So, with winter almost upon us the usual suspects I game with are considering a campaign game to run over the next few months.
The general idea is actually to use the Pocket Empires rules from Marc Miller?s Traveller to run the various worlds in the sector, allocate resources, etc during the Imperium?s Walpurgis Crusade against the alien T?Lan and their giant praetorian sized cybertanks.
One guess what other range of figures we have substantial amounts of.
That aside the fluff questions are thus:
a) How would the Imperium handle it?s close orbit and aerospace defenses for planets without a permanent Navy presence?
b) How does it raise and train those assets?
We know the Imperial Guard is prohibited from having possession of it?s own aerospace assets to prevent naughtiness by rogue commanders but? since they?re 100% planet bound and unable to ?empire build? elsewhere? would that apply also apply to Planetary Defense Forces?
What we?ve come up with so far are these options/answers:
1 - Imperial Navy aerospace assets are raised, trained and tithed to the Empire just as Imperial Guard regiments are. Which would mean that:
a) PDFs may not be equipped with first line equipment such as Thunderbolts, Lightnings and Marauders they do still have some aerospace assets, or;
b) PDFs are equipped with standard Imperial aerospace assets but limited under Imperial authority to the number in service.
2 - PDFs are not allowed to possess aerospace assets of any sort and merely tithe personnel to the Imperial Navy which would mean that the Navy has to train and equip them.
I personally lean towards a combination of the Imperial Navy running something along the lines of an Inquisition Stormtrooper school (except for Navy Pilots) and the larger Imperial worlds being allowed to raise? and then potentially being required to tithe in whole? their own PDF aerospace formations.
The reason I?m bringing it up is whether or not worlds are allowed to produce their own air force will definitely affect initial set-up in terms of where people spend their points allocation for initial forces.
Allowed to produce their own = Less air at the start.
Not allowed = More air (probably at the expense of the ground forces)
And while this is pretty much an abstraction more than anything else, we just like things ?consistent? so to speak. Any thoughts/opinions?
This is still just at the "talk over beer" stage so any and all input is more than welcome.