Barracuda Class Destroyer
By Dave Pilurs
All Material © 1995 West End Games
Kereteka wanted to build an entry into the burgeoning scout market, and the Explorer was the result of their effort. The Explorer is a simple, one-man scout ship equipped with six Harvestman spiders. It's designed for lone scouts conducting planetary surveys out on the frontier. Equipped with energy,, passive- and radar- sensors, the craft is well-suited to its task. It also boasts one of the best all-around software suites ever installed on a craft under 1,000 tons. The ship has an uncommonly powerful computer. With the Autopilot, Autogunnet, Autoscan, and React routines all running, the pilot can spend the entire trip in Coldsleep and wake up to land the ship planetside. This is uncommon, though. Normally, the pilot engages the Q-Drive, goes to sleep, and wakes up just before the ship emerges from Q-Space. He wouldn't need to use Coldsleep at all, except that the Explorer is intended for jumps in excess of 4 weeks, and that's the way that Fleet and most of the megacorps that buy the ship want it used. In addition to the pilot, the ship can carry up to 4 passengers. They're expected to spend the bulk of their trip in Coldsleep, though the ship does have a deluxe lounge area where everyone can sit and wake up in relative comfort. Like most ships of this size, the Explorer has no escape pods. It does have a distress beacon and ENVI suits, but considering the distances involved, it's unlikely anyone would hear the distress call if something did happen to the ship. For that reason, the ship carries an EVMS unit, and most scouts fill their equipment bays with spare parts. The Explorer is purpose-built. It never really gained acceptance with the Fleet Scout Service, but Randall- Hollings uses them almost exclusively. It's also popular with several other mining conglomerates. Not many of these have reached the aftermarket. A few get captured by betterequipped pirates, but most either end up retired as scrap or lost in space, casualties of their dangerous industry. Still, the ship is well-built and desirable for lone mercenaries and Xenos making their lives among the shatrats, fringers, and bolters on the Frontier. If they can find one used, it's also the sort of ship which would suit the needs of adventurers, bounty hunters, and mercenaries. Total Tonnage: 157
Cargo Capacity
Sensors
Weapons
Energy Point Breakdown: *Life support: 7 *Cargo: 5 CF Laser Battery: 22 Missile Launchers(2): 1(2) *Shields: 18 *Diagnostics: 1 Energy Sensor: 1 *Passive Sensors: 2 *Radar A Units(5): 1(5) *Radar B Unit: 3 Boarding Tubes: 5 *Reaction Drive: 35 Q-Drive: 35 *Computers: 6 Vital Energy Points: 82
Computer Point Breakdown: *Life Support: 7 *Cargo: 5 CF Laser Battery: 4 Missile Launcher(2): 3(6) *Shields: 6 *Diagnostics: I Energy Sensor: I *Passive Sensors: 2 *Radar A Units(5): 1(5) *Radar B Units: 2 Boarding Tubes- 3 Parrot Interface: 1 VR Goggles: 1 *Reaction Drive: 35 Q- Drive: 15 *Energy Plants: 22 AutoGunnet 12: 6 AutoPilot 10: 12 AutoScan 12: 10 *Gee Comp 6: 6 Mnvr/Rx +2: 6 Navigation, Learn: 3 Navigation, Q-Drive:5 Probe, Simple (+3): 5 Probe, Advanced (+3): 8 Probe, Ship-to-Ship: 12 React 11: 4 Remote +3 3 Shield Boost +2: 6 Shunt 16: 8 Targeting +6: 3 Vital Computer Points: 91
Notes:
External Damage Chart
4-5: Shields 6: CF Laser Battery 7: Missile Launchers (1-2) 8: Maneuver Rating 9: Sensors
3-4 Passive Scanners 5-8 Radar Type A (1-5) 9-10 Radar Type B 10: Airlock Stock Ships: The Missing Vessels An Official Supplement for West End's Shatterzone
The Defender Battlecruiser Lockheed-Mikoyan's Guardian Class Patrol Craft Barracuda Class Destroyer Kereteka's Explorer Class Scout Back to Shadis #20 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |