Scouts in Wartime
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Recon missions, courier duties, acting as decoy fleets perhaps?
Greetings and salutations,
GURPS: Ground Forces and the reprint of LBB6: Scouts will give you greater details on the Scouts.
During wartime conditions in my games, I have used the Scouts to do the following:
</font>
GURPS: Ground Forces and the reprint of LBB6: Scouts will give you greater details on the Scouts.
During wartime conditions in my games, I have used the Scouts to do the following:
</font>
- Recon enemy held sectors</font>
- Recon enemy sectors under threat of enemy occupation</font>
- Courier Duty</font>
- Courier Duty - Emergency Supplies</font>
- Transport Duty for small Special Forces and/or Sniper teams</font>
- Commerce Raiding (only in groups of two or more)</font>
- Escort Duty (if sufficient escort ships are not available)</font>
- Decoy Duty (it's amazing what you can do with a false transponder code)</font>
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Recon and Courier duty.
I don't think most of the Scouts are equipped for things like Commerce Raiding, though. The Special or War Mission skill list in LBB6only has 1 skill out of 10 that even includes Gunnery and such. They are things like Streetwise, Equestrian, Forgery, Liaison, Survival, Gun Cbt, etc.
I don't think most of the Scouts are equipped for things like Commerce Raiding, though. The Special or War Mission skill list in LBB6only has 1 skill out of 10 that even includes Gunnery and such. They are things like Streetwise, Equestrian, Forgery, Liaison, Survival, Gun Cbt, etc.
Chad,
When you boil down all the missions and phrases, in peacetime the IISS provides communications, scouting, and mapping services to the Imperium.
When you boil down all the missions and phrases in wartime, the IISS provides communications, scouting, and mapping service to the Imperial fleets.
There's a change in emphasis, not a change in jobs.
Have fun,
Bill
When you boil down all the missions and phrases, in peacetime the IISS provides communications, scouting, and mapping services to the Imperium.
When you boil down all the missions and phrases in wartime, the IISS provides communications, scouting, and mapping service to the Imperial fleets.
There's a change in emphasis, not a change in jobs.
Have fun,
Bill
in my personal opinion per CT though, scouts
really dont have the ship types to perform
military missions....at best they might be
like the coast guard during times of war...
what they probably do is mapping and recon
or msg carrying during war...they could possibly
insert special ops teams in some cases
were talking squad level though nothing big..
they could probably increase thier poilce
duties to accomodate absent military forces
but it would be chasing smaller vessels or
poeple not bigger merhcants and such.
per CT scout vessels are 100 tons pertty
much, 2-5 man vessels...there is nothing to
say they can't be bigger but its suggested
that thier 100t. at 100ts they only get 1 hard point also...not alot of firepower...
really dont have the ship types to perform
military missions....at best they might be
like the coast guard during times of war...
what they probably do is mapping and recon
or msg carrying during war...they could possibly
insert special ops teams in some cases
were talking squad level though nothing big..
they could probably increase thier poilce
duties to accomodate absent military forces
but it would be chasing smaller vessels or
poeple not bigger merhcants and such.
per CT scout vessels are 100 tons pertty
much, 2-5 man vessels...there is nothing to
say they can't be bigger but its suggested
that thier 100t. at 100ts they only get 1 hard point also...not alot of firepower...
I like the coast guard approach.
With their broad law enforcement powers and stranglehold on communications and presumably less noble competition for high ranking jobs (I figure the navy is the most competitive) the IISS looks more and more like a communications and discreet security force. The navy and army are good if you need to blast an entire system into dust but for one or two trouble makers a good S3 sniper or rendition team might make more sense.
Question is what is the biggest (most powerful) ship they regularly employ? That will help determine what they will do and where they will go.
In a LBB2 world I can see up to an 800 ton merc cruiser as a purpose built military ship or some kind of J5 rapid reaction frigate.
With their broad law enforcement powers and stranglehold on communications and presumably less noble competition for high ranking jobs (I figure the navy is the most competitive) the IISS looks more and more like a communications and discreet security force. The navy and army are good if you need to blast an entire system into dust but for one or two trouble makers a good S3 sniper or rendition team might make more sense.
Question is what is the biggest (most powerful) ship they regularly employ? That will help determine what they will do and where they will go.
In a LBB2 world I can see up to an 800 ton merc cruiser as a purpose built military ship or some kind of J5 rapid reaction frigate.
rogermccarthy
SOC-12
You can't assume that the only ships the IISS has are Scout/Couriers, X-boats and X-boat Tenders.
According to the Azhanti High Lightning game they also have five 60,000 ton Frontier Cruisers transferred over from the Imperial Navy, which even after conversion into 'exploratory and despatch vessels' would still make pretty effective commerce raiders.
I also suspect they inherit other surplus vessels from the navy from time to time and that a Scoutron is probably not just a collection of Scout/Couriers but might include Escort, Destroyer and even Light Cruiser size vessels as well as converted civilian vessels (if you have to move a lot of supplies and personnel around between bases you'll probably have a few Far Traders and Subsidised Merchants in service at the very least).
Maybe someone whose copy of Fifth Frontier War with readable counters (my FFE version is not much use) might be able to tell us how effective the Scoutrons there are compared to Naval units?
Also don't forget the Scouts have their own S3 Commando units.
According to the Azhanti High Lightning game they also have five 60,000 ton Frontier Cruisers transferred over from the Imperial Navy, which even after conversion into 'exploratory and despatch vessels' would still make pretty effective commerce raiders.
I also suspect they inherit other surplus vessels from the navy from time to time and that a Scoutron is probably not just a collection of Scout/Couriers but might include Escort, Destroyer and even Light Cruiser size vessels as well as converted civilian vessels (if you have to move a lot of supplies and personnel around between bases you'll probably have a few Far Traders and Subsidised Merchants in service at the very least).
Maybe someone whose copy of Fifth Frontier War with readable counters (my FFE version is not much use) might be able to tell us how effective the Scoutrons there are compared to Naval units?
Also don't forget the Scouts have their own S3 Commando units.
rogermccarthy
SOC-12
You also need to think of type T cruisers which AFAIK appear in no Traveller adventures as Navy ships after Gazelle class Close Escorts and SDB's appear in Supplements 7 & 9.
As they are obviously of little use for serious naval operations, IMTU the main people who use significant numbers of Type T's are probably going to be the Scouts as it does fill that niche for ships that are heavier-armed, better-manned and longer-ranged than Scout/Couriers but are not serious warships.
Just wish there was a proper CT deckplan.
As they are obviously of little use for serious naval operations, IMTU the main people who use significant numbers of Type T's are probably going to be the Scouts as it does fill that niche for ships that are heavier-armed, better-manned and longer-ranged than Scout/Couriers but are not serious warships.
Just wish there was a proper CT deckplan.
These aspects of the Scout service are likely to be extremely important. To put it simply, the IISS has a network on the ground which the IN would find extremely useful.
Who are responsible for exploring member worlds? Who will have teams out in the boondocks of every world and system? Who will have local knowledge of every system, and eyes out there watching?
To put it simply, the Scouts are everywhere the Fleet isn't, and where it will need to go.
If the enemy occupies a world, the Scouts will still be there.
If a message needs to get through enemy lines, there's a fair chance the Scouts can get it through.
If an outpost needs to be resupplied, the Scouts can probably find a ship.
And so on...
Alte,
I don't assume that. I also don't assume that they fly much that belongs anywhere near a TL15 space battle either. Horses for courses.
Yeah, you'd think so. Reality is another thing however. All the five are of the 'pre-modernization' model which means the PAW spinal wasn't upgraded to a meson gun and no black globe was fitted. Three were in the Marches after being 'refitted for long range exploration'. Two were 'refurbished to cargo and data carriers' and are now used continuously on the 'shuttle run from Terra to the Imperial Core'.
ISC 6336 Luray Explorer - One of the explorers. You may remember the 'flesh rot' episode when one crewman suffered a bout of claustrophobia, opened his vacc suit's face plate, and managed to infect the entire ship?
ISC 6362 Sparkling Observer - She's apparently still out there 'spinward of the Imperium and rimward of the Zhodani'.
ISC 6385 Vermillion Stance - Seized by 'a ruse' by the Zhodami off Garoone before the 4th Frontier War. Not available.
ISC 6388 Infrequent Refuge and ISC Imperial Reaumur are busy shuttling along that jump5 route between the Terra and the Imperial Core.
So, you've got a total two AHL-class cruisers in IISS hands for commerce raiding and that depends on whether they're back from their latest mission out in the Astron and Iphigenia Sectors.
How effective are they? Well, they don't have an attack rating so take a guess. They can jump without plotting their turns in advance though.
Yup, nice for raids and intel snatches. You know, scouting. No where near big enough to face even a Zho lift infantry company though and they're not designed to do so.
Does the IISS have armed ships? You betcha. Do they have armed men? Damn straight they do. Are they important in wartime? Vitally so. Do they mix it up with the big boys? Hell no. Horses for coourse.
YMMV.
Have fun,
Bill
sorry man i'm just not seeing anything like that in LBB 1-3...
your high lighting game kinda re-afrims that ships those sizes are not normal
they had to be detached and handed to the IISS
for use...even LBB 6 doesnt say....although
LBB 5 would hint at larger sct. vessels i suspect
they would be on the low end, or your 60k
reference as comapred to 100-1000k navy
vessels..i guess it depends if your in the small ship universe or the high guard...
i was looking today at what the USCG has in the line of ships....they range in from 400+ feet
down to 65 feet thats a rough guess at thier largest being 6 times larger then the smallest
so in the small ship universe were talking probably 100t-600t vessels....MPO is they
would probably be better reflected in the
100-400t range...with and odd 500-600t here
or there...
having worked for the coast guard at one time
thier ships tend to be pertty small as compared
to navy vessels(i was also in the navy)the 500
and 700 series i worked on were small...
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
C'mon, Bill, it's "Horses for courses, of course." Get it right, man.
I like the Coast Guard idea a bit, but Bill and alanb made me think more of the Coast Watchers in the Pacific during WW2. A good many helped us plan the retaking of the Phillipines by hiding out and sending intel out to the US and Aussie Navies. And, then, acting as scouts for the landing forces pushing inland.
It seems that the IISS may keep an eye on things for the emperor. Since they appear to be more centrally controlled than some of the other services they could be the organ that keeps an eye on the nobles who run the navy/army/marines who keep an eye on the local systems who keep just try to avoid getting squashed.
Fritz88,
A very good point!
Relatively small vessels skulking around in the vast out-system of any star constantly peering with their sensors at the inner system and the enemy forces there and sending information back.
Just like the scattered SDBs did at Louzy during the Fifth Frontier War.
Have fun,
Bill
wow speaking of scouts i found this
http://visionforgestudios.com/jesse/traveller/scout_frontier_refuel.htm
http://visionforgestudios.com/jesse/traveller/scout_frontier_refuel.htm
C'mon, Bill, it's "Horses for courses, of course." Get it right, man.
I like the Coast Guard idea a bit, but Bill and alanb made me think more of the Coast Watchers in the Pacific during WW2. A good many helped us plan the retaking of the Phillipines by hiding out and sending intel out to the US and Aussie Navies. And, then, acting as scouts for the landing forces pushing inland. </font>[/QUOTE]this is a good analogy...minimal contact...
out on the edges.. waiting for the big guns
to come in...
P
Pickles
Guest
I've always used the Desert Rats (British WWII long-range desert patrol) as a template for ISS missions IMTU. They don't get involved in combat unless absolutely unavoidable, and they are not too keen on working with commandos (the 'Rats were not very friendly with the new SAS).
As for ship size, I tend to agree that the AHL are an anomaly, and regular ships rarely exceed 600 dtons. The ISS has a lot of dedicated cutting-edge ships out there, but they are essentially invisible in peacetime (and doubly so in war). The old Sulieman is too slow and far too recognisable to be much use in military spy-work.
All IMHO, of course.
As for ship size, I tend to agree that the AHL are an anomaly, and regular ships rarely exceed 600 dtons. The ISS has a lot of dedicated cutting-edge ships out there, but they are essentially invisible in peacetime (and doubly so in war). The old Sulieman is too slow and far too recognisable to be much use in military spy-work.
All IMHO, of course.
Shadowdancer
SOC-14 1K
My understanding of the Scouts' wartime duties has always been a cross between the Coast Guard and the Coast Watchers. Depends mainly on where they are stationed.
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