From The Ashes of the Imperium - my Sci-Fi setting

[Belgian]

Why are Flanders and Wallonia, seperated and not just Belgium? Interesting setting though, love the history texts.

[Momotaro]

Sorry about the he/she mistake 

When Rackham went away, I made the huge mistake of looking at the ONI stuff and thinking - "wow, they are really fugly!" and I didn't buy them from Ludik Bazaar. And then I decided to sell my Red Blok army...

Of course now I've spent the last 2 years slowly buying everything again 

I picked up a lot of AT-43 during the clearance sale, and I STILL wish I'd bought more.  Did the same with Battlefield Evolution.

Great background too - I'm looking forward to the next episode!

(Not to derail the thread, and just out of interest... how much does the ONI stuff sell for?  I have the army box...)

[Predatorpt]

Pity they are OOP and expensive as I think they look neat.

The ONI forces were launched in a time when Rackham was already going broke, so there wasn't much stuff on the market. Besides, everyone seemed to hate the vehicles and they ended up being put on sale on stores who wanted to move their stocks. Some lucky people bought them and now: use them on their own games/settings; make small fortunes selling them on Ebay.

Nice background meshed together. Just happy to see the Brazilian Empire, and that the Swiss finally saw the light and joined their German brothers

Glad you liked the background. I'll add more stuff to the melting pot soon. And I have to write some more about the countries...

Why are Flanders and Wallonia, seperated and not just Belgium? Interesting setting though, love the history texts.

Belgium doesn't existe anymore, like a lot of other European countries (Spain/Italy are some of the other that I mentioned. My own Portugal is completely different) because I just wanted to make a little joke - we have the United States of Europe but only in name. I'll write some more background soon but I hope I'm not offending anyone.

[Predatorpt]

I picked up a lot of AT-43 during the clearance sale, and I STILL wish I'd bought more.  Did the same with Battlefield Evolution.

Great background too - I'm looking forward to the next episode!

(Not to derail the thread, and just out of interest... how much does the ONI stuff sell for?  I have the army box...)

There's an auction for an Oni Army Box right now (and yes, I'm bidding on it, don't expect to win):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AT-43-Oni-Army-box-2-000-points-wargame-zombie-army-RARE-LOOK-/271237617385?ssPageName=ADME:B:BCA:ES:3160

So that should give you an idea. Of course if you want to sell it to me, I'm sure we can work out a deal 

[Momotaro]

So that should give you an idea. Of course if you want to sell it to me, I'm sure we can work out a deal 

Ah, I dug them out and a lot of them have been painted or converted to some extent.  Never mind!

[Predatorpt]

The only thing I like is the APC's the rest while nice does not float my boat. Why dont you expect to win and what is a good price for it? I will buy any old thing going if there is an earn in it.

Tell you what if you ever find a massive lot  (multiple boxes in a warehouse sort of thing) at a good bulk price let me know. I will buy the lot and you can have up to half of it at cost. Preferably with lots of red block stuff in it as that seems the most popular.

You would be luckier to find a stash like that in your part of the world. Here in Europe all the stock seems to have dried out (the only exception being some Ebay sellers, namely a guy called The Great Worm) and I've got a couple of friends scouring the US for them. Last time someone found a stash like that, it was in a little store in Canada, that still had Oni and Red Blok Army boxes. But if I ever find a stash, I'll let you know .

Ah, I dug them out and a lot of them have been painted or converted to some extent.  Never mind!

Ohhh, that's a pity. I see that you used the Oni container on your Battle at the Mine AAR. The vehicles would also look good with those Sedition Wars figs

[Predatorpt]

Before starting another boring future history bit, some notes:

-Sorry if there's lots of text and not much pictures of minis. I'll try to change that - as soon as I paint the figures, I'll post them - but for me, the background fluff is as important as the game/miniatures themselves.

-I've tried to stay away from current politics/history, so please don't feel offended by some of my options in future history. I'm just having some fun, no harm intended.  

-I need to thank some of our members, whose works really inspired me:

Ironworker, with his "Station 42 War"
manatic, with his "Utopia project"
Phoenikuz, with his "Space Chronicles"

And now, a few words about the "Empire of The Stars":

As it is clear to see, my main inspiration for the Empire was the "Imperium" from the Traveller RPG. Even after all these years, with all the modifications brought by the different companies who made the RPG, the Imperium is my favourite fictional political organization ever. Of course I've added a few things, taken from other universes, but that's just a little detail  

Visually I've taken my inspiration from the old Batlestar Galactica tv show, with that weird mixture of Egyptian/Roman architecture and clothing:




And yes, they'll be using Battlestars

[Predatorpt]

(2290-2292) The Second Interstellar War

The Neo-Soviet plan was doomed from the start, due to the very nature of the Empire. The Ziru Sirka (as it was called by the Vilani) had been established in a time when the Western Roman Empire was on its death throes on Earth. By then, the Vilani had already invented the FTL drive and explored their neighborhood systems, where they discovered a number of inter-fertile and technologically primitive human races, who had been gradually brought to a high-technology state, with Vilani help, and assimilated into a loose interstellar community bound by trade and common culture. And they also discovered several other human and alien races, who had already conquered space and were working on FTL drives, without any Vilani help. A series of wars had brought all these races to their knees and the Ziru Sirka was born with over 15,000 worlds spread over 27 sectors.

When word of the attacks reached the Sector Governor, he reacted to what we thought was a minor anoyance. Yes, he knew about these new Humans and their snooping around; yes, he knew they had colonized planetary systems that weren't deemed important to the Empire, and he even now that there were Merchants Guilds illegaly trading with them on systems where both Human and Vilani co-existed. But he had done his part, informing the Core Worlds and the Grand Senate that there was new Human race on the frontier of the Empire - it was just a pity that his Sector was almost a year away from the center of power of the Empire, even by the fastest FTL ship, so we was still waiting for a answer.

Of course his Governor status entitled him to certain powers. He couldn't establish first contact with the new humans without the say-so of the Core Worlds, but he could surely punish them. And most of of the Sector Fleet Commanders where political allies of his family and would surely appreciate some action. After all, chasing pirates was boring and they were lacking actual combat experience.

The Neo-Soviet Local Command was astonished when reports started flowing in from all the colonies and outposts. The Empire's Sector Fleet was a small one, with only 50 capital ships and assorted escorts, but it was more than enough to attack all the Human forces in the zone. The false-flag operations staged by the Neo-Sovs had been for nothing. They didn't care if their targets were Neo-Soviet; American Union etc. - for them they were simply another single Human upstart race who needed to be taught a lesson.

But the lesson went both ways - if it was true that  the Humans from Earth had lost all of their colonies to the Empire in just a couple of months, it was also true that the fighting had lead to some startling discoveries:

 -The Sector Fleet was huge, yes, but it was also seemed very old, with ships in disrepair, and crewed by inexperienced crews.
 -Their Commanders weren't very innovative in space combat but the same couldn't be said about the forces who fought on the planetary surfaces - those were well-trained and equipped.
- The Empire lacked any real Artificial Intelligence/Command and Control networks/Tactical Data Links.

The overall feeling was that the Empire had an old-fashioned military system, who wasn't prepared to face a serious threat. That lead to a Human offensive that by 2292 had taken back all the colonies lost on the previous year, smashed the Sector Fleet and even conquered several Imperial planets and outposts. There was much debate about the participation of the NeoSovs on the offensive (after all they had been the ones who had started all the mess) but in the end the Big Four agreed to fight side-by-side with their enemies against their common foe.

So...after this history bit, I'll try my hand what writing a short story about...Space Combat!  

[Ajsalium]

Spanish Republic? So we'll (eventually) get rid of the royal family? Good news!

Liking the fluff so far. As you, I think the fluff is the more important part of any project. After all, it's the really creative part, even if it's made from pieces of existing universes. My own science-fiction setting is also a match-up of different things (Stargate, Aliens, Event Horizon, Riddick, Doctor Who...).

Also, those Oni four wheeled apcs are sweet, and I've been trying to find some at reasonable prices every now and then. Without the turret it would make for a nice futuristic armoured humvee, in a style akin to Aliens' M577 apc.

[Predatorpt]

Spanish Republic? So we'll (eventually) get rid of the royal family? Good news!

Liking the fluff so far. As you, I think the fluff is the more important part of any project. After all, it's the really creative part, even if it's made from pieces of existing universes. My own science-fiction setting is also a match-up of different things (Stargate, Aliens, Event Horizon, Riddick, Doctor Who...).

Also, those Oni four wheeled apcs are sweet, and I've been trying to find some at reasonable prices every now and then. Without the turret it would make for a nice futuristic armoured humvee, in a style akin to Aliens' M577 apc.

Glad to know that I'm not the only one who likes to do fluff! And yes, Spain is a Republic, comprising lots of autonomous states - including New Galicia (the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula - Galicia, Asturias and Northern Portugal).

As for the ONI vehicles, there are lots of conversions that just change the weapons on the turrets. I saw these on the WIP forum:
http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?s=424531675cecb2c76411038a0931add8&showtopic=16054&st=25

[Momotaro]

There's an auction for an Oni Army Box right now (and yes, I'm bidding on it, don't expect to win):

£180.00!!!!!

[Gibby]

Christ. I wish I had bought a load of the AT-43 stuff back when Maelstrom (who?) had it at about 50% off to clear. Looking at how much it's going for now, it must've been more popular than I gave it credit for. My Ferengi side is lamenting the lost profiteering opportunity.

Excellent thread, by the way. I shall follow with interest. I like the idea of taking all the best bits from favourite sci fi universes and adapting them to an original and cohesive universe.

[Predatorpt]

£180.00!!!!!

I only won the auction because a friend of my fronted the money. He'll get more that half of the box when it arrives 

already found a bunch of this stuff NIB going cheap out of Asia. I suspect its stuff that never got shipped. In the next few weeks I will try stitch up a deal on it.

I'll drop you an PM tomorrow, with some of the sellers I use on Ebay. I have a small suspicion that there's a factory somewhere in China still churning out some of the Red Blok mechs. I've bought some and they are brand new (even the boxes) - they don't smell/aren't dusty, they don't look to have been on storage.

Christ. I wish I had bought a load of the AT-43 stuff back when Maelstrom (who?) had it at about 50% off to clear. Looking at how much it's going for now, it must've been more popular than I gave it credit for. My Ferengi side is lamenting the lost profiteering opportunity.

Excellent thread, by the way. I shall follow with interest. I like the idea of taking all the best bits from favourite sci fi universes and adapting them to an original and cohesive universe.

Glad you like my effort at creating an universe And I'm totally against profiteering in minis deals, snif,snif - specially when I'm the guy who has to pay those crazy prices 

[ink the troll]

(...) I'll drop you an PM tomorrow, with some of the sellers I use on Ebay. I have a small suspicion that there's a factory somewhere in China still churning out some of the Red Blok mechs. I've bought some and they are brand new (even the boxes) - they don't smell/aren't dusty, they don't look to have been on storage.(...)

And Hong Kong seems to be the home of a somewhat suspicious amount of Karmans.

[Predatorpt]

Time for an old and small AAR (played last year, in a small table). I won't be writing the detailed background, because it's in a part of the chronology I haven't reached yet. And the pictures aren't that great, they were taken with my cellphone's camera

For terrain I used my trusty old sheet spray-painted in 2 tones of green as a base. Them I just dropped some Heroscape tiles for elevation and aquarium plants as alien vegetation:



My forces: Capitol Marines from Warzone (they'll be mercenaries on the setting), divided into 2 sections (one with 5 Marines, another with 4). Plus 3 Martian Banshees used as combat droids


My brother's forces: AT-43 Therians (don't have a background for them right now), divided into 2 sections of 6 bots and 1 section with 2 big combat droids


At the time we were using the FUBAR rules and we kept failing the activations (there's some modifications on the official forum that change that, but we didn't use them). And then my brother started activating his units all the time and after some turns, my Marines were still on the same side of the board...and surrounded. They sold their lives dearly  , killing...the 2 Therian big droids in exchange for 3 combat droid and 5 Marines:


We ended the game like this:


2 brave Marines, without any ammo, against 12 Therian bots... Guess who won?

After this game, we decided to do several tests, tweaking the FUBAR rules to our tastes and pitching Neo-Soviets against American Union troops. I ended deciding to do my own rules and since then I'm still working on them, while painting figures, making terrain and writing all the background.