Books The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and a pseudonymous Scotsman

No. It isn't.

 

I am torn on this, Uli. WOTC was a mixed bag, but their Legacy Era Campaign Guide is EPIC. Same goes for the KOTOR campaign guide.

The later makes sense cause it involved JJM. The former is impressive because they expanded the Legacy-era WITHOUT any articles from John/Jan. And the stuff they added was extremely good and actually meshed with the comics very well.

IMO, the LECG and KOTOR guide are some of the best sourcebooks we have had since the days of WEG.

--Adm. Nick

 

When WOTC initially got the license, their SW products were mostly mediocre to bad, with a few gems like Geonosis and the Outer Rim and Coruscant and the Core Worlds. They got their game together for the Revised edition, and seemed to reverse the classic/misstep ratio (The infamous Jedi Academy guide being one of the latter). They certainly went out with a bang!
In all fairness, WEG's earliest material was also its weakest.

The biggest mystery is what's happening with the license now. To be honest, if it was money-related that's a problem because no other RPG corp has the cashflow of WOTC... but something tells me that it wasn't the primary reason.

 

well WOTC had its faults, but Moridin did some good work for them on starships...and with them gone I don't know what source is left to give us info on EU ships....

 

I'll never forgive whoever at WOTC thought the Republic transports used in TCW should be classified as frigates, even though they're obviously NOT warships of any kind.

 

Edit: Ah, you're referring to the Pelta-class. I had thought that its designation as "medical frigate" came from CWAS material - the CWCG simply expanded on it, which I had assumed was an homage to the expansion of the "medical frigate" of the OT into the Nebulon-B. (Maybe that's the explanation for KDY as the manufacturer, although I assumed like most Fleet Junkies that it was Corellian in origin).

 

It was odd, but hardly the oddest thing we have ever had to deal with. I assume that the Pelta-class was a standard hull that could be modified into a heavy transport or frigate.

The real sin? Making it a KDY design, DESPITE the obvious CEC hammerhead.

--Adm. Nick

 

Recall that, in Supply Lines, we see the Pelta-class as a Blockade Runner. While ostensibly it's still a Transport, the fact that it can serve as a Blockade Runner indicates that it's at least somewhat modular. It would need a reasomable amount of weapons to fend off fighters and what-not when running the blockade (like in Episode IV). A Medical Frigate shouldn't be able to run past CIS blockades, so it indicates that the ship should still be easy to modify into freighters, runners, even light warships.

 

I guess the spoiler period's over for Gambit:Siege , so here was some of the interesting material on planetary/corp forces during the Clone Wars. Due to a lack of available Republic forces to break the blockade of Lanteeb (mainly due to Palpatine's manipulations), Bail and Padme decide to organize a makeshift fleet:

"Off the top of my head I can name five private corporations with their own fleets of armed escort ships." - Padme, p.255
Two of the corporations she approaches are Bagrila Industries and Yylti Corporation.
Brentaal, Anaxes and the Ch'zimi-kho Conglomerate are mentioned by Bail - the first promises "three heavy-armored Dreadnaughts". Naboo offers 30 starfighters.
The battle itself isn't pictured, but the fleet breaks the blockade -
"Facing Dreadnaughts and battleships and armored freighters and starpounders and eleven sqaudrons of fighters and four of the the best GAR cruisers [Republic forces, separate from the fleet], the cowardly barve [Grievous] had lost his nerve." - p. 370

Finally, there's the statement by Palpatine at the end:
"I am concerned that what they've done here sets a precedent that might in the future represent a threat to the security of the Republic. We do have a Grand Army - and of course, our splendid Jedi. So I think it's fair to say that this mission was one for the books, and not to be repeated."
To which Yularen responds:
"I couldn't agree more about the danger it implies." - p. 379

 

yes, Karen Miller is shaping into my fav CW author. I really love her characterization of the movie characters...I think she does Palpatine especially well!

As for the Pelta, I think the reason was the idea that all medical ships should be referred to as "medical frigates." For example, the "medical frigates" in MedStar were so-called despite being specified as non-military vessels off-limit to attacks by international rules of war. Obsession even have called The Sprint-class Med Runner a "medical frigate" despite its being a mere 30m long vessel with no weapons. So WOTC did not originate this terminology, they were following precedent.

My biggest gripe...with Saga Edition...was no longer making inclusion of vehicle size mandatory. This means many recent EU ships have no canonical length. KOTORSB was a nice exception, and the authors made sure to include the length in the description.

JASB had some horrible continuity errors, but much useful stuff as a RPG tool.

And WOTC's license was a good thing b/c their game provided me, my friends, my family, and countless others with hours of fun and diversion!

 

Yeah, this bummed we too. I really wanted starship lengths in the LECG.

--Adm. Nick

 

Easy fix potentially. The frame was built by CEC, but then KDY used it under license to build the transport around and started mass production.

 

2. Real-life example: the Northrop-Grumman E-8 is built upon the Boeing 707 airliners bought from some bufu Argentinan airline. The F-2 (based on the F-16) was designed by Lockheed but is produced by Mitsubishi. That's just a couple examples. KDY may have got production license to them, bought them as freighters and overhauled them into frigates, etc.

 

Maybe the neutrality of Corellia at this stage means that would've had to sell the design to KDY. (After all, the 'neutrality' of IGBC apparently allows them to sell as many ships as they want directly to the Confederacy)

 

But they are designated and called destroyers throughout most sources. Which by CWCG is some kind of subtype of cruiser. What that is, is what I'm hoping to read about in Jason's book.

One WEG-era rpg book did say something about the Star Destroyer models being a subtype of cruisers, which necessitated an expansion of the term. Whether it was the ISB or TTSB, I don't recall.

The cruiser and destroyer models they made after Naboo, would have fulfilled a similar requirement, with the improved gun positions on the cruiser and all. If anything, the TF were making a successor or improvement upon those designs, not the battleships, given they match the Providence-class better in terms of rectifying the flaws of the Lucrehulk-class and came out before the Providence-class.

It doesn't emphasize the fact that the Lucrehulks could carry more firepower than the Providences simply because of their size.

Now you're moving the goal-posts. I showed how smaller ships can be used as command ships, something also seen in other stories, where subterfuge is not necessarily part of the game. For instance, Grievous leads from a frigate in Rookies, while his fleet includes Lucrehulks, larger, more massive, would protect him better than the easily disabled frigate.

 

No, that's speculation on your part. Which is fine, but please label as such - as I pointed out, the CWCG nowhere states this "clearly". I've provided an alternate explanation, and I'm sure others have their own thoughts on the matter.

And the WOTC-era SOTG stated:
"A Star Destroyer is named after the idea of a ship that has the power needed to destroy entire star systems, an ominous naming convention that goes back to the days of the Old Republic. Any ship that follows the design basics of those early ships (including a combination of massive firepower and a dagger shape to focus that firepower forward) can be a class of Star Destroyer... a typical Star Destroyer qualifies as a star cruiser, and a Super Star Destroyer qualifies as a star dreadnaught."
The FUCG indicated that they also have to be self-sufficient, so the minimum requirement is probably being a cruiser - and the reason why the Imperial-II frigate and Broadside missile cruiser aren't Star Destroyers.
More importantly is the earlier statement in the paragraph-
"This misunderstanding is based in the fact that the term Star Destroyer does not indicate a Destroyer-class vessel that happens to be a starship."

Either the design flaw was present only in the 'battleships' or with the entire line. Most importantly, it's a ship designed as a combat ship rather than a refurbished freighter altered into a warship with known flaws.

More than the standard TF cruiser, or the Invisible Hand carrier modification? Even the latter had a wider variety of weaponry that the ring carriers - and didn't suffer the 'design flaw' mentioned in the CVD either.

Kenobi was on the lesser ship specifically to draw Grievous in to engage him personally. That was the whole point. If there's a specific reason, yes. Otherwise, your command ship can be destroyed or boarded... much like what actually happened in the episode.

 

So here's one for you folks.

We have Judicials and Planetary Security Forces/Defense Fleets/Etc. in the Old Republic. What references are there to them under the Empire, New Republic and beyond? I've got a sequence of events in mind, but want to make sure it fits what's been established.

And where do the Sector Rangers fit in?

I call upon the magic of crowdsourcing!

 

Galaxy Guide 11 mentions that the Sector Rangers were "virtually unchanged" (p. 91) under the Empire, since they dealt with law enforcement, not military or political matters. However, this means that they are generally not sent after NR agents.
On p. 94, it looks like the NR eventually did away with the Rangers and replaced them with the New Republic Security Force. (It mentions that a number of ex-Rangers joined). Of course, the Imperial-controlled sectors would probably be a different story...
CWSE confirms this on the entry for the NRSF:
"Implemented by Airen Cracken shortly after Coruscant was liberated from Ysanne Isard, the NRSF replaced the old Imperial Sector Rangers. It was designed to be a law enforcement agency as well as a counter-insurgency force."

SDF/PDFs seem to be generally removed by the Empire:
"When the Emperor ascended to power and the Empire was born, he consolidated many plantary security forces into the Imperial Navy and Army..." - planetary security forces entry, CSWE
But there appear to be a number of exceptions, mostly by trusted allied or quasi-independent corporate or political entities (such as the Houses in Tapani Sector, the Corporate Sector, TaggeCo, the Indupar Crown Worlds)
Cracken's Threat Dossier has some good info on the state of the SDF/PDFs - the section on the Black Fleet Crisis mentions that the NR military is removing the "oldest and least-effective remains of the Alliance Navy" by a number of methods, including "a significant portion of the remaining ships granted to local system defense forces, which may be called on to join in large military operations if needed."
And later on in the report:
"...proponents of downsizing claim that the local system forces should be ready and able to aid the Defense Force in the event of [a major] crisis and able to handle local problems themselves without New Republic involvement."
- p. 64

 

This is a topic I absolutely love.

The Judicials and Planetary Security Forces are nationalized and/or absorbed by the Imperial military at the end of the Clone Wars. So it is safe to assume that during the two decade reign of the Galactic Empire that planetary fleets are a scare commodity. There are references to Kuati defense forces and others, but there is no reason to assume that these are truly independent entities. Rather, they are probably closely monitored and regulated by the Empire.

Planetary defense forces make a HUGE comeback during the New Republic-era. In my mind, the reasons for this are two-fold. First, the NRDF was not established to be the massive force that the Imperial Starfleet was, so planet's were once again in a position to maintain navies for personal defense/system patrol. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the unstable galactic political situation between 4 ABY and roughly 11 ABY made it imperative that worlds and sectors were capable of maintaining some semblance of defense. The New Republic up through the Yuuzhan Vong War relied rather heavily on member defense forces for localized defense and patrol, while focusing the role of the federal navy (NRDF) to overall protection of trade routes, key planets/installations, and patrolling the outer borders of the New Republic against Imperial incursion.

The Legacy Era Campaign Guide by WOTC does a FANTASTIC job explaining the evolution of planetary defense forces during the Galactic Alliance-era. After the Second Galactic Civil War against the Confederation, the GA government realizes that it is not feasible to require members to provide naval forces to serve with federal naval fleets. It is either unpopular (see Corellia) or unreliable in the face of competing planetary interests. The Galactic Alliance finally finds the "happy medium" which apparently works extremely well until the Sith return in 127 ABY.

Essentially, the GA decides to maintain larger federally controlled navies (ie, the main numbered fleets and eventually regional fleets like the Core Fleet) via taxes. Members are fine supporting a federal fleet, provided they can still control their own planetary forces. The GA provides for major defenses, patrols, and other key areas to a MUCH greater degree than the NRDF was able (thanks to a larger fleet), while planetary fleets are allowed to remain in or near their home systems for patrol and local defense. This keeps member states/worlds happy, while giving the GA the ability to mount effective defense against enemies due to their large federal navy.

RE: Sector Rangers, the last we heard of them was when they were re-established by Airen Cracken following the NR's liberation of Coruscant. They are renamed the New Republic Security Force. I can only presume that they were renamed the Galactic Alliance Security Force once the NR transitioned into the GA.

Hope this helps!

--Adm. Nick

 

Looks like the Sector Rangers did survive alongside the Empire:

"An organization that has existed since the days of the Old Republic, the Sector Rangers serve as the ultimate law enforcement officials at the sector level. Like Palpatine, Darth Krayt has made sure to put the Sector Rangers under direct Imperial control." - p. 158, Legacy Era CG

 

The transition to the Empire seems to have been somewhat smooth for some Republic members and less so for others. In TFU Campaign Guide, Kuat just gains a Moff to oversee the pre-existing forces as well as having Imperial officials in charge of orbital installations and ground/space forces.

In Player's Guide to Tapani/Lords of the Expanse, the Houses of the Tapani sector go through turbulent times, with House Mecetti aiding or being aided by the Empire in purging the Jedi-friendly House Pelagia, sometime after the CW end. The local fleets and armies of the sector Houses basically become part of the greater Imperial military, while still retaining their pre-existing military assets and not seeing much change in their specific deployments.

The old Marvel SW had local despots like King Blackart, who seemingly ruled continuously during the Republic and later the Empire, but the Empire conspired with a Rebel leader to take direct control should the Rebels win against him.

 

Jason, when in TPM QGJ, OB1, and crew go to rescue the "pilots" in the hangar, in addition, there are some individuals wearing red armor and yellow armor respectively...other than the colors, their uniforms are identical. Their helmets are much shorter than those of the RSF Royal Guards.
The yellow uniformed ones are apparently engineers. For example, Chief Engineer Jabesq:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jabesq
So if the yellow-uniformed ones are engineers, how about the red ones?
Also, will the guide cover the evolution of the Naboo RSF uniforms in the movies? TPM and AOTC show very different uniforms...

And will we have any new info on rank insignia?

Will we find out why some Imp officers wear olive, some grey, some black?
Why some officers wear rank insignia and others do not?
why the ANH insignia for Rebels and Imps differ from the Imp insignia in Empire and Rebel insignia in ROTJ?
Why the Tantive IV crew could be dressed just like the Rebel SpecForces troops on Yavin 4 and expect anyone to believe they were NOT Rebels?

Saxton also points out some Imperial uniforms in ROTJ that have no identified role, namely these beelte-helmeted blue tunics who look notably different from the Naval troopers:
http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/dvd/ep6/arrive2.jpg

And in ANH who are all those Rebels with brown uniforms and caps...they are very numerous:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grand_Audience_Chamber

Also, reference sources have so much info on the Imperial Gunners. Rebel gunners need some respect!:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rebel_gunner

And this aesthetically pleasing beauty needs more info:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Warbot_%28Caterpillar_tracked%29

 

I'd be curious as to what happened to the Judicial Department. We know their naval assets get transfered over to the Republican-Imperial Starfleet, but even the Empire would have a need for law enforcement organizations that could keep the peace and reduce the burden on the military proper. I imagine organizations like Imperial Customs could have been a branch of an Imperial Judicial Department. Alternatively, a Nazi-style setup where various law enforcement organizations exist outside the hierarchy of the primary Imperial Judicial Department, causing interservice rivalies, can be the order of the day.

 

That sounds like a job for the Procurator of Justice...

 

Well, the nature of the various planetary and sector-based defence-fleets is a difficult and complicated topic. Several factors are to consider.

In theory and by appearance the Galactic Empire is the absolute hegemon of the galaxy. It enjoys an overwhelming advantage in manpower and industrial capabilities over any possible opponent. As a consequence every entity of significance, that is not a highly mobile rebel-force, has to somehow arrange itself with the empire.

At the same time the empire?s position and control over the galaxy didn?t arose over night. While the later emperor in his double-persona as Darth Sidious and Senator Palpatine probably was already the most powerful being of the galaxy even before he became Chancellor he had to execute his designs behind the scenes. And what was true for Darth Sidious wasn?t necessarily the case with the central galactic state.

From the beginning of the clone-wars until ROTJ and later Dark Empire we can see the signs of an ongoing concentration- and consolidation-process of power by Palpatine on every level of society.

Examples for this are:

on the political level:
- the assumption of EmergencyPowers
- the expanding activities of COMPNOR and the NewOrderParty
- the disbandment of the Senate
- the placement of his Dark Side Adepts on the empires ruling council

on the economic level:
- the placement of pro-imperial officials within the directorates and supervisory boards of the major companies
- the outright nationalisation of corporations and private business starting with the so-called ?functional constituencies?, that made up the major backers of the CIS during the clone-wars.

and finally on the military level:
- the MilitaryCreationAct, resulting in the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic under inclusion of the Republic?s Judicial Department as the nucleus of the later empire?s StormtrooperCorps and centralized Navy,
- the conscription of planetary- and system-defence-forces into the centralized Navy (Dreadnaughts of Rendili),
- the Security Act Amendment, which gave Palpatine direct control over the military,
- the creation of the rank of Grand Admiral two years BBY to ?bring the Imperial military more under his - the emperor?s - personal control? (Princess Leia in DarkForceRising),
- the creation of the DeathStar,
- assigning the post of Military SupremeCommander to Darth Vader.

For us the current topic of interest is the role and development of the pre-existing defence-forces on the planetary-, systems- and sector-level during the time of Palpatines reign. For the sake of discussion I use the term ?Central State? as placeholder for ?GalacticRepublic? and ?GalacticEmpire?.

The conscription of planetary- and systems-forces into the Central State?s Navy during the clone-wars according to ?The Dreadnaughts of Rendili? appears to be a relatively simple matter, when in reality it is anything but that. Consider the following:

We know from AotC:ICS, that potent military naval forces like the sector-fleets of Kuat, Corellia and Humbarine are contained within their own sectors, thanks to their limited hyperdrives. It is a high possility, that the Dreadnaught-class cruiser or comparable ships are the bench-mark, that separate ?true? warships from police- and coastguard-vessels.

For the Central State this is good and bad at the same time: Good, because those ships can?t get out of its sight and band together elsewhere to cause trouble. Also good because the Central State is able to bring overwhelming force to bear against them, if necessary. Especially good, since the worlds with such potent military assets also tend to be those worlds worth owning. Bad, because the Central State can?t use those ships - which are nominally in its possession - elsewhere.

So those fleets and forces are of limited use during a conflict like the clone-wars.

What about the remaining planetary- and sector-defence-fleets? Unlike the naval arm of the GAR (the majority of ship-crewers appear to be clones and we learn from ROTS:VD, that only after t