Aotrs Shipyards January 2024 Release: Royal Elven Army Wave One

[Aotrs Shipyards]

Aotrs Shipyards January 2024 Release: Royal Elven Army Wave One

This time, I am bringing a veritable basket of releases, something for everyone!

First of all, for the 144th sci-fi, I have the first three Royal Elven Kingdoms army releases (which should have happened nearly four years ago, before lockdown interrupted literally the day after they debut at Hammerhead!) More on those in a moment!

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Secondly, while not strictly new in terms of models, for starships, I am proud to announce the release of the Accelerate and Attack Starter Set on MyMiniFactory! MMF allowed me the opportunity to release the rules with the model files for two attendant Stone Portal and Vivrathk fleets in a bundle. It’s the closest thing I can get to a boxed set! At $40 (or about £32) this is a saving of 34% over the both the rules and the model files, or 10% just for the model files!

If you prefer just the rules, Accelerate and Attack! is available separately ($15.95) here with the free web enhancement pack you can check out here.

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Finally, after much toil and playtesting, my partners-in-crime at Manoeuvre Group have released their first army list in quite a while! This is the Cold War Army Lists for 1981 to 1985 Part 1 ($6.50), including British, German, Russian and US forces, in the new Issue 2 standard. As with all MG army lists, the list are heavily researched real lists and thus suitable for any game system, not just MG.

 

As noted last time, Manoeuvre Group Sci-fi has been updated to v1.02, which includes the stats for this month’s Royal Elven Army! Free to download at Wargames Vault here.

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Bringing us back to full circle, here are the three vehicles of that self-same force:

Gladrusc Main Battle Tank

MMF (file) $1.05

Physical Print
Only-Games £3.68
Shapeways $8.65
FDM £3.20

The Gladrusc (lit. “forest fox”) Main Battle Tank was introduced in 2232. It was itself an overhaul and upgrade to the older Aeior (named for a polearm weapon of the halberd type) MBT. The Aeior had served well during the closing period of turmoil before the Strayvian Empire’s collapse, but had reached beyond its service life. With the general elven populace believing that the galaxy was entering a new time of peace and prosperity, there was strong resistance to military expenditure. The Gladrusc project was only initiated at all due to being funded primarily by the Sylmiatis Wood Elf Kingdom, traditionally the most independent and martial of the kingdoms.

The similarities between the Aeior and Gladrusc are apparent. Both are fully gravitic, and thus capable of both low grav and full flight and have a relative small, uncrewed turret. In essence, the Gladrusc was an upgraded version of the Aeior with contemporary technology, but no new innovation. Even the Sylmiatis government struggled to gain the approval and resources to manage even this much.

The Gladrusc was, at the time, cutting edge for performances. It has armour rated at Tier 20 to the front, though the sides armour is lower, and the rear is notably rated lower due to the presence of the engines.

The turret is lightweight, and controlled from a crew station within the hull, rather than within the turret itself. On the one hand, this gives it a much smaller profile against fire when hull down and means that destruction of the turret causes not loss of life. On the other, it means that any actual hits are far more likely to strike the hull than the turret in the first place, which somewhat reduces overall survivability outside of a hull-down firing position.

The turret’s main gun is a long-barrel lazer cannon, rated at Tier 21 with excellent range. This is supplemented by four smoke dischargers and a Point-Defence lazer weapon, rated at Tier 6. Advanced ECM and a full sensor suite completed the loadout.

A century’s advancement has rendered this performance down to merely adequate. Aside from a few incremental upgrades – the most notable was a power-plant and engine upgrade in the 2270s – the Gladrusc has little been altered. Only the full-grav drive and sensor system mark it out from a contemporary tank fielded by the Grand Terran Sovereign Republic.

The military push instigated in the last couple of decades means that, finally, work has begun on a successor, or at least a significant upgrade. This would very likely include hybrid technology from the Saiyvalyss Alliance and Aotrs intelligence expects that, at the very least, the next generation of elven battle tank will be equipped with Saiyvali shield generators.

Silmanordo APC

MMF (file) $1.20

Physical Print
Only-Games £4.26
Shapeways $8.20
FDM £2.90

The Silmanordo (lit. “silver oak”) Armoured Personnel Carrier is an aging design. Designed over a century ago, in the early 2220s, the Silmanordo is a classic example of the stagnation of the elven military. It has received only a few incremental updates in all that time, and remains largely the same as the first production model.

The Silmanordo is an archetypal APC, a battle-taxi, intended only to take troops from a to b with a minimum of combat. The Silmanordo is a full grav tank, capable of suborbital, if cumbersome flight, with a respectable turn of speed. It is only lightly armoured; even with the minimal armour upgrade from the dawn of the 24th century, the frontal armour only reaches Tier 14 rating against energy weapons, and remains rated Tier 11 against kinetic weapons. The rear, more vulnerable because of the engines, is down as far as Tier 7 and Tier 6 respectively.

The Silmanordo is armed only with a single automated point defence lazer turret, rated only to Tier 6 itself.

One of the more unusual features of the Silmanordo is the rear hatches. The group of four does not open quite vertically, but at a slightly offset angle, so that the hatches open more like the petals of a flower. To some extent this was mandated by the curved hull surface, but the reason why some other method was not implemented is unclear – it certainly does not seem to impart any special advantages aside from aesthetics.

Even from inception, the Silmanordo was plagued with the problems of resistance to military spending in the decades of relative quiet proceeding the Strayvian Empire’s collapse. (Forty years was not a long time-span for such a long-lived species.)

With elven culture convinced with the fall of the galaxy’s biggest antagonist and a new age of peace was dawning, it became increasingly difficult for the military to receive the resources to continue to advance.

The Silmanordo was initially conceived to be able to transport 11 soldiers. This remains the official specification, but in practise, this is simply impossible. While technically true that the Silmanordo can physically fit that many people inside it, it ignores that to do so, it requires them to not be carrying any equipment.

There is even evidence that the stated figure of 11 was originally intended to be inclusive of the two-elf crew, not the infantry.

For those in charge of the purse strings, however, that figure became gospel. It meant that the army would be able to supplied with less unit to carry the same number of troops. A platoon of 24 could fit into three vehicles, not four. Indeed, the idea gained more and more traction to increasing dangers to the actual combat performance of the troops that would have to be carried.

First, there was the proposal to have four squads of six divided among the three APCs. The army resisted this idea, all-too well aware the chaos this would cause in actual combat situations when one or more vehicles were lost. The army said that instead, the squads would have to be reformed to work in three squads of eight – which the Silmanordo would just have about coped with for combat troops.

But then the next idea floated by the committee in charge was to change the size of the platoon from 24 to 22 – which would allow a squad of six and a squad of five, and thus reduce the amount of vehicles down to two per platoon.

The kind of disaster this would inevitably result in when one or more over-crowded and under-armoured vehicles was actually hit can only be imagined. However, the army advocates happened on a desperate solution before the situation was somehow made even more untenable.

The proposal was raised that to facilitate lower combat losses, advanced medical stations would need to be fitted to the Silmanordos. This would, they army argued, also make them much more useful in disaster relief scenarios that they were more likely to encounter during peacetime. The medical stations would require some sacrifice of space – the capacity of the vehicle for combat troops would have to be reduced to 6 – but surely, the army argued, that this was a sacrifice worth making?

To the great relief of the serving soldiers, the civilian overseers were very pleased at the suggestion and accepted it immediately.

Thus, the Silmanordo was put into production and thousands were made, including numerous variants. As it transpired, the medical stations did indeed prove very useful, as for the majority of the past century, the Royal Elven Army had few instances where it was called to battle. But this merely reinforced the civilian opinion and the later Aincaala faced even stiffer opposition to being put into production.

It is somewhat ironic that on the one hand, the Silmanordo is among the oldest and least modern AFVs currently serving in the Royal Elven Army; on the other, the medical stations within them are otherwise some of the most advanced, as they have benefitted from all the advances made in the past century in the civilian fields.

Royal Elven Kingdoms Infantry Company

MMF (file) $1.90

Physical Print (72)
Only-Games £7.59
Shapeways $41.46
FDM –

The Royal Elven Army infantry has in many ways, suffered less from the military stagnation than the armoured vehicles. Given that many HPE-L worlds even as civilised as those of the Royal Elven Kingdoms still have dangerous wildlife – as do many alien planets – there is still a strong requirement for personal protection even for the civilian population. And while archery remains the most common elven pastime, in the post-industrial era, shooting (both with projectile weapons and in modern times, energy weapons) is not far behind.

The modern REA soldier is thus very well equipped. The full body armour is light weight and flexible, with integral visual camouflage and enhanced infrared scattering, both systems of which exceed those in use by the Aotrs. In terms of noncombat kit, the REA is one of the best equipped forces is the galaxy.

The standard-issue pack contains integral interdimensional storage, using time-tested magical technique developed in the pre-industrial eras. This allows the soldiers to carry larger amounts of gear without compromising their ability to perform; elven soldiers carry more gear per person than most military forces, but their weight load is substantially smaller. This system means that the elves can even carry an allotment of personal entertainment gear and additional personal foodstuffs, meaning that morale in the field remains very high. The standard field kit also includes significant medical kits, including healing potions and often wands for any spellcasters capable of using them.

The primary armaments of the infantry are lazer rifles. The most common is the Ghanir 115 lazer rifle, but several other models of similar performance are in service, especially with national forces. These weapons share many similar basic components by design and there is generally little to choose between them.

Due to their pack’s additional storage, elven soldiers can carry two Whistling Wing Light Anti-Tank Warheads each, even when carrying heavy weapons. The Whistling Wing has an effective range of 500m and is rated at Tier 15.

Elven soldiers also typically carry a melee weapon – again, often stored interdimensionally – and are highly proficient in their use.

Standard doctrine is to deploy in squads of six. A standard squad is assigned a lazer cannon as a squad support weapon and a warcaster (that is, a spellcaster capable of using battlefield spells, typically a wizard, druid or cleric). Warcasters usually only carry a pistol, rather than a rifle, usually needing the freedom of movement and hands to cast their spells.

Anti-tank squads have only a single rifleelf in addition to a warcaster, and then four soldiers armed with the Falling Star Heavy Anti-Tank Warhead.

The Falling Star is a venerable and somewhat iconic design; due to its distinctive pop-out dorsal/ventral target sensor arms which make it resemble a stylised bow when activated. While for many ground forces, this might be considered a disadvantage, for a culture so steeped in archery, this is actual natural and statistically, improved fire rates and accuracy over a more conventional system. The Falling Star has a range of around 2000m and is rated at Tier 17.

Most platoons have anti-tank squads in a ratio of two to two or one to three, but dedicated anti-tank platoons are not unknown, especially if the elves are aware they are deploying against heavy enemy infantry.

This high-level of equipment only serves to enhance the professional and experienced elven infantry . Elven infantry soldiers can often have combat experience and veterancy that rivals or even exceeds that of Aotrs infantry forces, which makes them among the most dangerous unpowered infantry – at least among humanoids and elenthnaroids – in the galaxy.

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Photos respectively of Replicator 2, Prusa and VPN versions.

Next month’s sci-fi will be the next three REA models.

Over the course of this year, I am going to attempt to:
a) Make the first proper release of Bleakbane’s Galaxy Guide as a stand-alone lore product PDF; this will be probably around maybe $10, but I feel that justified for 300k words!

b) Release the “official” fleet stats for many of the forces and powers contained therein. I am intending to charge a token fee for these (likely only a couple of quid), which – like the MG army lists, will be a batch of several fleets suitable for fighting each other. Partly, this is because it will give me some idea of whether or not people are actually interested, since free products generally get downloaded because they’re free. These lists will be simply presented, with minimal lore. I intend to try to have an actual Word document in addition to the PDFs with the ship profiles, so you can use these to simply copy and paste them to your own word docs to simplify having to make your own. I’m starting out fairly simple with these, until I can judge the reception (which in this case, meaning whether anyone body gets them or not). This is, I’m afraid, the only metric I will have for judging this, in the absence of other feedback.

(These will necessarily include notes on whose models to use – where possible; not a few ships, notably the bulk of the REN, are scratch-built or from various sources I might not be able to remember!)

No projected times on either of these, they’ll be done where they will be done, the former especially.

• This topic was modified 3 months ago by Aotrs Shipyards.
• This topic was modified 3 months ago by Aotrs Shipyards.

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