The Kapteyn Universe

[drakensis]

And IIRC, you also prioritised commands that had some combat capability if called on to fight, and the Guards took a mauling in the 4th War.

That sounds plausible.

[Blacknova]

KU 07 - Field Manual: Minor Powers

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Little threat at first glance to the major powers, the minor players of the Inner Sphere and Periphery have strength beyond a mere accounting of numbers.

Each of these minor realms has the capacity to alter the plans of those around it with careful diplomacy and judicious use of their strength.

Within this volume is a detailed accounting of the minor powers that populate the fringes of the Inner Sphere and Periphery. Brigade and regimental summaries, industrial listings, strategy and operational thinking are all detailed.
 
Book Structure:
Field Report: Minor Powers is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the state of the Minor Powers of the KU following the Fourth Succession War and prior to the coming of the Clans of Kerensky.

• The first section of the report—Minor Powers Overview—provides a short look into the current state of each power’s present condition and efforts, broken into three parts. The Strategic Update details the military’s current objectives, while Future Plans provides some potential insight into the future of teach state.
• The second section, Industries and Support, presents a overview of the Minor Powers military industries, production and fleet after the end of the Fourth Succession War.
• Line Units presents a short update on the history, current status and notable facts for each power.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Daryk]

Does it include the Lothians?

[Blacknova]

Yes, though the Lothians are now part of a coalition called the Anti-Spinward Union (ASU), with the Illyrians and Circinus. It has become quite a successful little realm.

[Daryk]

Cool, thanks! :)

[Hairbear541]

evening Black , just want a little info if you please . what are the tonnages of the WS built by the Oberon Confederation ?
   Class                 Tn
Prince
Consul
Stilleto

thats' all i need .
thanks
SRogers

[Kwic]

Prince 390,000
Stiletto mk1 120,000
Consul (export stiletto) 120,000
Stiletto mk2 160,000

If I recall correctly

Would have to dig through the design notes

[Blacknova]

Kwic has the numbers right. Wrangler has been looking at them recently, as as we used the old rules, our weights are a bit off now, but for in universe stuff, it's no biggie.

[Hairbear541]

thanks guys for the info .

[rufusexc]

Excuse me, but Minor Powers in BattleTech refers to those small nations like St. Ives Compact, Free Rasalhague Republic, etc..
That is, those factions that are in the Inner Sphere.
Marian Hegemony, Niops Association, Hanseatic League, etc. are included in the Periphery.

[Wrangler]

I'm sorting through the designs, making them functional using megamekLab.

I noticed that there's some designs missing that are noted in the book so far, I will try to flesh what was released on the Dropbox.

[Blacknova]

Excuse me, but Minor Powers in BattleTech refers to those small nations like St. Ives Compact, Free Rasalhague Republic, etc..
That is, those factions that are in the Inner Sphere.
Marian Hegemony, Niops Association, Hanseatic League, etc. are included in the Periphery.

Broken up that way to make the books a similar size, and they are all minor powers, even if they are in or outside of the Inner Phere

[Dragon Cat]

You've been busy

[Wrangler]

These sourcebooks to me are gifts I'm very grateful for.

[Daryk]

I'm good with the OP using "minor" as a simple adjective... ;)

[Hairbear541]

my minor quible here is that the number of inhabitated worlds for each polity is not given .

[Blacknova]

my minor quible here is that the number of inhabitated worlds for each polity is not given .

Pages 31-36 of Inner Sphere Supplement: 3032 lists that for every realm.

[Orwell84]

Finished the novel and reading through the 4th Succession War book now. Really liking this one, thank you for all of the work you put into it!

Only real gripe so far: I did a quick peak at 3032 and Free Rasalhague's gone, sob sob

[Blacknova]

Finished the novel and reading through the 4th Succession War book now. Really liking this one, thank you for all of the work you put into it!

Only real gripe so far: I did a quick peak at 3032 and Free Rasalhague's gone, sob sob

Thanks mate, appreciate it. They're not entirely dead yet.

[Blacknova]

KU 08 - Field Manual: CCAF

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Long discounted as a lesser Great House, the Liao’s have brought the Capellan Confederation to the fore of the politics within the Inner Sphere. The success of the CCAF in the Fourth Succession War, and its progress since, has given the citizens of the Confederation a hope and dynamism not seen in centuries.

Within this volume is a detailed accounting of the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces and the Capellan Confederation Navy. Brigade and regimental summaries, industrial listings, strategy and operational thinking, as well as the newest WarShips in the CCN inventory are all detailed.

Book Structure:
Field Report: CCAF is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the state of the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces the KU following the Fourth Succession War and prior to the coming of the Clans of Kerensky.

• The first section of the report—Capellan Confederation Overview—provides a short look into the current state of the CCAF’s present condition and efforts, broken into three parts. The Strategic Update details the military’s current objectives, while Future Plans provides some potential insight into the future of the Capellan Confederation.
• The second section, Industries and Support, presents an overview of the Capellan Confederation’s military industries, production and fleet after the end of the Fourth Succession War.
• Line Units presents a short update on the history, current status and notable facts for each brigade of the CCAF.
• Also included are details on the new WarShips of the Capellan Confederation Navy and a map showing the deployment of the CCAF and CCN.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Blacknova]

CCAF is my favourite to date, really enjoyed what the Capellan player did, and writing bout was heaps of fun. 

[rufusexc]

I can't quite recall the Davion player's reason at the time, that was 10 years ago. It did make sense at the time though.

As the player for House Davion, IIRC, for the AFFS, it's because there wasn't enough Star League technology available to them yet. It's enormously expensive to upgrade and the costs under the rules we gamed meant that I didn't have enough funds to tool up and meet all the other options. The Davion Guards do have most of the available lostech units - only two commands outside of them have any.

I downloaded the CCAF manual and, it doesn't come back with what was stated. Apart from the fact that in 10 years the data can be updated, but there is a great inconsistency with what you have reported.
According to the AFFS manual, there are the names of 100 House units, and of these, only 6 have Star League technology.
In the LCAF manual for the 75 house units, there are only 8 that have Star League technology.
While in the CCAF manual compared to 77 House units, as many as 23 have Star League technology.
At this point there is a percentage of Star League technology broken down as follows:
AFFS 6%
LCAF 10.67%
CCAF 29.87%
The Capellan Confederation's budget can't compete with that of the other two nations, so it couldn't afford to have all those units equipped with Star League technology.

The summary of the data of the countries in KU_02_Inner_Sphere_Supplement_3032_Final contains a gross error regarding the Gross Domestic Product. It is expressed in billions of credits, but it should be more correctly expressed in trillions or even quadrillions. Because even if we multiply the reported values by 7 (i.e. the conversion between Comstar credits and the dollar) they would have roughly the same GDP as Earth, even if they actually have hundreds of planets.

[Blacknova]

Down that path lies madness my friend.

FASAnomics has and never will make sense, something we leaned into. The numbers are conversions of the game stats we used to run the KU game. Could we have added Trillions or Quadrillions, yes, but that would have felt very un-BattleTech.

An example of FASAnomics are JumpShip fleets and planetary descriptions. Some worlds are described in 3025 as breadbaskets, with others needing to import all their food. However, with JumpShips fleets said to number in the thousands to tens of thousands, you would need the entire fleet just to feed one planet. Macro numbers in BattleTech never add up. Hell, regiments of 100+ Mechs are said to control planets with populations in the Billions...

So it's best you just suspend disbelief and roll with the numbers as indicators of relative strength and not actual true values of GDP.

As to the CCAF having higher proportions of SLDF tech, that's because, within the rules of the KU game, the Capellan player invested far more heavily in technological development that most other powers. The Confederation was also under less pressure to rebuild from losses than other realms, so was able to devote more resources to development over recovery.

[rufusexc]

Of course the FASA had made several mistakes, but nevertheless it had seen sense when it gave a limited number of units to the Capellan Confederation in the book House Liao - The Capellan Confederation (1624). Because it obviously could not have that much money to spend on maintaining a military apparatus consisting of several units, which in KU-02 Inner Sphere Supplement 3032 turns out to be 93 House BattleMech regiments against the Lyran Commonwealth's 97. It possesses 27 warships compared to the 12 of Lyran Commonwealth, and this with a GDP that is just over half.
How does it maintain such a huge war arsenal. It would have to spend exorbitant amounts of money just for the day-to-day running of the equipment. If you think that a Ford class aircraft carrier costs about $7 million a day to run and maintain. Think how much the daily operation and maintenance of each warship, jumpship, dropship, BattleMech, etc. could cost.
GDP is very important because it affects the wealth of a nation and, military spending is calculated as a percentage of it.

I don't know whether we should have a more in-depth discussion of the issue here.



Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[Blacknova]

Let's not eh? Not a topic for discussion here. Just enjoy the ride and the rebirth of the Glorious Capellan State.

[Blacknova]

KU 09 - Field Manual: Periphery

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Ignored by the Great Houses for centuries, the major powers of the Periphery made their presence felt during the Fourth Succession War. While Oberon and Canopus brought war to the Inner Sphere, Alpheratz and Taurus demonstrated that growth without war was possible. Now reinvigorated and aligned, the major powers of the Periphery may now hold the balance of power.

Within this volume is a detailed accounting of the Federal Republic of Andurien and Canopus, Oberon Confederation, Taurian Concordat and Outworlds Alliance. Brigade and regimental summaries, industrial listings, strategy and operational thinking are provided, as well as the details on the newest WarShips being laid down in the Periphery.

Book Structure:
Field Report: Periphery is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the state of the major Periphery states of the KU following the Fourth Succession War and prior to the coming of the Clans of Kerensky.

• The first section of the report—National Overviews—provides a short look into the current state of the major Periphery state’s present condition and efforts, broken into three parts. The Strategic Update details the military’s current objectives, while Future Plans provides some potential insight into the future of each power.
• The second section, Industries and Support, presents a overview of the each power’s military industries, production and fleet after the end of the Fourth Succession War.
• Line Units presents a short update on the history, current status and notable facts for each brigade of the major Periphery state militaries.
• Also included are details on the new WarShips and a map showing the deployment of the each power’s forces.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Blacknova]

KU 10 - Field Manual: DCMS

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Under immense pressure from within and without, the Combine has begun to crack. With two courts claiming the mantle of Coordinator and enemies on several border aligned, the Dragon has not seen such peril since the early Succession Wars. However, the strength of the Dragon is enduring and the Combine has found new ways to thrive, while it plots the downfall of those who shamed it.

Within this volume is a detailed accounting of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and the Draconis Combine Admiralty. Brigade and regimental summaries, industrial listings, strategy and operational thinking, as well as the newest WarShips in the DCN inventory are all detailed.

Book Structure:
Field Report: DCMS is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the state of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS) following the Fourth Succession War and prior to the coming of the Clans of Kerensky.

• The first section of the report— Draconis Combine Overview—provides a short look into the current state of the DCMS’s present condition and efforts, broken into three parts. The Strategic Update details the military’s current objectives, while Future Plans provides some potential insight into the future of the Draconis Combine and the Draconis Combine Admiralty discusses how the DCMS is rebuilding its warship forces.
• The second section, Industries and Support, presents a overview of the Draconis Combine’s military industries, production and fleet after the end of the Fourth Succession War.
• Line Units presents a short update on the history, current status and notable facts for each brigade of the DCMS.
• Also included are details on the deployment of the DCMS and DCA.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Blacknova]

In other news, I have decided that yes, there will be a KU:TRO, but it will be a bit different from what you are used to.

It will have a heavy naval focus, and many of the entries will look at how ships have evolved in universe.

Don't get too excited, it is a long way off seeing the light of day, but it will be realized eventually.

More detail and a test run of how one part of it may look are over on the Discord.

[Red Pins]

 Gosh, I wish I could offer to help but it was so embarrassing last time.  As story writers and  in terms of finished, beautiful books you guys are just on another level.  I'm poking along, barely able to finish a page in a week in terms of formatting and only a couple pages in terms of writing fluff.

How about a screenshot of what you have so far for those of use who don't use discord?

[Blacknova]

Don't put pressure on yourself. Some weeks I get nothing done.

It's just a word doc with a possible approach to the TRO. I can copy some text over later.