The Posleen host
11-05-2006, 19:29
The Sten Po’oslena’ar
(The Posleen Host)
Posleen
The typical Posleen resembles a reptilian, clawed horse, with a long, thin (by horse standards) neck, and arms bearing three claws and an opposable thumb-claw. Their feet have three talons, the central one being the largest. A crest runs up the back of the neck, stubby and grey on oolt’os (servants or normals, literally pack members, in English), but long and bright on kessentai (god kings, literally thinkers).
The typical Posleen, although the pinnacle of physical evolution, is only slightly smarter than a chimp, although they do have a certain amount of ingrained knowledge on rudimentary tactics and weapons operation.
The slightly larger kessentai, however, are smart by human standards and maintain a direct mental bond with the normals under their command. The oolt’os of a dead kessentai’s “fief” must be physically touched by another kessentai within a few minutes of “orphaning”, or they will rampage for a few days before becoming docile and easily bonded by kessentai.
OOC note: All-military species are a nightmare to play, so I decided to simply divide my population by ten and exaggerate the Posleen’s already insane reproductive capabilities (to compensate for no recruiting pool)
Military (there’s little else to talk about)
The basic fighting unit is the “oolt” (pack), which is commanded by kessentai on a “tenar”, a hover-chariot which serves as command base, anti-air unit, and heavy weapon platform (mounting a twin giga-watt laser, plasma blast gun or hyper-velocity missile launcher). The 400 oolt’os of an oolt are divided into a mess of sub-units under enhanced "Costain" normals. A variety of weapons are carried, flachette shotguns and 1mm railguns being the favoured choice, with 3mm railguns and HVM launchers in squad and platoon support roles. Weapon ratios and quality vary depending on the finances available to the commanding Kessentai. Each soldier also carries an assault pack and a mono-blade.
Three oolts comprise an oolt’ondai (big pack), commanded by a oolt’ondai kessentai, who has his own powerful tenar and a small staff.
A pair of oolt’ondai comprise and oolt’ondar (huge pack), under an kessentai oolt’ondar, who has a large staff and tank-like tenar.
A pair of oolt’ondar, an elite oolt’ondai, and an armoured oolt make up an oolt’po’os, under a kessentai oolt’po’os, with similar support to a kessentai oolt’ondar.
An oolt includes a trapezoidal oolt’ po’osol or lamprey as an integral part of its equipment, while each oolt’po’os has it own dodecahedronal oolt’posleen. Their statistics are:
Class name: Oolt’ po’osol
Role: Component ship, landing craft, and mobile base
Height: Roughly 100 meters
Width: At top, 200 meters, widening at the bottom to 225 meters
Crew: 1 Kessentai, 4 Kenstain bridge crew, 2 work parties each with a Kenstain and six Costain
Troops: One oolt, including the kessentai mentioned above
Weapons: Top-to-bottom mount heavy quad terra-watt laser, plasma ray gun, capital grade HVM launcher or fighter hangar, five quad giga-watt laser point-defence turrets on the bottom, 3 on the top, 4 quad auto-lasers around the exit ramp, 2 quad plasma blast gun turrets on two facets, two quad HVM launcher turrets on the other two
Defences: Two feet re-enforced plasteel on the bottom, 6 inches on the top and sides, fixed directional defence screen, bottom mounted
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines, bottom mounted, one manoeuvring thruster on each other face
FTL drive: None, can integrate with oolt’ posleen for inter-system travel
Power: Small anti-matter reactor supplemented by three heavy molecular twist batteries
Notes: Atmosphere capable
Class name: Oolt’ posleen
Role: Core component ship, scout vessel, and close air support
Height: Roughly 300 meters
Crew: 6 Kessentai, 19 Cosstain bridge crew, 8 work parties
Troops: One elite oolt’ondai, one armoured oolt, oolt’po’os staff
Weapons: Five small quad terra-watt laser cannons, four light plasma ray guns, two quad light capital ship HVM launchers, 2 quad blasma blast gun turrets on fsix facets, two quad giga-watt laser turrets on four, four quad auto laser turrets on one facet, two quad HVM launcher turrets on the final facet
Defences: Foot thick plasteel armour, three small directional defence screens
Drive: Three small gravity engines on each face
FTL drive: Quantum tunneler, hyper-space corridor detector
Power: Anti matter reactor
Notes: Atmosphere capable, uses cold-sleep pods to hold such a large number of troops.
Up to twelve oolt’ po’osol can dock with an oolt’ posleen, forming an oolt’po’slena’ar, a formidable fighting ship holding an entire oolt’po’os within its hull. Its statistics are:
Class name: Oolt’po’slena’ar
Role: Primary warship
Height: Roughly 500 meters
Crew: 18 Kessentai, 67 Kenstain, 32 work parties
Troops: One oolt’po’os, which includes twelve of the kessentai
Weapons: Twelve capital ship weapons, usually matching those of the oolt’posleen, plus a fighter hangar and a point-defence screen
Defences: Two foot armour and an omni-directional defence screen
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines on each face
FTL: Quantum tunneler and hyper-space corridor detector
Power: One anti-matter reactor supplemented by twelve secondaries and 36 emergency molecular twist batteries
For long distance travel, Oolt’po’slena’ar merge into battle-globes, but with most of their weapons facing inward, the need for a true larger vessel has become apparent, owing to this galaxies emphasis on space combat. This role is filled by the Oolt’dai’po’slena’ar:
Class name: Oolt’dai’po’slena’ar
Role: Flagship
Height: Roughly 1500 feet
Crew: 14 Kessentai, 35 Kenstain, 52 work parties
Troops: One oolt’po’os
Weapons: 15 heavy terra-watt laser cannons, 12 plasma ray guns, 6 capital-grade HVM launchers, three fighter hangars, and a point defence screen
Defences: Five foot armour and an omni-directional defence screen
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines on each face
FTL: Quantum tunneler and hyper-space corridor detector
Power: Massive anti-matter reactor with 24 secondaries and 48 molecular twist batteries
Posleen fighters are launched twelve to a hangar and considered more a weapon system than anything
Class name: Oolt’ pos
Role: Fighter/bomber
Length: Roughly thirty feet
Crew: One enhanced normal
Weapons: Two terra-watt lasers, eight one-shot HVMs
Defences: Fixed directional defence screen
Drive: Two grav-thrusters
Power: Molecular twist battery
Vehicles
Class name: Tenar
Role: Kessentai command chariot
Weapons: HVM launcher, plasma blast gun, or twin giga-watt laser
Defences: Inch thick re-enforced plasteel armour
Propulsion: Gravity repulsor
Power: Molecular twist battery
Crew: One kessentai
Notes: Advanced sensors, DataNet connection,
Class name: Teneral
Role: Main battle tank and helicopter gunship
Weapons: Twin heavy HVM launcher, terra-watt laser, or plasma ray gun, three rail-gatling sponsons
Defences: Four inch thick re-enforced plasteel armour, light directional defensive field
Propulsion: Gravity repulsor
Power: Molecular twist battery
Technology
Rail-guns use a small electro-magnetic field to propel a bullet at extreme speed.
Shotguns rapidly fire off hundreds of razor-sharp metal flechettes across a variable spread.
Hyper-velocity missile launchers use a gravetic field accelerate an explosive projectile to almost the speed of light.
Lasers fire coherent light beams. Duh. Terra-watt range versions are substantially more powerful than giga-watt range weapons.
Plasma weapons use an electro-magnetic field to hold a measure of plasma together and propel it into the enemy. Blast guns fire a single blast, while ray guns fire a beam, generally more effective against most defences.
Gravity engines project a gravity field, causing the ship to slowly “fall” in the desired direction. Repulsors push a vehicle away from the ground.
Molecular twist batteries twist the atoms of a molecule out of shape, storing phenomenal amounts of energy, which can be released by untwisting the molecule.
Anti-matter reactors fire a slug of matter at a slug of anti-matter inside a gravetic containment field, producing vast amounts of energy.
Defence fields absorb impacts, but quickly over-heat and have to be shut down. A projectile can penetrate them by moving at a slow speed.
The DataNet is a network of information which links all Posleen computers in the galaxy via FTL quantum communicators on Posleen starships. It functions as a tactical and strategic map, combining hard sensor data with more hazy intelligence, as a communicator, and as a tool to distribute captured booty.
Hyper-spacial corridors are naturally occurring links between physically adjacent star systems. It is a fast, efficient, hard-to-inhibit method of travel, but easily detectable, blind to the real world, irreversible (you can’t stop after you start), and bound to specific points.
Quantum tunnelling is a far slower and less efficient method which can be easily inhibited, but is useful for stealth travel, scouting (sensors can reach into real-space), tactical jumps, and movement independent of specific points.
Behaviour
The Posleen have been compared by many to a swarm of locusts. They descend on a world, stripping it of any useful resources, including the local flora and fauna, after which something extremely bad happens. I don’t know what, but don’t spoil the ending for me!
There are several stages to an invasion, outlined below:
1) Detection, a hyperspace corridor is located in conquered system, and a few ship are sent to investigate.
2) Reconnaissance, the ships locate thresh and land in badly defended areas, raiding and gathering intelligence.
3) Invasion, battleglobes land troops in massive numbers, all resistance is crushed
4) Colonisation, booty and land are distributed, cities are looted and resources strip-mined.
5) Ragnarok, the aforementioned really bad thing.
(The Posleen Host)
Posleen
The typical Posleen resembles a reptilian, clawed horse, with a long, thin (by horse standards) neck, and arms bearing three claws and an opposable thumb-claw. Their feet have three talons, the central one being the largest. A crest runs up the back of the neck, stubby and grey on oolt’os (servants or normals, literally pack members, in English), but long and bright on kessentai (god kings, literally thinkers).
The typical Posleen, although the pinnacle of physical evolution, is only slightly smarter than a chimp, although they do have a certain amount of ingrained knowledge on rudimentary tactics and weapons operation.
The slightly larger kessentai, however, are smart by human standards and maintain a direct mental bond with the normals under their command. The oolt’os of a dead kessentai’s “fief” must be physically touched by another kessentai within a few minutes of “orphaning”, or they will rampage for a few days before becoming docile and easily bonded by kessentai.
OOC note: All-military species are a nightmare to play, so I decided to simply divide my population by ten and exaggerate the Posleen’s already insane reproductive capabilities (to compensate for no recruiting pool)
Military (there’s little else to talk about)
The basic fighting unit is the “oolt” (pack), which is commanded by kessentai on a “tenar”, a hover-chariot which serves as command base, anti-air unit, and heavy weapon platform (mounting a twin giga-watt laser, plasma blast gun or hyper-velocity missile launcher). The 400 oolt’os of an oolt are divided into a mess of sub-units under enhanced "Costain" normals. A variety of weapons are carried, flachette shotguns and 1mm railguns being the favoured choice, with 3mm railguns and HVM launchers in squad and platoon support roles. Weapon ratios and quality vary depending on the finances available to the commanding Kessentai. Each soldier also carries an assault pack and a mono-blade.
Three oolts comprise an oolt’ondai (big pack), commanded by a oolt’ondai kessentai, who has his own powerful tenar and a small staff.
A pair of oolt’ondai comprise and oolt’ondar (huge pack), under an kessentai oolt’ondar, who has a large staff and tank-like tenar.
A pair of oolt’ondar, an elite oolt’ondai, and an armoured oolt make up an oolt’po’os, under a kessentai oolt’po’os, with similar support to a kessentai oolt’ondar.
An oolt includes a trapezoidal oolt’ po’osol or lamprey as an integral part of its equipment, while each oolt’po’os has it own dodecahedronal oolt’posleen. Their statistics are:
Class name: Oolt’ po’osol
Role: Component ship, landing craft, and mobile base
Height: Roughly 100 meters
Width: At top, 200 meters, widening at the bottom to 225 meters
Crew: 1 Kessentai, 4 Kenstain bridge crew, 2 work parties each with a Kenstain and six Costain
Troops: One oolt, including the kessentai mentioned above
Weapons: Top-to-bottom mount heavy quad terra-watt laser, plasma ray gun, capital grade HVM launcher or fighter hangar, five quad giga-watt laser point-defence turrets on the bottom, 3 on the top, 4 quad auto-lasers around the exit ramp, 2 quad plasma blast gun turrets on two facets, two quad HVM launcher turrets on the other two
Defences: Two feet re-enforced plasteel on the bottom, 6 inches on the top and sides, fixed directional defence screen, bottom mounted
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines, bottom mounted, one manoeuvring thruster on each other face
FTL drive: None, can integrate with oolt’ posleen for inter-system travel
Power: Small anti-matter reactor supplemented by three heavy molecular twist batteries
Notes: Atmosphere capable
Class name: Oolt’ posleen
Role: Core component ship, scout vessel, and close air support
Height: Roughly 300 meters
Crew: 6 Kessentai, 19 Cosstain bridge crew, 8 work parties
Troops: One elite oolt’ondai, one armoured oolt, oolt’po’os staff
Weapons: Five small quad terra-watt laser cannons, four light plasma ray guns, two quad light capital ship HVM launchers, 2 quad blasma blast gun turrets on fsix facets, two quad giga-watt laser turrets on four, four quad auto laser turrets on one facet, two quad HVM launcher turrets on the final facet
Defences: Foot thick plasteel armour, three small directional defence screens
Drive: Three small gravity engines on each face
FTL drive: Quantum tunneler, hyper-space corridor detector
Power: Anti matter reactor
Notes: Atmosphere capable, uses cold-sleep pods to hold such a large number of troops.
Up to twelve oolt’ po’osol can dock with an oolt’ posleen, forming an oolt’po’slena’ar, a formidable fighting ship holding an entire oolt’po’os within its hull. Its statistics are:
Class name: Oolt’po’slena’ar
Role: Primary warship
Height: Roughly 500 meters
Crew: 18 Kessentai, 67 Kenstain, 32 work parties
Troops: One oolt’po’os, which includes twelve of the kessentai
Weapons: Twelve capital ship weapons, usually matching those of the oolt’posleen, plus a fighter hangar and a point-defence screen
Defences: Two foot armour and an omni-directional defence screen
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines on each face
FTL: Quantum tunneler and hyper-space corridor detector
Power: One anti-matter reactor supplemented by twelve secondaries and 36 emergency molecular twist batteries
For long distance travel, Oolt’po’slena’ar merge into battle-globes, but with most of their weapons facing inward, the need for a true larger vessel has become apparent, owing to this galaxies emphasis on space combat. This role is filled by the Oolt’dai’po’slena’ar:
Class name: Oolt’dai’po’slena’ar
Role: Flagship
Height: Roughly 1500 feet
Crew: 14 Kessentai, 35 Kenstain, 52 work parties
Troops: One oolt’po’os
Weapons: 15 heavy terra-watt laser cannons, 12 plasma ray guns, 6 capital-grade HVM launchers, three fighter hangars, and a point defence screen
Defences: Five foot armour and an omni-directional defence screen
Drive: Three heavy gravity engines on each face
FTL: Quantum tunneler and hyper-space corridor detector
Power: Massive anti-matter reactor with 24 secondaries and 48 molecular twist batteries
Posleen fighters are launched twelve to a hangar and considered more a weapon system than anything
Class name: Oolt’ pos
Role: Fighter/bomber
Length: Roughly thirty feet
Crew: One enhanced normal
Weapons: Two terra-watt lasers, eight one-shot HVMs
Defences: Fixed directional defence screen
Drive: Two grav-thrusters
Power: Molecular twist battery
Vehicles
Class name: Tenar
Role: Kessentai command chariot
Weapons: HVM launcher, plasma blast gun, or twin giga-watt laser
Defences: Inch thick re-enforced plasteel armour
Propulsion: Gravity repulsor
Power: Molecular twist battery
Crew: One kessentai
Notes: Advanced sensors, DataNet connection,
Class name: Teneral
Role: Main battle tank and helicopter gunship
Weapons: Twin heavy HVM launcher, terra-watt laser, or plasma ray gun, three rail-gatling sponsons
Defences: Four inch thick re-enforced plasteel armour, light directional defensive field
Propulsion: Gravity repulsor
Power: Molecular twist battery
Technology
Rail-guns use a small electro-magnetic field to propel a bullet at extreme speed.
Shotguns rapidly fire off hundreds of razor-sharp metal flechettes across a variable spread.
Hyper-velocity missile launchers use a gravetic field accelerate an explosive projectile to almost the speed of light.
Lasers fire coherent light beams. Duh. Terra-watt range versions are substantially more powerful than giga-watt range weapons.
Plasma weapons use an electro-magnetic field to hold a measure of plasma together and propel it into the enemy. Blast guns fire a single blast, while ray guns fire a beam, generally more effective against most defences.
Gravity engines project a gravity field, causing the ship to slowly “fall” in the desired direction. Repulsors push a vehicle away from the ground.
Molecular twist batteries twist the atoms of a molecule out of shape, storing phenomenal amounts of energy, which can be released by untwisting the molecule.
Anti-matter reactors fire a slug of matter at a slug of anti-matter inside a gravetic containment field, producing vast amounts of energy.
Defence fields absorb impacts, but quickly over-heat and have to be shut down. A projectile can penetrate them by moving at a slow speed.
The DataNet is a network of information which links all Posleen computers in the galaxy via FTL quantum communicators on Posleen starships. It functions as a tactical and strategic map, combining hard sensor data with more hazy intelligence, as a communicator, and as a tool to distribute captured booty.
Hyper-spacial corridors are naturally occurring links between physically adjacent star systems. It is a fast, efficient, hard-to-inhibit method of travel, but easily detectable, blind to the real world, irreversible (you can’t stop after you start), and bound to specific points.
Quantum tunnelling is a far slower and less efficient method which can be easily inhibited, but is useful for stealth travel, scouting (sensors can reach into real-space), tactical jumps, and movement independent of specific points.
Behaviour
The Posleen have been compared by many to a swarm of locusts. They descend on a world, stripping it of any useful resources, including the local flora and fauna, after which something extremely bad happens. I don’t know what, but don’t spoil the ending for me!
There are several stages to an invasion, outlined below:
1) Detection, a hyperspace corridor is located in conquered system, and a few ship are sent to investigate.
2) Reconnaissance, the ships locate thresh and land in badly defended areas, raiding and gathering intelligence.
3) Invasion, battleglobes land troops in massive numbers, all resistance is crushed
4) Colonisation, booty and land are distributed, cities are looted and resources strip-mined.
5) Ragnarok, the aforementioned really bad thing.