"Aotrs Shipyards: May '19 Xygritt Matriarchy Wave One" Topic

Aotrs Shipyards sells prints direct (contact us via Facebook or email) and takes printing commissions. Aotrs Shipyards also has a webstore on Shapeways.com, a 3D print house which had production and shipping facilities located in the USA and the Netherlands.

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Aotrs Shipyards Task Force – join thus group to be able to download the direct-print catalogue (beta).

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Couple of changes (couple more for those not follwoing the moderns releases). (Note blurb changes…!) We now have a Faceboo page, where you can get hold of me, finally, without having to go through Shapeways. (You unfortunately have to join the Task Force as mentioned above to be able to download the pdf catalogue (which is still VERY much in process, especially for the starship side!), but that was the best I could do, I'm afraid.)

The Xygritt will also mark the poiint where I'm starting to sprue up starships because of Shapeway's new minimum $5 USD per part count. (I'm also trying to standardise such that the direct prints will come in the same numbers for the price, which will get the direct price down per model. Conveniantly, it appears that about an hour's print time for me equates to roughly about the $5 USD mark at Shapeways, so that's at least less od a headache…) I will (maybe?) get around to doing this for all the fleets, but it's a low priority at the moment. As always, if there is something at Shapeways you want that's not sprued-up, please contact me.

I'm also going to start putting the comparitive prices between me and Shapeways (well, VNP anyway) on the posts, rather than just my price and alink to Shapeways. Problem is, of course, Shapeways inherently prices in dollars and converts and I do in pounds; so what I'm going to do is put Shapeway's conversion to points in parenthesis afterwards, which will be accurate at time of writing. (And of course Shapeways DOES like to play with their prices and doesn't always even tell youi when they do…!)

Edit: And of course Shapeways uses a slightly different rounding from the shop-side to the customer side, so the pound Shapeways estimate vare going to be out by +/- 1p. Consistency!

(Also have this problem on Facebook, I found, where Accelerate and Attack! is priced in dollars, but Facebook only allows me to use pounds. *sigh* Never easy, is it?)

Anyway, all that out of the way, time for the fun stuff!

So for this month, we have the first of what will be a lot of starship releases! this is the frist wave of the Xygritt Matriarchy, the forth of the elenthnar powers.

Xygritt Matriarchy

The Xygritt Matriarchy is a faction of the Elenthnar powers characterised by its atypical strictly female dominated government and society. While most elenthnar powers are more or less equanimous in the treatment of sex and gender, the Matriarchy is the largest notable exception. For centuries a very insular power, the Matriarchy has in the last decades began a period of aggressive expansion.

A power dating from the early days of the space colonisation, the Matriarchy stems initially from a private venture from a disaffected group of female supremacists. Under most circumstances, it would be expected for a such group to simply disappear or disband over time. However, the group had the backing of a powerful Xyriat female business mogul Shalamish Nolaarulu, whose treatment by the (at the time still male-skewed, if legally egalitarian) corporate environment had left her bitter and angry[1] .

Her corporation happened to deal with space-flight components and so it was well within her corporation's means to easily finance a colony operation. It was simply a case of the right person being in the right place at the right time.

Not unlike the Herosine Empire in human space, the Matriarchy started as a corporate colony. Freed from the binds of Xyriat law, Nolaarulu quickly became a dictator in all but name. As in the case with the Herosines, the final shift occurred during the confusion of the Second Zonal War (a war which dragged in almost all of the elenthnar powers that still had ties to Zon). Xillix, the initial colony world, was a garden world which needed no terraforming to be habitable. Xillix remains the current capital world. The main language is Shillithlax and is notable for its sonorous, soothing tones.

The leader of the Matriarchy is currently High Mother Krishnala. Having inherited the mantle of leadership from her mother, the former High Mother Shimmihalla, Krishnalla rules with her coven of elders.

Upon birth of a male offspring, the baby is taken away to be assessed and assigned a life role in society. From that point onwards, the path of the individual is set and all life choices are made on their behalf. Once the male reaches puberty, he is assessed for physical and mental fitness. If the test is passed, the male will become a genetic donor. He is then required to supply his genetic material on a monthly basis to storage banks. No member of society except the High Mother is permitted to procreate naturally; in fact, that is a crime punishable by death. Males that do not meet the strict criteria are castrated and assigned to menial duties in mostly servile roles. These eunuchs lead a fairly miserable existence and are treated badly.

Homosexuality is widely tolerated and actively encouraged in Xygritt society for both males and females. Transsexuality, however, is condemned harshly and treated as a severe mental illness at best (in females) and a crime (in the case of males, where it is considered to be treasonous and an attempt to get above their status). The Matriarchy staunchly believes sex to entirely binary. There are several active underground movements that specifically exist to help trans-gender elenthnar flee to safer climes (frequently the neighbouring Qyax Computation), and despite the ruthless quashing of such organisations when they come to official attention, the Matriarchy has been entirely unsuccessful in wiping them out.

Unlike most of the rest of the elenthnar powers, the Matriarchy is also poorly disposed towards artificial intelligence, which is considered tantamount an abomination. Robots are used only when a job cannot be accomplished by an elenthnar (usually a low-caste male). The Matriarchy notoriously refused to sign the interpower artificial intelligence conventions. The robots and droids they do use are treated as nothing more than objects or possessions. State laws enforce behavioural protocols that force any sentient/sapient technologicals into electronic slavery. The problem with this form of control of technologicals (and why the majority of powers do not attempt electronic slavery in this fashion) was demonstrated in a most dramatic fashion – the creation of the Qyax Computation when enough enslaved computer systems rebelled and broke their programming. The bitter war that followed ended in a sound defeat for the Matriarchy, which lost over 20% of its territory to the newly-formed hive-mind. Fortunately, the Qyax Computation was benign enough not seek the total destruction of organic life, as theorists and fiction writers had often postulated.

The Matriarchy is much more tolerant of cloning, provided it is restricted to the creation of cheap male labour; over the centuries, many attempts have been made to try and replace robotic workers with male clones to varying levels of success and acceptance, depending on who is in charge. High Mother Krishnalla is a proponent of cloning and it is starting to see another new resurgence.

Males in the female dominated Xygritt Matriarchy are not permitted to hold a rank of officer in the armed forces and constitute the main body of the common infantry. In civilian life, intelligent males can expect some career progression and a decent standard of living, however, they are not permitted to hold a position above that of a female. To prevent revolt and civil disobedience, males are allowed a regular dose of Xamphat, a moderately addictive drug that induces feelings of intense pleasure yet at the same time causes drowsiness and lethargy. It is not permitted to use the drug during working hours, but its virtues are widely extolled and its use encouraged during time off.

Given its extreme-to-the-point-of-fanaticism views and institutionalised sexism, the Matriarchy has historically had poor relations with its neighbours, and especially the Qyat Computation, which whom it frequently engages in minor skirmishes and wars. The Matriarchy is fortunately for its own sake, supplied with enough resources to be largely self-sufficient, and the distance from the main elenthnar core means that it is not cost-effective to wage a war for civil liberties alone.

The Xygritts have not been openly hostile for many years (aside towards the Qyat Computation) and as a result have been mostly ignored. However, in recent years High Mother Krishnalla has taken a more active interest in expansion and has initiated a secretive program of rapid expansion, something that does not overly please its neighbours.

Xygritt technology is slightly below average for an elenthnar power (partly due to its extreme views) and has developed along slightly different lines in some areas. Its base technology, however, was derived from the Xyriat Hegemony, and many of the same principles apply – even the passing similarity of the hull shapes. Like the Xyriats, the Xygritt vessels have a deflector emitter at the front of the ship, serving as shield broadcast hub and GVD focussing lens.

Xygritt sublight drives are on a par with the majority of the other elenthnar powers, though their GVD are not as advanced. Their Dro'Sanla are primitive at best. However, both GVD and Dro'Sanla are efficient, light and require only a small amount of space.

[1] Historical sources outside the Matriarchy strongly suggest that, contrary to Nolaarulu's opinion, while she did receive some degree of prejudice, there was far less than Matriarchy sources say and most of it stemmed from racial discrimination at her Illithla (pronounced "e-lith-la") ethnical minority rather than her sex. Further, almost all accounts of her personally suggest she was extremely difficult to work with, short-tempered and demanding. Some sources – including some reliable ones – indicate that she was probably medically narcissistic.

Hashallaxit Class Dreadnought

Direct price: £12.00 GBP
Shapeways price: $20.46 USD (£19.00) link

The Hashallaxit dreadnought typifies the design doctrine of the Xygritt Matriarchal Navy. Xygritt technology evolved from Xyriat technology, and while the two have diverged in the centuries, they follow very much the same principles still, which is why both fleets share a passing familiarity in overall shape.

One of the key issues with the elenthnar technology – especially due to the Garrast-Viyroub drive FTL drive – is the generation of excess heat, which has to be bled off. The Xygritt solution is a compromise between the thermal exhaust system used by the Xyriats and the passive emission used by the Phystyulons or Wodefs. They use dorsal thermal vanes, which act as radiators and create the distinctive silhouette of the Xygritt vessels.

The Xygritt use the same method for focusing the shields and GVD as the Xyriat, giving them the long hull and forward emission disc.

An outside observer be forgiven for thinking that the central bulb was a thermal exhaust at on a Xyriat vessel, but instead, it is the Xygritt's primary point-defence particle beam array. The arrays are very space-and-power-efficient, but require some supplementary lazer turrets for complete coverage. These secondary turrets are very small, usually less than two or three metres and share some design ancestry with the similar weapons on Phystyulon ships due to the centuries of conflict.

The combination of particle beam arrays an laser turrets are given an rating by the Xygritt, based on overall power; the rating for the Hashallaxit is an impressive 660.

The Hashallaxit is a relatively new dreadnought. It was the last vessel to be designed before the most recent technological breakthroughs and almost immediately work began on refitting some of the weapon systems to the new, more powerful systems.

Unlike its original contemporary, the Habala Heavy Cruiser, which had to be re-designed so much it became the Shalashalla, the Hashallaxit had enough space to allow a more conventional refit. Which was as well for the Matriarchy, as with the Nolaarulu Super Dreadnought demanding the shipyards, it would not have been possible to build more dreadnoughts.

The Hashallaxit replaced its original trip of spinal-mount lazer cannons with two larger systems. Which overall energy output dropped slightly, the increase in range was by a full third. Some of the particle beam turrets were replaced and upgraded with the new improved models, which also increased the number of turrets from 66 to 68. Upgrading all the turret proved impossible. Not only would the power core have had to be replaced, the thermal vanes would not have been sufficient and would have had to be completely re-designed beyond what a refit could have achieved.

Finally, the dreadnought has six forward and six rear torpedo tubes.

The Hallashallaxit's main weakness is that it is a slow and cumbersome vessel, despite the apparent size of its engines – Xygritt drives are not very efficient. While it has strong shields and armour, these can only somewhat mitigate this limitation.

Shalashalla Class Heavy Cruiser

Direct price: £4.20 GBP
Shapeways price: $5.60 USD (£5.20) link

The Shalashalla is a modern Heavy Cruiser, having come off the assembly line in the past ten years. The Shalashalla was a replacement for the Habala Heavy Cruiser, using updated technology. The Shalashalla started out as an upgrade program, principally to refit the Habala's primary weapons. However, the new, larger weapon systems required a more extensive re-work – the spinal-mount lazers in particular simply could not be fitted into the Habala's existing hull. It was thus decided instead to create a more extensive revision and incorporate other new technology. The Shalashalla shares a lot of similar components and composition to the Habala, but was different enough to warrant a new classification.

The Shalashalla is a typical heavy cruiser of average protection and mobility. It is armed with two spinal-mount lazer cannons and sixteen particle beam turrets. The primary PD array and supplementary turrets are classified at rating 180 on the Xygritt's internal scale. Like many of the smaller vessels, however, the Shalashalla's firepower is very limited in its rear arc, where only point-defence weapons have coverage.

Goulonat Class Defence Cruiser

Direct price: £4.20 GBP
Shapeways price: $5.60 USD (£5.20) link

The Goulonat Defence Cruiser is a solid escort cruiser and one of the newer designs in the fleet. It has stronger shields and higher manoeuvrability than is typical for a cruiser of its class, which makes it less vulnerable to being targeted.

It boasts a powerful ECM array and no less than ten particle-beam arrays, giving it a combined rating of a staggering 960 on the Xyriat's scale. However, it only mounts eight particle beam turrets as secondary weapons and has no spinal-mount weapon.

As with many of the Xygritt cruiser and smaller vessels, it has little firepower to the rear.

Thulagos Class Beam Destroyer

Direct price: £4.50 GBP for two
Shapeways price: $6.17 USD (£5.73) for two link

The Thulagos Beam Destroyer is one of the Xygritt's largest destroyers and the smallest to carry heavy lazers. Agile, but only lightly shielded, the Thulagos' role is to finish off vessels stripped of shields and armour with its heavy lazer beam arrays. The twin arrays are mounted on the dorsal thermal vane, and the excess they create is considerable. Indeed, after a sustained fire, the arrays have to have a period of cool-down before they can fire again.

A regular spinal mount lazer cannon supplements the Thulagos' main firepower and mean it is not entirely defenceless after firing the heavy lazers.

The excess power required from the heavy lazers means the Thulagos sports an impressive rating 300 point-defence system between the primary array and secondary turrets.

However, the Thulagos has one major weakness. With no secondary particle beams, it has no weaponry in its rear arc beyond the point-defence turrets. While its agility is sufficient to cover this gap in most circumstances, the Xyriats have been known to exploit this weakness. By catching an unwary Thulagos with their tractor beams and turning it to face away from the Xyriat vessel, the Xyriats can hold the helpless victim outside of the Thulagos' rear PD range, while within range of their own light torpedoes, where it can be crippled safely. While hardly a unique vulnerability to the Thulagos, the destroyer is a high-value target, which has meant more than one Thulagos loss to capture. In at least one of these instances, a demand for surrender directed at the lower-ranking males has led to a mutiny and the Xyriats capturing the destroyer without a shot.

Isanagas Class Missile Frigate

Direct price: £4.10 GBP for two
Shapeways price: $5.63 USD (£5.23) for two link

The Isanagas Missile Frigate is the Matriarchal Navy's principle missile vessel. Three external missile pods provide the bulk of the vessel's firepower and the modularity of the pods means they can be quickly reloaded or replaced with mission-specific missile pods.

An older vessel, some of Isanagas have been put into service as light transports, replacing the missile pods with supply canisters, though this is uncommon.

The missile pods are supplemented by a single spinal-mount lazer cannon and a rating 180 particle-beam arrays and point-defence turrets.

While it has fair shields for a vessel of its size, the Isanagas has only average speed and manoeuvrability, making it comparatively fragile.

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Photos of the Replicator 2 versions. Normally, I would like for the starships to have pictures of the painted models, but the downside of me passing the fleet off to my mate is that, having discovered that I only had about fice pitcures out of fifteen, I didn't have them to hand to take pictures of! And I didn't want to delay the release for that (which might be a week or more), so for the moment, the unpainted versions will have to do!

I have at least two more waves of Xygritts queued up, and after that there should be one or two waves of Phystyulon ships with their carrier and fighters;l and after that the Xygritt carriers and fighters I've started on.

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Accelerate & Attack: Aeons of War is also out now (a generic build-your-own ships system suitable for any set of models) is also now available of Wargames Vault here:

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There is also a free Web Enhancement Pack; this contains the markers and the QR sheet the latter of which is an indicator of the level of the game if you want to have a quick nosey.

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And, of course, I'm always happy to answer questions about it (and through Facebook, this is now theorhetically much easier!)