Galactic Kampaigns - Part 2: Who's the Enemy, anyway?

To start a campaign, first we must determine who the combatants will be. You could just choose the factions yourself depending upon what fleets you have or what match ups you are interested in exploring. Otherwise, first, choose the faction that you will play. Then roll a D10 and cross reference the result with the faction to be played on the table below to find your opposition for the campaign:

D10 Roll	Carnivoran	Terran	Entomalian	Avarian	Aquarian
1	Aquarian	Aquarian	Aquarian	Aquarian	Avarian
2	Avarian	Avarian	Aquarian	Aquarian	Avarian
3	Avarian	Avarian	Avarian	Entomalian	Entomalian
4	Entomalian	Entomalian	Avarian	Entomalian	Entomalian
5	Entomalian	Entomalian	Avarian	Entomalian	Entomalian
6	Entomalian	Entomalian	Terran	Entomalian	Entomalian
7	Terran	Entomalian	Terran	Terran	Terran
8	Terran	Rebels	Terran	Terran	Terran
9	Terran	Carnivoran	Carnivoran	Carnivoran	Carnivoran
10	Rebels	Carnivoran	Carnivoran	Carnivoran	Carnivoran

The table above is my take on the probabilities of conflict based on the size, aggressiveness, history, and stellar geography as presented in the background materials accompanying Galactic Knights and the various Fleet supplements. Feel free to modify it according to your own needs. Rebels = a Rebel faction of the same race. This only appears for the Carnivorans, who are plagued by chronic infighting, and the Terrans, where there are already multiple splinter factions including Nova Liberia and the Kmet. If you don't want to fight rebels, simply roll again until another faction comes up.

"Stop calling it Aggression; we hate that Expression"

   Our entire campaign will take place in a single star system; you should name it for flavor and reference! If desired, take the same from the star maps accompanying the rules, maps from other sources, or from the pages of History and/or Science Fiction, or just make up a likely sounding name.

Campaign Morale
This is a key number in the SN Campaign system, as when it drops to zero for either side, the campaign is over, and the side reaching zero has lost (higher is better). I've assigned each Faction a rating, and explained my rationale for them below. rating will go up and/or down in the course of the campaign. There is no maximum Campaign Morale.

Terrans           4  (Expansionist)
Avarians         4  (favor defending their existing territory, diplomacy, but have sustained prolonged conflicts)
Entomalians    4  (Hive mind - the will of the individual is all but unimportant)
Carnivorans    3  (fractious, prone to infighting)
Aquarians       3  (prefer to choose their fights and keep losses to a minimum, their watery planets are inhospitable to other factions and all but impossible for others to hold for any length of time)
Rebels           3  (lack the resources for a protracted fight)

To determine which faction controls the systrem, roll a D6 for each faction and add their Campaign Morale, plus an additional +1 if the faction is Entomalian. The higher total is Contesting the system, and the lower is Controlling the system.  Re-roll any ties.

Crew Quality and REPutation
Star Navy assigns ships a REPutation ranging from a low of 2 (merchants, some pirates) to a high of 5 (the best ships and crew). It reflects the quality of both the ship's crew and also its systems. We'll need to use this concept for the campaign, but for our GK purposes we'll make it a bit more literally just Crew Quality, as follows:

Crew Rating Rep #
Raw 2
Green 3
Veteran 4
Elite 5

We'll also use this to re-balance the fleets a bit; the Aquarians in particular are supposed to have very well trained crews, so they will tend to have better crew Qualities. The Entomalians will have the worst crews on average, initiative generally being discouraged. We'll give the Terrans slightly above average crews (the Terran Navy has been fighting somebody almost nonstop since its inception), and the Avarians and Carnivorans  more or less average.

Mission: Improbable

The first mission of a Campaign will always be a PATROL mission. The first mission will be played with a single squadron of 3 ships (4 if you are playing the Entomalians - "Quantity has a Quality all its own!"). Subsequent missions will be rolled (using a D10)  for depending upon the nature of the previous Mission, and whether it was a Success or a Failure:

LAST MISSION	SUCCESS	FAILURE
Patrol	(1-7)  Hunt	(1-7)  Defend
Patrol	(8-10)  Attack	(8-10)  Convoy
Attack	(1-7)  Attack	(1-7)  Patrol
Attack	(8-10)  Hunt	(8-10)  Defend
Defend	(1-7)  Patrol	(1-7)  Defend
Defend	(8-10)  Hunt	(8-10)  Convoy
Hunt	(1-7)  Hunt	(1-7)  Patrol
Hunt	(8-10)  Attack	(8-10)  Convoy
Convoy	(1-7)  Patrol	(1-7)  Defend
Convoy	(8-10)  Hunt	(8-10)  Convoy

Fleets, Ships and Class

    At this point, it is necessary to make a digression to look at the various kinds of ships available to the Factions, and compare them. Then we can formulate a rating system to translate that used in Star Navy 5150 into Galactic Knights terms.

Star Navy 5150

SN Class	Hull Points	Point Cost (for Rep 4)
3	4	4
4	8	12
5	12	48
6	18	188

Name wise, Class 3 ships are basically Frigates, Corvettes, and Destroyers; Class 4 are Heavy and Light Cruisers, Class 5 are Light Carriers and Battle Cruisers/Battleships, and Cl;ass 6 (rare) are Attack Carriers and Dreadnoughts.


Galactic Knights

Ship Type	Size	Critical Hits	Build Pts	Hull
Star Bomber	3	2	30-40	5-8
Armored Pursuit Ship	3	3	35-45	5-10
Destroyer	3	4	45-60	7-15
Destroyer Leader	4	5	61-100	10-18
Cruiser	5	6	101-150	16-26
Battlecruiser	6	8	151-230	22-36
Attack Carrier	7	8	200 - 300	30-46
Dreadnought	7	9	221 - 350	30-46
Galactic Dreadnought	7	10	351-500	36-50
Super Galactic Dreadnought	8	12	501-700	40 - 70

Here are the ships of the various factions (standard designs as in the rule books)

TERRANS
The Terrans (or properly, the Terran Trans-solar Federation originated on Earth and the earliest worlds coloninized by humans. Like humans often will, there soon developed political divisions and separatist movements, most prominently Nova Liberia and The Khmet. Terran ships are more or less the baseline agaist which other races's navies are compared. The humans developed shield technology, but it was only months into the unexpected war with the Avarians before they managed to steal and/or copy it.

Terran Ship Type	Class	Points Cost
Star Bomber SB	Mars	104
Armored Pursuit Ship SAPS	Dauntless	86
Stellar Destroyer SD	Swiftsure	124
Stellar Destroyer Leader SDL	Samurai	186
Stellar Cruiser SC	Ranger	336
Galactic Battlecruiser GB	Formidable	580
Galactic Dreadnought GD	Invincible	754
Galactic Dreadnought GD-2	Valiant	988
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC	Constellation	996
Super Galactic Dreadnought	Victory	1522

Also  Havoc  class Galactic Transport (GTP), no stats provided


AVARIANS
The Avarians (again, more properly the Avarian United Worlds, or  "Tweeties" in the slang that Terran spacers use) are a race of birdlike creatures somewhat smaller than humans in size.They fought a bitter war  with the Terrans based upon mutual misunderstandings following First Contact. Aty present, there is an uneasy truce between the Terrans and the Avarians as a result of the much greater threat posed by the Entomalioan Invasion. That is not to say that no conflict occurs between them, but such fighting as occurs now is usually limited to jockeying for advantage  in uninhabited border systems. Natural pilots, the Avarian Carriers and fighters are decidedly superior to the Terran equivalents, and they rely heavily on Fighters and Missile combat, plus their powerful but short ranged Rail Guns.

Avarian Ship Type	Class	Points Cost
Star Bomber SB	Buzzard	91
Armored Pursuit Ship SAPS	Sparrow	94
Stellar Destroyer SD	Hawk	158
Stellar Destroyer Leader SDL	Screech Owl	242
Stellar Cruiser SC	Falcon	426
Galactic Battlecruiser GB	Eagle	682
Galactic Dreadnought GD	Condor	848
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC	Vulture	1110
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC-2	Nest	1256
Super Galactic Dreadnought	Gryphon	1664

Also, Turkey Class GTP, no stats provided. 


ENTOMALIANS
Properly the Entomalian Empire, but "Bugs" or "Maggots" to Terrans, this race of advanced insectoid creatures is rigidly heirarchical, the social structure being reinforced by short range telepathy on the part of the Queens. Entonmalian Technology stagnated centuries ago, and thus they lack shields and electronic countermeasures. However, their ships are heavily armored and durable, and are produced in seeminmgly limitless numbers by a process part biological and part mechanical.

Entomalian Ship Type	Class	Points Cost
Star Bomber SB	Sting	97
Armored Pursuit Ship SAPS	Louse	80
Stellar Destroyer SD	Wasp	112
Stellar Destroyer Leader SDL	Mandible	243
Stellar Cruiser SC	Hornet	354
Galactic Battlecruiser GB	Roach	569
Galactic Battlecruiser GB-2	Scorpion	616
Galactic Deadnought GD	Mantis	882
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC	Hive	963
Super Galactic Dreadnought	Swarm	1663

Also  Locust Class GTP, no Stats provided

CARNIVORANS
The Carnivoran Republic is composed of "Priodes" of varying degree of influence. There is constant jockeying for power both within and between Prides. The Carnivorans resemble large Lions in appearance, although Terran spacer slang for them is "Kitties". Most contact with them has been raiders, but it is belied the Prides will likley unite if their core worlds are seriously threatened. Their space faring technology is relatively new and ppoorly developed, including a lack of Shields. They make up for this by using especially strong polyphase armor, and shield stripping missile technology. Carnivoran ships generally mount large numbers of relatively short range weapons, favoring close in combat.

Carnivoran Ship Type	Class	Points Cost
Star Bomber SB	Snarl	97
Armored Pursuit Ship SAPS	Kitten	98
Stellar Destroyer SD	Cheetah	144
Stellar Destroyer Leader SDL	Puma	215
Stellar Cruiser SC	Panther	366
Galactic Battlecruiser GB	Lion	565
Galactic Battlecruiser GB-2	Tomcat	517
Galactic Deadnought GD	Hellcat	809
Galactic Deadnought GD-2	Tiger	876
Galactic Dreadnought GD-3	Jaguar	1053
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC	Den	866
Super Galactic Dreadnought	Polecat	1597
Galactic Transport GTP	Cub	119

AQUARIANS
The Aquarian Alliance is an enigma in many ways. They have the been in space the longest, and have the most advanced technology. They prefer to maintain a neutral stance, and thus may be aiding a faction in one sector and opposing it elsewhere. The Aquarians ("Fishies" to Terran spacers) resemble rather short, bipedal fish and are water breathers.  There ships are relatively lightly armorted, but their use of Nannite technology allows it to "shift" to the most threatened area of the ship. Their fighters use launch tubes and thus the fighter bays are much better protected than on other ships. They use their Harpoon missiles to dampen the energy of all weapons employed by the targeted ship. Finally, their specialized Pulse cannons tend to strip off armor and superficial systems without damaging jump engines or life support. All of these support the Aquarian tactical doctrine which calls for limiting loss of life on target vessels.

Aquarian Ship Type	Class	Points Cost
Star Bomber SB	Wahoo Mk 1	86
Star Bomber SB-2	Wahoo Mk 2	90
Armored Pursuit Ship SAPS	Dolphin	90
Stellar Destroyer SD	Pihana	128
Stellar Destroyer Leader SDL	Tigershark	245
Stellar Cruiser SC	Baracuda	334
Galactic Battlecruiser GB	Shark	501
Galactic Deadnought GD	Leviathan	728
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC	Stingray	886
Galactic Attack Carrier GAC-2	Behemoth	908
Super Galactic Dreadnought	Typhoon	1558
Galactic Transport GTP	Sea Horse	120

Summary of Ship Designs by Faction

Ship Type	Max Hull	Terra	Avaria	Entoma	Carnivora	Aquaria
SB	8	104	91	97	97	86-90
SAPS	10	86	94	80	98	90
SD	15	124	158	112	144	128
SDL	18	186	242	243	215	245
SC	26	336	426	354	366	334
GB	36	580	682	569-616	517-565	501
GD	46/50	754-988	848	882	809-1053	728
GAC	46	996	1110- 1256	963	866	886-908
SGD	70	1522	1664	1663	1597	1558
GTP	20				119	120

Comparison of Ship Design stats by Faction
(the details of the configurations are far more diverse than these stats can indicate)

Class	Avg	Terra	Avaria	Entoma	Carnivora	Aquaria
SB	96	+5%	-5%	+1%	+1%	-6%
SAPS	90	-4%	+4%	-11%	+9%	even
SD	133	-7%	+19%	-8%	+8%	-4%
SDL	226	-18%	+7%	+8%	-5%	+8%
SC	363	-7%	+17%	-2%	+1%	-8%
GB	589	-2%	+16%	+5%	-4%	-15%
GD	900	+10%	-6%	-2%	+17%	-19%
GAC	997	even	+26%	-3%	-13%	-9%
SGD	1600	-5%	+4%	+4%	even	-3%
GTP	120				119	120
Fleet	-	-23	+78	-12	+14	-53
Avg *	-	-3%	+10%	-2%	+2%	-7%

* Not including SGD or GTP’s.

Galactic Knights Translation

Class 3 = SB, SAPS, SD   Avg Hull = 8   Avg Points = 106

Class 4 - SDL, SC              Avg Hull =  18   Avg Points = 295

Class 5 = GB, GAC           Avg Hull =  34   Avg Point = 793

Class 6 = GD, GD-2          Avg Hull =  41   Avg Points = 900

(I decided to leave out the Super Galactic Dreadnoughts due to the size and costs of the models, great as they are - those so inclined might add them to the Class 6 ship lists).

OK, if you've borne with me through all that, great; if not, here's the final results:

Ship Generation  and Task Force Tables by Fleet and Class

The Generation tables are used to generate opposition forces as they are encountered, as well as any friendly reinforcements. They should also be used to rate your own ships as far as Crew Quality. The very first (PATROL) mission of the game uses a single squadron form the task force list of the player's choice - the Flagship is the largest ship (Class 3-4-5-6) with the highest Crew Quality. 

I suggest choosing a character name for a captain in this squadron, with the campaign narrative being from his or her perspective. Any reinforcements gained would be assigned first to this squadron. This is strictly optional, of course.

For subsequent missions, use an entire Task force. Note that only a fraction of those forces will ordinarily appear in a given table top action.  If you have lost of time and ships, you can take an entire Fleet of up to 3 task forces, or  more likely, just reinforce the Task Force with the Flag Squadron of the fleet. Once again, feel free to alter your suggested forces, or even generate them randomly.

Task Force Composition (same for all fleets, except the Entomalians. For them, add an additional ship to each squadron (of the lowest down ship on the list of that  Squadron). Of course, if you feel like mixing it up more by faction, or changing them in any way to suit your tastes or collection,  be my guest! As the enemy forces are generated based upon what you are bringing to any given table top encounter, it does't really matter that much!

Squadron Primus
Dreadnought
Attack Carrier
Battle Cruiser

Squadron Secundus
Battle Cruiser
Cruiser
Cruiser

Squadron Tertius
Cruiser
Destroyer Leader
Destroyer Leader

Squadron Quartus
Destroyer
Star Bomber
Armored Pursuit Ship

Squadron Quintus
Destroyer
Armored Pursuit Ship
Star Bomber

Squadron Sextus
Destroyer
Star Bomber
Armored Pursuit Ship

D6 Roll	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5	Class 6
1	3	3	3	3
2	3	3	3	4
3	3	3	4	5
4	3	4	4	5
5	4	4	5	6*
6	4	5	6*	6*

RANDOM SHIP GENERATION TABLES

Terran Class 3 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SAPS	Dauntless	Veteran
2	SB	Mars	Veteran
3	1 each	Mars/Dauntless	Green
4	SD	Swiftsure	Veteran
5	SD	Swiftsure	Elite
6	SD	Swiftsure	Elite

Terran Class 4 ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SDL	Samurai	Veteran
2	SDL	Samurai	Elite
3	SDL	Samurai	Veteran
4	SC	Ranger	Elite
5	SC	Ranger	Veteran
6	SC	Ranger	Elite

Terran Class 5 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GB	Formidable	Veteran
2	GB	Formidable	Elite
3	GB	Formidable	Veteran
4	GAC	Constellation	Elite
5	GAC	Constellation	Veteran
6	GAC	Constellation	Elite

Terran Class 6 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GD	Invincible	Veteran
2	GD	Invincible	Elite
3	GD	Invincible	Veteran
4	GD-2	Valiant	Elite
5	GD-2	Valiant	Veteran
6	GD-2	Valiant	Elite

Avarian Class 3 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SAPS	Sparrow	Veteran
2	SB	Buzzard	Veteran
3	1 each	Buzzard/Sparrow	Green
4	SD	Hawk	Green
5	SD	Hawk	Veteran
6	SD	Hawk	Elite

Avarian Class 4 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SDL	Screech Owl	Green
2	SDL	Screech Owl	Veteran
3	SDL	Screech Owl	Elite
4	SC	Falcon	Green
5	SC	Falcon	Veteran
6	SC	Falcon	Elite

Avarian Class 5 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GB	Eagle	Veteran
2	GB	Eagle	Veteran
3	GB	Eagle	Elite
4	GAC	Vulture	Veteran
5	GAC	Nest	Veteran
6	GAC	Nest	Elite

Avarian Class 6 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GD	Condor	Veteran
2	GD	Condor	Veteran
3	GD	Condor	Veteran
4	GD	Condor	Elite
5	GD	Condor	Elite
6	GD	Condor	Elite

Entomalian Class 3 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SAPS	Louse	Green
2	SB	Sting	Green
3	1 each	Sting/Louse	Green
4	SD	Wasp	Green
5	SD	Wasp	Veteran
6	SD	Wasp	Veteran

Entomalian Class 4 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SDL	Mandible	Green
2	SDL	Mandible	Green
3	SDL	Mandible	Veteran
4	SC	Hornet	Green
5	SC	Hornet	Veteran
6	SC	Hornet	Veteran

Entomalian Class 5 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GB	Roach	Green
2	GB	Roach	Veteran
3	GB	Scorpion	Veteran
4	GAC	Hive	Green
5	GAC	Hive	Veteran
6	GAC	Hive	Elite

Entomalian Class 6 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GD	Mantis	Veteran
2	GD	Mantis	Veteran
3	GD	Mantis	Veteran
4	GD	Mantis	Veteran
5	GD	Mantis	Elite
6	GD	Mantis	Elite

Carnivoran Class 3 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SAPS	Kitten	Veteran
2	SB	Snarl	Veteran
3	1 each	Snarl/Kitten	Green
4	SD	Cheetah	Green
5	SD	Cheetah	Veteran
6	SD	Cheetah	Veteran

Carnivoran Class 4 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SDL	Puma	Green
2	SDL	Puma	Veteran
3	SDL	Puma	Elite
4	SC	Panther	Green
5	SC	Panther	Veteran
6	SC	Panther	Elite

Carnivoran Class 5 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GB	Tomcat	Vteran
2	GB	Lion	Veteran
3	GB	Lion	Elite
4	GAC	Den	Vteran
5	GAC	Den	Veteran
6	GAC	Den	Elite

Carnivoran Class 6 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GD	Tiger	Veteran
2	GD	Tiger	Veteran
3	GD	Tiger	Elite
4	GD	Tiger	Elite
5	GD-2	Jaguar	Veteran
6	GD-2	Jaguar	Elite

Aquarian Class 3 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SAPS	Dolphin	Veteran
2	SB	Wahoo Mk 2	Veteran
3	1 each	Wahoo Mk 1/Dolphin	Veteran
4	SD	Piranha	Veteran
5	SD	Piranha	Elite
6	SD	Piranha	Elite

Aquarian Class 4 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	SDL	Tigershark	Veteran
2	SDL	Tigershark	Elite
3	SDL	Tigershark	Elite
4	SC	Barracuda	Veteran
5	SC	Barracuda	Veteran
6	SC	Barracuda	Elite

Aquarian Class 5 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GB	Shark	Veteran
2	GB	Shark	Elite
3	GB	Shark	Elite
4	GAC	Stingray	Veteran
5	GAC	Stingray	Elite
6	GAC	Behemoth	Elite

Aquarian Class 6 Ships

D6 Roll	Type	Class	Quality
1	GD	Leviathan	Veteran
2	GD	Leviathan	Elite
3	GD	Leviathan	Elite
4	GD	Leviathan	Elite
5	GD-2	Leviathan	Elite
6	GD-2	Leviathan	Elite

We will use these tables, along with others, extensively when we come to generate the enemy forces our heroes will encounter during their Missions. Carrying out those Missions will be the subject of the next post in this series.