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15mm Zantin Reconquest -- Advanced Grav Tanks at War

For millenia the Principate brought peace, civilisation, and oppression in equal measure to the far-flung human star systems. But then it all began to fall apart -- buffetted by alien attacks, this empire began to crumble, with breakaway human republics forming to defend themselves as best they could when abandoned by the Principate. Those that survived on their own became accustomed to governing themselves without the ruinous taxes and crippling conscription of the Imperial days.

As parts of the Principate fell away, a rump state, called the Zantin Empire, survived, but for many decades only just. It was with the reign of Emperor Tin Yan the First (sometimes called Tin Yan the Great) that the Zantin Empire began to reassert the old Principate's dominance over these breakway republics. Under the leadership of his great commander Sarios, the independent republics fell one by one to the Imperial armies. But a few held out, the most prominent of which were the GOTA Clans.

It would be an epic confrontation, and a battle between conflicting tactical doctrines. The mightiest weapon on both sides was the grav tank: Capable of movement at supersonic speed, heavily armoured and shielded and carrying an awesome array of weapons, it was the battle winner. But infantry continued to play a role -- in the Zantin Legions the infantry's massed firepower and strong defensive capabilities were relied on, with the tanks providing outflanking capabilities and mobile firepower, whereas in the GOTA Clan armies the Grav Tanks waded straight into action with the infantry holding the rear and often storming difficult terrain.

Infantry will be released first for these ranges, with armour to follow. Some of the vehicles have been designed but we are still ironing out issues with the designs.

THE ZANTIN LEGIONS

Not what they once were, the Zantin Scutari Regiments are nonetheless still a potent force on the battlefield, better trained, disciplined, and equipped than their foes -- the best infantry in known space, each unit bolstered by traditions dating back thousands of years. Unlike the armies of the GOTA Clans, the Zantin Legions are formed around their heavily-armoured infantry regiments, with the grav tanks being used more for long range fire support, for outflanking, and to follow up a defeated foe.


CodeContentsPrice (US$)Order/Progress
ZANTIN-PLATOON-ASSETS15mm Zantin Scutari Platoon Assets (x5 in five poses plus weapons -- one team of rapid fire heavy plasma gunners, one team of RAM mortars, and one sniper)$3.99
ZANTIN-SQUAD-HW15mm Zantin Scutari Squad Heavy Weapons (x8 in four poses -- two poses of Missile Launcher and two poses of Grenade Launcher)$5.39
ZANTIN-RIFLES15mm Zantin Scutari plasma riflemen (x7 in seven poses)$4.69
ZANTIN-FUSION-GUNS15mm Zantin Scutari heavy fusion gunners (x6 in three poses)$3.99
ZANTIN-SECTION-COMMAND15mm Zantin Scutari Centurions and casualty (x5 in three poses -- two of each section leader figure, and one casualty)$3.39

THE GOTA CLANS

Freedom-loving, somewhat tumultuous people, the GOTA Star Systems, usually called the GOTA Clans, rely primarily on their rugged and powerful grav tanks to dominate the battlefield. Their infantry -- the GOTA Clan Ground Forces-- are very much subsidiary to their combat forces, but are an important element all the same. The infantry have a reputation for being fierce and aggressive, but only lightly armoured and sometimes lacking in discipline.


CodeContentsPrice (US$)Order/Progress
GOTA-CLANS-BOT15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces Erilaz Infantry Support War Robot (x2)$XXX soon
GOTA-CLANS-PLATOON-ASSETS15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces Platoon Assets (x9 in five poses plus weapons -- two teams of rapid fire heavy plasma gunners, two teams of RAM mortars, and one sniper)$6.99
GOTA-CLANS-SQUAD-HW15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces Squad Heavy Weapons (x8 in four poses -- two poses of Heavy Missile Weapon and two poses of Grenade Launcher)$5.39
GOTA-CLANS-RIFLES15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces plasma riflemen (x6 in six poses)$3.99
GOTA-CLANS-FUSION-GUNS15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces heavy fusion gunners (x6 in three poses)$3.99
GOTA-CLANS-SECTION-COMMAND15mm GOTA Clan Ground Forces section commanders and casualty (x5 in three poses -- two of each section leader figure, and one casualty)$3.39

THE TAH-SIG EMPIRE

The Tah-sig are nonhuman aliens living on the eastern treaty belt of the Zantin Empire. Wars with the Tah-sig Empire are a constant distraction to the Zantins and have, on more than one occasion, saved the GOTA Clans from being overwhelmed by the superior material and organisation of the Empire. 

Tah-sig Biology
The Tah-sig are radically different from humans from a biological perspective, using liquid nitrogen as a solvent rather than water, and therefore living in a much colder environment. They are also burrowers rather than surface dwellers and rely on hearing more than sight as their primary sense. The Tah-sig have eyes but their main sense is hearing, and this is as acute, precise, and long-ranged as the human sense of sight. Their armoured environmental suits have built-in aural enhancers mounted on either side of their helmets to amplify and fine-tune this, and to prevent enemy disruption. The suit also has vision enhancement (the faint blue vision slots being visible in the recesses on either side of their helmets), but even when enhanced the vision of a Tah-sig is not equal to the unenhanced sight of a human. 

Tah-sig senses have been analogised to the human experience in patrolling at night. A human trooper may be peering into the darkness using his thermal sights, but his hearing also assists him in pinpointing the enemy -- a snapped twig, voices, or other sounds might tip off the squad to the presence of opposing forces. Likewise, in the din of battle, even though the Tah-sig soldier may have a good aural sense of where enemies are, their vision can at times be useful in spotting enemies or refining their location.

The Geopolitical Situation
These extreme physiological differences don't mean that they aren't rivals with human empires, however. Just as humans seek to dominate star systems to harvest necessary raw materials even from inhospitable planets, so does the King of Kings of the Tah-sig Empire.

There are many star systems in the Eastern Expanses of the Zantin Empire that are settled by Tah-sigs, and some systems in the Western satrapies of the Tah-sig Empire populated by humans, so each race is intimately tied to the other. Despite the extreme biological differences, humans and Tah-sig live together, trading and communicating with great success and there is a lot of cultural exchange. Tah-sigs in their heavily armoured environmental suits are a common sight in the Eastern Expanses of the Zantin Empire.

Of course, those conquered systems along the borders remain hot points for wars. Because the Zantin emperor is determined to reconquer the galactic "west" that was lost to the GOTA Clans, he often neglects the eastern treaty belt, an invitation to the Tah-sig King of Kings to retake Tah-sig systems that have been part of the Zantin Empire for decades -- or centuries. 

At times the Tah-sig campaigns present such a threat that Zantin legions must be rushed across the galaxy to face a Tah-sig invasion, and even then there's no guaranty that the redoubtable alien forces will be successfully resisted. Better, as the emperor well knows, to pay off the New Shung to launch spoiler attacks against the Tah-sig Empire from beyond its own Far Eastern Zone ....

Tah-sig Tactical Organisation
The Tah-sig infantry platoon is usually organized into six teams, paired off in three sections. 

Each section is composed of:

TEAM 1: 2 particle rifles, one heavy particle rifle, one grenade launcher 
TEAM 2: 2 particle rifles, one heavy particle rifle, one missile launcher 

At platoon level there are two "floaters," as Zantin legionaries call them, one with a missile launcher and one with a grenade launcher. These are always assigned to reinforce one or two of the teams depending on their task.

At platoon level, there is the platoon officer, its assistant, each of whom have "G-TAC" devices (grav tank assault coordinators), two orderlies with particle rifle who accompany the platoon commanders, and the two rapid fire particle cannon teams, which may be held at platoon level or deployed with one of the sections. Generally attached from company level will be a RAM-mortar team (two tubes) and one of the company's snipers. There are fewer snipers in Tah-sig service than in either the Zantin legions or GOTA warbands, but they are the best snipers in the known universe.


CodeContentsPrice (US$)Order/Progress
TAHSIG-PLATOON-DEAL15mm Tah-sig Infantry Platoon Deal (x2 packs of Tah-sigs with rifles, x1 with heavy rifles, x1 with squad weapons, x1 with particle cannon, x1 with platoon weapons, x1 command and casualty)$45.99
TAHSIG-RIFLES15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors with Rifles (x7 in seven poses)$7.69
TAHSIG-HEAVY-RIFLES15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors with Heavy Rifles (x6 in three poses)$6.59
TAHSIG-SQUAD-WEAPONS15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors with Squad Heavy Weapons (x8 in four poses -- two poses of grenade launcher and two poses of missile launcher)$8.99
TAHSIG-PARTICLE-CANNON15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors, Rapid-fire Particle Cannon Teams (x4 in four poses -- two teams, each with RF Particle Cannon gunner and assistant)$4.49
TAHSIG-PLATOON-SET15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors, Platoon Assets (x5 in three poses -- two RAM-mortar teams with mortars, and one sniper specialist with sniper rifle)$7.49
TAHSIG-COMMAND15mm Tah-sig Alien Warriors, Command and Casualty (x5 in three poses -- two commanders and one casualty)$5.49