Battlefleet Gothic based RP ?

[Dreadgrass]

Hi all,

First of all this is just to get ideas/ expressions of interest etc. for an eventual project I'd like to run.

Essentially each player will be a captain in a mercenary-esque group operating in an obscure and distant sector of space.

The story goes that very little funding makes it to this outer fringes cluster so the local governance has found it more feasible and affordable to hire mercenary groups to help with the heavy-lifting operations that the local garrisons are too under-equipped to handle.

Each player will operate either a small escort-sized ship to start with or a few players can band together and start off with something larger (and either continue to work together or branch off into seperate ships as the story progresses.)

Combat will be based very loosely on the BFG tabletop game, with orders and weaponry working similarly, but in a story-based way rather than rolling dice/ measuring distances etc. Will explain more as I iron it out, but am willing to listen to advice.

Each captain will be able to pick one "specialty" from a list (eg. gunnery, logistics, different maneuvers, etc.) and will get further options along the way.

After jobs are completed there'll be spaceports etc. where you can refit/repair/buy/sell/etc.

Storyline will adapt depending on your fortunes and what missions you choose/ how you go about them etc.

Players will be human but there is potential for acquiring technology and what-not from other races (through missions or plunder) and all the pro's and cons that may come with that.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Interest? As I say I have no intention of starting this anytime soon, but some added imput/ proof of interest may spark me to further action. Afterall, no point in building a game that no-one wants to play!

 

[Sir_Jackonan_De_Orage]

thank you sir, BFG is my favourite game after 40k, I show definite interest in this. Ill help too if you want, after all fighting with a spaceship is a hell of a lot different then walking up to the enemy and punching in the face.

 

[Sanai]

I love BFG to death, any chance to do anything BFG related I will take.
Though it is... unusual, to say the least for there to be mercenary BFG fleets- perhaps a (pretty powerful and wealthy) rogue trader could be the leader to explain it all?

 

[Sir_Jackonan_De_Orage]

agreed with sanai,rogue traders are the privateers of 40k, maybe a rogue trader dynasty or coalition of rogue traders who cant do much on thier own.

 

[The Archivist]

I show interest at the idea of mercs - I always enjoy rubbing the Imperial ethics codes and 'no xenos contact' the wrong way

 

[Zanos]

If this was Facebook I would like your status.

 

[Chaos_Born]

I love BFG to death

Yeah, I really like Roald Dahl too

 

[Dreadgrass]

I'm still nutting out the specifics of the backstory, but so far I'm looking at the sector having a relatively large number of ships/ equipment through a mothballed fleet and stores, without having the trained manpower to run them.

This allows for people to play down-on-their-luck rogue traders, retired military captains, ex-pirates, ex-merchantmen out for revenge, etc. As the ruling body has gathered together and contracted people from many walks of life and has "loaned" them ships in order to do some work. After a few missions, the players can buy their ships outright and go from there.

I want to keep the group relatively poor and reliant on the bounties/ pay given by the governance rather than having wealthy rogue trader backing or the like. Though as I say this is still very much WIP and so can be altered based on popular opinion/ agreement if too unfeasible.

 

[Dreadgrass]

Any further suggestions or any objections to the basis of the backstory? Or is the above feasible enough for me to work with for now?

Also, I'm thinking battlewise I'd run sort of an order to action turn based system. Essentially the scene of the battle would be set, Then over say the space of a few days each player would dictate the actions of the captain and crew and what they are doing/ intending(Issuing orders etc.). Then, at the end of the alloted timeframe, I would post up an "action post" detailing the fleet movement and what the enemy/ NPC's were doing including the actions of the players ships. If I was more techno-savvy I'd do some kind of map to give a better image as the battle progresses as well but I'm not sure how I'd go about it.

 

[Lynks]

Why don't you take a look into utilising the WFO system to create the maps? i think it'd be rather capable and I believe you can import your own templates so you could import the material needed like the celestial anomalies. It seemed simple enough the brief time I played around with the software.

 

[Sanai]

Im also pretty sure you should be able to find top down images of BFG ships to use in the WFO maps aswell.

How will you work multiple players on one ship (if thats the requirement to have a non escort ship)?
Perhaps if you want to encourage escort ships as opposed to everyone being in cruisers, you could make players who choose escort have an escort squadron? (If they choose Destroyers they get 4 ships, if they choose frigates they get a squadron of 3, while if they choose a cruiser they just get the one cruiser, and only one player- the fleet commander, gets a battlecruiser or grand cruiser or battleship?)

 

[Dreadgrass]

My aim is to start everyone out relatively poor, so as to have something to build up to. Hence everyone pretty much starting in escorts.

2 captains sharing a ship would pretty much have to operate it between themselves, but one of the easiest things would be to have a carrier and 1 operate the ship whilst the other lead the strike craft.

Another option I'm considering is allowing Light cruisers with slightly stripped down weaponry as the standard, and players can band together for cruisers or take a pair of escorts instead.

 

[Sanai]

Okay, that last one in particular sounds like it could work pretty well- it actually encourages the presence of light cruisers and escorts, as with escorts as standard most would just upgrade to a full blown cruiser, and having escorts available as multiple encourages people to actually use them.

 

[Sir_Jackonan_De_Orage]

yay for the little ships they dont get nearly enough love.

 

[Sanai]

For me, I would prefer to captain a Mars Class Battlecruiser or a Lunar Class Cruiser, as I like a nice balanced ship with a variety of weapons.
For quick reference, heres the loadouts on them:
Mars Class- Port/Starboard Launch bays, Port/Starboard Weapons Batteries, Dorsal Lance Battery, Prow Nova Cannon
Lunar Class- Port/Starboard Lance Batteries, Port/Starboard Weapons Batteries, Prow Torpedoes. The Prow Torpedoes can be replaced by a Nova Cannon.

If I and whoever wishes to team up with me takes a Lunar Class, I would recomend someone else take an Exorcist Grand Cruiser, or a Dictator Class Cruiser, or even a Defiant class light cruiser to provide us with a carrier for strike craft.

We would also probably definatly want a few cobra class destroyers- those things are bloody amazing, especially if we inevitably end up facing hit and run pirates.


Note that if two people share a ship, when the second person moves on to his own ship he would probably have to be careful to make sure it makes sense for his character, or make a new character- A strike craft player character (I assume the leader of a ships fighter pilots) would not make sense to be a ship captain unless the new ship was a carrier itself. (Or the actual ship captain could move to the new ship and leave the strike craft guy in charge of the carrier they both came from)

 

[Dreadgrass]

Probably won't be anything above a cruiser size in the starting group, though it's always nice to have something to build towards

Plan so far is:

1 player or possibly myself as the starting "team leader" in a cruiser

other players have the option of:

2 Escorts - cobras, firestorms or swords, preferrably both the same type unless the player has good reason/ story otherwise. Falchion is likely to be available, but rare.

a Light cruiser - dauntless, endeavour, Endurance, Defiant. All will be weakened/ adjusted slightly so as to be roughly on par firepower-wise to 2 escorts (ie. They will have a similar firepower from their strongest arc to the combined forward-firepower of 2 escorts). So your essentially trading in the maneuverability of the escorts for a toughher ship with slightly more firepower.

2 players to a cruiser - haven't gone through them all as yet, but similar ruling (combined firepower of 4 escorts is roughly equal to primary weapons)

I'll take starting preferances and work on those ships first, then will adapt/ adjust as the game progresses. Note due to not being directly under imperial command you will have the option to customise your ships, but this will generally cost more than the stock-standard equipment.

A note on currency: - Your basic needs will be seen to by your employer. food, living etc. You will essentially be paid a retainer that will take care on your basic mundane needs and that of your crew. The primary currency you will be working for will be some form of "fleet credits". These will go towards your ships. Repairs, upkeep, upgrades, new ships, etc. will be paid for with this. Any relevant basic training/crew required by upgrades, new ships etc. will be included in the cost.

 

[Sanai]

Will it be a simple *there are enemy ships over there. Go shoot them* format, or a more realistic *go escort this convoy or patrol this area for a few weeks* format>?

 

[Dreadgrass]

Definately the second. There'll be all sorts of missions, early on will be primarily convoy protection and patrols, but there will be missions to protect outposts, hunt down pirate lords and the like, investigate reports of strange happenings, etc. It's not going to be a narrated game of BFG

There also won't be any real dice rolling involved (at least on the players end) and, whilst it will be a good frame of reference, it will not truly be following the rules of the BFG game. Your tactics, skills, ships and posting quality will help determine the results of battles.

 

[Malochai]

I'm really looking forward to this and, whilst not having an actual working knowledge of BFG, from what I have seen and read from the GW PDFs, a Dauntless would be a ship I'd be happy to start with, and work my way up

 

[Sanai]

Me and Zanos would like to team up and take a cruiser if that is okay.

 

[Dreadgrass]

Glad theres continued interest in this. I'm still a little ways off nutting out the specifics of battle, etc. Hope to have a sample up within the next week.

Essentially the combat system thus far will be the player, as the captain, giving orders/ the crews reactions etc. The player will also roll some dice through our lovely in-built-dice-rolling-program-of-awesome-sauce. How these rolls affect your actions will vary, but they and your skills will help shape how successful your actions will be. Once everyone has posted or a set amount of time has elapsed, I will do an "action post". Detailing the results of your actions and the enemies responses.

 

[The Archivist]

Hmm.. I'll take two Swords please. Wrap them up to go will you?