 RESISTANCE BOMBER
(* has notes below for further reading and explanation)
Craft: Resistance Bomber
Model: Slayn & Korpil MG-100 StarFortress SF-17
Type: Bomber
Scale: Starfighter
Dimensions:
-Length: 29.67m
-Width: 15.3m
-Height: 21.65m
Skill: Space transports: Resistance Bomber
Crew: 5
-Gunners: 2
-Skeleton: 1/+10
Crew Skill*: Astrogation 4D, sensors 4D+2, space transports 4D, starship gunnery 5D+1, starship ordnance* 5D+2, starship shields 4D
Passengers: 2 (tight space)
Cargo Capacity: 1,000 kilograms
Consumables: 3 days
Cost: 350,000 credits (new); 175,000 credits (used)
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Speed:
-Space: 4
-Atmosphere: 280; 800kmh
Hull: 4D+1
Shields: 1D
Sensors:
-Passive: 20/0D
-Scan: 40/1D
-Search: 60/2D
-Focus: 3/3D
WEAPONS:
3 Paired Repeating Laser Cannons
Fire Arc: 1 turret, 2 right/back/left
Crew: 1 (gunners, bombardier)
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Range:
-Space: 1-3/12/25
-Atmosphere: 50-300/1.2/2.5km
Damage: 5D
Rate Of Fire: 3
6 Medium Laser Cannons* (fire-linked)
Fire Arc: front
Crew: 1 (pilot)
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 3D
Range:
-Space: 1-3/12/25
-Atmosphere: 50-300/1.2/2.5km
Damage: 5D+2 (fire-linked); 4D (not fire-linked)
Rate Of Fire: 1 (fire-linked); 6 (not fire-linked)
Proton Bombs* (fire-link optional)
Fire Arc: "Drop"
Crew: 1 (bombardier)
Skill: Starship ordnance
Fire Control: 2D
Range: (see below)
Damage: 8D
Ammo: 1,048 proton bombs
Rate Of Fire: 1
Electronic Countermeasures*
Fire Arc: "All"
Crew: 1 (flight engineer)
Skill: Sensors (works against all starfighters within range)
Fire Control: 0D
Range:
-Space: 1-3/7/15
-Atmosphere: 100-300/700/1.5km
Damage: -2D from enemy Fire Control
DESCRIPTION:
The MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 also known as the B/SF-17 heavy bomber, or simply as the Resistance Bomber, was a type of heavy bomber manufactured by Slayn & Korpil for use by the New Republic during the late stages of the Galactic Civil War. Following the Galactic Concordance and New Republic disarmament, the ship was primarily used in civilian applications. Several ships were used by the Resistance during its war with the First Order around 34 ABY.
Characteristics
The MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 was a heavy bomber manufactured by Slayn & Korpil. The starship featured three sublight ion thrusters, a single hyperdrive, and artificial gravity projectors. At the bottom-front of the ship strutted a targeting sensor mast, which contained a targeting sensor and active-tracking array. Two short range comms antenna were located along the top of the ship along its keel line. Jutting horizontally from the ship's profile were two stabilizer foils. In total, the ship was crewed by five individuals. A single pilot and flight engineer operated within the armored cockpit. The bombardier operated a targeting pedestal on the flight deck, and two gunners operated the rear and ventral ball turrets.
The B/SF-17's intended purpose was to deliver a payload of 1,048 proton bombs on top of a target. The modular bombing magazine, called the "clip" by the bomber's crew, would drop the bombs through sequenced electromagnetic plates in the clip, which propelled the bombs to "drop" in microgravity environments. The bombs would then be drawn magnetically to their targets. The assembly could be programmed to drop specific sections of the payload in sequence, but the most common configuration was "deploy all." To drop the ship's payload, the bombardier on the flight deck monitored a concentrated sensor feed. The system calculated the optimum time for release, and at a given prompt, or at the discretion of the bombardier, the control button on a wireless remote triggered the release of the payload. A magnetic seal retained the atmosphere when the bomb bay doors were open.
Ball turrets on the StarFortress were encased in an armored transparisteel shell, while deflector shields protected the gunner. Despite this protection, many gunners felt exposed to enemy fire. Other turrets included a remotely operated dorsal turret of similar firepower to the EM-1919 paired repeating laser cannons installed on the ball turrets, two remote-linked cannon arrays at the rear of the vessel, two forward laser canons, and two more laser canons, one on the tip of each stabilizer foil.
As a bomber, the MG-100 Starfortress was slow and ungainly, making it prone for starfighter attack. Resistance flight instructors taught bomber crews to fly in tight formation, opposing attacking fighters with overlapping fields of fire. The rear and ventral turrets offered a potent defense against attackers approaching from below or from the rear, but were less effective against threats from above or in front of the bomber squadron. Escort duty for starfighter pilots were difficult assignments for pilots owing to the sacrifice of their vessels speed advantage in order to stay close to their assigned bombers. Enemy fighters would try to lure such escorts away, leaving the bombers exposed.
History
Dating back to the final days of the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic contracted with Slayn & Korpil for the MG-100 StarFortress, a dedicated heavy bomber that could deliver a larger payload than starfighters. Part of the ship's intent was to help capture besieged Imperial holdouts. The ship saw reduced manufacture during the decades of peace that followed. The Senate's subsequent demilitarization effort sent many StarFortresses to the scrapyard. Other decommissioned craft saw widespread civilian use. Mining companies used them to drop explosives that broke up ice and rock, local governments deployed them as rescue ships, fuel tankers, and fire-fighting craft, and scout services relied on them for celestial mapping and exploration. The modular bomb magazine could be easily repurposed for remote cargo drops.
With the creation of the Resistance in 28 ABY, several StarFortesses found their way into the new paramilitary organization, and were absorbed into its Cobalt and Crimson Squadrons during the cold war and First Order–Resistance war. Multiple craft were used by the Resistance during the evacuation of D'Qar to drop proton bombs onto the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix. All of the Resistance's bombers were destroyed during the battle, all but one of which by a domino effect caused by a First Order TIE fighter crashing into the bomb bay of one of the bombers. This lone bomber, manned by Paige Tico, managed to complete its bombing run right before being destroyed, taking out the Fulminatrix mere seconds before it could destroy the Resistance flagship, Raddus.
GAME NOTES:
*Crew Skill and Resistance Members
The Crew Skill dice listed are for members of the Resistance, who have +1D to the standard NPC skill dice that this ship would usually have.
*Skill: Starship Ordnance and Ordnance Weapons
Listed here is a new skill for operating ordnance weapons. Usually, when it comes to proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, or some variant of these as bombs, or some other bomb, very little information has ever been given on how to use and operate bombs and other ordnance in Star Wars D6. Where torpedoes and missiles actually travel on their own propulsion, bombs are dropped from above, fall, and hit a target somewhere below, usually exploding on contact. While other skills could be substituted to operate these weapons, they do not function the same at all. So this skill is provided to operate bombs and other ordnance.
The ordnance weapons listed have a crew of 1, a devoted bombardier, who performs the actions of the "spotter" who chooses the target (either using Sensors or Starship Ordnance to select the target), and a "bombardier" who drops the bombs, or shoots the weapons (use Starship Ordnance to hit the selected target). In the case of the Resistance Bomber, the ship flies over a target on a planet, probably while in orbit, the Bombardier uses the sensors to locate the desired target and lock on to it, granting the Fire Control dice to the Bombardier when they drop the bomb(s) on the desired target.
This also means that the effective range of the ordnance weapons is that of the ship's sensors, and gravity does all the work to make sure the ordnance hits the target. Fire Control bonus dice could be represented by anything from a precision launching mechanism with computer assist, to the bombs themselves making minute corrections in mid-air with microthrusters and cheap droid brain components (smart bombs) as they fall towards the target.
Another way these ordnance weapons could be used is to be launched and "flung" through space at a target. The ship must accellerate towards the target, unlock and release the ordnance to be used, then pull a maneuver in a tight swing that lets inertia do its thing and fling the bombs towards the target, such as another capital ship, space station, etc. This would require working together with the pilot as well, making the bombing run a three-man job instead of a two-man one. Bombs that are flung at a target in space travel at the speed the launching ship was moving at at the time.
In my games, if weapons have Fire Control bonus dice, sometimes I say someone must operate the Sensors to allow the gunners to use those dice, saying the Fire Control is part of the Sensor systems of the ship. This doesn't have to be done, but in my mind it makes sense. In this case, it makes even more sense, and fits kind of like bombing runs were done back in World Wars 1 and 2, which George Lucas tried to do with his starfighter dogfights.
GMs/players do not have to use this skill and can easily substitute it with starship gunnery, capital ship gunnery, starship missile weapons, capital ship missile weapons, etc. It is placed here in case anyone else agrees that bombs deserve their own skill.
*Proton Bombs
The Proton Bombs are an ordnance weapon. They are not fired or launched, but dropped from a bomb bay on the bottom of the ship. The ship flies over the target, the character using the weapon uses the appropriate skill to drop the bombs or other ordnance upon a target below that the ship is flying over (also described above in Skill: Starship Ordnance and Ordnance Weapons). In the case of the Resistance Bomber's Protob Boms, these bombs can be fire-linked as well, starting at 8D starfighter scale Damage, and there are 1,048 Proton Bombs to fire-link with! All in all, the increased damage from these bombs are enough to take out almost any target below Death Star scale (as seen in The Last Jedi where a single bomber dropping its entire payload takes out a 7,000+ meter long dreadnought!). Getting to the target is another story, however, as these bombers tend to be slow, and are little more resilient than a basic starfighter.
*Electronic Countermeasures
A crewmember makes an Easy Sensors roll, which broadcasts the jammer at the listed range, giving enemy weapons systems -2D from their Fire Control dice.
GAME DESIGN NOTES:
As this ship was a new sight to see, doing a write-up was a little challenging. But it also has many similarities to Rebel Alliance starfighters, it's made by Slayn & Korpil who also made the B-Wing, and there are other similarities with other starfighters. So all Rebel starfighters were used for references to figure out the Resistance Bomber.
*Speed
The Resistance Bomber was given a Space Speed of 4 due to how slow it seemed in The Last Jedi. If this seems too slow, 5 or 6 may do it, but probably no more as it still seemed much slower than all the other starfighters seen during the battle this bomber was portrayed in.
*Medium Laser Cannons
The Resistance Bomber lists 6 of these weapons. As I looked up pictures to see where these weapons were placed, I could see 4 were positioned at the front of the ship (2 on the stabilizer fins, and 2 under the cockpit viewport), but I could not see the other 2. I wondered if they may have been on the back somewhere near the rear bubble turret, but none of the pics I found gave a clear enough view of that section to tell for sure. Keep in mind, I am not confusing these with the 3 Paired Laser Cannons, those are very clear to see. The pair at the rear bubble turret, I cannot see for sure if the guns positioned just behind/beside/above the bubble turret are the turret's guns, or if the bubble turret has 2 guns on it I cannot see from these angles and the other oddly positioned guns are the missing two Medium Laser Cannons. At any rate, until I can see a better image of these weapons, I make the assumtion that all 6 of these weapons are mounted somewhere on the front and can be fire-linked and used by the pilot and/or flight engineer.
*Electronic Countermeasures
I based this straight from the A-Wing's Enemy Targeting Jammer. Seemed fitting, to make the Starfortress Resistance Bomber fit in with other starfighters and transports that were used by the Rebel Alliance (which the lore says this ship was used by them). This ship looks and feels like a Rebel ship, and I like how they have the Resistance using it for the movie.
[NOTE!: This write-up is not made based on official information. At the time of this write-up there is little-to-no information available to use, and much of this was made up using info scraps, guesswork, imagination and creativity. Future official info releases may render this write-up incompatible with the Star Wars canon.]
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