Battle Report: Centauri/Narn clash

Democratus

Mongoose
The final battle of our Narn/Centauri campaign (year 2259) took place this weekend. After months of clashing over the vital objectives in this system both sides had nearly reached economic exhaustion. Attrition had left the Narn with a very top-heavy stable of ships (nearly all G'Quans and G'Quanths) having lost countless Dag'Kars, Ka'Tocs, and Sho'Kovs. The Centauri had a more well-rounded fleet but very few spare resource points.

At this point we rolled an Annihilation, 5 points, battle. We knew that this large battle would involve nearly all the fighting strength we had left and, thus, would be the decisive engagement of the campaign.

So, bearing in mind that we had to choose from our surviving ships - here is what came to the party.

Narn:
G'Quan (Sword of the Prophet) w/ G'Sten commanding
G'Quan (Righteous)
G'Quan (Voice of the Kha'Ri)
Dag'Kar (Prophet's Wisdom)
Ka'Toc (Sword of Law)
Ka'Toc (Slitter of Throats)

Centauri:
Primus (Rising Star)
Secundus, Mass Driver (Majesty of Thunder)
Elutarian (Trebuchet)
Elutarian (Carvo)
Sulust (Aurora)
Sulust (Basilisk)
Vorchan (Night Hunter)
Vorchan (Swiftwind)
Maximus (Aide de Camp)
Maximus (Buckler)

Centauri won set-up roll.

Narn set up against far edge of board in the center. G'Quans forming the core of the formation. Ka'Tocs on the right flank, Dag'Kar center and rear.

Centauri set up opposite the Narn as far forward as possible. The center had a single Squadron with both Elutarians and both Sulusts. I figured that these four ships would have enough combined firepower to deal with the Dag'Kar. To the left (opposite the Ka'Tocs) were my Secundus, a Maximus, and two Vorchans. To the right were a Maximus and my Primus. Both the Secundus and Primus were turned away from the center of the board so they would be harder to Boresight despite being Lumbering.

The Narn then used his special G'Sten power to slightly readjust his position.

Turn 1:
Initiative to the Narn. Centauri opened by moving the Maximus first, then the Vorchans, then a single Sulust (leaving the squad), then the Secundus, Primus, and finally the big squadron. Because of this, the Narn was forced to boresight his G'Quans on both my Maximus and one Vorchan. All ships moved forward at maximum speed as I wanted to get into close quarters where Centauri manuverability would make a difference and - more importantly - those Boresight lasers wouldn't be shooting at me.

The shooting phase was a horrible one for the Narn. Out of 19 beam dice (5 from each G'Quan, 2 from each Ka'Toc) only two rolled above a 4. One Vorchan took some minor damage. Centauri fire was much more effective. The large Elutarian/Sulust squadron unloaded into the Dag'Kar, causing it's weapons to fail unless a 4+ roll was made. The Dag'Kar promptly failed both 4+ rolls for its weapons.

Turn 2:
Initiative to the Narn. Centauri continued to close with the Narn, moving ships agressively toward the 2 Ka'Toc and the Dag'Kars - ignoring the G'Quans other than trying to avoid the Boresights. Even though the Narn kept winning initiative the Centauri simply had too many ships for this to be useful. The Narn managed again to boresight the two Maximus and a Vorchan.

Shooting for the Narn was slightly better. The Dag'Kar again failed to roll well enough to shoot. One Vorchan was crippled by a Mag Gun and both Maximus were destroyed by massive laser fire. In exchange, the Dag'Kar was finished off by the Centauri hunting squadron and one Ka'Toc was heavily damaged by a Vorchan and the Secundus.

Turn 3:
Initiative to the Narn. By this time, our ships were dangerously close to each other. The Centauri was down two ships and thus split up the squadron to keep having ititiative sinks. Moving the Primus and Secundus early drew fire on these tough ships while the smaller vessels manuvered to get behind the massive G'Quans. The Narn moved to stay engaged, but this meant that the two Ka'Toc had to give an "All Engines Stop" order.

The shooting phase saw the Secundus able to use its Mass Driver against a station keeping Ka'Toc. The remaining Vorchan along with the Secundus secondary weaponry killed the other Ka'Toc. The Primus managed to score a critical on one G'Quan, destroying the Jump Engine. In exchange, the Narn did a great deal of damage to the Primus and Secundus but did not cripple either. They also managed to finish the crippled Vorchan and destroy the pristine Vorchan with a vital critical.

Turn 4:
At this point, the Narn was down to just his 3 G'Quan and I still had six ships on the board.

To add insult to injury, the Centauri won initiative.

The Narn was now in a position where the Centauri had several ships behind the G'Quans which were more manuverable and, therefore, able to stay outside of the sad 8" weapons range of their secondary weapons. His two G'Quan that were able opened Jump Points. The last turned to the closest edge and began to run for it.

The Centauri fleet poured fire into the enemy ships, but failed to score a critical that would stop the two escaping G'Quans.

Turns 5+
As the two G'Quan left the field, the Centauri fleet hounded the remaining heavy cruiser until it was destroyed well before nearing the edge.

Conclusion:
Centauri victory! The Narn fleet withdrew from the system, deciding that it was no longer worth the economic cost.

Notes:
The low number of ships brought by the Narn meant that even with G'Sten's initiative boost the tempo of the battle was decided by the Centauri. Bad luck with beam dice in the first turn denied the Narn their only real chance of evening the numbers. After that it was just a matter of manuver and firepower - and the Centauri had more of both.

Throughout this campaign (my first in ACTA) I have been very impressed with the Centauri fleet. Their ships are fast and manuverable with strong firepower. Their primary weakness is a lack of all-around firepower, leaving ships such as the Vorchan vulnerable to fighter attack.

The Narn are good in the long-range approach battle, but suffer in a knife fight because their secondary weapons have very short range and are generaly poor in quality. Their e-mines serve as an effective counter to Centauri fighters, which is a nice thing. And they have some excellent smaller ships - particularly the Ka'Toc, Dag'Kar, and Sho'Kov.

I don't think the G'Quan is a very good ship. This is a sad realization as it is such a nice looking model. But it sufferes from too many flaws to be an effective cornerstone of the Narn fleet. There really seems to be nothing worth using between the Dag'Kar and the Bin'Tak.

I also don't think Admirals are worth it. They come at the cost of firepower and it seems that more guns is usually better than a few neat tricks. If the Narn had showed up with one more Battle point worth of ships it might have gone quite differently.
 
An excellent write up, one of the best I have seen - even the spelling was good! :wink:

I didn't quite agree with your comments on the G'Quan were, but your overall assessments were correct - I would have opened up with the Dag'kar and E-Mines to start as it was obvious this ship would be pounced on!

If you have any pictures please post them,

Kind Regards

Digger.
 
Most people will agree that the G'Quan isn't upto scratch. The Narn have some excellent ships at lower levels, the just suffer somewhat at battle level.

Admirals definitely aren't worth a ship. They are interesting to play with, but the tricks aren't good enough. We sometimes play both sides get a free admiral, just to use them.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I really enjoy battle reports as they make me think about the battle and learn something.

I definately need to get pictures for the next battle. A shame I don't have any for this one as it was our first fight with newly painted minis.

As for the G'Quan. I think it falls short when compared to other Battle-level ships like the Primus or Omega. It's secondary weaponry is shorter range than all common opponents and has fewer Special qualities.

We've aready begun ramping up for the next campaign. The year is 2232. I'll be playing Dilgar. My two opponents will be EA and Centauri. This should prove to be very interesting.

I really like the technology gaps in early years. The Centauri truly do seem like the most advanced of the "Younger" races. They have the best fighter in space (Sentri vs. Nova vs. Thorun) and some excellent ships. But they will have to make due without the more lethal models like the Demos and Elutarian. I believe I will be seeing a lot of Sulusts.

The EA have massive numbers of small-mid sized ships. They can take beams or missiles in vast numbers and their interceptors make them a real challenge for the Dilgar (who have no beam weaponry).

The Dilgar...well, I'm not sure about the Dilgar yet. We've never played them. But I look forward to working out how they should fight. I think I will be using a lot of fighters as interceptors.

More battle reports will follow as the new campaign rages. Wish me luck!
 
Democratus said:
Thanks for the encouragement. I really enjoy battle reports as they make me think about the battle and learn something.

The Dilgar...well, I'm not sure about the Dilgar yet. We've never played them. But I look forward to working out how they should fight. I think I will be using a lot of fighters as interceptors.

More battle reports will follow as the new campaign rages. Wish me luck!

Thanks for a fun report (and of course one in which the Glorious Republic is victorious).

The Centauri have an incredably flexible fleet, even in this era :) only really missing their superb carrier, watch out for Raziks as well - great dogfighter.

Dilgar - they can match the Centauri in sheer firepower - and have a variety of very good ships with some nice tricks - there are a few tactics guides here on the forum fro that race - one thing I recall is not to mix up slow and fast ships - choose one style and stick with it.

you should have some fun games ahead of you :)

on the G'Quan - its very weak compared to its competitors - my alternative from my forthcoming Dilgar war supplement!

G’Quan Dreadnought Battle
The G’Quan Dreadnought project is the most ambitious ship yet created by the Regime as they prepare for the inevitable conflict with the Centauri. Though in theory technologically behind races such as the Minbari and Centauri, the G’Quan possesses a brutal efficiency that allows it to compete on an even level with its peers in the fleets of other governments. It boasts an impressive array of weapons, some based on technology captured from the Centauri during their occupation of Narn, and its crewmen are usually very highly motivated.
Speed: 6
Turn: 1/45o
Hull: 6
Damage: 55/13
Crew: 70/19
Troops: 8
Craft: 2 Gorith flights
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 1, Jump Engine, Lumbering
In Service: 2228+

Weapon......................Range....Arc.....AD........Special
Heavy Laser Cannon...30...........B (f)...6....Beam, Double Damage
Energy Mine...............30...........F........4..AP, Energy Mine, OS, Triple Damage
Plasma Cannon..........12............F........8..........AP
Light Ion Cannon....... 8..............F........4..........Twin-Linked
Plasma Cannon..........12............P........10........AP
Light Ion Cannon........8..............P........6.........Twin-Linked
Plasma Cannon..........12............S........10........AP
Light Ion Cannon........8..............S........6.........Twin-Linked
Plasma Cannon..........12............A........4.........AP
Light Ion Cannon........8.............A.........4........Twin-Linked

Otherwise agree with the other sentiments expressed by my estemed forum colleagues
 
The Dilgar can be very mean - Make sure you check out the Masters of Destruction Rules!

As for fighters, the Thorun is excellent, its damn fast and the torpedo version can sit outside a ships fighter defence range and plug at you; especially if you get a scout re-roll.

Failing that, well just smash them into the opponents ship for fun!

Finally, don't forget the new P&P Alpha Strike and watch you opponents weep as their ships crumble!

P.S. Da Boss is spot on, don't mix the fast with the slow!
 
Da Boss said:
on the G'Quan - its very weak compared to its competitors - my alternative from my forthcoming Dilgar war supplement!

The G'Quan Dreadnought................ (and they said i was crazy for buying that additional IWM G'Quan)

Hell yes!!!!.

Wait a minute whats the catch, a well known, forum expert, ....FANHEAD.... player saves the best looking ship in the game............ Not to mention the best looking ship in the show................. In fact, lets face it, the best looking ship amongst many, if not all, Sf shows. .........(not counting a few scratchbuilds of course 8) )

It just don't add up. :?: :?: :?:

PS - Long Live the Kahri :lol: .
 
Nope - Just like a challenge :) and whilst there are a number of Narn ships that do so (see my Battle report agains the Narn) - the G'Quan in my experience does not.

I have found your G'Vrahns far more worrying than any number of your G'Quans in the past!!!

The P+P version may do so ( not convinced on paper) but truthfully not had a chance to play against it.......
 
With my Narn hat on............. anything that gets more G'Quans on the table has got to be good.

For me, the biggest shame in the game that "THE" narn ship never sees much action on the table.
 
I like my G Quan´s as they are and use them quite often.
Think about this - The first ship builded by Narn was the Rothan (2211)!
Narn are only ~50 years in Space with own ships.
All tech was bought from Ligaworlds or is rebuilt Centauritech.
Under this restrictions - Narn ships are superperfekt!

We are in space ~40 years and what is what we got? ISS, Shuttles and one car on the moon - hey.... :roll:

Play the game again and set up in two lines.
Battle and War ships frist line - then a little free space and skirmish/ raid ships in second line. The 1/45° in center the 2/45° on flankes.
Do not forget Scouts! To make the secondary Weapons twin-linked.
 
I also don't think Admirals are worth it. They come at the cost of firepower and it seems that more guns is usually better than a few neat tricks. If the Narn had showed up with one more Battle point worth of ships it might have gone quite differently.

On a battle level ship, DEFINITELY not.

The way I see it, there is one - and only one - place they are worth while.

Admiral on a battle level ship - 1 battle point
Admiral on a war level ship - 1 war point
Admiral on an armageddon level ship - 1 battle point (?!!?!?)

A battle point - 1/4 the ship's cost - is fair enough on an armageddon ship where the boosts to crew quality/stealth penetration/immunity to 'adrift' criticals are affecting a big enough chunk of metal.

To put it another way, 1/4 of the ships price has seemed about right in practice and that's what I'd prefer to see the general rule be (drop two levels of priority from the ship, pay 1 point)...of course, free works too.

Yes, alright, that means a skirmish or patrol ship has to pay more for an admiral but you'd never have a flag officer on a ship that small in real life anyway...
 
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