Orbital defenses

[KennyBoy]

In our current campaign, my fleet has just acquired a planet and wanted to rebuild the defenses.
Now, I know that if I wanted a Space Station it would cost x3 RR points - so the Battle level one would cost 60 points, nice and simple so far...
However, if I wanted to buy defense platforms instead, how much RR would these cost?
As you can swap 8 of them for a Space Station, would they cost the same as a Patrol PL ship (as you can get 8 Patrol for 1 Battle point) OR would they cost x3 also, which would mean 9 points?
I would hope not the latter, as that would be quite expensive for such a fragile commodity!
Thoughts, comments, suggestions gentlemen...

 

[locarno24]

Well....technically they're not in your fleet list - you get the appropriate number of OSAT gun platforms in any planetary assault mission in addition to your 5 fleet allocation points.

You don't have to buy them or repair them any more than you have to buy or repair freighters.

If you're going to have a house rule to allow you to build additional OSAT platforms at a strategic target, then I wouldn't increase the cost; a space station's additional cost is due to:

(a) not being able to capture the location in a mission not big enough to involve the station (a real blessing for Minbari/Ancients/etc)

(b) the bonus to repairing stuff

Neither applies to the patrol-priority orbital defence platform, hence I wouldn't charge any more for it.

 

[Greg Smith]

I asked Mr Clanger this, he said it would cost the same as a ship of the same size to build defences of that level - so 3RR for patrol level defences - which I assume is 1 satellite, 10 emplacements and 5 troops.

We have some experimental rules in our campign - including the requirement for taking any planetary strategic trarget by planetary assault - hence builing defences is important.

 

[Burger]

Since you can swap 8 for a space station, I'd say it is 1/8 of the cost of a space station.

 

[locarno24]

During a planetary assault game, yes (which means it's a normal patrol point) - but if you buy a space station in that fashion it doesn't hang around on your fleet order of battle after the end of the game to repair your fleet....so the additional RR cost for a station is probably unjustified for an OSAT.

 

[Methos5000]

A little off topic but I never understood why the space stations destruction is not required to win the property from someone. Only one of the three scenarios that use it don't have VP. In one of our campaigns a player lost a property because after his fleet was destroyed the opponent moves his last two ships out of range of his barely scratched space station (I think it had lost 8 damage). The scenario was space superiority so he won by VP. I just seems stupid that after a predetermined amount of time the space station crew would just say 'okay you win we will leave even though you only scratched the paint job' and turn over the property to their opponent.

Personally if you pay the high cost and maintenence per turn for a space station you should only lose the property if the station is destroyed.

 

[Da Boss]

A little off topic but I never understood why the space stations destruction is not required to win the property from someone. Personally if you pay the high cost and maintenence per turn for a space station you should only lose the property if the station is destroyed.

I thought that was already the case in a campaign? :?

 

[nekomata fuyu]

I don't think that they just leave the station willingly. It's more that the planet or the like is captured and then the campaign assumes that it's a simple matter to capture a hostile space station in orbit around your own planet.
Personally I would prefer it though if the space station owners kept it and it gave a bonus for attacking the target until it gets destroyed. I would suggest doubling the support/repair/etc costs for the space station whilst it's in orbit around a hostile target to represent the difficulties of resupply, etc.

 

[KennyBoy]

I asked Mr Clanger this, he said it would cost the same as a ship of the same size to build defences of that level - so 3RR for patrol level defences - which I assume is 1 satellite, 10 emplacements and 5 troops.

Indeed. I spent 20 RR points and have Battle Level defenses in place... but I just thought i'd try and clarify costing. Having a Station is pretty expensive in the first place, AND requires additional RR every campaign Turn to keep running, I just wondered if the rules applied to other types of defenses... 8)