KLM wrote:Nice, thought IMO shields protect against the ramscoop's EM field too... I mean as long as the shields are holding, the electronics is safe. But who knows, maybe it was a negate machanics spell casted by that lightning-bolt guy...
Adios KLM
And pirates are NOT known for having state of the art equipment...Plus their shields may have had the 'permeable to certain frequencies' flaw...
(may as well start putting that thread to good use)
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
I figure spacecraft design would go through similar stages as terrestrial aicraft design...the initial stages are stringbags, fragile and cantankerous...fragile lightweight things...Then comes the second stage where important concepts have been proven and now it's time to push the limits...economy goes out the door as airframes become bigger and sturdier...record-breaking becomes the emphasis...distance (as with teh Spirit of St. Louis) and size(the Antonov and Kalinin giants)...Wars push progress...and periods of boom and bust lead to outlandish concepts(seaplane jet fighters, rocket interceptors, prop-and-turbo-jet combos, giant seaplanes like the Saunders-Roe Princess)...then comes penny-pinching and economy as the technology becomes standardized...economy, weight, and efficiency become related to the anticipated financial returns from any one design....
The CCW and TGE are in this latter stage...designs are thoroughly prototyped in virtual reality, and construction and service contracts are lined up for decades of service...there are few radical prototypes actually constructed...and while the star-nations mightnot get the BEST possible designs from available technology, they egt ones that are the most economically feasible and sustainable for large scale production and large deployment...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
I whole heartedly agree with your statement. Although even with the major powers, sometimes they get some leeway for some radical prototypes. Maybe once a decade or two this would happen, maybe following trends in the scientific community. We see this in our own modern naval forces.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"
"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."
KLM wrote:Nice, thought IMO shields protect against the ramscoop's EM field too... I mean as long as the shields are holding, the electronics is safe. But who knows, maybe it was a negate machanics spell casted by that lightning-bolt guy...
Adios KLM
And pirates are NOT known for having state of the art equipment...Plus their shields may have had the 'permeable to certain frequencies' flaw... (may as well start putting that thread to good use)
What is the difference between a ramscoop and Earth's magnetic
field? Size only, I guess...
Now, if shields/insulation cannot protect instruments during
atmospheric entry, that is not a flawed ship but a catasrophe
waiting to happen.
Just my two cents.
Adios
KLM
But still, one of the most basic rules for survival on any planet is never to upset someone wearing black leather - This is why protesters against the wearing of animal skins by humans unaccountably fail to throw their paint over Hell's Angels.
- Terry Prachett
Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
Plus, the Earth's magnetic field wasn't deliberately designed to sweep up interstellar hydrogen...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
taalismn wrote:Plus, the Earth's magnetic field wasn't deliberately designed to sweep up interstellar hydrogen...
Actually I cannot imagine a magnetic field, which only collects
hydrogen. Magnetic fields "just" move every charged particle
in some direction...
Also... Well for the most part, solar wind is hydrogen, which
caught in the Earth's magnetic "shield" ends up as aurora polaris.
However, physically inside the ramscoop such a particle accelerator
can sort out particles by their mass (ie. - hydrogen and isotopes
here, the rest there), but this matters little for the ship caught
in the magnetic field.
Adios
KLM
But still, one of the most basic rules for survival on any planet is never to upset someone wearing black leather - This is why protesters against the wearing of animal skins by humans unaccountably fail to throw their paint over Hell's Angels.
- Terry Prachett
Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
Aramanthus wrote:I suppose that any particles getting scooped up just get used as fuel anyway.
Agreed.
On the other hand, stuf got into the "cosmic hover", can
be sorted by mass (that is how we - IRL - enrich uranium
or "distill" deuterium and tritium from normal hydrogen).
Besides, more than 90% (maybe 99% or so) of interstellar
stuff is hydrogen.
Adios
KLM
But still, one of the most basic rules for survival on any planet is never to upset someone wearing black leather - This is why protesters against the wearing of animal skins by humans unaccountably fail to throw their paint over Hell's Angels.
- Terry Prachett
Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
Hence my comment about vaporous vampires being swept up and solarized....
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
“You want to be careful flying the Fenlock, ‘epecially when landing and taking off...the positioning of the cabin way back and under limits the amount of sky you can see under the overhang of the hull, so make sure your sensors and optical-pickups are all working correctly, or you might miss something...like air traffic when and where you least expect it. “
The Fenlock is a standard and popular light freighter design that is mass-produced by WZTechYards for the open market.
The Fenlock is a simple enough craft, based on two ‘Super Cans’ joined end to end, over on their sides, a ventral loading ramp amidships, a crew cabin underslung aft of the loading ramp, and two engine nacelles on the end. The small crew accommodations are located in the underside pod, with access through a small side-fuselage hatch airlock. A hatchway in the ceiling of the crew cabin allows access to a small commons area at the back of the cargo bay(s), and to the cargo bays themselves. Besides the ramp-way, the cargo bays have a universal docking clamp-equipped floor hatch, allowing for direct unloading to space stations and other vessels. A handsome small craft, the Fenlock is a Tmelain design, built to their gruelling standards, so it mounts better than average armor for a civilian ship, and its systems are built to a tough, multi-redundancy degree that makes knocking the ship out a difficult proposition. The Fenlock comes standard with two light weapons hardpoint-turrets; one aft-dorsal and the other forward ventral. A standard commercial forcefield system provides additional protection against debris and weapons fire. Speed in both normal space and FTL is modest, but the engines are well-tested and reliable(though the heavily armored external nacelle pods make in-flight repairs a difficult proposition).
Besides having heavy armor, the Fenlock mounts a better than average sensor suite that would be more at home on a military craft than a commercial freighter. Indeed, the ships have become favorites of mercenary units, security forces, and blockade runners. However, the small, rather cramped, crew quarters in the underslung cabin make for uncomfortable travel on long transits, so the ships are best used for short-range runs.
Fenlocks are a common sight in the rim worlds where tough, reliable, ships are appreciated. The Free Worlds Council has bought/acquired (the Tmelain Republic-in-Exile has been more than happy to give the FWC a considerable discount) over a thousand as light combat transports(the loading ramp makes for fast disembarkation of troops and vehicles), and the Central Alliance has bought large numbers for similar reasons. The introduction of the Fenlock-Ashi(see Variants below) has attracted even more interest in the design from official circles.
Type: WZ-UFTLF-3244
Class: Light Freighter
Crew: 3+5 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 700
Forward Sensor Array 300
Forward Maneuvering Thrusters(2) 100 each
Engines(2) 800 each
Defense Turrets(2) 100 each
Forcefield 1,200
Height: 70 ft
Width: 80 ft
Length: 290 ft
Weight:110 tons
Cargo: 400 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 5
(Kitsune Values: 25% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 80 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Military Grade Sensors---The large forward sensor array has a 21% range increase over commercial-grade sensor systems, and can pick up incoming targets in normal space at 250,000 miles, and FTL craft at nearly 10 light years.
Weapons Systems: None standard, but the Fenlock comes factory-standard with two powered turrets that can be fitted with light weapons(point defense lasers/rail guns/PBCs/mini-missile launchers)
Variants:
Several after-market kits are available for refitting the Fenlock with Variable Forcefield generators and more powerful engines. A few Runners have even gone so far as to fit their ships with stealth armor and systems.
Fifteen Standard Years ago, WZTechYards collaborated with an Oni Bushi Confederation company, AyumaTech, in producing a combat variant based on the Fenlock, in an attempt to garner a Consortium military contract for a new missile corvette. Designated the Fenlock-Ashi(garu), the variant added variable forceshielding(900 MDC per side for 5,400 total), heavier engines( Mach 7.2 in normal space, 5 light years per hour FTL), and increased the crew to 9(expanding the commons area in the rear of the cargo hold area to accommodate the extra ‘coffin-bunks’ and crew stations). The forward sensor array was further upgraded, and additional EMP-hardening installed on all electronics. The cargo holds and ventral-ramp were removed altogether, and a set of rotary missile launch bays were installed instead. A pair of mini-missile launch pods were mounted on the sides of the ship for additional close-in defense, and a EW suite added. The Fenlock-Ashi can launch, depending on the drum configuration, the following munitions:
1) Modular Missile Launchers(2)
a) Mini-Missiles---Volleys of 1-40, with 50 reloads for each(1 ton of cargo capacity holding 96 MMs)
b) Short Range Missiles---Volleys of 1-30, with 40 reloads for each(1 ton of cargo capacity holding 48 SRMs)
c) Medium-Range Missiles---Volleys of 1-24, with 25 reloads for each(1 ton of cargo capacity holding 24 MRMs)
d) Long-Range Missiles---Volleys of 1-18, with 16 reloads for each(1 ton of cargo capacity holding 12 LRMs)
e) Cruise-Missiles---Volleys of 1-12, with 10 reloads for each(1 ton of cargo capacity holding 4 CMs)
2) Lateral Mini-Missile Pods(2)----Volleys of 1-25, with 4 reloads for each
Additional Features:
*Electronic Warfare/Stealth Suite---AyumaTech’s Oni have designed the EW suite mounted on the Fenlock-Ashi; though not capable of completely hiding the ship from sensor sweeps, the system does help obscure the vessel’s exact configuration. With Fenlocks becoming so common in some parts of the Three Galaxies, it is hoped that the confusion of detecting what appears to be a convoy of light freighters, rather than missile carriers, will work in the Fenlock-Ashis’ favor. The system effectively limits accurate enemy scanning to ranges of 2,500 miles or less. The system also works on jamming enemy targetting systems; direct fire weapons are -2 to strike, and missiles suffer a -4 to strike(Cruise Missiles are only -2 to strike).
The Fenlock-Ashi could be distinguished by the large drive/shield pod extrension of the main hull, between the engine pods(though at long range, this often is difficult to make out on scans), a heavier weight of 800 tons, and by its price tag of 180 million credits. Though lighter and less expensive than the other contract competitors being evaluated by the CCW, the Fenlock-Ashi hasn’t garnered much attention; despite WZ’s partnership with AyumaTech, the Consortium Military Procurement Board assigned to evaluating the competition was leery of trusting an outside firm. Though still doggedly pursuing a CCW contract, WZ has been covering its bases, hawking the Fenlock-Ashi to smaller militaries, larger mercenary organizations, and the FWC, promoting the sales as ‘advanced field testing’. These ‘production tests’ have quickly earned a reputation for being able to unleash insane amounts fo firepower for ships of their size, earning them such nicknames as ‘(Ber)Zerk’, ‘Derringer’, and ‘Piloted Missile Pod’.
Reports have also surfaced of a radical conversion being used in the Free Worlds Council rebellion against the TGE. Accounts tell of Fenlocks with the ventral rampway replaced with a retracting quad-gun turret with four particle beam cannons for ground attack. The FWC mod also mounts variable shields, countermeasure launchers, and two mini-missile pods similar to the Fenlock-Ashis’.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Got this idea on my latest summer vacation, while walking through a park and seeing a grove of trees I remember my older brother and his friends(and later myself and mine) as kids using as a ‘starship’...and thinking, ‘why the heck not?’.....
Dreamwoods----Dreamwoods are legendary lifeforms said to be spacegoing Millenium Tree relatives...vast, magical, freefloating, spacegoing vegetable intelligences or ‘Ort Trees’.
Dreamwood Launches
“Here, Joachim....listen to me! Take this bag with you and run to the little grove on the north side of the hill behind the barn...You know the one with the carved bench nestled among it? When you get there, sit down in the seat and open the bag! I want you to sit there and concentrate on what you find inside, and I want you to run through the litany sequences Aballard Three through Dosis Seven, just as we practiced! Now, you just keep repeating those sequences and whatever happens, do not panic! You can close your eyes if you want do, but just remember, as long as you keep holding onto the bag and keep saying those sequences you’ll be perfectly all right! It shadn’t be long, but an old friend of mine should be along shortly to help you. You’ll know her when you see her...but when you do, I want you to tell her everything that’s happened here, and that I, LLadafeff the Heartwarm, stayed behind to help as many people as I could out of the Yorians’ way, but we need help desperately! You carry that message to my friends, Joachim! Now be on your way, young man! And don’t forget your pack! You may need a change of clean clothing by the time you finish your trip!”
Dreamwood Launches are essense-splinters of Dreamwoods that are detached as the equivalent of shuttlecraft or auxiliary spacecraft. Unlike their parent, DLs are fully atmospheric capable.
A Dreamwood Launch resembles a small grove of densely-packed trees, often with several gnarled branches that are low enough to serve as seats, and with enough open space between the tree trunks for people to stand or sit comfortably. A perimeter of twisted trees, saplings, or even thick bushes, borders the grove, all atop a ‘pedestal’ of tightly-packed earth and glowing root-like appendages. The Launches have no walls or hull as such, but retain atmosphere through an envelope of magical force; they are living organisms capable of both magic and psionic manipulation of their environment. When landing, Dreamwood Launches will generate a landing pit in the soil underneath them to accommodate their roots...once landed, the Launch is often completely indistinguishable from any other copse of local trees(however, Jungle Elves, Biomancers, Mystics, and Mystic Herbologists will -immediately- be able to identfiy the grove as something out of the ordinary). In this manner, a Dreamwood Launch can be hidden in plain sight for years until needed.
No two Dreamwood Launches are exactly alike; because they are grown, they differ in appearance and capacity. Some are little more than space-going brambles, while others show the signs of sculpting or topiary trimming in their ‘default’ modes.
Though not exactly fast or well-armed, Dreamwood Launches have the advantage of being incredibly stealthy; their organic origins mean they don’t show up on most detection devices and long range scanners. At closer ranges, they are completely silent, and if they can drop to the ground quickly enough, can quickly disguise themselves as local foliage. This makes them ideal for smuggling, infiltration, and extraction drops.
Type:Dreamwood Launch
Class: Biomancy Small Shuttlecraft
Crew: One, plus room for 2-30 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2d4x100
Bio-Forcefield* 2d6x100
*Regenerates at 10% per melee, double on or near a leyline, triple on a nexus.
Height: 15 ft(+6 ft roots)-100 ft
Width:15 ft-100 ft
Length:15 ft-100 ft
Weight: 2-50 tons
Cargo: 2-15 tons; though may be limited by what can be fit between the tree-trunks.
Powerplant: Bio-Reactor w/ solar power backups
P.P.E. Reserve Capacity: 1d6x100, regenerates at 20 PPE per hour , double at or near a leyline, triple at a ley line nexus. Mages and psychics can also pump their own PPE/ISP into the Launch.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible, unless it has the Rift Jump feature
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: NOT FOR SALE! A Dreamwood may award chosen champions and agents a Dreamwood Launch of their own. If the Splugorth ever learned of them, they might well offer a million credits for one to dissect or corrupt.
Systems of Note:
*Bio-Regeneration---Regenerates at 2d6 MD per minute, twice that on or near a leyline, and triple that at a leyline nexus. The spell Create Wood will heal 1d6 MD per 10 PPE expended. A Grow Plants spell will heal 1d4 MD.
*Adaptive Camouflage---Upon landing, a DL can alter its appearance to blend in to local vegetation. The alterations take about 1d4 minutes to accomplish, but once it’s done, the Launch is virtually indistinguishable from surrounding vegetation.
*Stealth---The Dream Launch is extremely stealth, and doesn’t show up on radar or thermal sensors....Has a 95% chance of going unnoticed by all but the most sophisticated sensor systems.
*Sensors---The Dreamwood Launch has basic optical sensors that see in the visual range and UV/IR spectrum, can sense PPE as far away as 200 miles, and has a rudimentary bio-radar/presence sense.
*Tongues---The Dreamwood Launch will automatically translate any languages spoken or transmitted in its range(including coming from radios and other communications devices carried aboard by crew/passengers), without PPE cost.
*Bio-Comm----The Dreamwood Launch can telepathically communicate with other Dreamwood Launches within a 2 million mile radius, or a Dreamwood Mother Tree within 5 million miles.
*LeyLIne Storm Defense---The Dreamwood Launch is naturally shielded from leyline storms, something akin to an aircraft acting as a Faraday Cage in a lightning storm.
Magic:
*Animate Plants(10 PPE, range: 100 ft, duration 10 minutes)---Similar to the spell
*Dig Hole(8 PPE, range: 100 ft)---This application of magic force clears and creates a foundation hole large enough to accommodate the Launch’s rootball(roughly 15-100 ft in diameter).
*Restore Landscape( 25 PPE, range: 100 ft,)---This application of magic force reverses the Dig Hole spell by seamlessly filling in the foundation hole after the Launch has lifted off, restoring the vegetation, and removing any traces that anything was previously there.
*Invisibility: Simple( 6 PPE, 30 miinutes duration)---Anybody standing within the grove will be rendered invisible to observation with this feature activated.
*Impervious to Fire(5 PPE, 50 minutes)
*Extinguish Fire (4 PPE, 10 minutes, 180 ft radius)
*Repel Animals(7 PPE, 50 ft range)
Special Features:
Because Dreamwood Launches vary, they typically have 1d4 of the following special features(or more for specially tasked Launches):
*Rift Jump Teleport----A rare and expensive feature that allows the Launch to travel at Faster-Than-Light velocities. It is a weaker and more pared-down version of the sort of drives used by the UWW, only it is biological in nature, and can Jump for 2 light years per 200 PPE pumped into it.
*Ultra-Stealth---The particular DL is optimized in its growth for stealth, including a permanent PPE Mask and even scent-disguising. Hidden hollows in the tree trunks can be used to conceal objects and supplies from even close-range high-tech searches(typically 1d8 smuggling compartments, each roughly about 1d4 cubic feet in size).
*Vine Manipulators---The equivalent of robotic manipulator arms; the DL can have 1d8 of these appendages. Each has a reach of 15 ft, 20 MDC each, and a Supernatural P.S. of 25.
*Larder---The DL with this feature can provide nourishing food for its rated number of passengers, in the form of nuts, fruits, berries, edible bark, or sugery sap supplied via reed straws...All biological waste is recycled back by the Launch.
*Healer---The Launch can attach vines and creepers to an ill or wounded passenger and channel part of its life energy into healing. Possesses the spells Heal Light Wounds(6), Heal Wounds(10), Greater Healing(30), Negate Poison/Toxin(5), and Cure Minor Disorders(10), all at an 8th level of profficiency.
*Pigeon Remotes---Bird-like sensor organisms---1d4 MD each, flying speed of 72 , effective range of 50 miles before leaving contact. Typically has 3d6 Pigeon Remotes. Replaces them at 1 per 24 hours.
*Squirrel Remotes---Small, ground-running rodent-like organisms that can be used as ground scouts or as couriers. Ideal for planting motion detectors and other small objects(see below)---1d6 MD each, running speed 20, Climb at 98%, and has a 5 mile range before leaving contact with the DL, Basic audio and visual abilities, plus acute senses of smell(Track by Small 60%) and nightvision(80 ft). Typically has 1d8 Squirrel Remotes. Replaces them at 1 per 24 hours.
*Acorn Sensors---Small, hard-shelled organic sensor pickups that are dropped on the ground or buried shallowly, typically in a perimeter around the DL(up to a mile away). Each sensor effectively acts as a motion detector and audio pick-up(senses movement and sound in a 100 ft radius), and has an effective lifespan of 3 months before decaying.
*Chemical Spray----The Launch can generate a fog of chemicals from its fronds that encompass a 50 ft area around the grove. For each selection of this particular feature, the Launch can dispense one of the following chemicals:
a) Fire Retardant---Instantly puts out fires and slows the spread of fresh fire-combustion by as much as 75%
b) Tearing Agent---An irritant similar to CS gas or pepperspray; victims are -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, and lose 1 APM for 2d4 melees unless wearing respiratory and eye protection.
c) Insecticide---Does 3d6 per melee of exposure directly to Hit Points of insectoid species, or 4d6 MD per melee to megadamage insects(including Xiticix)
d) Amber Spray----A sticky, aromatic aerosol that congeals into a resinous gunk that fouls optical systems...Optical targetters, including lasers, smeared with the stuff are -2 to strike, and thermo-imagers/IR/UV optics will be ineffectual through the blurring caused by the coating. Lasers caught in the stuff do 1/3 less damage until the stuff can be cleaned off the emitters or burnt off in 1d4 melees. In space, it acts as an anti-laser aerosol cloud.
e)Vapors of Peace---A sedative mist that smells of evergreen, mint, or cedar, that acts as a soporific on the nervous systems of most beings; save at 14 or higher or fall asleep within 1d4 melees for 2d6 minutes.
*Supernatural Defenses---The Dreamwood Launch has certain supernatural defenses that keep supernatural beings away...Has the powers of Repel Undead(45 PPE), Exorcism(30 PPE), Circle of Protection: Simple(45 PPE), and Protection Circle Superior(100 PPE), all at a 10th level of profficiency.
*Bio- Lasers(3d6)---Can be fired by the DL itself or by passenger/gunners
Range: 3,000 ft in atmosphere, 6,000 ft in space
(Kitsune Values: 1 mile in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
*Double range in intense sunlight
Damage: 4d6 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 times per melee or EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
*Needle Chaff---A combination close-in defense and anti-missile countermeasure that throws out a cloud of metal-hard needles that reflect radar frequencies.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: Does 3d8 MD at ranges of 500 ft or less; Other effects 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
Vehicles and beings flying into the chaff at slower than Mach speed will suffer 1 MD point; above Mach 1 will suffer 1d4 MD per Mach number.
Payload: 20 shots. ‘Magazines’ regenerate an ammunition load in 12 hours
*Pinecone Grenades---Whether thrown, dropped, or set loose in open space, these large pinecone-like munitions explode in a burst of razor-sharp ceramic-tough shrapnel shards
Range: 500 ft in atmosphere, thrown by hydraulic and cold-gas action. Triple effective range in space.
(Kitsune Values: 1 mile in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD to a 30 ft radius(triple in space)
Rate of Fire: Can unlease 1-6 grenades in a single volley
Payload: 10+2d6 grenades ready to fire; regenerates within 24+3d6 hours.
Weapons Systems: None standard(see above)
Vulernabilities:
Dreamwood Launchs are vulnerable to magic that affects plants, such as Rot Wood and Wither Plants, though the DL gets a saving throw at +1
Magic Fires do normal damage.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
The summer was good to me idea-wise once I began abusing my fuzzy warm old memories and twisting them to diabolical new ends...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Oaks, birches, scrub-pines.....shoreside trees....You get some nice windblown shapes on the evergreens...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Nah...that would be if I was going for size, but I'm talking about the intimate little groves you see in the sort of little parks you get up around here, where the branches hang down and in some cases curve around you.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Aramanthus wrote:Oh ok. I was suggesting that for some larger versions of your creation.
Try your hand at it! Maybe the Dreamwoods carry larger varieties of Launch-style craft or maybe there are other oragnitech users out there!
Fill the void with ships!
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Aramanthus wrote:Oh ok. I was suggesting that for some larger versions of your creation.
Try your hand at it! Maybe the Dreamwoods carry larger varieties of Launch-style craft or maybe there are other oragnitech users out there!
Fill the void with ships!
Jurian warships?
Author of Rifts: Deep Frontier (Rifter 70) Author of Rifts:Scandinavia (current project) * All fantasy should have a solid base in reality. * Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter. -Max Beerbohm Visit my Website
Aramanthus wrote:Oh ok. I was suggesting that for some larger versions of your creation.
Try your hand at it! Maybe the Dreamwoods carry larger varieties of Launch-style craft or maybe there are other oragnitech users out there!
Fill the void with ships!
Jurian warships?
Monster vines?
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
“I’ve heard from colleagues who’ve been aboard those things....Like warrens of ice and steel....The ice-dwarves can drop the temperature inside those ships to just short of Absolute Zee....freeze an intruder in their own blood, or trap them inside a cage of frozen atmosphere.....Flood entire sections with that nanogel of theirs and lock it up solid or evac the interior of all air as they please...
I’ve never heard of anybody riding aboard those ships...at least not warm and conscious....and I don’t blame’em! Just having those black-clad icicles lurking around on-station gives me the creeps...I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those stories about them moving armies of their own folk aboard those ships, frozen in the cargo racks until they need them to take some target, were true....Even up close I can’t tell if they’re alive or dead...”
---Bagar V’Dere, Noro Station-Master, Genderramaport.
The reclusive Krydos specialize in stasis storage systems and services, so on occasion they do travel off their cold, foreboding homeworld on business elsewhere in the Three Galaxies. On those occasions when their business entails the transport of large amounts of equipment and stasis-preserved cargo, the Krydos have their own distinctive purpose-built vessels, the CryoBarges. These vessels are used to transport all manner of cargos that require special handling; biological samples, gene-banks, voluntary ‘hibernauts’(critical/terminally ill patients who elect to go into cold sleep to await a cure for ther condition, or adventurers seeking to awaken in some future time), preserved corpses, temperature-sensitive medicines and materials, and even artworks and relics, in racked stasis vaults aboard the ships.
CryoBarges are large, spheroid vessels with a veritable forest of radiator vanes sprouting from one end. When landing, the ships sit on the spheroid end, with the radiatior vane assemblies at the ‘top’ of the vessel. The ships are a silvery-black in color scheme with the radiator vanes beng dark. Aside from a handful of small viewing/inspection ports, and a few running lights, the ships are almost completely without windows and other frills common to other vessels; they are starkly utilitarian.
Inside, the ships are heavily compartmentalized, divided into multiple insulated storage bays and attendant stasis-support equipment spaces. A small crew section supports the small crew complement that oversees the ships’ operations, assisted by a contingent of automata and security-drones. As the Krydos apparently go nowhere without their suits of life support armor, what little has been observed of the ships' interiors show little accommodation for comfort. Automated cargo handling tracks snake along floors and ceilings for moving bulky cryotanks, transport shafts barely large enough for a person to walk through plunge through armored bulkheads, and low blue-white lighting lends a sublime look to everything. The few visitors to these ships have commented that ships are extremely uncomfortable, being cold and dank...The Krydos prefer cold environments, both to accommodate their stasis systems and to discourage outsiders from lingering in their company too long(or so it is rumored).
CryoBarges are very heavily armored craft; the contents of their cryofaults are often susceptible to physical shock, so minimizing the risk of damage is important. Because the cargos are frequently valuable to certain parties, the ships mount a surprising amount of concealed weaponry for self-defense(the Krydos seem to really value their privacy, even when travelling about on work). Because of their efficiency in radiating heat and excess energy, the ships are also very stealthy, at least to energy detection systems and thermographic systems in particular. The ships are also shielded from scans of their interiors....The Krydos claim that their stasis systems are susceptible to external stray energy, so shielding them against outside interference is necessary...Thus, CryoBarges’ interiors cannot be effectively scanned from outsde, making discerning the ships’ contents and internal activity impossible. This has, of course, fueled rumors that CryoBarges are used for smuggling and slaving.
Though the ships crawl in normal space using a high-efficiency, low-energy ion drive, CryoBarges have a standard CG FTL drive system that allows for speedy returns to their homeworld.
CryoBarges are rarely enountered in commercial spacelanes, but when they are, they are given a wide berth, owing to the frosty reputation of the Krydos. Because they frequently carry cargos of preserved corpses, the ships are known as ‘zombiebarges’, ‘corpsicle-carriers’, and ‘morgue-cruisers’. Though the ships are engaged in legitimate, often invaluable, business, moving medical supplies, transferring patients between facilities, carrying biological packages to colonies and terraforming efforts, and other duties, the ships have been the source of countless dockyard and spaceport tales of smuggled cargos of frozen slaves, kidnapped hostages, frozen horrors, and cold contraband being carried aboard these ships. Other stories tell of ships found drifting in space, without a single crewbeing aboard, with no sign of what happened...but for a dusting of frost.....
Type: Krydos CryoBarge
Class: Special Purpose Transport
Crew: 30+50 robot units
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 25,000
Bridge 4,000
Radiator Vanes 10,000
Hangar Bays(2) 1,000 each
Medium Laser Turrets(6, concealed) 300 each
Medium G-Cannon(6, concealed) 300 each
Forcefield
Height: 500 ft
Width: 500 ft
Length: 800 ft
Weight: 60,000 tons
Cargo: 38,000 tons
(If loaded only with humanoid stasis-pods, can carry over 75,000 passengers in stasis)
Powerplant: Advanced Nuclear Fusion w/ 60 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 450 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Stealth---The Krydos claim it’s a byproduct of their efficient cooling systems, but others claim that the radiating systems should paint the ships as BIGGER targets on sensors....For whatever reason, Krydos Cryobarges cannot be detected at ranges less than 3,000 miles(they must often deploy transponder beacons near heavily trafficked systems)
*Scanner-Shielding---To ship scanners, CryoBarges often appear dead, with minimal onboard systems emissions. Without extremely sophisticated scanning gear, external scans cannot discern activity inside the heavily shielded hull of a CryoBarge.
Weapons Systems:
1)Medium Double-Barrelled Laser Turrets(6, concealed)---For a transport, the CryoBarges carry a surprisingly heavy armament of double-barrel laser cannon. Even mor surprising is the high rate of fire that these otherwise standard weapons are capable of....Analysis has led to speculation that the Krydos use a superior cooling system coupled to their lasers, as well as actively cryogenically-cooled superconductors, allowing for faster charging of the weapons between shots.
Range:5 miles in atmosphere,10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per single barrel, 2d4x100 MD for two cannons firing simultaneously(counts as one attack).
Rate of Fire: Six times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Note: Destroying the Radiator Arrays drops the rate of fire for the lasers down to three times per melee
2)Medium G-Cannon(6, concealed)---Similar to those carried on the CCW’s Scimitar frigates, these weapons can put out veritable storms of hypervelocity projectiles that can shred fighters and shatter missiles.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per burst.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 500 bursts per cannon
Auxiliary Craft:
4 shuttle craft
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Figured the Krydos needed something cold and menacing...a floating morgue/freezer would be suitable...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
I figure that a nasty surprise to pull on boarders...to discover the crew is actually ten times the specified size because of Krydos riding in the cryobins...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Vrusk ‘Tuu-Bou’ Gun-Barge Cruiser
“Shapelli Base to Tansoner 14, we’re detecting high radiation levels from your position, registering as an engine core critical venting...Are your engines functioning properly? Do you require assistance? We can send you a fleet hazmat tug and medical assistance immediately!”
“This is Tansoner 14 to Shapelli Base...negative on the assistance...We’re part of the Vrusk contingent assigned to your fleet patrol sector, and this is normal engine operations for us....Again, negative on the medical assistance, but would you mind sending out the hazmat tug anyways? I got a cousin working aboard her and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again!”
Known as galactic garbagemen specializing in radioactive waste, the Vrusk are seldom attacked by anybody, but as members of the CCW, they do feel obliged to play their part in the defense of the Consortium. Furthermore, occasionally they DO get attacked, and so the Vrusk Aggressive Threat Management Agency(their unified armed forces) have commissioned Vrusk industries to build warships for Vrusk defense.
Vrusk engineering is both utilitarian and innovative, using as much recycled technology and material as possible, given that the Vrusks’ greatest strength as a nation is their vast collection of other people’s cast-offs. As a result, when looking for ideas and gear, the Vrusk shipyards have at their disposal megatonnes of other people’s wrecks, derelicts, and cast-offs, dumped in the Vrusk homesystems because the stuff is too old, too toxic, and too contaminated to economically dispose of...and because the Vrusk asked for the stuff. The Vrusk cheerfully recycle this tech-rubbish into equipment they can use, and consider themselves coming out ahead in the bargain.
The ‘Tuu-Bou’ Gun-Barge from Scrubbell Industries is no exception. The Gun-Barge is a capital-class warship based on the venerable box-hulled ‘Ble-Ble’ ‘Rad-Crapper’ Waste-Disposal Barge, a common and respected ship among Vrusk waste-haulers. The ‘Rad-Crapper’ has been modified with extended fore and sections to accommodate military grade drives and weapons systems. The heat-dissipation vanes of the wastehauler have been reduced in size, the heat energy being recycled to feed the additionaol systems. Additional armor has been layered on, and external equipment racks originally used to hold salvage gear, have been adapted to carry accessory point defense systems and missile pods.
Propulsion is two Wulsen-XXI-pattern CG drive units, based on (and often incorporating a substantial portion of salvaged parts from) junked CCW Warshield engines(the Vrusk have acquired at least eight Warshield hulks as contaminated salvage). The powerplant is a hybrid: an active-mode fusion powerplant, and a radio-thermal fission heatpile system using pebble-bedded recovered nuclear-waste. The latter system, though bulky, provides a slow, but steady, flow of power, and though not capable of providing efficient ‘spike power’ on demand, has proven less susceptible to catastrophic failure(they’ve already effectively melted down). The large bunkers for the nuclear waste have the added benefit of heating the large recreation decks and mud-saunas the Vrusk enjoy, making duty aboard a Tuu-Bou a luxurious assignment for crews.
As a result, the Tuu-Bou runs ‘hot’ and fairly radiates dangerous atomic radiation....Radiation-sensors and thermal scans will detect the ship at three times the normal range for other ships, making the Gun-Barges hardly very stealthy. With a few exceptions, such as the Catyr, most species would find it dangerous to stay aboard a Vrusk warship for any length of time, due to the radiation hazard. Needless to say, Vrusk warships are NOT invited to make port-of-call tours with the rest of the CAF.
Armor is heavy, mainly a mix of duradanium plating, super-dense corboride magna-metal, and reinforced boro-silicate composite sheeting layered on the ship structure. Vrusk experimentation has shown that some newer materials in wide use with the rest of the CCW, such as tri-seracan exxasteel, tend to break down under radiation exposure, so any such components aboard Tuu-Bous that use those materials require frequent replacement. This gives the ships’ hulls a decidedly patchwork appearance as new plating is added and replaced, at least on those ships using the more popular CCW-standard composites. The forcefield shielding is a CAF standard system, though early Tuu-Bou fits suffered from erratic shield projection until adequate radiation insulation was placed around the generators.
The main armament is impressive for its size...Nearly a third of the ship’s main hull is made up of the forward bays for the six massive particle beam cannons. Secondary weapons include multiple batteries of smaller particle accelerators, lasers, and g-cannons firing depleted-transuranic ammunition. A small auxiliary craft bay and fairly large Marine contingent of Vrusk soldiers gives the ship some added utility, though in boarding actions any prisoners taken are best transferred to non-Vrusk vessels for health matters.....though Vrusk troopers are exemplary at handling battlezone salvage operations and hostile environments.
Overall, the Tuu-Bou is a large, awkward, bulky, lumbering aesthetic nightmare of a ship, that violates multiple CCW safety regulations. The CAF frankly doesn’t know what to do with these ‘rad-candles’...too visible for border patrols, too dangerous radiation-hazard-wise for system-patrols, Tuu-Bous are typically relegated to picket duty on the edge of formations, when the CAF holds fleet maneuvers....some crews won’t go anywhere near the Vrusk ships, despite the effectiveness of modern rad-shielding(only Votoron vessels seem to illict more anti-radiation fear and caution). However, the Vrusk love the hulking ships, pointing to them with pride, and assignments aboard them are considered plum duty for VATMA personnel.
Despite all their dangerous eccentricities and mediocre performance, the Tuu-Bous have had their unexpected moments of glory. When Lurgess terrorists threatened the pastoral paradise world of Mela III with eco-contamination, the CCW fought fire with fire; the sight of a Vrusk warship sidling up alongside their ship, radiation danger strobes flashing, and airlocks venting radioactive gases prior to deploying Vrusk boarding teams, sent the plague-bombers scurrying outsystem in panic. A more dramatic event pitted two Vrusk cruisers against a Demonstar that was attacking a starliner convoy. The Demonstar was so focused on terrorizing the civilian craft that it failed to notice the lumbering approach of the two Vrusk warcraft until they were already in weapons range. To the Vrusks’ great delight, their nuclear pellet cannon proved particularly effective against the demonic craft, and demons who actually boarded one of the Vrusk warships found their supernatural regenerative abilities negated by the pervasive radiation. One Vrusk captain immediately capitalized on this by locking his ship to the Demonstar with his ship’s tractor beams and flooding the enemy vessel-entity through various points of entry with radioactive mud from the ship’s recreation deck and fuel bunkers. Despite the heroic mauling the Vrusk warriors laid on the Demonstar, the enemy vessel was able to break away from its attackers, but was forced to break off its attack and leave the convoy, though it was severely, perhaps critically, damaged by the encounter, with a bellyful of radioactive waste.
Type: V-CAF/VATMA-CG-32 Tuu-Bou
Class: Medium Cruiser
Crew: 320 + 120 troops
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 65,000
Bridge 11,000
Hangar Bay 10,000
Particle Beam Cannons(6) 900 each
Light Particle Beam Cannon(8 ) 300 each
Laser Cannon(8 ) 00 each
Nuclear Pellet Cannon(8 ) 00 each
Point Defense Rail Guns(10) 00 each
Point Defense Mini-Missile Launchers(10) 00 each
Tractor Beam Projectors(3) 00 each
Variable Forcefields 1,500 per side, 9,000 total
Height: 200 ft
Width: 400 ft
Length: 1,100 ft
Weight: 280,000 tons
Cargo: 15,000 tons
Up to 8,000 tons can be carried externally on hull racks, usually in specially shielded cargo cans(this is particularly true of any radiation-sensitive passengers).
Powerplant: Nuclear Fission/Fusion Hybrid w/ 50 year effective energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not Possible
(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
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 800 million credits...Only radiation-resistant species like the Catyr or Darakans could consider buying a ship like this, and most of them find Vrusk accommodations incompatible...
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Tractor Beam Projectors(3)---The gun-barge mounts three tractor beam projectors for handling cargo pods and securing the ship during docking maneuvers. Each tractor beam projector can handle 1,000 tons, and has a range of 7 miles.
*Waste-Cloud Defense---By dumping radioactive waste, the Vrusk can briefly blind enemy sensors, particularly those detecing radiation...This is particularly useful for fooling enemy ships at a distance into thinking the ship has suffered a catastrophic engine failure, or for obscuring the ship’s drive trail. The ‘hot’ metal vapor also serves quite effectively to confuse enemy missile systems. A waste-cloud typically lasts 2d4 melees for the most immediate effects, before dispersing, and will jam enemy sensors with 60% effectiveness for that period....Enemy missiles will be -10 to strike once they enter the waste cloud. Can dump waste once every 10 minutes.
*Radiation Hazard---Vrusk warships can be considered ‘mobile chernobyls’ with regard to radiation hazards----Unless wearing radiation protection, a visitor to a Vrusk warship suffers radiation poisoning after only 10 hours of exposure(takes 3d6 (1d6 for Suoernatural beings) of damage per 4 hours of exposure....Supernatural beings will find their regeneration abilities effectively nullified)....Even on the ‘coolest’ parts of the outside of the hull, the radiation hazard is enough that a week’s time is enough to inflict radiation poisoning.
Weapons Systems:
1) 50 cm Heavy Particle Beam Cannons(6)---Mounted in the forward hull in a fixed-foward orientation, are six powerful particle-accelerator cannons, patterned on the older-model Adell-Kreen Lyshoc Particle Lance systems used on the now obsolete CAF Annai-class battleships and Mancuso-class heavy cruisers. The older-model accelerator systems are now powered by exotic isotopes gleaned from Vrusk waste-farms, requiring extra insulation elements to the mechanisms, and taking up even more space. Though lacking the range of equivalent laser systems, the PACs pack a considerable punch---firing in concert, the powerful forward batteries can blow a cruiser in half with one well-aimed shot. Wise enemies learn to stay clear of the forward firing arc of these ships. The firing discharge of these weapons is particularly spectacular, with bright cherekov-radiation and electrical glow along the forward radiators as the main cannon fire.
Range: 50 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 50 ,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD per blast. A simultaneous salvo from all six cannons does a whooping 8d4x1,000 MD!
These weapons also have a ‘dirty’ side-effect, irradiating their targets with short-term radiation.....Metal objects hit by the Vrusk PACs will be ‘hot’ for 1d6 minutes afterwards(doing 3d6 radiation damage to anyone coming into contact with them without adequate radiation protection...then dying down to 2d4 for another 2d4 minutes, and finally 1d4 for 2d6 minutes before becoming safe again). Supernatural beings and entities will find their regeneration abilities HALVED by such an attack for 3d6 minutes.
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
2) Light Particle Beam Cannon(8 )---These are smaller PACs used for close-in defense, These weapons are conventional types, lacking the isotopic power-boosters(and radiation effects) of the larger PACs.
Range: 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
3)Laser Cannon(8 )---Backing the PACs are several batteries of double-barreled laser turrets, copied from junked CCW craft systems. Early fits suffered from cracked lasing crystals after the first 500 shots, until Vrusk engineers replaced the faulty halonite systems with more resiliant, if bulkier, kendrium-arsenide crystals.
Range: 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per single-barrel blast, 2d6x100 MD per double-blast
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
4) Nuclear Pellet Cannon(8 )---These are large-calibre G-Cannons throwing warheads with radioisotopic shells...essentially hybrid super-dense depleted metal kinetic penetrators with an embedded kiloton-range ‘pony bomb’ tactical nuclear weapon. They have been proven to have a particularly detrimental effect against supernatural beings.
Range: 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12,000 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD to a 40 ft blast radius per shot and will throw out radioactive shrapnel, doing 4d6 MD to a 60 ft radius(particularly effective if the shells penetrate a ship hull)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 rds per cannon.Additional drums can be reloaded from the cargo holds within 30 minutes(a drum takes up 2 tons of cargo space)
5)Point Defense Rail Guns(10)---Standard projectile cannons for point defense. Against supernatural threats, the depleted-metal projectiles have equal effect as DU- and U-rounds on supernatural regeneration abilities.
Range:10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH(7 times per melee under computer operation)
Payload: 500 bursts per turret. Additional drums can be reloaded from the cargo holds within 30 minutes(a drum takes up a ton of cargo space)
6)Point Defense Mini-Missile Launchers(10)---These launch pods are mounted on external rack-points adapted from salvage equipment racks.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 200 mini-missiles per turret. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 96 missiles)
Auxiliary Craft:
4 Shuttles
10 Fighters(Usually a mix of combat-modified EVA Pods and reconditioned Naruni/CCW types)
Variants:
Being junkyard tinkerers, the Vrusk have experimented with a few variants of the Tuu-Bou, mainly adding additional missile launcher pods, up to long range types, to the external racks.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Hmm... I would say, that the heavy P-beam punch a hole
in the target (the standard, listed MD), and as a side effect,
the nearby area is irradiated, weaking the materials, so
a secondary "invisible" damage should be applied, which is
added to subsequent hits...
Also, after any combat experience - if the ship survives - the
crew would hastily add some long range (missile) firepower,
and maybe some more point defense.
Adios
KLM
But still, one of the most basic rules for survival on any planet is never to upset someone wearing black leather - This is why protesters against the wearing of animal skins by humans unaccountably fail to throw their paint over Hell's Angels.
- Terry Prachett
Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
KLM wrote:Hmm... I would say, that the heavy P-beam punch a hole in the target (the standard, listed MD), and as a side effect, the nearby area is irradiated, weaking the materials, so a secondary "invisible" damage should be applied, which is added to subsequent hits...
Also, after any combat experience - if the ship survives - the crew would hastily add some long range (missile) firepower, and maybe some more point defense.
Adios KLM
That's if I'm feeling really nasty....
And that's what I added the external hardpoints...the Vrusk will gleefully add more point defense hardware after a few battles...but they're still sort new to the whole space combat business of making wrecks instead of salvaging them...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
taalismn wrote: And that's what I added the external hardpoints...the Vrusk will gleefully add more point defense hardware after a few battles...but they're still sort new to the whole space combat business of making wrecks instead of salvaging them...
Judging from that space MMORPG I play nowadays, even
the most timid scavenger/recycler begins to see a potential
wreck in every ship... Once they got enough firepower under
their itching finger, that is.
Adios
KLM
But still, one of the most basic rules for survival on any planet is never to upset someone wearing black leather - This is why protesters against the wearing of animal skins by humans unaccountably fail to throw their paint over Hell's Angels.
- Terry Prachett
Small font: use ctrl+c and copy it, so you can read. But since it is in small fonts, it is not important. I am not a NE salesperson.
LOL I can believe that KLM! I know that in many games I have played in we salvaged what we could from those derelict ships. I think it should apply in Phase world.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"
"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."
Well...anybody ever sez a Vrusk ship shouldn't be hauling garbage, but should be hauled away AS garbage, the Vrusk just say; "Done both already....and we'll still be flying when it comes time to junk YOUR ship...which may come sooner than you think!"
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
“The reason why the port midships radiator flange looks like it is being held onto the ship with duct-tape, ensign, is because it IS being held onto the ship with duct-tape.....Admittedly it’s carbon-plus eight-ply with wire reinforcing, and a molecular epoxy adhesive, but duct-tape nevertheless....”
The Semetra is an ancient design that nobody really knows the origins of, save that it’s been around for millenia, and has been adapted and modified for a variety of species since time immemorial. Some spaceflight historians lay the blame for the original Semetras on ancient Humans, possibly even the Atlanteans, but nobody really knows for certain. When it was first starting out, the Human Alliance copied and manufactured their own vesion of the design for a brief time, before moving on to more advanced vessels. The UWW also produced Semetras for a time, and a few Dwarven enclaves still construct the ships. Nowadays Semetras are manufactured one or two at a time almost by hand in small shipyards in the out-systems. The main draw of this ancient design is that it’s inexpensive and fairly easy to maintain, but it is also centuries out of date compared to modern hardware.
The Semetra is known for its distinctive scepter-like design, with a multitude of flanges, vanes, radiator surfaces, and field generation coils sticking out along its length like a cathedral’s buttresses. The ships are nearly a third larger and heavier than a modern CCW Scimitar, and are barely capable of atmospheric maneuvering(they’re ‘tail-sitters’, landing and taking off vertically along their long axis). The fusion drive system is large and bulky, the back-up traction-drive system equally antiquated, and the FTL systems primitive to say the least. Human historians have compared the Semetra’s design as being akin to a wood, fabric, and cable biplane.
Neither particularly fast nor tough, nor even aesthetically pleasing, the Semetra has a certain dogged reliability working for it. While many things can go wrong with its systems, they are almost all easily fixed and patched with materials close at hand(even if that means cannibalizing other less important systems for the parts). The hull is quite roomy, with a large central access shaft trunk, so getting at important systems is relatively easy, and there’s plenty of elbow-room for getting things done(provided the crew doesn’t cramp the available space with spare parts and extra cargo). The ships have an inordinate amount of cargo capacity for a warship, including external cargo pod mounts----most operators put this space to good use having their ships act as armed merchantmen and transports, and will even attempt to up-armor the ship with cargo cans providing the hull with additional protection.
Putting weapons on Semetras seems almost a waste of time, but the mounts are part of the design, and those who operate the ships figure that it’s better to have the firepower than to wish later they had. Unarmed Semetras converted to wholly commerical duties have proved economically unmaintainable and oddly more cantankerous than the armed versions(leading some engineers to speculate that the weapons mounts may act as necessary components of the overall avionics, and the more superstitious to wonder if the ships are simply cursed), so operators leave the guns in. Even at full crew capacity, however, Semetra crews are often overworked managing all the weapons, and dealing with all the minor breakdowns that inevitably occur to during a full-out battle. Against small bandit units and outlaws, the Semetras’ armament is sufficient in most cases, but more of a nuisance against larger and better-equipped opponents.
A small hangar bay provides some additional utility, having two hatches and enough capacity for two shuttles and a flight of fighters. The most common joke is that the double hatch design allows disembarked small craft a back way in in the event one of the hatches gets stuck in its slide-track(as they frequently do).
Semetras almost inevitably show up in the fleets of periphery states and smaller, less advanced, star-nations outside the big powers of the Three Galaxies. They are typically used as escort and patrol craft, picketting systems on watch for intruders, and acting in a police capacity. Their slow FTL speed limits their effective radius of action, so they tend to stay close to their port-systems, rarely venturing out farther from their home-space than they can re-traverse in a day.
Occasionally, though, Semetras have had their times of glory, which force people to reconsider if the decrepit old design is really blessed. The Battle of Samantha Shoal saw the Rubik Navy trade their fleet of Semetras five-for-one against TGE battleships in bloody combat that broke the back of the TGE offensive through the Gasrow Hyperway. The Estawan Nomadic ran the Defilers’ seige of Tetrosa IV with little more than bulk freighters and Semetra escorts to deliver much-needed relief supplies to the starving world. The Hamerlok Hijacking was resolved when an old patrol Semetra stumbled across the the demons’ asteroid base and murder-camp, and charged its defenses, the crew’s swift and immediate actions saving several hundred school children from being sacrificed to a demon-lord.
Of course, most crews are more likely to remember their first tour of duty on a Semetra and the hellish experience of constant breakdowns, tedious bridge duty waiting for the controls to respond to course corrections, and frequent EVA walks to repair the veritable forest of hull appendages and gear that require attention.
Type: UA-Fg-211 Semetra
Class: Frigate
Crew: 72+60 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,000
Bridge 900
Sensor Arrays(6) 400 each
Radiator Flanges(4) 500 each
Hangar Bay Doors(2) 300 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(3) 300 each
Massdriver Cannons(3) 400 each
Particle Beam Cannons(2) 400 each
Medium Laser Cannons(6) 200 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(4) 200 each
Mini-Missile Launchers(6) 180 each
Light Pulse Lasers(12) 150 each
Drive Section 1,000
Forcefield 4,000
Height: 210 ft
Width: 210 ft
Length: 580 ft
Weight: 16,000 tons
Cargo: 8,000 tons, plus up to 4,000 tons can be carried in external mounts.
Powerplant: Fusion Nuclear w/ average energy lifespan of 50 years between drive overhauls.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 1.5 light years per day
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 300 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Long Range Missile Launchers(3)----Two LRM launchers fire in the forward arc, while a third launcher array covers the rear. Since the weapons are for the most part self-guiding, there’s few complaints about them.
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 1-6
Payload: 60 missiles each launcher, 480 total; additional missiles may be carried and loaded from cargo, but will take at least 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)
2) Massdriver Cannons(3)---These old-style heavy-caliber projectile cannons have good range, damage, and a high rate of fire, but are less effective against modern point defense and shielding systems.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 400 bursts per cannon
3) Particle Beam Cannons(2)---Mounted in a fixed forward position above and below the bridge are two particle irradiation beam cannons. These weapons can inflict a fair amount of damage at long range, but are slow to recharge. The power-up sequence CAN be shortened, but only at the expense of range and damage potential(reduce damage by HALF and range by 1/3 if attempting rapid fire).
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 1 shot per melee
Payload:Effectively Unlimited
4) Medium Laser Cannons(6)---Mounted around the hull to cover all arcs are six laser cannons. Being older models, however, they suffer from cooling and charging problems, and are heavily dependent on otehr ship systems for continued operation.
In one of those strange vagaries of design, the laser cannons actually get a +2 to strike(in addition to normal bonuses) if all of the Sensory Arrays are intact.
However, if even HALF of the Radiator Flanges are destroyed, reduce the lasers’ damage by HALF.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Three shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
5) Medium Range Missile Launchers(4)----These are fairly standard variable-volley multi-luanch cell medium range missile launchers. As with just about anything on a Senestra, proper and regular maintenance(twice regular maintainence is the rule of thumb) is necessary if the weapons are to work properly. The most often cited complaint is that if the sensor arrays are destroyed, the missile launchers will fail to properly acquire and target-track(-2 to strike) if fired in salvos of less than 5 missiles apiece.
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 1-10
Payload: 200. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)
6) Mini-Missile Launchers(6)----The MML setup on the Semetra is often cited as one of the original selective multi-volley launch systems that have since been coped Three Galaxies-wide. Quality of the launchers varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, however, so the systems are hardly reliable in general.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-12
Payload: 120 mini-missiles per turret. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 15 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 96 missiles)
7) Light Pulse Lasers(12)---A multitude of point defense blisters holding light pulse lasers festoon the hull, giving good coverage to all arcs. The individual weapons are reliable, with few problems, though most gunners prefer to use the individual independent turret-mount sensors(+3 to strike at 50% of maximum range) rather than tie into the ship’s central battlenet which has proven susceptible to damage and subsequent loss of coordinated fire control(which results in the standard +2 to strike being negated if 3 or more of the Sensor Flanges are knocked out).
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload:Effectively Unlimited
Auxiliary Craft:
4 Fighters
2 Shuttles
Variants:
There have been numerous attempts to upgrade the ancient design to one degree or other, but the above stats reflect the most common and effective configuration. Typically, when someone actually manages to improve on the Semetra, the result is dubbed a wholly new design, rather than claimed as an improved Semetra. Most engineers, however, figure why bother modifying the old clunker when it’s easier and more expediant to design and build a wholly new ship.
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"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
Thanks...Initial price should have people rushing out to get one...
But long-term maintenance costs? Ouch...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
"You came in THAT?!"
"Yeah, we find it kinda hard to believe too."
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"
It would be those truly desperate individuals who might grab one of these from the edges of a mothball yard. I can see the people running the mothball depot hoping someone will steal it, so they don't have to deal with it anymore.
"Your Grace," she said, "I have only one question. Do you wish this man crippled or dead?"
"My Lady," the protector of Grayson told his Champion, "I do not wish him to leave this chamber alive."
I know that in many games I have played in we salvaged what we could from those derelict ships. I think it should apply in Phase world.
