From: Tony Francis <tony.francis@k...>
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 14:21:15 +0100
Subject: SFSFW FT Tournament
Mornin' All (or afternoon, evening, whatever suits your location) Back on the list again after several weeks off it (holidays etc). Hope I haven't missed too much - sensors were one of the topics of discussion when I left and I notice they are still on the agenda as I return! As some will know, the SFSFW is holding its annual Bifrost gaming show / con in Birmingham, UK on the 14th of November (http://www.bifrost.org.uk for details). Part of the proceedings this year will be an FT tournament. Entries are still open, if you want to have a go then contact John Wilson <john@wilsonclan.prestel.co.uk> who's organising it but isn't on this list. He has asked me to post details of the tourney to the list for discussion / feedback, so if anyone has any comments I'll pass them on to him. I've already pointed out to him that I disagree with his statement that "few players... actually use it [the vector thrust movement system]", he seems to have based this opinion on just his own gaming group! Transmission follows.... Cheers, Tony ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- OPERATION: HEIMDAL ================== INTRODUCTION ------------ When ideas for Bifrost '99 were being discussed, I raised the point that there were no science-fiction/fantasy tournament games taking place at gaming shows. After a bit of discussion by the Bifrost committee, they said: "Good idea. Let's have a Full Thrust tournament. You can organise it." Alright, it wasn't quite like that. But you get the idea. I find the idea of most wargames tournaments anathema. Rows of players hunched over their terrain, each maneuvering to get that extra bonus on the dice with no thought to the survival of their forces - merely to beat the daylights out of their opponent. Not my idea of fun. I decided that the SFSFW FT tournament would be different. Instead of a series of meaningless battles, the tournament would revolve around a theme. Players would be rewarded for fulfilling objectives with minimum losses, rather than merely defeating their opponents. However, the tournament would have to be capable of coping with a large number of players, with differing styles and preferences. "Operation: Heimdal" was born. It would be an operation that would cover an entire stellar system as two (or more) opposing forces would battle against each other to achieve stategic supremacy. Whilst players would have to carry out the objectives of their commanders, the ultimate success (or failure) of the campaign would rest upon their shoulders. Survivors would be able to participate further in the battles and increase their chance of winning the tournament. No wasting of "low value" units in this game. The exact format of "Operation: Heimdal" still has to be decided. Until I know what people are bringing along, I can only plan the generalities. Even so, this represents over two-thirds of the work. By the time the players turn up on the day, "Operation: Heimdal" will have been finalised and the sealed orders can be opened. After that, it's out of my hands. SITUATION --------- Extracted from "Alone Amongst Stars", by Adam Stapledon. Published 101TC. "By 2184, the war between the NAC and the ESU was spreading to encompass the other major power blocs. As the diplomats negotiated, the military planners realised that the key to the coming space war was the ability to move forces freely between the Core Worlds and the Frontier. If the flow was stopped, in either direction, any military campaigns would collapse due to lack of resources. "While the TK drive allowed ships to Shift from point to point, there were still key areas that had to be defended if freedom of movement was to be retained. The most important of these to the NAC was the Lamba Aurigae system - an essential waypoint on the Anglian Arm. "Realising this, the NAC and its allies mobilised a force. Its goal was to secure the Lamba Aurigae system against ESU intrusion. The RSN had learnt its lesson from the EC blockades of the Centaurus system. However, they were not the only ones with an interest. The Lamba Aurigae system was a well-known weak point. Whoever controlled it could control traffic throughout NAC territory. "It seemed that everyone had a stake in what came to be known as Operation: Heimadal." OBJECTIVE --------- The objective of Operation: Heimdal is for players to help secure the Lambda Aurigae system against intrusion by opposing forces. ORGANISATION ------------ Players will be directly under the command of their Fleet Admirals. They shall be given objectives to fulfill to the best of their abilities. In order to fulfill these objectives, it may be necessary (at times) for players to be grouped together to form larger battlegroups. However, within these battlegroups, each player will be responsible for the command of their own vessels. FORCE AVAILABILITY ------------------ Players will only be allowed to use those vessels detailed in the Full Thrust Fleet Book: Volume 1 or those vessels detailed on the Brigade Miniatures website. Players may construct a force of up to 1600NPV in value. RULES & CUSTOMS --------------- The rules used in the tournament shall be those published in the Full Thrust Fleet Book: Volume 1. The full rules set shall be used, with the following exceptions: * The Vector Movement System shall not be used. The standard written orders system shall be used. All movement orders shall be written before movement commences. Records must be available in the event of a dispute. Any dispute must be brought to the attention of an umpire as soon as it occurs. The umpire's decision is final and binding. THE REASONS WHY --------------- We decided to use Version 2.5 of the Full Thrust rules (those in the Full Thrust Fleet Book) as these are the most up-to-date version of the rules. They give a standard set which are clear, unambiguous and agreed upon. The Vector Movement System, while interesting, was left out as very few players that I know of actually use it. Besides, inertial combat is a pain to calculate. As we were already using Version 2.5, we decided to use the vessels listed in those rules. However, to prevent a "Jon Tuffley" monopoly, we decided that it would be a good idea to allow other, SFSFW recognised, vessels into the game. The only vessels that we know of that fit into the default Full Thrust universe are those manufactured by Brigade Miniatures. The points limit of 1600NPV was set to allow the players to construct realistic, but manageable forces. In theory, each player could have a "high value" unit, such as a carrier or dreadnought, with about five large escort vessels, and still have points left over for fighters, etc. In combination with the Core Systems rules, this would be self limiting. A large fleet of small vessels would be possible, but would suffer huge losses. A small fleet of heavy vessels, while seemingly invulnerable, would suffer disproportionate losses if a Core System was hit.