ACTA:SF battle report

[Iain McGhee]

Just a quick write-up of my first ACTA:SF game. No pictures (probably just as well since my Klingons are a bit of a hotchpotch of paint schemes I'm testing out for the 2500s when they appear ). To keep it simple, I just played the Annihilation scenario with 560pts per side.


Annihilation Battle Report

Game setup: Terrain consisted of two dust clouds and an asteroid field, in a triangular pattern about 2 feet apart. The Klingon force consisted of a D7C and two D7 battlecruisers, while the Federation had a pair of NCLs and a pair of DWs.

Turn 1: Klingon initiative: The Klingon cruisers advance, staying out of phaser range and firing disruptors and drones at the closest Federation vessel (NCL USS Nagato), while the two NCLs boost shields with the DWs providing cover. All enemy fire bar 1 point of burnthrough damage was absorbed or shot down.
Turn 2: Federation initiative: Both DWs move into covering positions, allowing the NCLs to centreline the closest two D7s (which both take evasive action). The NCL Nagato, being most likely to take heavy fire, fires first but all torpedoes miss and it's phasers only cause light damage. The other NCL (USS Mikasa) fires phasers only, again only causing slight damage, as does the DW Valera. Return fire from the Klingon vessels drop the Nagato's shields by half and damage it's impulse drive, but all other ships take little or no damage.
Turn 3: Klingon initiative: Nagato moves first, routing power to it's damaged shields and arcing behind the enemy battlecruisers. One D7 gives chase, almost crippling the NCL with phaser fire before being destroyed itself by a volley of very well-aimed photon torpedoes from the DW Sankoh after the Mikasa downed it's shields (Devastating +1 and Multihit 4 weapons really hurt if you've no shields left !). The other ships traded shots, with only the Mikasa taking significant damage (crew and power criticals).
Turn 4: Klingon initiative: The Federation vessels used their superior numbers and the terrain to give them breathing space to recharge shields and reload torpedoes, only leaving the Klingons with long-range shots at the DWs which did little more than drop a few points of shields off each. Return fire from the USS Valera and the USS Sankoh didn't do any better.
Turn 5: Klingon initiative: The Nagato kept a dust cloud between it and the Klingons while it continued repairs and the remaining Federation vessels re-engaged, with the Sankoh making a close range pass on the D7C Darkslayer, dropping it's shields and causing light damage. Darkslayer's disruptors ripped straight through the DW Valera's shields, crippling it and causing several criticals.
Turn 6: Federation initiative: The crippled USS Valera headed for relative safety on the far side of a nearby asteroid field while the NCLs broke cover and engaged the D7 Thunderchild, damaging it's engines and taking out it's shields. The Darkslayer crippled the Sankoh but also lost shields.
Turn 7: Federation initiative: The NCL Nagato closed with the D7 Thunderchild, latching onto it with a tractor beam to prevent it from getting any disruptor targets or breaking away, allowing the Mikasa to get close enough to transport troops aboard, scoring another impulse drive critical (now at level 3) as well as scoring enough phaser hits between them to cripple it. The Klingon command cruiser prepared to go to high warp, finishing off the USS Sankoh before exiting the battle. Thunderchild's drive damage escalated, sending the ship adrift.
Turn 8: Klingon initiative: With the Thunderchild unable to move, the NCLs were able to stand off outside of effective phaser-2 range but inside their own phaser's kill zone and finish it off. Win for the Feds.

 

[Nerroth]

How long did the game take you to play out overall?

(Also, were those the names as presented in the book? The short version of the DW NCC-732's name would be de Valera, being named after a former Taoiseach and President of Ireland.)

 

[Sgt_G]

Nice write-up. I think that's the type of thing Steve Cole looks for to put in the Captain's Log magizine. I posted a link to this thread over on his discussion board so he'll see it.

 

[billclo]

I don't have the ACTA rules yet, but from my SFB experience, the Klingons may have closed a little too soon. You DON'T want to close to short range with a Fed until their torps have been fired. If you can maintain the range you can pound one ship repeatedly until it's shields are weak and then it either has to close (suicidally) or break off.

One common trick in SFB with the Klingons is to keep the range between 9 and 15 hexes and keep your speed up so the Fed has to move first and you can control the range. 9-15 hexes is a good range for disruptors, and it forces the Feds to make a choice. A) use proximity fused torps (half damage) to try to hit you, after which you close to short range next turn and blow his doors off with overloaded disruptors while he's reloading, B) The Fed holds his torps and tries to get closer (which can be iffy if the Klingon is cagey) or C) break off and try again next turn.

How were the Klingons using their drones? Concentrating fire on one target, or spreading them out?

Are special actions announced (ie, do you know a given ship is boosting shields or not)? It might have been useful to target whatever ship didn't boost shields and weaken it up, assuming you knew about the others boosting shields.

Those NCLs are dangerous; they have nearly the firepower of a CA, and they maneuver better.

Make sure the Klingons stay together and resist the urge to chase individual targets. Don't play them like they act in Star Trek (ie, mindlessly aggressive). Play cagey...

That's all I have right now, until I see a copy of the rules.

 

[Iain McGhee]

How long did the game take you to play out overall?

(Also, were those the names as presented in the book? The short version of the DW NCC-732's name would be de Valera, being named after

Maybe 2 hours, although a big chunk of that was page flicking and editing the reference and record sheets I'm working on so you could probably cut that in half

The names I gave for the Federation ships involved were as written on the Starfighter Decals Romulan Border sheet (and you're of course right, it should really be de Valera).

 

[Iain McGhee]

@billclo: Yeah, I wouldn't dream of trying that in FC, but in ACTA you can use the Take Evasive Action SA which means photon torps only hit on 5+ (or 6+ over half range) although you can't move very fast. Not much of a problem with disruptor/drone ships since you have quite the range advantage over phaser/photon ships. Unlike FC, evasive action doesn't stop you shooting back

I had the Klingon drones concentrate fire, still didn't get a single hit until the last couple of turns since at least one of the DWs was flying cover on top of the target's own defences for most of the game.

Special Actions are announced when you select a ship or squadron to move, so you'll always know what they're up to. It would have been best to target ships that are not using damage-limiting SAs, but unfortunately they weren't so obliging as to give me primary weapon shots when they were doing other things.

Yep, NCLs are very effective ships. I much prefer them over the NCA. Those DWs are seriously nasty too.

My original plan was for the Klingons to stay together and concentrate fire, but it was worth them trying to finish off that NCL quickly since it'd have meant they had a better chance of keeping the initiative and outmanoeuvring the less agile Federation ships.

 

[Iron Domokun]

What do you think would have happened if you'd concentrated drone fire on the DW providing cover instead of the NCL? I haven't got the rules yet, but wouldn't it only have its own phasers to defend itself, instead of the NCL which had two ships' phasers for defense? Granted, the DW is not as desirable a target as an NCL, but I would pick the low-hanging fruit first.

 

[Iain McGhee]

With the ships firing individually in ACTA the DW would have swatted half the drones with ADD fire from it's G-rack (unless it got really unlucky and run out of ammo) and the other three would have little chance of getting past the four phasers and two tractor beams able to engage them (not to mention the other DW which could assist on several turns).

Better idea I thought to try and empty the NCL's drone rack and perhaps force both it and the DW to waste phaser-1s on the drones.

 

[Iapologisedon4chan]

Personally, having given a similar scenario a go yesterday using the old b5 ACTA module for vassal, (600pts) I think the Klingon player would have probably stood a better chance if you'd have taken a C7 over the D7C. For a start it's a better fit for your points value, and secondly, it really is amazing the amount punishment it can take and deal out.

The +1 to your initiative isn't really that vital for Klingons, since you already get a +1 by default, and boresighting isn't as important for you because your primary damage dealers (disruptors) tend to have pretty good arcs of fire.

By turn 3 of my test game, the Klingon C7, who saw all of his fellow ships blowing up like they were made out of tinfoil, threw his hands up in the air and asked if he was going to have to do everything around here.

He proceeded to do everything, around there.

By Turn 5, I had to call the game as a Klingon victory as the remaining Fed CC was down to 1 hp, and the last FFB was crippled and with empty photons.

I wont bore you with the details, but the things that game taught me were:

1) The Dicebot for Vassal is wonky. I rolled 3 sixes with the CC's Photons at one point. The damage near crippled the FD7 and resulting Shld 2 critical damage stripped her shields right out.

2) Photons are nasty, but need 4's to hit, 5+ at more than half range. Coupled with reload, this means that it's tempting to hoard them for that perfect overload chance that might never come.

3) Overloaded Disruptors on the other hand, are much easier to use.

4) ALWAYS make sure you finish your move with something for your Disruptors to shoot at. Even if it's just a frigate.

5) Remember your shields count double from the front if you're Klingon. Romulan K ships are probably going to be even harder to remember this for.

6) Phasers generally don't drop the shields, and Criticals aren't quite as insane as they were in B5, but they hardly miss even at long range, and are therefore your bread and butter.

7) TRACTOR BEAMS KILL A DRONE ON A 5+. DON'T FORGET THIS.

8) If you only have one drone, you aren't realistically likely to get through anybodies defences due to PH-3 and ADD and Tractor Beams. They're more for finishing crippled targets who have lost these things off. Or on Feds, they're there to take the place of dedicated ADD's.

9) Fast Ships (like the D7F) are very very good at getting right up your opponents backside.

10) The above point means f-all if facing Federation or Gorn as they have Phasers and Plasma fitted up their arses just for you.

11) Once a ship is crippled you might as well send it home, it's basically neutered from now on.

12) Anti-Drone rules need clarifying.

13) Klingon Heavy Battlecruisers are murder machines, fully capable of carrying the battle by themselves.

14) You All Power to Engines! out of trouble. Not into it.

Overall, I think it went pretty well, even if keeping track of all of the critical hit effects got a bit cumbersome at times. But given that I was effectively controlling 1200pts of ships that's probably a given. Somebody is going to have to do a reference sheet for this sooner rather than later, it would really keep from having to flick through the book all the time.

 

[Greg Smith]

12) Anti-Drone rules need clarifying.

What part needs clarifying?

 

[Iron Domokun]

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[billclo]

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[katadder]

FC has 1pt leak through every 10 damage. as phasers can do more than 1 damage in FC but only do 1 here and to stop people having to track damage it was decided to just make it to hit rolls of 6 bleed through.

 

[katadder]

1) The Dicebot for Vassal is wonky. I rolled 3 sixes with the CC's Photons at one point. The damage near crippled the FD7 and resulting Shld 2 critical damage stripped her shields right out.

yes this has been a long time problem with vassals RNG even in B5 you used to get far more run away beams on vassal than you would with real dice.
but then vassal is not a replacement for the game, just a tool for when you are too far away (like i am now) from other gamers or dont get regular enough games. its not great but its better than nothing.

 

[Greg Smith]

Various methods were tried in playtesting. A roll of 6 was the quickest and easiest - though it can hurt when a photon goes through.

 

[Da Boss]

Thanks for the report - most intersting reading

Its worth getting smaller ships to act as In sinks:

for 560 pts probably would go:

D5W - far superior firepower to the D7 - Phasers 1s instead of the much weaker Phaser 2's, better anti-drone, better shields - all for extra 10pts
2 X D6 - for the 25pts extra that a D7 costs you only loose a couple of Phasers 2's - which enables you to get a extra ship:
1 E 4 light frigate - In sink and late game attacker

Winning Iniative is good but matching the enemy in ship numbers is also really handy.

 

[billclo]

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[MongooseMatt]

Various methods were tried in playtesting. A roll of 6 was the quickest and easiest - though it can hurt when a photon goes through.

They are also the great equaliser. You may only have a frigate facing a big Klingon cruiser was boosted shields to its front, but there is still a _chance_ you could do some real damage.

 

[Iain McGhee]

Speaking of shields, if you take one of the criticals that reduce your shields do you:
a)subtract it from the shield rating
or
b)subtract it from the current shield strength

 

[Iron Domokun]

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