MELTRAN GUNSHIP

Original RPG Stats by Edwin LaCourse
Edited by Daniel Henwood

BACKGROUND

The Meltran Gunship is similar in design to the Meltran Heavy Frigate as both feature slender central body sections and boom arms. The Zentraedi Gunship is the most common of all of the Meltran Capital Ships, and the most famous, its visage gracing many images about the Meltran fleet at the final battle of Space War I. The Meltran Gunship is the most common Meltran ship in the UN Spacy Fleet as well.

RPG STATS

MDC BY LOCATION:

(1) Forward 1/3 of Ship (Heavy Particle Cannon, Command Center)  11,000
(2) Middle 1/3 of Ship (Crew Quarters, Landing Bays)             15,000
(2) Rear 1/3 of Ship (Main Engines, Engineering)                 20,000
    Sensor Array                                                  1,000
(3) Main Thruster                                                10,000
(3) Auxiliary Engine                                              8,000
    Heavy Laser Cannons (3)                                         700 each
    Retractable Laser Turrets (20)                                  150 each
    Retractable Missle Turrets (40)                                 100 each
    Airlocks/Access Hatches (100)                                   200 each
    Armored outer hull (per 40ft area)                              300
    Interior walls (per 20ft area)                                   20

NOTES:

1. Depleting the MDC of the forward 1/3 of the ship will destroy the main weapon of the battlecruiser, the heavy particle cannon. The cannon will cease to function when the forward part of the ship has taken over 4,000 points of damage. When the damage to the forward part reaches 8,000 MDC, the cannon is destroyed beyond any hope of repair. The Command Center is also located here and destroying it will likely kill the command staff (90% Chance) and will force the ship to use the Sensor Array for all forms of long range communications, radar and targeting. The ship can still operate, but is at -1 on initiative, -1 to strike, and number of attacks per melee of the weapon systems are reduced by one fourth. Destroying the main sensory array will have the same effect, but the command staff will not be killed instantly. Destroying both will deprive the ship of all forms of long range communications, radar and targeting. The ship can still operate, but is at -3 on initiative, -3 to strike, and number of attacks per melee of the weapon systems are reduced by one half.
2. Depleting the MDC of the middle 1/3 or the rear 1/3 of the ship will destroy the battlecruiser. All power systems, thrusters, weapon systems, and life support will fail, and (2d4x10)% of the crew will be killed instantly by explosions, debris, and loss of atmosphere. There is a 70% chance the ship will violently explode. Thats an explosion inflicting 1d10x10,000 MD to any object within 10 miles. If the ship does not explode, then the ship will be an unsalvageable wreck (though the spacewreck may still be valuable because of the technology contained within the remains).
3. Depleting the MDC of the main thrusters will force the ship to rely on its secondary thrusters. Depleting the MDC of the main AND secondary thrusters will leave the ship adrift in space. In an atmosphere, the battlecruiser will still be able to land and achieve orbit using antigravity generators. The maneuvering thrusters will propel the ship at 10kph in any direction.

SPEEDS:

Speed (Sublight):

STATISTICAL DATA:

Length:

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. PARTICLE CANNON: The most powerful weapon of the battlecruiser is a heavy particle cannon. The weapon fires a beam up to 120,000 miles (192,000 km) long and .25 mile (.3875 km) wide that inflicts heavy damage to anything in its path. The disadvantage of the weapon is the tremendous power it consumes. Once fired, the cannon takes a full 8 MINUTES (32 melee rounds) to recharge.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Heavy Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship
   • RANGE: 60,000 miles (96,000 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space
   • DAMAGE: 1D4x10,000. If used against a planet, the beam causes 1D4x10,000 MD (!), leaving only a radioactive crater 1D4x5 miles long and 1D6x50 feet deep. The resulting shockwave will also cause substantial damage to surrounding terrain for an additional 1D6x2 miles from the edge of the crater. (Note: Sufficiently strong force fields can deflect/absorb the beam if necessary. Examples of such fields include multiple pinpoint barrier shields layered on top of each other and barriers generated by stronger Protodeviln beings. A force field must have AT LEAST 20,000 MDC capacity before it can resist a heavy particle beam of this magnitude.)
   • RATE OF FIRE: Once per 8 minutes (32 melees)
   • PAYLOAD: Effectively Unlimited
2. HEAVY LASER CANNON (3): Located on either side of the main hull, and on the keel, the Heavy Laser Cannons are designed as a backup anti-ship weapon for the Gunship.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship
   • RANGE: 100,000 miles in an atmosphere. Double in space.
   • DAMAGE: 1D2x1000 M.D.
   • RATE OF FIRE: Once per round
   • PAYLOAD: Unlimited
3. RETRACTABLE LASER TURRETS (20): The primary anti-warship weapons, (not including the Heavy Laser Cannon,) are the retractable laser turrets positionaed across the hull of the ship behind armoured sliding section of the hull. Due to turrets size and lack of agility the laser turrets have great difficulty in attempting to hit variable fighters and other mecha, and have a -12 to hit against mecha, and gain an automatic dodge against blasts from this weapon.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship/Anti-Planet
   • RANGE: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space.
   • DAMAGE: 1D4x100 M.D. per turret
   • RATE OF FIRE: Twice per melee
   • PAYLOAD: Unlimited.
4. RETRACTABLE MISSLE TURRETS (40): These are very similar to the Laser Turrets except that they fire missiles instead of laser beams. They can use several types of missiles according to the mission at hand. Each turret is capable of 360* rotation with a 180* arc.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Aircraft
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Defense
   • RANGE: Varies with warhead used
   • DAMAGE: Varies with warhead used
   • RATE OF FIRE: Each turret can fire once per melee, and can be combined in any volley combination of at least 10 or more, up to 30 missiles. Volleys can be directed at different targets
   • PAYLOAD: Effectively Unlimited.

SYSTEMS OF NOTE:

• ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION SYSTEM: The Gunship was equipped with an anti-gravity propulsion system used for planetary landings and liftoffs. The system is good for vertical ascent/descent only and can lift the ship at speeds of up to 1,320 feet (400 m) per minute. The system will function so long as the main energy system (in the rear 1/3 of the ship) can supply energy to it.
• LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: The Gunship had sufficient life support to provide breathable air and comfortable temperatures for up to 10,000 people for up to 20 years (air was recycled). In an emergency the life support system could support up to 30,000 people at one time. The ship contained enough food and water onboard to support the crew for up to 5 years (with recycling).
• LONG-RANGE TRACKING SENSORS: The Gunship Command Center was equipped with a complex sensor system that could track and identify up to 1,500 craft simultaneously. The system had a 2,000-mile/3,200 km range.
• SPACE FOLD SYSTEM: For FTL propulsion, the Gunship was equipped with a fold system capable of propelling the ship through hyperspace at speeds up to 3.28x10^10 mps (5.25x10^10 kmps), or 1 light year per 6 minutes. The range of the fold drive is theoretically unlimited except by the life expectancy of the spacecraft (which is unknown).
• SUBLIGHT ENGINES: As a backup to the Fold System, the Gunship was equipped with impulse engines that could propel the craft at speeds up to 0.24 speed of light (38,400 miles per second) in space. Note that these engines were mainly intended for rapid movement inside a planetary system and are not suited for long voyages between star systems. In a planetary atmosphere the ship is limited to speeds of Mach 2.0 maximum due to hull stress.
• SUBSPACE MASS SENSORS: As part of the Gunship's sensor systems, it was equipped with subspace sensors that could essentially instantly detect mass readings and movement of objects up to 1 AU (93 million miles) distant from the carrier. Readings taken with the subspace sensors are not very detailed (-25% penalty when trying to identify a detected object) and cannot detect objects of less than 60,000 kg (this includes most Meltrandi and UN Spacy mecha).

MECHA COMPLEMENT:

• Quaedlunn-Rau: 1100
• Theatre Scout Recon Pods: 3
• Recovery Pods: 3
• Reentry Pods: 4
• Shuttlecraft: 8
• Hover Platforms: 100

REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN

Macross Gold Book