Mechanized Iron versus Jaeger spotters and Hammer

[Sydney Freedberg]

This is a sequel to the Hussar vs. Kerrn thread (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3242).

I'd be happy to try another Firefight in this "honor system" version of the Arena. I enjoyed this one and it was a good system-learning experience. What I'd like to try next is not an all-Hussar force -- since that gives away three Disposition points in the form of "Vastly Outnumbered" and "Superior Infiltration" -- but something in the combined arms department: Say, a reinforced heavy infantry platoon with 15-16 Lords-Pilot in Iron, three Assault Sleds as infantry carriers, a single Hussar attached for recon, and a SPAG-M (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Self-Propelled_Artillery_%28Gravitic%29_-_SPAG&burninge_BEwiki_be__session=88aabffeb8a38598d64380 22aa2cfa6c) firing in support. That's a pretty brutally heavy force, but it'll allow me to test my theories about using small numbers of my custom vehicles in support of more conventional ones.

So you'll be fielding a heavy mechanized company... perhaps I'll use a squadron of tanks supported by anvil infantry? What I'd really like is a combat drop, but that doesn't make so much sense. The drop would involve a squad of Jaegers and their drop shuttles. The only problem with that is as soon as you get a shot op, you can fry my entire unit.

I've decided... I'm going to be playing a section of Jaegers with a Hammer liaison officer, and a few assault shuttles or a cruiser. They're the forward observation team.

[Sydney Freedberg]

With Hammer flying overhead, I'll probably want to add some of the fortifications I've been Burning up (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?p=34791#post34791). I'm thinking less of the various armored gun turrets than a Fortress Warren (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3452&page=2) for my mechanized artillery to pop in and out of, trading shots with your Hammer, while my infantry tries to keep your Jaegers from either blowing the tunnels or getting a Sensor Sweep action in to pinpoint them.

In terms of objectives, I'm thinking of something like "force the Hammer fleet out of orbit" for my side and "neutralize the enemy fortifications to allow our unarmored landing ships to enter atmosphere and deploy our full force."

[Z-Dog]

*rubs hands in anticipation*

[Countercheck]

I actually just had a WICKED idea for a weapon. I'm going to burn it and post it in the tech section. Give me a moment. If we decide this is too cheatin' to use, I'll probably swap it for a hammer assault shuttle.

[Sydney Freedberg]

I'm all in favor of wickedness. Post a link to the Tech Burn in this thread when you're ready so I'll be notified automatically.

[Countercheck]

http://burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?p=34881#post34881

Linked

[Countercheck]

I'm going from two characters in the previous firefight to four in this firefight.


Character One: Master Sergeant Harrison
Born Outcast, Redneck, Soldier, Scout, Sergeant, Anvil Elite

Character Two: Specialist Behnhet
Born Kahlakesh, Solzjah, Sayaret, Ahnveel

Character Three: Lieutenant Fitzstokes
Born to Rule, Bastard, Yeoman, Fire Control Tech

Character Four :Lord Pilot Hussar Bassington-Stokes
Born to Rule, Coeptir, Armiger, Lord Pilot Hussar


Tech:
Two suits of Glass Anvil
One suit of Ballistic Armour
One Stealth Hussar
One FOO Targeting Device
One Fusor
One Laser Rifle
Three CEBWs
Sensor Drones



Reasonable?

[Sydney Freedberg]

All entirely reasonable. Are there nameless grunts around too, or is it a pure stealth-and-spot operation?

[Countercheck]

I'm thinking no nameless grunts. Since you have superstructural scale megablast weaponry, your first shot opportunity will kill all my infantry. No need to give you more targets.

[Sydney Freedberg]

Now that will be interesting. Kind of like the elephant and the mouse....

Give me a couple days and I'll stat up a ridiculously musclebound mechanized force to go blasting the landscape looking for your four guys.

[Countercheck]

Elephant vs a Mouse with a very, very, very big.... Hammer. Hee, should we use the same map as before? Since the engineers failed, they drop some special forces back there to direct hammer fire onto the bridge/conduit/thingy?

[Sydney Freedberg]

Oh, that's lovely. Yes. It's a sequel.


Time: 0930 h
Location: Mapsheet Terrence, Grid 1684-1355

Lord Mocny clenched and unclenched his armored fists, the actuators in his Iron whining like a hound impatient for the hunt. Up on the ridgeline to the north, he could see the satisfying blackened swathe that Sobieski's Hussars had left when they bombarded the platoon of Kerrn who'd tried to blow the pipeline. Now his main force was pouring through.

But so damned slowly! Another one of his reinforced platoon task forces had grounded its vehicles -- four assault sleds, a Strike Hussar, and an artillery piece -- under camouflage netting off the road. The platoon stentor was adjusting Iron while the armored vehicles slurped greedily at the fuel. He could see men popping their visors to chat, gnaw a food bar, even brew tea. Tea! Why couldn't they feel the pressure in their blood the way he could, the pounding desire to move? If his units kept taking this long to resupply, the enemy relief fleet in high orbit would find a way to nail them, planetary defense net or no.

"Killer Six, this is Eyeball Nine, come in please. Killer Six, this is...."

"Killer Six here," Mocny growled into his microphone. "Report, Eyeball Nine."

"Killer Six, we have intermittent contacts suggesting a drop by enemy relief forces in your vicini...."

"Bullshit. Their fleet's not coming down from high orbit to get eaten by our artillery."

"Sir, negative, it was a single ship. Small one, low-profile. Dropped and popped back to high orbit before we could pin him."

"Shiiiiiiiit." Mocny exhaled the curse in one long snarl. "They dropped a forward observer team, didn't they?"

"Killer Six, that's inconclusive at this time...."

"Don't give me inconclusive, dammit."

"...but scans are consistent with that scenario, yes, sir."

"Damn. Try to calculate their drop point with some precision. I'll mobilize a force to skrak them before they can blow the LoC."

"Yes sir, Killer Six. Out here."

Mocny clenched his fists again. He needed a quick reaction force to comb the woods for enemy Jaegers. Something light, fast, nimble. Except his own recon assets were already pushing five hundred kilometers ahead.

He looked at the fuel-bloated mass of the heavy mech platoon lounging under the camo netting.

"Damn you lazy bastards," Mocny growled, "but you'll learn to move."

[Countercheck]

heee, nice!

Hammer Lieutenant Fitzstokes hung sullenly from the black composite glider as Master Sergeant Harrison and Specialist Behnhet worked to free him from the tree he landed in.

"What I don't understand, " continued the short, wiry, nearly toothless Sergeant, "is how you managed to steer the glider into a tree, sir. The AIs in these things are supposed to be foolproof."

"That must have been the problem," bit off Fitzstokes. "I'm not an idiot." The big Kerrn stopped cutting branches with his bloody great sword for a moment, and looked at Fitzstokes. Fitzstokes was certain that if the... thing... had eyebrows, they would have been raised. "Don't look at me like that! It's insolent."

The kerrn narrowed his eyes, and reached for a grenade on his bandoleer. Harrison interjected, "Wait specialist, that's a bad idea."

"Ahzidehnt?"

"I'm sure we could make it convincing, but we might need the explosives for the assault-sleds. Besides, this boy here IS the mission, even if he is a pasty-faced noble by-blow. No offense. Sir."

Fitzstokes was still silent with shock when the two infantrymen cut his glider down and he hit the ground with a bruising 'thump'

[Sydney Freedberg]

The anatomy of the elephant:

Mechanized Iron Company:
1 Command vehicle (Assault Sled with Battle Command System (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Combat_Support#Battle_Command_Syst em))
1 Hussar platoon (4 Strike Hussars (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hussar_elite_recon#Strike_Hussar))
1 Artillery platoon (2 SPAG-M, 2 SPAG-F (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Self-Propelled_Artillery_%28Gravitic%29_-_SPAG))
3 Infantry platoons (3 Line Squads, 1 Weapons Squad, 4 Assault Sleds)

Since this company is operating in widely dispersed platoon task forces, what you've actually got is one infantry platoon augmented with slices of the Hussar and Artillery platoons:

1 Strike Hussar (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hussar_elite_recon#Strike_Hussar)
1 SPAG (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Self-Propelled_Artillery_%28Gravitic%29_-_SPAG)
4 Assault Sleds, light (remove one of the two Vehicular-scale weapons mounts, reducing cost to 11)

20 infantry - Lords-Pilot Anvil, all in Iron:

1 Lieutenant
1 Platoon Sergeant
1 Platoon Stentor
1 Platoon Medic

1 Weapons Squad - 4 Lords-Pilot in Iron equipped with:
2 Heavy Lasers with grav pod (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Weapons_Upgrades#Grav_Pod)
2 Smart Mortars (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Weapons_Upgrades#Smart_Mortar)

3 Line Squads - each of 4 Lords-Pilot in Iron equipped with:
1 Fusor
1 Heavy Particle Accelerator (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Weapons_Upgrades#Heavy_PAc)
2 Jack Lasers
1 set Miniaturized Surveillance Drones (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Personal_Gear#Miniaturized_Surveil lance_Drones) (augmenting Signals)
1 Field Repair kit (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Personal_Gear#Field_Repair_Kit)

The especially monstrous thing is the vast majority of this gear won't bloody matter.

What does matter is what kind of self-propelled artillery piece I take -- missile or fusor -- and, especially, if I take the Fusor variant, whether I give it an Active Defense Against Projectiles (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Active_Defense_Against_Projectiles _%28ADAP%29) system, because that single-handedly makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of your artillery strikes. If I do take one, I definitely need to add some kind of Categorical Limitation like "Big Fat Target" to allow the enemy to single it out in a Shot Opportunity. I suspect I shouldn't take one at all, but Mike, I want to hear from you on that.

[Countercheck]

Hmm... if you decide to go the SPAG-F route, I won't complain. You'll lose the Megablast trait, which was what made your missile battery so deadly.


And since when do mech companies have organic artillery??? Especially to the tune of the equivalent of two IRBM launchers and two 10 inch naval guns???

[Sydney Freedberg]

Heh. Since when do mech infantry companies have individual "dismounts" encased in powered armor with their own built-in fusion power source? I'm drawing on one sci-fi motif and one real-world trend:

The science fiction motif: "In the future, the [technobabble here] is so powerful that a single [soldier/vehicle/whatever] is as powerful as an entire army of 20th century tanks!"

The real-world trend: In the Napoleonic era and the US Civil War, the smallest self-sufficient "combined arms" formation, able to operate on its own with organic cavalry, infantry, and artillery, was a corps, of tens of thousands of troops organized into several divisions. In World War I and World War II, the smallest combined arms formation, with its own tanks, infantry, artillery, and supply train, was a division, with 10,000 to 20,000 troops organized into several brigades. In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the typical combined arms formation was a brigade, roughly 5,000 troops organized into several battalions, each of several companies. The Army's "Stryker brigade" organization actually goes so far as to have "combined arms companies" with armored vehicles, infantry, and mortars, and in the field, companies of other types are typically "task organized" to produce the same kind of mix, tailored to the tactical situation.

I've simply assumed this trend continues. In the Iron Empires comics, a battalion is the largest Low Index force we ever even hear about (in Faith Conques; the Zero Index force in Sheva's War is the equivalent of several battalions), and a company of Iron is considered a formidable force. That suggests that an Iron company is a self-sufficient combined arms package, much like a modern brigade, a WWII division, or a Napoleonic corps.

[Countercheck]

Your point is well taken. But those trends should be moving you in opposite directions. Math:


Company includes 4 naval grade artillery pieces.
A battalion would include about 12 such pieces.
A regiment (forgive me, I'm an Anglophile) would have about 24-36 such peices.

That is about the strength of an ENTIRE modern artillery regiment, not scaling for the increased lethality of each tube. I'm not really objecting to your attaching artillery to a mech company, but scaling up the lethality of the weapon system while increasing the density they are deployed in is... owie.

Not that you really need it. You could totally leave the artillery 'offboard' like I'm doing. These are naval scale surface-orbit weapon systems we're talking about here.

[Sydney Freedberg]

We're analogizing the SPAGs to different weapons: I'm thinking of it more like an MLRS or a Paladin, which tend to be 6-9 per battery, i.e. per pure company's worth of artillery (e.g. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/Gs01aa_1/sld016.htm). I know these are terrifying weapons, but they're only a step up from the typical mech squad's. Consider that the baseline Assault Sled has two vehicular-scale weapons, one of which is typically a SCREM missile launcher, which is an indirect-fire weapon nearly as powerful as a Sub Index howitzer, albeit with shorter range. A single grav-mechanized squad has the equivalent of a tank and a self-propelled artillery piece combined in its own Assault Sled!

I'll go with a SPAG-F equipped with an ADAPA system, just to see how it works in a duel with Missile artillery. And I'll leave it "on board" and add an appropriate Categorical Limitation to let you target it no matter how many other vehicles are in its fireteam.

EDIT: I made the revisions to the ADAP page on the wiki (http://www.burningempires.com/wiki/index.php?title=Active_Defense_Against_Projectiles _%28ADAP%29).

[Countercheck]

We are indeed. I'm seeing the SCREM to be more of an MLRS style weapon... box launched indirectly guided vehicle mounted missiles say MLRS to me, while missiles and batteries that can destroy battleships and entire armoured formations with single hits do not say MLRS.


Lets scale up the missile weapons from the bottom? First you have the MPIML... it is a guided, man-portable anti-tank weapon that can take out most ground vehciles and some spaceships with a single hit. It does as much damage as any vehicle mounted weapon short of a fusion gun. Next you have the SCREM which is identical to the MPIML, but it has a larger ammo capacity, longer range, and an indirect fire capacity. THIS would be the MLRS. Then you move directly too the Missile, which will destroy any ground vehicle in the book with a direct hit 100% of the time (MLRS can't claim this), will cripple or destroy any ground vehicles in the general vicinity, and can kill merchant ships and interstellar patrol ships with a single hit as well.

Please note, I'm not saying you can't use them, not at all! I am saying that deploying two of them to the front, directly attached to a mech company is wasteful. Certainly they would be deployed in larger, centralized batteries heavily protected from incoming fire. They are designed to duel with space-going battleships... they can fire at targets that aren't even in orbit... they can certainly hit any planetary target from any location. Moving them forward like this doesn't make military sense to me any more than moving an ICBM along with a modern division does. The ICBM can hit the target from its silo a thousand kilometers away... no reason to expose it to direct fire like this.

Edit: I'd also like to point out that the 18 piece MLRS battalion you used as an example is a divisional resource =)

[Sydney Freedberg]

Fun!

Same set of weapons, different perspective:

MPIML = a squad support anti-armor weapon, carried by individual soldiers, equivalent to a MILAN or JAVELIN.

SCREM = a quick-response indirect-fire weapon, carried by variants of general-purpose Infantry Fighting Vehicles/Armored Personnel Carriers, like a 120 mm mortar.

Missile and Battery = heavy, long range indirect-fire weapons, capable of being carried only by specialized heavy vehicles (e.g. the SPAG or Hammer vessels), like an 8-inch (205 mm) cannon, a battlefield missile (ATACMS, FROG, SCUD), or a multiple rocket launcher (MLRS).

Remember that a track-mechanized force can advance no faster than 70 kmh with good roads and no enemy presence (that's maximum road speed for an M1 Abrams tank); typical rates of advance cross country and in combat-ready formation are more like 20 kmh. A grav-mechanized force is able to fly: It's presumably moving an order of magnitude faster, 700 kmh in optimal conditions (flying high and straight) and 200 kmh in combat conditions (zigzagging at low altitude to avoid being seen and shot down). If your static artillery support has a range of 5,000 miles -- enough for a firebase in New York to provide covering fire in Los Angeles -- you could potentially move too far away for it to help you in a single day (25 hours at 200 kmh, just 7.1 hours at 700 kmh). If your platoons and companies are maneuvering independently over such a wide area, then your platoons and companies need to have their own continental-ranged artillery moving with them.

[Countercheck]

MPIML- no argument

SCREM- I disagree, mainly because it has a significant anti-armour capability, unlike a 120mm mortar. It is an excellent weapon capable of engaging heavy vehicles and infantry both. A better fit for the mortar/light armoured vehicle weapon would be the cannon with the Indirect trait added..

As a note, I prefer the Heavy Laser to the Fusion Gun as a tank main gun.



A track mechanized force is never going to reach 70kph... it would leave itself horrifically vulnerable to ambush and engineering casualties would begin taking their toll.

A grav mechanized force may be able to fly, but they still won't exceed 20kph. Moving faster than that renders the infantry it carries useless, and will make it extremely vulnerable to ambush. The vehicles will never fly further than one foot above the ground to minimize their profile and vulnerability to weapons that strike at the speed of light. They'll need to keep their speed down to let the infantry scout ahead and hunt out hostiles with MPIMLs or tripod mounted heavy lasers. The big advantage antigrav has over tracks imho is the surface no longer matters, and, assuming tanks are more reliable in the future than they are today (remember, M-1s need to ride to the front-line on trucks), a higher strategic speed.

And I don't know why I said the SPAG-M would have a range measured in the thousands of kilometers. I should have said tens or hundreds of thousands of kilometers. I mean, to hit a target in geosynchronous you need a vertical range of at least 36000km.

[cmoeller]

A grav mechanized force may be able to fly, but they still won't exceed 20kph.

That's true when engaged, and when the opponent has orbital dominance, but when your team has orbital superiority, grav armor is going to be hitting 700 kph the moment it gets back off the front lines. They'll take over the role of air-superiority fighters now (dramatically up-armored), and act as hyper-mobile reserves. Since as Sydney pointed out, the largest maneuver element in the IE is the battalion (multitudes of them being combined into larger ad hoc formations), high tech invasions are going to feature small numbers of units scattered over huge areas. Things will be very fluid, and grav vehicles will increase that fluidity.

-chris

[Paul B]

Man...a "warfare in the future" strategy guide sure would rock for this game.

p.

[Sydney Freedberg]

Thanks, Chris.

As a note, I prefer the Heavy Laser to the Fusion Gun as a tank main gun.

But if you look at Faith Conquers, they're definitely firing huge, hideous fusors.

Mike, I think you're seriously underestimating the horrific velocity and violence of this kind of warfare, especially by trying to map Iron Empires weapons systems onto modern-day weapons with similar performance in absolute terms, instead of thinking of comparing different Iron Empires weapons to each other and thinking about them in terms of relative power.

But in any case, we don't have to agree on this to make the rules work!

Here's my Glorious Leader:



Lord Mocny
Jozef Mocny, Anvil Lord
Human
Age: 37
Brutally effective Anvil Lord feared by enemies, allies, and subordinates alike.
Lifepaths: Born to Rule. Coeptir. Lord-Pilot Anvil. Anvil Lord. Stormtrooper. Anvil Captain. . . .

BELIEFS
Am I surrounded by idiots? Must I do everything myself? Apparently yes.
The House of Khorosov has misruled this world far too long: They and their offworld allies must be destroyed.
I will cultivate my young officers, highborn and commoner alike, to be effective, forceful leaders in my own iron image.

INSTINCTS
If someone screws up, belittle them personally.
Always go see the problem for myself.
Don't accept the surrender of Kerrn, Mukhadish, or other non-human freaks.

TRAITS
Mark of Privilege,
Your Lordship,
Corvus and Crucis,
Anvil Lord
Brutal,
Seen it All,
Unflinching
Brave

Affiliations & Reputations:
Born to Rule: affiliation with local nobility 1
Anvil Lord: elite Iron and Anvil-armored forces 3
Reputation: brutally effective warleader 2

Relationships & Contacts:
Hussar Lieutenant Sobieski
Forged Lord Khorosov

STATS:
Will: 6
Perception: 4
Agility: 4
Speed: 3
Power: 4
Forte: 4

ATTRIBUTES:
Resources: 7
Circles: 3
Steel: 8
Hesitation: -3

TOLERANCES:
Superificial: 3
Injured: 5
Maimed: 8
Mortal: 10

SKILLS:
Tactics (Per), 5
Close Combat (Wil/Agi), 5
Squad Support Weapons (Agi), 6
Command (Wil), 6
Explosives (Per/Agi), 3
Strategy (Wil/Per), 4
Artillery (Per), 3
Anvil-wise (Per), 3
Forged Lord-wise (Per), 2
Hammer-wise (Per), 2
Terrain-wise (Per) 2
Iron-wise (Per) 2
Oratory (Wil), 3
Etiquette (Wil/Per), 2

TECHNOLOGY:
Iron
Heavy PaC

[cmoeller]

Man...a "warfare in the future" strategy guide sure would rock for this game.

p.

You guys are writing it, I'm just the editor :)

-Chris

[Countercheck]

Perhaps we ought to continue the military theory debate in another thread? I don't THINK I'm wrong about this...

I like your commander =)

[Countercheck]

Question... how will we adjudicate helping dice? Will we assume that all named characters can help?

[Sydney Freedberg]

Y'know, giving Lord Mocny's personality, I'm doubtful that there are any other named characters in his unit! Taking a look at the Help and Unit Actions thread (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3865), I'm tempted by Paul B's solution:

I've been allowing ONE non-leader character per unit to provide help. This can be a PC, which almost certainly will have crazy-high stats and exponents, or it can be a faceless mook using his default dice. So, for example, an Anvil Lord with a 2D affiliation would have 4D Anvil available to him, yeah? I give the faceless mooks the benefit of the doubt and assume a force of them has everything you could ever ask for at 4D: specifically tactics, command, infiltration, observation, recon, the various shot opportunity skills, and as-yet-unnamed Wises (terrain wise, Anvil-wise, whatever). In other words, I figure a force of 3D or 4D Anvil is worth +1D to any Unit action one may care to take, and 5D Anvil is worth +2D.

Since Mocny has a 3D affiliation, that's nameless mooks with a pretty hefty 5D in whatever their specialist skill is, which is a hefty +2D Help whenever he wants it.

[Countercheck]

Bah, that makes things awkward, because the nominal leader of the group is a sergeant. What about technological help? Can you accept help from a piece of technology in your group AND a human being?

[Sydney Freedberg]

I think I see your point. Let's try this:

Any one character can make the roll for the unit. This character must be the commander if the roll is for Disposition or a Unit Action, but can be any character, including an unnamed and statless mook, for an Individual Action or Contact test.

Any one character can Help the named character. Again, this character can be named and statted but does not have to be.

[Countercheck]

Can you accept technological help in addition to that? And I don't actually mind if the commander needs to make all the rolls. I managed to find him some Command. I'm just wondering if he can accept help from his suit sensors, the lord pilot hussar, and the hussar's sensors.

[Countercheck]

Nothing more than the bare bones here.

WHO YOU ARE: Biographical basics

Master Sergeant Harrison
'Ghost'
Human Age: 28
Concept
Born on the Streets Redneck Scout Anvil Elite Soldier
Sergeant

INSTINCTS
When possible, always ambush.
Never show deference to nobles
Always have an escape route

PERSONAL TRAITS
Orphan,
Proud
Cold
Anvil Trained
FUGAZI
Oddly Likeable,
Worried
Suspicious
Casually Violent

Will 5
Perception 4
Agility 4
Speed 4
Power 5
Forte 5

Resources 2
Circles 2
Steel 8
Hesitation 2

TOLERANCES: Threshold
Superficial 3
Injury 5
Maimed 9
Mortal 11

Backwoods-wise (Per) 2
Recon (Per), 5
Squad Support Weapons (Agi), 2
Soldiering (Wil/Per), 2
Tactics (Per), 6
Observation (Per), 5
Infiltration (Spd), 6
Assault Weapons (Agi), 3
Command (Wil), 4

WHAT YOU HAVE: Technology
Glass Anvil
Assault Laser

Ahnveel Sayaret Behnet
Goblin
Kerrn Age: 18
Concept
Born Kahlakesh Solzjah Sayeret Ahnveel


WHAT DRIVES YOU: Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits

BELIEFS
Sarge has gotten me out of a ridiculous number of scrapes. I owe him my life and will pay.
The Khorosov Family, though human, at least seems to respect Kerrn. I will help them win this war, then return to my people.
Anvil Lords are a pretentious group of impotent imbeciles who routinely destroy everything they cannot understand. I will kiss one with my fusor.


INSTINCTS
Always count everything I see
Respond to threats with deadly force
Always keep an eye out for firing positions

PERSONAL TRAITS SPECIES, CASTE, CULTURE TRAITS
Cryptic, Bioengineered Organism
I, Solzjah Kerrn Accent
Quiet Massive Stature
Anvil Trained Not Easy Being Green
Saccharine Super-Mutated IgE
Romantic,

STATS: Exponent
Will 2
Perception 4
Agility 4
Speed 5
Power 6
Forte 5

Ability
ATTRIBUTES: Exponent
Resources 4
Circles 1
Steel 6
Hesitation 4

TOLERANCES: Threshold
Superficial 3
Injury 5
Maimed 9
Mortal 11


WHAT YOU CAN DO, part 2: Skills & Tolerances

Ability
SKILLS: Exponent
Zero G (Spd), 2
Soldiering (Wil/Per), 1
Recon (Per), 4
Squad Support Weapons (Agi), 4
Close Combat (Wil/Agi). 3
Observation (Per), 3
Anvil-wise (Per), 2
Infiltration (Spd) 4

WHAT YOU HAVE: Technology
Glass Anvil
Fusor

[Sydney Freedberg]

Can you accept technological help in addition to that? And I don't actually mind if the commander needs to make all the rolls. I managed to find him some Command. I'm just wondering if he can accept help from his suit sensors, the lord pilot hussar, and the hussar's sensors.

Yes to all, I would think. That's all straight as per the rules -- the only ambiguity in the book that we had to resolve was how many characters (one) can provide helping dice to whoever's making the roll. (Since, as Luke said, that rule was written with multiple player-characters in mind, not with one player and many characters per side as we're doing).

[Sydney Freedberg]

Your guys look good so far -- although the Kerrn is really only 18? I wonder if that's a bug in the version of the worksheet you have. What letter does it have after "v" (for "version")?

You've been busy clubbing grav bike punks on the head (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?p=36066#post36066), and my group is scheduled to meet tomorrow -- with a fair bit of pressure on me to make the danged mechanics work this time. But by the time you get your other guys (Fitzstokes the Hammer F.O. and Bassington-Stokes the stealth Hussar pilot) written up, I should be good to go.

Last chance for you to take some nameless Jaeger grunts now that I'm not using a weapon with Superstructural-scale Megablast damage....

[Sydney Freedberg]

Oh, and I added a poll, 'cause polls are pointless fun.

[Countercheck]

It's version r.

Born Kahlakesh 6
Solzjah 4
Ahnveel 3
Sayeret 3

I gotta say, all the Hebrew and yiddish is really changing how I think about the Kerrn =P


And no, I think I'll stick with what I have =) Makes it more interesting.

[Paul B]

Kerrn mothers everywhere are wailing that their little tadpoles aren't growing up to be lawyers and doctors.

So when are you two gonna blow each other up?

p.

[Sydney Freedberg]

Soon, my pretties, very soon.

[Countercheck]

bare as bones burns.


Lieutenant Fitzstokes

Human Age: 19
Born to Rule Bastard Yeoman Fire Control Tech

Mark of Privilege,
Bastard,
Hazed,
Serious as a Heart Attack
Distortion Sickness

Will 4
Perception 4
Agility 5
Speed 4
Power 4
Forte 4

Ability
ATTRIBUTES: Exponent
Resources 1
Circles 2
Steel 5
Hesitation 5

TOLERANCES: Threshold
Superficial 3
Injury 5
Maimed 8
Mortal 10

Family Secret-wise (Per), 2
Crew (Wil/Per), 3
Artillery (Per), 6
Big Guns-wise (Per), 5
Attack Vector-wise (Per) 3
Infiltration (Spd) 3

Tech:
Ballistic Armour
FOO Target Designator

Lord-Pilot Hussar Bassington-Stokes

Human Age: 23
Born to Rule Coeptir Armiger Lord-Pilot Hussar

Mark of Privilege,
Hussar Trained,
Anvil Trained,
Corvus and Crucis,
Flyboy

Will 4
Perception 4
Agility 4
Speed 6
Power 4
Forte 4

Ability
ATTRIBUTES: Exponent
Resources 3
Circles 2
Steel 5
Hesitation 5

TOLERANCES: Threshold
Superficial 3
Injury 5
Maimed 8
Mortal 10

Close Combat (Wil/Agi), 2
Assault Weapons (Agi), 2
Pilot (Per/Agi), 2
Observation (Per), 5
Recon (Per), 2
Signals (Per), 3
Tactics (Per), 2
Sensors (Per), 2
Concealment-wise (Per) 2
Vehicular Weapons (Per), 4
Infiltration (Spd) 6

Stealth Hussar

[Paul B]

No Command? Have the lessons of history fallen on deaf ears?

p.

[Countercheck]

Sure I do. Master Sergeant Harrison, the commander, has Tactics 6 and Command 4.

[Paul B]

Oops! I didn't notice the OTHER other guys higher up in the thread.

Command 4...ouch. Good luck with that.

Still feeling the sting of weak Command,

p.

[Countercheck]

Sydney, would you mind if we made a few building rolls before the fight?

[Sydney Freedberg]

Building rolls? As in to set up an ambush, for example? Sure!

I'll contemplate what, if anything, Mocny could do with a Builder.