Hunting in the Delta Quadrant

by Michel Albert

Hello, you young hunters! I am Harkan, trainer of Hirogen. Under my guidance, you will learn to understand your prey, choose the most worthy prizes from its ranks, and track it down and kill it efficiently. At first, you'll stick to nearby hunting grounds, but familiarity breeds complacency. There is worthy prey in these parts...

Rituals (preparation)

Obviously, the trio of hunting incidents will be required here as much as anywhere, so Hirogen Hunt, Rituals of the Hunt, and Relics of the Hunt should all be in evidence. Hirogen Hunt can be seeded directly onto the table, or downloaded later with the Hirogen Outpost. You'll find the Hirogen Talon the weapon of choice in the Delta Quadrant despite its low STRENGTH boost. Not only does it report for free (or directly to a just-initiated battle), but it'll prove invaluable in countering native strategies. Of course, this doesn't mean the Hirogen Disruptor Rifle won't be useful, especially against stronger prey.

Since many Hirogen missions require a certain amount of WEAPONS, the Hunting Vessel, with its boostable attribute, is recommended over the larger Venatic Hunter, but you'll also have to use multiple ships to get the right results. This is pretty easy given that you can convert card draws into ship downloads with Hirogen Hunt anyway. Recommended personnel include any and all Alpha-Hirogen, of course, plus all other Anthropology personnel (those that know their prey). Idrin has a relevant special download, and you should make sure you include some Stellar Cartography if using Corner Enemy Ship.

The Hunt (know your prey)

Kazon prey: The Kazon have a nasty tendency to board your ships. A Boarding Pod in the side of your ship is but an opportunity to kill and capture opposing personnel and hang their heads on the wall. Wait for them to come to you, then use the Talon on one of them to score points (usually derived from its STRENGTH), and perhaps capture another using Rituals of the Hunt/Hirogen Talon, which you can turn into a trophy later if escorted by your Alpha-Hirogen. If things go wrong and your prey manages to take over your ship, you'll be glad you used a fleet of Hunting Vessels. Good targets for Rituals of the Hunt include skill horses like Culluh, Haron, and Loran, who would multiply much-needed ENGINEER and MEDICAL skills.

Vidiian prey: They don't make very attractive trophies, but like the Kazon, they do have a tendency to come aboard your ships. Harvest my organs, will you? Does the head count as an organ? With your hunters' superior STRENGTH, you should easily be able to Talon the Vidiians into points (derived from CUNNING this time) as they come down the boarding claw. Be warned however, that STRENGTH has no bearing on their ability to harvest organs. The best Vidiian prey is no doubt Sulan (there's a surprising lack of MEDICAL in Vidiian skill boxes), but Hirogen could really make use of all the Biology available.

Borg prey: Whether it's with the old Transport Drone or the new-fangled Annexation Drone, the Collective has the means to board your ships too, this time looking to assimilate your hunters. They may be a very different affiliation, but you should treat them the same as everyone else. Sure, the universal drones will never yield more than 7 points apiece, nor do they have impressive skill lists (outside of the few unique Borg), but preying on the Queen with the purpose of eliminating her is a worthy goal (plus, she's worth 12 points on your wall).

Hirogen prey: Prey on your own people? Well, sometimes they're the only game in the sector. The Hirogen are a dangerous foe because they'll be trying to do to you what you have planned for them. And again, you have an affiliation here with the means to board your ship to get what it wants (via one of Hirogen Hunt's effects). Target opposing Alpha-Hirogen as prey, but use your multiple ships to keep your own targeted Hirogen away from opposing hunters by hopping from ship to ship.

Visiting prey: For the most part, these are Delta Quadrant Federation personnel, though there will be Klingons as well. The Feds make juicy targets because of their usually high INTEGRITY or CUNNING, but you'll have to board them, they won't board you. That's what the "plays on ship" function of Hirogen Hunt is for. When targeting specific prey, skip the mission specialists and go directly to someone like B'Elanna Torres. She has ENGINEER/Physics skills that are very useful in the Delta Quadrant and the Cybernetics necessary to nullify Borg Servo. Lots of them have large skill lists. As for the Klingons, they are so few that you might choose to pick on their Non-Aligned support instead, weakening them and helping yourself (Think Tank personnel are 10+ point trophies and have nice skills).

The Chase (stalk your prey)

Access: Your hunters start out in the Delta Quadrant. What could be simpler? Your Outpost can seed at various missions, including the ones without affiliation icons for added flexibility. Plasmadyne Relays may be the easiest way to boost your ships' speed, though you could travel to the far ends of the spaceline with a single ship using Quantum Slipstream Drive or by completing Repair Null Space Catapult. The Gift would also work if you brought the Voyager set's Kes to the hunting party.

Terrain: Delta Quadrant locations have generally long Spans, which can work in your favor by keeping prey from escaping your hunters, but you really have to be wary of those fast opposing ships. This may indeed be incentive to use a Venatic Hunter with its 9 RANGE instead of a host of smaller vessels. Good missions to use are Ambush Ship and Corner Enemy Ship, which have similar WEAPONS-based requirements, very high Spans and high point values. Hunt Alien is a more conservative mission uniquely suited to your Alpha-Hirogen, and Secure Station is another WEAPONS-based mission, this time with a very short Span if you'd rather use your RANGE with fewer limits.

Relics (capture your prey... i.e. the other player)

In most cases, Delta Quadrant natives will come to you! Prepare a nice corner for them on your wall and just wait for them. If they're intimidated by your hunters and take to attempting missions or completing objectives instead (or if they are cowardly Federation intruders), turnabout is fair play: Play Hirogen Hunt on your lead ship and beam to their ships. A couple of missions like Ambush Ship and Corner Enemy Ship not only fit well with the Hirogen theme, but are also worth a lot of points. Completing both would supplement your hunting activities very well. Completing only one would work too!

All right, hunters. You're ready to go out there. Stay close and be patient. The next lesson will take you farther out. Good hunting.

August 30, 2001