Re: Kravak Scenario idea

This was a scenario I ran at last GenCon. You couls easily change the
forces and/or scale it down for a smaller group.

Affairs of State

	Contre-Amiral Alexis Bauer watched the icons of the NSL fleet
creep
along on the far side of the planet. He frowned as he studied the
positions; it would be a difficult fight given the parity of the forces.
The ship's computer spoke softly, "New contacts bearing 295 tack +05."
His
spine stiffened against the command chair's shock harness as the
computer
re-scaled the holographic display, adding in over a dozen new icons.
There
was a general intake of breath audible across the bridge as they all
recognized the vivid purple of Kra'Vak ships. "So," he mused quietly,
"we
may not fight the Swabians today after all." And then more loudly, "M.
Vitelle, plot a new course. I suspect we'll be hearing from Vice-Amiral
Raoux shortly concerning a slight change of battle-plan."

Players: 4-10
Table: 6' by 8'

Situation: In late 2193, the Kra'Vak menace was no longer as potent a
unifying force for the nations of the 3rd Solar War. The NSL and FSE
once
again began to eye each other's borders with a view to expansion. A task
force from the NSL's Zweite Raumsflotte (2nd Fleet), under Admiral
Hendrik
Braun, attacked the FSE border world of Fortezza, defended by elements
of
the Bataillegroupes Athena and Cerberus, under the overall command of
Vice-Amiral Luiz Raoux. Just as the two fleets moved to a definitive
engagement near the planet, a large Kra'Vak force appeared on long range
sensors, forcing an uneasy and temporary alliance.

Player Breakdown: 1-3 NSL, 1-3 FSE, 2-4 K'V (Ran'Tek and Bar'Get Clans)

Set-up: NSL, FSE, Ran'Tek, and Bar'Get forces set up in their designated
zones.

Initial Velocity: NSL and FSE fleets may start with a velocity up to the
Thrust Rating of their slowest ship. Kra'Vak ships may start with a
velocity up to twice the Thrust Rating of their slowest ship.

Rules for Planets and Moons:
Any ship beginning its movement within Fortezza's gravity well will be
moved directly towards the planet's center before it executes its
movement
orders for the turn, 1 inch if within the 24 inch diameter gravity zone
or
2 inches if within the 12 inch diameter gravity zone.
The moons will not orbit appreciably over the course of the scenario.
They
are considered stationary.
Any ship whose movement path intersects with the planet or either moon
is
destroyed.
Ships may "hide" behind the planet or its moons. If the line from the
center of one base to another intersects any portion of a planet or
moon,
they may only exchange fire if both players agree to do so.
The gravity well of the planet makes transition to FTL drive impossible
for
any ship on the table.

Rules for Withdrawal:
When a force reaches 50% casualties, it must retire from the field.
Ships
must turn with all available thrust points, making best possible speed
to
the table edge along their entry area. The judge (or player consensus)
must
approve all movement orders to ensure that the spirit of this rule is
followed. Ships may still fire weapons as they retreat.
Each force, as listed below, is considered a separate entity for
purposes
of this rule, regardless of how many players actually control a given
nation's fleet.

Forces:
Kampfgruppe 21 Zweite Raumsflotte, under Kommodore Heinrich Wegner:
MARIA VON BURGUND BB (414)
KRONPRINZ WILHELM CL (161)
WALDBERG DD (100)
WALDBERG DD (100)
(775 total)
Kampfgruppe 34 Zweite Raumsflotte, under Kapitan Bertrand Voors:
MARKGRAF CH (271)
MARKGRAF CH (271)
RADETZKY CE (195)
STROSCHEN CT (47)
(784 total)
Kampfgruppe 17 Zweite Raumsflotte, under Admiral Hendrik Braun:
SZENT ISTVAN BDN (500), 1 HVY FG (30)
WALDBERG/M DDM (101)
WALDBERG/M DDM (101)
STROSCHEN CT (47)
(779 total)
[NSL Total = 2383]
Escadre 11 Bataillegroupe Athena, under Contre-Amiral Rafael Palma:
BOLOGNA CVL (580), 2 STD FG (36), 2 ATTK FG (48)
SAN MIGUEL DD (112)
(776 total)
Escadre 03 Bataillegroupe Athena, under Vice-Amiral Luiz Raoux:
ROMA BB (377)
JEREZ CH (293)
IBIZA FF (61)
ATHENA CT (48)
(779 total)
Escadre 13 Bataillegroupe Cerberus, under Contre-Amiral Alexis Bauer:
TOLEDO CHB* (293)
FIRENZE CEB* (206)
DE CORCOVA CLB* (181)
SAN MIGUEL DD (112)
(792 total)
* Historically the ships of Bataillegroupe Cerberus replaced their SML
arrays with an equal mass of beam batteries (point costs are the same).
For
those who wish to accurately represent this, see the notes on the listed
classes below. Otherwise, simply use the standard ship for the class.
[FSE Total = 2347]
[Human Total = 4730]
Ran'Tek Clan Force 1, under Ran'ise'Dor
KO'VOL BB (657)
VA'DOK CH (448)
KA'TAK CT (87)
(1192 total)
Ran'Tek Clan Force 2, under Ran'ari'Vod
VA'DOK CH (448)
VO'BOK CL (314)
VO'BOK CL (314)
KA'TAK CT (87)
(1163 total)
[Ran'Tek Total = 2355]
Bar'Get Clan Force 1, under Bar'oka'Kar
LO'VOK BDN (804), 1 HVY FG (30)
DI'TOK DD (185)
DA'KAK FF (156)
(1175 total)
Bar'Get Clan Force 2, under Bar'ove'Ser
SI'TEK CE (365)
SI'TEK CE (365)
DA'KAK FF (156)
DA'KAK FF (156)
DA'KAK FF (156)
(1198 total)
[Bar'Get Total = 2373]
[K'V Total = 4728]

Victory Conditions: This scenario uses a two tiered system to determine
the
victor. The first tier is race, and the second is nationality.
1st Tier: Humans lose if all their forces are forced to retire by the
Kra'Vak. Likewise the Kra'Vak loose if all their forces are forces to
retire by the humans.
2nd Tier: At the moment that the last force of the opposing race
qualifies
for withdrawal, the player of the victorious race with most ships in the
planet's gravity field is the victor. If more than one player has the
same
number of ships, the one with the smallest sum of the combined distances
is
the victor.

Historical Outcome: The FSE fleet took the brunt of the Kra'Vak assault,
absorbing a tremendous volume of fire in initial contact. Vice-Amiral
Raoux
expertly directed SML fire, causing the Kra'Vak to expend a large number
of
Scattergun charges for defense. He could not, however, deflect the
magnitude of incoming Railgun fire, and when his flagship, the VFE
Athinai,
was destroyed, it broke the back of the FSE fleet. Soon two-thirds of
his
forces were limping away from the battle, owing to heavy damage. Only
the
detachment from Bataillegroupe Cerberus, under Contre-Amiral Bauer,
remained.
The NSL fleet fared better. The Kra'Vak seemed loathe to close the range
with the Swabians, and Admiral Braun took full advantage of the longer
range of his heavy beam batteries, raking them from outside effective
Railgun range. They did not come out unscathed; the heavy cruiser, KRS
Erzherzog, took railgun hits to both its bridge and engineering
sections,
reducing it to a drifting hulk, and many lighter ships were shattered
under
withering fire. Only when it became clear the FSE might be completely
driven from the field did Braun render any assistance to his beleaguered
"allies."
The lack of any coordinated defense by the NSL and FSE left the enemy
capital ships relatively undamaged in the latter stages of the battle, a
mistake that would almost be their undoing. Contre-Amiral Bauer's
detachment had made it through the Kra'Vak battle-line and was moving
around the far side of the planet to reengage. In the meantime, the full
force of both Kra'Vak clans concentrated on the slower NSL fleet, this
time
quickly closing the range to where the Railguns would be far more
lethal.
Now it was the NSL taking the brunt of the Kra'Vak fire. Admiral Braun
coordinated his batteries well, even under fire, dealing severe blows to
the Kra'Vak capital ships. Having expended virtually all of their
Scattergun charges, the Kra'Vak ships were now vulnerable to the NSL
missile destroyers, KRS Kaunitz and KRS Oettingen. The SML volley caused
part of the Kra'Vak forces to start their withdrawal as they saw one of
their capitol ships destroyed. The combined firepower of the remainder
of
the NSL fleet, still under the direction of Admiral Braun aboard the
battle-dreadnought KRS Prinz Eugen, and Bataillegroupe Cerberus, now
reentering the fight after circling Fortezza, started a general Kra'Vak
retreat.
Though the NSL ships remaining were numerically superior, Admiral Braun
decided on withdrawal to inform his command of the impending alien
threat.
The battle was generally considered an NSL victory, though none of the
NSL's initial objectives, namely taking Fortezza or at least reducing
its
defenses for a future assault, were met.

Bataillegroupe Cerberus:
The sixth of eight battle groups that make up the FSE's Colonial Fleet,
Bataillegroupe Cerberus is tasked with patrolling the borders of the
"French arm." This primarily involves pickets along the NSL and NAC
borders, though larger patrols circulate throughout the frontier.
Cerberus
ships are also frequently tasked with jobs requiring only one or two
vessels, as their absence least disrupts fleet organization.
The organization of the group matches others of the Colonial Fleet,
breaking down into squadrons (escadres). The squadrons are task
oriented,
but whereas other groups tend toward tasking for larger scale conflicts,
Cerberus escadres tend to be self-contained units capable of independent
action or "units" of single pickets, which are thus labeled solely for
organizational purposes.
Because their duties often involve long patrols or other extended
independent duty, the standard SML armament for many FSE ships was
considered inappropriate. The SMLs were stripped from the hulls and
replaced with beam batteries of equal mass, though in some cases
existing
beam suites were upgraded. Modified ship classes include the Madrid
Class
BB-B (the largest ship in the Cerberus inventory), Toledo CH-B, Firenze
CE-B, de Cordova CL-B, Venezia DH-B, Elba FF-B, and Circe CT-B.
To represent these ships, simply replace their SML/SMR and magazines
with
the following;
Madrid Class BB-B - Upgrade all of the three arc class 2 batteries to
class
3; the arcs on two remain the same, and the other two are shifted to
(FP/F/FS). Upgrade one of the class 1 batteries to a 360° class 2
battery.
Toledo Class CH-B - Upgrade the two class 2 batteries to class 3 with
the
same arcs. Add one class 3 battery with (FP/F/FS) arcs.
Firenze Class CE-B - Add three 360° class 2 batteries.
De Cordova Class CL-B - Add one 360° class 2 battery and one class 3
battery with arcs (FP/F/FS).
Venezia Class DH-B - Add two class 2 batteries with arcs (AP/FP/F) and
(F/FS/AS) respectively, and one 360° class 2 battery.
Elba Class FF-B - Add one class 2 battery with (FP/F/FS) arcs.
Circe Class CT-B - Add one 360° class 1 battery.

	Alexis watched the icons of the NSL fleet vanish one by one. The
crisp lines of the display were slightly blurred by the last vestiges of
smoke that the ventilators had not quite completely cleared from the
bridge. It left an acrid taste in his mouth, matching his feelings; the
Swabians could have easily attacked the planet had they not decided to
withdraw. His battered escadre could have done little to stop them.
	Their "support" in driving off the Kra'Vak had been half-hearted
at
best. They'd waited until after Amiral Raoux's fleet had been ravaged
before committing to the battle. He frowned as the last icon vanished
from
the system. "They will be made to pay for this outrage." His fist
clenched
tightly on the edge of his chair as he continued to stare hate at the
now
empty holographic sphere.
	M. Augereau, his senior weapons officer slowly turned to him,
his
gaunt face under-lit by the blue-green glow of his targeting display,
"There will be another day, Capitaine." His voice held just a hint of
sadness, "Another day."