Age of Iridium Summary - Tsarist Mission Briefing - 4/6

This is the briefing given to the Tsarist players.

AGE OF IRIDIUM - Tsarist Empire Mission Briefing
copyright 1996 by Allan Goodall

Last Engagement

The Imperial Tsarist Navy enjoyed a considerable technological advantage
during it's previous skirmish with the Nipponese Shogunate Navy, losing
only
a single aging battleship. This was due mostly to the Tsarists' use of
Level
1 deflector screens on board the capital ships. The Nipponese ships did
not
have screen technology, although they did have a numerical superiority
in
secondary weapons. This advantage in C batteries took its toll,
destroying
the old Tsarist battleship after it blundered too close to the Nipponese
fleet.

Technological Advancements

Between the engagements, the Tsarist navy has succeeded in developing
Level
2 screens. These have been mounted in the capital ships, while the
cruisers
now have Level 1 screens. The exception is the Volga Class minesweeping
cruiser, which has Level 2 screens.

Since the Tsarist ships are weakest at close range, they have been
bolstered
by the addition of single-use submunition packs. They should give the
Nipponese a surprise if they drop into close range.

The Nipponese capital ships were faster than the Tsarist capital ships
during their first engagement. This situation is expected to be true in
this
engagement.

Intelligence Briefing

The Nipponese may have captured part of the screen system from the
destroyed
battleship. Some key components were missing after a Nipponese boarding
party raided the hulk. Imperial Intelligence believes it unlikely that
the
Nipponese would be able to reverse engineer the parts into a working
screen
system.

Tactical Briefing

The Tsarist ships, with their screen systems and slower capital ship
speed,
usually prefer a "stand off" engagement where they hang back and pick
off
advancing opponents. However, in this case the Tsarists are on the
offensive. If they hang back, they run the risk of being pinned down
beside
the jump point. If they move forward, they run the risk of hitting
mines.
This is partially alleviated by the inclusion of fleet minesweeping
cruisers
and an expected superiority in numbers. The battle is expected to be
viscious.

GAME INFORMATION

Ship Designs and Assignments

The following is a list of the ships used in the scenario and the
players
that control them.

Class Name:	Tsarist - Borodino Class Battleship
Point Cost:	412
Ship Class:	Capital (Military)
Mass:		48/24
Thrust: 	3
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	2 A Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	2 A Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Rear, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Rear, Starboard)
	
Other Weapons:	2 Submunition Packs
	
Fire Control:	3 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	2 Screen Generator Levels
	3 Damage Control Parties
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	6 / 6 / 6 / 6

Class Name:	Tsarist - Kursk Class Battleship
Point Cost:	412
Ship Class:	Capital (Military)
Mass:		48/24
Thrust: 	3
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	2 A Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	2 A Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 1 firing arc (Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 1 firing arc (Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	
Other Weapons:	2 Submunition Packs
	
Fire Control:	3 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	2 Screen Generator Levels
	3 Damage Control Parties
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	6 / 6 / 6 / 6

Class Name:	Tsarist - Volga Class Minesweeper
Point Cost:	210
Ship Class:	Cruiser (Military)
Mass:		26/13
Thrust: 	4
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	
Fire Control:	2 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	2 Screen Generator Levels
	2 Damage Control Parties
	
Other Systems	
	1 Minesweeper
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	4 / 4 / 5

Class Name:	Tsarist - Novik Class Cruiser
Point Cost:	240
Ship Class:	Cruiser (Military)
Mass:		32/16
Thrust: 	4
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	2 B Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	2 B Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	
Other Weapons:	2 Submunition Packs
	
Fire Control:	2 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	1 Screen Generator Level
	2 Damage Control Parties
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	5 / 5 / 6

Class Name:	Tsarist - Pallada Class Cruiser
Point Cost:	195
Ship Class:	Cruiser (Military)
Mass:		26/13
Thrust: 	4
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	1 B Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	1 B Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Rear, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Rear, Starboard)
		
Other Weapons:	2 Submunition Packs
	
Fire Control:	2 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	1 Screen Generator Level
	2 Damage Control Parties
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	4 / 4 / 5

Class Name:	Tsarist - Aurora Class Cruiser
Point Cost:	169
Ship Class:	Cruiser (Military)
Mass:		22/11
Thrust: 	4
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	1 B Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	1 B Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 2 firing arcs (Forward, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	
Other Weapons:	1 Submunition Pack
	
Fire Control:	2 Fire Control Systems
	
Defensive Systems	
	1 Screen Generator Level
	2 Damage Control Parties
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	3 / 4 / 4

Class Name:	Tsarist - Boiki Class Destroyer
Point Cost:	97
Ship Class:	Escort (Military)
Mass:		14/7
Thrust: 	6
		FTL Drive Equipped
	
Weapons 
Beams:	2 C Beam batteries with 3 firing arcs (Forward, Port, Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 1 firing arc (Port)
	1 C Beam battery with 1 firing arc (Starboard)
	1 C Beam battery with 3 firing arcs (Rear, Port, Starboard)
	
Other Weapons:	2 Submunition Packs
	
Fire Control:	1 Fire Control System
	
Defensive Systems	
	1 Damage Control Party
	
Damage Points per Threshold Level	
	3 / 4

Ship Assignments:

Ludo Toen:	Borodino (Borodino Class Battleship)
		Osliabia (Borodino Class Battleship)
		Khalkin Gol (Kursk Class Battleship)

Robin Paul:	Sevastopol (Borodino Class Battleship)
		Kursk (Kursk Class Battleship)

Robert Montgomery: Imperator Alexander VII (Borodino Class Battleship)
		Orel (Kursk Class Battleship)

David Brewer:	Volga (Volga Class Minesweeping Cruiser)
		Dneiper (Volga Class Minesweeping Cruiser)
		Oleg (Novik Class Cruiser)
		Pallada (Pallada Class Cruiser)
		Almaz (Aurora Class Cruiser)
		Donskoy (Aurora Class Cruiser)

Jon Davis:	Don (Volga Class Minesweeping Cruiser)
		Lena (Volga Class Minesweeping Cruiser)
		Novik (Novik Class Cruiser)
		Ushakov (Pallada Class Cruiser)
		Aurora (Aurora Class Cruiser)
		Svetlana (Aurora Class Cruiser)

Scott Field:	Boiki
		Boyevoy
		Burny
		Bespokoiny
		Bystry
		Gremyashchy
		Nastoychivy
		Okrylenny 
		(all 8 are Boiki Class Destroyers)

Tom McCarthy:	Osmotritelny
		Otchayanny
		Otlichnny
		Sobrazitelny
		Rastoropny
		Sovremenny
		Stoyky
		Vazhny
		(all 8 are Boiki Class Destroyers)

Allan Goodall:	agoodall@sympatico.ca 
"You'll want to hear about my new obsession.
 I'm riding high upon a deep depression. 
 I'm only happy when it rains."    - Garbage