Full Thrust: Zedoss Monarchy Kitbashed Fleet

Battle Wing TF 1.01 "Able Fleet"

 

 

Historical Background

 

The Zedoss Commonality was THE regional superpower of its galactic neighborhood, a human-dominated interstellar nation that had absorbed numerous weaker alien polities into its overall structure over the past few centuries.  These xenospecies were second-class citizens at best, with travel and work restrictions, strict limits on self-governance, and imposed caps on both civilian and military naval strength.  Political stability and a degree of economic unity was maintained largely by force and the threat of force, most of it stemming from the navy.

 

The Commonality Fleet relied on overwhelming superiority more than innovative tactics or technological supremacy, and could be called "hidebound" in its later years.  The Fleet was divided into the Patrol and Battle Wings, with Patrol ships being smaller craft that operated largely on the Frontier and as de facto garrisons in particularly fractious interior systems.  The Battle Wing was composed almost entirely of large capital ships and their specialized escorts and support craft, and was usually retained as a reserve in the central systems.  When a Battle Wing fleet was deployed, it was in response to major border threats (unheard of in the last century of the Commonality) or to mercilessly quash local discontent or open rebellion.

 

Battle Wing TF 1.02 "Brave Fleet"

 

 

Three years ago, the Commonality government was overthrown in a mostly-bloodless coup lead by a gestalt posthuman AI known as Monarch, with the state renamed the Zedoss Monarchy and all meaningful power under direct control of the AI.  While the coup was a stunning success, it took some time for its impact to reach throughout the former Commonality territory.  In that time, certain naval elements (mostly Patrol Wing, but with some heavier Battle Wing ships) deserted their posts and withdrew to Frontier territories where the local alien populaces were recently and incompletely subjugated.  These Commonality loyalists formed the core of the Revolution, supported by the local self-defense and anti-piracy fleets of multiple former client xenospecies.  For more than two years the Revolutionary Fleet sought allies, fortified their systems, expanded their shipbuilding assets, and prepared to strike back against the inhuman Monarch and the military that had betrayed their Commonality oaths to serve a machine.

 

And then the Battle Wing fleets of the Zedoss Monarchy arrived on the Frontier and the war truly began.

 

Battle Wing TF1.03 "Crown Fleet"

 

 

Naval Technology

 

Zedoss naval design stresses the use of energy-based primaries (mostly Beam-3 and Graser-2) and turreted secondaries (Beam-2 and Beam-3) backed up by banks of shorter-ranged high-intensity projectors (Graser-1) as close action weapons.  Firing arcs are focused toward the bow, with lighter coverage on the flanks and little or no rear arc firepower.  Their larger ships carry very heavy energy screens and rely heavily on them and their superior long-range shooting to win slugging matches.  Self-defense weaponry is quite light, supplemented at need by fighter support.  Maneuverability is fair, but their Revolutionary opponents generally enjoy a considerable advantage in speed and agility.

 

The only house rule used by the Zedoss Monarchy is the use of a 120 degree front firing arc on many of their capital ship primary weapons.  These are bought as having two 60 degree firing arcs, but the 120 arc is centered directly ahead, rather than the more common F+Fs or F+FP dual arc layout.

 

Ranger-class Patroller

 

These ships were the workhorses of the Patrol Wing and one or more could be found in almost all inhabited systems and cruising in many others.  They almost never operated in groups larger than four, and were commonly seen alone or pairs.  While a good match for the small "defense" ships allowed to various client species, they were intended to be the eyes of the Commonality, not combatants in major actions.  When operating alongside Battle Wing ships they served mostly as pickets, couriers, and flankers.  Many Revolution ships were Ranger-class vessels, as the sheer number of them in Patrol Wing led to many "deserters" from the Monarchy.

 

 

Ranger-class Patroller
TMF 34
NPV 117/CPV 95
Thrust 6 q 3 q
FTL q
1 Fire Control System q

1 PDS q
3 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/FS) q (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q

1 Class 1 Graser (F/FP/FS) q

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

qqq
qpq
qq
qp

 

Bulwark-class Close Escort

 

Close escorts are the most numerous type of ship found in the Battle Wing, where they provide support for the much larger and more capable rated warships.  They have extremely heavy close action weapon arrays that make them a deadly threat at short range, but very little longer ranged shooting.  In fleet actions Bulwarks are most commonly deployed ahead of their larger brethren to either draw fire or force the enemy to take heavy CAWS damage if they wish to close on the battle echelon.  Sometimes a flank deployment is used instead, with the Bulwarks covering the weaker side and rear arcs of the heavy ships against high-speed enemy flankers or during turning duels.

 

Bulwark-class Close Escort
TMF 34
NPV 127/CPV 105
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
1 Fire Control System q

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

3 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/FS) q (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q

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

qqq
qpq
qq
qp

  

Warrior-class Warship (4th Rate)

 

Battle Wing heavy warships are given "ratings" with 1st Rate being the most powerful, 2nd Rate & 3rd Rate being the most common, and 4th Rate ships being the least powerful commonly seen designs.  The Warrior class is an older design, and somewhat rarely seen in the Monarchy era.  They are still far more powerful than the kind of lighter warships allowed to Commonality xenospecies fleets, commercial militaries, or the average Patrol Wing vessel, and are quite capable of standing in the line (or echelon) of battle.  Their primary failing is a lack of flank weaponry and mediocre thrust ratings, although they can overcome both by keeping the range open as long as possible and "turtling" at zero speed to use maneuvering thrusters to keep their big guns on target.

 

Warrior-class Warship (4th Rate)
TMF 102
NPV 357/CPV 359
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screens qq
3 Fire Control Systems qqq
3 PDS qqq
4 Class 3 Beam Batteries (Front 120) qqqq

2 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/AP) q   (F/FS/AS) q

Hull 30 (8/8/7/7) - 6 crew units, one every 5th box

qqqqpqqq
qpqqqqpq
qqqpqqq
qpqqqqp

 

Triumph-class Warship (3rd Rate)

 

Larger, more modern, and more expensive than the smaller 4th Rates, the Triumph was the original testbed ship for the advanced heavy graser cannon, and has been built in large numbers as a replacement for the older Warrior class and other 4th Raters.  Their performance so far has been somewhat unimpressive, and plans for a larger 2nd Rate graser warship have been delayed for some time, although the first experimental prototype was claimed by Coordinator Vanross as a flagship for the initial Zedoss Monarchy offensive in the war.  Like the Warrior, the Triumph suffers from a lack of secondary flanking weapons.

 

Triumph-class Warship (3rd Class)
TMF 114
NPV 422/CPV 447
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screens qq
3 Fire Control Systems qqq

3 PDS qqq
2 Class 2 Grasers (Front 120) qq
2 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/AP) q   (F/FS/AS) q

Hull 33 (9/8/8/8) - 6 crew units, one every 6th box

qqqqqpqqq
qqpqqqqq
pqqqqqpq
qqqqpqqp

 

Imperative-class Warship (2nd Rate)

 

By far the most common heavy warship in the Battle Wing, the Imperative uses proven weaponry on a large and durable hull and address the weaknesses of 3rd and 4th Rate ships by adding a strong secondary turret battery of mid-ranged beams.  These ships are much more capable of defending themselves in a close-in brawl or turning duel, although they still prefer to use a slow-approach sniping tactic for as long as possible.  Their only real drawback is their high cost, but given that a single Imperative can fight an entire squadron of lesser ships and hope to win that cost is often justified.

 

Imperative-class Warship (2nd Rate)
TMF 144
NPV 479/CPV 542
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screens qq
3 Fire Control Systems qqq

3 PDS qqq
4 Class 3 Beam Batteries (Front 120) qqqq
6 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qqq (F/FS/AS) qqq

2 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/AP) q   (F/FS/AS) q

Hull 43 (11/11/11/10) - 8 crew units, one every 6th box

qqqqqpqqqqq
pqqqqqpqqqq
qpqqqqqpqqq
qqpqqqqqpp

 

Scorpion-class Second Rate Warship

 

While technically a 2nd Rate warship, the Scorpion class breaks the mold for large warships and represents a rare innovation from the Zedoss Navy.  Trading off a great deal of structural integrity and screen strength for increased offensive power, these ships mount the largest primary beam cannons developed to date, giving them a staggering maximum engagement range at the cost of a narrower firing arc and slightly less close-range firepower from the similarly sized Imperative class.  Her secondary turrets follow the same pattern, upgrading to Class 3 beams to synergize with her main gun ranges better.  Scorpions are generally deployed in echelon formation behind her more durable cousins.

 

Note:  If your available table space doesn't allow use of the full 60MU range those beam-5 guns while still allowing some potential for maneuvering and being out of range, then you could swap the 2 x Beam-5 for 4 x Beam-4 with no changes to cost or mass.  You'll be less of a sniper and at more risk of being shot back at with real numbers of dice, but your firepower at closer ranges will be slightly better - if you can keep targets in arc.

 

Scorpion-class Warship (2nd Rate)
TMF 144
NPV 504/CPV 567
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 1 Screen q
3 Fire Control Systems qqq

3 PDS qqq
2 Class 5 Beam Batteries (F) qq
2 Class 3 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) q (F/FS/AS) q

2 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/AP) q   (F/FS/AS) q

Hull 38 (10/10/9/9) - 8 crew units, one every 5th box

qqqqpqqqqp
qqqqpqqqqp
qqqqpqqqq
pqqqqpqqp

 

Glory-class First Rate Warship 

 

Flagship of the Zedoss Monarchy's first offensive against the Revolution, the Glory is the unique "hero/archvillain ship" of Coordinator Vanross, the Monarch's chief servant in this operation.  It started life as an experimental prototype for a 2nd Rate graser-armed ship developed from the Triumph-class 3rd Rate, but (as Vanross's personal flagship) has been refitted with cutting edge power generators, weapon systems, and damage control systems.  Despite its apparent size, the Glory's super-advanced tech gets her a 1st Rate classification, and she can reasonably expect to beat any other ship in this list one on one. 

 

However, she isn't perfect.  While she has the effective mass and cost of a superdreadnought and above average firepower even for that, her hull is only a tiny bit tougher than an Imperative-class 2nd Rater.  All those hull boxes are advanced, so her thresh checks won't hurt as much and her glorious weapons should stay online longer, but she still pops when that 44th box is gone.  This is a deliberate choice for dramatic effect.  Vanross is a "Big Bad" in the setting, and having him gloating and overconfident on a seemingly unstoppable ship that suddenly succumbs to the good guys' last shot as all those experimental reactors go critical feels very appropriate.  If you're using the Glory outside of a narrative game you may find its performance a bit disappointing, especially if the enemy focus fires on it - but it does bring four graser-2s to the table, so maybe not. 

 

Glory-class Warship (1st Rate)
TMF 194
NPV 789/CPV 966
Thrust 4 q 2 q
FTL q
Level 2 Screens qq
4 Fire Control Systems qqqq

3 PDS qqq
4 Class 2 Grasers (Front 120) qqqq
6 Class 2 Beam Batteries (F/FP/AP) qqq (F/FS/AS) qqq

2 Class 1 Grasers (F/FP/AP) q   (F/FS/AS) q

Advanced Hull 44 (15/15/14) - 10 crew units, one every 5th box

qqqqpqqqqpqqqqp
qqqqpqqqqpqqqqp
qqqqpqqqqpqqqpp

 

 

Eyrie-class Support Carrier

 

 

The Zedoss military does not like fighters.  It's not real fond of missiles either.  And none of their historical opponents ever had the power to really leverage those technologies against them for long.  This has led them to build a fleet around "big gun" capital ships supported by escorts designed to cover flanks and block rushes rather than spending mass on heavy point defense and area fire controls.  Still, they know fighters and missiles exist, and they do have contingencies for protecting themselves against a fleet that uses enough of them to be a real threat.

 

Zedoss Monarchy carrier doctrine calls for the fighters to be deployed solely for the purpose of defending their Rated warships.  They aren't used for independent long-range operations, or to cover escorts ships, or for offensive strikes against enemy cripples or targets of opportunity.  A flight commander who suggested any of those options would be demoted in short order.  One who actually ordered any of them carried out would be court-martialed.

 

In game terms, Zedoss fighters are assigned to escort Rated ships, usually with one or two squadrons per vessel depending on availability.  Like any escorting fighter, they must stay within 3MU of their ward, freely move along with them as they move, and do their best to intercept incoming threats.  They may not break off from escort duty unless their ward is destroyed, at which point they will either find another Rated ship to cover or start withdrawing to their carrier.  They won't fire offensively against a ship unless it comes close enough that they can shoot without leaving the 3MU escort range of their ward.  This comes pretty close to turning them into extra point defenses for as long as their CEF holds out.

 

 

Zedoss carriers are not intended to be combat ships.  The Battle Wing considers them to be fleet auxiliaries, and they certainly aren't much more than a big mobile hanger anyway.  If following doctrine properly, they aren't deployed on table, although you still need to pay the points for them (perhaps at a 72 point discount since their hanger bays sure won't be reloading anything in combat) to account for your fighters.  The fighters begin the game on escort duty as above, while the carrier(s) are somewhere 60-100MU off their friendly table edge, and are generally under orders to make a short emergency FTL jump if anything breaks through to threaten them.

 

That said, they do have (very bad) stats, and you could easily do scenarios where they do come under attack.  Maybe they're within the FTL jump limit for a nearby planet or star, or they just jumped recently and the drives need to recharge, or they just weren't paying attention to their sensors.  If you do this, I'd assign some escorts (Bulwarks or Rangers, most likely) to make some kind of fight of it, and/or have some fighters loaded or recalled from the main battle and arriving on a table edge with some missing CEF.  Doctrines also fail sometimes, and an ambushed or unprepared Zedoss fleet could get caught with its carriers on table with the rest of the warships, maybe even with the hangers still loaded.  Good luck with that. 

 

Support carriers are fleet auxiliaries and are not intended for combat.  Eyries have fragile hulls, no meaningful offensive weapons, and underpowered (but efficient) drive systems repurposed from civilan designs.  Their military utility comes from their vast hanger bays and surprisingly comprehensive array of long range sensors and communication gear (intended for fighter coordination at extreme distances).  Their fighter pilots are often somewhat inexperienced, or at least unpracticed, but they are at least considered to be part of Battle Wing's combat arms.  The ship's crew are part of the support arm, and often suffer from questionable morale at best.  This isn't helped by warship crews referring to the carriers as "barns" or "farmyards" (and their fighters as "chicks") more often than not. 

 

Naval intelligence operatives are sometimes assigned to Eyries to take advantage of their sensor/commo rigs, which have some utility in signal analysis.  Their hangers can also be configured to carry SpecForce stealth landers and similar spy craft. 
 

 

Eyrie-class Support Carrier
TMF 134
NPV 465 + fighter upgrades/CPV 218 + fighters
Thrust 2 q 1 q
FTL q
3 PDS qqq
8 Hanger Bays qqqqqqqq

6 Mass Long Range Sensor/Commo Systems

Hull 27 (7/7/7/6) - 7 crew units, one every 4th box

qqqpqqq

pqqqpqq

qpqqqpq

qqpqqp

 

Oracle-class Signal Analysis Ship

 

These are effectively civilian ships with fancy sensors.  Lousy thrust, no guns, about 3 hull boxes total.  If you're putting them on the table it should be as objectives in a scenario game, not as part of a battle fleet.  Unless you want to write some electronic warfare rules yourself.  I played Star Fleet Battles, and am not going down that rabbit hole.  You could easily use these in a scenario with an Eyrie on the table supporting some Black Ops mission.

 

Oasis-class Fuel Tanker

 

See what I said about the Oracles above.  These are the same, but a bit more prone to exploding unless they turn out to actually be hauling water or sewage or something.  If you want to use them as fireships or something, I'll leave the rules to you.  They'd be right at home in a "logistics raid" scenario where the Revolution is striking at a fleet's support elements, again maybe including an Eyrie (with or without some fighters).