Starship designs...

[SolCannibal]

Looking for the Ulu tool via Google showed me a variety of formats that all can fit under your basic description - that together with the hasty/emergential character of the Vaallens' initial production as military production, that was adopted by idrellians, makes me think of the possibility of all of them being valid, the ship still not being fully standardized across their territory due to the costs, logistics and research that would be involved in determining what geometry works best for what, costs in adjusting the many repurposed factories and so on. They will do it in the future, most probably already are doing so, but it is a gradual, somewhat slow process that meanwhile results in some systems producing Tergals that can look quite different from each other..

And the Indrellians are sure to capitalize on it to confuse unwary merchantmen and other trespassers in/near their space. Again, Barbary Pirates.

An interesting way to get an advantage out of circunstances most militaries would treat as a management headache.

[taalismn]

I am working on the heavier units in the Indrelian navy, at least three units, but my productivity took a nosedive this week)bad posture, bad sleep habits, and some really moronic driving on the part of others resulting in it all catching up to me in the form of near-physical collapse, so I'm in regenerative semi-coma mode for the rest of the week).

[Omegasgundam]

I am working on the heavier units in the Indrelian navy, at least three units, but my productivity took a nosedive this week)bad posture, bad sleep habits, and some really moronic driving on the part of others resulting in it all catching up to me in the form of near-physical collapse, so I'm in regenerative semi-coma mode for the rest of the week).

I'll try to get off my ass and finally write on Altess-SSN relations to make up for it.

[taalismn]

Indrelian Hotan-class Frigate
(aka ‘Barbarii’, ‘Eyedryl’s Eyeball’)

“We have a disturbing report of an Indrelian Hotan taking on cargo on one of their conquered worlds, including several dozen Fendu. The Indrel moving political prisoners or slaves isn’t particularly new or worrisome, but what sets this intelligence apart is that the Fendu were listed on the ship's manifest as ‘medical supplies’. ”

The Hotan is the Indrelian Khonate Protector Force’s equivalent of the CCW Scimitar. The Hotan takes its name from a diving predatory avian native to the Khonate homeworld
Like the Garhuwk, the Hotan relies on speed and shields, powered by oversized engines. It also carries a larger contingent of ground fighters than the Scimitar; these are mainly used for boarding other vessels, but they can also be used to pacify rebellious outposts of the Khonate. It has capacity for an Indrelian platoon of marinespotentially more if needed as a small troop transport) and brig accommodations for multiple prisoners.
The Hotan has a few design flaws; the most glaring being the placement of its twin main engines outside the main armored hull. While splitting the engine bloc gives some redundancy, and their positioning allows for some maneuvers being easier, the mountings also make the engines more exposed to damage. Another weakness is its lack of projectile weaponry; its modest short range missile batteries are of little use in ranged firefighters if the ship’s opponents are shielded against energy weapons.
Hotans often serve as the backstops for flotillas of smaller warships, especially Garhuwks.
With the introduction of the more advanced Vitan, production of the Hotan is expected to switch over to transport and fighter carrier variants.
The anti-Khonate rebels have managed to acquire a half-dozen Hotans to their cause, though they tend to use these vessels sparingly and generally only when attacking high-value targets .

Type: IKPF-Fg02 Hotan
Class: Frigate
Crew: 130+ 140 troops + accommodations for up to 300 passengers/troops/prisoners in cabins, or 700 total under cramped conditions.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 5,000
Bridge 1,800
Main Sensor Array 500
Medium Lasers(4) 400 each
Medium Particle Beam Cannon(3) 250 each
Short Range Missile Launchers(2) 250 each
Point Defense Lasers(6) 140 each
Hangar Bay 700
Engines(2) 1,000 each*
Variable Forcefields 1,200 per side, 7,200 total

*Destroying one of the engines reduces acceleration/deceleration rate by HALF and imposes a -20% to piloting rolls for purposes of maneuvers.

Height: 98 ft
Width: 250 ft
Length: 720 ft
Weight: 18,000 tons
Cargo: 1,600 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 60%% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 410 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Enhanced Sensors----The large prominent protruding sensor array at the prow gives the Hotan a 15% increase in sensor range over equivalent ships of its class, though sensor acuity and susceptibility to jamming remain the same.
Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Lasers(4)---The Hotan mounts less powerful laser cannons than the Scimitar, but mounts more of them, gaining a slight edge in overall firepower.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

2) Medium Particle Beam Cannon(3)---Backing the lasers are three powerful, if shorter-ranged, particle beams.
Range: 6.5 miles in atmosphere, 13 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6.5 miles in atmosphere, 6,500 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

3) Short Range Missile Launchers(2) ---These are the primary projectile ‘fire and forget’ weaponry of the Hotan. Anemic by the standards of most other polities’ naval forces, they are still the ships’ best hope against ray-shielded fighters and missiles.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10 each launcher
Payload: 100 per launcher. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes

In the alternative, some Hotans have been refitted with medium range missile launchers, able to launch salvoes of 1-10 MRMs from a ready-fire magazine of 120 missiles each, though this comes at the loss of 50 cabin passenger capacity.

4) Point Defense Lasers(6)---Double-barreled versions of the turrets mounted on the Garhuwk.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD single blast, 4d4x10 MD per double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited

In the alternative, some later model Hotans have been refitted with G-Cannons replacing some or all of the PDLs.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per cannon

5) Tractor Beams:----- Effectively rated for 2,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

Auxiliary Craft:
4 shuttles

Variants:
*IKPF-FgM02---An effort to create a dedicated missile cruiser, the FgM-02 replaces all troop and passenger capacity with heavy missile launchers of similar type to those found on the Garhuwk and its conversions. The -FgM02Lm carries long range missile launchers(4 36-shot launchers), while the -FgM02Cm carries cruise missiles ( three 30-shot cruise missile launchers). These conversions are low in number, though, and generally assigned to home system units and special planetary attack/’punishment’ details.

* IKPF-CFg02----- Transport conversion of older Hotan hulls. These vessels sacrifice all armament but two medium laser turrets, and point defense, and do away with two thirds of the crew, the fighters, and all but two shuttles, to expand cargo capacity to 7,000 tons or 850 prisoners. Depending on the cargo being carried, the marine contingent may or may not be retained for security purposes.
Transport Hotans are becoming more common as the type is gradually being replaced in front line service by the more advanced Vitan enters service and older hulls are converted to transports for servicing the Khonate’s high-value cargo movement needs.

*IKPF-CVE02----- The Indrelian equivalent of the USA’s Sagadag, the CVE02 is a light carrier conversion expected to appear in larger numbers as the IKPF gains more expertise un advanced aerospace operations, and especially when their expected knockoffs of Naruni designs enter service.
Early intelligence shows a straightforward rebuilt of the Hotan hull, sacrificing weaponry(Two of the laser cannons, and the PBCs) and more armor(as much as 30%) for expanded hangar facilities able to accommodate 18 fighters.
Not much of these ships is expected by other Galactic powers, as Indrelian inexperience with escort carrier operations is likely to show.

Indrelian Vitan-class Frigate
(aka ‘Punchblade’, ‘Slagblade’)

“These bastards are supposedly intended for ‘internal security duties’, but the fact of the matter is, they can take out more than their weight in the Scimitars their neighbors deploy on border patrol. This thing’s a shipkiller, which has me concerned whose ships the Indrelians are looking to kill.”
---Captain Vicus Maljhon, CAF Military Intelligence, Trans-Videlle Sector

The Vitan is the intended successor to the Hotan, being faster, and more heavily armored and armed. Though sharing the same general layout with the Hotan, overall improvements in virtually all aspects make the Vitan a much nastier vessel to encounter for those more familiar with the Hotan.
There is some confusion as to the exact development history and proper translation of the Vitan’s name. There is some claim that the Vitan was developed specifically to deal with the threat posed by the Rosallan pirates/freedom fighters, and that ‘Vitan’, loosely translated, means ‘deflowerer’, a crude reference to the Rosallans’ rose sigil. Other sources, not wanting to accord the Rosallan any more credit as a threat to the Khonate, disagree. The most likely explanation is that the Vitan was already in development, but the first units were rushed into service with the taskforces hunting the Rosallan.
The Vitan suffers the same problems as the Hotan in that its main engines are split into two nacelles outboard of the main hull’s armored belt. There have also reportedly been some problems with production of the vessels, and currently the Vitan is only produced by the Indrel home system shipyards, reducing the rate at which new vessels can be launched and deployed. Also, problems with servicing the new M/AM engine and fuel supply have also posed issues in the Khonate, with AM production and storage facilities seem to attract a higher rate of ‘accidents’ than normal.
The Vitan will gradually replace the older Hotans over the next few decades, starting with deployment with the highest-performing elite units.

Type: IKPF-Fg03 Vitan
Class: Heavy Frigate
Crew: 180+ 40 troops + accommodations for up to 300 passengers/troops/prisoners in cabins, or 700 total under cramped conditions.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 7,000
Bridge 2,000
Heavy Particle Beam Cannon(1) 700
Medium Laser Cannons(4) 500 each
Medium G-Cannons(2) 200 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(2) 500 each
Point Defense Lasers(6) 160 each
Hangar Bay 800
Engines(2) 2,500 each*
Variable Forcefields 1,200 per side, 7,200 total

*Destroying one of the engines reduces acceleration/deceleration rate by HALF and imposes a -20% to piloting rolls for purposes of maneuvers.

Height: 110 ft
Width: 320 ft
Length: 830 ft
Weight: 25,000 tons
Cargo: 2,000 tons
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 432 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Enhanced Sensors----The large prominent protruding sensor arrays at the prow gives the Vitan a 25% increase in sensor range over equivalent ships of its class, though sensor acuity remains the same. A Naruni-supplied EW package gives the ship a +5% on efforts to break through sensor jamming.
Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Particle Beam Cannon(1)---Projecting from the front of the hull like a unicorn horn is a heavy particle beam cannon capable of devastating lesser ships with just one or two shots.
Range: 15 miles in atmosphere, 75 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 15 miles in atmosphere, 15,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

2) Medium Laser Cannons(4)---Same as on the Hotan, only double-barreled for extra power.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast, 4d4x100 MD per double blast
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

3) Medium G-Cannons(2)---The Vitan addresses the Hotan’s lack of projectile weaponry by replacing the medium PBCs with g-cannons instead. Less overall damage than the PBCs and ammunition-dependent, but better range, rate of fire, and the projectile streams can be ‘drifted’ into the paths of targets.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 300 bursts per gun

4) Long Range Missile Launchers(2)---These are essentially identical to those mounted on the smaller Garhuwk, but have more segments for greater payload.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-9
Payload: 60 missiles each launcher, 120 total

5) Point Defense Lasers(6)---Double-barreled versions of the turrets mounted on the Garhuwk.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD single blast, 4d4x10 MD per double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited

6) Tractor Beams:----- Effectively rated for 2,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

Auxiliary Craft:
4 shuttles

Variants:
The Vitan is too new to have acquired any variants as yet.

[SolCannibal]

I ask myself how much of the Vitan's production issues are due to lower grade of technical industry or management in relation to the capitol system and how much to sabotage by rebel sympathizers among the industrial workers in the conquered worlds.

Small nasty irony in that a number of fendulians might not give much of a damn about the Idrelians classifying their manuyan caste past oppressors as medical supplies, at least in the short term, as long as the Idrelians are unsuccessful in replicating their lifespans.
Damn, i can see some natives sabotaging things as an indirect form of guerilla & intrigue, distracting their current overlords from the day-to-day management of the Fendu homeworld.

Also, i suspect an actual hotan bird might be much rarer see than the ships considering Konosis, the Indrel homeworld, has been a radioactive wasteland used as prison/exile world by the rulers in the orbital citadels for centuries.

[taalismn]

I ask myself how much of the Vitan's production issues are due to lower grade of technical industry or management in relation to the capitol system and how much to sabotage by rebel sympathizers among the industrial workers in the conquered worlds.

Small nasty irony in that a number of fendulians might not give much of a damn about the Idrelians classifying their manuyan caste past oppressors as medical supplies, at least in the short term, as long as the Idrelians are unsuccessful in replicating their lifespans.
Damn, i can see some natives sabotaging things as an indirect form of guerilla & intrigue, distracting their current overlords from the day-to-day management of the Fendu homeworld.

Also, i suspect an actual hotan bird might be much rarer see than the ships considering Konosis, the Indrel homeworld, has been a radioactive wasteland used as prison/exile world by the rulers in the orbital citadels for centuries.

The Manuyan-caste might not be only ones being harvested....and Manuyan longevity might not an inherent genetic trait of themanchuManuyans....I've hinted that they might be leeching off the lower classes(cue body-horror). Some might see a balancing of the books if the manuyans were being dragged off , but it eventually might be of the 'welcome to the slaughterhouse pens, no, master?' dark humor.

That having been said, not ALL iIndrelians are evil bastards or Evil Bastards in Training, and there's a fair share of erudite Indrelian scholars and artisans who have benefitted from exposure to the many cultures the Khonate has come in contact with, and many Indrelian civilians who have benefited from new homesteads opened up in the new territories....but they really shouldn't ask where all the free labor is coming from, or who owned the land before their arrival.

[SolCannibal]

I ask myself how much of the Vitan's production issues are due to lower grade of technical industry or management in relation to the capitol system and how much to sabotage by rebel sympathizers among the industrial workers in the conquered worlds.

Small nasty irony in that a number of fendulians might not give much of a damn about the Idrelians classifying their manuyan caste past oppressors as medical supplies, at least in the short term, as long as the Idrelians are unsuccessful in replicating their lifespans.
Damn, i can see some natives sabotaging things as an indirect form of guerilla & intrigue, distracting their current overlords from the day-to-day management of the Fendu homeworld.

Also, i suspect an actual hotan bird might be much rarer see than the ships considering Konosis, the Indrel homeworld, has been a radioactive wasteland used as prison/exile world by the rulers in the orbital citadels for centuries.

The Manuyan-caste might not be only ones being harvested....and Manuyan longevity might not an inherent genetic trait of themanchuManuyans....I've hinted that they might be leeching off the lower classes(cue body-horror). Some might see a balancing of the books if the manuyans were being dragged off , but it eventually might be of the 'welcome to the slaughterhouse pens, no, master?' dark humor.

Must admit i was completely missing the "leeching longevity off the lower classes" angle and dark or not, can see it making the average Fendu citizen even happier with the Manuyans' fate, Idrelian heavy-handed rulership notwithstanding. Considerably less happy if some of the Idrelian authorities bring back a return of their (rumoured, factual, who knows...) life-extending methods and the Fendu masses take the chaff for it.

Unless it relies in some magic or psychic vampirism secret power of the Manuyans, in which case those coffle rolls being taken to Konosis could end up as a stunt bound to backfire spectacularly on the Idrelians.

That having been said, not ALL iIndrelians are evil bastards or Evil Bastards in Training, and there's a fair share of erudite Indrelian scholars and artisans who have benefitted from exposure to the many cultures the Khonate has come in contact with, and many Indrelian civilians who have benefited from new homesteads opened up in the new territories....but they really shouldn't ask where all the free labor is coming from, or who owned the land before their arrival.

Oh, the civilized citizen's burden indeed....

[DD The Shmey]

Hey Guys,

I've been reading and looking closely at all of Kitsune's starships lately, and I've noticed a pattern in his starfighter.
The main guns of every single light starfighter made by kitsune do 2d4x10+20 damage, while medium filters almost universally do 4d4x10+40. It can be old human alliance fighters, or backwater low tech civilizations or new cutting edge fighters. Railguns, Hi Lasers, plasma cannons, whatever, all seem to do the same damage. The most common exception seem to be some fighters that used to do 2d4x10+20 (or a multiple there of) but were upgraded to do 2d6x10 (or 4d6x10).

Have any of you guys seen this trend?

I know Omegasfundam, you've been posting updates of kitsune's ships on here. I haven't dug into many of your updates in depth. Are there any other patterns that you've seen?

[Omegasgundam]

I know Omegasfundam, you've been posting updates of kitsune's ships on here. I haven't dug into many of your updates in depth. Are there any other patterns that you've seen?

Not terribly surprising, but most of the fighters I've reposted that aren't modifications of taalisman's work draw from the various canon books to serve as bench marks. Only a few of them can be qualified as 'old' or 'PoS', so the book values were treated as minimums due to the advance of technology. The biggest damage changes come from when the old gun is ripped out and replaced with something much larger, generally a GR-1000.

A way to think of it is that most of the functional advances have gone into making the installations smaller, more maintenance friendly, easier to produce, and simply more practical, with per-hit damage hitting an abstracted equilibrium. New designs have bonuses to help them actually hit the target, which results in more effective damage output over the same time frame.

A possible explanation for the historical absence of pylon mounts is it being limited by CG drive physics, and it continued afterwards due to inertia and complacency.

[taalismn]

WZT Corvus-class Assault Cruiser(Warshield Conversion)
(aka ‘Pirate-Opener’, ‘Pain Spigot’)

“The Skensians love their new Corvies; besides letting them take more pirate heads, they’ve added a half dozen new armed auxiliaries as prizes of war they’ve taken. True, they have to spend a pretty credit to patch the captured ships back up to spec, but the SRC claims that there’s a special sense of justice in turning ex-pirate ships on their fellows.”

“The Su-jori are pretty impressed with you; that starliner the Maldri pirates ‘jacked held a good percentage of the next generation of Su-jori noble houses and an equally good number of their proud parents and high government official minders on their field trip. The pirates were already beginning to sort and process the kids and adults for ransom or market when your cruiser popped up next to them, latched on, and began pouring in, pirate-busting. You totally ignored the decoy they sent several sectors over and caught’em toally offguard.The Su-jori Minister of Internal Security was MOST impressed, especially since the pirates were already discussing selling her off on Hhurigh. Now she’s got the opportunity to express her displeasure to the mole in her organization who leaked the details of the trip to the Maldri.”

“Knock-knock, guess who’s here?”

The Corvus is a variant of the venerable CCW Warshield-class cruiser that has recently begun appearing in numbers in the United Systems Alliance, and with some other paramilitary organizations. WZTechyards had had sufficient access to older demilitarized Warshield transport conversions to be confident about producing their own knockoff of the design, and Aegis Stellar Industries shared their own technical data from reworking several Warshields into their Naegling-class.
The Corvus is a specialist in deep space boarding operations, joining a small handful of such specialized craft( such as the Kai’Shem Blade and Daito, Kittani K’Norr and EShemarrian Tyrannastar) in service in the Three Galaxies. Normally, such a specialized vessel would be used in the ranks of wealthy star nations such as the CCW, TGE, and Splugorth, but not the rather modestly-funded United Systems Alliance, but for the USA’s dedicated anti-piracy forces. Though the USA’s Alliance Joint Command starforces focused on several escort-style vessel classes for fending off pirates, simply blasting them was not always the best solution. Capturing pirate vessels and installations to get information, rescue hostages and slaves, and take back stolen merchandise and ships was just as important, and the AJC felt the expense of a new specialized vessel was justified.
Though WZTYards already had a pair of excellent ‘ram and board’ designs already in production- the WZ-MD-016 Blade Missile Destroyer and the WZ-MC-020 Daito Missile Attack Cruiser, making a new design a case of WZT competing with itself, these Kai’Shem designs were not as widely distributed as the Warshield, upon which the Corvus was based, complicating logistics. Though there is a fierce sense of homebrew pride and independence in the Rim, many Rim worlds are pragmatically less inclined to trust small shipyard designs when it comes to their defenses, and WZTY is also looking to score contracts outside the United Systems Alliance, especially in the CCW satellite worlds. Having both an understudy to the Blade and Daito, and a possible showcase for refit contracts and export kits to services already using the Warshield, pushed the Corvus program forward.
Named for the spiked boarding ram that allowed the ancient Human Roman empire to use their greatest strength---their Legions---in naval actions, the Corvus uses the basic spaceframe of the Warshield cruiser. Lacking(as yet) an analogue of the CAF Battleram robot, the USAJC adapted the launch bay used by the titanic ‘bots into a fighting compartment in the prow, modified for ramming and deploying troops into the interior of a pinned ship or habitat. Conversion removes some of the Warshield’s heavier weaponry in favor of beefed-up point defense and armor, though the Corvus is still very able to hand out a beating to enemy vessels. A beamier and more massive main hull provides space for an expanded complement of troops, as well as provision for carrying prisoners or rescuees. The wider frame is also because of the allocation of secondary engines to outboard nacelles, positioned for better deceleration or reverse thrust. Corvuses are slightly faster than their Warshield cousins; both to increase closing speed with a target(and get out of the arc of its guns as quickly as possible) and to get away from any enemy forces, and protect its vulnerable complement of troops.
Early Corvuses were initially (re)converted Warshield transport cruisers seconded from IDFs that joined the Alliance, but WZT has begun construction of wholly new hulls(altered enough to avoid copyright problems with the CCW’s military-industrial complex).
Corvuses also carry a complement of space-capable power armors and small craft, mainly boarding launches, rather than fighters.
Corvuses rarely operate alone in the field, but are typically part of a taskforce. In a typical boarding action, escorting destroyers and frigates will distract and neutralize a target’s defenses while the Corvus closes in, variable shields maximized to the bow, makes contact, and begins deploying troops. Space-armored troops will often be deployed to scout the outside hull around the conjoined vessels, taking out remaining defenses, fending off counterattacks, and looking to exploit other ways in.
The Corvus is also occassionally used as a conventional troop transport and planetary assault landing transport, especially when not on call for boading and interdiction missions.
The USA’s Merchant Defense Force and Expeditionary Force Reserve operate the largest number of Corvuses as part of their anti-piracy taskforces. The Greater New England Stelmarine Corps uses a large proportion of the Corvuses so far prduced, and the Skensi Royal Commandos have been petitioning for additional funds to get more than the two ships they’ve already received. And based on reports of the successes enjoyed by United System Alliance Corvuses, WZT is getting interested inquiries about the refit and the similar Daito/Blades from outside the Alliance.

Type: WZT-LHDOEC04 Corvus
Class: Assault Cruiser/Marine Transport
Crew: 230+180 troops
Has provision for carrying 100 additional passengers or prisoners
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 55,000
Bridge 15,000
Ram Prow 17,000
Main Engines(2) 12,000 each
Secondary Engines/Reversers(4) 5,000 each
Heavy Laser Cannon Turret 2,000
Heavy G-Cannon(4) 900 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(2) 900 each
Point Defense Turrets(20) 200 each
Boarding Compartment Forcefield 5,000
Variable Forcefield 7,000 per side, 42,000 total
Height: 120 ft
Width: 320 ft
Length: 600 ft
Weight: 175,000 tons
Cargo: 18,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 1.4 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus;
*Boarding Compartment & Barrier Shield----The Boarding Compartment features triple airlock doors and internal defenses, to prevent counterattacks from reaching back inside the assault transport.The Boarding Compartment also features a dedicated directional forcefield generator that reinforces the hull during ramming attacks, helps neutralize enemy shields, and serves as a counterblast barrier against enemy counterattacks through the open ram prow. The shield is only one directional, facing forward, and cannot be rotated to reinforce other sectors of the ship.

*Shield Neutralizer--- This is a modification of the CG Variable Forcefield system and requires the ships’shields to be in contact with each other. If one shield is stronger than the other, the stronger can push through to make hull-to-hull contact, while the weaker shield loses cohesion against any attacks launched on that particular hull sector.

Weapons Systems:
1)Heavy Laser Cannon (2x1)---The Corvus retains the Warshield’s heavy laser battery, but that has been mounted in a double-barreled turret farther back along the main hull. The heavy laser turret is typically used in closing on a target to deliver a crippling precision blow to a hull component such as engines or shield projectors.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD per single blast, 2d4x1,000 MD per double blast
Rate of Fire: 2 shots per melee per barrel
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Heavy G-Cannon(4)---These have been retained from the Warshield design as anti-spacecraft weapons. They have since been modified to be able to fire proximity-fused fragmentation rounds useful for anti-fighter and anti-missile defense, as well as to ablate enemy ship hull armor over a wider area.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per 40 rd burst, or will do 4d6x10 MD to a 200 ft wide area
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per gun.

3) Secondary Laser Cannons(4)---Retained from the Warshield, though WZT uses different-sourced laser mounts.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: 4 times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Medium Range Missile Launchers(2)---These replace the cruise missile launchers, and are generally used for anti-fighter/anti-missile interdiction. WZT has also experimented with using these launchers to ‘spam-launch’ decoy sensor-dazzling missiles to create walls of sensor interference,
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-40 each launcher
Payload: 240 missiles each launch bank; Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)

5) Point Defense Turrets(20) ----WZT uses the modular Heavy Weapons options from their starfighter/light craft options systems. CCW/CAF vessels would likely have a 50/50 mix of particle beam cannons and g-cannons.

6) Ram Prow----The reinforced prow of the Corvus features several arrays of cutting projectors meant to bore into the hull of an enemy ship or station, or tunnel into an asteroid.
Range: (Cutters) 500 ft in space
Damage: 2d6x100 MDxMach Speed number on a ram attack. The cutters do 1d4x100 MD per melee.

7) Tractor Beam Projectors(4)----The Corvus mounts four heavy-duty tractor beam projectors for latching onto targets. Each beam projector has a range of 50 miles in space, and a pull-power rating of 2,000 tons.

Auxiliary Craft:
4 shuttles
50 power armor

Variants:
Being a specialized variant on an existing type, further variants would be stretching it, but a likely one on the Corvus would be a CCW/CAF version using CCW-sourced parts.

[Omegasgundam]

Its a rebuild of old hulls, so using the original equipment makes sense. Its very niche, but its a niche that comes up regularly in certain roles.

[taalismn]

Its a rebuild of old hulls, so using the original equipment makes sense. Its very niche, but its a niche that comes up regularly in certain roles.

Ya, and with the boom in piracy post-Minion War, there's a lot of need to reclaim hijacked spacecraft, space stations and habitats. Not everybody's willing to pay ransom, and the space marines, law enforcement organizations, and PMCs are going to be busy .

[taalismn]

Golgan ‘Vudda’-class Patrolship/Heavy Fighter
(aka ‘Turntail’, ‘Zaptail’)

“The Vudda looks menacing, but it’s almost as old as the Proctor. The Golgans designed it to counter the Proctor, and despite being younger and supposedly fresher, it never has caught up to its rival. That doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous, as anybody who’s tried getting on the Vudda’s six can attest, but there’s volumes of evaluations that spell out its characteristics and shortcomings to those who do the legwork and research.”

Occupying a class between aerospace fighters like the Jasta and larger corvettes like the Autin, the Vudda is an oft-overlooked, but invaluable, part of the Golgan Argosy. Roughly equivalent in mass and role to the CAF’s Proctor and the United System Alliance’s Haizam, the Vudda patrols Golgan space and provides fast heavy near-space recon capability to the Argosy. For a time after the type’s introduction, the Vudda was the smallest FTL-capable starship in the Golgan Argosy’s inventory.
The Vudda has a shape roughly resembling a stingray, a comparison made all the more apt by the fact that one of the ship’s most powerful weapons, a disruptor turret, is mounted to fire in the rear arc. Arguably better armed than the Proctor in terms of direct fire weaponry, the Vudda suffers wth regards to missile armaments, given the more primitive state of Golgan missile technology. The Vudda also suffers from the overall less advanced technology put into it; though using less expensive fusion generators to power it, and other less powerful systems, the Vudda is actually slightly more expensive than the CAF Proctor, owing to the less advanced mass production technology available to the Golgans.
Vuddas often serve picket-duty to the larger vessels of the fleet, providing an anti-fighter and antimissile screen. Variants serve as couriers, scouts, and bombers.
Though the Vudda has well and reliably served the Republik for centuries, the main problem with the Vudda is that the design has been around long enough that it holds few surprises, a problem exacerbated by the glacial pace of government-mandated upgrades. Efforts to update the design have also run into problems that the original design was a little too over-engineered, and intolerant of modification, especially with regards to the power system and distribution grid. Enough examples have also fallen into the hands of former satrapies, secessionist worlds, and forces antithetical to the Republik that the ships’ performance profile is well-known.
The Vudda force did not fair well during the opening shots of the Kultural Revolution’s offensive campaign against the Altess. Over Altess Prime the CAF and USA fighter wings blitzed the Vudda screen, inflicting nearly total casualties on the escorts, leaving the Golgan heavies open to follow-up torpedo runs and the ‘Aurora Dance’. New variants of the Vudda did somewhat better in the offensives against the Zyganians and other secessionist worlds, though those successes may be attributed more to the surprise Golgan aggression in the campaigns, rather than any sudden new improvements in the old Vudda design. The type continues to be produced and serve in the rest of the Republik, but between its advanced age and the cut-off of more advanced designs like the Firebreather from Naruni, the Argosy is looking for a replacement for the Vudda, if time allows.

Type: RAPGVD-V2.1 ‘Vudda’
Class: Patrolship/Heavy Aerospace Fighter
Crew: 5+1-3 passengers can be squeezed in.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,000
Bridge/Cockpit 500
Wings(2) 400 each
Engines 500
Wing/Tail Disruptor Turrets(3) 200 each
G-Cannon(2) 150 each
Missile Launcher Bay 300
Variable Forcefield 300 per side (1,800 total)
Height: 25 ft
Width: 90 ft
Length: 120 ft
Weight: 700 tons
Cargo: 4 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 260 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Aerospace Fighter Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Disruptor Cannon(1)---The single most powerful weapon of the Vudda is this Disruptor Cannon, mounted in typical Golgan fashion to fire to the rear arc of the vessel. Vuddas will typically make a fast attack approach, then turn sharply to escape, while incidentally bringing the rear cannon to bear on target. This makes the rear gunner arguably the most important post on the ship.
In satrapy models, the Disruptor is usually replaced with a less powerful laser or particle cannon or omitted altogether.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per shot , plus 25% of baseline to a 7 ft radius
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Alternate weapons:
b) Laser Cannon
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Forward Disruptor Cannon(2) ----Mounted in fixed forward-firing positions are two less-powerful light disruptor cannons, synchronized to fire with each other.
In ships assigned to non-Golgans, the disruptors are frequently replaced, like the rear heavy cannon, with less powerful substitutes, such as lasers or particle beams.
Range: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 4d4x10 MD per shot, plus 25% of baseline to a 4 ft radius
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Alternate weapons:
b) Laser Cannon
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 1 miles in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Forward G-Cannon(2)---Backing up the disruptors are two forward-firing G-cannons.
Range: 2.5 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 250 rds per cannon

4) Missile Launcher Bay---The cutter features a missile bay set in its underside. Golgan missiles are generally considered ‘stupid’ with the best guidance systems only getting a +3 bonus to strike, so the Golgans tend to ‘spam’ large volleys of missiles in hopes of getting a hit. This tactic proved less effective over Altess Prime, where tachyon ‘spray’ barrages took out entire volleys in one or two shots.
Thelauncher bay can hold the following configurations:
a) Short Range Missiles-----30
b) Medium Range Missiles----20
c) Long Range Missiles----6


Variants:
*RAPGVD-V2.1Bc--- Atmo-Bomber configuration, with the missile bay now holding freefall bombs, equivalent to missile warheads, only DOUBLE the blast radius, and DOUBLE the payload.. A combination of smart bomb technology and active bombardiers allows these weapons to strike moving targets on land/water with a +6 (and automatically hits large stationary targets) within a 2 mile range. This, however, exposes the bomber well within the range of most air defense systems.

* RAPGVDC-V2.1C---Courier model that drops the missile bay in favor of cargo capacity(9 tons), and the rear heavy cannon for boosted engines( Sublight: Mach 11, FTL: 5 light years/hour). The G-cannons are repositioned to fire to the rear arcs

*RAPGVD-V2.1M--- Kultural Revolution-mandated ‘assault’ model that attempted to capitalize on ‘missile spam’ by hanging two additional missile launch racks on the wings. Each external rack has 200 MDC and can hold an additional 10 medium range missiles. This variant has become especially common around the time of the Altess Prime campaign, though the added missile numbers did did little goos against the USA’s heavy missile defenses over Altess Prime.

*RAPGVD-V2.1R---Aka “Rogsum’(Golgan for ‘Renegade’)---A variant common in ex-Golgan satrapy states that downgrades the rear-facing energy weapon to a standard laser or particle beam, and doubles up the forward-facing energy weapon complement, making for a powerful forward-facing attacker, at the expense of rear defense. A further variant of this type, the -V2.1R/U, loses the FTL drive, using the space for additional avionics, sucj as locally-produced ECM and other countermasures. The -V2.1R/U is particularly common among secessionist worlds that can no longer get spare parts for the exclsuvely Golgan-designed and -built FTL drive systems.
As the Republik’s Kultural Revolution campaign overtakes some secessonist worlds and their mlitaries, many captured -V2.1R/Us are being pressed into Republik service to make up for operational losses.

*RAPGVD-V2.1Tr--- Recon model that attempted to remedy the problem that the Vudda’s sensors were little better than those of smaller contemporary starfighters. The -V2.1Tr lost the missile bay and and forward energy cannons(but retained the rear cannon and G-guns) in favor of an expanded electronics bay and sensor arrays. The range of the sensors was effectively DOUBLED, and for a while, it was the Argosy’s plan to assign a -V2.1Tr flight to every Vudda wing as a recon/early warning element. However, it is was decided that a sensor-picket version of the larger Autin, which did not sacrifice as much combat capability, was far more eoonomical, Argosy-wide deployment of the -V2.1Tr was dropped, and already-produced examples were eventually transferred to the reserves. As the Kultural Revolution’s offensive campaigns grind on and the Argosy finds itself increasingly desperate for replacement ships. the mothballed -V2.1Trs are being reactivated, though in some cases to be converted back into full combat -V2.1s.

*RAPGVD-V2.2Et---Executive transport model, using advanced technology to upgrade the FTL capabilities and defenses. Only a handful of this type have been buily, and they serve as personal transports for some of the high-rank members of the Assemnlage, including Gaus Binjo himself. The V2.2Et retains all the energy weaponry, but loses the missile bay in exchange for more luxurious passenger accommodations. and improved communications. Speed has been improved to an FTL speed of 5 light years an hour, and local space speed of Mach 11. Defensive improvements include a shield strength upgrade to 500 per side (3,000 total) and various countermeasure launchers. It’s also rumored that the -V2.2Et also includes a Fusion Booster copied from Draygon Industries designs(see Rifts DB6, Three Galaxies) that can boost the ship up to Mach 20 for up to 8 minutes.

*RAPGVD-V2.2xM--- Experimental attempt to create a heavy torpedo bomber that could match the CAF Proctor’s ability to deliver cruise missiles. The -V2.2xM carries 4 nuclear ion torpedoes equiped with ‘beam rider’ systems. This means the Vudda, after launching, has to maintain an active sensor lock on the target while guiding the weapons in. While under ideal conditions this can prove deadly accurate, it also requires close synchronizatio between the sensor operator and the weapons officer, every melee the weapons are in flight to the target. The system also requires constant effort on the part of an electronic warfare/comms officer to maintain communication with the launched weapons in the face of possible(and likely) enemy electronic countermeasures to jam the targeting lock and guidance signal. The system also proved vulnerable to counter beam-riding weaponry, as was proven when a squadron of -V2.2xMs was wiped out by opponents who used the Vuddas’ own targeting beams to target them. After that disaster, the Republik military high command hurriedly shelved the program, while continuing to try to develop their own ‘ smart/fire and forget’ capital missile technology. It’s rumored, though, that in the recent scramble to field forces in the bid to reclaim the secessionist worlds, the -V2.2xM has been reintroduced in some units, on fronts where accurate destruction is wanted, and jamming environments are rare.
Notes: When the system is working, the ion torpedoes get a +5 to strike, but in order to achieve this, a successful Weapons Systems skill roll must be made every melee round the missiles are in flight to the target. If target lock is lost, the operator can attempt to re-achieve track-and-lock, at a cumulative -5% skill penalty every melee weapons lock is lost.

[Omegasgundam]

How very Goldan. Yes, I can see them building this exact ship without any questions.

[taalismn]

And damn difficult to write...I had to make it potent enough to keep around in service, yet suck just enough that it didn't prove one-on-one a threat to its contemporaries.

Probably the last Golgan Warship I can think of doing for a while since I've already done a few, Aramanthus did more than a few, and purchases from Naruni cover the rest, so unless some new development comes along, or there's a shift in the current war...
Of course, there's the secessionist powers and their little fleets, and the Golgan CIVILIAN sector which had to be impressive at one point, if they've managed to get everybody else onboard with using their standardized shipping container system....

[SolCannibal]

And damn difficult to write...I had to make it potent enough to keep around in service, yet suck just enough that it didn't prove one-on-one a threat to its contemporaries.

Probably the last Golgan Warship I can think of doing for a while since I've already done a few, Aramanthus did more than a few, and purchases from Naruni cover the rest, so unless some new development comes along, or there's a shift in the current war...
Of course, there's the secessionist powers and their little fleets, and the Golgan CIVILIAN sector which had to be impressive at one point, if they've managed to get everybody else onboard with using their standardized shipping container system....

Something that crosses my mind is how that civilian sector of the Golgan Republik could actually be quite useful in locating/tracking down patents & products from other star nations to purchase, spy or outright steal. Another kingdom's mothballed fighter or cruiser could be a veritable mine of unexplored engineering paths to reverse engineer and extrapolate from and even not-so hot models can be quite convenient if the machinery to mass produce them in convenient numbers is close at hand.

[taalismn]

[

Something that crosses my mind is how that civilian sector of the Golgan Republik could actually be quite useful in locating/tracking down patents & products from other star nations to purchase, spy or outright steal. Another kingdom's mothballed fighter or cruiser could be a veritable mine of unexplored engineering paths to reverse engineer and extrapolate from and even not-so hot models can be quite convenient if the machinery to mass produce them in convenient numbers is close at hand.

I figure that's how a lot of smaller starring nations/organizations got their start...they found or acquired an old Human Alliance or Golgan design, reverse-engineered the important bits, and incorporated them into their own designs. It would also account for a lot of the standardization and commonality/similarity of designs throughout the Three Galaxies, as many of the second- and third-tier nations simply copy the leaders, or even engage in 'badge engineering'---acquiring license to a older or obsolete design that's fallen out of favor, making few minor(and often simply cosmetic) changes, slapping their own corporate logo/marquee/badge on the result and calling it 'new'.

[SolCannibal]

[

Something that crosses my mind is how that civilian sector of the Golgan Republik could actually be quite useful in locating/tracking down patents & products from other star nations to purchase, spy or outright steal. Another kingdom's mothballed fighter or cruiser could be a veritable mine of unexplored engineering paths to reverse engineer and extrapolate from and even not-so hot models can be quite convenient if the machinery to mass produce them in convenient numbers is close at hand.

I figure that's how a lot of smaller starring nations/organizations got their start...they found or acquired an old Human Alliance or Golgan design, reverse-engineered the important bits, and incorporated them into their own designs. It would also account for a lot of the standardization and commonality/similarity of designs throughout the Three Galaxies, as many of the second- and third-tier nations simply copy the leaders, or even engage in 'badge engineering'---acquiring license to a older or obsolete design that's fallen out of favor, making few minor(and often simply cosmetic) changes, slapping their own corporate logo/marquee/badge on the result and calling it 'new'.

Indeed. Now i ask myself if some of this supposedly influential golgan civilian sector could not serve as a front for the acquisition of older foreign military models - or at least the machinery to mass produce a few strategic components or pieces of gear - that might be useful in patching a few of the holes in their defense structure, at least in the immediate future.

[taalismn]

I imagine they've launched their own efforts to duplicate older Naruni Enterprises stuff...preferably starting before they decided to kill the bill collector.

[SolCannibal]

I imagine they've launched their own efforts to duplicate older Naruni Enterprises stuff...preferably starting before they decided to kill the bill collector.

Unironically thinking that just streamlining the lines of production and abatting costs for the old Golgan gear without a drop in quality is a trend someone between the breakaway states could get considerable milleage out of. Though that would probably require someone who cares for preserving quality while making money in the process, what frequently applies more to engineers and technicians than businessperson or chiefs of state truth be told.

Someone who is a bit of both might make considerable difference in that front, depending on one's luck.

[taalismn]

Dark Charger----Small Interstellar Courier
“-I swear, my captain, that little starhopper just accelerated to eleven decarats just as our warning shot creased its rear shields! It’s off our screens!”
“You must be mistaken! That puny little dronk-canister of a ship couldn’t possibly claw its way up to three decarats falling into a black hole! Run a check on the sensors; what they reported must be a glitch! Then start a sweep to reacquire the target. If we can’t find it in this system, it either must have been destroyed or our sensors need overhaul! Get to it!”

“Don’t let the scorch marks fool you, lad, that’s just blowtorch work to remove the old incriminating paintjo---Ah, I mean, to get rid of some ugly embellishments on the hull! Otherwise, this ship is as structurally sound as the day it left the factory!”
----Dirtrun Ales, used spacecraft salesman, hawking the Dark Charger

“The pilot’s couch is real comfy, but even so, it can get pretty uncomfy on long transits. Getting up and doing calisthenics aboard the ‘charger ain’t an option unless you’re a contortionist, and sleeping through a jump ain’t an option either, because even with the automatics doing most of the work, the pumped-up ceegee requires a pilot’s attention. Fortunately the courier drive’s fast, so if you're making local runs, you aren’t going to be in the hotseat more than a few hours, but longer jumps...and the Charger can make them....expect to get a little saddle-sore.”
---Barons Tolden, former owner of the Dark Charger

“At least it has a cupholder.”
----Teez Relgin, another former pilot of the Dark Charger

“No, I haven’t noticed anything peculiar. It’s a fast ship, sometimes faster...that’s not unusual around here? I dunno, I’m rather new to this whole starship thing. It just seems to get faster when I’m in a real tight spot. That’s a good thing, right?”
----Equisran Satori, current pilot of the Dark Charger

Dark Charger is a heavily modified Nosan Corp. NC-SPS-2433 Adulac-B Space Yacht, heavily up-engined to allow for fast interstellar transits far in excess of the normally short-endurance starhopper drives commonly installed in Adulacs. Dark Charger has the roughly conical tail-sitter appearance of the Adulac-series yachts, with a notably bulbous appearance around the base of the cone-hull and its engine nacelles. It is loosely classified and used as a courier in the less developed rim systems of the Three Galaxies.
Unfortunately, the upgraded performance comes at the expense of onboard space; the ‘Shaug-Gendo’ hyperdrive installation takes up most of the available interior space that would normally be able to accommodate a family of four comfortably on a vacation excursion. Aside from a small restroom/hygiene facility and food preparation area, the crew cabin is crammed with systemry related to the high performance drive. Cargo space is distributed among several closet-sized cavities in amongst the engineering systems.
Dark Charger is generally regarded by those who come across it as an example of poor frontier engineering; an awkward effort to cram an oversized engine into a too-small spaceframe. Most spaceport engineers find the ‘Shaug-Gendo’ difficult to maintain..so it’s fortunate that the engines seem to run relatively trouble free. In fact, aside from refuelings of the fusion generator, maintenance to the peripheral systems, and inevitable repairs to the exterior hull, Dark Charger has been fairly trouble-free as far as major engine issues go. Handling-wise, the ship has mediocre performance in atmospheres and gravity wells, and a tendency to shake while cruising at low speeds. The shimmying and rolling decrease the faster the ship goes, though few operators have taken the ship up to speed very fast or far for fear of busting something in the convoluted wiring and ducting of the engine. Those who have taken Dark Charger up to full thrust have reported that once past stall speeds, the ship performs very well.
Dark Charger has been through a number of low-end owners, most of who ditched the ship for better vessels when they came into the means. The vessel has been bounced from used spacecraft lot to spacecraft lot, and was almost sold for scrapping on one occasion. Those familiar with it regard the ship as possibly cursed, given its history of running through owners like a cybercentaur on fire.
The real secret of Dark Charger is that its complicated ‘Shaug-Gendo’ drive conceals a prototype exotic-matter drive capable of far greater performance. This drive is actually a Jelko Rodula original, one of his early works and the result of one of the drinking-and-brainstorming sessions he and Lester M’kri used to have. During one of them, M’kri besottedly challenged an equally soused Rodula to make the fastest low-end spacer he could, the equivalent of fitting a soapbox derby racer with a scramjet. Rodula whipped up a wholly new drive system from his early studies of strange matter, disguised it in a kludge of parts from a number of other FTL drives he had lying around for study, squeezed it into the cheap spaceframe of a Nossan yacht, and presented it to M’Kri. The two spent a few weekends playing around with the ship, then apparently forgot about it. How the ship left the possession of the two is unknown, and apparently Rodula forgot about it too, as he’s made no effort to track down the vessel.
Few have discovered what Dark Charger is truly capable of, and of those few, misfortune seems to have a habit of claiming them(hence the bad reputation). A few ship mechanics have suspected that there was something more to the ship, but the then-owners took the ship away or lost it before the mechanics could investigate further. One pair of darkport technicians who discovered the secret drive fell to fighting amongst themselves over who would profit from selling the ship to a megacorp, killed each other in the process. The last person to discover how to ‘open up’ Dark Charger’s real capbilities, Swinh Zollah, drug smuggler and fugitive from justice, used the ship to escape the law in the Anvil’s Dersec Regions by fleeing up across the galactic pole in a matter of days, not weeks. Landed safely in the Poynt Armature, Zollah was considering using the Dark Charger to smuggle highly concentrated egoburn dust, when he was killed in a barroom brawl, and his ship impounded for unpaid dock fees.
The current pilot and owner of Dark Charger, an errant space-bum, adventurer and d-stranded d-bee by the name of Equisran Satori, picked up the ship for a pittance at auction from the impound yard. A good-natured rogue with a tendency to attract trouble, Satori has had the ship for several months now and has had ample opportunity to put its hgh speed to good use. Though he’s had no real complaints about the ship’s performance, his main complaint is its lack of room. A martial artist of no small ability, Satori uses physical toning techniques and meditation to handle being cooped up in the cockpit on long trips. Due to the lack of living space aboard the ship, however, his traveling companion and significant other, Rayui, has to travel in a hiber-box when the ship is in flight, and she complains that she can’t share in his dangers while frozen, and she only learns about problems she could have helped him with only after the crisis has past and she thaws out of hiber-sleep. The two are looking to find a larger vessel with more comfortable space, and in the meantime have been making their way through the 3G, doing odd jobs and getting into and out of trouble. Equisran has, on several occasions, edged the ship into the borderland of unbelievable performance, but given his unfamiliarity with the standards of starship performance, he simply regards the incidents as the ship being affected by stellar phenomena or his misreading of the instruments.

Type: NC-SPS-2433 Adulac-B
Class: Courier(Modified Yacht)
Crew: 1(passengers must be carried as cargo)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 980
Reinforced Cabin 250
Landing Gear(4) 100 each
Canards(2) 100 each
Point Defense Lasers(4) 25 each
Particle Cannon 190
Forcefield 2,500*
*Regenerates at 10% per melee
Height: 120 ft
Width: 45 ft at base
Length: 45 ft at base
Weight: 300 tons
Cargo: 10 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 10 year energy life between refuelings, though this only powers the auxiliary systems. The main CG drive is actually powered by strange matter, and has an estimated energy life of 400 years before the material begins decaying.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 2.2; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7, but if unlocked, it can hit speeds of Mach 32.
(Kitsune Values: 63% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7/3.2% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour in ‘cruise’ mode, but if unlocked, its FTL system can punch the ship up to 9 light years per hour.
(Underwater) Can land, floats stably, and take off in water.
Market Cost: Dark Charger is valued at about 45 million credits thanks to its faster drive, but most of its history it’s been sold for a lot less due to its reputation. If its cutting edge propulsion system were ever discovered and made widely known, the vessel could easily sell for 100 million credits or more.
(Note: The drive system is fully integrated into the hull of the yacht and cannot be removed/transplanted without destroying both ship and revolutionary propulsion system. Only Jelko Rodula or possibly a sufficiently advanced Ancient One would know how to safely remove and service it)

Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Enhanced Forcefield--Rodula did away with the expandable ‘camper-shield’ forcefield system originally installed, in favor of a beefed-up deflector system with a faster recharge/regeneration rate, the better to handle the expected material impacts at Dark Charger’s higher operational velocities.

*Hazard-Scan Systems---Nosan has equipped its ships with a complement of sensors designed to alert the crew to hazardous environs...meaning atmospheric, chemical, biological, and incidentally many military target acquisition systems. This system rivals many First Landing planetary survey landers’ sensory systems. Note that this system works only against PASSIVE threats, like poisonous atmospheres and radiation; it will not detect hostile magic or psionic activity, and while it may warn passengers of external motion, it cannot distinguish between an incoming landslide, a large predator, or a local oversized sentient coming around to say hello.

*Crash Control Systems---In event of a crash, Nosan’s ‘goof-proof’ safety systems cut in, using a combination of airbags, quick-release inert aerogel, and cushioning forcefields to protect the passengers, reducing crash damage to them by 75%.

*Nosan Automated Piloting System--Nosan’s ‘foolproof’ piloting system with extensive A.I. pilot tutorial and situation response software makes the ships very easy to fly; +10% to pilot skill, but the ships are -15% for extreme aerobatic maneuvers with the automated systems online...the safety systems tend to fight the pilot from doing death-defying feats that obviously endanger the ship and its passengers, and will automatically steer the ship onto a more conservatively safe course(this may lead problems if you’re skimming a star’s chromasphere to avoid the pursuing TGE cruisers on your tail).

Weapons Systems:
1) Nosan Point Defense System--- Dark Charger retains Nossan’s automated point defense systems, but replaces the plasma cannon with a much more powerful particle beam cannon.
Thanks to two genius weapons designers tinkering with the peripherals, the automated point defense enjoys a bonus to strike. Arguably they could have come up with something even more effective, but Rodula’s focus was on the propulsion...and getting the accuracy of the original Nossan systems to a +2 strike was a minor miracle in itself.
Range:(Lasers) 5,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space)
(Particle Cannon) 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 1.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 150 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 6d6 MD per blast
(Particle Cannon) 6d6 x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the lasers have 5 shots per melee
(Particle Cannon) EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the plasma cannon has 3 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonuses: +2 to strike

2) Canard Hardpoints(2)----Dark Charger also has two small hardpoints mounted on the stubby canards jutting out near the nose. These hardpoints can be modified to mount additional light point defense weapons, or mini-missile launchers(19 shot pod) or short range missiles(6 shot pod).

[SolCannibal]

"It just seems to get faster when I’m in a real tight spot." - that particular comment from Satori got me kind of thinking it might have some variant of the "Kasenti Lust-Drive" before getting to the nitty gritty of things.

Now i'm considering the possibility of some Kasenti TW actually making an accidental equivalent/knock-off of the Dark Charger's drive by mixing his people's traditional drive with the more mainstream technologies of other cultures.

[taalismn]

"It just seems to get faster when I’m in a real tight spot." - that particular comment from Satori got me kind of thinking it might have some variant of the "Kasenti Lust-Drive" before getting to the nitty gritty of things.

Now i'm considering the possibility of some Kasenti TW actually making an accidental equivalent/knock-off of the Dark Charger's drive by mixing his people's traditional drive with the more mainstream technologies of other cultures.

That, and more. Dark Charger can be an adventure hook(obviously) and also some insight into what Rodula has done in the way of original research, when he wasn't working for Naruni or seeking to undermine them. Who knows, Jelko's been around long enough that he might have heard of the Kasenti, might even have visited them or gotten ahold of some of their tech, and it might have subconsciously influenced him when he put Dark Charger together, although what he was really interested in was a 'GO FASTAH IN A SMALL SPACESHIP!' with an exotic matter drive he wanted to try out.

[SolCannibal]

"It just seems to get faster when I’m in a real tight spot." - that particular comment from Satori got me kind of thinking it might have some variant of the "Kasenti Lust-Drive" before getting to the nitty gritty of things.

Now i'm considering the possibility of some Kasenti TW actually making an accidental equivalent/knock-off of the Dark Charger's drive by mixing his people's traditional drive with the more mainstream technologies of other cultures.

That, and more. Dark Charger can be an adventure hook(obviously) and also some insight into what Rodula has done in the way of original research, when he wasn't working for Naruni or seeking to undermine them. Who knows, Jelko's been around long enough that he might have heard of the Kasenti, might even have visited them or gotten ahold of some of their tech, and it might have subconsciously influenced him when he put Dark Charger together, although what he was really interested in was a 'GO FASTAH IN A SMALL SPACESHIP!' with an exotic matter drive he wanted to try out.

Or he has not really forgotten about the Dark Charger - the ship possesses a blackbox with a quantum entanglement system through which he can keep tabs on his creation wherever it is as long as it's the same 'verse, maybe farther than that (and testing the "range" limits of the blackbox has been one of the goals all along).

[taalismn]

[
Or he has not really forgotten about the Dark Charger - the ship possesses a blackbox with a quantum entanglement system through which he can keep tabs on his creation wherever it is as long as it's the same 'verse, maybe farther than that (and testing the "range" limits of the blackbox has been one of the goals all along).

See, just a few changes to what was a deliberately a throw-away low-end design, a new backstory, and already we've got the stuff of galactic adventure and corporate intrigue!

[SolCannibal]

[
Or he has not really forgotten about the Dark Charger - the ship possesses a blackbox with a quantum entanglement system through which he can keep tabs on his creation wherever it is as long as it's the same 'verse, maybe farther than that (and testing the "range" limits of the blackbox has been one of the goals all along).

See, just a few changes to what was a deliberately a throw-away low-end design, a new backstory, and already we've got the stuff of galactic adventure and corporate intrigue!

Indeed.


Going back to previous and more mass-produced models, how complicated might or not be to put the Vudda's Heavy Disruptor Cannon in a forward-firing position, maybe upon the placement of the synchronized pair of forward light disruptor cannons?

Or if not possible, to "invert" the chassis, making the the front into the back & vice-versa?

(Thinking that a "reverse stingray" format might look a little like the ferengi ships in ST:TNG & DS9 - or would that be more "reverse horseshoe crab", perhaps )

[taalismn]

[

Going back to previous and more mass-produced models, how complicated might or not be to put the Vudda's Heavy Disruptor Cannon in a forward-firing position, maybe upon the placement of the synchronized pair of forward light disruptor cannons?

Or if not possible, to "invert" the chassis, making the the front into the back & vice-versa?

(Thinking that a "reverse stingray" format might look a little like the ferengi ships in ST:TNG & DS9 - or would that be more "reverse horseshoe crab", perhaps )

Rather difficult; you'd either have to mount the disruptor on the wings, reinforce the structure to take the heavier load, and move the wing-mounted laser there to the other wing to balance it, or you'd have to add a whole new nose section.


And the quantum-linkage monitor got me thinking of an Ancient ship technology where the engine is remarkably compact for eh amount of power it delivers....but in fact the 'power plant' is a dummy....the real source of power is a quantum link receiver that draws power from a giant static power plant on the builders' homeward/home system, like a black hole power plant, that could be thousands of light years away. The builders, if they're still around, can essentially cut power to any of their ships at the source. Be a neat idea fr the ships and technology of the enigmatic species like the K!ozn or the Xodians, no?

[SolCannibal]

[

Going back to previous and more mass-produced models, how complicated might or not be to put the Vudda's Heavy Disruptor Cannon in a forward-firing position, maybe upon the placement of the synchronized pair of forward light disruptor cannons?

Or if not possible, to "invert" the chassis, making the the front into the back & vice-versa?

(Thinking that a "reverse stingray" format might look a little like the ferengi ships in ST:TNG & DS9 - or would that be more "reverse horseshoe crab", perhaps )

Rather difficult; you'd either have to mount the disruptor on the wings, reinforce the structure to take the heavier load, and move the wing-mounted laser there to the other wing to balance it, or you'd have to add a whole new nose section.

Ah, i see now that i had an image of the placement of the forward disruptors in mind that wasn't quite correct, thanks for clearing it up.

Truth be told, a major issue of the Golgans efforts to reach toward past glories is how their current xenophobia makes them blind to the importance of trade and a solid economic framework to support necessary investments in upgrading their technology or at least mass production methods for the sake of economy. The jingoistic pride makes their society ever more insular and inefficient, mismanaging and wasting valuable resources that become ever more scarce as they have ever less to offer.

And the quantum-linkage monitor got me thinking of an Ancient ship technology where the engine is remarkably compact for eh amount of power it delivers....but in fact the 'power plant' is a dummy....the real source of power is a quantum link receiver that draws power from a giant static power plant on the builders' homeward/home system, like a black hole power plant, that could be thousands of light years away. The builders, if they're still around, can essentially cut power to any of their ships at the source. Be a neat idea fr the ships and technology of the enigmatic species like the K!ozn or the Xodians, no?

Definitely could make an interesting take for some mystery civilizations in the Three Galaxies indeed. Depending on circunstances & development it could lead into some "portal to and fro the ship" tech, that opens some fun tactical options for their builders to explore.

[taalismn]

Truth be told, a major issue of the Golgans efforts to reach toward past glories is how their current xenophobia makes them blind to the importance of trade and a solid economic framework to support necessary investments in upgrading their technology or at least mass production methods for the sake of economy. The jingoistic pride makes their society ever more insular and inefficient, mismanaging and wasting valuable resources that become ever more scarce as they have ever less to offer..

One of the things I'll be talking about with some future posts of civilian spacecraft is that at one time the Golgans WERE a big-time trade power...at least when they had the safety and security of their big buffer zone to operate from, and they set a standard for basic hull design in the region, at least among those nations that couldn't develop and build their own designs. When the old Republik's borders began shrinking, though, the tendency was to look inward and not outward, as it was too much trouble dealing with all those uppity aliens.
Of course, now that the Kultural Revolution's trying to steamroll back outwards and is looking to pay off all its debts internal and external with resources snapped up from conquered territories, the Golgans are finding that letting their old trade networks rot away was NOT a good idea

[SolCannibal]

One of the things I'll be talking about with some future posts of civilian spacecraft is that at one time the Golgans WERE a big-time trade power...at least when they had the safety and security of their big buffer zone to operate from, and they set a standard for basic hull design in the region, at least among those nations that couldn't develop and build their own designs. When the old Republik's borders began shrinking, though, the tendency was to look inward and not outward, as it was too much trouble dealing with all those uppity aliens.
Of course, now that the Kultural Revolution's trying to steamroll back outwards and is looking to pay off all its debts internal and external with resources snapped up from conquered territories, the Golgans are finding that letting their old trade networks rot away was NOT a good idea

Time will tell how much can they learn from the hiccups and mistakes past or present to patch up their potential to regrow. Or if the piling obstacles generated by the hastiness & rashness of their expansionist campaigning won't bring everything crashing down even harder as they lose allies and make enemies from previously neutral powers in all sides.

[taalismn]

Network Omni News ‘Omi-Ra’ Dimensional Broadcast Ship

*WAAANNNN**WAAANNNN**WAAANNNN**WAAANNNN**WAAANNNN*
“Incoming Hyperspace Contact! All Hands to Stations! Incoming Hyperspace Contact!”
“What is it!? This better not be a false alarm like last time, things are tense enough in this sector without another friendly fire shooting to get the squadron any more jittery!”
“We got a big contact just emerging from extra-space...BIG mother...sensor resolution is just coming in....”
“Warship?”
“Getting an ID on it....Splugorth!...hold it....it’s a Network Omni News craft...NONSS Khronnkyte...”
“Well..*%&^....that’s one of their big transmitter ships...Oh hell, they must know something we don’t, because they think it’s newsworthy enough to move one of their big signals ships into the sector...And ‘newsworthy’ means way too interesting for our peace of mind...”

These massive spheroid ships are giant dimensional transmission and relay platforms for NON. With these vessels, NON can project their message across galaxies and even alternate universes.
One human observer described these ships as resembling enormous christmas ornaments sparkling with lights. The spheroid craft glow with dimensional energies and the bright points of over 400 dimensional gate transmitters, each capable of opening a micro-Rift to transmit ultra-high speed packets of data across the Three Galaxies and even dimensional barriers. Whenever possible, NON protocol calls for these ships to be stationed on or near a dimensional nexus, the ships’ internal Rift Control System tapping the ley lines and nexi for power to energize the dimensional transmitters. Besides carrying advanced communications equipment, Omni-Ras have onboard studio facilities, including composition and editing gear, set and prop stores, allowing them to serve as newsrooms as required.
Cybysscryth tries to get these ships posted near star systems known for high dimensional nexi activity....the weakened fabric of space and higher ambient energy makes it easier for the ships to conduct operations. Thus, Cybysscryth has TWO Omni-Ras parked in permanent parking orbits of Phase World, tapped into the system’s flux-space, and similar ships parked near dimensionally-active worlds in the UWW. If Cybysscryth were to ever gain access to Rifts Earth, he would be quick to seize the potential of the nexi-system, sending at least one Omni-Ra to take up permanent station in the Solar System and use its unique warped space to transmit to hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of solar systems.
Because such systems are not always friendly, constant operation of even micro-dimensional rifts raises the hazard of something coming through the OTHER way that was not meant to, and because nexi systems are often prize territory, Omni-Ras carry substantial point defense weaponry, large contingents of security, and rarely go unescorted. Though Cybysscryth makes much to NON staffers of the gallantry and bravery of the crews of two Omni-Ras that remained in the middle of war zones and kept broadcasting up until they were destroyed, the Splugorth HATES replacing the expensive and hard to build ships.

Type: NON-CBSS-T02
Class: Dimensional Communications Platform
Crew: 600+provision for additional security staff of 2,000 and an additional 1,000 technical staff.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 160,000
Bridge 50,000
Hangar Bays(2) 4,000 each
Dimensional Transmitters(400) 400 each
Gravitonic ‘Slicer’ Cannons(8) 500 each
Point Defense Nodes(80) 200 each
Variable Forcefields 9,000 each side, 54,000 total
Height: 2,500 ft
Width: 2,500 ft
Length: 2,500 ft
Weight: 4 million tons
Cargo: 600,000 tons(mainly spare parts and studio gear)
Powerplant: Combination Advanced Nuclear Fusion/Dimensional Vortice Tap
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 60 % of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 6 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
*Omni-Ras are also supposedly capable of interdimensional travel; though NON has not confirmed this.
Market Cost: Estimated at some 45 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Ship Systems, plus;
*Self-Destruct System---To insure that NON’s technological secrets and journalistic sources remain secret, the Omni-Ra has been fitted with a self-destruct system that completely destroys the ship and does 2d6x1,000 MD to a 10,000 ft blast radius.

* FTL Radio----Omni-Ras are built around massive and powerful long range FTL radio arrays. Effective range of the signal is 50,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 150 light years an hour(in comparison, standard commercial starship FTL radio sets can attain signal speeds of 20-30 ly/hr, military sets 45-50, and large static arrays 80-120).

*Micro-Rift Generators----The Omni-Ra has 400 micro-Rift generation nodes, each surrounded by a containment pentacle, and capable of creating micro-Rifts only a few angstroms wide; too small to allow travel of beings, but just large enough to send data in the form of radio, laser, or ley line stream through. This allows virtually instantaneous live-feed hook-ups with the rest of the NON network.

*’Spoiler’ Data-Dump System----Taking inspiration from self-destructing fusion-pump-powered X-ray laser weapons systems, Cybssynthcryth’s KIttani designers have modified the Omni-Ra’s self-destruct system to power a one-shot FTL transmitter that dumps the ship’s data-logs in a last, highly compressed, picosecond, encrypted, brute-force hypercomm burst-transmission. It is intended and hoped that this last data-burst will preserve the ship’s data and reach NON, allowing them to know who killed their news-crew. This is in keeping with Cybssynthcryth’s directive that reporters, if they can’t evade trouble, can’t fight past trouble, should ‘make sure to splash your enemies’ names and faces across the galaxy!”.

*Broad Spectrum Jamming---If Cybssynthcryth really wanted to, the Omni-Ras could be used as giant jamming platforms, able to flood the wavelengths up and down the spectrum with electromagnetic and gravitic noise. Effective range is 500,000 miles radius.

Weapons Systems:
1) Gravitonic ‘Slicer’ Cannons(8)----The Omni-Ra not only carries more of these fearsome weapons than the dreaded ‘Servitude’-class cruiser, it carries faster recharging versions of them, allowing the weapons to fire faster. Far from ‘dumbing down’ his weapons technology, Cybssynthcryth’s techicians have apparently learned a few tricks that other Splugorth would like to know.
Range: 9 miles in atmosphere, 18 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 18 miles in atmosphere, 18,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD single blast
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Lasers(80)---Distributed all over the spheroid hull are multiple PDL arrays. The choice of lasers over the usual neutron cannons suggests a shift in technological doctrine, one covered by NON suggesting that the lasers are really part of the communications array, as evidenced by their long range for their weapons class.
Range: 16 miles in atmosphere, 32 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 32 miles in atmosphere, 32,000 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Directed Power Surge----The Omni-Ra can use its powerful transmitters to target enemy spacecraft and facilities and knock them by burning out their power systems
Range: 50 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 50 miles in atmosphere, 50,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 pts of ‘virtual’ damage per blast,
Rather than physical damage, the Surge does virtual damage. Percentage of virtual damage is determined in relation to target’s shields/main body((damage/main body)x100=percentage).
Against shields, the virtual damage reflects penetration; the shields are still effective against other damage, but not against the more subtle gravitic harmonics and electromagnetic pulse thrown at them. The shields recover normally after a hyper-gravitic strike. On a critical strike, however, even the machinery succumbs to the energy being poured into them, and the shields fail.
For every 10% of damage from main body in ion damage, target will be -1 to strike, parry. and dodge. In space target acceleration will be reduced by 15%, in atmosphere top speed will be reduced by 15%. Roll once on critical hit charts in Phazeworld or Conversion book as appropriate.
If target takes 60% of main body in virtual damage, the ship or vehicle will be disabled. All communications, navigation, targeting, and sensor systems will shut down and need to be rebooted, taking 1d4 minutes. On a critical strike, CG drive systems fail, and will need to be restarted, again taking 1d4 minutes.
The Hyper-Gravitic/EM Blast is equally effective against bionics, taking voluntary systems(not autonomics like life support) temporarily off-line.
If the wave is able to penetrate the forcefields and vessel armor, then the nervous systems of the crew and passengers are potentially at risk. Save at 16 or higher or be rendered unconscious for 2d6 minutes. Even on a save, the person will be -8 to initiative, strike, parry, dodge, and roll for 2d4 melees. Temporary memory loss, sensory cross-confusion(sounds taking on colors, colors taking on smells, tactile sensations acquiring sounds, etc.), and/or acute nausea are also common side effects.
Save: Standard; 16 or higher
(Memory Loss) In addition to the above, people hit with a stun shot make a second roll to see if they suffer short term memory loss, succeeding at 16 or better. Failure means that the target loses 1d4 minutes of memory of what happened around the time the stun was applied
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
48 Fighters/Heavy Robot Vehicles
12 Shuttles
40 Maintenance Pods
400 Maintenance Robots

[SolCannibal]

NON at work, making spectacles from everybody else's headaches.

All of that said, could not the ship's dimensional technology be used for personnel evacuation and rapid relocation, depending on circunstances? It's an extra expenditure that could go a long way towards enhancing the units shelf life, i guess.

[taalismn]

NON at work, making spectacles from everybody else's headaches.

All of that said, could not the ship's dimensional technology be used for personnel evacuation and rapid relocation, depending on circunstances? It's an extra expenditure that could go a long way towards enhancing the units shelf life, i guess.

Yeah, a common hull design could be spun off, but it would require substantial modification(the Omni's more like a giant Christmas ornament structurally) to the point that the result could be considered an entirely different vessel.

[SolCannibal]

NON at work, making spectacles from everybody else's headaches.

All of that said, could not the ship's dimensional technology be used for personnel evacuation and rapid relocation, depending on circunstances? It's an extra expenditure that could go a long way towards enhancing the units shelf life, i guess.

Yeah, a common hull design could be spun off, but it would require substantial modification(the Omni's more like a giant Christmas ornament structurally) to the point that the result could be considered an entirely different vessel.

I was thinking more of exploiting the already existing dimensional tech within the Omnis to add escape portals inside, or a defensive d-shifting or phasing-like function similar to what happens with Fadetowns in the Magic Zone.

[taalismn]

I was thinking more of exploiting the already existing dimensional tech within the Omnis to add escape portals inside, or a defensive d-shifting or phasing-like function similar to what happens with Fadetowns in the Magic Zone.

Ah, a different take on the Gateship.
It's definitely a direction a magic-using society would look into, using a ship as an anchor point for more reliable rift-opening, and shades of StarGate's Gia'uld carrying stargates around on theri big mothershios to use as quick dramatic arrival means(or, more often, cowardly escape chutes).

[SolCannibal]

I was thinking more of exploiting the already existing dimensional tech within the Omnis to add escape portals inside, or a defensive d-shifting or phasing-like function similar to what happens with Fadetowns in the Magic Zone.

Ah, a different take on the Gateship.
It's definitely a direction a magic-using society would look into, using a ship as an anchor point for more reliable rift-opening, and shades of StarGate's Gia'uld carrying stargates around on theri big mothershios to use as quick dramatic arrival means(or, more often, cowardly escape chutes).

Well, in the case of a news agency it can be seen as insurance and a great show of care from the boss' part for its employees (yeah, tell marketing to sell it like that).

And depending on how ship synchronizes with a nexus, i imagine one might use one or more of the ley lines as a way for the Omni to evade attack through quick relocation or teleport to another nexus in the same system. There's some tactical potential on that too.

[taalismn]

Golgan Ships
Commercial Designs
During the height of its imperial power, the old Golgan Republik commanded a strong and far-flung mercantile fleet. Despite their xenophobia, Golgan merchants ranged far and wide beyond the borders of the secured buffer zone created by the Republik’s conquests. The Golgan merchant-marine was so pervasive that, while they may not have established the Golgan tongue as the primary trade language of the Anvil nor(as has been rumored) established the standardized shipping container sizes used to the current day, the Golgans did set a number of standards. Several different modular spaceport and outpost designs have their origins as Golgan-built, and a substantial number of commercial transport designs still in use in the Anvil were originally introduced by the Golgans.
The reasons these are not better known is that few of the designs are truly exceptional, but tend to be stodgy, workaday, ships of mediocre performance without the bells, whistles, and adventure that seem part and parcel of the human and wolfen designs that displaced them in the public eye. The Golgan merchant marine also tended to establish many spare parts depots and small overhaul yards where they could get repairs when their ships inevitably broke down. Many of these yards accumulated collections of defunct and abandoned ships too broken to fix. As the Republik’s expansion began to reverse and their borders to shrink, these installations and their boneyards were often found or ‘inherited’ by emergent local peoples, who copied and adapted the designs as their own. Thus a range of formerly proprietary Golgan designs have been copycatted across the Anvil Galaxy to the point that few people remember where the designs originated from.

G-1 General Transport
(aka ‘Geewon’)
“The G-1 will NEVER earn the same merits as the human- and wulfen-designed and -made ships, but it does what it was designed to do, no less and no more, and that’s actually a lot better than a lot of pumped-up and hyped designs out there. You get what you put into a gee-one.”

“Sure you can make it to the Corkscrew in a Gee-One! That is, if you don’t mind making three thousand five hundred refueling stops along the way!”

‘The Geewon’s not about adventure. You provide the adventure, the Geewon will provide the backdrop.”

Generally regarded as THE basic dry goods interstellar transport in the Anvil Galaxy, G-1s whizzed and crawled about Republik space for centuries. moving cargoes, and the design has been taken up by most polities in the region.
The G-1 has a fairly basic design; a roughly streamlined elongated ellipsoid with a bridge and crew section at the front, cargo sections and bays in the middle, and a rear engine section with 2-4 engines(at least in the Golgan versions; some offbrands sport as few as one engine and as many as eight).
The G-1 either predated or ignored the Spacers’ Guild’s standardized shipping container ’can’ system, so it must be modified to handle them. This often leads to a noticeable amount of un-utilized cargo bay space which is anathema to economy-minded crews, so smart starship crews often find ways to pack miscellaneous ‘un-canned’ cargo into the available room to maximize profit on a trip. Some versions modified for automated standardized can handling have substantial amounts of ‘dead space; between deck fittings and panels; this makes the G-1 a favorite of stowaways such as space hoboes, refugees, and the more intelligent vermin.
The G-1 CAN be modified to carry more passengers (as many as 600) as a liner, but such modification requires extensive interior remodeling and reallocation of available power(to grav decks and life support) that can reduce overall performance as much as 25%, so few operators make the conversion, instead investing in a purpose-built design like the Gen-GPL-3.
G-1s are still in production in the Golgan Republik and throughout both the satrapy and secessionist zones, as well as several worlds outside the Republik(past and present). By this time, it’s little known who originally produced the design; production has been taken up by a variety of firms and shipyards, and detailed factory-ready plans can be easily obtained. This also means that a wide range of reliability and build-quality is available, depending on the manufacturer, and buyers of G-1s are advised not to rely on the design’s reputation, but to check over the vessels themselves before buying.

Type: Gen-G-1
Class: General Purpose Medium Interstellar Transport
Crew: 40+ provision for 10 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,000
Bridge 800
Engine Block 1,500
Auxiliary Thrusters 700
Heavy Commercial Shields 1,500
Height: 60 ft
Width: 90 ft
Length: 400 ft
Weight: 25,000 tons
Cargo: 4,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year life. Antimatter is possible, but few operators consider it worth the expense to upgrade the G-1 to such an expensive milspec power system.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6, Mach 4 under auxiliary power
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 110 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Civilian Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting up to 6 point defense/light weapons stations.
Auxiliary Craft: None standard, but one or more of the cargo bays can b modified into a hangar bay able to accommodate one large or two small shuttles.

Variants:
Countless; the design has been around long enough with a large and diverse enough range of operators that numerous variants exist. Most variants use locally-sourced materials, avionics, and powerplants. For the G-1, this typically meant lower-end propulsion systems, though a few examples have been known to sport higher-performance engines. Amphibious landing/takeoff capability, oddly missing from the original design, is a feature of some later variants.
The G-1 is even produced in the United Systems Alliance; the Rebliss shipyards, which were once under Golgan management, still produce stock G-1s for sale, alongside newer WZT designs.



GL-2 Medium Interstellar Tanker Transport
(aka ‘Gleetu’, ‘GasBlag’)
“Working a tanker crew is a demanding, highly technical, job. It’s also tedious, underpaid, and boring as hell...unless some pirate decides your cargo’s worth taking by force, in which circumstances you quickly realize you’re stuck on a lumbering under-equipped gas-cow, and you’re fervently wishing for all that tedious boredom back.”

“It’s a good idea if you got the skinned models, to vent the outer dead spaces; if your tanks got any leaks, they’ll outgas into the outer hull skin. Depending on what you’re carrying, that can lead to all sorts of unpleasantness, from dropping a toxic cloud when you land, to setting up a fuel-air explosive mixture inside your hull. Have extra pressure gauges and chemical detectors installed in those spaces and check them; they provide a good backup to your storage tank pressure sensors.”

The GL-2 is a liquid media transport spacecraft of Golgan origins that has become a generic design found throughout much of the Anvil Galaxy. GL-2s played a role in sustaining the Golgan Republik’s expansion and dominion, providing refueling for military and mercantile vessels alike.
The GL-2 has a roughly elongated cylindrical design, triangular in cross section, with a forward command and habitat section, a central access spine running between three surrounding rows of storage tanks or spheres, an intermediary engineering and systems section with extending docking and loading arms, another cargo section similar to the first, and finally the engines. The cargo sections are skinned in a thin outer hull that streamlines the ship and protects the storage tanks from environmental hazards including takeoff and reentry, but if atmospheric operations are not anticipated, the outer skin hull can be left off. With the exception of some frontier supply ships, few GL-2s make planetfall to land, and most spend their entire operational lives in space. These ships do NOT have onboard fuel refining/processing capabilities unless specially modified, but are mere transports of refined gases and liquids.
GL-2s, for all their size, are notoriously fragile, and operators rarely push the ship to the limits of their performance. Though they carry heavy commercial shielding and have provision for mounting a defensive armament, the ships are NOT recommended for combat functions. They are also very slow to accelerate and decelerate, thanks to the necessity of using old-fashioned traction drives or even fusion thrusters instead of CG drives for normal space drive. Many do not even regularly fly between stars, but instead shuttle out to a site, and there assume position as refueling stations, never again moving from the location(and reliant on other vessels to top off their tanks).
GL-2s are nearly as common in the Anvil Galaxy as the G-1 freighters, with just as many manufacturers producing more or less identical versions. Like the G-1, GL-2 production templates are easy to come by and many emergent star nations in the Anvil Galaxy pick them up to jump-start their own space travel infrastructure. This has similarly led to a range of build-quality from stoutly reliable down to dangerously defective.

Type: Gen-GL-2
Class: Medium Interstellar Tanker Transport
Crew: 75
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 9,000
(Optional) Outer Hull Shell)(1-2 sections) +1,000 each
Cargo/Gas/Liquid Pods( Cylinders: 1-6 Spheres: 3-18) 4,000/2,000 each
Bridge 3,000
Hangar Bay 2,000
Engine Block 5,000
Heavy Commercial Shields 2,500
Height: 430 ft
Width: 430 ft
Length: 2,180 ft
Weight 8 million tons
Cargo: Capacity of 9,600,000 cubic feet of liquified or pressurized gases.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year life. Antimatter is possible, but few operators consider it worth the expense to upgrade the GL-2 to such an expensive milspec power system.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric. Due to structural and CG-static concerns, cannot operate safely in anything greater than a 0.3 g gravity field.
(Sublight) Mach 5
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 860 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Civilian Starship Systems, plus:

*Gas/Liquid Recapture/Repressurization Equipment----While GL-2s do not carry the equipment for refining raw harvested gases, they do require gear for maintaining liquids and gases in their concentrated states. Escape of some mass during storage is inevitable, especially with materials consisting of small molecules(in some cases, loss of 20% of payload mass was considered both expected and acceptable), so recapturing migrating vapor and returning it to storage is essential to economic operations. Some gases and liquids also require refrigeration, in some cases heating, and a few cases periodic agitation to prevent clot-binding. The state of Golgan automation requires fairly large crews with a dedicated staff of payload technicians monitoring payload conditions to prevent mass loss or dangerous concentrations ocurring.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting up to 4 point defense/light weapons stations.
Auxiliary Craft:
Small hangar bay can carry 2-3 shuttles, or twice that number of EVA pods, as standard, but some tankers, especially independent operators, sacrifice one or two of the storage tanks to replace them with docking cradles for shuttlecraft or gas-scoop drones.

Variants:
Countless; the design has been around long enough with a large and diverse enough range of operators that numerous variants exist. Most variants use locally-sourced materials, avionics, and powerplants. As with the G-1, most -GL-2 variants focus on economically-sustainable(and usually low performance) engines, commercial shielding, and equipment calibrated to local standards. Specialized tanks for holding specific exotic gases and liquids are also common. A few -GL-2s actually carry small refinery units for collecting and processing their own gaseous cargoes. The most common change is simply altering the Golgan-standardized transfer connections to Spacers’ Guild-mandated galactic standards to allow for near-universal fitting.

GPL-3 Starliner
(aka ‘Gliptre’, Golgan Glipper’)
“You ever get the opportunity to take passage aboard a Golgan liner, make sure to bring along a pair of sensor goggles, especially with x-ray capability. Seeing as they do across more of the spectrum than the majority of us, the Golgans like to embellish their ships with art in colors we others can’t see. What looks bland wall paint to us really conceals a lot more in terms of color and pattern. More pragmatically, there’s a lot of public service and safety procedure signs in the invisible spectrum that you might want to be aware of, especially the directions to the lifeboat bays. And if you’re traveling in a special ‘honored aliens’ section, use the x-ray feature to check for hidden catches on the doors and concealed access ways; in emergencies Golgans aren’t really diligent about making sure any non-Golgans aboard get off safely with the rest of the passengers, and they often lock down the aliens’ quarters during crisis situations, as a ‘precaution’.”

“Somebody in the Argosy wised up and began using tricked-out old geepee-el-three hulls as spyships. Hardly anybody takes a hard look at them and most militaries don’t like the hassle of boarding and searching passenger liners just on casual suspicion for fear of triggering a galactic incident. That allowed the Argosy to scope out a lot of systems without anybody being the wiser. The fact that we were doing the same sort of thing got us thinking that we couldn’t have been the only ones to think of it, so we began paying attention to how many ‘charter tours’ or ‘fly-through cruises’ were hanging around our systems and not actually coming in to dock and disembark living breathing passengers. Bagged our first spy-liner that way and cued us to a whole lot of others.”

The GPL-3 is a general-purpose cargo/passenger transport, though it is primarily configured as a people-mover. The design is of Golgan origin, but it has since been adopted by many starfaring organizations and polities in and around the Anvil Galaxy.
Though the design has seen a number of changes over the centuries, the basic design remains the same. The GPL-3 has an ellipsoid shape similar to the G-1, but is larger and beamier. A large observation dome abaft the bridge provides passengers with an open space and large viewing area to gather and watch the universe go by(the dome is also, incidentally, a favorite place for pirates to break into the ship and shortcut to the bridge). The engines are mounted in an attached pod(albeit one streamlined into the rest of the ship) that allows a variety of power systems to be used, though as a liner, the GPL-3 generally enjoys a higher turn of speed than its contemporaries, both to shorten travel times and to (hopefully) escape danger.
Unlike the G-1, the GL-3 has an amphibious operation capability, allowing the ships to land on many undeveloped worlds, though the amphibious capability was also touted as a safety feature, allowing for softer landings and almost immediate debarkation of the amphibious Golgan passengers into a liqui environment. A drawback of this capability was the early contamination, thanks to improperly sterilized bilges, of dozens of worlds’ marine ecosystems with Gologonian marine microfauna. The conservative Golgans ultimately upgraded their ships with improved sanitation measures, but many worlds visited by the Golgan merchant marine are still plagued with infestations of alien organisms such as Maximal sea-tiger roaches and falg-weed.
Accommodations aboard a GPL-3 range from spartan to good; a few ships sport truly luxurious quarters and facilities for passengers, but this is typically at the cost of passenger capacity, and with a corresponding increase in the crew assigned to wait on them.
Wholly Golgan-operated GPL-3s can be distinguished by having segregated quarters for Golgans and non-Golgans, even if the latter can safely share the same environmental requirements(the alternative passenger-carrying scheme is that some Golgan passenger lines run separate SHIPS for Golgans and non-Golgans).
The Anvil Galaxy sees the largest number of GPL-3s in service, especially in the regions around the old Golgan Republik. Numerous current- and ex-Golgan states have adopted the design to their own service.

Type: Gen-GPL-3
Class: Medium Interstellar Passenger Liner
Crew: 260+ 2,300 passengers(May vary according to accommodations)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 6,000
Bridge 1,000
Observation Deck 1,000
Engine Block 2,000
Auxiliary Thrusters 1,000
Heavy Commercial Shields 3,000
Height: 950 ft
Width: 1,200 ft
Length: 450 ft
Weight: 5 million tons
Cargo: 80,000 tons
Generally carries enough consumables for 8-10 months
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year life. Antimatter is possible, but few operators consider it worth the expense to upgrade the GPL-3 to such an expensive milspec power system.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Can land and take off from water, but not operate underwater
Market Cost: 3 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Civilian Starship Systems, plus:
*Amphibious Capablity---Can safely land and take off from water surfaces.
Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting up to 8 point defense/light weapons stations.
Auxiliary Craft:
None standard, but some high-end starliner conversions carried 1-2 FTL-capable cutters externally docked to the hull.

Variants:
Countless; the design has been around long enough with a large and diverse enough range of operators that numerous variants exist. Most variants use locally-sourced materials, avionics, and powerplants. GPL-3s tend to have higher-performance powerplants and propulsion systems than their -G-1 and -GL-2 contemporaries, since passengers tend to be less patient on long trips than cargo. Environmental fittings and accommodations also vary wildly, depending on the intended passenger clientele, with some operators being bare-bones and others trending to the opulent. Force-shielding also tends to be higher-rated, the better to protect passengers.
The type has even seen service as troop transports by the many polities in the Golgan secessionist zones. It’s also been rumored that during the recent Great Golgan War, the Kultural Revolution used starline-flagged and -liveried liners to covertly preposition Republikan Guard units to worlds they were planning to invade and re-conquer.

Golgan GCH-4 Interstellar Bulk Hauler
(aka ‘Golgomax’, ‘Publifter’)
“A lot of the Argosy ranks cut their cadet teeth serving aboard bulk haulers for the fleet, acclimating them to big ship operations. A few even got to serve on some of the q-ship versions said to exist, that converted a cargo bay or two into hangar space for fighters. Of course, being slow and cumbersome, the cee-gee-eches have also been used as dumping grounds for a lot of Argosy officers who screwed up their assignments to proper warships like the Bindas, or, gods of the waters forbid, a Sylnor.”

“Yeah, you got a great deal on a big ship. Why’d it have to be a gogomax, though? It’s a great ship if we’re planning on delivering cargo to the other side of the Anvil in a century. Is that our new business model? ‘Slow-freight is Us? When your cargo absolutely doesn’t have to get there on a decade’?”

For a long time, the GCH-4 was THE heavy superhauler of the Golgan Republik, and was regarded as a highly visible sign of Golgan industry at work, moving the stuff of empire about Golgan space. The sheer number of these large vessels coursing through Republik space bespoke of an interstellar culture on the move and moving things, even though the design was less than perfect for the purposes of empire.
The GCH-4 follows a similar design configuration to the GL-2; a long boxy hull divided into a forward habitat section, long cargo bay, middle services and hangar bay module, another cargo section, and finally the engine bloc. The baseline GCH-4 relies on a bank of large fusion generators and bulky early-type contragravitic propulsors that require a constant attention to maintenance, but aside from the scale of the parts to be serviced and a high fuel consumption rate, the engines exhibit few glaring vices.
GCH-4s enjoy a good, even exemplary, mass-to-payload ratio, but the ships are horribly slow, require large crews to operate, and are fairly fragile for their mass. Even with subsequent improvements in automation, the ships require several large crew shifts to operate efficiently. The ships also have a reputation for being structurally weak , and cannot land/takeoff in strong gravity fields, requiring the ships stay in orbit and load/offload cargo using their complement of shuttles and cargo lighters. Physical armoring is also fairly weak, given their size, and despite having provision for a fairly heavy point defense armament, GCH-4s are best served, if expecting trouble, by traveling in convoy, ideally with armed escort.
Most early GCH-4s served the Golgan government, moving supplies and equipment about the various outposts of the old Republik’s expanded frontier and toting back the riches of the new worlds to the Golgan coreworld industries eager to receive them. Over time, the design became available to commercial concerns, starting with companies with Republik contracts, but eventually even non-Golgan shipping concerns got access to the design(usually third- or fourth-hand ships).
The GCH-4 continues in service and production on both sides of the Golgan borders, simply because it is so familiar and because the ship’s faults are so well-known and relatively easily accommodated(as opposed to newer designs that have yet to manifest all their vices). Many secessionist worlds got their own space transport capabilities jump-started by copying Golgan designs they had access and so GCH-4 copies and derivations are a fairly common sight around the Anvil Galaxy, especially near Golgan space.

Type: Gen-GCH-4
Class: General Purpose Heavy Interstellar Transport
Crew: 130+ provision for 200 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 7,000
Bridge 900
Cargo Sections(2) 3,000 each
Hangar Bay 1,000
Engine Block 3,500
Auxiliary Thrusters 900
Heavy Commercial Shields 2,500
Height: 900 ft
Width: 500 ft
Length: 1,500 ft
Weight: 6 million tons
Cargo: 1.2 million tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 25 year life. Antimatter is possible, but few operators consider it worth the expense to upgrade the ship to such an expensive milspec power system.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric. However, can only safely land in 0.3 g gravity fields
(Sublight) Mach 5, Mach 3 under auxiliary power
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 2 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Civilian Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting up to 10 point defense/light weapons stations.
Auxiliary Craft:
Hangar capacity for up to 8 heavy shuttles/cargo lighters.

Variants:
Countless; the design has been around long enough with a large and diverse enough range of operators that numerous variants exist. Most variants use locally-sourced materials, avionics, and powerplants.
Upgrades to defenses, especially shielding, are common, especially given how popular a target the GCH-4 is to pirates. Given that, both the Argosy and secessionist states have experimented occasionally with q-ship conversions, upgrading the shields to variable-facing models, trading up the PDS to medium weapons, and making over the cargo bays into missile launcher batteries or hangar bays( a single cargo section, properly outfitted, can host 18-24 fighters). However, despite these efforts, the general opinion is that the GCH-4 will NEVER be an adequate combat platform, and to attempt to make it so are wastes of resources.
An unfortunately all-too-common variant seen in the regions around Golgan space is the ‘G-Gypsy’, a blanket term referring to old Golgomaxes converted into refugee transports by displaced sophonts fleeing the various splinters of the Golgan Secession, Holdfast, Forge and Great Golgan Wars. Some of these ships have effectively become nomadic communities, wandering space trying to remain out of the crossfire and one step ahead of pirates. These gypsy-carriers typically convert one cargo section into habitats for up to a thousand refugees and the rear section into supply storage(even vat-farms) and extra fuel tankage.

[taalismn]

Gravitic Drive Disruption Munitions(Expanded Rules)---
(aka ‘Grater Bomb’, ‘Drive-Grinder’, ‘Speed-Bump Mine’, ‘Deludo-Mine’)
“When we’re quarantining or blockading a world, SOP calls for deploying a mix of speed-bumps and laser-mines; the first staggers a ship attempting breakout, long enough for the bomb-blasters to flare off and hopefully cripple the runner. Then we can move in and capture the ship, or finish it off, depending on what our mission brief is.”

“In retrospect, taking that job to spy on that Usan system was a bad idea. Slipping in was easy enough, but when we tried to quietly leave, our grav-drive exploded. We wound up staying for dinner, after the Usans gave us a good grilling as to what we were doing skulking around their backyard.”

First field-trialed by WZT as a countermeasure pod weapon on the Raiju, GDDMs are being mass-produced as field weapons with this scaled-up mine application. These are expendable gravity generators that can be used to disrupt the contragravity fields generated by other vessels’ or missiles’ propulsion systems. ‘packets’ of artificially-destabilized space/time that expand upon deployment. Used to cover a vessel’s retreat, or in aerospace area-denial missions, the GDDMs can be used like space mines or bombs to good effect. Used as interdiction mines, they can disable a fleeing starship and keep it from jumping to FTL.
The warped space/time field isn’t powerful enough to create a singularity or open a Rift, but it is powerful enough to have some profound effects on people and machinery. Their relatively small area of effect requires careful placement for maximum efficiency in combat.
The larger a ship is and the more robust its CG-drive is, the less chance fo it being disruoted by the GDDM. Larger and more powerful drives have both the power and the baffling to counteract the GDDM field(at least external GDDMs; there are unconfirmed accounts of a battleship being taken out after a freighter-load of GDDMs were activated inside the warship’s hanagr bay during FTL jump).
The strategic mine version is both larger and more powerful than the fighter-carriage weapons, thus the larger area of effect.
NOTES:
-Gravitic sensors can detect an unexploded GDDM(unless stealth-shielded)
-GDDMs are usable only in space.
-Phase Drives, Fold Drives, and TW Jump/Rift Drives are unaffected by GDDMs.

Weight: 10 tons
Range: Affects an area of space roughly 500 cubic miles.
Damage: Effects last 5 minutes (20 melees)
(Drive Systems) The warped space/time is particularly hard on contra-gravity systems; CG drives will go off-line temporarily and there is a good chance that FTL CG drives will be burn out when activated. If a ship attempts to jump to FTL in an GDDM zone, there is a far greater chance(80%) of fatal/permanent drive failure. Roll on the following:
01-70% Drive malfunctions and the vessel doesn’t/cannot make the transition to FTL Can try again with an engine reset(takes 2d4 minutes)
71-89% CG Drive Ship makes transition to FTL, only to reappear 1d6x100 miles from its starting location, with the main FTL drive system exploding inside/tearing out of the ship, doing 1d4x100 MD to the vessel
90-00% Fatal drive malfunction; the vessel makes the jump to FTL, but never returns to normal space; lost in limbo
Starships of 5,000-20,000 tons are-20% on the previous table. Ships of 20,000- 2 million tons are -50%. CG-vessels massing more than 2 million tons are unaffected by GDDMs.
For every additional GDDM that a CG-drive ship gets caught in the field of, increase the risk chance by +5%

(Sensory Systems) The altered space/time will cause navigation instruments to temporarily drift off true; -20% to piloting rolls and navigation rolls. Chronometers will be off by 1d6x10 seconds.
(Organics) Roll versus psionic attack or suffer the following penalties; lose initiative, HALF all hand to hand bonuses and skill proficiencies, and lose 1d6x10 seconds of immediate short term memory. Disorientation penalties last 2d4 melees.
If a successful save roll is made, the person still suffers some distraction, but is only -1 to initiative, -1 to strike, parry, dodge, and effects last only 1d4 melees.

Special Features:
*Passive Stealth---Most GDDMs are housed in stealth shells; WZT had Oni assistance in refining their stealth equipment, and the small mines are egenrally invisible to starship sensors at ranges of 1,000 miles, are are -75% to detect at shorter ranges. Even if picked up on sensors, there’s a good chance(75%) that they register as space debris, rather than ordnance.

*Passive Sensors---GDDMs are triggered by sensing the gravitic emissions of CG-drives coming within range.

Cost: 700,000 credits per mine

[taalismn]

*WZ-OF-CVE17B Gemiyor II Heavy Carrier
(aka “Crescex’)

“Maybe they’re not great battleships, but I can tell you that there’s worse things than being based on a Crescex for a fighter-jock. The accommodations are roomy, the flight decks well-armored and well-stocked, and the recreation facilities make for cushy landings between being shot at by half the galaxy.”

“I’m not sure that our recent allies would approve of your raiding their flagship’s morgue and transferring their recent casualties to your hospital ship. Even if they’re yet unaware of your actions.”
“Sir, the -Blood Rose- carries multiple revivification and regeneration tanks in addition to facilities far in advance of what our campaign allies stock in their sickbay. Unless I receive a clear statement that they follow a strict ‘no extraordinary means, no revifications’ policy, I’m going to follow our own combat medical treatment procedures and not write those casualties off until absolutely certain they cannot be restored. As it is, sir, we’ve already managed to revive eighty percent of them, with reconstruction following apace. I don’t think our friends will argue with those figures. As for the rest, there simply wasn’t enough left for immediate resurrection, but we can make the pitch for revenant cloning!”

“The Cynoceran collapse gave us the surplus shipyard capability to upgrade the old Gemiyors, which amounted to a virtual redesign. Oh, the new ships keep the distinct ventral and dorsal sensor horns, the big blunt ‘overbite’ prow, and the large side weapons hulls, but the ships are now more bulbous, less angular, more organic-looking, and a helluva a lot faster and tougher.
Now if only they weren’t being built in the old Cynoceran naval yards. At least we got first crack at the new production and got a real good discount on them.”

WZTechyards originally acquired and refurbished ten of these old ships from the Odinans when they began selling off their outdated native designs in favor of more modern CCW standardized craft. Though slow and stodgy, the Gemiyor designs were also roomy and very capable carrier craft. When WZTechyards became one of the primary spacecraft suppliers to the newly-formed United Systems Alliance, who increasingly saw the need for heavier units in their joint armed forces, WZT reconsidered some of the older designs it held title to. One of them was for an upgraded Gemiyor that looked increasingly like the sort of ship the USA could use. Though initially opposed to the idea of resurrecting the clunky old design, a number of factors happened that swayed their decision.
One was the unexpected disruption of galactic trade and travel due to the double-whammy of the Forge and Minion Wars. The Odinians, who were counting on bootstrapping their economy and techbase through galactic trade with the CCW, found themselves looking at a dry spell for the foreseeable future. Changeover from their old techbase to a more modern one was slowed, and the demolition of seemingly obsolete factory assemblies and shipyards was suspended, as the Odinians needed them for a little longer to keep their older ships flying.
The other was the unexpected collapse of the neighboring Cynocere police state, after some eighty years of animosity and cold war with the Odinians. Once a breakaway collective of Odinan colonies that sought independence from, then dominance over, their parent world and its closest colonies, the Cynocerans had become a militant police state increasingly oppressive towards its own people, while constantly saber-rattling with its neighbors. The Cynoceran Republic, however, turned out to be short-lived, for all its bluster, and economic and societal unrest ultimately undermined it in a surprisingly little blood-stained revolution. However, a good deal of the military-industrial complex created under the State, was abandoned in place; military ports and shipyards, factories, and entire squadrons of warships lay moldering. Realizing the hazard these materials represented, the Odina asked for CCW, and when that was uncertain in coming, United Systems Alliance help in securing the remains of the former Cynoceran war machine before dissident elements tried to use them to disrupt the reconciliation process, or foreign elements(pirates!) snapped up the free military equipment. Alliance military specialists and security corps were soon spreading out through Cynoceran space, securing useful military assets, or destroying them if they couldn’t be secured. WZT was arguably the biggest winner in this initiative, acquiring hundreds of usable spacecraft, and a number of shipyards. Despite needing some modernization, the WZT-run Cynoceran shipyards could now employ listless locals seeking security and supply the Odina with upgraded hardware that would otherwise have been gotten from abroad. Ironically, one of the new projects, part make-work and part-bootstrap, undertaken at the former Cynoceran military yards would be a redesign of the Odinans’ capital unit, one that had held off Cynoceran State aggression for many decades.
One of the first changes was the Gemiyor’s hard to access engines. WZT took the step of replacing the massive fusion engines with more modern matter/antimatter powerplants. Though harder to service amongst the many fringe worlds that made up the rank and file of the USA membership, the M/AM drives could be refueled by the better-off members, and the increase in power and efficiency well-worth the added cost. Accessing and replacing the engines required a major deck plan change for a substantial portion of the ship, but WZT took advantage of the situation to design in better facilities for the crew, including several ideas they had seen on ASI ships.
A smaller auxiliary fusion drive provides backup propulsion as a nod to frontier economics. WZT also took advantage of the availability of larger-ship CG-F-class FTL drives to replace the original awkwardly large Odinan CG-B-class FTL moversm jumping the ships up three levels in FTL speed. The Gemiyor II still fairly wallows in normal space, with an acceleration curve no better than the old Packmaster, so the ships try to remain on the edges of conflict zones, using their small craft contingents and long- ranged missiles as their main weapons, and they retain a heavy armament to deal with any capital units that try to jump in close to them.
Another improvement to the original design was the streamlining and upgrading of systems, lowering maintenance needs. Avionics and virtually every other system was upgraded, including physical armoring, though one proposal to sheath the ships in syazite crystal armor was rejected as prohibitively expensive. Instead, more powerful and faster-regenerating force-screening has been added, quadrupling shield strength.
The new Gemiyor II lives up to its name of being an explorer, though it serves very ably as a warship and mobile base(or ‘task-ship’ as the GNEAS titles them). While the original Gemiyor was designed to work in concert with the ‘Snark’-class corvette, the bays of the Gemiyor II have been further modified to better accommodate the variety of light strike craft and heavy fighters that are becoming commonplace in the USA’s order of battle, as well as the heavy shuttles and landing craft favored by the AJC ground forces.

Type: WZ-OF-CVE17B Gemiyor II
Class: Heavy Carrier
Crew: 900 +4,000 troops/passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 75,000
Bridge 1,000
Secondary Hulls/Sensor Towers(2) 9,000 each
Corvette Hangar Bay 7,000
Corvette Elevators(3) 900 each
Fighter Hangar Bays(2) 2,000 each
Main Engine Bloc 25,000
Auxilary Drive 9,000
Heavy PBC Turrets(3) 1,000 each
Secondary PBC Turrets(2) 700 each
Secondary Double-Barrel Laser Turrets(16) 500 each
Medium G-Cannon(10) 400 each
Cruise Missile Launchers(7) 600 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(10) 400 each
Short Range Missile Launchers(15) 300 each
Point Defense Laser/Mini-Missile Turrets(30) 200 each
Variable Forcefields 8,000 per side, 48,000 total

*Shield Refresh Rate is 20% per melee

Height: 3,000 ft
Width: 1,000 ft
Length: 2,600 ft
Weight: 28 million tons
Cargo: 3.7 million tons (10 million tons if not carrying any auxiliary craft and the ship bays converted into cargo space)
Powerplant: Matter-Antimatter w/ 50 year energy life
Auxiliary Nuclear Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not Possible
(Sublight) Mach 7(Auxiliary Drive: Mach 5)
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 6.5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 18 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 4 million miles

*Gravitic Sensors----55 million mile range
*Neutrino Detection----55,000 mile range
*Tachyon Radar---3 million miles

*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video, including FTL- comm

*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 200,000 miles.--For tight-beam communications, ship to ship, or ship/surface. The Laser can even be modulated to the blue-green for communicating with submerged vehicles

*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*Tractor Beams(20)----Effectively rated for 1,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass. These are generally used to manage small craft and cargo pods. Range: 20 miles

*Advanced Fire Control----The Gemiyor IIs have been fitted with advanced fire control systems to coordinate their weapons systems. The point defense turrets are networked and coordinated, and all get a +5 to strike, while the sensor towers are intact and operational.

*ORACLE Mk V---Omni-diRectional Aura Classification and Locator Electronics---A TW development of the SNARLS PPE Scanner, this system consists of a series of advanced Technowizardry scanner systems(TW optic mounts, static crystal PPE meters, and whatnot) stationed around the ship, feeding into a central computer system with special TW-derived interface program algorithms. The system is designed to detect incoming magical/paranormal attacks and alert the crew to them(hopefully in time to allow them to take defensive measures). Linkage to the Ectofiber Grid has increased the sensitivity and effectiveness of this system.
See Aura: Slightly different than the spell in that it can scan an entire target such as a ship or station. The enchantment can be used to target a single individual but only have one tenth normal range when being used in that matter. Costs 60 P.P.E. per activation due to extended range. Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) in space and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Gives an approximate count of the number of life forms onboard. Gives the average level of experience, highest level of experience, and lowest level of experience [Given in these terms: Low (1-3), medium (4-7), high (8th and up).] Tells if there is any magic onboard. Gives if there are any psychics onboard (Mind Block will prevent detection), Gives a general count on the amount of P.P.E. the target has (basically the P.P.E. of the crew and any devices which store P.P.E.). Detects if there is any kind of possession. Finally sees if the crew or ship has any unusual aberrations.
• See the Invisible Sensors: The ships has several special optical and other sensor systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
• Sense Magic: The ship has sensors which the give the ability to detect active magic. Similar to spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) in space and 200 miles (320 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: detects the presence of magic if within detection range of ship and gives bearing on magic and basic range although not exact position. Detects active enchantments but will not generally detect spell casters in general.
• Sense Rifts: Ship has sensors which effectively allow Rifts to be detected(requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 500,000 miles (805,000 kilometers) in space and 500 miles (805 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Detects the presence of Rifts (including those created by Rifts Drives) and unlike when detecting magic gives position very accurately.

Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Particle Beam Turrets( 8; 3x2, and 2x1)----These are older model particle beam weapons; larger and more massive than modern weapons, but still quite capable. Two cannons are mounted in each main turret, and their firing is typically staggered, so the turret can get off a blast every 15 seconds. Two secondary turrets hold a single PBC.
Range: 60 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 60,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD per single blast, 2d6x1,000 MD per double-barreled blast.
Rate of Fire: Once every melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Secondary Double-Barrel Laser Turrets(16; 8x2)---Multiple turrets arrayed to cover the ship’s approaches, and used to fend off fighters and heavy missiles.
Range: 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast, 2d4x100 MD per dual blast from both cannons (counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee maximum
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3)Medium G-Cannon(10)----These cannon are likewise positioned and used primarily for defense. Reportedly PS/ASI is looking into developing proximity-fused fragmentation rounds similar to their KKCs for G-cannons.
Range: 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per cannon 20-rd burst
Rate of Fire: Each barrel can fire four times per melee
Payload: 10,000 rds(500 bursts)

4) Cruise Missile Launchers(7)---These are a WZT addition, replacing the original nuclear torpedo launchers that fired massive long range missiles.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 80 per launcher, 560 total. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 20 minutes

5) Long Range Missile Launchers(10)
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 400 missiles per launcher, 4000 total; additional missiles may be carried and loaded from cargo, but will take at least 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)

6) Short Range Missile Launchers(15)--- Point Defense
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10 each launcher
Payload: 100 per launcher. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes

7) Point Defense Laser/Mini-Missile Turrets(30) ---These are standard CCW-pattern dual laser/mini-missile launchers that have been installed, replacing the previous Odinan light laser PDS mounts.
Range: (Lasers) 4,000 ft in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere /200 miles in space)
(Mini-Missiles) 1 mile in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere/ 100 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 1d6x10 MD per blast
(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH, or auto-fire; 6 attacks per melee
(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1-8
Payload: (Rail Gun) Effectively Unlimited
(Mini-Missiles) 64 mini-missiles per turret; additional mini-missiles can be carried as cargo(typically takes 2d6 minutes to reload from the holds).

Auxiliary Craft:
5 Corvettes
3 Light Freighters/FTL Transports
80 Aerospace Fighters
12 Shuttles

Variants:
*WZ-OF-AHCVE17B---Three of the new CVE17B hulls in the production stream have been reserved for conversion into hospital ships. These vessels remove most of the heavy armaments such as the HPBCs , cruise missile launchers, and LRM/SRM launchers, but retain the heavy point defense. The fighter contingent has been dropped to make room for an additional 8 shuttles and expanded habitat space for medical personnel(800 additional) and patients. The troop compartments have been converted into medical wards and bed space for patients(2,900), while the magazines have been turned into secure medical laboratories. The hospital ships also carry several groundside-deployable field hospital modules and a corps of med-bots.

[SolCannibal]

A very interesting project and one hopes this partnership of the occasion may serve as a bridge to mend the decades of conflict between the sibling star-nations instead of a springboard for competition, sabotage and unexpected escalations of past resentments from Odinans & Cynocereans. The Infernals and their cults would definitely love such a twist of fortune.

[taalismn]

UWW/Independent ‘Mundane’-class Corvette
(aka’Mundoon’, ’Mundi’, ‘Mundex’)

“If you can get one of the Arcane knockoffs from a reputable builder, the Mundi’s a good fit for a small merc company. You won’t be capping Smashers in a Mundi, but it’s good for most smaller-scale security ops.”

“The xox-yards sell a lot of Mundis as ‘ex-Warlock Navy surplus’ with the hint that even with the major magic systems pulled ‘for demilitarization purposes’, the ships still retain some lingering magic in their hulls.
It’s pure spuggly excrement, of course. There’s not a quantum iota of magic in those hulls which were likely made from recycled freighters, and the only magic’s in the sales pitch, none in the ‘mystic symbols’ copied out of some folktale webpage or tattoo parlor catalogue and scrawled on parts of the hull where a newbie can spot and gawk at ‘em.”

The ‘Mundane’-class corvette is a knockoff copy of the United Worlds of Warlock’s Arcane-class Patroller, only using purely technological materials, systems, and processes. The basic type was originally developed by the UWW as a backup design for the non-magic user worlds under their wing, but the plans were leaked, likely by Dark Coven agents, to several fringe worlds and darkports. Now, more ‘Mundex’ copies can be found circulating outside the UWW than within it.
The basic hull and systems of the Arcane were already fairly simple, allowing the less tech-savvy mage worlds of the UWW to construct and maintain, so a purely technological version was well within the abilities of many shipyards outside the UWW to build. While this is hardly good news to the original builders of the Arcanes, there isn’t much they can do about it, given the UWW’s generally non-confrontational attitude towards their neighbors.
While a good number of legitimate governments and organizations have purchased Mundanes for use as patrol craft and system defenders, a number have also been acquired by private concerns, adventurers, ad lawless elements as well.

Type: Mundane MRC-II
Class: Light Patrol Vessel/Escort/Corvette
Crew: 60+48 troops
Some versions have been heavily automated to run with as few as 15 crew.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,500
Bridge 800
Main Cannon 400
Laser Turrets(4) 100 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(4) 250 each
Point Defense Guns(8) 100 each
Hangar Bay Door 500
Forcefield(Varies from builder to builder, but generally Heavy Commercial shields with 1,200 MDC or Heavy Variable Military shields with 400 per side, 2,400 MDC total)
Height: 70 ft
Width: 80 ft
Length: 100 ft
Weight: 10,000 tons
Cargo: 200 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life(larger fuel supply in place of the PPE generators)
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible in the standard design, though some knockoffs reportedly have amphibious and even submersible capability)
Market Cost: 450 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1)Main Cannon ----The Death Cloud Cannon is generally replaced with a conventional laser cannon, particle beam, or G-cannon:
a) Medium Laser Cannon
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 4,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

b) Medium Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 7 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 3,500 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Medium G-Cannon
Range: miles in atmosphere, miles in space
(Kitsune Values: miles in atmosphere, miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per 40 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 10,000 -rd(250 bursts) magazine

2) Laser Turrets(4)---These are retained unchanged from the original, as the UWW mages were generally unfamiliar with advanced technological weapons and so went with easily built and maintained systems, types also easily produced by the outsider shipyards constructing them.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Long Range Missile Launchers(4)---Likewise these generic and basic LRMLs were retained owing to their ease of maintenance.
Range: Varies by Missile Type, but atmosphere range x4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-8 per turret
Payload: 96 missiles per turret. Can carry an additional 400 missiles as cargo, taking 2 minutes to reload the turret magazines. Many private and outlaw operators rarely have the financial means to fly regularly with full missile magazines.
Note: Some operators, in lieu of long range missile launchers, replace these systems with medium range missile launchers(12-shot volley and increase magazine capacity by 30%) or even short range missile systems( volley strength of 20, and increase maagzine capacity by 50%).

4) Point Defense Guns(8)---The point defense TW Lightning Rods have been replaced by a variety of conventional lasers, small particle beams, or rail/g-cannons.
a) Pulse Laser
Range: 1.1 miles in atmosphere, 2.2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.1 miles in atmosphere, 110 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

b) Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 1.1 miles in atmosphere, 2.2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.1 miles in atmosphere, 110 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Light Rail/G-Cannon
Range: 6,000 ft in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6,000 ft in atmosphere, 120 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 20,000 -rd(1,000 bursts) magazine per gun

Auxiliary Craft:
Hangar bay space for 4 light fighters and 48 power armors. Some adventurer groups without fighter support carry ground vehicles instead.
Variants:
A number of regional variants of the Mundane exist, just as there are many regional variants of the Amok destroyer. These different makes differ in quality and in equipment such as engines(some hotrodded examples reportedly make Mach 12), avionics, and armaments, depending on what the builders have access to. At least one Rim world has a variant that mounts a long range sensor array in place of the main weapon turret.

*’Mundex’--’Mundexes’ are the officially-recognized Arcane knockoffs used by some of the non-magic using members of the United Worlds of Warlock. These vessels tend to be of better quality than other copies, and even the Warlock Marines have been known to use them on occasion(though they have sometimes also used shabbier/shadier examples in covert missions and sting operations).

[SolCannibal]

For a moment there i confused Dark Coven with Darc Dominion agents, what got me quite surprised and confused, before i got things right and could make sense of everything again.

[taalismn]

For a moment there i confused Dark Coven with Darc Dominion agents, what got me quite surprised and confused, before I got things right and could make sense of everything again.

The Darc Dominion could very well have picked up a few Mundane-class corvettes; the basic design's fairly easy to build if you're not incorporating magic systems. Hell, they might be able to build even less sophisticated(like non-FTL/local space) derivatives of it.
BY the same token, since the Darcs fled the Central Alliance, the CA might be able to make Mundis as well.

[SolCannibal]

For a moment there i confused Dark Coven with Darc Dominion agents, what got me quite surprised and confused, before I got things right and could make sense of everything again.

The Darc Dominion could very well have picked up a few Mundane-class corvettes; the basic design's fairly easy to build if you're not incorporating magic systems. Hell, they might be able to build even less sophisticated(like non-FTL/local space) derivatives of it.
BY the same token, since the Darcs fled the Central Alliance, the CA might be able to make Mundis as well.

Yes, yes, that is definitely feasible - now the Darc Dominion having agents infiltrated within the UWW and these being the parts responsible for the massive leaking of the "Mundane" original blueprints... now that would be quite a shocker all things considered.

[gaby]

Great that the Golgan have some civilian ships,What are the civilian,s ships the TGE and UUW have.

[SolCannibal]

Great that the Golgan have some civilian ships,What are the civilian,s ships the TGE and UUW have.

Now that is a very good question imho, since both civilizations started with a large baggage of Splugorth infrastructure that was adapted, subverted, transformed and/or through the ages and according to their respective needs.
The TGE possibly even more so than the UWW, since the Kreeghor were Sploog minions that usurped their masters and outgrew that, while the founding leaders of the UWW were an Ad Hoc alliance of minor civilizations against a Splugorth empire and that after victory decided to keep working together (and dividing the spoils/domains of the defeated).

Speaking of Splugorth inheritances, the TGE might have preserved more of their defeated masters' bio-wizardry than they are given credit for, if the Imperial Guardsmen serves as any indicator. Their conquest of the Machine People into the Empire might also have resulted in the addition of a number of interface technologies, some possibly pretty close to Telemechanics in certain qualities, to their backlog of know-how, i'd guess.

That said, how much of that actually reaches the hands of the average TGE citizen, commoner - or private individuals of afluence & success that are not part of the imperial state machine, is definitely up for debate.

One thing that i imagine most civilian spaceships models produced in TGE territory might have in common - and possibly surprise most outsiders at first glance - would be their lightness in both weaponry & armor (sometimes accompanied of equivalent increase in speed & maneuverability) for their size categories compared to equivalent civilian/trader designs from other star nations, but that makes considerable sense on hindsight when one accounts for the Splugorth-derived thought of the Kreeghor on rulership and maintenance of order.
If only the imperial forces may legitimately possess weapons, anyone else doing so is a pirate or terrorist, a criminal or enemy of the state to be punished with the full extent and force of the Emperor's authority through its public servants. It certainly explains why the FWC takes such pains to subvert, capture and fix as many TGE battleships as they can.

[taalismn]

TGE 'civilian' ships likely also have either rigorous and well-secured automation to run preprogrammed courses and/or have well-segregated officer/crew quarters/sections, withe the idea that the officers will be more thoroughly vetted as to loyalty to the Empire, while the lower-rank crew not so much.
The larger vessels will also have a political officer/minder and possibly an attached security section or concealed internal security devices that can be activated via special codes in event of a mutiny.

In the case of automation, the crews are aboard only for doing maintenance and other routine duties, as the ships run preprogrammed courses that can only be changed by the port or military authorities. The crew likely can only take direct control of the ship in event of an emergency, if certain sensor thresholds are tripped, the ship's systems reach a critical point, or external codes are supplied, granting the crew permission.
As a result, many more TGE ships are lost to routine accidents because either the failsafes didn't trip or they DID trip and didn't give the crew enough tile to evaluate the situation and respond to it in time, though the better worlds of the TGE will train and allow the crews to sit and monitor the bridge and systems controls, but be locked out until an emergency grants them control privileges.

Won't be surprised if TGE ships had lots of biometric locks on the controls.
Of course, those crews(most of them Kreeghor) of indisputable loyalty, will have was much open access to the controls and changing the navigational parameters as any CCW freelance captain.

[taalismn]

Byrnal Foundaries Schern-class Heavy Cruiser

“This thing’s nearly as antiquated as the Corister. In many ways it’s a giant flying slug-thrower. But cutting edge isn’t always progress, or invincibility, and old-tech can be just as deadly as latest-tech if the users know how to use it right. The Schern’s a right nasty big cannon-wagon you don’t want to be sailing into the sights of if you can avoid it.”

In an effort to revive its flagging economy in the face of competition from other mineral suppliers, the established Human-settled mining world of Sakko-Gaheen in the Consortium of Civilized Worlds took the unusual move of attempting to enter into heavy armaments production. The local ore refining and heavy machinery manufacturing firm of Byrnal Foundaries converted many of its facilities to armaments production and retrained its labor force to produce their home-brewed design, the Schern HCG.
The Schern is a heavy cruiser design based on a roughly cylindrical hull plan, of standard configuration, with the engines rear, bridge amidships, and most of the weaponry concentrated forward. Lacking access to more advanced shield technologies, Byrnal played to its strengths in metallurgy and gave the warship a heavy physical armoring with a reinforced hull and thick skinning of mannite-steel and meshed-titanium alloys.
Unable to produce the heavy energy weapons that are now the favored main batteries of most 3G capital warships, Byrnal designed the Schern with a main armament of eight heavy g-cannon in twin mountings. Five deca-tube long range missile launchers back up the main cannon for force projection. For close-in defense, a large battery of light laser cannons provide anti-spacecraft and anti-fighter coverage, and finally several rapid-fire pulse lasers and rapid-fire rail guns are mounted for point defense. The large array of ammunition-dependent main weapons means that the Scherns must dedicate large portions of their cargo space to munitions storage. This stowage comes at the expense of a hangar deck and embarked small craft; the Scherns cannot operate any fighters or shuttles that are not externally docked to the ship.
Byrnal’s inexperience and limited available technologies show in the design; most of the equipment is behind the current state of the art, and the ships are thus dated in their performance. The vessels are slow and cumbersome due to their older-style engine systems, the lack of a hangar deck limits their versatility, and the ships require large crews due to a lack of cutting edge automation systems. However, compared to more modern warships, the Scherns are relatively inexpensive to build.
Despite these shortcomings, the Schern has drawn the attention of several smaller star-nations looking for galactic-tech firepower, and several orders for the Schern have come in, justifying Byrnal’s risky investment. During the Minion War, CCW IDFs were scrambling for available ships, and Byrnal Foundaries happened to have available slipways and designs to build. Byrnal Foundaries has already produced ten Scherns; four for Sakko-Gaheen’s own Navy, and six on commission for outworld buyers. As might be expected, the Schern has not drawn any interest from the CCW and CAF, but Byrnal’s production of the warship may yield other benefitts; officers of the company have recently been covertly approached by CCW agents looking to set up secret manufactories for reverse-engineered Naruni equipment. Several of Byrnal’s older factories and mothballed asteroid facilities have been scouted as locations for this operation.

Type: CCW-BF-CG002
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 600
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 78,000
Forward Hull Section(1/3)
Midships Hull Section(1/3)
Aft (1/3)
Bridge 7,000
Engines 36,000
G-Cannon Turrets(4) 900 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(5) 500 each
Secondary Laser Turrets(16) 800 each
Point Defense Laser Turrets(8) 150 each
Point Defense Rail Gun Turrets(12) 150 each
Variable Forcefields---5,000 per side(30,000 total)
Height: 105 ft
Width: 105 ft
Length: 889 ft
Weight: 170,000 tons
Cargo: 2,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 5.5 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems.
Weapons Systems:
1)G-Cannons(8; 2x4) ----The main armament of these ships are eight heavy g-cannon massdrivers, mounted in twin-mount turrets.
Range: miles in atmosphere, miles in space
(Kitsune Values: miles in atmosphere, miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x100 MD per single barrel 40-rd burst, 8d6x100 MD per 80-rd burst(both barrels firing simultaneusly)
Rate of Fire:EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per cannon before needing reloading

2) Long Range Missile Launchers(5)---Mounted around the hull are five ten-tube LRM launchers.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 500 missiles each launcher, 2500 total; additional missiles may be carried and loaded from cargo, but will take at least 30 minutes

3) Secondary Laser Turrets(16)---Byrnal managed to acquire the High-Intensity Laser technology used in these weapons from CCW common domain technology sources.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 12,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Point Defense Laser Turrets(18)----These are the same pattern lasers used by the Hunter-class destroyer
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

5) Point Defense Rail Gun Turrets(12) ----These are the same rail guns used by the Hunter-class destroyer.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per 80 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per gun

Auxiliary Craft: None
(Later added armor-shielded external 'booths' for 4 shuttlecraft)

[taalismn]

Space Combat Insertion Sled(SCIS)
(aka ‘Bobsled’, ‘Deathcoaster’, ‘Slayride’, ‘Stelcoaster’, ‘ZeeGee BattleBike’)
“Okay, we’re going on on that crippled cruiser. Crippled, NOT derelict. That means we’re assuming it’s still got weapons hot. We go in cold, no active sensors. That would normally pose a problem, because we’re far out enough that w can’t see the ship until we get within eyeball range, but we don’t want to show a radar source that could give anybody over there a radiation point to aim at. Fortunately our passive sensors are tuned to the same radar wavelengths as our carrier and her escorts, and they’re going to be pumping out enough wattage to allow us to catch the backwave from the target, and hopefully blind its sensors in the bargain. But we’re still going in cold, so that means you use the wire hardlinks to talk to your sled-buddy and wingmen, and laser pointer-com for anybody beyond fiber-optic range..”

“Nothing’s more nervewracking than coasting in on a stelcoaster to a target. Sometimes you’re out there long enough to be either scared or bored to death. At least when you’re at the target, you can fight back and DO something. Flying in? You’re at the mercy of physics and electromagnetics.”

-“Don’t worry about losing your sled on missions like this; its sole purpose is to get you to the target alive and fighting. It does that, it can die a good death. We have other means to retrieve you.”
“Of course, what goes unsaid is that if you make a hot landing and don’t secure the target, all having your sled’s going to do if you try to retreat that way is make you a sitting target.”

The SCIS is a specialized piece of hardware meant for zero-gravity combat that is less common in the modern era than it was in the past. For those missions where an assault shuttle would be too big, jet packs too small, and power armors unavailable, the SCIS provides space infantry and commandos with the means of jetting over to a target vessel, space station, or other target body.
The SCIS consists of a basic zero-gravity sled framework, with seating for one or two fully spacesuited personnel on an open cockpit, surrounded by various maneuvering thrusters. Forward of the cockpit is a large ablative shield that provides both stealth and physical armor for the passengers. A point defense laser in the shield’s center is the primary weapon, supplemented by hardpoint-mounted missile pods and countermeasure launchers.
The SCIS generally relies on passive sensors on approach to a target, as active systems are a dead-giveaway to any defenders.
The SCIS can be turned over to automated control to act as an overwatch platform or decoy for the spacetroopers. Often, an attack team will be ‘escorted’ by several unmanned SCISes acting as decoys.
Besides being used by GNE/USAJC space forces for boarding actions, SCIS es are occasionally used for spacestation/yard patrol, inspection and security. In systems where exolife poses a threat or nuisance to space operations, these EVA vehicles are used in a ‘bug-zapper’ role.

Note: Piloting a zero-gee sled is fairly simple, using principles similar to a jet- or contragravity pack. It requires either pack skill and the EVA skill. Those with Pilot: Shuttlecraft, Small Spacecraft, or Space Fighter can also intuit how to fly them fairly quickly.

Type: PS/ASI-SCIS01
Class: Zero Gravity Attack Sled
Crew: One spacesuited soldier, plus room for a second seated behind them
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 200
Folding Umbrella Shield 300
Nose Turret 50
Thrusters(6) 30 each
Weapons Pods(1-4) each
Height: 5 ft
Width: 5 ft
Length: 12 ft
Weight: 5,000 lbs
Cargo: Minimal; only what can be strapped to the frame
Powerplant: Nuclear Power Cell(w/ 1 year energy life)
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not possible; the SCIS is strictly for use in microgravity
(Sublight) Mach 3
(Kitsune Values: 3% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.3% of light speed per melee)

Market Cost: 280,000 credits
Systems of Note:
*Radar----100 mile range in space, Typically, though, boarding parties on approach will NOT use active sensors for fear of giving away their presence and position. In such cases, the sled team uses passive sensors, including using backscatter from the active sensors of their support ships to give them a radar source.

*Thermal Imaging

*ECCM system: A semi-automatic system that uses electronic encryption and frequency jumping to (attempt to) negate jamming systems. The system has a 25% chance of negating radar or communications jamming (non-magical) on its own, or a +5% if the pilot has a Read Sensory Instruments or Radio: Scramblers skill and devotes a full melee to operating the system(no other attacks/actions are possible).
Having an Electronic warfare Skill gains a +15% bonus to operating this system.
Note that this only applies to received communications (the system filters them out from the jamming clutter) and sensory data received by that unit alone (other units cannot make use of it, unless they have an unaffected datalink/info-share with the ECCM equipped unit. Magic/psychic jamming is NOT affected by this system.

*EM/Laser Detector----Registers radar and lidar beams, especially those of targeting systems.

*Ablative Shield---This is a large folding parasol-style shield that opens up in front of the crew, offering them some protection from weapons fire. It also acts to block heat and other energy emissions from the sled from registering on an enemy’s sensors.

* Stealth---- SCIS es are sheathed in low sensor-return materials, and emissions are reduced as much as possible. This gives the sled a -20% to be detected on long range sensors and thermal imaging/targeting systems, and missiles are -4 to strike, having trouble locking onto the radar/IR/thermal signature.

* Molecular/Magnetic Anchors--Mounted under the hull are two harpoon-like projectors that deploy molecular-adhesion or magnetic anchor-grapples to attach to a hull. These are used to secure the sled to a carrier vehicle or a target structure.

Weapons Systems:
1) Point Defense Laser Array----A four-barreled pulse laser array, meant to engage missiles fired at the incoming SCIS. It can also be used to sweep defensive turrets, sensors and enemy personnel on a target vessel’s hull. Some units swap the lasers out for other weapons, such as ion cannon, particle beams, or plasma projectors.
Range: 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 500,000 ft/ 100 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD single barrel pulse blast, 4d4x10 MD for all four barrels firing simultanously.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or 6 attacks per melee in automatic mode
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonuses: +1 to strike

In the alternative, the following may be mounted:

b) Quad-Barrel Ion Cannon
Range: 2.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 400,000 ft/ 80 miles in space)
Damage:(Ion Bolt) 1d6x10 MD per single bolt
(Spray Bolt) 4d6 MD to a 15 ft wide area
On a Natural 20(Critical Strike) the ion weapon does TRIPLE damage instead of the normal double damage
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or 6 attacks per melee in automatic mode
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Quad-Barrel Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 2.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 400,000 ft/ 80 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD single barrel pulse blast, 4d6x10 MD for all four barrels firing simultanously.
On a Natural 19-20, a particle beam strike does DOUBLE damage.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or 6 attacks per melee in automatic mode
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

d) Quad-Barrel Plasma Projectors--- In the absence of an ambient atmosphere to use as plasma material, the space projectors draw from gas bottles carried aboard the sled. Though powerful, (small weapon)plasma degrades quickly in space with a short range, and it also acts as a thruster, requiring sled pilots to compensate for the added thrust vectors caused by the weapons firing.
Range: 1.8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 60 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x`10 MD per blast, 4d6x10 MD for all four barrels firing simultanously.
16 ft wide area of effect for one barrel, 30 ft wide area for multiple barrel bursts.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or 6 attacks per melee in automatic mode
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; the plasma gas source reservoir is good for 2,000 shpts before needing replacement.
Options:
“Hot Shotting”---This systen augments the normal air-draw plasma re-mass system with deuterium-gas injected into the plasma flow for a cleaner, hotter, more potent ‘burn’. The deuterium is stored in pressurized ranks attached to the feeds of the weapons. This allows the plasma to do 50% more damage, but the weapon now has a bit of a recoil due to the more powerful plasma acting like a crude plasma drive(-1 to strike, though auto-control renders this as -1 regardless of how many barrels are fired). The sled’s reservoir is good for 50 shots each barrel., or 200 enhanced shots total.

e) Double-Barrel CT Plasma Chain Guns--Aping Naruni’s plasma cartridge ‘machine guns’, this option uses PS/KT’s cadmium-telluride plasma cartridge technology Greater range and damage, but limited payload.
Range: 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in space)
Damage:: 2d4x10 MD per shot, 4d4x10 MD per Double-shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or 6 attacks per melee in automatic mode
Payload: 250 rd drum per barrel


2) Weapons Hardpoints(1-4)---The sled can mount hardpoints for podded ordnance and penetration aides on its frame. Energy weapons are generally battery-powered, as long deployments are not expected with a z-g attack sled mission. Each hardpoint can mount ONE of the following:
a) Mini-Missiles--- 6 shot pod

b)“S-Sting” ‘Smart Mini-Missile-- 4 shot pod

c) Short/Mediun Range Missiles---1 per hardpoint.

d) Grenade Launcher
Range: 7,000 ft in atmosphere, 14,000 ft in space
(Kitsune values: 7,000 ft in atmosphere, 140 miles in space)
Damage: (Fragmentation) 4d6 MD to blast area of 12 ft
2d6x10 MD to blast area of 40 ft w/ 10-rd burst
(Armor Piercing) 1d4x10 MD to blast area of 3 ft
3d6x10 MD to blast area of 8 ft w/ 10-rd burst
(Fusion) 6d6 MD to blast area of 12 ft
3d6x10 MD to blast area of 40 ft w/ 10-rd burst
(Collapsar) 2d4x10 MD to a 5 ft radius
4d6x10 MD to blast area of 16 ft w/ 10-rd burst
(Repulsor) 2d4x10 MD to an 8 ft radius
2d6x10 MD to blast area of 25 ft w/ 10-rd burst
There is also an extended ring-radius of lateral gravitic force that extends out an additional 12 ft. sending objects and people caught in it flying(2d4x10 ft): 90% chance of knock-down(lose 1 APM and Initiative), 80% chance of being stunned(-10 to strike, dodge, parry, and roll, NO Initiative, HALF speed and APMs for 1d4 melees).
Note that the gravitic waves work THROUGH armor, but NOT forcefields and other energy barriers.
(Anti-Theron) No damage to mundane material foes (acts like a flash-bang) but does 6d6 HP/MDC damage(based on what the creature is) to 24 ft blast area. The dispersal charge does 1d6 SDC.
2d6x10 HP/MDC to blast area of 75 ft w/ 10-rd burst
-Magic Modifiers:
*Techno-Wizardry Devices(including TW generators), enchanted objects, rune weapons, and other magically-infused(but INANIMATE) objects are NOT affected and take no damage.
*Non-magical beings. psychics, and ‘mundanes’ are unaffected and experience nothing aside from a slight tingling sensation, mild sunburn-like symptoms, and a passing feeling of nausea from a Disruptor strike.
*Magic Users and other beings who have ‘learned’ or artificially acquired magical abilities(including tattoos and implants), but who can otherwise survive without magic present are affected, but the effects aren’t as dramatic. They do NOT get a save versus the disruption because all of their effort has gone into OPENING themselves to the supernatural and embracing their magical potential.
*Supernatural Creatures who possess some small measure of magical ability will suffer a greater degree of damage/injury. ...normal damage x1.5. Gargoyles, Brodkil, Lycanthropes, Shapeshifters(including Nightspawn), Possessees, Shifters, and Witches, are all examples of beings in this category. Note that if these beings were to possess bionics or other conditions that NEGATE their magical abilities(like Brodkil bionics) they lose this vulnerability, and are NOT affected, taking damage only as normal. These beings do NOT get a saving roll versus the PPE disruption.
*‘High’ Supernatural Beings with a high level of, and reliance on, PPE will suffer greatly, taking DOUBLE damage. This includes Dragons, Angels, Demons, Splugorth, Faerie Folk, and Demi-Gods. However, these beings DO get a roll to SAVE versus their own PPE backfiring on them. A successful roll to save HALVES the damage done to them.
*Creatures of Pure Magic that cannot survive without magic are the most seriously affected, and take TRIPLE damage. This covers ghosts, possessing entities, Undead, Elemental Beings, Alien Intelligences, and god-beings. However, these beings DO get a roll to SAVE versus their own PPE backfiring on them. A successful roll to save HALVES the damage done to them.
*Golems, Iron Juggernauts, and other magically-powered automatons/automations will be effectively STUNNED, being paralyzed for 1d4 melees per shot, and will be unable to move or defend themselves, as magical energy shorts out and storms over them.

Other Effects:
*Magic Disruption----Each blast NEUTRALIZES HALF the number of PPE points that it does damage...these points are temporarily lost to the magic user/creature until it can regain them normally(by rest or drawing on other sources).
*Magical Forcefields take 1.5 normal damage.
*Invisible beings will be revealed by an anti-theron burst and will remain visible for 2d4 melees(gradually fading) as a result of residual anti-therons causing them to flouresce and become visible to the naked eye.

Rate of Fire: Single shot or selective bursts of 3-10 shots, ECHH
Payload: 250 rds, Selectable Magazine---Allows a mix of different ammunition types to be loaded, and specific grenades menu-selected
Special Features:
*Enviromental Insulation---The grenade launcher is sealed and insulated against damage from extremes of heat/cold, outgassing, monatomic oxygen corrosion, and other spaceborne operating hazards.
*EM/Radiation Shielding---The weapon’s electronics are well-insulated against electromagnetic and nuclear radiation interference. *Gravitic Counter-Buffering---One of the great advantages of the gravity-wave operation is the ability(at least in PS/ASI-developed weapons) to egenrate a counter-pulse that reduces, or even wholly eliminates, recoil, allowing for penalty-free burst-firing.
Cost: 200,000 credits

e) Light Rail Gun
Range: 12,000 ft in space
(Kitsune values: 240 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6 MD per 10 rd burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:2000 rds per pod (20 bursts)

f) Pulse Laser
Range: 16,000 ft/3 miles in space
(Kitsune values: 300 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per triple shot pulse,
Payload: 200 shot battery if conventionally powered, effectively unlimited if nuclear powered

g) Particle Beam Blaster
Range: 12,000 ft in space
(Kitsune values: 0 miles in space)
Damage:1d6x10+20 MD per shot
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload: 400 shot battery. Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 95,000 credits per cannon

h) Plasma Cannon
Range: 2,000 ft
(Kitsune values: 0 miles in space)
(Plasma Scattershot) 900 ft
(Kitsune values: 0 miles in space)
(Plasma Mini-Torpedo) 3,200 ft
(Kitsune values: 0 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
(Plasma Scattershot) 6d6 MD to 20 ft wide area
(Plasma Mini-Torpedo) 1d4x10 MD to 18 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
(Plasma Mini-Torpedo) Twice per melee
Payload:100 shot battery
i) Ion Blaster
Range: 1.2 miles in space
(Kitsune values: 0 miles in space)
(Spray Bolt) 1 mile in space and affects a 5 ft wide area
(Kitsune values: 30 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6 MD single shot, 1d4x10 MD triple shot burst
(Spray Bolt) 4d6 MD to a 15 ft wide area
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited, linked to nuclear power source

j) ECM/Radar Jammer Pod---5 mile range. Jams radars and radar targeting systems with 60% effectiveness. Radar-guided weapons are -6 to strike. Note that this affects friendly systems as well unless they are set to specific, per-arranged, non-jammed frequencies(that it may be possible for the enemy to discover). Carrying extra jammer pods does NOT increase the range or effective bonuses of the system, but may provide redundancy and multi-wavelength coverage.

k) Flare/Chaff Dispenser
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 6 per launcher


b) Nano-Pods-----The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 12 swarm packs

c) Grav-Pack Decoy---The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 6 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.


l) X-Ray Laser Pod----Adapted form of the PTICS-01(Plasma-initiated Tactical Infantry Cannon System). It uses the contained explosion of a 40mm cadmium-telluride plasma cartridge to power an x-ray laser.
Range: 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10+10 MD per shot. The x-ray laser component ignores laser-reflective armors, including laser-resistant window tinting.
Rate of Fire: Single shot, ECHH
Payload: 50 shot magazine

m)TW ‘Breaker’ Missile---The ‘Breaker’ is an expensive, missile munition meant to use the Energy Disrupter Mechanism(EDM), which allowed small vehicles to infiltrate magically- and technologically-generated forcefields/energy barriers .
Despite hopes of being able to install a Sphere of Annihilation device inside the warhead, the ‘Breaker’ is limited to conventional warheads. The missiles are also prohibitively expensive and complex to manufacture, limiting their numbers and distribution. ‘Breaker’ Technology can be fitted to MRMs and LRMs---it is not considered to be cost effective to employ it on SRMs and mini-missiles.
Range: Varies by Missile Type--MRM
Damage: Varies by Missile Type--MRM or LRM, but typically the heaviest warhead available.
Special: Can punch through forcefields and magical barriers, but only those larger than 12 ft or more(will not work on personal forcefields)
PPE Cost to Create: 300 PPE to enchant the crystal ‘initiator’ crystal

n) 12.7mm Rapid Fire Gatling Cannon--- Rapid-fire multi-barrel railguns, the same as installed on PS’s PSA-12 power armors. These weapons have an advantage over lasers in that they deliver more kinetic punch, and thus are more effective against targets that are resistant to energy weapons.
Range: 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 80 miles in space)
Damage:1d6x10 MD per 40 rd burst
Rate of Fire:EPCHH. Can only fire bursts.
Payload: 2,400 rds per gun(80 bursts)


Options:
* Laser Reflective Shield---- Lasers do HALF damage, but negates passive optical stealth.

* Fiber Optic Commline----Hardwire link between sleds moving in close formation. The whisker-thin cable is easily broken if individual maneuvering is required, but it allows for silent non-emission communications flying in stealth approach formation. Wire reels hold up to 5 miles of fiber optic link.

*Forcefield---Some sleds mount active forcefields for added protection, though active barriers register readily on ships’ sensors, so it’s used in circumstances where stealth is not an issue. The SCIS is compatible with PS/ASI’s VEFFG and VEFFG Forcefield Pods.

*TW Breaching System---A favorite, as the technowizardry becomes more available. Feeding 20 PPE into the system buys 1 minute of forecfield-breaching ability.
Cost: 3 million credits

*Flicker-Dodge---A special capability, and one of FA’s signature creations: an application of the Astral Hole spell. This allows the vehicle to quickly dodge out of sight/reality, for a few seconds, or move up to 2000 ft sideways, up, down, or backwards , with a +2 to dodge while doing so. Typically, an aircraft can engage this system 6 times before needing to recharge the system on a Ley Line(takes about 24 hours), or the pilot can pump in 120 PPE per “flicker-dodge”.
Cost: 3 million credits

*Automated Drone Control---The sled can be fitted with its own drone AI, acting as an autopilot. Based on the PS/ASI ASTROS system.
Systems of Note:
*Basic Robot Optical
*Basic Robot Audio
*Radio Receiver---Typically tuned to pick up local navigational beacons.
*Motion Detector---Actually a gravitic position sensor that detects gravity waves. Not as sophisticated as more powerful scientific charting instruments, but still able to detect large nearby gravity sources and general gravitic strength.
*Radar---A basic radar set is included, if the host vehicle lacks a set. In atmosphere, range is generally 50 miles, while in space that range is 50,000 miles.
*Star Tracker----Basic optical mount based on aviation celestial navigation systems that uses sensitive optics to fix on key stars in the local starscape and track on them to determine position.
*Voice Synthesizer---The ASTROS’s voice can be selected by the buyer. A variety of preselected speech-pattern packages are available, the most popular being ‘Obedient Robot’, ‘Grizzled Space Ace’, and ‘Co-Pilot Angel’.

Programming:
*Pilot Space Vehicles/Small Spacecraft 84%.

*Pilot Related----Read Sensory Instruments, Navigation(Space), both at 94%.

*Communications---Radio:Basic 94%

*Mechanical---Spaceship Mechanics 80% (Diagnostics and recommended repair methods only; the system cannot affect repairs itself)

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 4
Initiative +1
Strike +2

[taalismn]

CRUSS Exrox Biotech Support Vessel
(aka ‘Clone-drome’)
“Zooowww....that’s a lot of copies of one hot-looking brunette! Who’s the donor?”
“Ex-rebel leader from some sump-dump mini-empire.”
“Revolutionary insurance clause backup deal? Rebels cloning a new army for another go?”
“Nope, big bad government kakked her too early. Found out there was big money to be had if they’d sold her on the market. The successor state’s not repeating that mistake, gave us the physical and mental specs, and their order list.”
“So, no respect for the fallen heroine?”
“Hey, we get our cut for creating living memorials. That’s what matters.”

“And I’M BACK!”
“How many times do we have to kill this guy?!”
“Maybe one more time will do the trick?”
“We’re running out of ways to make it look like an accident...”
“No hope, people, I checked with Traffic Control; there’s a Clones-R-Us ship keeping station in orbit. A big one. If that little $#!+ spend as much of his family fortune as I suspect he did, they could be dropping carbon-copy annoyances on us for the next decade...”

The CRUSS Exrox is one of the controversial Clones-R-Us franchise support vessels, part of their network of mobile ‘black labs’ and cloning factories. Though able to operate aboveboard in some regions of the Three Galaxies, C-R-U is well aware that local regimes and laws change, trends fade, and their services are controversial enough that establishing permanent facilities is painting a target on themselves. To keep ahead of anti-cloners, clone-abusers, and those wanting to prevent dead individuals from resurfacing, C-R-U keeps most of its bioregeneration and rehabilitation/imprinting equipment mobile, able to move location at a moment’s notice.

The Exrox and its sisters are usually registered as ‘bioscience support tenders’ with the implication that they are used in support of planetary ecological surveys or terraforming efforts. In reality, they carry cloning facilities for generating genetic copies of various lifeforms. While Clones-R-Us claims to be a benign animal and plant cloning service from which it makes a substantial amount of its legitimate income, it also acknowledges that it produces genetic copies of sophont beings, imprinted with persona overlays, typically from the gene donor. The company offers ‘sequential immortality insurance’ with the thought being that if a contract holder is killed, their latest engram recording will be imprinted on a fresh clone, and the clone awakened to finish the contractee’s business. This sort of ‘insurance’ has raised objections from both the religious and legal communities, and created ethical firestorms(and sometimes actual firestorms).
More ominously, though, are reports of clones being used for more nefarious purposes, again igniting firestorms in the ethical and law enforcement sectors.

C-R-U vessels dedicated to this purpose tend to be large ships; superheavy transports, ex-heavy colony ships, or starliners, modified to purpose. The Exrox is typical of the cloner fleet, a heavily modified starliner of the old Paska Line subclass, before the more luxurious Star Streaker began taking over the top tiers in the luxury travel market. The ship retains its high turn of speed, but upgrades the FTL engines to a Class-E CG drive. The CRUSS is also fitted with a backup FTL system, a ‘flip drive’, believed to have been developed by another group of fugitive businessmen with whom C-R-U does business, Mad Scientist Scientific Supply(ot’s rumored that C-R-U regularly supplies M3S with ‘genetically stable’ cloned research specimens). The ‘flip-drive’ allows for instantaneous travel (ideally) beyond the range of effective tracking and pursuit, but at the cost of accuracy, so it’s used only as a last resort.

The Exrox is heavily armored for a ship of its class, in part to protect its valuable technology from pirates, but also to shield the delicate cloning tanks and gene banks from contamination and mutation-inducing radiation. It also has military-grade variable shielding equal to a heavy cruiser’s, and abundant point defense weaponry. When they can, C-R-U ships travel in convoy, with two or three additional transports carrying extra cloning materials, or as disguised merchant cruisers manned by security(typically mercenaries, though it’s rumored C-R-U has created its own vat-bred special forces ‘supersoldiers’).

Internally, the Exrox hold armored gene banks hold tissue samples and DNA codes for creating the clones, the large chemical tanks to hold the life support needed to nurture the clones through their accelerated growth, and stasis tanks to hold the matured clones. A physical therapy facility and small gymnasium connected to the stasis holds is used to exercise up the newborn clones and body-sculpt them to the required level of physical fitness to match contract spec, and there is a smaller engram implantation laboratory for transcribing copied mind-states onto the clones’ blank neural strata. The ship lacks the facilities for more elaborate engram-implantation/indoctrination procedures, though two small rooms can be outfitted as ‘studio sets’ for simple ‘fake memory’ sessions.

Type: CRU Exrox
Class: Heavy Interstellar Transport(Modified Starliner)
Crew: 250 +300 science/medical staff.
Has stasis storage facilities for up to 10,000 human-sized clones.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 55,000
Bridge 7,000
Sensor Arrays(3) 3,000 each
Engine Bloc 18,000
Hangar Deck 8,000
Point Defense Turrets(10) 100 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(2) 180 each
Variable Forcefields 1,500 per side, 9,000 total
Height: 1,450 ft
Width: 1,300 ft
Length: 2,800 ft
Weight: 9 million tons
Cargo: 80,000 tons(doesn’t count the 12,000 tons of life support chemicals)
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 12
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.2% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Flip-Drive) This experimental and tempermental system allows for instant and supposedly untrackable FTL teleportation of up to 200 light years, but is highly inaccurate; there is a 45% chance of winding up 5d6x10 light years off course from the intended destination.

Market Cost: A fully functional C-R-U ship with its lab facilities intact could bring about billion credits on the black market. Depending on what’s held in its gene banks, that price could go up MUCH further.
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
* Improved Sensors--- C-R-U has learned the importance of spotting trouble as far away as possible, and so mounts military-grade sensors. Radar has a 5 million mile detection range. .

* Advanced Communications----FTL radio with encryption; C-R-U needs to keep in touch with its galactic business and arrange orders and where to have them sent to be picked up.

*Gene Banks--These armored banks of stasis vaults keep collections of baseline genetic information viable and ready for use.

*Cloning Works---These are a combination of fast-growth bioregeneration tanks and 3D cell printers. On average, each of the 500 cloning tanks aboard can produce a mature human being in three weeks’ time. The clones are stabilized to a normal biological aging rate prior to decanting. Modified custom clones take longer and may require specialized personnel to join the crew.

*Somatic Therapy Facilities---Clones tend to come out of the tank with a newborn’s weak physique, and thus can look rather different from the original gene donors, so if neccessary C-R-U labs use a variety of means to ‘mold’ the bodies to the required phenotypic standard; muscle stimulation, mechanical exercise, nutrient therapy, and nanosurgical implants.

*Fake ID/IFF Transponders----Clones-R-Us ships typically carry a variety of false identification papers/codes, given the controversial nature of their business. C-R-U ships have posed as livestock transports, bulk ore/scrap haulers, gas carriers, waste trampers, and ships of dozens of neutral nations.

*Sensor Scramblers---The Exrox carries a powerful jamming system, not powerful enough to cloak its presence but enough to obscure its general nature. Anybody picking up the Exrox on long range sensors(10,000 miles or greater) is 90% likely to mistake the ship’s profile for that of a cargo transport, and not a starliner.

*Hull Baffling----The same hull insulation that blocks out radiation also shields the ship’s interior from scans, so that the ‘large freighter’ doesn’t appear to be full of high biological energy activity. Conversely, if the Exrox is imitating a star liner or refugee ship, it can lower part of the baffling; the clones will appear on life scans as passengers.

Weapons Systems:
1) Point Defense Lasers(10)---The Exrox carries abundant point defense armament, though the weaponry individually isn’t that much more powerful than that normally carried by luxury liners.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Medium Range Missile Launchers(2) ---Missile weapons are not expected on transports and starliners, so the deployment of two of these launchers on the innocent-seeming ‘starliner’ hopefully comes as a rude surprise to would-be attackers.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 200 missiles each launcher; 400 total. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 10 minutes

Auxiliary Craft:
10 shuttlecraft---Many of these will be FTL-capable courier models for transporting small orders to pickup/delivery sites.