Solar Empires

I've finally settled on a name for the Sci-fi setting we have been playing our "Station 42 War" and "Maxed Out" games in.  I'm going with "Solar Empires".  I had previously called the setting "3031" and "Moon Miners and Terraformers".  I didn't like the first choice because it seemed silly to name a setting for a single date and I didn't like the second one because it was a mouth full and sounded dated.  I Google searched "Solar Empires" to check for conflicts and found that there was a video game named "Sins of a Solar Empire" but no game or anything titled just "Solar Empires"  Although this is merely a personal setting for my home games I would like to have an original title if possible in case I decide to develop it in the future.

I feel this name reflects the various different factions well.  Governments, corporations, and criminal enterprises can often be called "Empires" and since my setting is based on the Solar System it seemed like the best choice.  

I have some basic setting notes that we have actually been using for a couple of years now that I have not published because I was never satisfied with the setting name.  I have now created a new page for those notes on this blog here:   http://ironworkersminiatures.blogspot.com/p/solarempires-nathan-miller-2013.html
I plan to add some artwork to the page as soon as we create some.  As it stands it is just a big block of text and I want to make it more interesting to read.

Battle of the Venture Star Depot ( A 1000 point No Limits Battle report for the Station 42 War)

 October 27, 3032 12 Kilometers south east of Station 42 on Titania.  Earlier today a small scouting force of the Hell Knights Mercenary Company raided a supply depot owned by the Venture Star Prospecting Company a known support of the Titania insurgency.  This volatile region has been quite since mid July when the Hell Knights Mercenary Company captured Station 42 from insurgents and renegade elements of the Titania Planetary Guard.

 As mercenary light armored units made a move toward the entry to the compound members of "Bear's Militia" opened fire disabling both vehicles.  Hell Knight scouts and snipers responded killing at least two of the militia members occupying a building with a communications array.  One unit of scouts kicked in the back door to a smaller building to gain access.

 The mercenary scouts and militia members continued to exchange fire.  Bear himself was shot by a Hell Knights sniper and one of his units was broken by the scouts in the building.  At least two scouts were also wounded in this exchange.  The Hell Knights Marksman Battlesuit exchanged fire with a militia auto-canon.  The mech was damaged but one of the crewmen manning the weapon was killed as well.

 One of the Hell Knights snipers killed the last member of Bear's personal unit while the other shot down a NOVA trooper.  A unit of scouts moved into the middle of the compound and killed the remaining crewman of the militia auto-canon but one of their own was killed by a member of Wolfhound Friekorps.  Three Wolfhounds were killed by grenade and laser fire from the mercenary scouts in the building while the mercenary battlesuit killed the militia sniper.  The militia field gun actually hit and damaged one of the compound buildings trying to hit the battlesuit.

 The two remaining members of Bear's militia rallied and found cover but were almost immediately gunned down by the scouts in the building.  Two more of the mercenary scouts in the middle of the compound were killed by NOVA troopers leaving only the Sargent of the unit standing.  The two remaining Wolfhounds fled from their position.  

 The Hell Knights battlesuit moved into point blank range with the NOVA security troopers but neither the mech nor the troopers could hit each other.  Another trooper was killed by one of the mercenary snipers.  The Wolfhound troopers rallied before fleeing the compound completely.  One of the Venture Star employees was shot by a mercenary sniper as his coworkers fled to one of the storage buildings.  The mercenary scouts began to pull back.

In a bloody and final exchange of fire the last two NOVA troopers were gunned down by the mercenary battlesuit.  The Hell Knights scouts continued to withdraw under the cover of their snipers.  As the mercenary forces withdrew it was unclear if the Hell Knights had achieved their objective.  They had certainly bloodied the nose of the insurgents and caused significant damage.  The remaining militia units did not attempt to pursue them.

Notes:  Well this was a pretty smooth skirmish.  It had been a long time since we had played so we didn't want to do a very large action.  Also we have decided that it would be logical for the next phase of the campaign to involve several smaller skirmishes with militia insurgents instead of pitched battles with the Planetary Guard.  We decided to hold this game to 6 turns.  The Hell Knights main objective was a scan as many of the compound buildings as they could.  I managed to scan 5 out of 6 of the buildings and inflict more casualties than I sustained so we considered it a victory for the mercs.  One of the funniest things about this battle was the poor performance of the militia field gun.  They managed to hit the Venture Star earth mover and shuttle as well as two generators and one of the buildings with scattered shots.  The only two shots they fired that hit nothing flew way over the heads of the snipers.  
Also I decided to try and take wide shots of the battle every turn and then add smaller inset details of the action which I think worked out here.  I plan to do that again for other battle reports.  I like to keep my total number of images small but this way I can also show more of what happened.        

The Battle of Station 42 (A 4000 point No Limits battle report for the Station 42 War)

Hell Knight forces on the western edge of the spaceport

 Over two months ago a company sized force of the Hell Knights mercenary company assaulted and secured Station 42 a vital space port on Titania.  During the fighting our "Flyspy" news drones were captured by agents working for the Smith and Wilson Agriculture company the Hell Knights employers.  It has taken TNN some time to recover the images taken by our drones so that we could cover the events that happened during the battle.

A Hell Knights X93 "Vampire Bat" combat drone eliminates a militia sniper

 In the weeks following the battle Smith and Wilson Agriculture conducted a media blackout while the Hell Knights instituted strict martial law on the spaceport.  All of this was done while government officials in Titania City turned a blind eye.  The renegade Planetary Guard commander "General" Drake led the Titania forces.  

Hell Knight hovercraft speed to support their left flank.

 The Hell Knights arrived early in the morning and reached the western edge of the spaceport unopposed.  Most of their troops arrived in fast moving hovercraft but a few units of scouts and snipers had infiltrated deeper into the facility.

Rosie's robotic troopers marching out of her workshop

 In addition to Drake's troops the well known local mechanic and roboticist known only as "Rosie" fielded her own personal mech and 15 robotic security bots.  This came as a bit of a surprise to the locals but if this bothered the other Titania forces they didn't show it.  

Rosie's Battlemech destroys Hell Knights infantry units

 Also on the side of the Titania forces were the local NOVA Securities officers and some snipers and light vehicles from the local militia.

Armored units from both sides exchange heavy fire

 The most intense fighting of the day happened around the local "Klancy's" convenience store.  The Hell Knights took up positions inside and around the building as Titania forces closed on them from the east and south.

A Hell Knights "Incubus" mech outmaneuvers Rosie's heavier mech

 The Hell Knights fielding an extremely agile Incubus class light Battlemech.  This unit not only inflicted serious casualties against the Titania infantry and light vehicles but it also proved very difficult for the slower moving Titania forces to catch up with.  Using jump jets the mech was able to continually fire then flee before enemy firepower could be brought to bear.

Planetary Guard tanks burn near NOVA Securities office

 The Planetary guard tanks proved difficult to destroy but after suffering literally dozens of hits each both were finally destroyed in the vicinity of of the NOVA Securities station.

Hell Knight armored units speed past the remains of a "Guardian" class battlemech

 In addition to loosing their tanks the Planetary guard also suffered the loss of the Guardian class medium Battlemech while it was trying to root out the entrenched mercenaries in and around Klancy's.

The remnants of the Titania forces prepare to retreat from the field

After suffering the loss of most of their heavy fire power the combined Titania forces withdrew from the field.  Both side suffered heavy casualties reported as nearly 50%.  In addition to loosing their tanks and mech the Titania forces lost all of their militia light vehicles.  The Hell Knights lost two of their light transports, a light hover tank, and a heavy combat drone in addition to several casualties.

This has been Alphonso Marks for the Titania News Network.  

Additional photos from this battle can be found at this location: The Battle of Station 42 

Notes:  Unfortunately it has been so long since we fought this battle I was unable to do a play by play like I wanted.  I think we took over 70 images and I edited about 30 which you can see in the flickr gallery.  This was a massive battle with over 120 models on the table.  It took two long session and about 8 or 10 turns to play out.  We still plan on several more battle and one large final battle before we call it quits on this campaign.  We hope to wrap things up by the end of the year.  

Battle of Station 42 in progress! (The Station 42 War)

 Well we are in the middle of playing out big 4000 point No Limits game for our Station 42 War campaign.  We decided to have this battle in Station 42 itself which we set out on a 5'x12' gaming table.  That's 60' square of gaming surface.  This is the way the table was set up just prior to deployment.  

 This is the Hell Knights force.  Two Regular Rifle Squads, one Veteran Rifle Squad, one Armored Assault Squad. two Scout Squads, two Snipers, one Assassin, three LAGAREVs, one "Vampire Bat" combat drone, one "Landshark" AFV, one "Hobilar" light hover thank, one "Douglas" medium hover tank, one "Incubus" light mech, and one mechsuit piloted by my captain.  64 models in total and every model I have painted for my army except one assassin.

This is the Titania force.  Four squads of Titania Planetary Guard and one command squad, three squads of Battledroids, one squad of NOVA troopers, three Snipers, three Improvised Armored Vehicles, Three Badger MRAPs, two Medium Tanks, one "Guardian" medium mech, and Rosie's "Cyclopes" medium mech.  65 models in total.

We are currently on turn 9 of the battle and plan to play to the end of turn 12 unless one side pulls out.  Right now it's a toss up as both sides have taken almost %50 casualties.

Battle of Dutton's Camp (Station 42 War Battle Report)

 July 5th 3032 Titania "Green Zone":  Earlier today a small force of Hell Knights engaged member of the Titania Militia just near Titania City in the "Green Zone".  Regular vehicle traffic inside the zone is restricted to a few roadways so the mercenaries marched a force two kilometers inside the zone to reach the militia encampment.  Militia members under the command of Jim Dutton had set up a hidden recruitment base and the Hell Knights intended to shut it down.

 Hell Knight Scouts and Snipers crept close to the base.  Two NOVA securities officers were shot down in the opening exchange.

 Another group of scouts on Dutton's right flank engaged some Wolfhound mercenaries but in this engagement they did not do as well loosing two of their own.

 The commander of the Hell Knights and two Armored Assault Squads moved in with an Assassin saying in the cover of a large hill.  A militia sniper far on their left managed to take out one of the commanders men.

 The remaining three NOVA troopers closed on the scouts and engaged them but lost another of their member in the attempt.  A militia sniper kill one of the scouts but was wounded in return by a Hell Knights sniper.  That sniper was killed by fire from the commanders squad members who was shot by yet another militia sniper.

 The Hell Knights commanders final squad member was killed by fire from Bear's militia unit.  Another NOVA trooper was gunned down by the Scouts leaving only the Sargent.

 Leaping from the shadows a Hell Knights Assassin dispatched the remaining militia sniper on Dutton's left flank.  The three remaining scouts on the hill killed three of Bear's militia as the other Armored Assault Squad made a steady advance.

 Combined fire from the Scouts and Armored Assault Squad reduced Bear's militia to two members.  The return fire left only the Scout Sargent standing.

 The heavily armored Hell Knights took out Bear and his last militia member as the Scout Sargent withdrew from his position.  Dutton's militia and the Wolfhound mercs continued to close in.

The NOVA Sargent gunned down another armored Hell Knight but the mercenaries managed to break the Wolfhounds with accurate Heavy Blaster fire.  The assassin blew up a cache of  militia supplies and the mercenary commander gunned down one of Dutton's men.
With only seven men left in the battle the Hell Knights commander chose to withdraw from the field.  Although they had bloodied the militia they were unable to achieve their objectives.

Notes:  This was actually one of the more grueling battles we have had for the campaign.  With no vehicles allowed there was a lot of moving but there was also a lot of moving through difficult ground and a lot of cover.  The Militia snipers did a lot of damage to the Hell Knights.  The Hell Knight scouts really had a great position on the hill.  Elevated and with +2 cover from the woods enemy shots were at a -3 for the entire game.  This made them a tough group to take out.  Not only that they managed to give as well as they got in the long run.  If only I had put the other scout squad in an equally good position.  The Wolfhound Friekorps were also particularly nasty.  They dispatched my other unit of scouts in two turns without taking any damage.  The Hell Knights objectives were to take down Dutton and Bear and to destroy supplies and the militia's generator and communications up-link.  This may have been a few too many objectives especially with so many defenders to face.   This ended up being a pretty solid victory for the militia although a hard fought one.  

Titania Media blackout lifted! An update on the conflict in the Station 42 region (Part 1)

 When a Hell Knights Battle Cruiser arrived in orbit over Titania last August citizens in the contested lands around Station 42 feared an overwhelming escalation of their conflict with the Smith and Wilson Agriculture corporation.  What they got instead was several months of court battles and a media blackout.  Through buyouts, bribes, and blackmail Smith and Wilson managed to gain control of the local media agencies.  Meanwhile their lawyers engaged in several legal battles to try and put pressure on the locals to abandon their property claims.
On August 19th the Hell Knights conducted three small raids on some of the more stubborn locals.  

 The Hell Knights raided a mining camp owned by the Venture Star Prospecting Company.  Expecting only light resistance Hell Knight forces consisted of mostly infantry units.

 Venture Star had however received had received an anonymous tip about the raid so they hired units from Nova Securities and the Wolfhound Friekorps mercenary company.  They were also backed up by renegade Titania Planetary Guards units.

 The Hell Knights situation became desperate early on when they realized that the Planetary Guard units included a battle tank.

 A Hell Knights assassin managed to kill most of the Wolfhound mercenaries and some of the Nova men before being taken down.

 Their other troops were however no match for the Planetary Guard Tank.  Most of their riflemen were cut down quickly and only a few assault troopers managed to escape the fighting.

 The Hell Knights also dispatched a force to the Redwing farm where they believed a number of Titania militia units were hiding.

 Hell Knight scouts managed to gain a good position early in the fighting using stealth to infiltrate deep within the compound.

 Another Hell Knights assassin was seen during this battle.  These types of troops have previously not been seen in this conflict.

 The Hell Knights Heavy equipment moved into the center of the compound and engaged the militia units and light vehicles.

 The Titania Planetary guard also arrived with a tanks but even that was not enough to secure the farm.  The Planetary guard tank and all the militia light vehicles were destroyed and the Militia units routed.

 The Davis Farm also came under attack by a Hell Knights infantry force backed up by fast moving Lagarev apcs.

 The defenders consisted of Planetary Guard and Militia units with a few improvised light vehicles.

 The battle was a close one and both sides took many casualties but the militia units took the brunt of the damage.

 At the end of the battle the remaining militia member retreated into the farmhouse as Hell Knight assault troopers close in.

Among the militia casualties was Mrs. Davis who was shot during the fighting at the farm house.  The Hell Knights were able to secure the farm and destroy a cache of supplies dealing a heavy blow to resistance forces.

For several months afterwards the conflict in  the Station 42 Region died down.  The Militia and renegade Titania Planetary Guard units had suffered numerous casualties and loss of supplies just as the Hell Knights received some significant reinforcements.  It seemed as if the conflict would finally be settled in the courts although that battle still continues while hostilities seem to have flared again in the region.  More reports on the renewed conflict coming soon.

Alphonso Marks, Titania News Network.

Notes:  We had a long unexpected break during this campaign and didn't play any battles through the last four months of 2012.  The last three battles we fought were a set of 1000 point raids using the No Limits rules system we have been using for this campaign.  We decided that the resistance had been dealt a pretty nasty blow and had mostly gone into hiding while the Smith and Wilson Agriculture Corporation went back to the courts to settle disputes over their claims.  We have had some other battles this year but I just kept putting off the updates about the campaign so I never posted that information.  I will be posting another report in the next day or two hopefully to bring things up to speed and get back on track.  We hope to bring this campaign to a close in the next few month with some larger battles.         

Station 42: Phase 1 Complete!

Well we have the Station 42 project to the first phase of completion. The buildings are all done and we have about 7 ships and a number of vehicles ready for the table as well as a number of miniatures. We still have a lot to do not only on the Station itself but also on a number of the surrounding locations. We have already made good headway on the pirate base and we should have some updated for that soon. Here are some pics of the Station as it is: