Various Battle Reports

[verdantgreen]

Tonight I head out to play what will probably be my last game of 1st Edition A Call to Arms. In honor of the event, I will post my battle reports from my first experiences with this game, about a year or so ago. These reports were typed up to share with my gaming group so they contain statements that you ACtA vets would find obvious.

My school sent me to a Title I / No Child Left Behind conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee that week. Naturally, I went but there is no way I would let a free half-week go by without some gaming. I decided to test out A Call to Arms to pass the time.

Here follows my battle reports for anyone interested. They use the following format:

1. Title
2. Introduction
3. Forces
4. Outcome
5. Notes

 

[verdantgreen]

I. The Emperor’s Will

My first game! Fresh from their victory over the Narn Regime and flush with the power of their hidden allies, the Centauri take an aggressive stance toward neighboring powers. The Vree Conglomerate was among the first to suffer Centauri attacks. In this battle, a small Republic scout force has encountered a pair of Vree pickets on the edge of a Conglomerate system.

Forces:

The Centauri Republic
Alynssa, Vorchan class, crew quality 4
Veratta, Vorchan class, crew quality 4

The Vree Conglomerate
Xinn, Xill class saucer, crew quality 4
Xul, Xill class saucer, crew quality 4

Results:

The Vree initially suffered to bad gunnery at long range while the Republic plasma accelerators had no such trouble. Once things got into knife-fighting range, however, the Vree’s situation improved. By the end of the game, the Xul was destroyed and the Xinn was moderately damaged, but both Vorchan cruisers were destroyed.

Alynssa - badly damaged though still operational. Crew killed by reactor leakage.
Veratta - left adrift in space. Crew missing or dead.

Xinn - badly damaged (25% body remaining) but still operational.
Xul - left adrift in space. Some crew recovered from the wreck.

Notes:
1. The Vorchans had a hard time with the omni-directional attacks of the Xill saucers. It would seem that the Vorchan is designed to sneak in and out of enemy firing arcs, a feat that is impossible with the generous Xill weaponry.

2. Multiple overlapping critical hits really put a crimp in one’s style…especially when they are cap-stoned by a “no damage control” crit >_<

3. “Concentrate All Firepower” is a nice special order (re-roll misses against one target) but “Come About!” is a lot better (improved turns), especially on the already-mobile Vorchan.

 

[verdantgreen]

II. Brothers

As mounting evidence incontrovertibly proved that President Clark had a hand in the death of his predecessor, many in Earthforce began to question their loyalties. The Alexander, one of the ships that chose to break away from Clark’s administration, made a run for the safety of Babylon 5. Unfortunately, on the way she was intercepted by forces loyal to Clark. It was only after the Alexander had taken significant damage that her captain authorized his crew to return fire.

Forces:

Earth Alliance, defectors
Alexander, Omega class destroyer, crew quality 4
4 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Earth Alliance, loyalists
Clarkstown, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Clinton, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
2 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Results:

The Hyperions initially got the upper hand on the Alexander and damaged her severely with their main laser array. However, once the Alexander got a clear shot, it crippled the Clinton with a single laser strike. The fighters finished-off the Clinton while the Alexander and the Clarkstown traded fire. Though the Hyperion had the mobility advantage, excellent use of the “Come About!” order allowed the Alexander to bring its aft lasers into play and destroy the smaller ship.

Alexander - moderately damaged (80% damage remaining) and suffering a hit to the main bridge but otherwise operational.
3 of 4 Starfury flights operational.

Clarkstown - destroyed, all hands lost.
Clinton - destroyed, all hands lost.
0 of 2 Starfury flights operational.

Notes:
1. Bore-sight weaponry has to have the initiative advantage to come into play in small engagements. If the Omega won initiative, it could keep both of the Hyperions from using their deadliest armament.

2. Fighter flights do a great job of absorbing a ship’s interceptor counter-fire. Once the defensive systems are tied up, the Omega player was able to hammer the enemy with his secondary weapons.

3. I really like the Hyperion-type ships. Their combination of mobility and a deadly laser array works out well

 

[verdantgreen]

III. Brining the Old Man Home

Just prior to the Earth-Minbari War, an Earth Alliance captain named Antista Mirabal found evidence of dealings between certain members of the Senate and a shadowy group of aliens. According to her sources, these talks had led to several quiet atrocities along the edges of human space as secret agendas were pursued. Captain Mirabal decided to bring this information directly to Earthdome. As her ship approached a jump gate it was attacked by another Earthforce ship that had been tricked into believing that Mirabal and her people were traitors.

Forces:

Earth Alliance 1
Sun Lu, Nova-class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
4 Starfury flights

Earth Alliance 2
Concorde, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
1 Starfury flight

Results:

The Concorde got several good hits against the Sun Lu before the dreadnaught could get into range. The Concorde was generally able to avoid the worst of Sun Lu’s fire, but eventually her luck ran out and she was caught by a full broadside and destroyed. After the victory, the damaged Sun Lu entered the jump gate on her way to the jump-gate over Io. Captain Mirabal and her crew never emerged from hyperspace and were presumed lost due to damage inflicted by the Concorde. EarthGov used the destruction of the Concorde to brand Captain Mirabal a traitor.

Sun Lu - moderately damaged (66% damage remaining) but still fully operational.
2 of 4 Starfury flights operational.

Concorde - left adrift in space, crew dead from fuel explosions and decompression.
0 of 1 Starfury flight operational.

Notes:
1. Twin-Linked primary armament eliminates the need for the “Concentrate All Firepower!” special order. I found that this gives the ship a great deal of flexibility and opens up other options for special orders.

2. The Hyperion-type warship must remain mobile to stay alive. Unfortunately, this is often at odds with her bore-sighted weaponry. The aft lasers, however, give her the chance to pass her enemy with the “All Power to the Engines!” special order or just full speed and still attack with her deadliest weaponry.

3. The Nova gave the Hyperion the same grief that the Xill gave the Vorchan in my first scenario: a ship that relies on avoiding arcs of fire going up against a ship that has 360 degree coverage. Now, the Nova certainly has advantageous spots in which to hide (unlike the Xill) but there was really nowhere the Hyperion could go where she was not under fire from the enemy’s guns.

 

[verdantgreen]

IV. Treachery

When the final result of the Earth-Minbari war became clear to those involved the Earth Senate attempted to make peace. The Minbari agreed to a meeting in neutral territory and ordered their forces to hold. Unfortunately for all concerned, the meeting was sabotaged. The Narn offered to escort the EarthForce diplomats to meet the Minbari but were themselves ambushed before this meeting could take place. Centauri forces captured the two Narn cruisers and used them to attack the Earth Alliance delegation.

Forces:

Earth Alliance
Sherman, Nova class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
Lexington, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
5 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Centauri Republic
Gar’Xia, T’Loth class assault cruiser, crew quality 4
Zhen’Ra, T’Loth class assault cruiser, crew quality 4
2 Frazi flights, crew quality 4

Results:

The Narn ships initially inflicted heavy damage with their long-range heavy plasma cannon. The Sherman took the worst of it but survived to attack at close range despite suffering, at one point, six separate critical hit effects. Once the big guns of the Nova dreadnaught were brought into play the Zhen’Ra folded in short order. By this point, the human fighters had wiped-out the Frazis with the loss of only one flight. They pounced on the Gar’Xia as the Sherman and Lexington moved in for the kill. Thinking fast, (and winning initiative!) the captain of the last Narn/Centauri ship pulled in between the two EarthForce warships and opened fire. The aft pulse cannon broke the already damaged Sherman while the plasma weapon and forward pulse cannon badly damaged the Lexington. Finally, the port pulse cannon of the Gar’Xia destroyed two of the four surviving fighter flights. Seeing victory slipping away, the Hyperion opened fire. A lucky string of hits and a few nice criticals smashed the last T’Loth. Unfortunately, when the smoke cleared, the Gar’Xia was still intact. The next round, the Lexington won initiative and further damaged the T’Loth, though she did not survive that turn. The last several turns were the Gar’Xia and the last two flights of Starfuries. The fighters nimbly dodged out of the way while inflicting hit after hit on the capital ship. Suddenly, one fighter flight screwed its dodge roll and perished in pulse cannon fire. Two rounds later, the guns of the Gar’Xia fell silent and the ship was destroyed, leaving a single flight of Starfuries in control of the debris-strewn battlefield.

Gar’Xia - left a burned-out hulk, all hands lost.
Zhen’Ra - left a burned-out hulk, all hands lost.
0 of 2 Frazi flights operational.

Sherman - left adrift in space with minimal survivors (8 crew factors).
Lexington - left a burned-out hulk, all hands lost.
1 of 5 Starfury flights operational.

Notes:
1. Interceptors are quite nice. The Narn ships had stronger hulls than either of the Earth Alliance ships but suffered severe damage that would not have troubled the Alliance interceptors at all.

2. If you are out numbered, make the best of the situation and try to have targets for as many of your fire arcs as can be managed!

 

[verdantgreen]

V. A Fall of Night

While John Sheridan’s nascent alliance moved against the Shadows, president Clark saw his opportunity to strike at those who had supported Sheridan and cost EarthForce several valuable ships. Without warning, the Shadows fell on a pair of warships that had sided with the traitors of Babylon 5.

Forces:

The Shadow
I, Shadow warship, “crew” quality 4 (stats: Shadow Hunter)

Earth Alliance
Achilles, Omega class destroyer, crew quality 4
Africanus, Omega class destroyer, crew quality 4
8 Starfury flights

Results:

The Shadow moved in and evaded the bulk of the EarthForce laser fire. Early on, the fighters began to trouble the Shadow warship and would continue to do so throughout the battle. The Africanus was nearly destroyed with a single molecular slicer beam attack, but survived to return fire one last time. The one time the Shadow lost initiative, it suffered terribly from two heavy laser strikes (plus the aforementioned fighter harassment). At his point, the warship was nearly destroyed (reduced to 7 damage) but managed to escape from the fray, finish off the Africanus, and put some distance between itself and the Achilles. Without the heavy guns, the fighters could only slow down the Shadow regeneration. The Achilles desperately tried to catch up but could not match the ancient warship for speed. After several turns, the Shadow had regained much of its strength and eliminated all but three flights of the annoying fighters. At this point, it turned to attack the last Omega. The crew of the Achilles flawlessly executed several “Come About!” special orders to move their sluggish battleship like it was a fighter, but to no avail. After three turns, the Enemy had reduced the valiant Achilles to rapidly cooling debris. The last of the fighters were cleaned up and the Shadow vanished back into netherspace.

Shadows - the Enemy was badly damaged (32 damage) by the end of the fight but survived.

Achilles - exploded, all hands presumed lost.
Africanus - exploded, all hands presumed lost.
0 of 4 Starfury flights operational.

Notes:
1. The Shadow warship is not nearly so deadly as I might have thought. In particular, fighters seem to have nearly stopped the mighty vessel cold. Throughout the battle, the Shadow ship was constantly one good hit away from being destroyed. I do not mean to say that the Shadows should have it easy, but it took a lot of skill and luck to barely defeat a sluggish foe that made several mistakes.

2. Never mind what you might have heard about their weapons - the Shadows’ guns don’t kill people, the Shadows’ maneuverability kills people. These things are as slippery as quicksilver and fast as a nightmare.

3. As for anti-fighter operations on the part of the Shadows, the Enemy split the beam damage dice up so that it was one die per fighter flight (assuming that many were close enough together to hit). This seemed to have good odds of getting hits on the fighters, though dodges saved them nearly every time. The Shadow Fighters might have helped but they were wasted early on.

4. Omegas are terrible warships with which to fight the Shadow. Only in a few cases, were the EarthForce vessels able to even harm the Old Ones. The Shadow could stay outside of the plasma and pulse cannon range and out of the line of fire of the Omega’s main laser array. The Omega’s only hope would be to either win initiative (not likely, considering the initiative bonus the Shadow enjoys) or box the Enemy in and strike from all sides with lasers.

Also - after the dust had settled, I discovered a rule that I overlooked: the Shadows may not take any special actions except for “Initiate Jump Point.” The warship had frequently made use of “Concentrate All Firepower!” and “All Power to the Engines!” That, and the odd performance against the fighters led me to try this scenario again (see The Witching Hour, below).

 

[verdantgreen]

VI. My Bow, and Blade of War

During the last war between the Narn and the Centauri, intelligence reports kept both sides busy trying to guess the enemy’s next move. In one instance, the Centauri deliberately warned Narn spies about an upcoming attack against a Narn supply convoy. The ambush force (several destroyers) was counter-ambushed and only barely escaped back to friendly space. Congratulating themselves over one of only a handful of victories during the war, the Narn never expected that the second such warning was a setup. This time, a mighty battleship replaced the small destroyer squadron. Unfortunately for the Centauri, the Narn chose to greet the raiding force with a battleship of their own. Up until this point, both forces had been reluctant to commit their largest capital ships to battle for fear of them encountering their opposites and being heavily damaged. Now, the machinations of Centauri intelligence had brought just such an eventuality to pass.

Forces:

The Centauri Republic
Vulgotha, Octurion class battleship, crew quality 4
4 Sentri flights, crew quality 4

The Narn Regime
Tsior’Kar, Bin’Tak class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
3 Frazi flights, crew quality 4

Results:

Anticipating an energy mine barrage, the Sentri flights were spaced out as widely as possible. Despite this precaution, half of the fighters were destroyed before they could attack. Meanwhile, the Centauri scored a great deal of early damage with their main battle lasers while the bore-sighted Narn lasers were unable to reply on many occasions. The situation was made worse by terrible luck with the mag gun which did not score any hits on the Vulgotha for the first several turns. By this point, the fighters had closed to dogfight distance. Despite being out-numbered 2-to-3, the Sentries ruled the day and destroyed all of the Frazis at the cost of one of their two surviving flights. Meanwhile, the gunnery of the Tsior’Kar improved and luck smiled on the Narns in the form of a string of initiative wins. The Narn dreadnaught maneuvered to keep the Centauri in optimal range and hammered the more fragile Octurion to pieces. In a desperate attempt to clench victory, the last Sentri flight dashed itself against the guns of the Tsior’Kar for no great gain.

Vulgotha - left a burned-out hulk. Over half of the crew still lived when a series of secondary explosions ripped through the hull and set fire to the ship’s atmosphere.
0 of 4 Sentri flights operational.

Tsior’Kar - the hull was badly damaged (21 left) and nearly half of the crew was killed (46 left) but the ship managed to limp away intact.
0 of 3 Frazi flights operational.

Notes:
1. The energy mines make incredibly short work of fighters, even if the fighter are spaced-out. I imagine that the situation would have been different if more fighters were present, but then again more fighters would have improved the chances of a cluster getting annihilated by an energy mine.

2. The Vulgotha lost the game by loitering around. She was emboldened by her initial success at long range duels and took too long to close the distance to the slower Tsior’Kar. The bulk of the Octurion’s firepower comes online at range 12, whereas the Bin’Tak can strike out to ranges 20, 30, 25, and 30.

3. Fighters were basically a non-factor in this game. Most Sentris were eliminated by energy mines and the few that remained splashed the Frazi in short order before being destroyed themselves by fire from the dreadnaught.

4. Centauri interceptors did not help much either as they were ineffective against the mag gun, heavy laser cannon, and energy mines of the Bin’Tak.

 

[verdantgreen]

VII. Retribution

As the Vorlon Planet Destroyer moved toward Centauri Prime, the system defense forces tried desperately to delay the ire of the Old Ones. Neither threats, nor pleas gave the Vorlons pause. The only communication was a single message transmitted when the fleet dropped out of hyperspace: “You will be changed.”

The scenario represents a skirmish during the main battle. A Centauri strike force has attacked from hiding and managed to catch part of the Vorlon fleet alone.

Forces:

Centauri Republic
Galain, Primus class battlecruiser, crew quality 4
Vola, Primus class battlecruiser, crew quality 4
Larthien, Vorchan class warship, crew quality 4
Mourtai, Vorchan class warship, crew quality 4
4 Sentri flights

Vorlon Empire
I, destroyer, “crew” quality 4
II, destroyer, “crew” quality 4
3 fighter wings

Results:

The opening rounds of this battle were quite deadly. The Vorlons evaded most of the incoming fire until they reached attack range. Both ships moved to fire on the Larthien. Only the first ship managed to strike, for the Vorchan was completely destroyed in a single attack. The other Vorlon ship could not fire, as its target had been eliminated. The return fire was just as deadly. One Vorlon ship was completely destroyed (despite its adaptive armor), though the other was unharmed. Meanwhile, the Vorlon fighters split into two groups. The first began to massacre the Sentris while the other moved to attack the Galain. At this point, things did not look good for the Vorlons. Two full strength Primus battlecruisers and a Vorchan destroyer stood against a single destroyer. Fortunately for the Old Ones, their fighters performed quite well. The four flights dispatched to attack the Galain destroyed the ship’s reactor in a precision strike. The otherwise unharmed battlecruiser exploded, destroying the four Vorlon fighter flights in the explosion. Meanwhile, the destroyer took a pounding from the Vola but managed to cripple the Mourtai with a pair of strong hits. The poor Mourtai would spend the rest of the game drifting about aimlessly trying to get back into the fight. She was only suffering a -2 speed critical effect but was both Crippled and Running on a Skeleton Crew. The rest of the fight came down to the Vorlon destroyer and the remaining Primus. The ships traded hits for several turns before a -4 speed critical effect against the Vola allowed the Vorlon cruiser to slip out of the arc of the battlecruiser’s main laser weaponry. From this position, the Vorlons could strike with impunity. The Vola’s reduced speed kept her from catching the cruiser with anything other than secondary armament. Eventually, the systems on board the Centauri ship failed and she was left adrift in space. The Mourtai was finished off by a leisurely attack from the Vorlon destroyer.

Galain - destroyed almost instantly, all hands presumed lost.
Vola - left adrift in space with some survivors on board (12 crew factors).
Larthien - exploded during the battle, all hands lost.
Mourtai - left a burned-out hulk.
0 of 4 Sentri flights operational.

I - left a burned-out hulk. Carried away by the Vorlons in the wake of the fighting.
II - survived, though badly damaged (17 body strength remaining).
4 of 9 fighter flights operational.

Notes:
1. This was a very deadly game. Overall, three ships (two Centauri, one Vorlon) were one-shotted.

2. The Primus that fell to the 6-6 critical hit had only suffered five damage when it was destroyed.

3. Vorlon players have to be careful. Their ships are quite deadly, but because of the point penalty for playing the Vorlons you will almost always be out-numbered and vulnerable to deadly massed fire. The Shadows do not suffer this problem because of their wicked mobility. The Vorlons, on the other hand, have to be very careful when moving and rely on their adaptive armor to survive those early rounds until their deadly weapons can even up the number ships a bit.

 

[verdantgreen]

VIII. I Fought the Law

Just prior to the beginning of the Babylon Project, a strong pirate force began to build up in what they called the “Barbary System,” a heretofore uninhabited system with only a few icy planets to hold any interest. The pirates gathered under the banner of one, Raider Wolf Tanaka and plagued the shipping lanes for some years before a probe mission discovered their secret base. The pirates knew that EarthForce was on the way so they mobilized their forces for an escape. Not realizing the seriousness of the situation, EarthForce dispatched a single cruiser and several wings of fighters to clear out what they thought was a small base. The Earth Alliance ships caught the pirates in mid-evacuation. Reluctantly, Tanaka ordered his fighters into battle.

Forces:

Earth Alliance
Georgetown, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
13 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Raiders
Stede Bonnet, Raider Battlewagon, crew quality 4
28 Delta-V flights, crew quality 4

Results:

The EarthForce player moved up the middle and allowed his Starfuries to form a defensive line in front of the vulnerable Georgetown. The pirate player likewise massed his fighters in front of the Stede Bonnet and moved forward. The EarthForce plan was simple: move to engage while the pirates had a bit more crafty of a scheme in mind. The raider fighters were to engage the Starfuries. Once the first waves of fighters had pinned the EarthForce forces down in dogfights, the remaining waves would break off and move around the furball to attack the Georgetown directly. Unfortunately, this plan did not go as intended as the EarthForce player successfully moved his fighters so that each Starfury flight was in base-to-base contact with at least two other raider flights. This dispersion freed up enough Starfuries to stall the attack on the Georgetown. In the end, the pirates did not have enough fighters on hand to defeat the Starfuries and did not have enough to successfully attack the enemy capital ship. While this was going on, the Georgetown and the Stede Bonnet engaged in a long-range gun duel. The pirate vessel had a powerful bore-sight laser weapon but could only bring it into play when the pirates won initiative. Eventually, the Hyperion began to get the better of the battlewagon so the pirates moved in, dramatically flying straight through the fighter battle to get at the Georgetown. Initially, things looked grim for the EarthForce warship. Though her anti-fighter guns were firing like mad, she was still circled by Delta-Vs and taking damage. In one turn, a laser strike and a round of pulse cannon and plasma weapon fire from the Stede Bonnet savaged the Georgetown, knocking off about a third of the ship’s total hull damage capacity in one salvo. Grimly, the captain of the Hyperion ordered “All Power to Engines!” and over-shot the raider battlewagon. From this position the Georgetown’s aft lasers damaged the Stede Bonnet with no reprisal fire possible. From this point on, it was downhill for the pirates. Even if he won initiative, the pirate was not able to turn to face the agile Hyperion. Three attempts at the “Come About!” special order all failed and the Stede Bonnet was destroyed. By this point, the Starfuries had finally been overcome by the sheer number of Delta-Vs though only one flight of raider fighters survived the battle. Valiantly, this last fighter group engaged the Georgetown but were struck down by that ship’s anti-fighter weaponry.

Georgetown - badly damaged (13 damage remaining) but still operational.
0 of 13 Starfury flights operational.

Stede Bonnet - left a burning-hulk, no survivors.
0 of 28 Delta-V flights operational.

Notes:
1. The pirate player had a good plan but it was foiled in the most disastrous way possible (not enough ships to defeat the Starfuries and not enough to seriously harm the capital ship).

2. Again, the Hyperion shows its capacity to slowly bring down a larger foe with precise strikes while avoiding return fire via mobility and interceptors.

3. Between the interceptors and her effective anti-fighter fire, it would have taken a lot more Delta-Vs to defeat or even seriously damage the Hyperion.

4. That is to say, Delta-Vs are total crap. They only barely won (by one flight) against an enemy out-numbered 2-to-1. The ones that snuck by the fight were not fast enough to keep up with the Hyperion when she poured everything into speed and not deadly enough to badly damage her when they did manage to catch her. I can see why Delta-Vs are so cheap.

 

[verdantgreen]

IX. The Witching Hour

Continuing their strikes against warships loyal to captain Sheridan, the Shadows moved against Port Strife, a remote deep-space refueling station established by general Hague before his death. Thinking their base secure, the human forces were surprised when the Shadow warships materialized out of the void and opened fire. Three of the five ships present at the station were able to respond to the attack.

Forces:

The Shadow
I - Shadow warship (Hunter), “crew” quality 4
16 Shadow fighter flights, “crew” quality 4

EarthForce
Diomedes, Omega class destroyer, crew quality 4
Ajax, Omega class destroyer, crew quality 4
Vicksburg, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
9 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Results:

On the approach, the Shadow warship took a light hit or two from heavy laser arrays but was generally in good shape by the time it released four flights of Shadow fighters via its launch tube. The sudden appearance of fighters in the midst of their formation threw the EarthAlliance forces into disarray and delayed the deployment of several of their own fighter flights. These fighters were overwhelmed and destroyed by Starfuries but not before destroying several flights of the human fighters. By this point, the Shadow warship and the remainder of the fighters reached firing range. The Hyperion-type Vicksburg perished under the gentle caress of a molecular slicer beam as it raked the ship from bow to stern. Then, it became a sort of ballet where the lumbering Omegas attempted to bring their mighty guns to bear on the Shadow. The Enemy had no such problems and struck a ship each turn. So, the question was thus: could the EarthAlliance forces get an advantageous position against the Shadow before they were destroyed? At one point in the battle, the Diomedes was severely damaged and the Shadow warship was hurt. The Shadow player maneuvered behind the Ajax, but right in front of the Diomedes, gambling that the wounded ship would not survive to return fire. This turned out to be true and the Shadow warship was left with a single foe. At this point, the results were a forgone conclusion. There was no way that a single Omega could out-maneuver the finest warship of the Old Ones. Two Starfury flights survived the battle with the Shadow fighters and attacked the Enemy, though their damage was not enough to overcome their target’s regeneration. The Ajax soon followed her sister ship into oblivion and the Enemy casually destroyed the fighters before vanishing into the darkness.

I - the ship was within striking distance of being destroyed (about 60 body strength) at one point during the battle but had regenerated to almost full strength by the end (141 body strength).
0 Shadow fighter flights operational.

Diomedes - left adrift in space with one third of the crew alive in escape pods or sealed compartments.
Ajax - left a burned-out hulk with no survivors.
0 of 9 Starfury flights operational.

Notes:
1. This battle (basically a rematch of A Fall of Night, above) went much more smoothly. First of all, the rules error that plagued the last battle was addressed this time around. Second, the addition of Shadow fighters improved the survivability of the warship by tying up enemy fighter squadrons for the first crucial moments of the battle.

2. The fighter launch tube on the Shadow ship was worth quite a laugh. The human player knew that the Enemy could do that, but was still amazed when a score of fighters appeared in the midst of his careful formation.

3. Having now played several games, the power of the Enemy’s weapon is astonishing. The low-resilience / high mobility ships (like the unfortunate Hyperion in this scenario) suffer greatly to the terrible beam weapons of the First Ones.

 

[verdantgreen]

X. A Little Fall of Rain

Fighting desperately for survival, EarthForce launched a desperate pre-emptive strike against a Minbari staging area, hoping to catch the aliens off guard. Humanity needed more time to prepare the defenses of Earth and her solar system against the Minbari assault. Admiral Rajesh Nair took command of a strike force with the order to disrupt an enemy formation detected by probes from Io. Despite immanent annihilation, the people of Earth still fought on, making this, one last desperate attack before being consumed by the darkness.

Forces:

Earth Alliance
Rommel, Nova class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
Pericles, Nova class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
Leonidas, Nova class dreadnaught, crew quality 4
Los Angeles, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Ontario, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Dresden, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Boston, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Yorktown, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Atlantic, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
Barcelona, Hyperion-type warship, crew quality 4
19 Starfury flights, crew quality 4

Minbari Federation
Shendala, Sharlin class war-cruiser, crew quality 4
Durienne, Sharlin class war-cruiser, crew quality 4
Luriia, Tinashi class frigate, crew quality 4
8 Nial flights, crew quality 4
2 Flyer flights, crew quality 4

Results:

This battle began with the Sharlins taking a central position with the Luriia taking one flank and the total fighter forces taking the other. EarthForce split its formation into three sections: Rommel, Pericles, and Leonidas in the center (all Novas), Los Angeles, Ontario, Dresden, (all Hyperions) and 14 flights of Starfuries to one flank, and Boston, Yorktown, Atlantic, Barcelona, (all Hyperions) and 5 flights of Starfuries to the other flank. The group led by Rommel opposed the main Minbari force while Los Angeles and her flotilla moved to flank and Boston and company moved against the Luriia. The Novas took the lead in an attempt to bring their heavy main guns to bear on the Minbari. Rommel, the lead ship, took two neutron laser hits and began to lose speed. The Minbari player initially opted to cripple as many EarthForce vessels as possible to allow for more unrestricted movement. In short order, Rommel, Pericles, Ontario, and Barcelona had all taken serious damage. At this point, the fighters began to mix it up along one side of the battle (except for the five flights of Starfuries that accompanied Boston into combat). By this point, no hits had been achieved on the Minbari ships and the EarthForce had a somewhat bloodied nose.

The Minbari ships kept dancing out of the range of the everything but Hyperion lasers. I quickly began to decide that the Novas and their mighty short-range barrage were going to be a liability. Finally, things started looking up for the humans as the Luriia took a few hits and began to slow down. The Boston, Yorktown, and Atlantic pounced on the wounded vessel and she was destroyed. In retaliation, the humans lost the Atlantic, the Pericles, and the Ontario. When Atlantic was destroyed, she exploded and damaged both the Yorktown and the Barcelona.

With one Nova destroyed and two badly damaged, the Minbari player decided this was the time to make his big play. The two (mostly undamaged) Sharlins cut their long-range sniping routine and charged into the midst of the EarthForce formation. Now each Sharlin had targets for each of its weapons. This was a risky move but it more than doubled the damage output of each Sharlin (the port, starboard, and aft weapons had heretofore been silent). The Leonidas was destroyed along with the Yorktown and Barcelona, though the Minbari were not able to complete this maneuver without losses of their own. The Durienne took several hits from the Rommel and the Los Angeles and began to slow down. By this point, great fighter melee had burned itself out with just a few Nials surviving. These ships began to harass the Dresden and scored many significant hits on her before they were destroyed by anti-fighter fire from Dresden and Los Angeles.

The two Sharlins had made a bold move but were still vulnerable to the massive short-range firepower of the Rommel while the Los Angeles and Dresden were within pulse cannon range. The Minbari player decided that his daring attack had gone on long enough and moved his two Sharlins away from the Rommel and towards the suddenly vulnerable Boston. For one hellish turn, the Boston and her fighters engaged two Sharlin war-cruisers alone. The Hyperion warship was shredded to pieces almost instantly while the aft weapons of the Sharlins damaged the Los Angeles. This was one of the few turns where EarthForce won initiative, so the Boston was able to further damage the Durienne before being destroyed. Finally, a desperate attack by the last Starfuries on the table succeeded in destroying Durienne. The ship exploded violently, destroying all four fighter flights and damaging the Shendala.

The aft weaponry of the Shendala finished off the wounded Rommel and destroyed the Dresden. The Los Angeles was badly wounded and could not keep up with the last Sharlin. The Shendala moved away and turned, coming back around for one last pass. Amazingly, the EarthForce player won initiative, succeeded in executing a “Come About!” order and was able to damage Shendala with one last heavy laser strike before being consumed by the Minbari neutron lasers.

Rommel - left a burning hulk with no survivors.
Pericles - left adrift with a handful of survivors (2 crew factors).
Leonidas - left a burning hulk with no survivors.
Los Angeles - exploded, all hands lost.
Ontario - left adrift with no survivors.
Dresden - left a burned-out hulk.
Boston - left adrift with a handful of survivors (7 crew factors).
Yorktown - left adrift with no survivors.
Atlantic - exploded, all hands lost.
Barcelona - left a burned-out hulk with no survivors.
0 of 19 Starfury flights operational.

Shendala - took significant damage (14 damage remaining) and crew loses (10 crew factors remaining) but still operational.
Durienne - exploded, all hands lost.
Luriia - left adrift with a handful of survivors (6 crew factors).
0 of 8 Nial flights operational.
0 of 2 Flyer flights operational.

Notes:
1. Stealth is extremely powerful, but only if you are lucky. The Minbari ships are not so resilient as those of EarthForce or the Narn regime. If the stealth fails at a bad time, the ship is likely to take serious damage. This is what claimed the Luriia.

2. As much as I love the Nova, she is worthless against the Minbari. I initially considered a 6/4 Hyperion/Nova split to allow for more fighters but ended up going with an instinct to include more Hyperions. This turned out to be prudent as the three Novas present in the battle only accounted for a single successful attack. Furthermore, the Novas were almost a non-factor due to their low speed compared to the Sharlins. The Minbari player deliberately wounded the Novas enough that they were rendered even slower before casually avoiding them for most of the fight (an effective tactic considering the “Precise” trait on each of the neutron lasers). The one time a Nova successfully attacked was when it was charged by a Sharlin.

3. The Sharlin mobility accounts for as much of their lethality as their legendary stealth systems. While not quite the equal of the Shadow, the Sharlins are extremely agile for their size.

4. This was the first time a ship was damaged in another ship’s explosion. The effect was rather interesting and must be accounted for in maneuvers.

 

[animus]

Nice accounts! Thanks. You'll have to report on the 2e rules.

(How was the "no child left behind" stuff?)

 

[voncougar]

Wow, what a great set of reports! I don't think I've read this many at once, and with such a variety, I'm just itching to try out different scenarios and 'stories.'
Oooooh.
Sounds like a fun bunch of games.

 

[verdantgreen]

I'm glad you guys liked the battle reports

The NCLB conference was a lot of fun. I don't agree with all of the aspects of the law, but the conference featured a lot of useful information for a new teacher like me.

Those games were a lot of fun. It was the first time I or my opponents had played ACtA and there were some speedbumps (i.e., the first Shadow scenario) but overall, the game was quick to learn.

 

[Silvereye]

Great stuff there verdantgreen.

It was the first time I or my opponents had played ACtA and there were some speedbumps (i.e., the first Shadow scenario) but overall, the game was quick to learn.

I find the simplicity of the rules let you explore the tactics of the fleet style and their individual ships without the rules bogging things down.

 

[Triggy]

Great stuff there - I enjoyed going through them

 

[Court Jester]

Great stuff there - I enjoyed going through them

Same here, they were short and too the point and so enjoyable to read. Top stuff.