So in the next few weeks my group will be engaged by a considerable Imperial fleet moving to blockade a trade route the party is taking advantage of, I'm still fairly new to this rule set but feel as if this needs to be included in my campaign.

The empire's force consists of an ISD-1, 2 vindicator heavy cruisers, and an interdictor (for hyperspace retreat reasons)

The Rebels have an MC 40, 2 nebulon B's, a Marauder corvette and a CR 90 corvette.

I'm looking at this side by side and my real concern in this whole thing is that the empire has around 140 Tie fighters to the rebels 60-ish.

Does anyone have a way for me to streamline the combat for this encounter if so i would appreciate it

What roles are the PCs playing in the battle? All advice is going to start from your answer to this question.

First off, Imperial ships rarely have full compliment of fighters. This is due to bureaucracy and officer infighting spilling over to stunting transfers of squadrons and flight crews. Second, a well coordinated experienced rebel fighter squadron no matter the ship can tear through ties like paper. less so if they have inferior ships like a Z-95 but a experienced X-wing or A-wing squadron can shred through at least two tie squadrons with ease, I would place bets on experienced A-wing pilots being able to handle a interceptor squadron with ease. Plus use the CR90 and Marauder in tandem with the rebel starfighters to take out squadrons, they can work well in anti starfighter roles (its what they were designed to do). That should even out your starfighter problem although it will still be a problem due to the 2v1 odds.

5 hours ago, R3dtitan said:

So in the next few weeks my group will be engaged by a considerable Imperial fleet moving to blockade a trade route the party is taking advantage of, I'm still fairly new to this rule set but feel as if this needs to be included in my campaign.

The empire's force consists of an ISD-1, 2 vindicator heavy cruisers, and an interdictor (for hyperspace retreat reasons)

The Rebels have an MC 40, 2 nebulon B's, a Marauder corvette and a CR 90 corvette.

I'm looking at this side by side and my real concern in this whole thing is that the empire has around 140 Tie fighters to the rebels 60-ish.

Does anyone have a way for me to streamline the combat for this encounter if so i would appreciate it

I'd recommend the mass combat rules from the supplement Lead By Example.

For a fight THIS large, you could practically use Armada rules for it. Use Vassal if you dont have the pieces.

If you wanted to break things up a bit and not have one mass combat roll for the entire battle, you could split it into skirmishes. Maybe three theaters of battle each revolving around certain complements of the capital ships and their respective escorts. If you happen to have multiple PCs who can take a leadership role, this would allow each of them to shine.

2 hours ago, rogue_09 said:

If you wanted to break things up a bit and not have one mass combat roll for the entire battle, you could split it into skirmishes. Maybe three theaters of battle each revolving around certain complements of the capital ships and their respective escorts. If you happen to have multiple PCs who can take a leadership role, this would allow each of them to shine.

And if you don't have PCs taking such roles, then it's just a bunch of dice rolling for no real reason; you might as well just arbitrarily decide the outcome by GM fiat.

So again, what are the intended roles of the PCs in this battle?

Are they starfighter pilots? Nothing but the TIEs should matter. Capital ships become backdrop.

Are they the command crew of a capital ship? The TIEs shouldn't matter, just focus on the big ships.

Are they commandos doing a boarding action? None of the ships matter. It'll be a personal scale action.

HappyDaze started in the right direction, but for situations like this I usually pull out wheel to my GM Fiat.

The first question will be, what is the PC's perspective on this encounter? What will they see and possibly do?

The other important questions revolve around the two forces and why are they there?

Lets start with the location. Why is it important to the Empire? Why is it important to the Rebellion? Is there are strategically important reason to hold this system? is this just a major pass through?

Next, why is the Empire there? What are the orders of the Imperial Commander? Is he there just to monitor passing traffic and to enforce tariffs? Is this force actively hunting down Rebel Cells? Are these Imperial forces preparing to deploy on a mission? Did they just finish a campaign and are reconsolidating their resources for the next mission?

You can ask the same questions about the Rebels.

Why did both forces end up in the same system? Do they both want to fight? Is one force trying to avoid this engagement? Is the Imperial armada prepared for or expecting a fight? Are the Rebels?

Hopefully by answering these questions, that will help you understand the frame of mind of both of the commanders, both of whom will be responding to the situation based on their orders and understanding of the situation. That will determine the actions that both forces take.

After that, logic can dictate what happens in the battle. You can then decide what happens as a result or grab some dice (BEFORE SESSION) and see how that battle might pan out. Be prepared to adapt, based on what the PC's do to interject themselves into the conflict. They are very likely to come up with some innovative solution that turns the course of history.

They could also tuck tail and flee!

Another principle in adapting an RPG to a mass combat sequence is to focus the PC's battle as a smaller pocket in the bigger engagement. The PC's are going to be aware of what they see and hear. Anything beyond that is irrelevant.

Examples:

My RPG group was tasked with sneaking into an Imperial Facility. They had been provided a ship and credentials as cargo haulers, with the appropriate cargo.

Part of their insertion included meeting up with a rebel element (a single Y-Wing) in an unoccupied system. It was a terribly mundane rendezvous, but the Y-Wing departed the system and alerted a Rebel Fleet of the arrival of the PC ship.

So after the PC's ship entered the system, they found themselves in the middle of an active war zone, with rebel fighters conducting a Strike and Fade mission against an I-II. The Rebels DID blow up the Star Destroyer and were engaged with TIE Fighters. The Rebels were also attacking merchant vessels in the system as well . . .

The PC's were picked out by a lone Y-Wing and that ship engaged both Blasters and Ion Cannons, damaging the PC's ship.

The Empire rallied and the Rebels fled the scene, leaving the PC's in a lightly damaged and powerless ship.

Okay so that's the description of the battle as I saw it from the GM's seat.

The PC's jumped into the star system and I described to the pilot the scene of the Rebel fighters launching torpedoes. She called the crew to battle stations and the PC's raced to various gunnery and maintenance positions in preparation for combat.

The Pilot (a rebel with encryption communications equipment) established communications with the attackers, who welcomed the team to the system, while the fight played out.

I described the details of the fight and described the one Y-Wing swinging around. The Gunner of the Y-Wing was a know contact and we Role Played a quick conversation between the Y-Wing and the PC's and since most of the battle was distant, it was described as backdrop.

The Gunner then wished the PC's luck on their mission and that Y-Wing opened fire on the PC's ship.

The PC's were in their battle stations and they returned fire on the Y-Wing but due to poor gunnery missed.

The Y-Wing then attacked with the Ion Cannon and with an awesome result, and shut down all power to the PC's ship. I then described to the pilot how the Rebel Ships (in the view port) were turning and entering hyperspace.

The PC's then worked to restore power and once they were successful, they began to interact with the Imperial local traffic. They reported their own damage and requested clearance to land at their destination, which was granted.

A very sympathetic Imperial Lieutenant met them when they landed and borrowed the ships medic. The research base was being used as a triage center for wounded Imperial Pilots.

I hope this example helps you understand how to frame a Mass Battle for a PC's perspective in an RPG. Remember, that this in an RPG, not an tactics or miniatures game.

On 1/3/2019 at 7:08 AM, HappyDaze said:

What roles are the PCs playing in the battle? All advice is going to start from your answer to this question.

the group consists of:

an saboteur/droid Technician

an Ace Pilot

a hired gun

and a sharpshooter

all in a classic YT-1300

On 1/3/2019 at 10:22 AM, Benjan Meruna said:

For a fight THIS large, you could practically use Armada rules for it. Use Vassal if you dont have the pieces.

i do enjoy armada. nice advice

On 1/3/2019 at 2:27 PM, Mark Caliber said:

HappyDaze started in the right direction, but for situations like this I usually pull out wheel to my GM Fiat.

The first question will be, what is the PC's perspective on this encounter? What will they see and possibly do?

The other important questions revolve around the two forces and why are they there?

Lets start with the location. Why is it important to the Empire? Why is it important to the Rebellion? Is there are strategically important reason to hold this system? is this just a major pass through?

Next, why is the Empire there? What are the orders of the Imperial Commander? Is he there just to monitor passing traffic and to enforce tariffs? Is this force actively hunting down Rebel Cells? Are these Imperial forces preparing to deploy on a mission? Did they just finish a campaign and are reconsolidating their resources for the next mission?

You can ask the same questions about the Rebels.

Why did both forces end up in the same system? Do they both want to fight? Is one force trying to avoid this engagement? Is the Imperial armada prepared for or expecting a fight? Are the Rebels?

Hopefully by answering these questions, that will help you understand the frame of mind of both of the commanders, both of whom will be responding to the situation based on their orders and understanding of the situation. That will determine the actions that both forces take.

After that, logic can dictate what happens in the battle. You can then decide what happens as a result or grab some dice (BEFORE SESSION) and see how that battle might pan out. Be prepared to adapt, based on what the PC's do to interject themselves into the conflict. They are very likely to come up with some innovative solution that turns the course of history.

They could also tuck tail and flee!

Another principle in adapting an RPG to a mass combat sequence is to focus the PC's battle as a smaller pocket in the bigger engagement. The PC's are going to be aware of what they see and hear. Anything beyond that is irrelevant.

Examples:

My RPG group was tasked with sneaking into an Imperial Facility. They had been provided a ship and credentials as cargo haulers, with the appropriate cargo.

Part of their insertion included meeting up with a rebel element (a single Y-Wing) in an unoccupied system. It was a terribly mundane rendezvous, but the Y-Wing departed the system and alerted a Rebel Fleet of the arrival of the PC ship.

So after the PC's ship entered the system, they found themselves in the middle of an active war zone, with rebel fighters conducting a Strike and Fade mission against an I-II. The Rebels DID blow up the Star Destroyer and were engaged with TIE Fighters. The Rebels were also attacking merchant vessels in the system as well . . .

The PC's were picked out by a lone Y-Wing and that ship engaged both Blasters and Ion Cannons, damaging the PC's ship.

The Empire rallied and the Rebels fled the scene, leaving the PC's in a lightly damaged and powerless ship.

Okay so that's the description of the battle as I saw it from the GM's seat.

The PC's jumped into the star system and I described to the pilot the scene of the Rebel fighters launching torpedoes. She called the crew to battle stations and the PC's raced to various gunnery and maintenance positions in preparation for combat.

The Pilot (a rebel with encryption communications equipment) established communications with the attackers, who welcomed the team to the system, while the fight played out.

I described the details of the fight and described the one Y-Wing swinging around. The Gunner of the Y-Wing was a know contact and we Role Played a quick conversation between the Y-Wing and the PC's and since most of the battle was distant, it was described as backdrop.

The Gunner then wished the PC's luck on their mission and that Y-Wing opened fire on the PC's ship.

The PC's were in their battle stations and they returned fire on the Y-Wing but due to poor gunnery missed.

The Y-Wing then attacked with the Ion Cannon and with an awesome result, and shut down all power to the PC's ship. I then described to the pilot how the Rebel Ships (in the view port) were turning and entering hyperspace.

The PC's then worked to restore power and once they were successful, they began to interact with the Imperial local traffic. They reported their own damage and requested clearance to land at their destination, which was granted.

A very sympathetic Imperial Lieutenant met them when they landed and borrowed the ships medic. The research base was being used as a triage center for wounded Imperial Pilots.

I hope this example helps you understand how to frame a Mass Battle for a PC's perspective in an RPG. Remember, that this in an RPG, not an tactics or miniatures game.

Thank you, these questions should help me manage this engagement a lot easier.

On 1/5/2019 at 1:04 AM, R3dtitan said:

the group consists of:

an saboteur/droid Technician

an Ace Pilot

a hired gun

and a sharpshooter

all in a classic YT-1300

I think when the persona asked what roles the PCs would be playing they meant more in a larger sense of the battle.

are they going to jump into their YT and fight like Lando in the battle of Endor?

Is the Ace going to get ordered into a starfighter?

That sort of thing.

Think about the battle of Coruscant. You've got Obiwan, Anakin and R2-D2 as PCs in a giant combat. We don't see very much of most of the battle, just the parts that relate to them.

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 4:37 AM, R3dtitan said:

Does anyone have a way for me to streamline the combat for this encounter if so i would appreciate it

Use the actual mass combat narrative rules.

Break the battle down into a series of short encounters the players can partake in directly based on the tactics each side would use, and use the mass combat check to link those encounters together.

So your battle outline will look like a flowchart saying "If the PCs succeed at X, change the next combat check to Y, if they fail, modify it by Z. If the next Mass check is successful A happens, if not B happens. Go to Encounter #3 making the following adjustments per the battle results..."

One of the cool things about Mass combat is it's based on Force Strength, making it pretty fluid. As the Battle goes, and one side starts to take causalities, or units withdraw, it's overall force strength will go down, making the next mass combat check easier.

So, just offhand...

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 4:37 AM, R3dtitan said:

The empire's force consists of an ISD-1, 2 vindicator heavy cruisers, and an interdictor (for hyperspace retreat reasons)

The Rebels have an MC 40, 2 nebulon B's, a Marauder corvette and a CR 90 corvette.

The Rebel are faster, but also 100% outgunned, so, the primary concern will likely be to destroy, cripple, or drive off the Interdictor and make it unable to take part in the blockade.

So now lets look at what each side has, and develop tactics...

Empire:

The ISD is a carrier/Battleship, the Vindicators are good all arounders, and the Interdictor is a comparatively squishy specialized platform with anti-Starfighter defenses.

Rebels:

The MC40 is a light cruiser equipped for planetary bombardment and anti-frigate/corvette work. The Neb-Bs are good all arounders, but not armed or armored enough to tackle anything cruiser sized or bigger 1:1, and the CR90 is a light, but relatively fast ship good for skirmishing with capital ships, but not well equipped to go head to head with anything bigger, and also not equipped to take on Starfighters very well...

For the Empire, I'd go with the following plan:

The ISD and Vindi's would form up in a nice V or line abreast formation as a core combat group to engage the rebel fleet. Since the Vindi's are equipped with point defense weapons, the Empire wouldn't deploy as many fighters as you think, probably just 1 or 2 TIE squadrons to screen, but the Vindis and ISD are otherwise equiped/resilient enough to deal with some rebel fighters. The Interdictor, being ill-equipped for ship-to-ship fighting would stay well back from the shooting and deploy it's fighters to protect itself from other fighters. The Imperial Ships would work one-by one, targeting the Neb-B's first since they represent a lot of firepower that can also be dealt with the fastest. Without the Neb-B's the Rebels will have to rely on it's fighters for counter-fighter support, so the Empire pops the Neb-Bs, then can turn on the MC-40 and deploy TIE Bombers to go after the CR-90. When things look good for the Empire they'll probably order the Interdictor's Starfighters to move in and support the mop-up.

Remember, the mission is the blockade, not the Rebel fleet, so if things start to look bad, the Imperials will withdraw rather than fight. Killing a Frigate and a Corvette, and still making the Blockade is good middle ground that would get everyone a medal. Killing the Rebel fleet, but being too damaged to support the blockade is a riskier move, as the Admiral may consider the blockade a higher priority.

Likewise the Empire won't throw all it's fighters at the Rebels as they're needed to run combat patrols and interdiction/interception supporting the Blockade as well. So they'll likely only throw a few TIE/ln squadrons into the fight and keep the TIE Interceptors in reserve for use in the Blockade. They might toss the TIE bombers into the fray if they see a good opportunity, betting that any need for later torpedo/bombing missions during the blockade could be covered by other craft like DX-9s or ATRs if needed. Not ideal, but in-line with known Imperial tactics.

For the Rebels, it's probably up to the players, but here's a suggestion from Tactical to kick things off in the mission planning:

The Rebels don't have the firepower to take on the Imperials, so their objective shouldn't be absolute victory. Primary objective should be to do as much damage to the Interdictor as possible, Destroying it would be great, but damaging it sufficiently that it can't take part in the blockage would probably be considered a victory by Alliance Command.

The CR 90 and Neb-B's are faster than 2 of the 4 Imperial Craft. So I'd suggest having the MC40 hit one of the Vindi's with a missile barrage to get their attention, and have the Neb-Bs and Corvette make a hard push for the Interdictor. Use one of the Neb-Bs to shield the other ships from the Vindi that's taking the missile barrage, and by extension putting the Vindi between the Rebel ships and the ISD.

The MC40 and one Neb-B's worth of fighters deploy and hit the ISD targeting it's Engines (see Mask of the Pirate Queen) while the MC 40 launches another barrage at the ISD this time. Objective is to cripple the ISD and try and keep the Vindi's in to protect it, at which point the MC40 makes a run for it at sublight as it's probably in bad shape at this point. If not, it launches another barrage at one of the Vindi's again and then starts to withdraw. Fighters continue to harass the ISD and it's fighter screen.

The Neb-Bs, Corvette and remaining Fighters go after the Interdictor. Depending on how the ISD is a Vindi may be ordered to leave formation and go help the Interdictor. (Any surviving Rebels fighters should now probably target the Vindi's engines and weapons at this point).

The rebels continue to target the Interdictor until it's disabled or destroyed. It's highly probable, considering the value of the Interdictor and that it's mission essential for the blockade, if it's Grav-well gens take damage, it takes some nasty Crits, or the ship gets to 50% Hull Trauma, the Interdictor and the rest of the Imperial ships will withdraw rather than fight to the death.

Remember, the Vindi's and Interdictor both only have Massive 1, so a big objective should be to Crit them as much as possible. A nasty enough Crit, especially on the ISD or Interdictor, will force the Imperials to withdraw and disrupt/delay the Blockade.