Buildable Units
The following lists the unit types and possible upgrades for all units in the Sphere.
Ground Battalions - Infantry
Regular Infantry Battalion
The backbone of any military, regulars still make up the bulk most nation's active soldiers, even at the end of the 22nd century. While they will have electronics lacing their equipment and excellent communications gear, their modus operandi would not be terribly unfamiliar to soldiers two centuries previously.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 4
Upkeep: 1 Supply
Cargo Size: 10,000
Elite Infantry Battalion
All militaries have those who go above and beyond the norm. These are sent in for the most demanding tasks where ability counts more than numbers.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 20
Upkeep: 2 Supply
Cargo Size: 10,000
Shock Infantry Battalion
clad in heavy powersuits capable of deflecting small arms fire and wielding weapons powerful enough to seriously threaten tanks, shock infantry make fearsome opponents in close quarters. However their price and specialized production lines means they tend to see limited use.
Required Traits: Tank Industry
Cost: 20
Upkeep: 5 Supply
Cargo Size: 20,000
Special Operation Forces
Special Operation Forces are more than just a collection of soldiers, they are multidisciplinary groups including front line operators plus an entire backing of intelligence and support staff. Highly trained at infiltration and covert operations they are deployed in critical operations where larger, heavier forces cannot be sent out. Their skillset is a specialized one and while individually they are peerless, sending these men and women into the trenches is a waste of manpower.
Required Traits: None (No nation may have more than two active Special Operation Forces)
Cost: 20
Upkeep: 1 Supply
Cargo Size: 1,000
Ground Battalions - Vehicles
Transport
Truck Mobilization
3- and 4-axle utility trucks are ubiquitous across known space. Ranging from simple vehicles not significantly more sophisticated than WWII-era M35 trucks to advanced designs imported from Earth itself they are all rugged and dependable, making them ideal for conversion to military use.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 2
Upkeep: 1 Supply
Cargo Size: 5,000
Skimmer Mobilization
Being little more than a gravity-lift motor and control surfaces, skimmers are fast single-person vehicles comparable in function to motorcycles or jump packs. This gives equipped infantry significant personal mobility but, not surprisingly, the unarmored vehicles do not provide any protection in combat.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 4
Upkeep: 2 Supply
Cargo Size: 1,000, 0 if attached to an infantry Battalion
APC Mobilization
Armored Personnel Carriers are the wheels of any proper vehicularized infantry formation. Generally built on 8x8 wheeled chassis they provide excellent cross-country mobility, protection against most infantry weapons and one or more automatic weapons.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 8
Upkeep: 2 Supply
Cargo Size: 5,000
IFV Mobilization
The bigger cousins to APCs, Infantry Fighting Vehicles are far more than just 'battlefield taxis'. Significantly heavier than APCs and built on tracked chassis, they have efficient armor and potent weapons normally including both guns and guided missiles. While not quite light tanks, they are nonetheless powerful vehicles in their own right.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Tank Industry)
Cost: 16
Upkeep: 4 Supply
Cargo Size: 5,000
Helicopter Mobilization
The helicopter (though more advanced designs may use vectored thrust or antigravity systems) is pretty much the ultimate in tactical mobility. Baseline models are only lightly armed with defensive weapons, but progressive upgrades can result in impressively-armed transports. Helicopters are strictly atmosphere-only and are ill-suited for orbital ops - though some have launched them from drop-pods for rapid landings.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Aerospace Industry)
Cost: 40
Upkeep: 10 Supply
DP: 40
Cargo Size (stowed): 10,000
Armored Vehicles
Armored Cavalry Battalion
Essentially (though sometimes inaccurately) portrayed as 'light tanks', armored cavalry is a variety of wheeled or tracked vehicles that fall somewhere between IFVs and proper tanks in terms of protection and firepower.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Tank Industry)
Cost: 16
Upkeep: 4 Supply
Cargo Size: 5,000
Tank Battalion
The mailed fist of any respectable army, tanks need little introduction. More powerful than their 21th century counterparts, they are feared on the battlefield. Some advanced models are mounted on gravity-repulsion chassis, turning them into high-speed hovertanks.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Tank Industry)
Cost: 40
Upkeep: 10 Supply
Cargo Size: 10,000
Strider Battalion
Striders (or sometimes Battlemechs) are essentially tanks that walk on two, four or sometimes six legs across the most rugged of terrain. Heavily armed with a variety of cannon and missile systems they can deliver massive amounts of line-of-sight firepower. Sadly, despite their advantages, their high profiles render them somewhat less capable of resisting weapons fire than conventional tanks.
Required Traits: Tank Industry OR Mecha Factories
Cost: 60
Upkeep: 15 Supply
Cargo Size: 10,000
Artillery
Artillery Battery
The ‘big stick’, mobile artillery can deliver precision strikes in support of forward elements from many kilometres away.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 10
Upkeep: 3 Supply
Cargo Size: 5,000
Orbital Defense Battery
When the skies are full of hostile warships, it pays to invest in a good orbital defense network. Most systems use high-burn missiles to reach and attack objects in orbit, though railguns and even tightly-focussed energy weapons are used.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 40
Upkeep: 10 Supply, 2 He3
Cargo Size: 5,000
Super Ground Vehicles
Mobile Gun Fort
As much ship as tank, mobile gun forts are rolling fortresses bristling with weapons. Immense artillery cannons, rocket systems, air defense lasers – all are used in the chastisement of the enemy. Nothing short of onboard fusion reactors can power these behemoths’ motive systems.
Required Traits: Tank Industry, Impractical Engineering
Cost: 16 each
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 2 He3
Cargo Size: 5,000
Super Robot
This wouldn't be the future if there weren't ten storey robots wreaking havoc and sewing destruction in city streets, now would it?
Required Traits: Mecha Factories, Impractical Engineering, Mad Scheme for Global Domination
Cost: 100 each
Upkeep: 20 Supply, 50 He3
Cargo Size: 100,000
Landship
Only modern engineering and materiels science could actually make a land battleship work.
Required Traits: Tank Industry, Impractical Engineering, some degree of insanity
Cost: 150 each
Upkeep: 40 Supply, 20 He3
Cargo Size: 100,000
Aerospace Craft
Fixed Wing
Fixed wing aircraft were first developed by the Wright Brothers in the early 1900s. They can operate in atmosphere and require +1 boosters to reach space under their own power.
UAV Flight
Most aircraft remain piloted, but for two centuries virtually all recon has been done by robots. Unmanned Aerospace Vehicles are lightweight and almost disposable, with long loiter times and effective sensors. Some models even include offensive weaponry, though their lack of speed generally makes them poor dogfighters.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 4
DP: 2
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 1 He3
Gunship Flight
The attack helicopter has been a staple of ground actions since the 20th century. Modern iterations often use sophisticated gravity motors and brilliant weapons but the goal is the same; elimination of ground forces with extreme prejudice.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Aerospace Industry)
Cost: 10
DP: 4
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 2 He3
Fighter Flight
Single-seat attack aircraft have long dominated the skies and then space, denying battlespace to the enemy while striking from above. While now facing competition from mobile suits, fighters and their variants remain a core component of any aerospace force.
Required Traits: None (Limited to 1 Upgrade Slot without Aerospace Industry)
Cost: 16
DP: 4
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 8 He3
May be built as Strike Fighter or Intercept Fighter variants.
Assault Fighter Flight
In the Deep Rim where fleets may operate months from resupply, wars are won and lost on the principles of endurance and attrition, which means keeping fighting units in the field for as long as possible. For this reason many Rim designs part ways with their Expanse and Core counterparts, featuring heavy armour and greatly improved gun armaments to allow them to keep on fighting after they have lobbed their last missile. Some of the most successful of these are renowned even in the Expanse for their ease of repair and relentless durability and have inspired a number of unorthodox designs.
Required Traits: Aerospace Industry
Cost: 48
DP: 12
Upkeep: 12 Supply, 24 He3
Bomber
Far larger than any attack aircraft, bombers can deliver tens of tons of ordnance across long distances. While much too large to effectively engage other aircraft they mount powerful defenses to protect themselves from defensive fire.
Required Traits: Aerospace Industry
Cost: 16
DP: 6
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 8 He3
Superfighter
Faster, more agile and more powerful than any regular fighter, superfighters are the pinnacle of aerospace performance.
Required Traits: Aerospace Industry, Impractical Engineering
Cost: 24
DP: 2
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 10 He3
Mecha
Mobile suits or colloquially 'mecha' were first developed in the latter half of the 22nd Century for space-based dock work. They can fly in space, but require +1 boosters to fly in the lower atmosphere, and +2 boosters to reach space.
Mobile Suit
Originally based on makeshift modifications to orbital construction vehicles, mobile suits came into their own during ZOCU's struggle for independence. Equipped with ever-increasing levels of firepower, armor and mobility they became the symbol of ZOCU's war machine during the war of '87.
Required Traits: Mecha Factories
Cost: 8
DP: 2
Upkeep: 2 Supply, 4 He3
Heavy Mobile Suit
The first 'Heavy' mobile suits were deployed just as the war of '87 was ending, the ultimate evolution and last word in assault mecha.
Required Traits: Mecha Factories
Cost: 12
DP: 3
Upkeep: 3 Supply, 6 He3
Orbital Frame
Only sporadically encountered during the war, so-called 'Orbital Frames' were deadly surprises to Core World pilots. Reserved for aces only, the addition of honed skills to the already-superlative performance of these machines proved almost unstoppable.
Required Traits: Mecha Factories, Impractical Engineering
Cost: 30
DP: 4
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 10 He3
Superbombers
Enormous aerospace craft were first developed during the 20th century, although it was a long time before ships of this scale were used for military purposes. They can fly in atmosphere and require +1 boosters to reach orbit.
Mobile Armor
As the war continued to expand in scope and a helium blockade began to look inevitable, ZOCU sought ways to bring the conflict to a favorable conclusion though military means. One of the crash programs instituted were the deployment of mobile armors, immense aerospace craft armed with far more firepower than any conventional bomber.
Required Traits: Impractical Engineering, one of either Mecha Factories or Aerospace Industry
Cost: 100
DP: 20
Upkeep: 20 Supply, 50 He3
Super Mobile Armor
Hypothetical craft that primarily exist as paper projects dating back to the war, Super Mobile Armors continue to hold mindshare in engineers with more resources than sense.
Required Traits: Impractical Engineering, one of either Mecha Factories or Aerospace Industry
Cost: 250
DP: 50
Upkeep: 40 Supply, 100 He3
Utility
Utility Flight
For everything that doesn't involve dropping bombs on someone, there's utility planes.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 8
DP: 4
Upkeep: 2 Supply, 2 He3
AWACS
Required Traits: Aerospace Industry OR Mecha Factories
- x5 cost
Warships
All ships may take one free upgrade to represent their propulsion type; +0 Rocket Thrusters or +0 Gravity Drive. Further levels must be taken with upgrades as normal.
Light Vessels
Frigate
Frigates are spartan, lightweight ships with generalized but limited capabilities. Their economy and simplicity makes them attractive for smaller navies but in larger militaries they will typically be relegated to low-priority or gap-filling missions. However, they are also some of the largest warships normally designed for regular atmospheric operations.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 16
Upkeep: 2 Supply, 4 He3
DP/cap: 1
Cargo/cap: 1000
Can be carried as a HLV
Destroyer
A common warship class across explored space, destroyers strike a balance between cost and effectiveness. They form the mainstay of many navies both small and large.
Required Traits: Medium Shipyards
Cost: 32
Upkeep: 4 Supply, 8 He3
DP/cap: 2
Cargo/cap: 2,000
Cruiser
Effective and well-rounded medium-sized ships, cruisers are the most powerful non-capital ships in the Sphere. Notably they feature significantly superior electronics to smaller ships and are fully capable of independent operations.
Required Traits: Medium Shipyards
Cost: 80
Upkeep: 10 Supply, 20 He3
DP: 2
DP/cap: 6
Cargo/cap: 5000
Light Carrier
Popular among smaller navies, light carriers allow for the deployment of respectable aerospace forces without requiring the investment in a full fleet carrier.
Required Traits: Medium Shipyards
Cost: 80
Upkeep: 10 Supply, 20 He3
DP: 40
DP/cap: 20
Cargo/cap: 20,000
Capital Ships
Battleships
Battleships are the hard core of any major fleet and the white elephants of lesser ones. With much greater firepower than cruisers and effective defenses they can easily take on several escort ships and emerge victorious.
Required Traits: Heavy Shipyards
Cost: 200
Upkeep: 25 Supply, 80 He3
DP: 5
DP/cap: 15
Cargo/cap: 20,000
Fleet Carrier
The primary instrument of military policy for more aerospace-inclined states, fleet carriers can launch enough aircraft to dominate almost any battlespace environment.
Required Traits: Heavy Shipyards
Cost: 200
Upkeep: 25 Supply, 80 He3
DP: 100
DP/cap: 50
Cargo/cap: 50,000
Super Capital Ships
Super Carrier
Supercarriers are the largest dedicated carrier ships in known space and only built by the most industrially puissant states. They are more than simply flying airfields though, as they are well-protected and feature excellent C3 facilities.
Required Traits: Heavy Shipyards, Impractical Engineering OR Superheavy Shipyards
Cost: 500
Upkeep: 50 Supply, 200 He3
DP: 200
DP/cap: 100
Cargo/cap: 150,000
Super Battleship
>:(
Required Traits: Heavy Shipyards, Impractical Engineering OR Superheavy Shipyards
Cost: 500
Upkeep: 50 Supply, 200 He3
DP: 10
DP/cap: 30
Cargo/cap: 50,000
Titan
Immense mobile fortresses, Titans are effectively self-contained task forces. Their prohibitive cost and complexity ensures that they are firmly limited to the major industrial systems of the core worlds.
Required Traits: Superheavy Shipyards
Cost: 1500
Upkeep: 150 Supply, 800 He3
DP: 200
DP/cap: 200
Cargo/cap: 500,000
Civilian Shipping
Heavy Lift Vehicle
Heavy Lift Vehicles (HLVs) are aerospace craft designed specifically to lift large quantities of material from a gravity well into orbit. While the construction of orbital elevators in the Core has rendered them mostly obsolete, they remain a cornerstone of orbital travel in both the Expanse and the Rim. Their high speed in atmosphere (as compared to a conventional freighter anyhow) also makes them ideal for military landings.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 10
DP: N/A
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 5 He3
Cargo Capacity: 10,000
Heavy Lift Vehicle - Cargo
Heavy Lift Vehicles (HLV-Cs) are bulky cargo craft designed specifically to lift large quantities of material from a gravity well into orbit. While the construction of orbital elevators in the Core has rendered them mostly obsolete, they remain a cornerstone of commerce in both the Expanse and the Rim. These models are specifically designed with high volume lifts in mind and can carry much more into orbit than military-style designs. However, they are only protected against standard re-entry stresses and are completely unarmed.
Cost: 10
DP: N/A
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 5 He3
Cargo Capacity: 20,000
Heavy Cargo Pod
Essentially HLVs with all propulsion systems removed, Heavy Cargo Pods (HCPs) are bargelike cargo containers used on interstellar shipping. The advantage of using cargo pods is similar to that of pre-space containerization; ships can drop and recover pods in a matter of hours to be unloaded as necessary, limiting the amount of time expensive FTL ships remain idling.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 4
DP: N/A
Upkeep: None
Cargo Capacity: 20,000
Conveyor
Required Traits: None
Cost: 6
Upkeep: 2 Supply, 6 He3
Transport Ability: 2x Heavy Lift Vehicles/Heavy Cargo Pods
Notes: Requires double Delta Dust
Heavy Conveyor
Required Traits: None
Cost: 20
Upkeep: 6 Supply, 20 He3
Transport Ability: 12x Heavy Lift Vehicles/Heavy Cargo Pods
Notes: Requires double Delta Dust
Couriers
Required Traits: None
Cost: 8
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 3 He3
Cargo Capacity: 10,000
Special: Uses Warship FTL speed
Basic Freighter
Required Traits: None
Cost: 8
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 5 He3
Cargo Capacity: 30,000
Bulk Freighter
Required Traits: Heavy Shipyards
Cost: 40
Upkeep: 5 Supply, 25 He3
Cargo Capacity: 250,000
Megafreighter
With increasingly booming interstellar trade, the drive to construct ever-larger starfreighters has led to some truly monstrous craft capable of carrying well over a million tons of cargo in their capacious holds.
Required Traits: Superheavy Shipyards
Cost: 160
DP: N/A
Upkeep: 25 Supply, 100 He3
Cargo Capacity: 1,250,000
Special: Cannot be Aerospace
Tramp Freighters
Required Traits: None
Cost: 2 Wealth/month
Cargo Capacity: 30,000
Jumpships
Required Traits: None
Cost: 30
Upkeep: 5 Supply, 30 He3
Transport Ability: 250 Base IP
Notes: Requires double Delta Dust. Civilian ships count as 4x Base IP for transport purposes.
Orbital Fortifications
Defense Satellite
A common sight across the entirety of Human space, defense satellites are a cost-effective way of denying unwanted access to important volumes of space. Commonly entirely automated, these weapons were liberally spread across the sphere during and after the war.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 20
Upkeep: 1 Supply, 2 He3
Can be transported as a Cargo Pod
Battlestation
Some paranoid military types do not see standard defense satellites as nearly sufficient. In these cases Battlestations are built to provide a powerful defense. In additional to their inherent combat abilities they can also support a respectable air wing.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 200
Upkeep: 10 Supply, 20 He3
DP: 50
DP/cap: 50
Star Fort
One part weapons platform and one part fortified staging area, Star Forts are the hub of any major starfleet's logistics and operations. Often built into hollow-out asteroids or into the surface of moons these facilities can house and support a significant number of combat warships.
Required Traits: None
Cost: 800
Upkeep: 25 Supply, 50 He3
DP: 250
DP/cap: 250
Base Dock Capacity: 1000
Experimental Units
Experimental units can be used to build units that a power would not otherwise be able to due to a lack of traits. For example, a power without impractical engineering and stealth obsessed would not normally be able to build Superfighters with +2 Cloak. However, if they were built as Experimental units, this could be waived. Additionally, Experimental units have one additional upgrade slot (two with Boutique).
The downside is that Experimental units have a greatly increased IP cost; for every trait a power does not possess the final IP cost multiplier is increased by x1. Thus our Stealth Superfighter from above would have a final IP cost multiplier of x3, making it rather pricy. Strategic materiel cost does not increase, however, and build/repair times are unaffected by this cost increase..
For units that have an either/or requirement (such as Mobile Armors needing mecha or aerospace) it is only necessary to pay for one, not both. It is also permissable to make experimental units when you have all the required traits, but this still imposes a x2 final IP cost multiplier.
In general any trait can be 'faked' by Experimental, though in certain cases it may not be accepted. Additionally, certain units might be perfectly valid in construction terms but inconvenient (if not impossible) in political terms . . .
Spies and Espionage
Military power is no the only tool a nation has at its disposal. Oftentimes knowing is, to paraphrase an ancient saying, half the war. Intelligence agencies can inform policy-makers and generals about the goings-on of enemies - and friends.
The operational unit of intelligence agencies is the 'spy' or 'spy ring'. They can be tasked with either offensive (ie, infiltration, espionage, etc) or defensive (ie, counterespionage) missions.
Each Spy costs 20 Wealth to train and uses infantry build times.
However, because constructing an intelligence network is not generally something that can be done in a hurry, for every additional Spy constructed in a month the cost of all Spies built that month doubles.
All Spies are automatically Official Secrets, unless of course your intelligence agency gets infiltrated . . .