1799062
100% mi amigo.

>>1799054
yeah . . . but it's gonna be Space Cancer!

>>1799053
>>Yes, we need him. Order Lavorem to make best speed for Corellia at once

Correllia is the key to this sector and we are pitifully under-equipped to hold it. If we are to have any chance of victory at all we need all possible reinforcements to convene on our position asap.

>>1799056
Why have him hold Duro? It's not on a hyperspace lane and we are heavily outnumbered. If we cede Correllia Duro will be a liability as it will be cut off from reinforcement and can be picked apart. We need to consolidate all forces now if we are to have a chance.

>>1799053
>No, we need to hold Duro in the event there are further Rebel attacks.

>>1799069
The are pretty good at infiltration. Besides i bet the Duros, which are aliens. Would easily turn against us and accept the rebels.

>>1799128
Why?

>>1799083
Duro gives the rebels a planet and gives then a foothold into the empire. This fleet can be usex as a huge. LOOK AT US AND TREMBLE! And the Duros are alie s for then would be better to stay out if imperial reach. You can't trust the disgusting xeno.

>>1799137
But if we lose Correllia the entire devision at Duro will be trapped and lost. And we WILL lose Correllia without reinforcements.

>>1799154
>We will
Says who?

>>1799053
>Yes, we need him. Order Lavorem to make best speed for Corellia at once
Duro is nothing compared to Corellia

>>1799154
That is a loosers thinking. We need to hold here that's our only resourse if we leave Duros without anyone we invite more rebel agents to enter into the empire by it. Leave no chance to the rebels enter into our system.

>>1799150
I'd much rather lose Duro than Correllia.

>>1799160
We're outnumbered 3 to 1 and our other reinforcements are out system and are being jammed. Even if we could win a 3-1 battle (we probably can't) our fleet would be wrecked by the end.

>>1799170
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXNk6Zgs9bI

>>1799053
>>Yes, we need him. Order Lavorem to make best speed for Corellia at once

>Yes, we need him. Order Lavorem to make best speed for Corellia at once

>writing

"Yes," you say, "Send a high priority transmission to Lavorem." You close your eyes, mentally one step ahead while you compose the message, "Under heavy attack at Corellia. Twelve Rebel Capital ships and escorts, make best speed for Corellia at once."

"Yes, ma'am." Bastra steps to your orders.

With that decided, and while mentally cursing the lack of forces tasked with defending Corellia, it came time to determine your next steps. You'd decided it would be best to draw off the Rebels rather than face them head on, this meant pulling the division out of Corellia's orbit and toward the edge of the gravity well. At minimum, it would by you some time while the Rebels struggled to catch up. Of course, if you tried to lead them too far, they'd likely abandon pursuit.

>Withdraw the division with the intent of drawing some of the Rebels into pursuit
>Destroy the shipyards before withdrawing to deny them to the Rebellion, just in case
>Stand here and fight, we can't risk the Rebels destroying the shipyards themselves in case this is a raid
>Write in

>>1799228
>>Withdraw the division with the intent of drawing some of the Rebels into pursuit
It's better the shipyards get damaged, than the entire planet get lost

>>1799228
>Stand here and fight, we can't risk the Rebels destroying the shipyards themselves in case this is a raid
This is when Alana discovers she's force-sensitive and Ship comes to save the day, right?

Right?!

>>1799228
>Stand here and fight, we can't risk the Rebels destroying the shipyards themselves in case this is a raid

>>1799228
>>Withdraw the division with the intent of drawing some of the Rebels into pursuit

This ain't a raiding force and they already killed coms with half the fleet. They want to re-take Correllia, not just blow the yards.

>>1799228
>Withdraw the division with the intent of drawing some of the Rebels into pursuit

>Withdraw the division with the intent of drawing some of the Rebels into pursuit

>Writing

To stand and fight would be to invite defeat. Through numbers alone, your force would be swamped. That wasn't even touching the horrible disparity between their state of the art fighters and your aging relics.

"Pull the Division out of orbit," you order navigation, "Take us toward the hyper limit, signal all ships to follow, but deploy a screening force to the rear. The Rebels will pounce on any stragglers with fighter squadrons if they can." You spoke from experience. Years of conducting fighting retreats against the encroaching Rebellion as the Empire crumbled.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Within minutes, it was obvious the Rebels took the bait, if bait it was. The Rebel fleet began to diverge, two thirds of it accelerating to follow you, hot on your heels while a few older capital ships peeled off, accompanying a dozen or so freighters and frigates which continued for the shipyards and Corellia proper. An invasion force, you assumed. It looked like the Rebels did intend to take this world as their own. You knew if your fleet were defeated, they'd likely succeed. Corellia had long been the black nerf of the Core worlds, and, along with Chandrilla and Alderaan, had been one of the more rebellious worlds.

You paced the bridge, going between the command and control station in the rear, to the front of the bridge, gazing out of the viewport at the stars ahead. It was a display of confidence if anything, but a necessary maneuver in every good captain's arsenal, in your opinion.

On your last trip back to the sensor stations, you made note of the Rebel forces gaining on you, a mix of Mon Calamari ships and captured Imperial Star Destroyers. Eight in all, still more than a match for you. Unless you got lucky. You knew Lavorem was still a few hours out. Part of you was worried he would arrive in time to recover your escape pods and flee.

(1/2)

You pushed the thought away. No. Defeat wasn't an option. Not yet.

You did however note, you were running out of space. Soon you'd reach the Hyperlimit, at which point it would be obvious to the Rebels you were not seriously fleeing, but leading them on instead. At which point they would likely give up their chase, forcing you back onto the offensive.

You could press your luck by continuing to run and buying yourself more time at the risk of losing their interest. You also had the option of conducting a fighting retreat, hitting and fading to keep them after you. You were unlikely to do any significant damage to their forces this way, but may buy some more time, provided they didn't pin you down and force you into battle.

Otherwise, you could fight them head on. Either fighting them at the last minute, once you reached the edge of Corellia's gravity well, or you could come about and attack them aggressively in hopes of smashing this force before they could summon backup. Either of these of course carried the risk of conventional defeat. Still, you couldn't run forever.


>Try to drag on the pursuit without engaging
>Hit and fade to keep their interest
>Once they are outside of the range of help, turn and attack with everything we've got
>Lure them as far as we can then, stop and fight

>>1799419
>Hit and fade to keep their interest
At least this gives ammo against Luar.

>>1799419
Is there any way we can sprint for that small detachment headed for the planet?

>>1799437
You'd have to go right through the forces pursuing you. So not without fighting them, no.

>>1799419
>>Hit and fade to keep their interest

What's the status of those interdictors? The rebels may activate the gravity well generator when we hit the "regular" gravity well limit so we may be able to keep their attention longer with just running than we could otherwise.

>>1799448
>Interdictors
Fortunately (Unfortunately?) They're lagging behind the main force, they'll likely come into play shortly after you stop to engage (assuming that happens)

>>1799448
Adding to this, if we hit and fade we should focus on the enemy fighters. We won't be in combat long enough to do real damage to their heavy hitters, but the rebel fighter screen should be on the leading edge and by focusing our fire on them we can hopefully give our inferior frighters a chance to hold their own later.

>>1799419
>Hit and fade to keep their interest

We can't afford to lose this fleet, and we have reinforcements coming. As long as we exist the Rebels can't invade further without risking their gains.

They'll either (hopefully) commit to invading Corellia leaving that part of the fleet unable to attack us or be stuck in a bind unable to fully invade until they deal with us.

We gotta buy time.

>>1799419
>Hit and fade to keep their interest

>>1799419
>Hit and fade to keep their interest

But use it as a bait send in some of oir bombers with mines. The SHADOW DROIDS will protect then we will do so pierce their figther screen and deploy the mines behind it The shadow droids have the goal to work as shields so our bombers can pierce the screen and make so the rebel figthers can't turn back without hitting a screen of proximity mines or even force the enemy fleet to advance and suffer damage. We will use our carracks and anti figthers and wipe the rebels jockeys.

>Hit and fade to keep their interest

>writing

>>1799468
i say we lock their figthers in a prison while piercing their screen using our shadow droids and bombers since i would rather sacrifice the droids then our Tie advance pilots and then once they manage to pierce and close with the proximity mine. Our bombers can flank the enemy fleet and cripple the interdictor .

Hily shit guys! We should tottaly board those intedictors and add it to our task force.

It was time to give the Rebels a show.

"Scramble fighters," you say, voice calm, yet it sets off a flurry of activity. "Start laying mines, I want our bombers escorted by what Shadow Droids we still have."

You watched on a nearby flat screen monitor as your rear-most escorts turned back, skirmishing their the Rebel fighter screen, spewing rainbows of crimson and emerald laser fire only to come about again to continue retreat, in the best cases leaving smashed fighters behind, in the worst, getting struck themselves by proton torpedo fire.

It was a distraction from the real show, your bombers laying a screen of nearly invisible mines, Shadow Droids chasing off Rebel interceptors that managed to skirt your picket ships defenses.

You waited until the first Rebel ship, a Nebulon-B frigate, struck one of the mines, blasting a hole in its forward hull.

"Come about," you said, "Let's give the Rebels a few salvos before continuing to withdraw."

This was it. You only hoped your force could stand up against the enemy long enough to bloody their nose before continuing to withdraw.

***

Roll 1D20, the best of the first 3 will be counted.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>1799502
We might be pushing our luck a little there. The rebel escorts could be able to tear through our bombers even with the screen from the shadow droids. If we don't focus all our firepower on the rebel fighters at the outset they will have fighter supremacy for the entire battle - which is very bad news for us. I'd rather use the shadow droids on enemy fighters and have the bombers lay mines behind the fighter skirmish. Then, when the reb escorts come up to support their fighters, when we retreat the rebels will run straight into a minefield.

>>1799523
For the Empire.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>1799523
d

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>1799523

>>1799526
Oh i agree we migth be pushing our luck way to much but let's do this and keep the screen and lock their figther near our anti-figther ships

>>1799526
>>1799532
>>1799533
F

Rolled 2 (1d20)

12, 10, 4

>12

>Writing

>>1799547
>>1799550

12 is better than a 2 at least.

>>1799550
Dam...well no luck for this rebels...

>>1799559
Guess that Luke isn't in one of those figthers.

>>1799559
You guys get so goddam lucky in the rolls behind the scenes by the way. Won Commenor AND Dakshee without any losses.

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>>1799565
>You guys get so goddam lucky in the rolls behind the scenes by the way. Won Commenor AND Dakshee without any losses.
>Tfw Battle Meditation is real

>>1799565
It's the power of the emperor.

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>>1799565
It's the Emperor's Will

>>1799584
If the Revan Strike Team were the ones in that office, they would have rekt Palpatine, Revan makes Palpatine look like a pussy.

This physically hurt me to write.

>>1799565
in before rebels get a 20 and we get BTFO

>>1799605
Anon...

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>>1799605

>>1799616
TK isn't a bad QM. So that would only if the rebels manage to roll five twenties in a row.

>>1799626
Kreia said that Revan was the heart of the force and she's like Palpatine squared!

The Old Republic Era had so much more knowledge! Nobody ever learned anything in the 4 millennia between Exar Kun and Darth Krayt.

>>1799630
Darth Malgus is a better version of Darth Vader.

The fighting is inconclusive but it does buy you a bit of time, Carracks and Corellian Corvettes exchange fire while X-Wings and E-wings pursue your Ties and Shadow Droids. It's obvious to you that the commander of the rebel force is still shaken by your ploy with the mines, and now is proceeding more cautiously, wary of any further traps you might set, a handful of converted civilian transports lead the way, probing for defenses.

Your division, swooping counter attack completed, again turns on its heel and continues with its withdrawal, the rebels unable to do more than follow along behind. Both your forces maintain the bulk of their strength.

>Continue to hit and fade, buying time is more important than hurting the rebels
>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint
>We will stand and fight, the only way we can stop them is to defeat them before they wise to our plan

>>1799638
>Continue to hit and fade, buying time is more important than hurting the rebels
Do we have any wings of old TIE bombers?

>>1799638
>>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

>>1799638
>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

>>1799638
>Continue to hit and fade, buying time is more important than hurting the rebels

If we manage to do this we might bring then under the hyperlane were the Duro's forces will arrive in the system and use the arriving forces position to trap the rebel forces in a pincer maneuver

>>1799638
>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

>>1799644
Of course we have our bomber's were the ones to lay the mines anon.

>>1799644
>Bombers

You sure do. Good old Tie /sa. That's all you have in the way of bombers

>>1799638
>>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

With the civ ships in front they're vulnerable. If we just do "normal" hit and fade it will become obvious what we're doing. Lets punish a blunder.

>>1799638

You know what you guys are right i'm changing my vote from here >>1799655 to >We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

>>1799672
Trips

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>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

At this point the choice is obvious

>Writing

>>1799662
>>1799672
Faking retardation gave me brain damage, sorry.

If worse comes to worse, it may be best to have them suicide attack the shipyard.

>>1799697
Nah it won't come to that.

You eyed those lumbering transports hungrily on Retribution's scopes. The Rebellions desperation for warships never ceased to amaze you. It was astounding what they would strap guns to and call fit for service.

"Let's hit them again," you tell tactical. "This time, let's put our Destroyers into it. I want to burn those flying hulks out of the sky."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The starfield visible through the forward view port shifted again as your division turned about, the Rebel fleet coming into view as you accelerated forward, Ties racing ahead.

***
Roll 1D20, the best of the first 3 will be counted.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>1799707

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>1799707
ded

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>1799707
Watch me kill Alana guys.

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>>1799717
>>1799718
>>1799720

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>1799707
Make Alana stand her arms pointing toward the rebels to make enphase as she issue the open fire command.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

7, 8, 2

>8

Jesus christ guys.

>Writing

>>1799720
>>1799718
>>1799717
And this is why i hate d20's

>>1799730
Eep!

>>1799733
We really should be using d100's. There aren't really too many situations beside social ones where they aren't better.

d50's are nice too.

>>1799730
>Rolled 17 (1d20)
F

>>1799751
relax anon. We might loose some ships but it isn't the end of the battle.

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Those damn little freighters were more nimble than they looked. You watched one roll on its axis, deflecting turbolaser fire with its shields while it withdrew.

Your picket and fighter screen advanced after them, convenient gaps in their formations allowed your destroyers to fire at the oncoming Rebel warships. The back and forth struggle at the front, between the Rebels and you suddenly started turning, and dramatically. Pin-point fire from a Mon Cal cruiser annihilated several of your forward escorts, leaving Carrakcs burst open and cutting a Lancer in half.

Now, with unintentional holes punched in your line, Rebel fighters exploited these gaps, arcing in to take bites out of your escort ships and sweeping like a hive virus through the ranks of your Ties. Your Avengers held their own, but with the Tie /Lns you had dropping like blister gnats, they soon found themselves grossly outnumbered, pursued and destroyed in individual dogfights.

"Intensify our forward batteries," you order, watching the Rebel capital ships rushing toward you as your forward picket line collapses. Even outnumbered, on a gun-per-gun basis, your Destroyers could hold their own.

And likely would have, had the Rebel fighters not effectively cleared the skies of your Ties.

The unofficial term was "Trench Run Disease". The idea that the larger the target, the more vulnerable it was to harassment by small snub fighters.

Watching explosions blossom across Winterborn's hull, you were witnessing it firsthand.

(1/2)

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Tactical was frantically calling orders into his headset, trying to coordinate your surviving fighter squadrons and Lancer Frigates into a makeshift defense for the Destroyers, but it wasn't enough. The beating continues mercilessly spreading across your Division as your forces try to come about again, to put distance from their attackers.

Winterborn is the first to turn, which in turn denies its guns clear firing lanes and exposes its relatively vulnerable rear.

"Ma'am, Captain Sobieski reports he is abandoning ship!" Communications says.

"Monarch's shields are failing," Sensors adds, "She can’t take much more of a beating.

The deck beneath your feet vibrates intermittently, you knew it’s the feeling of distant explosions, but aren't sure of the cause. A Stolen ISD is coming headlong at you, the two of you trading intense, short range fire, an even contest were it not for the stinging fighters encircling your ship, whittling away at your shields.

"Have Despot take some of the pressure off Monarch!" you call, seeing Winterborn was a lost cause.

A fresh torpedo barrage from a passing Rebel warship smashes into Winterborn, now without shields, and tears her bow clean off, power flickering and dying visibly across the ship. She flickers out on your tactical display.

Despot, Captain Wei's ship, came "over the top" of Monarch from behind, guns blazing, only to be targeted by three Rebel capital ships and subjugated to a merciless beating, her shields quickly faltering.

You see your own starboard turbolaser batteries flare and swat down a passing Corvette in a brilliant display, scattering debris creating a fresh hazard for the fighter pilots still surviving. The Rebels had drawn you into the exact sort of close-range engagement you'd hoped against, their weak forces evidently much more capable than it appeared.

Before you could react, there was a tremendous explosion to port, a broiling cloud of debris that dwarfed your own vessel, stray metal fragments careening off your shields.

"That was Despot, ma'am!" Sensors cries, "She's gone, the reactor went super critical."

"Moanrch's status?" you grit your teeth, you didn't have time to mourn the death of the ship.

"Functional, heavily damage but withdrawing," sensors says.

Two Destroyers gone, your fighters decimated, virtually every Rebel capital ship intact. With your forces so reduced, it was only a matter of time before they closed in for the kill

>Victory or death! For the Emperor!
>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw
>All ships retreat. We can't lose what we have left

>>1799811

>Victory or death! For the Emperor!

This fucking new combat system is retarded

>>1799811
>>Victory or death! For the Emperor!
There's just no fucking way we're gonna be able to retreat under the fire. We might as well batten down the hatches and make peace with our gods, while sending the rebels to meet theirs

>>1799811
>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw
If being evil turns a lightsaber red, why did Darth Vader's stay blue on Mustafar. And how did Exar Kun keep a blue lightsaber? That nigga was six times more evil than Revan or Kaan.

>>1799827
I agree.

>>1799833
>make peace with our gods
The Emperor has neither peace nor mercy for failures.

>>1799811
>Victory or death! For the Emperor!

Trying to retreat at this poi t is suicide.

>>1799869
Anything at this point is suicide.

Is it bad that i'm glad that Wei is dead?

>>1799827
No our choice in tryi g to hurt the rebels was the bad choice.

>>1799885
>Trying to do your mission was a bad choice
You filthy traitor.

>>1799811
>>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw

We've got to get out.

I agree with others that the new combat system needs fine-tuning. It seems like it's an all or nothing engagement that relies more on luck than strategy where a single missed roll can be lethal.

I also miss the tactical maps...

>>1799811
>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw

>>1799888
It's not that anon. What i meant was, we should have continued to drag the rebels and THEN tried to cripple then. We got greedy and then they manage to disable and destroy our destroyers.

>>1799909
To be fair, we also had bad dice rolls and were outnumbered 2-1

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So . . . It's pretty clear the general feeling toward this system is . . . decidedly negative. Whether or not it's actually unfair is another argument entirely, but at minimum it's not popular.

Of course, that's also *every* system I have employed for such things which is causing me to seriously consider employing "GM Fiat" as our combat system.

That, or crowd sourcing/outsourcing the design of the dice system used cause it's clearly not my forte. Any input welcome, thanks.

>>1799869
>>1799833
>>1799827

You are the guys hoping for a 20, right? I guess it's possible we get a 20 and the rebels get sub 5. It could backfire, though.

>>1799915
Well my whole problem is it's literally just dice luck under the veil of"strategy"

While it did take longer, battle maps were so helpful and actually letting us plot out how we moved our troops and what we did where gave it a much more rewarding experience

>>1799915
there isn't any 'strategy' modifiers or planning or well anything compared to before. Its just to get through combat quickly.

>>1799915
Best of ten 10d100 where you take the average of the odds for our side and the average of the evens for the other side.

1-3 and 97-100 are automatic crits, crit successes override crit failures.

Sorry that pathfinder turned out to be shit, TK. Maybe you could kind of combine the system you used to use with this one?

>>1799811
>>1799869

Changing my vote:

>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw

>>1799918
more like i was thinking that we are to slow and had already lost our figthers so we are pretty fucked.

>>1799911
Yes but if we continued to kite then we wouldn't have lost two destroyers maybe just our figthers. But it happed.

>>1799923
Yrah it lack strategy modifiers i liked the old system much more then this new one.

>>1799915
Personally I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the old system we used against the Xenos.

Sure it took longer, but the DC and modifiers were clear - and we got bonuses for strategic / tactical actions.

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>Attempt to break contact, we need to withdraw

>Writing

I hear you guys. It's not a good scene.

To be honest This is pushing me to do one of three things, on top of other stuff I'm planning. 1: Be a big boy and make everything GM Fiat.

Pro: Eliminates RNG bullshit
Con: Eliminates RNG bullshit

Spend quite a while developing a much more granular system and getting really crunchy. Individual ship stats etc.

Pro: Well maybe people won't hate it?
Con: It'll take forever and likely still suck

Or just come up with a bunch of bullshit and literally make people vote for whichever one they hate the least.

Pro: Just following orders
Con: Giving people a choice.

Although I must say 'I love democracy'.

>>1799915
It just seems like the way bonuses have to stack in the system leaves a lot to chance. Giving us 3d20 helps mitigate that, but not too much especially when a strong roll from the enemy and a bad few rolls from us can end in disaster.

Let's use the example from >>1799062

If our fleet has 11 health and a defense value of 15 and the rebels have an attack value of 10, there's a 25% chance our fleet takes no damage and a 25% chance our fleet is completely destroyed in the same engagement with the same modifiers. Even though we can make efforts to alter that equation with tactics it still feels like we're leaving a lot to chance.

Even if there are strategy modifiers the system is still pretty lethal. If there's a +3 defense bonus due to strategy there's a 40% chance our fleet takes no damage at all and a 10% chance our fleet is COMPLETELY DESTROYED. The outcome can swing much more dramatically based on random dice rather than tactics and strategy.

>>1799958
>>1799936
Another possibility. Though there were people who hated that one too.

>>1799963
I wish I could math like you.

>>1799964
When? Cause while it fucked us to some degree it wasn't as bullshit as this.

>>1799971
Just assign each class of ship a few stats, like armor, health, and damage output, then apply those numbers to fleets and take the difference between fleets' strength and use that as a modifier. Along with strategy modifiers.

Well, there is a problem with that, which is the fact that 4chan doesn't accept negative dice modifiers.

>>1799964
Between this and the old system i think even the ones that hated it would prefer it then this one.

>>1799964
I liked that one, it just needed the added flair that included different choices that affected the DC in exchange for maybe double damage or increased discipline.

So maybe we start the fight, a list of all the DCs for us and the Rebels then a small list of player choices like:

Aggressive Charge: +20 DC difficulty but double HP damage
Focus on Fighters: No DC change but clear away Rebel fighters affecting their positive modifiers
Skirmish Mode: -20 DC but very limited damage to Rebels and increased damage to our fighters
Tactical Withdrawal: Auto Success but Rebels get positive modifiers the next time we attack.

Maybe including a morale system or specialized abilities for Alana would help it too. Maybe riskier actions get better bonuses but you all get the first two or one dice roll.

Just add more meat to that system and I think it'd work well alongside the maps.

>>1799964
Do you remember what the stated problems were with it?

I honestly liked it. If you need inspiration, read Black Company Quest. Probably the best dice system used on /qst/ in my humble opinion.

>>1799982
I'd prefer the old system, although it definitely has flaws of its own. It was very crunchy and it sometimes seemed like individual victories had too little impact (and it also seemed like we were rolling against the same modifiers regardless of tactics), but it didn't have the same massive swings on a single roll like the new system has.

Personally, what I'd do is partially abstract it. Keep the 3d20 or 3d100, but have it be against a secret DC that you can abstractly modify based on how well you like the tactics Anons are suggesting and other available elements. That way there's minimum crunch and you can DM fiat as needed, but players still feel like their rolls are counting for something.

>>1799964
Old system sucked even worse

>>1800041
>1 post

>>1800052
Just woke up mate. Gotta man up and accept that you can win every battle. Don't blame the dice

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>>1800024
Some opinions I grabbed from the archive cause I'm autistic.

I remembered now that there were two old systems I am getting confused. The one with the DCs and the one I stole from that quest whos name I forget. Black Company?

Which did people like slightly again?

I think we used the fiat DC against the Yevetha.

>>1800040
This sounds doable

>>1800058
The ones with flat DC's and stuff.

>>1800057
If you readed my post i don't blame the dice i blame the system because in the old one the results weren't so drasticaly affected.

You shake your head to clear it, there was no time for regret or second guessing, you had men and women still counting on your decision making ability with their lives.

"Order all forces to break contact," you say. "Give the withdrawal code, we'll pick up what fighters we can and head for the hyper limit."

Retribution rolled 90 degrees, super structure pointed toward the enemy, letting her bring all guns to bear as she wheeled away, sheltering smaller craft burning for the safety of deep space.

The next few minutes were intense, your teeth were clenched so tight your jaw ached, your hands grabbed the frame of the forward view port and every shudder that went through your ship, you assumed was the last. Ultimately, the fire tapered off and soon excited commands shouted back and forth became quiet, more level damage reports.

You'd made it out, alive. The Rebels apparently content to let you go, half your division destroyed in your wake.

Just ahead, the safety of the hyper limit. You blinked surprise at a flurry of hyperspace arrivals, tearing into real space.

"Contacts, dead ahead," Sensors said unnecessarily.

"I want identities!" Bastra ordered.

"It's 3rd Division," Sensors says, the relief in her voice obvious.

You let out a tense breath yourself. While Lavorem's Division wasn't enough to easily destroy the rebels that had just trounced your forces, it was a enough to force them to back off for now and let you lick your wounds.

In a situation like this, a break was almost as much as you could ask for.

***

I'm not super happy with how this session went ultimately, but I don't think that's a problem. I find dissatisfaction spurs motivation.

I'm not unhappy with the outcome of the battle per se, since the odds had you pretty well fucked unless you got really lucky, and you did not. I am unhappy with how the players (you) felt about it. Obviously failure is never good, but failure should at least feel reasonable or understandable.

That gets into whole degrees about game design theory and war gaming theory and a bunch of other shit. Point being, clearly there's a problem with this game. It's been running just over four months and it still doesn't have a solid dice system. This is a problem I am going to rectify if it kills me.

I'm seeing people are leaning toward the "old system" as a lesser of two evils. I'll look into that as a possibility as well.

The only way I am going to find what works is by trying things, and I've gotten lots of good feedback from you guys.

I appreciate all the input (good and bad) and I am taking it to heart. Thanks for bearing with me, and especially thanks for believing in this game and sticking with it through the bullshit.


Discussion point: Dice, what do?
>Dude, you suck at math, just do GM Fiat
>You should work out a more granular system with harder stats, even if it makes battles take much longer
>The old system was better than this, just spruce that shit up
>Write in, I am a clever lad.

>>1800086
>The old system was better than this, just spruce that shit up

>>1800086
>The old system was better than this, just spruce that shit up

>>1800086
>The old system was better than this, just spruce that shit up

>>1800086
>The old system was better than this, just spruce that shit up
Add stats, but don't get anal about it. This isn't mecha.

>>1800086
Not the old system, it's takes way too many rolls and too many sessions. I prefer a system similar to this one but rolled against a secret DC that makes sense.

>>1800100
>>1800105
>>1800111
>>1800120
>>1800129


Thanks guys, and apologies for the short session today. I'll make it up to you soon, promise.

I'm gonna use this extra time for brain storming and planning.

Thanks for playing guys!

>>1800167
>Thanks for playing guys!
Thanks for running. But I'm not going to thank you for the new system.

>>1800167
Thanks for the run but Uh.. Fuck the pathfinder system

>>1800167
Thanks for the run TK.

>>1800189
Meh at least we got rid of Wei and now we can create our true dream team!!

>>1800178
>>1800189
Yeah, no arguments here. Times like this I wish I had a shitty, throw away quest to test this stuff on. Instead of trying the "Toss it in and see what happens" approach. I think next time I'll submit a system for peer review before hand lol

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>TK gets rid of the Pathfinder system
>Starts the next session with a Shadowrun system.
Post yfw.

>>1800223
>Tfw have to stat out ever fucking person
>tfw Shadow run decker mini-game

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>>1800223
>MFW when I use pathfinder

I must say, I am glad I got most of your poor bastards hooked so you can't leave, even if you wanted to.

>>1800236
>Shadowrun, not pathfinder. FFS

>>1800236
>you can't leave, even if you wanted to.
That logic has felled many a QM, TimeKiller.

And you don't have the tick-like tenacity or the creative bankruptcy of SOMNIUS>

>>1800248
>That logic has felled many a QM, TimeKiller.
I kid. I wouldn't do that.

Every time I do anything that isn't "A star wars happens
I say to myself: "This is it. This is how the Quest dies."

So . . . thanks for not proving me right yet? I shockingly want people to enjoy my quest to the maximum extent the law allows. I'm thinking about taking a short hiatus for extensive planning and organizing at some point. I could talk on and on about this shit, don't let me bore you.

>>1800268
>I'm thinking about taking a short hiatus
Also felled a few QMs. Sometimes it works though. But you need an organic stopping place.

>>1800272
Jesus Christ alive. Is there anything that does not kill quests?

Are you trying to scare me into running this quest forever?

>>1800268
Well if you do a hiatus then you can't test the new system

>>1800278
True. Okay, so no hiatus. Victory or death.

>>1800275
>Is there anything that does not kill quests?
No, quests are pretty frail things. Unless you sell your soul to make a popular quest, those are rarely any good.

>Are you trying to scare me into running this quest forever?
I'm not trying to do that, but that is one way to keep your quest alive. Just running it even if people despise you.

>>1800291
You can do a small brake to tune up the old system. Something like 2 or 3 weeks? But i would rather you don't do the hiatus.

>>1799811
>>Victory or death! For the Emperor!

please no hiatus just roll with the punches

>people roll high
>great system, QM!

>people roll low
>shit system, fag!

That's what it looked like.

There are consequences to retard decisions, like
>We will make a more serious effort to hurt them on our next feint

Of course you would get your shit wrecked going against double the amount of capitals AND escorts AND superior fighters irregardless of rolls. The bad roll only accentuated this bad call.


A new system with number crunching like in Bad Company would take considerable effort (and time). It had three talent trees, abilities, equipment, modifiers, dozens of characters. This quest (and I love it) was always different in scale compared to it. Is it worth introducing a complex system just for Alana?

I vote for having some kind of rolls with an amount of QM Fiat to account for poor decisions. 1d100's with modifiers worked fine the last time in my opinion.

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>>1800762
This guy gets it!
All the other Space Niggers don't.
If you go for the luck, you get the fuck!

Regarding my "hiatus" Did not mean to panic anyone. I meant taking like a week off tops. I think consensus is "Don't do that" so I won't.

As for system: I'm getting some murmurings do use best of 3 D100s with modifiers against a secret DC, similar to "last time" I think that could work, I just need to knuckle down on a few things like consequences for bad rolls.

Previously it was a bit too wishy washy.

>>1801266
i like the old system

In case it wasn't clear, the quest will continue Thursday at 7 EST (11UTC). Same time, same channel. By then, I will have some kind of system that is not this one.

likely a secret DC and D100 rolls. Fun! If I have something tomorrow, I might present a sample case for people to complain about critique.

>>1801266
>I meant taking like a week off tops
Oh, that's not so bad. If you think you need it to do that to come up with a stat system or something, that's fine.

>>1800762
>>1800960
The problem was that too much was happening as the result of a single series of rolls.

>>1801502
>The problem was that too much was happening as the result of a single series of rolls

This sums it pretty nicely. I'm toying with a way to use the old system and not have it drag on forever.

I prefer it when space combat is long and can take up a thread or even more. I liked the old system we used for fighting those xenos (the one with +5 imperial efficiency, -5 damaged ships, etc.)

>>1801593
Same

>>1801593
Takes waaayyy too long though.That one battle in a system takes like 4 sessions and 2 threads

I preferred it in the first two sessions when it basicly wasn't even based on dice, but TK just extrapolated logical outcomes from choices made. That's always better than retarded dice rolling.
With that said, I just caught up on the thread. What the fuck guys.

>>1801593
+1

>>1801684
That's only a problem because of the QM's schedule.

>>1801593
>>1801670
That's the system I'm working on expanding.

>>1801688
Now that takes me back! Mmm, delicious GM Fiat.

>>1801684
This was a problem for me, and I think the biggest reason why was I didn't have serious consequences for failed rolls. It was more of a "oops, try again which is dull and took forever. My goal is to have most combat resolve in maybe three to five posts, not three to five THREADS.

It DOES mean that bad things might happen fairly rapidly in the event of bad rolls. In a catastrophic roll, for you or by the enemy, you may lose an ISD

Test: Battle of Rendilli

The Rebel Fleet that screams out of hyperspace catches Lobkin and his Division commander Flesser completely unaware. Lobkin selected Rendilli as his posting because he expected a quiet area he could coordinate the rest of his forces from while conducting anti-smuggling operations.

Now, it was ground zero.

Facing him were three converted Imperial Star Destroyers supplemented by four Mon Cal Cruisers and a pair of Dreadnaughts in addition to all their many varied escorts and deadly fighter wings.

While Lobkin, unlike Alana, has a fully modern compliment of starfighters, Rebellion pilots still hold an edge over their Imperial counter parts, likewise he is outnumbered. Lobkin can count on the relentless efficiency of his forces to offset the Rebels pilot advantage, but ultimately, he is outnumbered 2 to 1.

A default DC is 50, a 50/50 chance of victory or defeat between two evenly matched forces. Now we bring in the modifiers. These will be expressed through flavor, but I think will be kept otherwise hidden from players to allow minute tweaking.

-5 Imperial Efficiency

+25 grossly outnumbered
+5 Rebel fighter aces
+5 Rebel tenacity

These odds look fairly steep.

To offset them, Lobkin needs to select a strategy that will maximize hs strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

>Attack Aggressively
>Conduct fighting Retreat
>Fight on even terms

Lobkin decides to conduct a fighting retreat which gives him -15 to his DC but caps the amount of damage he can do to the Rebel fleet in a phase to 20.


-5 Imperial Efficiency
-15 Fighting retreat

+25 grossly outnumbered
+5 Rebel fighter aces
+5 Rebel tenacity


DC: 65

Still fairly steep odds, but closer to even now. -The rebels manage to close to combat range and engage. For them, the DC is inverted, the positives become negative. This means their DC is the difference between 65 and 100.

DC: 35

Imperial Roll: 94 (Lobkin you mad bastard!)
Rebel Roll: 17 (Jesus Christ guys, really?)

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Lobkin easily exceeds his DC by a full 29 points! Normally exceeding a DC by 20 points is equivalent to a crippling blow on a capital ship, and by 30 is a killing strike, however, Lobkin's strategy limits his effectiveness. We'll half that and say a moderate amount of damage is spread across the first few ships that engage, a trio of Mon Cal Cruisers, bloodying their noses and giving them pause.

The rebel attack on the other hand is paltry and useless. Phase 1 is complete.

Phase 2

Lobkin decides to be a little less safe and fight the rebels on even terms, removing his damage cap, but also his DC bonus.

The rebel commander wants Lobkin destroyed quickly and decides to attack aggressively.

In an added bonus, Lobkin decides to draw the Rebels attention by concentrating bomber attacks on their makeshift bulk cruiser warships. He knows with those ships crippled, resources will be dedicated to protecting and recovering them

This clever idea will net Lobkin a bonus. The rebels have also lost just a bit of their bonus from losses suffered


-5 Imperial Efficiency
-5 Strike weak ships

+22 grossly outnumbered
+5 Rebel fighter aces
+5 Rebel tenacity
+15 Aggressive attack

Imperial DC: 87
Rebel DC: 13


Imperial Roll: 9 (f)
Rebel Roll: 61

Lobkin utterly fails in his attempts to hurt the rebels, and conversely, the Rebels exceed their DC by almost 50 points. Lobkin's destroyers suddenly discover that bigger =/= better as rebel fighter-bombers swarm them, a squadron of K-Wings tearing through one of his destroyers hull armor, its shielding having already been sapped by concentrated fire.

Ka-boom.

Lobkin's numbers plummet as an entire quarter of his fire power is lost, conversely, the rebels lose little. A failed DC does not mean there are no losses incurred, but it does mean that the losses aren't significant. A squadron of fighters here, a frigate there, some shield strength and hull plating.

Phase 3

Things are looking dire, Lobkin decides his first strategy was best, and he may just take advantage of this Rebel aggression. He also decides to use his tractor beams to move the burning wreck of the Imperial Star Destroyer [i]Undestroyable[/i] into the path of the oncoming rebels, giving his flagship a bit of cover.


-5 Imperial Efficiency
-15 fighting retreat
-5 Makeshift cover

+30 grossly outnumbered
+5 Rebel fighter aces
+5 Rebel tenacity
+15 Aggressive attack

Imperial DC: 70
Rebel DC: 30


Slightly better odds, but not great. If only he can hold on until Stoble arrives! Surely someone knows his predicament.

Imperial Roll: 77
Rebel Roll: 90 (Remember Alderann!)


The Imperials make their DC. Barely. A few well-delivered broadsides on passing enemy escorts, a Rebel Y-wing wing caught in a crossfire and annihilated.

Then the hammer drops. Beating their DC by a whopping 60 points, the Rebels, also conducting an aggressive attack, dish out MASSIVE DAMAGE. Two more Destroyers [i]Invincible[/i] and [i]Irony[/i] are stricken, shields failing, fireballs billowing out from holes in their armor, a meager handful of picket ships try to fend off the oncoming rebel capital ships with no luck.

Lobkin's force, is down to one vessel. By this point, simply through attrition, he has managed to wear out two Mon Cal cruisers, which withdraw rather than take further punishment. Two cruisers heavily damaged is not worth the loss of three of his own ships, but it seems all Lobkin can managed.

With death and carnage around him on the bridge of [i]Serpentine[/i] he decides not just to withdraw, but to order a complete retreat, anything to save himself and what's left of his command. Too bad he has to roll for it.

Unfortunately for him, a Rebel Interdictor has brought its gravity well online, preventing easy escape. Lobkin doesn't blink. Two squadrons of Tie Avengers and one of Scimitars should be enough to take it out, of course, he'll leave [i]Invincible[/i]'s wreck undefended and those fighters will likely be totally wiped out, but the bulk of his force will escape.


-5 Imperial Efficiency
-15 Desperate fighter attack
-10 General confusion
-10 disorderly retreat

+10 Losing badly
+20 grossly outnumbered
+5 Rebel fighter superiority

Imperial DC: 45

Not bad. And how's he roll?

Imperial Roll: 82

Well done. It costs Lobkin some of his best fighters, but [i]Serpentine[/i] and her escorts managed to flee into the safety of Hyperspace. 3/4 of his force annihilated in exchange for less than 1/4 of the enemy. It's a tough pill to swallow, but he vows: "Rendilli, I will return."

The battle for Rendilli takes just about 3-4 posts. More including the pre-battle planning, but can easily be contained within a single session, or at worst split over two.

Were Stoble's forces to arrive in time to help, the battle might have lasted 2-3 more posts.

***

Clearly, this battle didn't go well.

No one wants this to happen to their force, but it is a very real possibility in combat. My question is: Is this a system you could live with, and maybe even enjoy? Does it seem reasonable and understandable? What suggestions do you have? What works, what doesn't work?

>>1801890
>Is this a system you could live with, and maybe even enjoy?
Yes

>Does it seem reasonable and understandable?
Yes

>What suggestions do you have?

What i liked about the old dc is that anons were more carefull whe the master showed the dc or showed off the advantages one would have.

What works, what doesn't work?
iThink it's fine.

I like this system.

>>1801882
Like the test, like the system!

>>1801923
>>1801954
>>1801958

Thanks for the feedback, guys! Another question: visible modifiers. Y/N

>>1802286
>N
No, I feel like it really shrouds the mystery and makes us actually plot out our actions

>>1802286
Yes and no, display the modifiers, but not their values.

>>1802286
>Y

>>1802303
Supporting

>>1802286
Y

>>1802303
Thirding this

>>1801890
I like it. Is this how the events at Rendilli had actually occurred?

>>1802286
N

>>1802303
Agreed

>>1802303
Supporting this.

>>1802303
This seems by far the most popular option. I'll implement it next combat session.

Something like:

-Being a total babe
-Lotsa cool Ties

+Rebels always win in the end

>>1803196
Since everyone seems satisfied with the system, yes, this is what happened at Rendilli. It's canonical except for the goofy ship names.

The reports from your forces at Corellia and Rendilli were . . . disappointing. Between both engagements, four Star Destroyers had been lost in total, another severely damaged, not counting the numerous smaller ships destroyed in the fray. Admiral Lobkin himself had barely escaped from Rendilli, his forces withdrawing and regrouping at Rehemsa.

Intelligence estimates were still being compiled, but it appeared that a grand total of twenty Rebel capital ships had fought, a reinforced fleet against Lobkin's distributed forces. There had been no warning, and no adequate reserves to call on. The only saving grace of this situation was your crushing victories on the Inner Rim, driving the Rebellion back.

You'd made it a point, after the Rebel withdrawal from the Inner Rim, to tour many of the worlds, newly returned to your grip. You had, however, also made a special point to visit the Graveyard, what had once been Alderann, now a massive, lazily rotating disc of debris.

You'd been in orbit, meditating when the news of Corellia and Rendilli came in. It wasn't long after that that you'd received word that the force commander, Admiral Lobkin, was requesting audience with you. Unusual, but not totally unheard of. Ultimately, you had decided to allow it, figuring it would be entertaining to hear his version of events if nothing else.

(1/2)

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Standing with the bleak vista of Alderann's destruction behind you, you accepted the transmission, the full-size holopad resolving the kneeling form of Admiral Lobkin, head bowed. A far cry from the cocky, self-assured man who had handed you the life of his former leader, Admiral Reddrin.

"Your Highness," he begins at once, "Permit me to apologize for my failure at Rendilli and Corellia. I offer no excuses."

"Excuses won't save your life, Admiral," you say, "and neither will apologies if you have nothing else to offer." You hadn't made up your mind if you would kill him as an example or not, but there was no reason Lobkin needed to know that.

The Admiral risked a nervous glance up at you. "I do have more to offer," he says with fearful determination, "I have been defeated, but I am not beaten. I think I can take a step toward undoing the damage done so far."

"Damage like this cannot be undone," you say coolly, "Only mitigated. What do you propose?"

"I've taken the liberty of monitoring Rebel activity at Rendilli," Lobkin continues "And it seems they're not intending to stay. In fact, it looks as if they are planning on stealing many of the incomplete hulks in the shipyards there. I suspect that they are taking them to rendezvous at Corellia."

Your silence invites him to continue.
"Our scouts have identified a very limited number of hyperspace routes between those two worlds. If we could lay an ambush for them with my fleet, we stand a good chance to destroy the forces that took Rendilli, retake the world, and leave Coruscant that much more undefended."
>Very well, you have my blessing. Do not fail me again, Admiral.
>An excellent plan. Your replacement will carry it out well. (Options for replacing Lobkin)
>Stacking failure atop failure won't fix this situation. My ships are not toys for you to squander, we will handle this my way

>>1804511
>An excellent plan. Your replacement will carry it out well. (Options for replacing Lobkin)
I will be taking personal command of the fleet you will advice me to the best of your abilites

>>1804523
supporting

>>1804523
Yes. This sounds good.
>This is your chance to redeem yourself admiral.

>>1804511
backing this >>1804523

However get replacements lined up for us.

>>1804511

Backing
>>1804523

>I will be taking personal command of the fleet you will advise me to the best of your abilities

>writing

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The defeat at Corellia had been humbling enough for you, but now, with word that the Emperor himself would be taking command of the counter attack. Your mouth was dry, stomach turning at the thought. Certainly Lobkin would be held directly responsible for any failure, but it seemed now that Corellia was the real target of the Rebel offensive. And it had been you who failed to stop it.

Your division, if it could still be called that, had been reduced to a mere two Star Destroyers. Retribution and Monarch, which herself was badly damaged, many parts of her hull totally sealed off and evacuated. Captain Wei was missing, presumed dead, few, if any, had been recovered from Despot as she went down.

Captain Sobieski was alive, but wounded, according to rumor, he had abandoned ship in the first batch. An allegation you would pursue later. For now, you had larger concerns.

You'd reviewed Lobkin's basic plan, and it was sound. It seemed the Rebels knew they could not hold Rendilli and Corellia together, and so were attempting to abscond with whatever could fly from the starship yards. Intending it to be fresh fodder for their war machine.

There were very few paths between Rendilli and Corellia, the best, required a stopover in the Rock Crab Nebulae, a twisting hyperspace maze beset with navigational and sensor obstacles. An Imperial force, backed with Immobilizer cruisers would lie in wait and rip the Rebels from hyperspace where the plan was to make short work of them. Half of Lobkin's force holding them in place while a second force jumped in behind the rebels, trapping them.

Certainly there was some risk in the short-range Hyperspace jump that had to be made, that you were going to have to make. But now, the biggest concern you had by far was the selected commander of this second force. Reading the name on the terminal made you shudder.

Alana Tyrna.

With this distribution of forces, not only had Lobkin put you in charge of the pitiful remnants of your division, but those of Commander Stoble as well, ostensibly the senior officer of the Fleet. A grievous insult.

If that weren't bad enough, being commander of the second wing of Lobkin's attack also put you just below the Emperor himself in this chain of command. A failure here could do more than just set back your career. It might end it. And in a much more permanent way than you would like.

Of course, you had options, you could turn down Lobkin's assignment, make up any reason you wanted. Doing so would avoid Stoble's ire, and keep you from that potentially-lethal spotlight of the Emperor's attention.

>Accept command
>Politely recommend Stoble

>>1804613
>Accept command

>>1804613
>>Accept command
There's no way Alana wouldn't accept her duty.

>>1804613
>Accept Command.

Our career isn't as important as the Empire's success, and we know that Stoble lacks the imagination to adapt to a chaotic ambush. We're the Empire's best chance for this to work.

>>1804613
>>Accept command
We serve for the empire, not for glory.

Also, is Tierce alright?

>>1804613
>Accept command

Come on Alana if our career would be over if we fail all you need to do is just not fail. Grow some courage woman.

>>1804613
>Accept command

>>1804631
This

Hows tierce?

>>1804631
>>1804646
>Tierce

Tierce is unharmed. You've had no chance to talk with him outside of official channels, but you can pickup barely checked frustation, and a degree of shame.

Cousin Denvis liberated Corellia. Roth Tierce lost it.

>>1804639
Courage? Being courageous about the Emperor's presence is Treason.

Important to recall that Alana is a "true believer" and part of the growing "Cult of the Emperor". he is a step away from being divine in her eyes.

>>1804657
>Tierce is unharmed.
P H E W
H
E
W

>Accept command

>Glory awaits

>Writing

>>1804657
More the reason to not fail the emperor. And i meant to not be afraid to put herself to protect and figth for him.

Alrigth boys now it's sink or swim if we fail there is no gp bacl so bring in your heads to the game.

You steeled your nerves. There was only one choice. If not you, who. Stoble? Hardly. He was a relic of a dying age. The same, tired, unimaginative bureaucratic lackey that nearly lost this war. Besides, to give up now would be tantamount to giving up command in general.

You Emperor needed you, and you would not fail him. You weren't sure what the consequences would be to your career long term, but you knew the Empire was more important than that.

Accepting the command put you in command of the largest force you'd ever wielded. Six Star Destroyers and their associated escorts. A division and a half of fire power. You could subjugate a major system with a force like this. Only a few months prior, this constituted a fleet in the Dark Empire, before the Emperor's rebirth.

The assembly at Rehemsa had begun as pathetic, battered, bleeding and limping Star Destroyers arriving haphazardly in orbit of the Agriworld, but with the arrival of the black specter of death that was Tarkin it had taken an air of something else. You wondered how many farmboys down on Rehemsa were watching this gathering with Macro binoculars and dreaming of a brighter future.

The last time you'd seen Tarkin was also the last time you'd been under the Emperor's direct command. Coruscant.

Thinking of that sudden, deadly electrical storm that ripped apart Harssk's forces made you shiver. That moment, seeing that raw destructive power conjured form nothingness, and realizing at that moment that it was in the hands of one man, changed your life. It was then you believe the Emperor's claims, and then you realized the galaxy needed, and could accept no other.

Your division, Stoble's forces included, had its orders. Coordinates to take up within the Rock Crab Nebula, visible now as a hazy smudge on an otherwise crisps starfield. Next came deployment and waiting for Lobkin's signal to jump to his beacon. And then the fighting.

Is there anything else you need to do before getting underway?

>>1804702
should be some choices:

>Yes (write in)
>No

>>1804706
>No
We believe in the Emperor. We know we would not lose under his command.

>>1804702
>Yes (write in)
We should take a quick trip down to each of our Star Destroyers to just slightly pep up morale

>>1804706
>Yes (write in)

Check our figthers
Our remaining forces and everything else is our TIE Ad MIA?

Work into something to load our bombers with ion torpedos if we can and some mines to.

>>1804713
>Each
Does that include Stoble's?

>>1804714
>Fighters
Your fighter compliment is . . . adequate. You have SOME Tie /Ads and some Shadow Droids, but primarily Tie /Lns. You replenished a lot of lost fighters with orphaned fighters recovered from Despot and Winterborn

>Bombers
Ordinance, you have plenty of. Those can be arranged.

>>1804722
Yeah, as they are under our command.

>>1804722
Can the Ln carry torpedoes or missiles? Ordinary ones?

Then load up a load of ordinance missiles

>>1804730
Can do.

>>1804735
Negative. Tie /Ln is a basic bitch

>>1804722
>Does that include Stoble's?

You can bet you tight cute ass that it does.

>>1804737
Alrigth just replace a squafron of regular TIE's for bombers.

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>>1804738

>Writing

A tour of forces had already been conducted in the downtime while you waited for the arrival of the Emperor. The mood on Retribution fit its name. The line officers, pilots, and crew you met with expressed a sense of unfairness. They had been cheated from their victory. The unsaid words you saw in their eyes were also in the back of your mind.

It would not happen again.

Monarch's crew was more in the air. They answered your questions correctly and quickly, expressed and eagerness for combat and made no complaints, but you saw something else in their eyes.

Doubt.

Perhaps they were beginning to doubt that the Empire's miraculous recovery was anything but a fluke. That the overwhelming tide of Rebels would swamp them. That the unyielding chaos would tear the order of the Empire to shreds.

Tierce, you knew, did not share their convictions. But he was a fresh captain, in many ways Monarch was his first real independent command. Splinter had been his ship before you'd met him, and to a degree was simply filling the gap you left. You could imagine the doubt and uncertainty he felt now.

You felt you might talk to him, say something in private that may boost his own morale, but you also worried it might undermine his independence if it was seen too much like you coddling a friend.

>Speak with Tierce in private
>Tierce can handle this

>>1804774
>>Speak with Tierce in private
No one was here to help us, so we have to be here for him. Besides, we can just pass it off as a short meeting face to face

>>1804774
>Tierce can handle this

>>1804774
>Tierce can handle this
Let him be a man

>>1804774
>>1804793
Changing my vote to

Support this

>>1804792

>Speak with Tierce in private

>Writing

You went through the rigors of independent command almost completely alone, you knew how much it would have helped you to have a word of encouragement.

A private meeting was easy enough to arrange. A few moments in the turbolift between decks.

"Roth," you say, "Be honest with me. How are you holding up?"

Tierce stiffens for a moment before relaxing. "I'm a wreck," he says. "My first command off Splinter, my first battle, and this happens. They're not gonna trust me with anything bigger than a patrol frigate."

You can't help but snort, "Oh? And what do you think they'll do to the one in charge of this mess?"

Tierce starts, surprised. "Alana, I didn't-"

"No, it's alright," you say. "My points, Roth, is that you won't be blamed for this. You followed orders and conducted yourself well."

Tierce shrugs, "If you say so."

"I didn't tap you as my replacement captain because you were my friend" you say with a chuckle. "I chose you because I know how you operate, and I believe in your command ability."

A smile flickers on Tierce's lips, "I wish I could see what you see," he says.

"You'll do well," you say. "Those Rebels will pay, and Corellia will be back once again."

He nods, clearly struggling to believe it himself. "As you say, Ma'am. Alana."

The Turbolift comes to a halt and the doors whoosh open, Monarch[/]'s hangar beyond. "Thank you, Captain."

"Ma'am."

(1/2)

Your review of Stoble's ships has a different character altogether. They hadn't been directly involved in the debacles at Rendilli or Corellia and so had none of their morale shattered. You expected resentment and displeasure, like you'd faced when you first took command of Splinter.

There had been some of that, but mostly, you'd encountered restrained awe. Veiled smiles and eager expressions. You were the Bloody Baroness. To some extent, you were a symbol you supposed. The New Order of things. Stoble and men like him were the old guard. You were change.

A young officer, a young female officer with a reputation for determination and bloody mindedness was quite a shake up from the sale upper crust of the old Imperial Navy.

In any case, they seemed pleased, or at least amused to serve under you.

All in all, your men were in fighting shape, and eager for the coming battle. Eager for a chance for retribution.

***

You often feel like the anticipation of combat is worse than combat itself. At least with the lasers and torpedoes flying you could do something. Here, parked in the cloudy expanse of the Rock Crab Nebula, you had nothing to do but wait and worry.

Retribution's bridge was lit by the soft, green-gray glow of the nebula around it, behind it, five other star destroyers were arrayed in attack formation. Ahead of you, impossibly far away save for the invention of the Hyperdrive was Lobkin's interdiction fleet, the Emperor and his personal flagship among them. It was hard to say how long it would take before the rebels passed through this region, if that was their plan, but you found it difficult, even impossible, to surrender bridge command to Bastra for any longer than you absolutely needed to rest and eat.

Your diligence paid off.

"We have a signal, ma'am," Communication confirms, snapping you from your thoughts. "Transmission is partially garbled by the nebula, but it matches Admiral Lobkin's go-code."

You looked up to the bridge viewport again, as if you could see the battlefield again. All that remained now was the jump.

"Start the countdown, all ships jump in sixty seconds, slaved off our nav computer" you say.

***

It's time for the jump. The more accurate the jump, the more effective your attack. You can't "Fail" to jump, but you can fail to arrive in optimum positioning

Roll 1D100. I'll take best of three.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>1804921

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>1804921
Rolling to avoid letting the emperor down

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>1804921

40, 52, 33

>52

>Writing

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>1804921

Making a map, stand by

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The sudden jolt as your ship fell from hyperspace barely shook you, you weren't even drawn in by the scene of carnage ahead of you.

"Ship status?" you asked.

"Nominal, ma'am," Sensors says.

"All ships reporting in now," Communications adds.

"All six capital ships have arrived as per schedule."

It was a satisfactory deployment, hardly optimal, but you were glad you'd all arrived reasonably close to the enemy.

The enemy.

You scanned the sensor scopes and took stock. It was the rebel fleet that struck Rendilli in its entirety, eight capital ships all told, mostly Mon Cal Cruisers. This force was aft-on to you, you'd fallen in directly behind them as per plan. Most of what you saw was lit sublight drives of varying configurations. No, what surprised you was the gaggle of ships clustered closest to you, at the rear of the rebel formation. Your sensors quickly identified them as Imperial ships, but it almost looked like you were looking at a war museum.

Four Imperial Refit Dreadnaught Heavy Cruisers. Nebulon-B frigates, some light corvettes, customs frigates and heavy freighters. There was even an incomplete Victory-Class star destroyer hulk, barely mobile, among them.

The ill-gotten spoils of the Rendilli shipyards, you realized.

"What's the status of those ships?" you tapped the sensor readout nearest you.

Sensors blinked, "Uh." She keyed a few commands, "They appear minimally combat effective ma'am. I'm reading enough life signs to make a skeleton crew.

Easy pickings.

You knew with a skeleton crew they would be extremely ineffective in combat, you could likely quite easily burn them out of the sky, especially the incomplete Victory-Class. They were also a tempting target for boarding, you wouldn't have the manpower to crew them either, but you might take them back, at least the Dreadnaughts and the star destroyer.

Hell, if you wanted you could fire up the tractor beams and make it a point to reclaim all those vessels. It would be difficult to fight the actual rebel forces while you were repossessing them, but it would offset the rebels obvious intention of ultimately boosting their own warship numbers.

Of course, treating them separately from the rest of the rebel fleet would detract from your efforts against the rebels, it may be easier to simply destroy them, or even ignore them.

>Launch boarding parties for the Dreadnaughts and the Victory
>Those ships belong to the Empire (Make an effort to reclaim all of them)
>Exterminate them before they escape (Fire on the captured ships)
>No time to worry about them, we'll have to hope they don't escape.

>>1805043
>Those ships belong to the Empire (Make an effort to reclaim all of them)

>>1805043
>Launch boarding parties for the Dreadnaughts and the Victory