Skirmish Interceptors Part 1 - One Man and his Inty

With the first run of Agony's long awaited Skirmishing class coming up, I think it's probably worth a post on the topic. When I joined Agony I spent my first year or so flying this role almost exclusively, and I can absolutely recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to be just another gun.

First of all, I should probably explain what a Skirmisher is. In Agony, a Skirmisher is a pilot who operates independently from the main fleet whose main role is to locate and tackle targets. This may be in a +1 or -1 position (that is, one system ahead of or behind the main fleet) or it may be further afield. Skirmishers also double as scouts, providing early warning of hostile gangs in the area.

Intelligence & Counter-Intelligence, Part 2 - Would You Kindly

Last entry we spoke about how important it is to know stuff. Of course, any opponent worth their subscription is likely to be trying very hard to know stuff too.

Believe it or not, most people are opposed to the idea of throwing themselves into a situation where they are likely to lose. Add a bunch of their friends into the mix, and many FCs will err on the side of caution and only take fights where they have a reasonable expectation of winning. There are a a fair number of noteable exceptions to this rule, many of whom I have a great deal of respect for as a result, but for the most part it holds true.

So here's our problem - our gang finds an opposing gang which we'd rather like to make explode. If we've both been watching carefully the chances are both gangs know what the opposing gang has, and quite often one side will look better than the other. Depending on the disposition of each FC, one or more may decide that actually, the other gang is too much for them to handle and bug out. Assuming our gang is capable of beating the other, how do we convince them to go into a fight they have a good possibility of losing?