DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER
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About the Project
The year is 2512.
The powers that remain on an ecologically-devastated and plague-ravaged Earth have been forced to look to the stars for the resources, capital, and room not only to expand, but to survive. While the setbacks encountered by mankind over the past 500 years have forced him to unite in a shaky global coalition and make fantastic strides in technology, they have also caused seismic and reactionary shifts in religion, culture, and politics. A second age of imperialism has dawned, and because man would never survive another war on the fragile remains of planet Earth, he is forced to ply his oldest trade ... war ... exclusively among the stars.
Darkstar is a tactical war game postulating naval combat in a “science faction” universe set five centuries into a troubled and uncertain future. Players take command of warships serving in the new “black water” navies of reborn empires of old, struggling for control of shipping lanes, resources, and colonies. Ships maneuver and fire in fast-paced combat, with survival not only of the players’ fleets at stake, but perhaps their nation and all of humanity as well.
Related Genre: Science Fiction
This Project is Active
Darkstar - Campaign Map 01 - 19 Draconis Star System
Our very first Darkstar Campaign, played back in 2012, took place in this star system. The navies of the United States, Japan, Imperial Prussia, all had a stake here, as well as the Corporate Consortium (United Aerospace Enterprises, Ares Defense Consultants, Cignis Systems). Not a very big star system, but everyone's gotta start somewhere.Darkstar Warship Design: Leopold Class Heavy Cruiser
Built for heavy broadsides and named for the old Germanic kings of Prussia and Imperial Germany, the Leopold class stands perhaps as the epitome of the "classic" heavy cruiser. With its traditional "Atlantic style" layout of four double rail gun turrets, the Leopold breaks with convention only when it comes to the size of these weapons. The Leopold carries 11 gigawatt rail guns, the largest mounted on any heavy cruiser in Known Space, pushing them practically into the realm of the pocket battleship. As if this were not enough, the Leopold class also mounts a staggering twelve 6 gigawatt rail guns for secondary armament, making this far and away the biggest battery of rail guns on anything short of a full battleship. This arsenal comes at the expense of speed, however, not to mention a complete lack of other weapons like the torpedo arrays of the rival Slava class (Holy Russian Empire) or the advanced targeting suites of the Iron Dukes (United Kingdom). Some critics also point to the mass driver defenses of the Leopold, which are admittedly slightly substandard for a ship of this weight. Designers counter this claim by pointing out that the Leopold is meant to serve as the flagship of a task force (wherever the Prussian Navy can't afford to send a true dreadnought), and will always be deployed with sufficient escort to help with mass driver defense. Most notably this is the new Ostwind class escort frigate. Still, to look at a Leopold is to look at a design from another age, proof that Imperial Prussia remains committed to her long-standing "grossgeschutzen" (big gun) traditions in naval thought. ECM / Gravitic Shielding
Bow: 4
P Bow: 5
S Bow: 5
P Quarter: 5
S Quarter: 5
Stern: 5
Armament:
Turret – x2 11-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
Turret – x2 11-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
Turret – x2 11-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
Turret – x2 11-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (p bow)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (s bow)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (p quarter)
Turret – x2 6-gigawatt rail guns (s quarter)
Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (bow)
Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (p bow)
Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (s bow)
Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (p quarter)
Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (s quarter)
Turret – x6 35mm mass driver point defense array (stern)
Ships in Class:
KS-1345 KMS Leopold
KS-1346 KMS Ferdinand II
KS-1347 KMS Freidrich Wilhelm
KS-1348 KMS Franz Josef
KS-1349 KMS Koenig Albert
KS-1350 KMS Von Der Tann
KS-1351 KMS Blücher
KS-1352 KMS Lutzow
Darkstar Warship Design: Iron Duke Class Heavy Cruiser
The Iron Duke class heavy cruiser is something of a paradox in the Royal Navy. On the one hand, it is proof that the Royal Navy has finally come to terms with the fact that the Titan class needs to be replaced after nearly forty years in service. On the other hand, the Iron Dukes are really little more than upgunned versions of the Titans they are meant to replace. In fact, in some ways the Iron Dukes are inferior to the Titans, at least in regards to protection. However, the Iron Duke embraces the notion that the best form of defense is a good offense, and in so doing has mounted a truly devastating array of firepower. Note that the old Model 33 torpedoes have finally been replaced by the newer Model 41 gravitic torpedoes mounted on the Osprey class light carriers. Furthermore, these have been mounted in swivel-racks that can turn with the ship's main gunnery turrets. While this means that the Iron Duke can never fire a full torpedo spread forward or aft (as is traditionally the case with such weapons), it does mean that the cruiser can unload these weapons when already presenting a broadside, clearly her preferred vantage of engagement. It's in this broadside, after all, where the Iron Duke really shines. The four double turrets of 10-gw rail guns can match those mounted of ship classes like the Imperial Prussian Leopold, Holy Russian Slava, and Japanese Chikuma, especially daunting since they are slaved to the new Hawkinge Electronics 01A fire control system. Furthermore, the 6 MgKv lasers formerly mounted with the Titans have been replaced with larger 8 MgKv models. The Iron Dukes are all named for famous military leaders (especially naval commanders) in Britain's history, except for the HMS Kraken, recommissioned to carry the name of the famous ship of the Titan class. Metrics:
Mass: 157,703 tons
Complement: 727 officers and men
Marines: 64
Passengers: 36
Sublight thrust: 4
Darkstar Wave: 10th (x300 c)
Aerospace: (2) scouts, (1) 1,200-ton cutter, (1) 4,000 ton yacht
ECM & Gravitic Shielding:
• Bow: 4
• P Bow: 4
• S Bow: 4
• P Quarter: 5
• S Quarter: 5
• Stern: 5
Armament:
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 10-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 8-megakelvin lasers (bow)
• Turret – x2 8-megakelvin lasers (stern)
• Rack – x6 Class IV gravitic torpedoes (bow)
• Rack – x6 Class IV gravitic torpedoes (stern)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (bow)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (p bow)
• Turret – x4 45mm mass driver point defense array (s bow)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (p quarter)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (s quarter)
• Turret – x6 45mm mass driver point defense array (stern)
Ships in Class:
• C 161 HMS Iron Duke
• C 162 HMS Nelson
• C 163 HMS Jellicoe
• C 164 HMS Marlborough
• C 165 HMS Agincourt
• C 166 HMS Howe
• C 167 HMS Rodney
• C 168 HMS Drake
• C 169 HMS Howard
• C 170 HMS Blake
• C 171 HMS Fisher
• C 172 HMS Cromwell
• C 173 HMS Kraken (fmr Hawkins)
• C 174 HMS Churchill
