I chose the quasar-fire because A) it is canon as of rebels, and B) it is not a full warship per se, so a non-combat mobile base from which to launch/resupply from.

The idea i presented was an elite fighter squad, not a small star destroyer or warship. Imagine it like this, the Quasar Fire, the Pursuant, hops in and disgorges Hunter squad, an elite squad that is given more leeway as they are successful at hunting down pirates and rebels.

Imagine a flight of Manfred Von Richthofen wannabes delivered to battle via a zeppelin.

Finally, by making the home base a mobile and lightly armed, the campaign can treat all missions as friendly territory, which will offset the fragility of the TIEs. Also, the home base being vulnerable means at least one mission where the players have to defend against a number of bombers before they offload massive ordnance.

you could still run it as from the perspective of a standard imperial pilot.

As i mentioned in an earlier post, following the battle of endor the empire was not spoilt for resources as we know this was a part of their decline. you could have been a bunch of tie pilots but following endor your star destroyer leaves the system (or is destroyed by the rebels in future HotAC expansions ) and you are left with a small amount of imperial pilots and limited resources.

from here maybe you gain access to a raider as your mobile base (id love to look at incorporating it) and your ragtag group of tie pilots begin to form into an elite squadron. as you start winning small battles. (e.g hyjacking a local black sun space station to use as a base. black sun also on the decline at this point). then as your small group slowly build in strength you gain the support of the empire as they begin to give you more support.

it is possible to do it from the perspective of a standard soldier. the story itself will just need to change slightly.

also we have the core rules of Heroes which means there is not much we need to change. its not like we are writing a whole new set of rules but instead just adding a few features to make the empires campaign feel unique. i personally dont want a clone of heroes, i want villans to bring something new to the table, more than just a change of faction

My latest round of brainstorming goes something like this:

Starting ships are:

PS2 Tie Intercepter with 8 points and 2 mod slots

PS2 Tie Bomber/Shuttle with 10 points

PS2 "Shielded Tie Fighter" (Tie FO) with 11 points

PS2 "Tie Aggressor" (Tie SF) with x points

PS4 does NOT unlock additional ship choices. Instead, completing mission arcs unlocks them:

-Inspection Tour/fleet officer visit unlocks the Lambada

-Save the Phantom facility to unlock Tie Phantom that's missing the starting mod slot, though the PS4/6/8 slots remain

-Convoy mission arc escorts a gozanti carrying Tie Advanced- complete the arc to unlock the Tie/X1 Advanced

-Inquisition related mission arc unlocks the TAP, as "We sence much potential in you"

-Something related to the Defender training facility to unlock Tie Defender with no title slot

-Attacking a rebel ground base unlocks the Tie Punisher.

That's everything except the Escort Shuttle (firespray) (which can be slotted in to replace the lambada if we take awat the first EPT and Mod slots) and the Decimator, which is just too big and too beefy for this campain.

I've been lurking on this thread quite a bit. Very interesting stuff you guys are coming up with. FWIW, I agree with those that would like to preserve the single pilot upgrade style that HotAC uses. This lends itself to keeping setup easier, balance easier, reasonably limits game time (only planning and moving 4-6 ships instead of 16-24) and makes it more immersive for the player, who becomes attached to their pilot as he/she grows into a ridiculously powerful combatant.

I would think that framing the campaign with players as part of an elite/special operations squadron is the most "fluffy" way to do this. This would provide justification for radical customization of standardized fighters, reduce the need to portray the pilots as a cog in the wheel, allow for the use of different craft in the same flight group, etc. Back story could either be they are freshly recruited into the squadron, or, alternatively, the first mission or two could take place as a standardized tie/ln fighter wing just before they are recruited into special ops.

Last thought, which is about naming convention. I think you guys should steer away from anything to negative, because (as others have mentioned) the Empire is made up of many folks that think they are the heroes. I would lean towards something more militaristic. I also like the symmetry of "__________ of the Aturi Cluster." Maybe Operatives of the Aturi Cluster if you go with a special ops feel? Or the aforementioned Enforcers or Defenders? This is probably best solved by someone more clever than myself. = )

I've been lurking on this thread quite a bit. Very interesting stuff you guys are coming up with. FWIW, I agree with those that would like to preserve the single pilot upgrade style that HotAC uses. This lends itself to keeping setup easier, balance easier, reasonably limits game time (only planning and moving 4-6 ships instead of 16-24) and makes it more immersive for the player, who becomes attached to their pilot as he/she grows into a ridiculously powerful combatant.

I would think that framing the campaign with players as part of an elite/special operations squadron is the most "fluffy" way to do this. This would provide justification for radical customization of standardized fighters, reduce the need to portray the pilots as a cog in the wheel, allow for the use of different craft in the same flight group, etc. Back story could either be they are freshly recruited into the squadron, or, alternatively, the first mission or two could take place as a standardized tie/ln fighter wing just before they are recruited into special ops.

Last thought, which is about naming convention. I think you guys should steer away from anything to negative, because (as others have mentioned) the Empire is made up of many folks that think they are the heroes. I would lean towards something more militaristic. I also like the symmetry of "__________ of the Aturi Cluster." Maybe Operatives of the Aturi Cluster if you go with a special ops feel? Or the aforementioned Enforcers or Defenders? This is probably best solved by someone more clever than myself. = )

Enforcers* of the Aturi Cluster would be cool.

*or Peacekeepers

I'm actually on board with TBS's "Hunters of the Aturi Cluster."

Only downside is that it shares an acronym. Which means we need a scum H-word for the inevitable third campain.

"Hunters of the Aturi Cluster" is no good for a name. We've already got HotAC as an abbreviation for "Heroes..." So we need something that starts with a different letter than "H." Just saying.

"Villains" works fine enough, but personally I'd go with "Might of the Aturi Cluster."

EDIT: Ninja'd!

"Heroes of the Arturi Cluster II - Imperial Boogaloo."

Defenders. Can we make a poll?

I chose the quasar-fire because A) it is canon as of rebels, and B) it is not a full warship per se, so a non-combat mobile base from which to launch/resupply from.

The idea i presented was an elite fighter squad, not a small star destroyer or warship. Imagine it like this, the Quasar Fire, the Pursuant, hops in and disgorges Hunter squad, an elite squad that is given more leeway as they are successful at hunting down pirates and rebels.

Imagine a flight of Manfred Von Richthofen wannabes delivered to battle via a zeppelin.

Finally, by making the home base a mobile and lightly armed, the campaign can treat all missions as friendly territory, which will offset the fragility of the TIEs. Also, the home base being vulnerable means at least one mission where the players have to defend against a number of bombers before they offload massive ordnance.

I and many odl school EU fans that are players see the Quasar Fire as a Rebel ship though.

That and some of the ones i suggested arent really full combat vessels. The MkII Frgate isnt that well armed from what i remember, and the Nebulon isnt that tough. Also remember that missipns that regular ties and even most tie variants are sent on, are not suitable for most Imperial Capital ships to dea with. Most thngs capitals ships can take down are not something those tiewill do (well other than the bomber, and gunboat, other ordnance heavy ones). Also plenty of times you'll see a Tie squadron far enugh away from the capital ship base to act on thier own, which this would represent at times.

another good option is the Interdictor Cruiser- carries 24 fighters and has crap for guns, but it does have Grav-wells which can stop Rebels from escaping the TIE's hands!

I'm all for making the ship be around to givethe players the "friendly" advantage for ejection. But as long as the campaign is set in one of the lighter ships, (and not a full on ISD) then it should be fine. Plus most lightly armed Imperial ships didnt go alone, the VicStar, Loronar Strike Cruiser, Nebulon and MkII did. Sincey had both some defenses and fighting capability, and some fighters to tange with Rebel fightters for support.

I've been lurking on this thread quite a bit. Very interesting stuff you guys are coming up with. FWIW, I agree with those that would like to preserve the single pilot upgrade style that HotAC uses. This lends itself to keeping setup easier, balance easier, reasonably limits game time (only planning and moving 4-6 ships instead of 16-24) and makes it more immersive for the player, who becomes attached to their pilot as he/she grows into a ridiculously powerful combatant.

I would think that framing the campaign with players as part of an elite/special operations squadron is the most "fluffy" way to do this. This would provide justification for radical customization of standardized fighters, reduce the need to portray the pilots as a cog in the wheel, allow for the use of different craft in the same flight group, etc. Back story could either be they are freshly recruited into the squadron, or, alternatively, the first mission or two could take place as a standardized tie/ln fighter wing just before they are recruited into special ops.

Last thought, which is about naming convention. I think you guys should steer away from anything to negative, because (as others have mentioned) the Empire is made up of many folks that think they are the heroes. I would lean towards something more militaristic. I also like the symmetry of "__________ of the Aturi Cluster." Maybe Operatives of the Aturi Cluster if you go with a special ops feel? Or the aforementioned Enforcers or Defenders? This is probably best solved by someone more clever than myself. = )

Enforcers* of the Aturi Cluster would be cool.

*or Peacekeepers

Protectors?

I think there seems to be a bit of a consensus around using an elite squadron to give that heroes feel of being an elite pilot. We can adapt the story around that to meet our needs (i like the idea of you being a standard pilot, and by circumstance forced to become an elite squadron. Starting from the bottom).

I agree it definitely needs to feel different. Maybe it comes in form of support. As a regimented military maybe we have assess to special benefits like the ability to call in artillery from the local SD or have a bombing run across the board. Somehow using imperial intelligence would be cool but I'm not sure how it would be implemented.

Even if we use a system similar to what was preposed earlier by someone else (feel free to jump in and take credit for your idea ) when you reach ps3 you get to move from a tie fighter and choose a specialisation (Speed, assault, tech). As you move up in ps you are given permission to fly new ships. E.g

Ps1 O

Tie/ln

Ps3

Speed - Tie Adv Prototype

Tech - Tie/Fo

Assault - Tie Bomber

Ps5

Speed - Tie Interceptor

Tech - Tie/SF

Assault - Tie Advanced

Ps7

Speed - Tie Defender

Tech - Tie Phantom

Assault - Tie Punisher

Details can be worked out but it helps to cement a role in your squad and you can spend XP to change specialisation. Maybe you gain different abilities based on you specialisation. Like the assault class could spend XP to gain extra shield for one mission.

I know this would make the game slightly more complex but since we have the base i believe it would be better to push it further and not be afraid to add in new levels

I think an Imperial RPG should be played out like the TIE Fighter Story where you know you are mostly on the defensive protecting against Scum & Villainy Pirates and putting down local skirmishes before the violence spreads. Then move on the Rebels after you reach the point where you don't ask anymore questions.

If Hero's of the Aturi Cluster is fun to play why not just reskin it and make changes for balance?

I maybe completely off here but...

I have been following this thread for a while. I feel like many people are trying too hard to develop an Imperial System and completely over complicating this whole thing. I think I've mentioned this before but the beauty of HotAC is the fact it's straight forward and easy to understand, however, it's open for everyone to develop their own flavor and add to it in their own groups.

I don't even know who is officially or actually working on an Imperial system or if there is someone who is actually pushing this to some sort of end. I would recommend, as Ken has said, follow what has already been given and don't stray too far from WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS! The pure genius of Josh's work is that it WORKS. We don't need to re-invent any wheels here, just follow the guidelines given. People can modify it anyway they want after there is a foundation to work from. Sure maybe for Tie Fighters, Bombers, and Interceptors...you get a wingman depending on how many participants..but after that it should follow pretty much the same course. You fly a mission, get experience, upgrade your ship, and then fly the next mission. I feel like playing the Imperials adds an even higher level of excitement because just like the Video game, flying a solo tie-fighter can be an incredibly short lived experience and you'll definitely have to rely on your teammates and strategy to win.

There's no need to add the fluff of "this is how the imperials do things" and it should be completely different than "how the rebels do things" or any other nonsense. People can add that stuff on their own in solo or group play. I would highly recommend that this be moved to an actual website or even it's own forums. All I see here are ideas with a few individuals actually trying to make this happen...someone needs to take the lead like Rakaydos or Stefan. And if they or someone who wants to lead this in a community effort; you need to divide and conquer this juggernaut by giving those who want to contribute a job from mission testing, to story writing, to AI testing, etc...

Dreams come true when someone realizes that stepping forward towards that dream will make it a reality.

Ihope the TI/FO is left out of the campgain since it doesnt fit the time line AT ALL. Plus its First Order, not Imperial.

I would however like those pilot abilities to be open up for EPT slots

Ihope the TI/FO is left out of the campgain since it doesnt fit the time line AT ALL. Plus its First Order, not Imperial.

I would however like those pilot abilities to be open up for EPT slots

I think it would make sense to leave out the TFA ships in the campaign. Maybe in a later add-on campaign Return to the Aturi Cluster where the TFA ships like the T-70 and TIE-Sf will get introduced.

I'd put their stats in, but rename them to fit the era. The tie SF becomes the turreted Tie Aggressor, and the FO simply becomes a "Shielded tie"

And the really-belongs-to-scum firespray becomes an Escort Shuttle.

Are there not enough imperial fighters from the correct time period that you wouldn't need to fly the First Order ships?

We have:

TIE Fighters

TIE Interceptors

TIE Advanced

TIE Bomber

TIE Defender

TIE Punisher

TIE Phantom

TIE Adv. Prototype

The regular Aturi cluster has:

X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings, B-wings and a HWK-290 as fly able ships.

Seems like the imperial version would have PLENTY of craft to fly.

Are there not enough imperial fighters from the correct time period that you wouldn't need to fly the First Order ships?

We have:

TIE Fighters

TIE Interceptors

TIE Advanced

TIE Bomber

TIE Defender

TIE Punisher

TIE Phantom

TIE Adv. Prototype

The regular Aturi cluster has:

X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings, B-wings and a HWK-290 as fly able ships.

Seems like the imperial version would have PLENTY of craft to fly.

The problem is, they all are pretty similar.

punisher is a bigger bomber

Fighter, Advanced, Defender are the jousters

Phantoms, Intercepters and TAP are the arcdodgers

The "Tie Aggressor" Tie SF, on the other hand, fills a similar role to the rebel Ywing and HWK, covering more of the battlefield.

As a jouster, the "Shielded tie" is a middle ground between starting in a no-upgrade ship with 14 points to spend, and starting in darth vaders personal ship. It is also the only source of "Imperial shield regen" with comm relay.

This leaves the Tie Intercepter to be the baseline arcdodger, the Tie bomber to be the baseline ordinance ship, and the Tie shuttle bomber as the support ship. A good range of options of comparable power with limited overlap.

Yes, they will all be similar, but like the rebel Aturi cluster characters, part of the joy is mix and matching abilities. So, while the ships are similar, there are ample enough variations to make them feel unique.

Heck, I really want to put Oicunn's ability on a humble TIE. Valen Rudor helps make any TIE more durable.

Just because the empire doesn't have an analogue for a ship, doesn't mean they should.

I get it, I LOVE the First Order ships, but they don't suit the campaign thematically (and chronologically). Perhaps when we get more ships from the era a new campaign can be created.

So, something else I was thinking of, is that rebel ships should actively try to run away, and take upgrades to survive. The basic x-wing requires likely the r2 astromech upgrade and Integrated Astromech to aid in survivability. Upgrades such as shield and hull will be needed, but, I think giving the rebel ships, at least X- and A-wings, the stealth device is a good idea as a default.

This makes a humble x-wing dangerous and durable. Based on the nature of the rebel vs imperial combat structure, the players should have deal, at least initially, with a single x-wing or y-wing for every two players. Also mission AI overides will absolutely be needed. If the players have to defend a shuttle, the AI should focus in trying to take out the target asap, then jump out.

I think that the rebels should be threats that grow in power. For every mission an enemy survives perhaps they get a pilot skill upgrade, every imperial failure gives something to the rebels, so if the rebel smuggler's yt-1300 gets away, all rebel ships can equip torpedoes, and so on. After all, the rebels seemingly relied on highly skilled individuals, partly because they did not have the sheer numbers, and while this campaign is eliminating the numbers for imperials, in favour of highly slilled imperial aces (or up and coming aces) that thematic feel of high skilled rebels needs to be maintained.

Are there not enough imperial fighters from the correct time period that you wouldn't need to fly the First Order ships?

We have:

TIE Fighters

TIE Interceptors

TIE Advanced

TIE Bomber

TIE Defender

TIE Punisher

TIE Phantom

TIE Adv. Prototype

The regular Aturi cluster has:

X-wings, Y-wings, A-wings, B-wings and a HWK-290 as fly able ships.

Seems like the imperial version would have PLENTY of craft to fly.

The problem is, they all are pretty similar.

punisher is a bigger bomber

Fighter, Advanced, Defender are the jousters

Phantoms, Intercepters and TAP are the arcdodgers

The "Tie Aggressor" Tie SF, on the other hand, fills a similar role to the rebel Ywing and HWK, covering more of the battlefield.

As a jouster, the "Shielded tie" is a middle ground between starting in a no-upgrade ship with 14 points to spend, and starting in darth vaders personal ship. It is also the only source of "Imperial shield regen" with comm relay.

This leaves the Tie Intercepter to be the baseline arcdodger, the Tie bomber to be the baseline ordinance ship, and the Tie shuttle bomber as the support ship. A good range of options of comparable power with limited overlap.

You could add the BTL-A4 Y-wing as Assault Gunboats...

I like the ideas about the balancing of rebel ships. That also necessitates a different XP system. Someone suggested remaining hull as a basis, but I'd argue for more mission objectives, including optional ones. That also makes balancing A LOT easier.

That was me. No xp for kills/damage, xp for hull remaining, and completing primary, secondary, and tertiary objectives if any.

Example; Escort the shutte

Primary: shuttle must reach edge A

Secondary: no hull damage on shuttle

Tertiary: all enemies destroyed.

Maybe tie (heh) the XP to the type of TIE? Like as a standard TIE, gain double XP for damaging rebel ships when all other TIE are in range 1?