Broken Stars & Burning Ships: October 2018

Over a year ago I did a lengthy post with suggested stats for Brigade Models' European Federation starships in Full Thrust. There have been several newer miniatures released in the range since then, so I'm going back to revisit the fleet with new photos and some more house rules for some conversions. I'll mirror the most important bits here for convenience, but the original post is here:

http://brokenstarsburningships.blogspot.com/2017/06/european-federation-fleet-statistics.html

Milano Dreadnought

Big, fast, and powerfully armed, the Milano is the backbone of many EuroFed battlegroups. Her missile launches are some of the most impressive in the fleet, and she also carries a heavy array of long-ranged beams. The lack of close-in armament is not seen as a drawback and their captains generally excel at careful maneuver and standoff combat, keeping their distance until their foes are worn down too much to resist.

TMF 161
NPV 537 / CPV 635
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
3 Fire Controls qqq
4 PDS qqqq
4 Salvo Missile Racks (F/FS/FP) qqqq
4 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/FS/FP/AS/AP) qq (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q

Hull 46 (12/12/11/11) - 9 crew units, one every 6th box

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Liberte Battleship

A cornerstone of the EuroFed battleline, the Liberte class is something of an anomaly. She carries only light missile armament but a very heavy array of medium and heavy beam weaponry, all with good firing arcs and a powerful fire control suite that lets her engage multiple targets with ease. These potent ships often serve as fleet flagships accompanied by the more common missile-heavy classes like the Abruzzi and Sourcouf, using their massive beam output to finish off enemies crippled by the fleet's missile launches.

TMF 124
NPV 412 / CPV 442
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
3 Fire Controls qqq
4 PDS qqqq
1 Salvo Missile Rack (F/FS/FP) q
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/FS/FP/AS/AP) qq
5 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qq (F/FS/AS) qq (A/AS/AP) q

Hull 38 (10/10/9/9) - 7 crew units, one every 6th box

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Abruzzi Heavy Missile Cruiser

The Abruzzi is another specialist design, a "Big Brother" to the Surcouf class. Her missile load is amazing for her size, by far the heaviest in the entire fleet. This comes at a hefty cost as the ship's beam firepower is minimal and her defenses are lackluster as well.

TMF 88
NPV 295 / CPV 284
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
1 Fire Control q
4 PDS qqqq
5 Salvo Missile Racks (F/FS/FP) qqq (F/FS/AS) q (F/FP/AP) q
2 Class 1 Beam Batteries (All Arcs) qq

Hull 26 (7/7/6/6) - 5 crew units, one every 6th box

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Tigre Strike Cruiser

A potent medium-weight cruiser design, the Tigre class sports better beam weaponry than most EuroFed designs. Her twin heavy beam mounts are quite powerful, and their novel fore-and-aft gun mounts save a great deal of mass and cost over conventional turret arrays.

TMF 74
NPV 247 / CPV 228
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 Fire Control qq
2 PDS qq
1 Salvo Missile Rack (F/FS/FP) q

2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/A) qq
2 Class 2 Beam Batteries (All Arc) q (F/FS/FP) q

Hull 22 (6/6/5/5) - 4 crew units, one every 6th box

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Valmy Medium Cruiser

An older cruiser design, the Valmy is often criticized as lacking a clearly defined role in the fleet. She carries a generalist mix of beam and missile armament with fairly narrow arcs of fire and limited ammunition. The most noteworthy feature of the class is the prow mounted precision needle beam, a weapon more commonly seen on light strikeships. Still, the Valmy is a speedy and reasonably durable ship and contributes to massed missile strikes adequately, although the class tends to preform poorly in independent operations.

TMF 78
NPV 257 / CPV 240
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 Fire Control qq
3 PDS qqq
2 Salvo Missile Racks (F/FS/FP) qq

1 Class 3 Beam Battery (F) q
1 Class 2 Beam Battery (F/FS/FP) q

1 Needle Beam (F) q

Hull 26 (7/7/6/6) - 4 crew units, one every 7th box

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Condorcet Light Cruiser

Smaller stable mate of the Tigre strike cruiser, the Condorcet class is an oddity in the fleet. While she carries a very respectable beam weapon array the lack of missile racks prevents her from contributing to a formation's coordinated launches. Despite this the class is both popular and commonplace, as they provide strong lasting support to the missile specialist classes as well as being capable raiders and scouts with none of the logistic limitations that rack armaments call for.

TMF 61
NPV 203 / CPV 179
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 Fire Control qq
2 PDS qq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/A) qq

1 Class 2 Beam Battery (All Arc) q
1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arc) q

Hull 19 (5/5/5/4) - 4 crew units, one every 5th box

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Surcouf Missile Destroyer

A very specialized destroyer, the Surcouf is almost a pure missile boat. Her salvo racks can kill targets many times her mass but she has very little punch remaining after launch. Their own missile defense are also quite light, and most Surcouf squadrons have at least one El Malin assigned as a dedicated escort.

TMF 34
NPV 114 / CPV 92
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q

1 Fire Control q
1 PDS q
2 Salvo Missile Rack (F/FS/FP) qq
1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arcs) q

Hull 10 (3/3/2/2) - 2 crew units, one every 5th box

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Insidioso Strike Destroyer

The Insidioso is fast, tough destroyer design with a respectable missile load and modest secondary beam mounts. Envisioned as a fast attack ship, the class mounts an unusual rear-arc beam turret that's intended to provide extra firepower against pursuers as the ship attempts to withdraw after launching its ordnance. While viable for strike missions, in extended fights this leads to some unusual maneuvering as Insidioso captains weave around trying to keep their aft chase guns in arc.

TMF 31
NPV 103 / CPV 82
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q

1 Fire Control q
1 PDS q
1 Salvo Missile Rack (F/FS/FP) q
1 Class 2 Beam Battery (A/AS/AP) q

1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arcs) q

Hull 10 (3/3/2/2) - 2 crew units, one every 5th box

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Le Malin Escort Frigate

A very specialized design, the Le Malin escort frigate is built to provide maximum area defense coverage for minimum cost. Their anti-shipping capability is minimal and hopelessly short ranged, but they let the more combat-capable ships in the fleet win missile duels and survive fighter strikes with ease. EuroFed merchant convoys also benefit from Le Malin support, and they're commonly assigned to such roles alongside a Surcouf or Insidioso wingmate.

TMF 24
NPV 82 / CPV 64
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
1 Fire Control q

1 Area Defense Fire Control q
6 PDS qqqqqq

Hull 7 (2/2/2/1) - 2 crew units, one every 4th box

Surveillante Sensor Picket/Scout

The Surveillante is a specialized electronic warfare vessel. Almost unarmed and very fragile, she mounts incredibly powerful sensors that aid friendly target identification. This has proven particularly important during the Xeno Wars era, where encounters with completely unknown craft and bizarre alien technologies are a serious possibility. Although quite expensive the advantages they offer can be critical, but only when they're properly escorted to ensure their survival.

TMF 13
NPV 67 / CPV 56
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 PDS qq

Superior Sensors q
Hull 4 (1/1/1/1) - 1 crew unit, 3rd box

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Cormoran Utility Shuttle

A very common small spaceframe in the fleet, the Cormoran is regarded as a utility ship capable of filling many roles with simple reconfigurations. The basic "fleet scout/courier" design sports a precision needle beam for offense, a light point defense array that can double as a ground support weapon in a pinch, and a tremendously powerful set of drives. Other common configurations include the "commando/blockade runner" design which sacrifices the needle beam and its generators in favor of a small troop/cargo bay, allowing it to carry elite ground troopers and/or small amounts of high-value cargo. Another common variant is the "assault shuttle" version, which removes the FTL system for an even larger troop bay and acts as a parasite ship on large EuroFed troop transports.

Scout/Courier

TMF 13
NPV 47 / CPV 36
Thrust 8 q 4 q
FTL q
1 Fire Control q

1 PDS q

1 Needle Beam (F) q
Hull 3 (1/1/1) - 1 crew unit, 3rd box

Commando/Blockade Runner

TMF 13
NPV 40 / CPV 28
Thrust 8 q 4 q
FTL q
1 PDS q

Cargo/Troop Bay (3 Mass) qqq
Hull 3 (1/1/1) - 1 crew unit, 3rd box

Assault Shuttle

TMF 13
NPV 38 / CPV 27
Thrust 8 q 4 q
1 PDS q

Cargo/Troop Bay (4 Mass) qqqq
Hull 3 (1/1/1) - 1 crew unit, 3rd box

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The EuroFed carriers use one house rule, mostly to match Brigades' preferred fighter basing:

Fighter Triads:

EuroFed fighters operate in groups of 3 ("triads") rather than the more common squadrons of 6 used by most spacefaring powers. This has some small advantages (PD fire and dogfights are more likely to waste hits on overkill, and they'll have more options about where to move their fighters) but it also has the drawback of less efficient use of hanger space. Each triad requires 5 Mass for hanger space, which is priced as normal (3 points per Mass for NPV users, 1 point per Mass for CPV users). When paying for the fighters themselves (as you do under the CPV system) each triad costs half what a six-fighter squadron does.

Umberto Battlecarrier

Umberto-class battlecarriers are multirole combat ships designed to swamp enemy point defenses with combined fighter and missile strikes while providing beam fire from long range. They are effective but rather expensive, and are consequently somewhat rare. Battlecarriers are rarely if ever seen without at least one Le Malin in support.

TMF 164
NPV 494 + fighters / CPV 510 + fighters
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 Fire Controls qq
4 PDS qqq
6 Triad Hanger Bays qqqqqq
3 Salvo Missile Racks (F/FS/FP) qqq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q
Hull 39 (10/10/10/9) - 9 crew, one every 5th box

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Cerbere Light Carrier

The Libetrte-class light carrier is a scaled down version of the Umberto battlecarrier, cheaper, smaller, and easier to produce, albeit also less capable in combat. She lacks the long-range beams of her heavier cousin, but sports similar medium/close firepower. Most fleet formations will include a Liberte, as well as at least one Le Malin escort frigate to help defend it so the full fighter strike wing can go on offense.

TMF 128
NPV 430 + fighters / CPV 418 + fighters
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
2 Fire Controls qq
4 PDS qqq
4 Triad Hanger Bays qqqq
2 Salvo Missile Racks (F/FS/FP) qqq
5 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qq (F/FS/AS) qq (A/AS/AP) q
Hull 33 (9/8/8/8) - 7 crew, one every 5th box

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Surcouf-X Experimental Hyperdrive Destroyer

A heavily-modified one-off conversion of a standard destroyer hull, the Sourcouf-X represents an ongoing dream of the EuroFed admiralty - a ship capable of jumping into a battlespace, volleying its missiles on a suitable target, and jumping back out to reload in safety. The idea of entire fleets of such ships being a war-winning technological breakthrough is hypnotically appealing to both politicians and high command, but so far the technology is...unreliable, to put it mildly. The Sourcouf-X is the most successful attempt at a dual-jump hyperdive ship to date, which means it hasn't blown itself to bits or vanished during field trials. Yet.

TMF 38
NPV 126 / CPV 102
Thrust 5 q 2 q
2 FTL (Dual Hyperdrive) qq

1 Fire Control q
1 PDS q
2 Salvo Missile Rack (F/FS/FP) qq
1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arcs) q

Hull 9 (3/2/2/2) - 2 crew units, one every 5th box

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The Sourcouf-X is a kitbash that uses a (not very safe) experimental house rule, which is appropriate for something that's intended to be a (very) experimental ship. I don't actually recommend using these rules in competitive play, but they do make an interesting scenario special surprise.

Dual Hyperdrive:

A ship with a dual hyperdrive may both enter the battlefield AND exit the battlefield (on a later turn, obviously) in the same game. Both entry and exit use the normal rules found on pages 23 and 24 of the Full Thrust 2.0 rulebook, with one major exception. EVERY time a Dual Hyperdrive is plotted to be used, roll 1d6 before checking for other problems due to object proximity. On a result of 1, the ship marks the FTL system box being used as destroyed (they have two) and takes 1d6 damage. On a result of 2, mark both FTL drives as destroyed and suffer 2d6 damage. On 3+ the drives work properly...this time. And THEN you get to check for object proximity, which may very well kill your ship anyway.

Vaban External Rack Carrier

Montcalm Class

Much like the Cormoran above, the miniature for the new-sculpt Montcalm lends itself to multiple uses. The older design (seen here: http://fullthrust.star-ranger.com/BSBSEuroFedstats.htm ) was significantly chunkier and looked more like a slow brick of a ship, where the new figure looks much more like a Sourcouf destroyer hull with variant weapons. Accordingly, I'll offer stats and fluff for several variants. First up, the actual monitor build, a non-FTL-capable ship built for convoy escort and orbital defense duties.

Montcalm System Defense Monitor

Commonly found in system defense forces throughout EuroFed/FSE space, the Montcalm-class monitor is a destroyer-sized combat ship that sacrifices thrust and strategic mobility for improved weaponry and defenses. They carry a capital-ship beam turret as a primary weapon mount as well as an extensive PDS array tied to advanced fire controls. This makes them popular as in-system convoy escorts and orbital interdictors, roles where their low thrust is less of a liability.

TMF 34 NPV 116 / CPV 94 Thrust 2 q 1 q 1 Fire Control q 1 Area Defense Fire Control q 4 PDS qqqq 1 Class 3 Beam Battery (F/FS/FP/AS/AP) q 1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arcs) qq Hull 13, Armor 1 (4/3/3/3) - 2 crew units, one every 7th box m qqqq qqp qqq qqp

Alternately, you could use the same mini as a destroyer variant rather than a monitor.

Montcalm Fleet Destroyer

A powerful modern destroyer design, the Montcalm fleet destroyer is an unusual ship that carries a very large beam turret in place of the more common missile or light beam weaponry used by most lighter ships. They add considerable long ranged beam power to any force that includes them, and at a much lower cost than a capital ship.

TMF 34
NPV 114 / CPV 92
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q

1 Fire Control q
1 PDS q
1 Class 3 Beam Battery (F/FS/FP/AS/AP) q
1 Class 1 Beam Battery (All Arcs) q

Hull 10 (3/3/2/2) - 2 crew units, one every 5th box

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Or you could treat that big turret as multiple smaller beams, for a really simple-to-play ship design.

Montcalm Destroyer

A powerful modern destroyer design, the Montcalm fleet destroyer is an unusual ship that carries its entire main armament in a single very large beam turret in place of the more common multiple dispersed emitters on most warships. This maximizes her fire output although it limits the number of targets she can engage simultaneously.

TMF 34
NPV 114 / CPV 92
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q

1 Fire Control q
1 PDS q
3 Class 2 Beam Batteries (All Arcs) qqq
Hull 10 (3/3/2/2) - 2 crew units, one every 5th box

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Broken Stars & Burning Ships

Sunday, October 7, 2018

European Federation Fleet Statistics for Full Thrust Revisited