The following document was created by one of our Online Forum gamers called Ron, or Gimp as he is more commonly

known on the Forum. We ran a competition to name and come with a back plot for our new Marauder spaceship models. Rons entry appealed to everyone at Spartan Games and the effort he put in to create the Brethren of the Belt is commendable. We hope you enjoy his entry as much as we did. THE BRETHREN OF THE BELT
The NTal were originally an unassuming race, quietly developing their space faring technology near the Chaddarrin Phenomena, until disaster struck. Their home world was discovered by a Directorate raiding party after the capture of one of the exploration vessels. They soon came to fear the appearance of the Black Crabs in the space over their small cluster of colonies. Knowing that they were at risk facing a superior foe without sufficient tactical intelligence, they decided they had to decentralise their space capability to insure they could build enough force to try and defend themselves. They left their shipyards working on their major planets, but built new bases amongst the asteroid belts of the systems they held, and in new locations as they found suitable resources. Knowing they were at severe risk in the systems they held, several of their bases were built far removed from their home colonies. Living in asteroid colonies was a simple concept for them, as they had developed a culture that was quite comfortable burrowing into the bedrock of their planets for resources and protected living space. This affinity for enclosed areas made them ideal for harvesting the resources of asteroids or planets that required enclosed habitation sites. Because they were at an extreme disadvantage against the more established races they found in their covert expansion, they became ruthless opportunists when they had the chance to seize more advanced technology. Being a very industrious race, they fought through the problems of reverse engineering the technology they could salvage, steal, or purchase. Their traditional ships became known on many worlds as traders that came and left like ancient gypsies. Never staying long, always looking for a bargain, and disappearing into the void when they were done trading. Those trading missions were a wonderful chance to learn about the other races, but also an excellent opportunity to learn about convoy routes and defences so their marauder ships could attack and gain what trading could not give them. The NTal became a race with a dual personality; gypsy traders with simple ships, and fast raiders that took extreme care not to take on more than they could deal with. Their most celebrated leader was Gofrey Thorpe, who realised they could gain more by using aliens to bolster their fleets and technological research. He had seen that every race had individuals and groups that were not satisfied with the status quo, and could be ripe for the NTal to utilise. Because their marauder bases were established separately from the NTal colonies, they became a force apart, and began to accept spacefarers from other races who wanted or needed a new life. As time went on, they began to develop a distinct culture from the melding of the various groups that joined them. Rather than being just the secret navy of the NTal, they became The Brethren of the Belts, so named because of the most common sites for their raiding bases. This change insulated them further for the protection of the NTal worlds, and gave them a rapid advance in their technological capability, as disaffected aliens were happy to find a home where they were not always hunted. A renegade Dindrenzi engineer helped design and name many of their newest range of ships, and with a flair for history and the dramatic, named the classes for the pirates and sailing vessels of old Earth. Tactically, the Brethren follow the traditions of pirates, and run ships with large crews and numerous boarding parties. The logic behind this is to allow boarding parties to quickly and easily prize crews and the second to take the ships for those crews. Speed is of the essence, as any fight that goes against them must allow them to break off, and any fight they are winning must allow them to overtake any ships trying to disengage before they can risk a shunt.

FLEET COMPOSITION
A Brethren Fleet has a Fleet Tactics rating of +2, and the Ships within it have a Command Distance rating of 6. You get 1 Game Card for each Squadron of Ships, excluding Escorts, Gun Drones, Gun Platforms or Wings. All Brethren Ships (including Installations) can be equipped with either ONE Shield or ONE Cloaking Field. If you equip one Ship in a Squadron with a Shield or Cloak you MUST equip every Ship in the Squadron with a Shield or Cloak. The cost of a Ship (listed on its Fleet Information Guide) that is upgraded with a Shield or Cloak is increased by 10 points. The amount of points that you use to build your Brethren Fleet determines which Squadrons you can have in it. A Brethren

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Fleet is limited in that only certain percentages (%) of its point total can be made up of each type of Squadron. In general, a good guide is to build a Brethren Fleet with 500-1000 points. A Brethren Fleet MUST comprise at least 1 Squadron of Ships that is in the Small (S) class, and at least 1 Squadron that is in the Medium (M) class. A Brethren Fleet can spend up to 60% of its points on S Ships and up to 80% of its points on M Ships. It can spend up to 30% of its points on Battleships, and up to 30% on Carriers. Ship Class Battleship * Carrier * Cruiser * Heavy Cruiser* Frigate * Escort Wings Min 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 Max 1 1 4 4 4 3 10 BG % 30 30 M M S S Const Points 190 110 60 80 25 25 5

If you field a Brethren fleet you can spend up to 30% of your points on civilian ships, and any civilian ships that you buy are subject to the % limits that are listed for the Brethren fleet. These ships have the same Fleet Tactics and Command Distance ratings as the Brethren fleet that they are part of. You CANNOT have mixed Squadrons of Brethren and civilian ships using this rule.

BRETHREN MERCENARIES
If you field a military fleet you can spend a small amount of your points on Brethren ships. If you field a civilian fleet you CANNOT also field Brethren ships. If you field another type of Pirate fleet you CANNOT also field Brethren ships. Any Brethren ships that you buy for a military fleet are subject to the % limits that are listed for the military fleet, they also use these rules: Brethren ships acting as mercenaries have the same Fleet Tactics and Command Distance ratings as the military fleet that they are part of A Directorate, Dindrenzi, Relthoza or Pirate fleet CANNOT use Brethren ships A Terran, Aquan or Sorylian fleet can spend up to 10% of its points on Brethren ships of the S and M size class (but not the Large or Massive size class) You CANNOT have a mixed Squadron of military and Brethren ships, therefore Brethren Escorts CANNOT attach to military ships and military Escorts CANNOT attach to Brethren ships Similarly, a Flight from one faction (Brethren or military) CANNOT be attached to a ship of the other faction, and CANNOT land on a ship of the other faction

Any Ships that are marked with * are provided for completeness as although the Fleet Information Guides are provided for those Ships, future releases of Pirate models may not correspond to those statistics. The list below includes all of the Brethren Ships that are currently available. Ship Class Gunship Corvette Min 2 2 Max 3 3 BG % M S Const Points 75 25

Installations (I) is a category that includes Gun Drones, Gun Platforms, Satellites and Space Stations, all of which can be deployed in space or built on a Meteoroid or Moon. A Brethren Fleet can spend up to 50% of its points on Installations. Ship Class Small Installation Medium Installation Large Installation Massive Installation Min 1 1 1 1 Max 6 4 1 1 BG % I I I I Const Points 350

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BuccaneerGunship
TheBuccaneerisoneofthemoreutilisedshipframesfortheBrethren.Largershipsareavailable,butarelesscommon than in other fleets, as the shipyards required to build them are harder to conceal. Because of this, Buccaneers are frequentlyforcedtoserveasflagshipsforraidingfleets. TheBuccaneerutilisesaquadmountrailgun.Theuseoffourseparatecannongivesamuchmorediscretecapabilityfor firecontrol,sosmallershipscanbedisabledwithoutriskingdestruction.Italsomeanstheweaponsystemisveryrobust withoutrequiringquiteasheavyamaintenance,astheseparatecannonareeasiertomaintain.Acombinedblastfromall fourcannoncanstillpackanimmensepunch,butcanalsodosowithoutasmuchpowerrequired.Thedamagedropsoff slightlymorewithrange,buttheflexibilityforconvoyraidingisdeemedworththeexchange.

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BUCCANEERGUNSHIP
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 5 7 8 5 3 3 3 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

4 6 4 3

4 6 4 3

7 9 7 2

COST:75POINTS
THISISAMEDIUMCAPITALCLASSSHIP ITMUSTMOVE1STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO80%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONMEDIUMSHIPS NOMORETHANHALFOFTHEMEDIUMSHIPSINYOURFLEETCANBEGUNSHIPS BRETHRENGUNSHIPSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF2TO3SHIPS VULNERABLE:IFYOUROPPONENTROLLSFORACRITICALHITONTHISSHIP,HECANCHOOSETOREROLLBOTH DICE,BUTHEMUSTTAKETHESECONDRESULTINSTEAD

PrivateerCorvette
ThePrivateerlivesanddiesbyspeed.WhileutilisingthesameconceptastheBuccaneerwithadualrailgun,theyare optimisedforlongrangedfirewithheavypenetratorrounds.TheroundscostmorethanthosefortheBuccaneersquad mount,eventhoughtheyaremarkedlysmaller,buttheincreasedsurvivabilityfromtheextendedrangeisfelttomake themworthwhile.

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PRIVATEERCORVETTE
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 3 4 15 2 1 1 1 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

3 4 3 2

3 4 3 2

3 4 3 2

COST:25POINTS
THISISASMALLCLASSSHIP ITCANMOVE0STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO60%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONSMALLSHIPS BRETHRENCORVETTESAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF2TO3SHIPS SMALLTARGET:IFACAPITALSHIPFIRESATACORVETTEITCANONLYHITITONA6

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 0 0 0 0

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HenryMorganBattleship
TheHenryMorganisaveryhardshipfortheBrethrentomaintain,buttheyknowtheyneedthemtocompetewiththe largerfleetsforprimetargets,andtohelpdefendthemselves.AswithmostBrethrenships,speedismoreimportant,but theHenryMorganstillpacksenoughfirepowertobeasignificantthreat.Thelongtermplanistohaveatleastone battleshipforeachbase,withadditionalbattleshipsavailabletodefendtheNTalcoloniesasmercenarynavalforcesif theyarethreatened,butbuildingbattleshipsisslowworkwithfewfacilitiesequippedforsuchlargeships. Sincetheycannotbuildthemquickly,theymakesuretheybuildthemwell,workingtocreateasolidwarshipthatcan standuptotheotherfleets.TheBrethrenforgeahead,waitingforthedaytheycanfeeltheyhaveenoughforcetoprotect themselves,atleastbybeingtoomuchtroubletobeworthraiding.Theyareworkingtoenhancetheturretcapabilitiesof theirbattleship,buttodatehavenotbeenabletoincreasethesizeoftheturretswithoutproblemswiththembeing knockedoutoflinewhilefiringandputtingthemselvesoutofaction.

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HENRYMORGANBATTLESHIP
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 6 10 7 8 7 7 6 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

10 10 12 12 12 14 6 6 8 4 4 5

4 6

COST:190POINTS
THISISALARGECAPITALCLASSSHIP ITMUSTMOVE2STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO30%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONBATTLESHIPS BRETHRENBATTLESHIPSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF1SHIP REFIT:ATTHESTARTOFAGAMEYOUCANREPLACETHEAFTGUNSWITHATURRET(4ADATRB1,5ADATRB2,4 ADATRB3AND2ADATRB4),BUTYOUMUSTREDUCEITSDRANDCRBY1.

PortRoyaleCarrier
ThePortRoyaleisslightlyeasiertobuildthantheHenryMorgan,andisanimportantadditiontotheraiderfleets.Utilising bomberstocrippleships,andassaulterstoboardthem,thePortRoyaleisashipmanyconvoyshavedreadedtoseein theirscanners.Packedwithasmanywingsaspossible,andbolsteringthemwithassaultparties,thePortRoyaleis designedtocripple,board,andcapture.

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PORTROYALECARRIER
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 5 9 6 7 6 6 7 0 0 7

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

5 7 5 3

5 7 5 3

6 8 6 4

3 4

COST:110POINTS
THISISALARGECAPITALCLASSSHIP ITMUSTMOVE2STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO30%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONCARRIERS BRETHRENCARRIERSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF1SHIP WINGSAREPAIDFORINADDITIONTOACARRIER

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 5 5 6 6

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PeterBloodHeavyCruiser
Findinghumourinancientliterature,theDindrenziengineerwhohelpeddesignthecurrentslateofBrethrenshipsfound theperfectnamefortheheavycruiser.Famedinancientfilmandliterature,CaptainBloodsfearlesspiratefoughtagainst oppressivelargerfleetsforloveandglory,andalsohappenedtosoundliketheNTalsgreatherosname.Afittingmatch foracruiserleader.Theinclusionofawingallowstheshipacombatdropcapabilityforasmallraidingpartyonasmall base,orforextrapointdefenceoftheparentship.

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PETERBLOOD HEAVYCRUISER
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 5 7 10 5 4 4 5 0 0 1

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

5 6 5

5 6 5

5 6 5 4

3 4

COST:80POINTS
THISISAMEDIUMCAPITALCLASSSHIP ITMUSTMOVE1STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO80%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONMEDIUMSHIPS BRETHRENHEAVYCRUISERSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF2TO4SHIPS WINGSAREPAIDFORINADDITIONTOTHEHEAVYCRUISERS. YOUCANMIXCRUISERS,HEAVYCRUISERSANDVARIANTCRUISERSINTHESAMESQUADRON NOMORETHANHALFOFTHEMEDIUMSHIPSINYOURFLEETCANBEHEAVYCRUISERS YOUCANNOTMIXR&DCRUISERSWITHOTHERCRUISERSINTHESAMESQUADRON IFYOUBUYWINGSFORONEORMOREHEAVYCRUISERS,THEYMUSTBETHESAMETYPEOFWING,AND ALTHOUGHTHEYCOMEFROMDIFFERENTSHIPS,THEYMUSTFORMONEFLIGHT.

BartholomewRoberts(BlackBart)Cruiser
NamingaclassafterEarthsmostsuccessfulpiratewasawayofaddingaprayerfortheclassessuccess.TheBlackBart cruisersareamatchforthecruisersoftheotherfleetsrangingthroughspace,andaterrortotheconvoystheypreyupon. MuchoftheirstructureisbasedupontheGeoffreyThorpeHeavyCruisertomakesupplyandmaintenanceeasierforfleet elementsintheBrethrenswideflungexpanse.

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FORE(Fixed)

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BLACKBARTCRUISER
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 5 7 10 4 4 4 3 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

4 6 4

4 6 4

4 6 4 4

4 3

COST:60POINTS
THISISAMEDIUMCAPITALCLASSSHIP ITMUSTMOVE1STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO80%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONMEDIUMSHIPS BRETHRENCRUISERSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF2TO4SHIPS

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 4 4 5 5

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 4 4 5 5

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EdwardTeach(Blackbeard)Frigate
TheBlackbeardfrigatesembodytheBrethrensdesignphilosophyofstandingoffandweakeningatarget,andthen movingintoeliminateorcapturethetarget.Fast,manoeuvrable,andavailableinpacks,theycanposeathreattolarger ships,whileravaginganysmallershipstheyencounter.

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BLACKBEARDFRIGATE
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 3 5 12 2 2 2 1 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

3 4 3 2

3 4

COST:25POINTS
THISISASMALLCLASSSHIP ITCANMOVE0STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO60%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONSMALLSHIPS BRETHRENFRIGATESAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF2TO4SHIPS

BrigantineTorpedoEscort
TheNTalbelievefirmlyinfightingfromasfarawayaspossible,andcarriedthatconcepttothelimitfortheircombat escort.TheBrigantinewasdesignedtobeabletorangeaheadofthelargeshipsandharryanyenemyatextremerange, butalsotobefastenoughtobeabletocomebackandprotecttheirchargeifenemyshipssomehowcameclose.

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FORE(Fixed)

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BRIGANTINEESCORT
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN FW 3 4 12 2 1 1 2 0 0 0

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

1 2 1

COST:25POINTS
THISISASMALLCLASSSHIP ITCANMOVE0STRAIGHTAHEADBEFOREMAKINGEACH45DEGREETURN UPTO60%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONSMALLSHIPS BRETHRENESCORTSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF1TO3SHIPS

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 3 3 4 4

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 1 2 3 4

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TortugaAsteroidStation TheNTalfavourlargestrongholdsfromwhichtheycanmaketheirraidsagainsttheshippinglanes ofneighbouringempires.Thesestrongholdsoftenformaperimeteraroundaseriesofsmaller stationsandbasesthathousetechnologicalresearch,repairfacilitiesandminingcamps.Most importantlyinthemindsofmanycrewsamongtheBrethren,thesecoloniesalsohave establishmentsthatprovidedrinking,gamblingandentertainmentforthemorerowdyelements withinthefleet.

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STARBOARD

TORTUGAASTEROIDSTATION
DR CR MV HP CP AP PD SH MN 8 14 4 12 12 12 9 0 0 FW 10

FLEETTACTICSBONUS:+2 COMMANDDISTANCE:6

1 2 3 4

11 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7
COST:350POINTS

AFT

THISISAMASSIVECAPITALCLASSSHIP(INSTALLATION) UPTO50%OFYOURPOINTSCANBESPENTONINSTALLATIONS BRETHRENASTEROIDSTATIONSAREDEPLOYEDINSQUADRONSOF1SHIP WINGSAREPAIDFORINADDITIONTOTHESTATION

LargeMass:TheAsteroidStationcountsasanObstacleandusesthesamerulesasaMeteoroid, thereforemeasureallranges(orbasecontact)toandfromanypartofthemodel.AWingcanmove intobasecontactwiththeStationsafelysolongastheWingisenteringtheStation,beingattached totheStationorattackingtheStation. Indestructible:IftheAsteroidStationisreducedto0HPitisdestroyed(includinganyWingsthatare init),butthemodelisleftonthetableandstopsmoving(attachedWingsareaffectednormallyby theexplosion).Ifitmovesinto(orismovedintoby)aMeteoroidorPlanet(oranotherAsteroid Station)anyAsteroidStationsinvolvedinthecollisionaredestroyed. NoFTL:TheStationCANNOTperformaShunt(andCANNOTShuntwithanotherShip). SafeHaven:IfyourfleetcontainsWingsgainedfromaSTARcardorreinforcements,orWingsthat youboughtwithsparepointswithinyourfleetcomposition,thoseWingscantreattheStationasifit istheirCarrier. AdHocBays:Youcanpay50pointstoincreasetheFWratingoftheStationto16andadd6Wings, orpay100pointstoincreasetheFWratingto24andadd12Wings. DenofVice:EverytimethatyouactivateaSquadronofBrethrenShips,youcanreroll1D6during theactivationofthatSquadron(butMUSTtakethesecondresult).ThisappliestoanyBroadsides, TurretorTorpedoattack,BoardingAssaultorRepairRoll. WingsarepaidforinadditiontotheStation. ThemaximumnumberofWingsinaFlightis10.

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TORPEDOES (Forward) 7 7 8 8

PORT

FORE

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