Recon Run

[SithyGoodness]

This is more of a fluffy question than a rules question, but I figured you guys might find it interesting anyway, so here goes...

We're currently doing a campaign, I'm playing the Centauri attacking a Vorlon strategic target, and we rolled a Recon Run as the scenario. My question is, how would a successful recon run (albeit a big one, we rolled a Battle level game) cause the Vorlons to abandon a strategic target? I have an idea or two rolling around in my head, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have more.

 

[Digger]

Lots of Shadows!! They ain't stupid, better to cut your losses than lose a whole fleet!!

 

[McKickaha]

Vorlons like to operate out of the spotlight, so I guess being discovered is reason enough for them to move on, after all in 3D space there are bound to be alternative strategic locations.

 

[SithyGoodness]

I like both of those ideas! The game actually takes place after the last great war, these Vorlons were basically dormant because they couldn't leave for whatever reason (still working on the details ) until some idiot woke them up. It's feasible that they remember the Centauri as allies of the Shadows, and therefore would assume the Shadows aren't far behind. I could also see them leaving because they were found out and didn't want anyone else snooping around.

Any other ideas would be great too.

 

[Democratus]

We hit this very problem and here's how we saw it.

The defense of a fixed point like a planet can be very difficult. The enemy knows where you are and is constantly probing all 3 dimensions of your defenses.

With the right scouting, an enemy might maneuver the main body of his fleet into a highly advantageous position. The defending forces would either have to pull back (evacuate the strategic point) or face certain crushing defeat.

 

[locarno24]

With the right scouting, an enemy might maneuver the main body of his fleet into a highly advantageous position. The defending forces would either have to pull back (evacuate the strategic point) or face certain crushing defeat.

That's kind of the key one. Remember a good portion of the campaign happens 'off camera'.

The amount of time taken in a planetary assault delivers you a secure bridgehead that makes victory a matter of time, for example; you haven't actually wiped out a populated planet's total military force (likely to number in the hundreds of thousands or even millions!)

A blockade runner is going to have to keep running and/or hiding for some time after passing the main lines.


The equivalent of recon run is to imagine that a short time after the recon run, the enemy fleet gets drawn into a trap that's sufficiently unfair that it's not worth fighting the battle.

 

[No. 1 Bear]

Surely the vorlons would blow up the planet, and then move on. Not allowing the enemy the planet and denying their existance in the sector.

 

[SithyGoodness]

Bear, he hasn't spent the 100 RR points to buy a Planet Killer yet.

 

[No. 1 Bear]

Shame, Shame.

 

[Democratus]

Also...they're Vorlons.

For some reason they've decided to fight a conventional war in this system. This means their motives are not the same as their "crazy time" at the end of the Shadow War. Blowing up planets was something they never did until the very year that they left the galaxy.

 

[AdrianH]

Knowing how the Shadows put some ships into hiding after the previous Great War, the Vorlons did the same thing this time. Maybe they thought the Shadows would renege on the agreement to leave the galaxy and left some ships behind just in case, maybe that was just the Vorlons' excuse to renege on the agreement themselves. In any case, there was a hidden cache of sleeping ships in this system. And the Centauri found them.

The recon run discovered part of the hidden fleet, which, having just woken up, doesn't feel ready for a fight yet. So it leaves this planet and goes to join the rest of the fleet. And one of the Vorlons has either heard of MacArthur or Arnie. I'm not sure which because the Centauri had to translate what the Vorlon said and I had to translate from Centauri. But it has just said either "I shall return" or "I'll be back".

 

[SithyGoodness]

That would work Adrian, and probably would make the most sense, except the Vorlons have already been involved in a few small skirmishes with the Psi Corps and Gaim fleets as well as a major engagement with the Earth Alliance (we have a very eclectic group of fleets in this campaign), so the gloves are off at this point.

 

[Democratus]

I guess the conclusion drawn here is that it is up to the players to "fill in" the story reasons why a mission results in a strategic point changing hands. Make it part of ongoing story and use the results of one battle to expand on the results of later battles.

For example, in our campaign the Centauri won a Recon mission and took an Industrial world (for the reasons I gave above). In a later round, the Centauri were the attackers in a Convoy Duty mission. So our story had the successful recon mission discovering the supply routes to a Narn rally point.

Everything flows from one event to the next if you apply a little imagination. In the end you will have a fairly coherent story to match your campaign. Then you must post it online for all of use to read and enjoy!

 

[SithyGoodness]

I suppose we'll see how the campaign goes and I'll see if I can bring it all together into something coherent. If it ever gets done I'll be sure to post it.