Istvatha V'han - why can't she conquer Earth?

[Kirby]

For an Empress of an exaggerated billion dimensions (it's just about a hundred million), why can she not conquer Earth? Aside from the comic genre reason, what would be some feasible reasons?

The first I can think of is that she can't launch a dimensional invasion en masse, because of "the quirky and unpredictable nature of interdimensional travel." So, does this mean there's possibly just one dimensional rift per solar system? Or are dimensional rifts just small?

In my current campaign I'm running on HeroCentral, V'han has arrived in a single shark-shaped ship (about a thousand meters or so in length - about the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer) in Earth's orbit. Inside the "belly" of this shift is a huge technological dimensional gate where the invasion ships (about 100 meter diameter disk-shaped) come through one at a time to descend into Earth's atmosphere to invade. So, on the one hand, she has a fleet capable, but on the other hand, it can only arrive piecemeal. (The mother ship can carry four of these ships to begin the opening volley.)

Next comes her D-Soldiers, "the backbone of Istvatha V'han's armies." Essentially, they're 3 SPD, 16 DEX, 13/8 D/rD and their 32 round MP weapon does either 10d6 or a 5-shot 6d6 AutoFire. Even though they have a spiked shoulder pad and a sword, they spent no points on them, so those are apparently for decoration and ceremonial purposes. They're built on 157 points. Who do they compare to, though?

DEMON initiates are 4 SPD, 15, DEX, 16/10 D/rD, their 16 charge Wands can do 12d6, 6d6 AoE Cone, or 4d6 RKA. They also have Black Magic (with a potential MultiPower attack there) and are built on 250 points. One on one, DEMON seems to win.

UNTIL's basic Urban Division Agent is 3 SPD, 15 DEX, 13/8 PD/rPD 12/8 ED/rED and their 2 clips of 32 rounds does 5-shot 10d6 AutoFire +1 OCV +1 Range (They also have an 8d6 back-up pistol and a 1d6 HKA Knife,) and they know UNTIL Combat training. They are built on 245 points. One on one, UNTIL seems to win.

VIPER agents (My book is packed up for our move this weekend) IIRC are better than D-soldiers as well. (And it's been mentioned that the V'han hover tank is weaker than the VIPER tank.)

Heck, even Millennium City's MARS Units seem to be a close match or better. At 3 SPD, 16 DEX, 17/11 PD/rPD 16/11 ED/rED, they carry 4 clips of 8 charges for a 9d6 standard blaster, and a +3d6 HtH Nightstick and know Police Training MA. They are built on 167 points.

So why is this? Was it just a poor write-up of the D-soldiers? To keep it close to the "official CU" ineptitude of her armies, is Earth "super" technology really that much more advanced than all the millions of dimensions she's conquered? (Has she secretly and purposely conquered weak dimensions first?)

It has been noted in V'han's write-up that she's been hesitant to invade Earth because of the high concentration/population of super powered individuals; however, it also says she easily has as many super troops as those in CKC, and as powerful.

What could be tactical/strategical reasons for V'han not unleashing her full might? If she can unleash 1,000 D-soldiers, why not take out 100 of them and replace them with superbeings?

Is it that she's trying to simultaneously take over each galaxy in our universe/dimension at the same time so spreads them out? Is she a "defensive" conqueror, where she prefers to build up and fortify a base (or dimension) before committing all of her forces? Even though she's an Empress, does she rule a type of Democratic Republic where votes must be cast for a full-fledged invasion (sure, she's allowed to send a division to "test the waters," but to use the full might of her military, she must have a successful vote to occur)?

Anyone have any useful thoughts on the subject matter?

[Lord Liaden]

Well, I already made a general case for Istvatha V'han's record over on the "Dimensional Conqueror" thread, so I'll refer interested parties to that. As to your specific concerns:

If you want to compare published character stats (even though many GMs don't run characters as written anyway), I feel it necessary to point out that the D-Soldiers and the Hovertank were written up before Fifth Edition VIPER, UNTIL, DEMON or Millennium City were published, and even before the real-world military vehicles in The Ultimate Vehicle. As such I would say they suffer in comparison to power creep in those later books.

D-Soldiers and Hovertanks being "typical" or "backbone" don't equate to being the only or best resources that Istvatha has to draw on. There's nothing that says she didn't use more advanced tech or superhuman troops in her previous invasion attempt - they just weren't written up.

Why would V'han not use overwhelming force? I remember a quotation from a sci-fi novel dealing with an alien invasion: "I could use a ten-ton crane to pick up a paper bag, but it would hardly be an efficient means of getting the job done." To run as much territory as V'han does she should be an efficient manager, and an efficient manager attempts to allocate only as much resources as required to succeed, and as much effort as the reward for the task would warrant.

The defenders of Earth could have several tactical options. If you can't defeat an invading army through force, you look for areas of vulnerability. V'han's troops may need stable dimensional gates to pass through, using some type of technology that's vulnerable to raids or sabotage by a clever and resourceful enemy. V'han has too many responsibilities to personally supervise every military campaign, so she has to delegate to proxies. Those proxies could have exploitable weaknesses, such as a signature tactic that can eventually be anticipated, a code of honor that can be twisted to the defenders' advantage, or an actual vulnerability that allows them to be defeated and captured.

OTOH the defenders could try to circumvent the invading army altogether. They could cross to V'han's home dimensions to try to steal valuable intel about her plans or how her military technology works. They could engage in covert sabotage attempts, or try to foment a rebellion, distracting V'han's attention from Earth, or giving them a bargaining chip to persuade her to negotiate.

[jkwleisemann]

Also, I would pose that us pathetic Earthlings have the advantage of fighting a defensive battle here. We only have one place to defend, and it's fairly centralized, from a dimensional perspective. So we *can* put everything into its defense. It could well be that, while Earth is a tempting prize indeed, it doesn't measure up to a more pressing need - *staying* the Empress of a Billion Dimensions.

Sure, she could waltz right over Earth if she wanted. Snag one dimension.

Lose twenty, maybe, to Tyrannon and Skarn *each* in the time it took to mobilize and get the troops back out there.

V'han's smart, *and* she's probably the weakest - combat wise - of the various dimension-gobblers out there. But hey, she's got time. Earth wouldn't be the diamond in her tiara, it'd be the agate on her toe ring. Why would she *want* to risk her best troops on Earth, when they can actually work on whittling away at Tyrannon's territory?

That aside, V'han *does* have one advantage over just about everybody else. To paraphrase a quote about the US tanks against the German Panzers during WWII.

"Sure, one Panzer was worth a dozen of your American tanks. The problem was, there was always a thirteenth one waiting for it!"

One on one, DEMON brothers waste D-Soldiers. Problem is, for every Demonhame there are probably a thousand or so units of D-Soldiers waiting for them, potentially. VIPER? Outnumbered a solid 50 to one, and that's if V'han just decides to stretch the troops out for a bit, instead of a concerted invasion. MARS units? Well, they can probably hold their precinct buildings if V'han puts her mind to it, but that's about it. UNTIL? PRIMUS? Assuming they can get around the red tape, they put up a valliant defense... but they're kinda screwed after several *months* of defending.

The supers are still necessary, to actually make the necessary strikes to convince V'han it's still not worth it. As for why she doesn't mobilize all her super-troops to counter Earth's forces... see above comment about "we only have to defend one planet, not a billion dimensions."

[Twilight]

One reason only. His name is....The Doctor.

[pinecone]

Plus Fortune is an Earth super...so every time she trys to invade, weird unfortunate stuff puts the invastion on hold...

[Hermit]

I thought it was Oddhat's Flesh Gordon who held her at bay myself

More serious reply later *G*

[Captain Obvious]

Her Imperial Parliament hasn't authorized her the manpower for a surge.

[Spidey88]

Her Imperial Parliament hasn't authorized her the manpower for a surge.

Is it just me, or does that sound like more issues relating to Flesh Gordon?

[Enforcer84]

She can't collect Earth Dimension until she pays back the money she owes me.

[Guzalot]

She has a rivalry with Tyrannon. If she commits too many resources to conquer Earth then other dimensions she controls are left under-defended against an invasion by Tyrannon. It's all about logistics.

[Roth]

As well if people are using her in a gaming multiverse where there are other Extra Dimensional Orgs, Some of them would definitely cause her to hold back troops in case of counter invasion, cold wars and the like.

[McCoy]

The first I can think of is that she can't launch a dimensional invasion en masse, because of "the quirky and unpredictable nature of interdimensional travel." So, does this mean there's possibly just one dimensional rift per solar system? Or are dimensional rifts just small?

Or less than one per solar system, maybe only a dozen or so per galaxy?

In my timeline Earth and Mars, along with their late siblings Orpheus and Tiamat, were created by the Great Old Ones (Lovecraft's starfish-like aliens) and by accident or design the walls between the realities is weaker on those planets, the main reason they are coveted by so many intersteller empires.

Another reason is that Humans are extremely contrary. Look at how much trouble the United States is having controlling a country a tenth its size. If the population of Earth concludes that Scorched Earth is their only option, they are capible of exterminating all terresterial flora and fauna. A burned out cinder is not much of a conquest. As V'han is immortal, she can be patient, make an exploritory thrust every decade or so, wait until Earth is more ripe for her benevolent rule.

[BoloOfEarth]

Why can't Istvatha V'han conquer Earth?

Well, y'see, Foxbat built this toll booth, and V'han had to send back to her home dimension for a s***load of dimes.

[BNakagawa]

EndGame MegaBosses are not allowed to overrun the newbie zone.

[ghost-angel]

She delegates things out to various "royalty"

It turns out the fop who has the pleasure of trying to conquer this dimension in her name is a bit of an idiot and a tactical void. He just can't see to get it right ....

Good thing this is basically an out of the way seemingly unimportant dimension, and he's just a kind of useless "prince" under her anyways. This occupies him and keeps him out of her court. . .