Star Fleet Universe

[Nerroth]

This is my current in-progress paint work for the most recent miniature arrivals:



Things seem to be going fairly well for the Paravian thus far, though perhaps less so for the ISC and the M81 pirate. But then, those "feathers" on the Paravian ship help matters somewhat.

EDIT: It didn't seem like something worth a new post, but here is how they look after a second effort:

[Nerroth]

With the "hour of the Wolf" about to descend in BT sourcebook form - to include Clan Jade Falcon reportedly having Designs on a Bureau in Amarillo, according to the recently-posted table of contents - I thought it might be a good moment to take a look at the "wolf" and "bird of prey" factions in the Star Fleet Universe.

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In the Alpha Octant, there are (or were) the Carnivons: a wolf-like species sharing a common genetic ancestry to the Kzintis and Lyrans. As shown in the three Early Years (or Y-) modules for Star Fleet Battles, they were historically located at the "north-west" corner of the Gamma Sector, though their numerous hordes never succeeded in coalescing into a single star-nation. As a result, they were eventually driven to extinction by their Kzinti and Lyran foes, though rumours persist of a "lost command" which might have succeeded in reaching the distant Sargasso Storm Zone. SFB Module C6 offers two Empires Aflame-esque alternate timelines in which they managed to survive into the "modern" era of the Alpha Octant.

Over in the Omega Octant, the wolf-like Vulpa - who evolved independently from the Carnivons - were one of the three mammalian species to found the Mæsron Alliance, alongside the humanoid Tazol and the bat-like Wallimi. Thus, for more than a century, the Vulpa for the most part use Mæsron ship designs. (A dissident group of ethnic Vulpa fled into the Nucian Cluster to form their own distinct society, but those have yet to be portrayed in SFB terms.) However, a few decades after the Vulpa launched a "palace coup" which placed them above the other Mæsron member species, a devastating Civil War and Collapse set them in opposition to the Tazol/Wallimi "New Alliance". From that point, the Vulpa rejected their "Mæsron" identity: after two failed waves of Vulpa insurgency, they took advantage of the chaos of the Andromedan and Souldra invasions to establish an independent Vulpa Confederacy. There is an insurgent blockade runner in Module Omega #2 and on Shapeways, though the broader "post-Mæsron" Vulpa fleet has itself yet to be portrayed in SFB terms.

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Of course, the Romulans are no strangers to "birds of prey": indeed, the "Mongoose-style" Hawk-series cruisers in the Starline 2500 series and in the "plus" versions uploaded to Shapeways reflect this design mindset. Also, Prime Directive Romulans includes writeups on a series of avian life forms found on Romulus and on Remus, which served as in-universe inspirations for the Eagle, Kestrel, and Hawk series designations.

And then, there are the Paravians. As noted in my Shapeways-related posts above, they are a bird-like species descended from a population of Gorns who conveniently build a series of bird-like warships. As with the Carnivons, they were a factor during the Early Years; although they are considered to be extinct in the "modern" era of the Alpha Octant, there is a trio of alternate timelines in Module C6 (and a fourth "what-if" timeline in Module R4J) in which they survive to be a presence in the region. However, a faction of Paravians would historically emerge as a major power over in the Omega Octant.

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While I'm sure there are plenty of Romulan players out there, has anyone here tried out any of the other "wolf" or "bird of prey" factions in the SFU? And if so, what are your thoughts on them?

[HABeas2]

SFB Module C6 offers two Empires Aflame-esque alternate timelines in which they managed to survive into the "modern" era of the Alpha Octant.

Considering the main basis for Empires Aflame was Star Trek's Mirror Universe, it seems somehow odd to me to see my work used to describe alternate ST timelines...

- Herb

[Nerroth]

The latest trio of Shapeways arrivals:



That is a Baduvai Strike Cruiser (on the right) and an Eneen Heavy Cruiser (on the left) - both of which are from the Lesser Magellanic Cloud - plus a Trobrin Diamond Heavy Cruiser (in the middle) from the Omega Octant. All three are in 3125 scale, in Smooth Fine Detail Plastic.

The Baduvai are a species of quadrupeds native to the LMC, who stood as one of the three Magellanic Powers there prior to the Andromedan conquest. The CS is the largest ship they were able to build historically; in Alpha Octant terms, it's more or less equivalent to a Federation Gettysburg-class heavy command cruiser.

The lemur-like Eneen are also indigenous to the Cloud; and were another of the three Magellanic Powers which stood prior to the arrival of the Andromedans. The CA was their largest ship historically, though it was not quite on a par with the Baduvai CS as a command platform.

The Trobrin are a silicate life form to be found over in the Omega Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy. Through the turbulent ebbs and flows of Omega history, the Trobrin Empire remained among the leading powers in the region for most of it, though this falls short of their self-declared "Silicate Plan" to conquer all "carbonite" life forms. The Diamond is a powerful heavy cruiser class, with a strong mix of direct-fire and seeking weapon armament, backed up with a rugged hull further protected by rows of ablative (and, to the Trobrin, edible!) armour.

[Nerroth]

Federation Commander: Gunboats Attack was recently released in PDF form.

It includes gunboat Ship Cards for 14 Alpha Octant empires (the Romulans get both the Centurion and the StarHawk), plus a "monster" Ship Card for a swarm of Banshees.

The Federation get their Thunderbolt PF, which over in Star Fleet Battles is conjectural in the "standard" timeline - but which was turned to in desperation over in the Darwin's "dark future" timeline from SFB Module C3A.

Speaking of Module C3A, that volume introduced SSDs for the conjectural Andromedan Adder PF. This unit has been brought over to FC in Gunboats Attack also.

One thing which has been removed from Alpha Octant gunboats in the process of conversion is their warp booster packs. On the other hand, since an SFB PF's Move Cost of 1/5 does not quite fit the FC ruleset, the WBP-less gunboats here have a Move Cost of 1/8 instead.

Each Ship Card has a lone gunboat presented in "portrait" form on the front of the Ship Card, and two gunboats presented in "landscape" mode on the back.

Also, most of the gunboats offered here have flotilla sprues available over on ADB's Shapeways storefront.