 WARLOCK DESTROYER
Craft: Earthforce Warlock Class Destroyer
Type: Advanced destroyer
Scale: Capital
Dimensions:
-Length: 1,992.4m
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Warlock destroyer
Crew: 1,200
-Gunners: 65
-Troops: 300
-Skeleton: 300/+10
-Emergency Evac: 800+/3 months
Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D+1, Capital ship gunnery 5D+1, Capital ship piloting 5D+2, Sensors 4D+2, Starship gunnery 5D+1
Passengers: 200
Cargo Capacity: 40,000 metric tons
Consumables: 4 years
Cost: Not available for sale
Hyperspace Jump Engines: Yes
Nav Computer: Yes (+2D Astrogation)
Maneuverability: 1D/2D+1+ (see below)
Speed:
-Space: 4/8+ (see below)
-Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 8D
Shields: N/A
Sensors:
-Passive: 50/1D
-Scan: 100/3D
-Search: 200/4D
-Focus: 6/4D+2
AUXILIARY CRAFT CAPACITY:
-48 Starfuries/Thunderbolts
-4 Kestrel Shuttles
-2 Crew Shuttles
-Many Work Pods
-Many Breaching pods
-Room for a few other visiting ships
WEAPONS:
2 Particle Beam cannons (fire-linked)
Location: Mounted in forward hull
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 3 (bridge crew)
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 3D
Range:
-Space: 3-15/36/75
-Atmosphere: 6-30/72/150km
Damage: 10D
Rate Of Fire: 1/3
3 Heavy Railgun Turrets
Location: Mounted along hull
Fire Arc: Partial turrets
-1 front/right/left
-1 front/right/back
-1 front/left/back
Crew: 2 (3)
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 4D
Range:
-Space: 3-12/24/50
-Atmosphere: 6-24/48/100km
Damage: 5D
Ammo: 200 per weapon
Rate Of Fire: 1
9 Pulse Discharge Cannons
Fire Arc: 2 front, 3 right, 3 left, 1 back
Crew: 2 (9)
Skill: Capital starship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 4D
Range:
-Space: 2-12/24/50
-Atmosphere: 4-24/40/100km
Damage: 4D
Rate Of Fire: 2
12 Heavy Missile Silos
Location: Mounted in hull sides
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 2 (bridge crew)
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 4D
Range:
-Space: 2-10/20/40
-Atmosphere: 4-20/40/80km
Damage: 8D
Ammo: 1 per silo
Rate Of Fire: 1 to 12
16 Light Missile Silos
Location: Mounted in hull sides
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 2 (bridge crew)
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 5D
Range:
-Space: 2-12/30/60
-Atmosphere: 4-24/60/120km
Damage: 6D
Ammo: 1 per silo
Rate Of Fire: 1 to 16
9 Heavy Phased Plasma Cannon Turrets
Location: Mounted along hull
Fire Arc: 14 front, 4 back
Crew: 2 (9)
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 3D
Range:
-Space: 2-12/24/50
-Atmosphere: 4-24/48/100km
Damage: 7D (6D individually)
Rate Of Fire: 1/2
16 40mm Pulse Cannons
Location: Mounted along the hull
Fire Arc: 8 turrets
Crew: 1 (16)
Skill: Starship gunnery
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 4D
Range:
-Space: 1-3/12/25
-Atmosphere: 100-300/1.2/2.5km
Damage: 5D
Rate Of Fire: 3
GAME NOTES:
-SHADOW DEVICE: The Shadowtech device installed in the Warlock destroyers was never fully explained. That said, it makes a good plot device for any GM to use at any time to throw a kink in players' best laid plans. Any time something goes wrong for no apparent reason, it may be this device. For that matter, any time something goes right, it could also be because of this device. For a basic rule of thumb, any time players using the Warlock roll a 1 or 6 on a wild die, the Shadowtech device could make the penalty or bonus much worse or better than it otherwise would be. Penalties resulting in damage with a time factor could last much longer or take longer to fix. Also, a very high success could be a problem as well. For instance, a fired weapon rolling much higher in damage due to an unexplained power spike could not only destroy or shoot through the target aimed at, but hit a friendly target on the other side as well. All in all, the Shadowtech device could open the door for many ideas for the GM, including a quest to have it removed for good like the EAS Titans did.
-JUMP ENGINES: Instead of Hyperdrives, most ships in the Babylon 5 setting have Hypserspace Jump Engines. Instead of the ship instantly accelerating at faster than light speeds and be partially or fully in hyperspace in an instant, this drive opens an aperture, or "jumpgate", into Hyperspace. The ship enters Hyperspace and flies as though it were normal space, locking onto Hyperspace beacons that mark the destination to desired coordinates (though Hyperspace has conditions of its own that can cause hazards for ship travel). When a jumpgate is opened, the ship must still maneuver and fly into the aperture. This can leave an opening for the ship to be attacked before leaving the area (unlike Star Wars where a ship can leave immediately once the Hyperdrive is engaged). Instead of the ship's speed through Hyperspace being determined by the quality of the Hyperdrive, it is the ship's own flight speed that determines how fast it travels through Hyperspace. Also, Astrogation is used differently. Instead of doing calculations to plot Hyperspace coordinates, Astrogation is used to locate and lock on to Hyperspace beacons. If the signal from these beacons is ever lost, a ship could wind up lost in hyperspace forever.
The Warlock's jump engines may be used once every two rounds for entering or exiting Hyperspace. Previous Earth Alliance ships (and many other ships of different races) must wait before using their jump engines again, around a minute more or less (around 10 rounds).
-HYBRID GRAVITIC ENGINES: This ship has standard propulsion that starts at Space Speed 4. The Gravitic hybrid portion allows this ship to increase its Space Speed at +1 per minute, to a maximum of Space Speed 8. Maneuverability also starts at 1D and increases at +1 per minute (10 rounds) to a maximum od 2D+1. Speed and Maneuverability beyond this may be possible, but any maneuvers performed will incur Dex checks against Moderate Difficulty (failure results in 4D damage). For every Speed/Maneuverability increase of +1 past 8/2D+1, the Difficulty will increase by 1 level (+5), up to Heroic Difficulty at Space Speed 12/Maneuverability 3D+2, with the damage increasing by +1D at each Difficulty increase (8D at Space Speed 12!).
DESCRIPTION:
"Only a handful of Warlocks have come out of the construction line, so far."
– Matthew Gideon, 2267
The Warlock-class destroyer is an advanced warship design produced by the Earth Alliance.
Technical Specifications
Rushed into production during the last days of the Earth Alliance Civil War, the Warlock-class destroyer incorporates some of the most advanced technology available. It was the first Earth Alliance ship to feature artificial gravity without rotating sections. This allowed designers to greatly improve the Warlock's design. Among these improvements was the Warlock having greater speed and maneuverability compared to the older Omega-class destroyers.
In addition to human technology, an unknown Shadow device is buried somewhere in the Warlock's control systems. The exact purpose and function of this device is unclear, though the only vessel known to have overridden its influence was the EAS Titans, under the command of Captain Susan Ivanova.
Propulsion
The Warlock's conventional particle thrust engines are supplemented by a pair of hybrid gravitic engines that, like the artificial gravity systems, are based on Minbari technology and propulsion theory but are designed and manufactured using Earth-based materials. The EAS Foxfire was able to jump out and back in hyperspace very quickly. Previous EAS ships could not do so as it would strain the jump engines.
Sensors & Navigation
The ship's primary sensor, navigation, and communications suite is located on the bow of the ship and includes a set of retractable panels that allow the ship to travel further off the beacons and thus extend the ship's operational range beyond that of older designs.
Weapons
The weapons systems aboard the Warlock feature a wide variety of offensive and defensive emplacements that include standard plasma cannons, railguns, and missiles. Perhaps the most notable armament is a pair of particle beam cannons originally designed for use on the Aegis orbital defense platforms that formed Earth's planetary defense grid. Prior to the development of the Warlock, the power requirements of these weapons were so high that only dedicated stationary platforms could accommodate them, and then only one unit per platform. Installing the cannons aboard the Warlock enabled a ship of the class to destroy multiple Drakh vessels with one shot each at the start of the Drakh War, and another to destroy a Centauri Primus class battlecruiser with a single shot in a possible future battle. The ability to use such powerful weapons allows the Warlock to take on ships from advanced races like Minbari with ease.
Warlock ships are also armed with weapons found on older classes of Earthforce ships, including nine heavy phased plasma cannon turrets of a similar type as was used aboard the older Nova-class dreadnoughts, four 40mm pulse cannons similar to those mounted on the Omega-class destroyer, and twelve to sixteen short-range phased plasma turrets of the same type installed on the older Olympus-class corvette.
Docking Bays
The primary launch bay is located on the bow of the ship, between the main sensor boom and the particle beam cannons. The ship's Starfury/Thunderbolt squadrons are launched from here, in a fashion similar to that on the Omega-class. However, unlike the Omega, the Warlock includes a blast door to prevent the bay from scooping up debris in the ship's path, in addition to a separate recovery bay, located amidships on the starboard side. The forward bay is used for fighters only, and so shuttles and other craft must use the recovery bay to access the Warlock's internal docking areas. Opposite the recovery bay on the port side is the bay's maintenance and repair shops, while running along the lower flanks of the hull are a series of cargo and ordinance airlocks.
Behind the Scenes
The Warlock class destroyer was designed by Tim Earls. The Warlock was originally designed as a much flatter ship, which was changed at the suggestion of John Copeland and so Earls re-dubbed his original concept the "Trafalgar class Mobile Strategic Operations Platform".
Since the series makes it very clear that Earth had not yet developed artificial gravity, the Warlock was probably designed at first to operate with a weightless crew. Artificial gravity was presumably retrofitted into the design after Earth joined the ISA and the technology was made available.
DESIGN NOTES
I did the best I could on the Warlock. I'm happy with the result. All in all, the Warlock seemed like a powerful ship that just happened to be the result of the Earthforces slapping together the best tech they got their hands on with every weapon in their space military's history that was ever somewhat effective. While can seem like a mish-mash, especcially since the Warlock's antigravity systems and hybrid gravimetric drives were retrofitted into the design after the fact, the ship is in fact quite powerful, an overall improvement compared to the Omega destroyer, and its wide variety of weaponry gives it much versatility in space combat.
I'm not completely certain on how I did up the weapons. This is the only second guessing I have, mostly due to a lack of knowledge. Not only about this ship and its weapons, but of the other ships its weapons are pulled from. many of these weapons were mentioned as different from other kinds, where I had made many of these weapons the same or similar in other Earthforce write-ups. So, all in all, I guess this would be a simplified version. GMs, feel free to change things up as desired!
OTHER INFO:
Status: Active (as of 2271)
Affiliation: Earth Alliance Earthforce
Class: Destroyer
Length: 1,992.4m
Crew: 1,200
Engines:
-4 Uprated Beigie-Bryant 9000A Particle Thrust Engines
-2 Hybrid Gravitic Engines[1]
Jump Capable: Yes
Gravity: Yes
Weapons:
-12 Large Missile silos
-16 Small Missile silos
-2 Particle Beam cannons
-9 Heavy Phased Plasma cannon turrets
-3 Heavy Railgun turrets
-4 40mm Pulse Cannons
-9 Light Pulse Cannons turrets
-12-16 Short-range PP turrets
Auxiliary Craft: Starfuries/Thunderbolts
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