Time to talk combat mechanics a bit. The core assets at your command will be ground and space units to defend Aio and your colonies. Each unit will have a hidden strength stat rating, which will be reflected in their description of morale and combat skill. But you will not be able to exactly judge how tough a unit is until it breaks, which is not a good thing. 1st Example Battalion Type: Medium Infantry Strength: Nominal Morale: Confident Quality: Regular Description: The 1st Examplers are iconic examples of a medium infantry unit. 200 soldiers equipped with pulse-rifles, kineticweave bodyarmor, and a modest assortment of missile launchers and tribarrel-blasters for support weaponry, they can handle a wide range of threats. (This unit is in good condition and can fight respectably well against light, medium, or heavy targets to a extent. Still no reason to throw infantry against tanks, but they can muster some response if one does surprise them.) SDV Redshirt Type: Space Gunboat Strength: Limited Morale: Shaky Quality: Green, undercrewed Description: The SDV Redshirt is a older system defense gunboat design taken from a First World's surplus yards, with a single mixed battery of pulse-lasers and grapeshot launchers to protect it's charge. Presently the Redshirt is undercrewed and in new hands, limiting damage control capability, but it still has a full gun crew and can put up a fight against any pirate scrap-ship while the simple design of the gunboat makes it repairable from even civilian spacedocks. (This unit isn't in good condition and will have trouble trying to survive in combat.) Pirate Lander Type: Space Armed Freighter Strength: Nominal Morale: Eager to be looting Quality: Regular Special: Troop-carrier (Battalion) Description: A number of pirates start out as mining operations that went wrong and the survivors using their ship to prey on others to survive, others because of the opportunity for quick cash with less labor. Regardless of the origins, they all tend to share a common mentality of stacking a laser battery on a freighter and filling the cargo holds with lifter shuttles to drop swarms of troops and haul back plunder. (This is an enemy. You kill them. You can receive general intel profiles over time from a various number of potential sources to better plan for incursions) When a unit hits strength 0 (which tends to mean high casualties, ammunition exhausted, heavy equipment damage), a unit may have a chance to not be destroyed (with a higher chance for highly experienced ground units and spaceships). This leaves the settlement with a choice on whether to invest in rebuilding or to repurpose the remains to patch up another unit or use it for something else (turning remains of a mobile unit into static bunkers, etc) The units initially available for your selection will depend upon the mix of assets your settlement have, with a selection to be made at the start of the game specific to each settlement's composition of industry-manpower-culture-wealth. Choose your core assets wisely, no one settlement faction can support all core pillars of defense on their own resources. When combat happens, the players will have a choice of zones to allocate units to based on probable invasion corridors in space and targets in the invader's line of action. During combat rounds, you will receive reports and requests for priority orders as the battle evolves. Inbetween combat rounds posted by the GM (me), you can write from the perspective of your troops to illustrate their actions and going above the call of duty to fight for victory (or just their own survival against the odds). Good collaborative roleplay between multiple players can counterbalance bad on-paper stats with determined valor, well-laid tactical plans, or cunning jury-rigged solutions. Inbetween battles, you will have downtime to manage your colonies, gather resources, and seek solutions to your problems and the ongoing threat of pirates and more. Any questions so far?