Power is a goal. Pleasure is eternal. Welcome to Canopus.

[jimdigris]

I don't think that was ever stated.

[Top Sergeant]

Having the Magestry on the 'back burner' fiction-wise has probably been a boon, all things considered.

[jimdigris]

Fiction of not, I think TPTB decided a while ago how badly beaten up we'd be. :'(

[Top Sergeant]

Fiction of not, I think TPTB decided a while ago how badly beaten up we'd be. :'(

All the same, to be on the safe side, lets not invoke their name too loudly.  ;)

[Maelwys]

Has it been clarified which FWL world the Centrella line was based on prior to Kossandra's flight to Canopus IV? (And are there still branches of the family that stayed in the League, or did they all follow her lead into the Magistracy?)

I just checked a couple of books and didn't see any indication of where she was from, nor does it mention if she left any family behind. It also doesn't mention her bringing any family with her, so it seems pretty up in the air.

The only hint that we might have, is that HBMPS states "During a botched withdrawal from the Capellan world of Highspire, Captain Kossandra Centrella and two ‘Mech lances from the Defenders of Andurien—a Free Worlds League unit—were left stranded behind enemy lines." (p.15).

If you take that to mean that Kossandra was part of the Defenders of Andurien (rather than being part of another unit and cut off, then stumbling upon two lances of the DoA), and you consider that the FWL provinces usually build their own units, then Kossandra probably came from the Andurien region. Other than that, its all guesses.

[jimdigris]

I got a chance to test the Eyleuka the other weekend.  I found that the stealth armor is good for closing with the enemy.  In fact, the speed modified combined with the stealth modifier meant that no one shot at it until it got into the urban area.  The drawback of the armor was that the heat build-up meant that the armor had to be turned-off to fire a significant amount of weaponry.  On the first turn of shooting, it was head-capped by a gauss rifle, so I'm calling this test inconclusive.

[Youngblood]

I got a chance to test the Eyleuka the other weekend.  I found that the stealth armor is good for closing with the enemy.  In fact, the speed modified combined with the stealth modifier meant that no one shot at it until it got into the urban area.  The drawback of the armor was that the heat build-up meant that the armor had to be turned-off to fire a significant amount of weaponry.  On the first turn of shooting, it was head-capped by a gauss rifle, so I'm calling this test inconclusive.

Was there artillery in play, and did you have any lancemates?  My opinion is that the Eyleuka isn't for directly approaching the enemy to do damage, and really shouldn't have Stealth Armor turned off unless it has engine hits.  I like to use it as a hard-to-kill TAGger.

Also, what was that Gauss carrier's to-hit number on you?  What was his or her Gunnery Skill?

[jimdigris]

It was one assault lance facing off against another.  I was using the Eyleuka to divert the attention of a Highlander.  The Highlander had a 4 gunnery, and he got to go after me.  I did a decent amount of damage to it before the cockpit was shattered.

[Youngblood]

facing off

Yeah, I already figured out the situation right there.  Like I said, Eyleuka = recon with utility.  For assault lances, getting within 3-7 hexes of a Highlander is probably a Penthesilea's job, or (preferably, but unfortunately unavailable) that of a UAC/20-equipped Enforcer III.

[False Son]

I dunno about recon.  I look at the Eyleuka as a spec ops unit.  It can TAG, use special munitions and skirmish from afar.  In no way is it meant to square off against anything unsupported.

[Youngblood]

I think my definition of recon matches your definition of spec ops. #P

[ANS Kamas P81]

Recon: Sending Peter to Cheesy Charlie's for the reservation
Special Operations: Dealing with Cheesy Charlie.

[Ian Sharpe]

Just ordered some Theseus BA.  Look forward to using the Killshot sometime soon.  Real soon. }:)

[ShockaTime]

Just ordered some Theseus BA.  Look forward to using the Killshot sometime soon.  Real soon. }:)

this actually brings up a question I've been wanting to ask. How do you guys usually employ the Theseus?

[Kit deSummersville]

Minimum wage with profit sharing and a strong benefits package.

 :D

[Ian Sharpe]

As close as I can get them in an APC or VTOL, or as escorts for (rare) assault Mech units.

[Maelwys]

As close as possible, using terrain to make sure they don't get shot at until they can engage. The first target is usually conventional infantry since the MRRs make short work of them. After that, its whatever they can get close to. I use them pretty much as standard BA, I'm just slightly more protective of them when they're moving up due to the lack of jumping modifier, and I run them in clear terrain more often.

Once you get used to the differences in movement, they don't play that differently. The biggest difference is the range of the weapon and the use against infantry.

[jimdigris]

And so it begins...

[Raj Whitehall]

And so it begins...

Not the most auspicious of starts, Jim. 

Then again, it could be worse.  Like doing community service in a mortuary department  :-\

[jimdigris]

Hey, you gotta start somewhere. ;)

[Stjames]

Hi fellow Canopians!  :)

In case you missed it, just befor the old board got crushed, I asked Herb in the official section about FW:P and a possible JTP:Canopus IV. He answered that the Manual will be made available as pdf archive and that there are no plans to make a JTP:Canopus yet, but that he certainly doesn't preclude it for future products.

I have some questions for you. :)

(1) About the Canopian nobility
I know they're divided into the Froness (old families), Durachi (merchant princes, new money) and the Girin (artists, scientists, politicians and the like). But what about the noble titles as such? Do they use the same system like most others with Duke/Marquess/Count/Vicecount/Baron/Baronet and so forth? And if so, is every level availabe to every section of the Canopian nobility?

(2) The possible Canopian Feng Huang-class cruiser
Any hints on her name? Or the prefix of the Canopian Navy? My favourite would be MSS Kossandra.

(3)And on the Navy in general
What shipyards do we have in the Magistracy? And which Assault DropShips or - do I dare to ask of - Pocket WarShips do we produce?

Thank you!

In the books I have:
About the Canopian nobility
The Periphery (1629): pg. 90 only froness, Durachi and Girin.
The Periphery (1692): pg. 32 Same at (1629).
Field Manual Periphery: Staring on pg. 19, not a thing on Nobility.
Handbook Major Periphery state: pg 80 most of it is the same as (1629)
and little was added:  “Magistracy nobles (with a few exceptions) aren’t that much beyond well-off commoners in purely economic terms; a financial gap does exist between this uppermost class and those below it, but it’s not the chasm typical of most Inner Sphere states.”

[jimdigris]

Jane Centrella lost the election. 

[Rainbow 6]

So what do the Canopians on the board think of the Magistrix's Pocket Warship from XTRO Periphery?

[Mecha82]

All talk about Magistry of Canopus by Iron Liz in her review of 1st edition of the RPG has made me intrested from them. What you can tell about them to some one like me who has not been before intrested from any periphery states.   

[ArkRoyalRavager]

The magistracy already has the Vengeance-DC from TRO:P. Is there another PWS for the Canopians?

[Moonsword]

The magistracy already has the Vengeance-DC from TRO:P. Is there another PWS for the Canopians?

Yes, the prototype of that pocket WarShip design, much like Liao's prototype also showed up in their XTRO.

What I'm wondering is which lunatic keeps spreading the notion that HVACs are a good idea.  They're worse than Ultras, which are roundly hated in some quarters for jamming but at least leave the unit otherwise intact.  They may be TR D, which puts them in reach of realms who might not be able to field more sophisticated autocannons or Gauss rifles, but I'd rather take the standards and bring artillery if I need that kind of reach.  Simpler, more reliable, and it's got more of that Periphery (or Davion) feel to it.

[Maelwys]

The magistracy already has the Vengeance-DC from TRO:P. Is there another PWS for the Canopians?

Its kind of confusing...so hold on while I try to explain :)

The XTRO series was designed to show ultra-high tech, cutting edge units. Units that had very very small scale production, were considered test beds of technology and production.

TR:Prototypes then came around, and some of the designs from the XTRO series were revamped to make them slightly simpler and easier to  produce on a useable scale.

The problem of course, is that CGL's release schedule is...fluid, and TR:Prototypes was released before the XTRO series was finished, so you have in some cases (Clan and Periphery so far), the finalized design released in TR:Prototypes, before the prototype/test bed version is released in the XTRO.

So. In TR Prototypes, the MoC got their Production variant of the Vengeance-DC PWS. In the recent XTRO, they got their original, testbed version of the Vengeance DC.

Which, to be honest, isn't really any different. The main difference between the two seems to be that the original Danai from the XTRO has some Enhanced LRMs in place of the standard LRMs that appear on the production variant from TR:Prototypes (and of course a difference in cargo to cover the weight of the Enhanced LRMs).

Oh, and slightly more interesting, the Bay personnel on one is split between Bay personnel and Marines, while on the other they aren't, but its the same numbers of troopers. Maybe another bit of errata for TR:prototypes (hell, I'm not even sure it matters).

What I'm wondering is which lunatic keeps spreading the notion that HVACs are a good idea.  They're worse than Ultras, which are roundly hated in some quarters for jamming but at least leave the unit otherwise intact.  They may be TR D, which puts them in reach of realms who might not be able to field more sophisticated autocannons or Gauss rifles, but I'd rather take the standards and bring artillery if I need that kind of reach.  Simpler, more reliable, and it's got more of that Periphery (or Davion) feel to it.

Maybe there's a chart somewhere at CGL showing the number of times each piece of tech has been used in the XTRO series and the HVAC has been lagging behind :)

[Moonsword]

What really boggles the mind is people were crazy enough to use them on production hardware like the Rapier and the Po.  I can understand prototypes like the Tokugawa Yumi or the XTRO iterations of the above units but on mass produced hardware, the loss rates are going to get really clear, really quick.

[ArkRoyalRavager]

Thanks a lot, Maelwys! The mind boggles at this...instead of TRO:P, FM3085 seems a better candidate to be published for the canon continuity.

The Magistracy seems to have a fetish for NLRMs. The Anubis and the Vengeance both sports it. But i'm glad the production Vengeance-DC has normal LRMs. The NLRMs are a waste of tonnage with no advantage in AeroTech battles.

What really boggles the mind is people were crazy enough to use them on production hardware like the Rapier and the Po.  I can understand prototypes like the Tokugawa Yumi or the XTRO iterations of the above units but on mass produced hardware, the loss rates are going to get really clear, really quick.

As i understand it, HVACs have less ammo, is heavier and produces heavy smoke when firing for a slight increase in range. Did i miss any other feature?

I think the technology is showing up in MoC and CC units in the XTROs because this is, uniquely, a Capellan invention. I have no idea why it's showing up in Rapiers though. Maybe has to do with the Lyran-Capellan exchange program that includes the Hunchback, Spector and Xanthos. I'm glad its not proliferating outside these few entities!

[Moonsword]

As i understand it, HVACs have less ammo, is heavier and produces heavy smoke when firing for a slight increase in range. Did i miss any other feature?

As I mentioned above, they explode when you roll a 2, which is what I'm actually complaining about, and the 5 and 10 generate more heat than standard models do.  Somewhat inefficient long-ranged weapons I could shrug off.  Smoke is a neat trick sometimes.  Ones that aren't really that big an improvement over the more common Gauss rifles for range (HVAC/10s actually only reach to 20) and explode because my dice decided to be mean?  Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

I personally don't care that it's a Capellan innovation.  Everyone has to have a few bad ideas from time to time and after things like stealth armor, plasma rifles, T-Augs, and their sublime heavy cavalry heavies.  The Rapier was originally something the Blakists did.