This is part two of the contest. Veltyen's unit: "Sword of Negotiable Justice"
This one faired less well than the previous entry. Final analysis and evaluations will be posted soon. It appears from this point that Casey is the unofficial winner of the contest, with Veltyen as runner up.
Final results soon.
<John> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
<John> George, will you please continue to serve as die roller?
<Simon> if you can give me a 2 minute drink break, yes
<John> sure. 2 minutes for the man with the thirst
<John> The second contestant is Veltyen. His unit differs greatly from Casey's. Here are the differences
<John> Firstly, Although Veltyen paid for more experienced troops, elite level, to be specific... He lacks Casey's infrastructure. He has no repair units, limited medical, and no medivac to speak of
<John> Also, his artillery consists of mortars only and those are intermixed with his units
<John> Thirdly, Veltyen's unit makes use of battledress and an AI command and control system. The AI computer was outside the bounds of MACS, so I applied a net +2 for additional C&C.
<John> Veltyen's unit has three sub divisions
<John> Armored infantry, battledress, and armed vehicles
<John> Their combined MACS scores are 19, 25, and 17 respectively
<John> Julian and Feldamaine remain as before, ranked at 18 and 18
<Simon> (back)
<John> Unlike Casey's units, Veltyen does not have a separate arty unit which can fire without being engaged itself
<Bryan> ok...predicated assault plan places armor amd mortar support in place in the starport assalt via vehicle insertion pre- H hour. Thus...
<John> ok, so he has to land his units... THEN he will attack?
<Bryan> Squad assaults the enemy, with mortar bombardment in place and armor moves in if required. Obviously, if the enemy is put down, this is moot, as the mortars are reserved...assume they come in play if there is any substantive resistance.
<John> ok. That effectively destroys the surprise factor
<John> in fact, there is some chance of intervention by the feldamaine army IMO
<John> was there any jamming?
<Bryan> Armor and mortar teams are placed covertly...the ships are still enroute, the attack commences 30 minutes prior to their landing
<John> ok, so they drop the grav stuff from orbit.
<John> ok... if he drops them far enough away, it might work... otherwise the starport will spot them
<Bryan> organic vehicle ECM is a possible, but no bradbase jamming is mentioned
<John> ok. This ruling is arbitrary. I am ruling that there is a flat 20% chance that a neighboring starport or the starport proper will spot the insertion and blow the surprise. Otherwise they retain surprise
<John> George, please roll D%
<George> light or dark?
<John> light
<George> 09
<John> well, there goes that story. Surprise is blown
<Bryan> blown, yes...response?
<John> thats a leadership roll.
<Bryan> recall...Feldemaine is engaged on the western border, affecting response times
<Bryan> also, note: from detection, less than one hour to landing
<John> ok. We apply a net DC 20 on the leadership role to get stuff into place in time
<John> george, 1d20 please
<George> 13
<John> which nets 15 total. leadership is poor
<John> so, no response from the army
<John> so... we roll the armor insetion first... which works to 17 base. The mission is no longer a surprise
<John> starport crews are now hasty defense +1, so they have rate 9
<John> veltyen is conducting a coordinated assault +2. or Rate 19
<John> George, 2d20 twice please
<George> 8,6
<George> 20,14
<John> Veltyen inflicts 24% casualties, and recieves the same rate
<John> Veltyen has no medivac or repair, so the casualties stick
<John> george, 1d6 please
<George> 2
<John> the starport crew takes a -2 hit to morale and they rout
<John> Veltyen's post combat consolidation results as follows
<John> Infantry is reduced in strength from 17 to 15, and is reduced from company to platoon strength
<John> george, 1d6 please
<George> 3
<John> Unit morale drops by 1 pt. This further reduces the infantry to 14
<John> 2d20 please
<George> 10,11 and 13,15
<John> just the one
<John> 36% of veltyen's casualties survive
<George> (sorry)
<John> without repair or adequate medical care, they will not be ready for service again this campaign
<John> next phase please?
<John> I have to stipulate that as of now, the Feldamaine army and Julian's guards are aware of the presence, AND that the assaults were timed so that there were no starships in port at the time... Jullian will be attempting to run for the boarder in the hopes of escaping by means of a neighboring starport
<Bryan> immediately upon landing Velteyns forces laager up and fprtify, and use the Renko Starport as a Base of Operation, similar toa beachhead. Presume defenses in place with 6 hours.
<John> OK then. Do they instruct to march on the capitol at all?
<John> even to send scouts?
<Bryan> not immediately, no
<John> OK. I have to rule that Jullian will get out of country. Maybe not off planet, but he does at least initially escape
<Bryan> loose in the country, no doubt...lets make a roll for over the border
<John> OK. Given that he is unengaged, I will apply a flat 60% chance that there is a helo available.
<John> George, roll D% please
<George> 32
<John> There is a helicopter handy. Veltyen has a chance to detect and maybe intercept
<John> George, D% again. And note, this is arbitrary. The AI system confers a benefit... 75% chance
<George> 21
<John> hooookay then
<John> Bryan, how will the helo be escorted?
<Bryan> well...there ~are~ only two.....
<John> oh
<John> well then
<John> How will Veltyen pursue?
<Bryan> by any standard, thats about it
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<Bryan> realistically? any of his vehicles outperforms the helos in any fashion you care to name: weapons, preformance, etc....the question for the helos?
<Bryan> head start= they live
<Bryan> Velteyn catches them, theyre basically toast
<John> well, this is a small country. Its not LOS, but the helos have a max speed of 150kph or so. The grav tanks or g-carriers can do 400 or so depending on model. The helo's have 19 squares to go (as his only route of escape is West), where the g-tanks have but 20 squares to go to the straight line boarder crossing
<John> so, interception is not only possible, but likely
<Bryan> concur...lets see a roll on that one.
<George> d% = 44
<Bryan> Capture, if possible, but I suspect a provable death would prove acceptable
<John> ok... Same as last time. Jullian has a -10 modifier due to hasty retreat...
<John> but this time he has vehicles
<John> size 4 unit... -10 yields a net -6. Not good for our bad guy. How many vehicles does veltyen send?
<Bryan> I'd say two tanks
<John> ok then.
<Bryan> recall: they are intergrated with the AI...hence, thats has to be an asset in intercept
<John> that is also size 4, which nets veltyen a 13. He is conducting a hasty attack at -2, for a total of 11
<John> George, 2d20 twice please
<George> 13,3 and 11,11
<John> a 40 total is needed to achieve capture, otherwise, casualties may tell the tale
<John> 33% casualties inflicted. Since there are 2 helos, one may be the one the fleeing leader is on
<John> veltyen receives 5% casualties... which equates to minor damage to one of his vehicles
<John> George, 50/50. Low indicates that the downed helo is the one jullian is on
<John> D% please
<George> even or odd?
<George> d%64
<John> Jullian gets away
<John> ok then. on to the nasty business of taking the country
<Bryan> well, engagement on the move, over terrain. Veltyns forces are grav capable and not restricted by terrain, Feldemaine forces will be
<John> thats covered in the unit efficiencies
<John> in the abstract, do both units attack each other?
<Bryan> right...the the sitrep here is identical to caseys at this juncture...its all a menuver engagement
<John> ok. Since the other side knows what has occured... it appears to me that both sides execute a movement to contact
<Bryan> right. loss of surprise makes it inevitable
<John> that equates to a mission modifier of +0 for both sides. So, we have the following unit efficiencies....
*** Akira (~trillian@CPE-65-31-121-33.wi.rr.com) has joined channel #praesidium
<John> Veltyen has three units... infantry-17 (reduced to 14 from the previous fight), Battledress-25, and armor-17
<John> Feldamaine has army-18
<John> Jullian has -18
<John> OK, so we will conduct all damages simultaniously
<John> George, three rolls of 2d20 each for Veltyen.... 2 rolls of 2d20 each for the bad guys
<John> in order please
<Bryan> one sec
<Bryan> remeber...mitia is activated, and thius in support of Feldemaine forces
<George> 18,19 - 9,12 - 6,11
<John> ok. They remained neutral last time... OK... Militia comes in on feldamaine's side.. their unit descriptor is 16
<George> 11,8 - 4,16
<John> so a 3rd roll for the badguys george, if you please
<Bryan> correct, loss of surprise allowed a mobilization, however
<John> OK. does veltyen's doctrine allow for differention in targets by unit? Casey's assault had no need for it.
<George> 8,6
<John> what I need to know is which unit Veltyen has engaging which native unit. The feldamaine army is the second largest unit, and mid tech. Jullians guard is high tech but small.... the militia are poorly equipped but huge
<Bryan> not as I see it, no...however, we may assume a resonable response given the units flexibility, but only to a degree
<John> ok.
<Bryan> assuming the AIO is in play to handle probabilty? its all spearhead ops
<John> we'll take them randomly then. Please note since this will be posted on COTI that at this point direct player handling of his unit would probably bear out the results differently
<John> Assume a possible player appeal later
<Bryan> concur
<John> So, for now... battledress in spearhead, armor in support, and infantry taking the flankers. I will therefore send the grunts against the militia... battledress against the feldamaine army, and vehicles against jullian's guard
<John> casualties as rolled....
<John> battledress vs feldamaine army... casualties inflicted = 33%. Taken = 12%
<John> infantry vs militia... casualties inflicted = 15% taken = 16%.
<John> vehicles vs guards = 20% inflicted, taken = 22%
<John> George, roll 3d6 in sequence please
<George> 2
<George> 4
<George> 5
<John> as of now, Veltyen has taken 40% casualties to his infantry, and they are rendered combat ineffective at this point. Their morale also drops by 2 to poor
<John> Battledress is still effective at 12% casualties. Their morale is unaffected
<John> vehicles have sustained 27% casualties thus far. Their morale is unaffected however
<John> Roll 3d6 in sequence again please
<George> 3
<George> 5
<George> 5
<John> Feldamaine army morale down 2, but they hold at poor
<John> all others unaffecteed
<John> Feldamaine forces will hold their ground, Veltyen is forced to withdraw
<John> contingency?
<John> as I see it, at this point... Jullian has escaped, Veltayn's infantry is combat ineffective, and he has been forced to withdraw. This mission appears to be bust unless Veltyen has some contingency. Since the feldamaine forces are free to pursue, the options are limited
<Bryan> yes, but there is a very real possibility

laying the Jelitta card. Velteyns stated objective was to take a major TV stationa nd present Jelitta as the de facto head of tyhe country, effectuatiing the coup. Julian is out of the picture, and this suddenly makes the potential reality more than possible: with this card played he may still win this war handliy. The popular support alone would bring Feldemaine foprces to a screeching halt..
<Bryan> he MUST SUCCEED in taking that station, and at this point its all or nothing, with the BD troops his only effective force.
<John> OK. that option COULD still win this... but if Veltyen's forces fail, his unit is gone. Did he have a pull-out criteria? At what point did he specify that his forces would call it a day and just leave
<Bryan> impressions?
<Bryan> from Veltyns Plan of Operation:
<John> I think based on Veltyen's comment in his orders that he would "preserve the unit at all costs" indicates that he would pull out at this stage
<Bryan> Near the end of the month, if feasible, this operation would be to take over the secondary transmitter for the largest TV station in Feldmaine and disable the primary transmitter (again by sabotage by preference, by destruction if necessary). Preferably this would be with the full assistance of the local resistance, and optimally the unit would only be in support of this action, with operations undertaken solely by the resistance. Jerr
<Bryan> "My countrymen, my brother has gone too far, I come to realease you from his grip, and I ask him from the bottom of my heart to step aside and allow someone more in line with the peoples interests to step forth, yadda yadda yadda, ps. Please don't shoot the mercenaries."
<Bryan>
<Bryan> of course, loss of surprise affects this...
<Bryan> . Jerrita would be called upon to make an appropriate tape something along the lines of:
<Bryan> "My countrymen, my brother has gone too far, I come to realease you from his grip, and I ask him from the bottom of my heart to step aside and allow someone more in line with the peoples interests to step forth, yadda yadda yadda, ps. Please don't shoot the mercenaries."
<Bryan> Survival
<Bryan> The command team will be doing the final feasibility study of the ticket. The survival of the unit comes before any and everything else.
<Bryan> assuming the last, the question remains: does he make the gamble? Gamble is exactly what it is.
<John> OK then. From what I see... Veltyen's forces CAN still pull this off, but at a larger casualty rate. His statement to my mind implies a lack of wilingness to gamble
<Bryan> well enough.
<Bryan> at this point: withdraw, and hold pending retreat? the unit IS still combat effective, tho reduced
<John> so, he has his battledress dropped to 22. Vehicles dropped to 13. Infantry are combat ineffective. IF he pulls out and abandons his infantry to a ground withdrawal (likely hounded by the militia all the way to the starport), he would only have to deal with the feldamaine army and the jullian guards
<John> The opposing forces now rate....
<John> Feldamaine army - 14, Jullian guards - 16
<John> I will say that if they can deliver Jurrita to the radio station, they have a flat 30% of getting the army to withdraw... jullian's guard will not do so
<Bryan> assuming they made their morale check, agreed
<John> ok then.
<John> Jullian has fled the country however... so maybe the 30% is a bit light
<John> comments?
<Bryan> recall also/
<Bryan> ...while the feldemaine army has popular support, Julians Guard do not
<John> granted. What are the odds they would withdraw should the army withdraw?
<Bryan> at least even...they have no NEED to stand...but if cornered, they can't surrender...if Jerrita is in power, they have lifespans measured in seconds, and they have to know it.
<John> ok then. based on that cost/benefit analysis... what would veltyen's forces do?
<Bryan> my gues is this: success morale check = orderly withdrawal
<George> WWVFD?
<John> LOL
<Bryan> well...if it wereME...I'd take the gamble
<John> OK then... gamble
<John> Next fight setup is two battles... infantry withdrawal to the starport while hounded by the militia.... and the other four units at the radio station
<Bryan> cost/benefit is actually an issue of how hard he wants to win...if he pulls out NOW, unit is intact, but takes a massive money and gear loss
<John> well, we're here so lets roll it out
<Bryan> agreed...commit vehicles enough to carry Jerrita and her team as well
<John> George, warm up the dice... there are grunts whose lives depend on you
<John> FIRST UP
<Bryan> however, I have to assume the AI and its support is at the starport, so enough troops would remain to secure
<Bryan> ready
<John> the AI is still factored into the unit efficiencies already
<Bryan> ok
<George> should I break out teh 'killer' D20?
<John> First battle.... Infantry vs militia
<John> nah, keep a fair die
<George> kk
<John> roll 2d20 twice
<George> 1,11
<George> 15,16
<John> Infantry CE drops to 10, and is in hasty retrograde at -5.
<John> militia CE drops to 15 and is in pursuit so movement to contact at +0
<John> so, Infantry inflict 2% casualties on the pursuing force... they take an additional 41% on the way to the starport.
<John> the casualty total is 81%. The infantry unit is effectively destroyed with only stragglers making it to the safety of the starport
<John> They have insufficient strength to hold the starport, and there are no forces covering the starport, so I must rule that the starport falls
<John> Second battle....
<John> Battledress vs Army, vehicles vs guards
<John> George, 2d20, 4 sets please
<George> 11,11
<George> 12,2
<George> 12,18
<George> 19,17
<John> Battledress inflicts 30% casualties on the army, and takes 6% themselves
<George> (somebody's about to get hurt here...)
<John> Vehicles inflict 27% on the guards, and suffer 38% losses themselves
<John> Roll d% please
<George> light or dark?
<John> low is good
<John> light
<George> 79
<John> not good. The army rejects Jurrita's pleas
<John> ok. At this point... totals run as follows
<John> Infantry is toast
<John> battledress has taken 18% casualties
<John> vehicles have taken 65% total casualties and is now combat ineffective
<Bryan> well....if the army took leadership causalities, I shpuld think them MORE inclined to Jeritta, myself
*** Signoff: Akira (Read error: Connection reset by peer)
<John> ok, do you wish to appeal the percentage?
<Bryan> I would...any loyalists to Julian would be in the officer corp, naturally, hence the question
<John> ok. what percentage would you allot?
<Bryan> by definition, if they are gone, Jerrita has much more appeal to the troops
<John> ok.
<Bryan> what lead casalties were there?
<George> defection?
<John> well, they tood 30% casualties.... so you could add that to the base 50 we agreed on and arrive at 80%. In which case the army surrenders and the guards flee for the hills
<Bryan> I would think apply the leadership losses as a direct boinus to Jerrita
<Bryan> yep
<John> ok. Its arbitrary, but at this point I'll go with it.
<John> post combat analysis
<John> The vehicles carried the AI system, and they took 65% casualties. There is a chance the AI was lost
<Bryan> umm...yes, a definate factor
<John> simple. Roll D%. if its above 65%, the AI is safe
<John> george, the dice please
<George> 61
<John> oooooh. Safe but fearing for her cortana based circuits
<John> ok then. Mission over
<Bryan> debreif, sir!
<John> final analysis... mucho dollero gone
<Bryan> at the outset- payout and so on may even that
<John> veltyen's unit has lost better than half its combat efficiency, and his infantry unit is reduced to singletons
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