The Fifth Frontier War begins in two days

[MongooseMatt]

TAS reports that free traders have seen the Darrian fleet begin mobilisation.

Personnel from the Imperial Navy, Marines and Army have had all leave cancelled and Naval Bases are being placed on high alert.

The Fifth Frontier War begins in two days.

 

[Sigtrygg]

That's quite a change from the OTU FFW.

edit - that sounds a little snarky so I expanded on it.

I am looking forward to this.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[Sigtrygg]

Here is the OTU version:

By mid-1107, everyone expected war; it was just that no one knew exactly when it would come.

The war began with a Zhodani declaration of war, delivered to the lmperial government at Regina and Jewell simultaneously.
The very fact that the Zhodani knew the war was beginning, and the Imperials did not, gave them a great advantage.
They were prepared, and struck even as the declarations were being delivered.

The Imperial responses during the opening weeks of the war were confined to reactions.

Note that the boardgame is a many worlds juxtaposition. The initial set up is variable depending on the Zhodani choosing or not choosing to risk hidden fleets, so the MgT version right from the word go offers us more choice thn just the OTU "future history".

Hurry up and release it please.

 

[Chumbly]

I really like these TAS-style reports... You might want to continue these after the 5 Frontier War is released,
to provide ongoing flavor to the campaign.(you don't have to report game-altering events.(unless you really want to),
but flavoring news items, like missing ships from convoys..destroyer losses, public admonitions that "Loose Lips
Blow Up Ships.. don't blab about convoy movements"...etc..) . Also, what would be really cool is reports from the other side too
as Zhoi, Sword Worlder, and Vargr Public Affairs officers at the Outworld Coalition Joint HQ give press briefings.
Let them rant about Impie atrocities and perfidy.
Just a suggestion keep the flavor going to add interest to the campaign
Chumbly

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Due to either a genius stroke of counterintelligence or an unfortunate typo in Darrian Special Arm press releases, Zhodani commanders have been warned to be on alert for the "Start Rigger" device, which is believed to give Darrian vessels an unfair advantage in competitive mobilization.

 

[steelbrok]

I really like these TAS-style reports... You might want to continue these after the 5 Frontier War is released,
to provide ongoing flavor to the campaign.(you don't have to report game-altering events.(unless you really want to),
but flavoring news items, like missing ships from convoys..destroyer losses, public admonitions that "Loose Lips
Blow Up Ships.. don't blab about convoy movements"...etc..) . Also, what would be really cool is reports from the other side too
as Zhoi, Sword Worlder, and Vargr Public Affairs officers at the Outworld Coalition Joint HQ give press briefings.
Let them rant about Impie atrocities and perfidy.
Just a suggestion keep the flavor going to add interest to the campaign
Chumbly

Great idea

 

[ottarrus]

I'm fondly remembering the TNS reports in the original JTAS. Some 'high command' press releases, some were down at the individual fleet level, some where local newsnet lifts to the sector-wide data net. All of them gave a sense of the war -- in all it's confusion and outright lies told by press officers to obfuscate fleet movements. It gave a very 'WWII' vibe to the whole thing, and it was something that the historian in me really appreciated.

 

[Vormaerin]

I, too, enjoyed it at the time. But the fact that it never turned into anything actionable in really soured me on the concept over time. I'd much rather have stuff that might be cool for the player characters to do than some scripted off screen color.

 

[Micky]

I really hope we do see some Mongoose supported material for the PC's in this deep dive into the 5th F.W, not just for pre-career military adventurer type Travellers for which the war is just opportunity to get some Cr...but for the interesting and fun side paths like Mercenaries, or better yet for active duty characters going through a Naval Campaign from the Element Class Cruisers Box Set. They'll be fighting for their lives not for a credit

Sure we can run with it and work it in, but so much more fun if we got products. source books or adventures that tied those Traveller campaigns into the war.

 

[MongooseMatt]

We will be putting Travellers front and centre in the FFW...

 

[ottarrus]

We will be putting Travellers front and centre in the FFW...

Well, as 'front and center' as you can with 4 guys flying the target drone that is a Type S or a Type A2...

 

[MongooseMatt]

Well, as 'front and center' as you can with 4 guys flying the target drone that is a Type S or a Type A2...

In the original outline of the FFW campaigns, we had the Travellers getting involved in a dodgy arms deal that ended up with weapons going to the wrong people, and being the incident that kicked off the entire war.

We thought that was a bit much However, your Travellers will indeed have the opportunity (many opportunities) to directly affect the course and final outcome of the war...).

 

[ottarrus]

Yeah, "YOU GUYS DID IT!" might be juuust a little bit of a 'downer'.
And it would also seriously get in the way of that well-deserved knighting, right?

 

[JustEastOfTheEdge]

I am wondering how the news is spread so fast given the rather strange "1 week in hyperspace" thing. By the time a planet gets the news, their neighbours might already be vaporised. Fortune would seem to favour a bold attacker since it would be ages for any defenders to even know they are defenders

 

[CordwainerFish]

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes."

 

[Sigtrygg]

One of the hardest things in the Third Imperium setting is communication lag. The original FFW boardgame tried with its plotting turns weeks in advance, but the players still have god mode on and can see things people in universe would not be aware of for weeks or months.

 

[RogerMc]

Well in CT Travellers got to be decisive actors in the FFW in two ways: by finding that blank imperial warrant on the Kinunir and giving it to Duke Norris who used it to replace idiot Lord Santanocheev as sector admiral and by zapping that secret Zhodani base on Fulacin.

Always found the Imperial Warrant story ridiculous so less said about that the better - but hasn't the new Ancients campaign (which I can't afford...) retconned away that Twilight's Peak's finale on Fulacin?

 

[Geir]

hasn't the new Ancients campaign (which I can't afford...) retconned away that Twilight's Peak's finale on Fulacin?

Yes, but Fulacin and some Zhodani spies figure into Whispers of the Abyss, so parts are retained.
Liked the old Twilight's Peak Adventure better, but that could be nostalgia. When it comes down to it, it's a dungeon crawl at the end - in both cases.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Well in CT Travellers got to be decisive actors in the FFW in two ways: by finding that blank imperial warrant on the Kinunir and giving it to Duke Norris who used it to replace idiot Lord Santanocheev as sector admiral and by zapping that secret Zhodani base on Fulacin.

Except the official history of the FFW as told by GDW has Norris going off to find a warrant on a lost cruiser, nothing to do with PCs or the Kinunir.
Also MgT has changed Twilight's Peak so the Fulacin base may or may not be there, as you say.

Always found the Imperial Warrant story ridiculous so less said about that the better - but hasn't the new Ancients campaign (which I can't afford...) retconned away that Twilight's Peak's finale on Fulacin?

Why does Norris need a warrant anyway? Why couldn't he activate an agent wafer 9as described in Agent of the Imperium)?