Ranger Patrol Corvette
An older vessel dating to just before the Free Colonies declared independence, the Ranger is one of the very few ships constructed solely in the Free Colonies. It sees most use as a civil defense vessel, and most are either part of colonial militia forces or used as a corporate defense ship, protecting planetary or orbital interests.
Neither the Guardsmen nor pirates favor the vessel, as it does not, typically, have the “legs” for a long cruise or extended combat. It has modest cargo capacity, which can make it a serviceable armored merchantman. Mercenaries make use of them as mini-destroyers and picket ships.
The Rangers fall somewhere between a Holstein Pinnace and an Accipiter Frigate as far as armor and armaments. The primary weapon is a dual pulse laser cannon mounted under the nose. It also has two medium-range missile launchers on outriggers amidships, and four anti-star fighter ion turrets located across the hull. The armor for the vessel is average, but it is easy to repair and maintain.
The Ranger is
almost never seen inside the Terra Protectorate, and when it is seen, it is
usually owned by a corporation. This may change as the war takes its toll and
various planets find military assets being withdrawn to fight on the front
lines. The shipyards at Bifrost, where most Rangers are constructed, have
increased production in anticipation of this. Also, Free Colony sales have
increased as piracy has been on the rise. New
While the ship cannot perform long cruises on its own, it is not uncommon to see them as part of a long-range colonial or exploration fleet, where they can be resupplied by other ships in the fleet. Once a colony fleet has arrived and settled a new world, one or two Rangers that accompanied them will then form the core of the new colonies civil defense force. Therefore it is rare to find a colony without at least a couple of these ships on patrol in the system. Often, these ships never go much further than a few light minutes away.
Model: Ranger Mk-2 Patrol Corvette
Class: Frigate
Crew: 6 Officers, 20 crew. Can carry an additional 10 troopers or passengers.
M.D.C. by Location
Ion turrets (4) – 150 each
Missile launchers (2) – 400 each
Thrusters (2) – 500 each
Laser cannon – 350
*Bridge – 600
** Main Body – 2,500
*Destroying
the Bridge will kill the command crew and leave the vessel with the most
minimal of controls from the engine room. The armored bridge is designed to
protect the crew from the normal rigors of combat damage, one of the design
features the Rangers are known for.
** Depleting the M.D.C. of the Main Body will leave the vessel a floating wreck with multiple hull breaches and no power. If the ship is reduced to -400 M.D.C. it will explode, doing 4D6x10 M.D. to everything within a 500-ft radius.
Speed
Maximum Sublight Speed: 0.1C (10% of the speed of light)
Maximum Acceleration/Deceleration Rate: 6Gs per melee round
FTL Speeds: Cx365 (roughly one light-year per day)
Top Atmospheric Maneuvering Speed: Mach 5 (can achieve escape velocity on a full engine burn and was designed to operate within atmosphere)
Statistical Data
Height: 43.5 feet
Length: 250 feet
Width: 94 feet
Cargo: 200 tons
Power Plant: Anti-Matter Reactor (10-year estimated lifespan)
FTL:
Range: One month of consumables, or a 30 light-year range
Cost: 35 million credits for a new vessel, requires a Class-Two permit.
Weapon Systems
1. Dual Laser Pulse Cannons: The Ranger’s primary armaments are a pair of solid-state lasers that fire in pulses for increased damage. These weapons have good range and a good rate of fire. Damage is average.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Mega-Damage: 1D6x100 M.D. per dual pulse blast
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee round
Payload: Effectively unlimited
2. Medium-Range Missile Launchers (2): The Ranger has two large medium-range missile launchers mounted on outriggers. These missiles are used to engage enemy vessels, destroy incoming missiles, and bombard stationary ground and space targets. They can also be used to deter enemy fighter attacks.
Primary Purpose: Anti-ship and anti-missile.
Mega-Damage: Varies with missile type.
Rate of fire: Individually, or in volleys of 2, 3, or 6.
Payload: 48 missiles; two missiles per tube. They cannot be reloaded in deep space, so the ship does not carry any spares internally.
3. Ion Turrets (4): These defensive turrets are used to engage enemy fighters. Each is manned by a single operator and can rotate 360 degrees and elevate 60 degrees.
Primary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 2D6x10 M.D. per dual blast. Only fire dual blasts.
Rate of Fire: Equal to hand-to-hand attacks of the gunner.
Bonuses: +2 to strike, in addition to normal targeting bonuses.
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
4. Sensors: The Ranger has good close-in sensors, with hull-penetrating “molecular sniffer” scanners. Its short-range scanners have a range of about 50,000 miles and are very powerful. Hull-penetrating scans can be done at a range of about 50 miles. Long-range scanning capabilities suffer, however, with mass detectors and energy signature detectors only having a range of 12 million miles.
5. Bonuses: +5% to all starship mechanics rolls when performing repairs, in addition to typical starship bonuses.
