[STRIKER] Dinom: a possible Striker campaign background?

[Golan2072]

Now, let's start building the pre-revolution corporate forces (it's greaheadonist worldbuilding but I love it!

).

First, let's assume that most vehicles and heavy equipment are imported from Trin/Trin's Veil; this means each of these vehicles costs 2.86 times its base price to import to Dinom and 20% to maintain each year.

Now, the Army's annual budget (Cr10,598,400) should be divided into 10% (Cr1,059,840) new purchases (vehicles/gear/ammo/etc); 40% (Cr4,239,360) maintainance; and 50% (Cr5,299,200) personnel costs.

The 40% maintainance budget should mean that the army could maintain 20 years of purchased equipment in the worst-case scenario (i.e. ignoring the cheaper-to-maintain local products which are a minority of the ourchases).

This means (assuming no change in GNP) that the total materiel of the Dinom Corporate Army should be 20 times the annual 10%, which is Cr21,196,800. This will probably rule out most grav vehicles except for a few very light sleds and very few small "weapon platforms" (i.e. armed one-man sleds).

Whiled the Army is "professional", its quality and living standards are more akin to these of an overall Conscript army, costing Cr20,000 per soldier (on avarage; officers get much more, privates much less) annually for salary, amenities, facilities, food, R&R, etc. So the army will have 264 soldiers, most of them mechanised infantry.

Same goes for the police; 10% of the annual budget (Cr883,200) go to purchases; 40% (Cr3,532,800) to maintainance; and 50% (Cr4,416,000) to personnel expenses.

This means 17,664,000 in total police materiel value and, as the police are similar to a Militia force in quality and thus costs an avarage of Cr10,000 per cop annually, 441 cops globally, giving a police ratio of one cop per 521.5 civilians.

 

[Golan2072]

Overall, the campaign should be divided into three sub-campaigns or phases: Insurrection, Consolidation and Attempted Counter-Revolution. The Insurrection will pit semi-organised revolutionary forces against pockets of corporate resistance at several key locations; the Consolidation will be a long campaign fought by the developing Worker's Army against opponents from within (troops loyal to Ine Givar or to other non-compliant factions that will revolt against the Council; the last thing the Council will want is an Imperial intervention due to an Ine Givar takeover of the Revolution) and without (Corporate troops, mercenaries and sabotours); in the Attempted Counter Revolution, the Worker's Army will facve an invasion by Shareholder-funded mercenaries.

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
This is CT, not T20. Different rules and all.

The fighters are 10dTon, TL10, close structures, with a bridge installed. They're capable of 4 gees, have agility 4, and computer 1. Weapons consist of a single sandcaster and a single missile rack. They cost MCr 8.65.

Given the TL, which is the same as Dinom, and the fact that they're not a good as a 10dTon, TL10 fighter can be, I'd hazard a guess that they're locally built.

Whether the corporation built them for customs work and the workers inherited them or whether the workers built them after the revolution is anyone's guess.

Well, I was using multiple sources across the various editions. I didn't realise these were from the actual Amber Zone. The loadout is interesting. I'm suspecting that they're small craft with missile racks quickly retrofitted (which would count as a missile turret under CT I suppose).

They're not going to be a serious threat to a concerted force, but enough of one to give a small merc force a serious headache.

 

[mike wightman]

High Guard 1st edition gives a 10t TL10 fighter, 4G, armed with a plasma gun for 10.6 MCr if that's any use.

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
Now, let's start building the pre-revolution corporate forces (it's greaheadonist worldbuilding but I love it!

).

[reasonable numbers snipped]

Same goes for the police; 10% of the annual budget (Cr883,200) go to purchases; 40% (Cr3,532,800) to maintainance; and 50% (Cr4,416,000) to personnel expenses.

This means 17,664,000 in total police materiel value and, as the police are similar to a Militia force in quality and thus costs an avarage of Cr10,000 per cop annually, 441 cops globally, giving a police ratio of one cop per 521.5 civilians.

The police numbers look a little small. I'd say the cops get about Cr 5k and double their numbers. Assume that the average worker makes much less than that (not unreasonable given the revolution) and it's not a bad job.

I suspect that the army is probably mostly a reservist force. Maybe shrink the standing force down to a company and let the rest be about a battalion of reservists that only get together to train once a year or so. This gives a (barely) trained core group for the workers to use. It also sets up an interesting dilemma: a good deal of their equipment might be considered property of the Imperium. Gives yet more reason for the workers to want to keep to the Rules of War as much as possible; Imperial interest might be very uncomfortable for them.

This is looking like an ideal small Striker campaign IMHO. A few short, savage battles. Mostly infantry forces where the armor, such as it is, really has an impact. A chance to fight without having to worry about ortillery or strategic weapons showing up much on the battlefield.

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
Overall, the campaign should be divided into three sub-campaigns or phases: Insurrection, Consolidation and Attempted Counter-Revolution. The Insurrection will pit semi-organised revolutionary forces against pockets of corporate resistance at several key locations; the Consolidation will be a long campaign fought by the developing Worker's Army against opponents from within (troops loyal to Ine Givar or to other non-compliant factions that will revolt against the Council; the last thing the Council will want is an Imperial intervention due to an Ine Givar takeover of the Revolution) and without (Corporate troops, mercenaries and sabotours); in the Attempted Counter Revolution, the Worker's Army will facve an invasion by Shareholder-funded mercenaries.

I don't see a long Consolidation phase, at least not a military one. Maybe a few streetfights (or the equivalent) and a few small firefights but nothing significant from a campaign perspective.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by MW Turnage:
Well, I was using multiple sources across the various editions. I didn't realise these were from the actual Amber Zone.

MW,

There are some very cheap, canonical, published fighters in CT and MT. The cost of these is actually inflated by the bridge. The bridge however lets their small computer count and obviates the need for a small craft stateroom.

The loadout is interesting. I'm suspecting that they're small craft with missile racks quickly retrofitted (which would count as a missile turret under CT I suppose).

They're obviously a paramilitary design, light, cheap customs patrol craft meant to keep merchantmen in line and prevent 'off the books' trade; i.e. smuggling.

The Amber Zone states they operate in flights of four, just the number to swamp the defenses of an average small merchant; i.e. smugglers, with missiles from long range. I'm fairly certain they were built by the Corporation and were inherited by the Workers.

They're not going to be a serious threat to a concerted force, but enough of one to give a small merc force a serious headache.

Which is exactly what they are used for in the JTAS Amber Zone. Their opponents are a single Broadsword merc cruiser and a single Type R subsidized merchant.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Which is exactly what they are used for in the JTAS Amber Zone. Their opponents are a single Broadsword merc cruiser and a single Type R subsidized merchant.

Well I seem to be thoroughly reinvinting the wheel today....

Hmm. I've got to go dig through a lot of old boxes. I think I've got the JTAS in question, just haven't looked at it in years.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
So the army will have 264 soldiers, most of them mechanised infantry.

Golan,

I have no problem with a world of 230,000 supporting a single company of mechanized infantry. Especially considering that the world in question is airless and run by a corporation.

At the time of the Rebellion, I'd expect the mech infantry company to be based out of the starport with about half its strength parceled into various sized 'penny packets' which are then scattered about stiffening those police units dealing with the current unrest.

... 441 cops globally, giving a police ratio of one cop per 521.5 civilians.

Which is roughly close to the civilain/cop ratio of Los Angeles, California. Again, having a population primarily confined to domes due to the planet's airlessness means that policing is somewhat easier.

Yes, mining sites, processing centers, prospecting camps, and the like do provide a 'bush' for troublemakers to disappear into. However, living in that 'bush' requires a bit of technological support. A CT vacc suit (the various Dinom information is from a CT adventure and thus uses CT assumptions) has life support for 6 hours. That means anyone outside a dome needs four 'refills' per day or easy access to facilities and vehicles that his suit can 'plug' into.

The fact that hiding out in the 'bush' is rather hard and rather deadly on Dinom may explain why the Rebellion wasn't presaged by a long period of insurgency; Arlen Streen and the Corporation don't seem particularily aware that any real trouble is in the offing, and why the Workers didn't face a lengthy consolidation period after they seized power; the JTAS Amber Zone has things 'quiet' and the 'general mechanisms' of society working after only 'some months'. A vacuum world give those in power an inherent measure of control, so potential rebels are careful not to tip their hand until they have a very good chance of success.

Have fun,
Bill

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by MW Turnage:
Well I seem to be thoroughly reinvinting the wheel today...

Mark,

Nonsense. Your comments are quite useful. They did make us look at the Amber Zone's 'fighter' design and figure out what those vehicles most likely were and what they were used for.

Furthemore, your comments and questions have suggested that the Workers may be able to build and field something much more nasty than the customs patrol craft they inherited.

The control of orbital space around Dinom is not guaranteed to either the Workers or the Invasion force!


Have fun,
Bill

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by MW Turnage:
Well I seem to be thoroughly reinvinting the wheel today...

Mark,

Nonsense. Your comments are quite useful. They did make us look at the Amber Zone's 'fighter' design and figure out what those vehicles most likely were and what they were used for.

Furthemore, your comments and questions have suggested that the Workers may be able to build and field something much more nasty than the customs patrol craft they inherited.

The control of orbital space around Dinom is not guaranteed to either the Workers or the Invasion force!</font>[/QUOTE]Well, thank you, Bill. It does show that I really need to find my copy of JTAS #6, though.

One think I just thought of: the fact that the company has two squadron of fighters for use against smugglers is very interesting. That means that they don't trust the regular SDB/customs forces to do the job. That may indicate that the system defense forces aren't necessary under the purview of the company. Now this make be just be a legalism to keep the company and the planetary gov't seperate, or the system forces could actually be autonomous. Given that DA#2 mentions several times that there'll be no trouble whatsoever for the pc's to use their repatriation bonds, I'd suspect the latter.

If we run with that, we get a very interesting situation. Perhaps the system forces are holding themselves above the fray and studiously maintaining their neutrality (a lucky thing for both sides as even just a few SDBs could completely dominate the ground on a vaccuum planet). The upshot is that the merc force wont have to worry about SDB ambushes while refueling at the gas giant, meaning they'll be able to attack with a slightly larger force. On the other hand, the fog of war is going to work against them. The workers had 20 fighters. They may have less now, but they may have more, and they'll almost certainly have a number of improvised craft. They wont necessarily be pros, but they're desperate...meaning they'll be unpredicatable. Also they wont be facing a battle near the jump diameter...they'll be facing one in close-orbit or inter-atmosphere. That'll increase the pucker factor for the mercs a bit too.

 

[mwturnage]

Some other thoughts from the Dinom People's Defense Force perspective:

* There's many trained mining and construction engineers around. This means sappers. Lots of sappers.

* Given all the mining equipment, I think it's safe to say that they could quickly improvise tunnels, bunkers, etc. Expect the areas around the mines, the cities and especially the starport to be fortified. If the inbound mercs are detected soon enough, they may even be able to set up rudimentary positions (or drill sapping tunnels) at the expected landing sites.

* The first priority of the Workers' Council, defense-wise, is likely to get some merc unit in as cadre. They probably can't offer much short-term (and don't want to hire too large a force else they take over), so it'd probably be a new, small unit, a desperate unit, or both. Hammer's Slammers, they wont be.

* The obvious landing areas (and even the inobvious areas that smugglers would favor) are certain to be 'sighted in' by the former anti-smuggling force. There's not going to be any large-scale covert insertions here.

* The flip side of this is that the Workers will also know most of the smugglers' tricks for sneaking around (abandoned tunnels, heavy metal and masscons that screw up sensors, ways to camoflauge large movements). Spies-in-the-sky are going to have difficulty keeping tabs on DPDF movements.

(later on today, the POV of the merc force)

 

[mike wightman]

Hmm, so have the miners been involved in the smuggling operation - stupid question really they must have been.

So what would they do with the funds from the smuggling operation?

 

[alanb]

Hi all,

I've already posted some relevant stuff on this thread and I will again, but here's a quick hijack...

A friend of mine lives in Vietnam, and I've just discovered that a couple of years ago he was invited to the 90th birthday party for: General Giap.

Forget the American War. This guy won Dien Bien Phu. Can you imagine someone still alive who it would be cooler to meet?

Aside from sheer wargamer geekiness, this does actually have a minor point of relevance to this thread: don't underestimate the rebels.

I am in the process of sketching out some suggestions about the internal factions of the rebels, given that we know that they are going to indulge in fratricide. That will, at least, be on topic.

 

[mwturnage]

Originally posted by alanb:
Hi all,

I've already posted some relevant stuff on this thread and I will again, but here's a guick hijack...

A friend of mine lives in Vietnam, and I've just discovered that a couple of years ago he was invited to the 90th birthday party for: General Giap.

Forget the American War. This guy won Dien Bien Phu. Can you imagine someone still alive who it would be cooler to meet?

Aside from sheer wargamer geekiness, this does actually have a minor point of relevance to this thread: don't underestimate the rebels.

I am in the process of sketching out some suggestions about the internal factions of the rebels, given that we know that they are going to indulge in fratricide. That will, at least, be on topic.

A Canadian company did a wargame a few years ago based on Giap's career. Turns out that a copy made it's way into his hands...and he bought copies for all of his family and acquaintances. Said he found it a perfect tool for explaining what was going on.

 

[Golan2072]

When this scenario will be eventually designed, possible expansion ideas could be found in my first post in the [Proto-Traveller] Road to Revolution thread. It seems that the entire Efate region is busting with political unrest...

 

[Maksim-Smelchak]

Hi Guys,

It looks very interesting.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[Golan2072]

Here is the primary vehicle of Dinom Corp's military branch:

Light Tracked APC (Tech Level 10)
The vehicle has a crew of 3 (Commander, Driver and Gunner). Height: 2m (+turret, 1m). Width: 3m. Length: 7m. Total volume (including turret): 46m^3 (approximately 3.25 ship dtons). Weight: 34.75 tons. Cargo Space: 4m^3. Passengers: 8. Price: Cr87,944.

Movement: Road, 90kph/75cm; cross-country, 36kph/30cm; amphibious, 4.5kph/3.75cm.

Movement Effect on Fire: None.

Armor: Chassis front 30, all other sides 20, turret sides/front/rear 30, turret deck 20.

Target Size DMs: +1 high, +2 low.

Equipment: 500-power radio; active IR scope; TL10 map box; 10 prismatic aerosols; sealed environment with life support for 11.

Power: 0.5 megawatt fuel cell plant consumes 22.5 liters fuel (hydrogen and oxygen) per hour; fuel capacity is 540 liters, enough for 24 hours, and includes both hydrogen and oxygen (so the vehicle can operate freely in a vaccuum atmosphere).

Weapon: The heavy machine gun mounted in the turret may engage four targets and has a signature DM of +3; 10,000 rounds are carried for it.

Effective, 50 (6)+3; 100 (5)+2; extreme, 150 (3)+1.

 

[Golan2072]

Dinom LIC, Military Branch
There are 264 men in Dinom LIC's Military Branch, including field support personnel; while they are employed on a professional basis, their quality is low enough to be considered to be Conscript in Striker terms. Assuming support personnel are included in the force (as in Striker's campaign rules), there are 171 Recruits, 55 Regulars, 29 Veterans and 9 Elites.

Organization:
Rifle Team: Team (and Squad) leader/NCO (Veteran) and 3 Riflemen (Recruits). Morale 6, Avarage initiative.
APC Crew: Commander (Regular), Driver (Recruit), Gunner (Recruit). Morale 7, Avarage initiative.

Squad: Rifle Team + APC, 7 men, commanded by the Rifle Team's leader.

Platoon Officer's Team: Officer (Veteran), Comm Specialist (Regular). Morale 9, Avarage Initiative.

Platoon Command APC: NCO (Regular, also serves as the APC's commander), Medic (Recruit), Command APC Driver (Recruit), Command APC Gunner (Recruit). Morale 10, Avarage Initiative.

Platoon TAC-Missile Team: 2 Regulars. Morale 7, Avarage Initiative.

Platoon: 3 Squads + HQ unit (Platoon's Officer's Team, Platoon Command APC, Platoon TAC-Missile Team), 29 men.

There are two Companies on Dinom, organized into one "Battalion" (the whole military force); I'll post their details later.

 

[Golan2072]

Personal Equipment:

Rifleman: TL9 Laser Rifle, Power Pack, 9mm Autopistol, 2 9mm Autopistol clips, Helmet Radio (Power 10), Vacc Suit (AC 5), 2 Oxygen Tanks, 2 TL9 HE Hand Grenades.

Vehicle Crewmember/Commander: 9mm SMG, 3 9mm SMG clips, Helmet Radio (Power 10), Vacc Suit (AC 5), 2 Oxygen Tanks.

Support Personnel (except for Medics): 9mm SMG, 2 9mm SMG clips, Helmet Radio (Power 10),Vacc Suit (AC 5), 2 Oxygen Tanks.

Medic: Helmet Radio (Power 10),Vacc Suit (AC 5), 2 Oxygen Tanks, Medkit.

Unit (Platoon/Company/Batallion) Officer or NCO: TL9 Laser Rifle, Power Pack, 9mm Autopistol, 2 9mm Autopistol clips, Helmet Radio (Power 10), Vacc Suit (AC 5), 2 Oxygen Tanks.