Encounter One - Factions Part 1

I had opportunity to discuss Encounter One's Timeline, Races (or Factions) and History with Malcolm Booth recently.

Hi Malcolm, 

just a quick query re Encounter One. Third edition introduced the Guild, Great Houses and Minor Houses. Apart from Photon Torpedoes, they don't say which stat line the new factions use on the missiles tables? 

I had followed the lead on Photon Torpedoes and used Empire stats for Great House Bolt and Federation stats for Guild and Minor Houses. Looking again, GH don't get Arrow like the Feds, so I wonder if they should have Fed Bolt?

On the same subject which Stats line should the new Factions use for Dart? 

Federation don't have Arrow or Drones so I used Empire stats for the new factions.

I am now thinking the Great Houses are aligned with the Federation. The Minor Houses align with Empire and the Guild can buy the best from both!

Malcolm:

It was sort of based on Dune to be honest, the Landsraad. The great houses provide a control over both the Empire and Federation - from memory in the history they grouped to stop a war between the two- and the minor houses just hope nobody gets annoyed at them 😊

It's a very long time since I read Dune. That does make sense with published time line in 3rd edition.

I was thinking of the Great Houses as autonomous star-faring cultures within the Empire and Federation.

They occupy multiple solar systems, but maintain treaties and mostly cordial relations with the great powers.

The Minor Houses have achieved space flight enough to occupy a few planetary systems, but need to hire their star ships from the Guild.

The Guild is a cooperative of Mercantile houses trading across the galaxy.

Malcolm followed up with an email giving a lot more info about the background to the game:

The question around the relationship between the Empire, Great Houses, and Minor Houses is a good one.

As I said, we were pretty much influenced by the social structure portrayed in Dune, with the Empire staring out as a Great House which became so powerful that it could not be challenged by any, or any grouping, of the other houses – so, in the potted history, House Corollan ‘…gains majority in the Council’, suggesting that they gathered sufficient support to become de facto rulers.

That sort of suggests that the ‘Empire’ is, in fact, a coalition of Great Houses, acting in concert, under the direction of one house, although the impression in the Dune universe is that House Corrino has become so powerful that it’s rule cannot be challenged.

To flesh out the Encounter One universe a little more you could imagine that House Corollan, rather than simply having influence over the other Great Houses, has in some way (marriage, purchase, intrigue) absorbed several of these Houses, together with their military infrastructure, to achieve a position of dominance which allowed them to declare themselves as an empire.

The timescale for this would be from -105PN, when the Great Convention is signed, to -10PN, when House Corollan declares itself as the first Terryan Galactic Empire, so around 950 years

The term ‘Galactic Empire’ was probably a bit grandiose, as the time scale from the first outward spread of colonisation would only be around 1,400 years.

Of course, once the improved hyper-space engine is developed (in year zero PN) you can imagine House Corollan, with its greater resources, getting the lion’s share of the new colonies and, more importantly, their resources, bolstering the empire’s position.

The Guild is, of course, a reference to the Spacing Guild in the Dune universe, except it doesn’t have the same monopoly on interstellar travel. I think your view of the Guild as a collection of mercantile houses is a good analogy, and if you use a Guild list then you are basically a Minor House which can’t source its own ships, rather than the Guild itself becoming involved in combat situations.

The Federation, as you say, is made up of newer systems operating in the periphery, but still part of the Empire. I think in this we were influenced by Asimov’s Foundation story line, with more progressive elements far from the centre of the Empire not being as influenced by tradition as the more established systems and pushing back against imperial influence. Systems which would have, over time, gained Minor House status but who don’t want to become embroiled in the politics of the Confederation of Great Houses in Council.

I think Minor Houses not being able to ally with the Federation sort of falls in with this, as you could imagine the Minor Houses, jealous of whatever influence they may have under the imperial social order, being wary of these ‘Johnny come lately’ peripheral systems who were threatening to turn the established order on its head.

The Great Houses, on the other hand, would be sure of their own position and would find common cause with the Federation if it suited their needs.

The Rim Raiders, from memory, were the outer systems and Minor Houses which were being persecuted by some faction and went rogue, suggesting they left their home system(s) for a more nomadic lifestyle (I think in the original edition the phrase was ‘fled to hide and flee again’)

Bottom line, we plagiarised everything from Dune to Star Wars, but fortunately neither Frank Herbert’s estate, Isaac Asimov’s estate, nor George Lucas have noticed. 😊

Re the Missile Tables: 

Stat lines for the new factions were missing from the missile tables in the 3rd edition rules. I added them to the 2021 digital edition but I was not sure that I got them right.

I think GH should use Fed Bolt, and G/HM should use Empire Bolt. 

Feds and GH don't use Arrow, and F don't use Drones. 

So that leaves Dart. I had Empire stats for GH & HM, and Fed stats for Guild!

These need to be Empire for Guild and House Minor, and Federation for Great Houses.

Malcolm:

I think what you’ve done makes sense. So Minor Houses have arrow, Feds are newer systems so don’t have it, Rim Raiders were rogue minor houses so do have it. And as you say, if anyone takes exception they can always flag it

I have now amended the missile tables and updated the rules.

Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
DART
E / G / HM	3	1	1	2	3	5	8	11	12	13
F / GH	4	2	1	2	7	12	13	14	14	14
N	5	3	2	3	6	9	14	16	17	17
PD%	-	-	-	10	15	20	25	35	50	70
ARROW
E / G / HM	18	16	17	16	14	12	10	8	5	2
A	17	15	13	10	7	4	1	-	-	-
N	16	14	12	10	7	4	1	-	-	-
RR	19	17	15	12	9	5	1	-	-	-
PD%	10	15	20	30	50	60	70	80	85	85

BOLT
E / G / HM	20	20	15	10	5	-	-	-	-	-
F / GH	20	20	20	17	10	3	2	-	-	-
N	20	18	15	11	6	-	-	-	-	-
RR	20	18	16	11	5	1	-	-	-	-
PD%	10	20	30	45	60	80	95	-	-	-
Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
DRONES
E/GH/G/HM	18	15	11	6	1	-	-	-	-	-
A	19	17	14	9	4	2	1	-	-	-
RR	17	14	10	4	1	-	-	-	-	-
PD%	5	10	20	35	50	75	90	-	-	-
Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
PHOTON TORPEDOES
E/GH/G/HM	10	18	18	15	5	-	-	-	-	-
F	10	15	18	18	10	-	-	-	-	-
N	8	20	20	20	15	-	-	-	-	-
RR	10	18	15	10	-	-	-	-	-	-

 

Encounter 2 - Game

ENCOUNTER TWO 

During the protracted struggle between the old Empire and the newly declared Federation of Planets, the Empire expected an easy victory over the smaller Federation fleet. The Federation, however, were not so naive as to commit their vessels to a fleet action, and instead commenced a policy of lightning raids on Imperial bases and installations. This attritional warfare deeply wounded the Empire, who reacted by breaking up the grand fleet, to cover Imperial possessions throughout the periphery. 

 The grand fleet action never materialised, most combats being small local actions of little individual importance. Some however were decisive, affecting the political alliances of the minor systems. Typical actions of this time were : 

'BETA CASSEOPIAE' 073PN

Three Federation light raiders were surprised by two Imperial cruisers. The raiders were returning from a deep penetration of Imperial space, and had already suffered substantial damage. Although this fact was conveniently ignored in Imperial accounts of the engagement, it was the deciding factor. This was an important victory for an Empire losing support.  

'ASKOLD' 085PN

Six Federation vessels of varying class, overhauled the KRISTOPHALESE, an Imperial dreadnaught. After breaking down all her screens, a salvo of torpedoes detonated her drive units. The loss of the KRISTOPHALESE caused widespread panic throughout the fleet, causing desertion and even mutiny. The swift retribution which followed, only served to strengthen: the Federation's cause. 

Ships were now in short supply on both sides. The Federation were facing shortages of many essential materials needed for ship construction. The Empire was meeting similar problems, with both raw materials and finance; many systems were using the flimsiest excuse to withhold taxes. The time was right for a rethink in ship design; stalemate was setting in due to reticence on both sides to commit ships when risk was involved. 

The first of these new vessels were the Federation 'HUNTER' class. Small, light, and with heavy shielding, their long range offensive armament was minimal. The method of attack was copied from the pirates who roamed the spaceways, plaguing the Empire for three hundred years. The attacking craft would lock its tractors onto the enemy ship, and the two would be drawn together. Once docked, the attacker would blow in the enemy's airlocks and armed assault teams would storm aboard. This form of attack served a dual purpose 

1. The enemy was denied a ship, as effectively as if it had been destroyed. 
2. The ship, once captured and with only minor refit, can now be used against its former owners. 

The first use of this new class was at DRACO IV 098PN, where the Federation 'HUNTER' NOSFERATU successfully captured the Imperial cruiser CLEETHORPES, 120,000 tonnes above its own class. 

The loss to the Empire was a substantial setback on its own, but within a matter of months, refitted and renamed VENDETTA, the cruiser was escorting Federation supply ships through the Imperial blockade. Within eight months of the loss of the CLEETHORPES, the Empire launched their own class of boarding ships and the fighting began in earnest.............. 

“ After 600 years of subjugation to intergalactic fighting platforms, the foot-soldier returns to his rightful place... “

A STARFLEET STUDIES PRODUCTION

BY
M. BOOTH and P. BROUGH

This edition of Encounter Two was derived from a scan of the original rules, then polished up for the twenty-first century by Chris Nicole with the cooperation of Malcolm Booth.

"Encounter 2 was very much a ‘beer & pretzels’ game which we put together around a range of 20mm figures (the manufacturer I can’t remember, it’s been a while); Phil hand drew the cover, and I bashed out the rules on my wife’s portable typewriter

Reading through the rules was a bit of a trip down memory lane, and I remember demoing the rules at a convention (and selling them at side of table for the princely sum of 95p!)

We did briefly consider putting a board game together but to be honest we were both skint – I think the first print run was 100 copies and we had to trim them by hand."

Game Rules Free download - 357kb

Encounter 2 2023 Edition pdf     

Please let us know if you have any comments or questions.

Phil Brough & Malcolm Booth  Email: M.booth@sky.com

Transcription by Chris Nicole     Email:  chris_nicoleuk@yahoo.co.uk

 Encounter One - Imperial Escorts

No, not those alluring individuals that frequent Spaceport bars (or so I'm told). This time I am looking at small ships of the Imperial Navy. The Broadheads may be the iconic ship of the Empire, but much of the day to day policing of Imperial space is done by less glamorous craft. These small ships serve a multitude of roles within the Navy. The Frigates, Corvettes, Mine Layers and System Patrol Boats.

These busy, hard working little ships are regarded as a plum command for the ambitious young gentlemen* of the Imperial Navy.

As usual, most of my Empire Escorts are from QT Models Starships range. I have a couple of Moscow Class 'Strike Cruisers' and a couple of squadrons of Banshee Class 'Light Cruiser'. The Moscows were originally part of QT Models Solar Force, the Banshees part of their Ramorian Fleet. The Banshees were later reissued by Games Workshop for their Space Fleet game, then again for Battle Fleet Gothic as Stalwart Escort Ships. I am not sure if the Moscows were included in Space Fleet or BFG.

* Imperial Navy tradition always refers to its officers as Gentlemen, even though a large proportion now are neither male, gentle or strictly human. 

Banshee Class Frigate

NSF9 Banshee Class 

The Banshees are the scruffy terriers of the Imperial Fleet. Smart enough to flush out a nest of rats and fierce enough to corner a badger.

As small ships the Banshees lack the mass for a heavy Beam array so I tend to arm them with missiles. They can carry enough weapons to have some effect, especially if they are deployed in groups or squadrons. With a single Shield St4 and Point Defence, the Banshees rely on their small size and agility to avoid the worst of enemy fire.

The base Banshee carries three Arrow launchers forward and two Bolt launchers in all round turrets. These can easily be swapped out for a different weapons fit or a more specialised roles such as Mine-layers, Police Patrol, Customs Cutter or Starbase runabout. 

For example, An Assault Boat replaces the arrow launchers with a Tractor and a couple of Marine squads. Or a Coma Tender among a pack of Banshees can provide a nasty surprise for someone.  

EMPIRE	Ship		Banshee Class Frigate
Equipment	No		Mass	Points
Core Systems
Bridge	1		1	1
Reactor	1		1	0
Main Drive	1	Strength 5	1	7
Manoeuvre Drive	1		1	1
Fire Control	1		1	1
Defence	No
Shield St 4	1		1	5
Point Defence	1		1	2
Weapons & Systems	No	Facing
Arrow Launcher	3	Forward	3	21
Bolt Launcher	2	Turret	2	14
Turret	2	All Round	0	22
Hull and Cargo
Hull	0			0
Total			12	74

Moscow Class Fleet Scout

NSF1 Moscow Class Strike Cruiser

At Mass 15 the Moscows are a larger hull than the Banshees allowing for a better defence or heavier payload. As I only have two in my fleet they tend to act independently as Fleet scouts. I have given them an extra shield and point defence rather than more weapons. Their weapon payload is the same as the Banshee, but at mass 15 they can carry three Beam ST5 in place of the Banshee's Missile Launchers in their forward array. Some commanders may prefer to fit Arrow Launchers in the turrets for it's better range and accuracy over the punch of a heavy Bolt launcher.

That big scanner dish on the bow pretty much demands they carry a Probe or some form of advanced search / communication system.  

EMPIRE	Ship		Moscow Fleet Scout
Equipment	No		Mass	Points
Core Systems
Bridge	1		1	1
Reactor	1		1	0
Main Drive	1	Strength 5	1	7
Manoeuvre Drive	1		1	1
Fire Control	1		1	1
Defence	No
Shield St 4	1		1	5
Shield St 3	1		1	4
Point Defence	2		2	4
Weapons & Systems	No	Facing
Beam ST5	3	Forward	3	21
Bolt Launcher	2	Turret	2	14
Turret	2	All Round	0	22
Probe	1		1	10
Hull and Cargo
Hull	0			0
Total			15	90

 Encounter One - Revised Ship Records

Feel free to print these off and use them in your games or adapt to your own designs.

Empire - Broadhead Strike Cruiser

Note: Broadheads can swap out their Beam arrays for Arrow or Bolt missile launchers at no change in points cost.

Banshee Class Frigate

Moscow Class Fleet Scout

Novan - Vespid Light Cruiser

Novan - Hunter Killer Light Cruiser

Novan - Head Hunter Battle Cruiser

Novan Snake Head Command Carrier

Return to Gaming and Encounter One - Variants

 It's been a while since I last posted to the Blog. Life has been going on and my interests moved to other hobbies. Sailing Pond Yachts for example. Lately I have reconnected with some of my old wargames buddies at the Hull and East Riding Wargames Club formerly North Hull Wargamers.  I fancy rolling a few dice and moving models round the table top again.

I even picked up a set of Napoleonics rules (De Bellis Napoleonicis). These look interesting and well thought out, I like the way they work and they only need relatively small numbers of figures. As it is I don't have any Napoleonics figures, but I know some people who do...

I have also been thinking about Encounter One. I fancy playing a few games or running them for someone else to try, just to see how well they play and how fleets evolve. With this in mind, I have come up with a few variant rules that could do with play testing.

I have also updated my Spaceships Miniatures page, adding links for Monday Knight Productions, Khurasan Miniatures and Irregular Miniatures. 

Encounter One - Table Size

Encounter One was written for games clubs were 6'x8' or larger tables were readily available. The recommended scale of one Metral to one centimetre reflects this. But it means firing can start at 200cm or more. These days we are lucky to get a 6'x4' table to play on. I suggest using one centimetre to two Metrals. This should allow for some manoeuvre before effective firing starts. 

If I wanted to be really radical, I might suggest keeping movement distances at one centimetre to one Metral while using one centimetre to two Metral for firing ranges. This needs testing out.

Encounter One - Game Set Up

The standard set up is for two fleets of equal points value encounter each other head on across (or along) the table. While this set up is pretty common in Sci Fi media (e.g. Star Trek), it does seem rather limiting to me. There are plenty of other options for a set up, e.g. Convoy or Fleet defence; Pursuit; Ambush; Planetary system defence; Piracy or Commerce Raiding; etc. 

Mix it up a bit. 

• Dice for entry points on the table. 
• Dice for when fleets come onto the table.
• Take a Hyper Space jump into the battle space. 
• If fleets are split vary the entry points for each division.
• Consider victory conditions other than comparing losses. e.g. Save the merchant convoy; Delay the enemy for so many turns; Break through the enemy line; Find the lady; Capture the Starbase,  etc. 
• Look at historic naval battles, see how they could be replayed in space.
• Put a planet on the table and use the gravity rules.

Have Fun. 

Encounter One - Fire Control Systems

All ships ships of mass ten or above except Novans, need a Fire Control System (FCS). Novans Bridge system counts as their FCS. Rim Raiders also control their Shield alignment using FCS. If a FCS is damaged all weapons fire is at half effect immediately. If your ship can repair or has a secondary fire control then your ship can regain full effective fire. It's not stated how long it takes to restore Fire Control, but I would go with the rules for secondary Bridges and use two (Fire) turns.

Other spaceship rules link Fire Control systems with the number of targets that a ship can engage. Encounter One doesn't, a ship can engage as many targets as it has weapons systems. 

As a variant rule, you could try playing E1 so ships engage one target each turn at full fire effect for each Fire Control system they have. If they have more targets than Fire Control, then they engage surplus targets at half effect as if they had taken a FC hit. Novans may engage extra targets for each secondary Bridge they carry. This gives a reason for carrying a secondary FCS beyond spare parts.

The disadvantage of this system comes if you are facing swarms of enemy ships.

Edited for clarity 10th April 2023