VALEN CRUISER

Craft: Minbari Federation/Interstellar Alliance Valen Class Cruiser
Type: Advanced cruiser
Scale: Capital
Dimensions:
-Length: 900m
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Valen cruiser
Crew: 100+
-Gunners:
-Troops: 40
-Skeleton: 10/+0*
-Emergency Evac: 800+/3 weeks
Crew Skill: Astrogation, Capital ship gunnery, Capital ship piloting, Sensors
-Autopilot*: 3D in all relevant skills
Passengers: 200 (luxurious)
Cargo Capacity: 10,000 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Cost: Not available for sale
Hyperspace Jump Engine: No...
Quantum Drive Engine**: YES!
Nav Computer: Yes (+2D Astrogation)
Maneuverability: 2D+***
Speed:
-Space: 4+***
-Atmosphere: 280; 800kmh+***
Hull: 6D
Defenses:
-Vorlon Bio-Armor:****
 -Energy Dispersion: +2D+1
 -Damage Adaptation: -2D+1
 -Healing: +2D+1
-Minbari Stealth Device:*****
-Shields: N/A
Sensors:******
-Passive: 50/1D
-Scan: 100/2D
-Search: 150/3D
-Focus: 4/4D

AUXILIARY CRAFT CAPACITY:
-Various shuttles/transports
-2 Minbari Flyers
-12 Nial Heavy Fighters

WEAPONS:
   Heavy Fusion Beam Cannon
      Location: Forward hull
      Fire Arc: Front
      Crew: 1 (bridge crew)
      Skill: Capital ship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 4D
      Range:
      -Space: 3-15/30/60
      -Atmosphere: 6-30/60/120km
      Damage: 10D
      Rate Of Fire: 1(continuous beam)
      Speacial: Beam Weapon*******

   4 Light Fusion Beam Cannons
      Location: Mounted along hull
      Fire Arc: 2 right, 2 left
      Crew: 1 (4)
      Skill: Capital ship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 3D
      Range:
      -Space: 3-15/30/60
      -Atmosphere: 6-30/60/120km
      Damage: 7D
      Rate Of Fire: 1 (continuous beam)
      Special: Beam Weapon*******

   8 Rapid Engagement Plasma Pulse Cannons
      Location: Mounted along hull
      Fire Arc: Turret
      Crew: 1 (8)
      Skill: Starship gunnery
      Scale: Starfighter
      Fire Control: 3D
      Range:
      -Space: 1-7/15/30
      -Atmosphere: 50-700/1.5/3km
      Damage: 5D
      Rate Of Fire: 10

   Energy Weapon Countermeasures********
      Location: Mounted along hull
      Fire Arc: 1 front, 1 right, 1 left, 1 back
      Crew: 1 (4)
      Skill: Capital ship gunnery
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 0D
      Range:
      -Space: 1/2/3
      -Atmosphere: N/A
      Damage: -3D to all energy weapons
      Ammo: 3 charges each (12 total)
      Rate Of Fire: 1

   Minbari Stealth Device*****
      Location: Sensor array
      Fire Arc: All
      Crew: 1 (bridge crew)
      Skill: Sensors
      Scale: Capital
      Fire Control: 0D
      Range:
      -Space: 1-6/15/30
      -Atmosphere: 100-600/1.5/3km
      Damage: -2D from Fire Control
      Rate Of Fire: N/A (Continuous)


GAME NOTES:

*AUTOPILOT: A single crew member can fly the ship with only voice commands, even through Hyperspace, and the ship can even fire weapons in this manner.  The single crew must use the Command skill to decide how many actions the ship can perform, much like commanding troops or NPCs.

**QUANTUM DRIVE ENGINE: Like Hypspace Jump-Point Engines, Quantum Drives allow access to another dimension of space that allows FTL travel across the galaxy, where the speed of travel depends on the ship's own propulsion through this space (unlike Star Wars hyperdrives where the speed of FTL travel depends on how powerful the hyperdrive is).  unlike Hyperspace, Quantum space allows ships to travel twice as fast.  Entering and exiting Quantum space is also somewhat more difficult and disorienting, especially for first time travelers, though people get used to it after a while (make Stamina checks against Moderate Difficulty; every time these checks succeed, reduce the Difficulty to Easy, then very Easy, and then the traveler gets used to the effects).  Beyond this, not much else is known of Quantum Space, though it can be assumed that it requires even more power to use.  Since the ISA and Minbari Federation have ships with outstanding power output, they can use these drives without the common limitations of hyperspace jump-point engines, such as opening a Quantum space opening every round or two without needing to recharge, and not being limited on using weapons and other features that require power.

***HYBRID GRAVIMETRIC DRIVE: These drives use a mix of standard thrust propulsion and gravimetric drive (manipulation of artificial gravity fields to move the ship).  The advantage of the hybrid drives is that they can start at a higher space speed (4) than if they had only the grav drive (2).  After other ships had successfully used such hybrid drives, the design philosophy would quickly be adapted by others to gain an advantage.  The Valen cruiser's hybrid drives also allow it to attain greater speed/maneuverability increases than a heavy capital ship would normally be given, and much faster as well.  Space speed starts at 4, maneuverability at 2d.  Increase +1 each for every round of constant flight.  Safety Limit is Space Speed 8/Maneuverability 3D+1.  Further speed inreases past the Safety Limit incur Dex checks from crew starting at Moderate Difficulty at Speed 9/Maneuverability 3D+2 (failure results in 4D Damage).  The Difficulty increase by +1 Level every +1 Speed increase past the Safety Limits, with Damage from failed Dex checks increasing +1D accordingly.

****VORLON BIO-ARMOR: The hull can disperse the energy of ranged energy weapons to an extent, adapt to weapons it is struck by, and heal itself from incurred damage.
-Energy Dispersion: The hull counts as having energy shields on all firing arcs at the listed Dice code (2D+1).
-Damage Adaptation: Every time the hull is used in a battle against a specific kind of weapon and survives, it will reduce the damage of that weapon by -1 pip in the next engagement, for a maximum reduction of up to the listed Dice code (-2D+1).  It still takes time for the hull to adapt, at least a day before the next battle against the specific weapon or weapon type.
-Healing: The ship counts as a character and heals as a character would, taking the same amounts of time to heal injuries depending on their severity.  This can be affected by crew for enhanced effects or sped up, much like medical care, using skills like Repair Skills and Bioengineering (an advanced skill), and other similar skills.
-Notes: Energy Dispersion and Damage Adaptation both mention working acording to a dice code.  It is easy for these two abilities to work on the same dice code, but they CAN have different dice codes listed.  Healing does not list a dice code, but if GMs wish, the dice code can be a bonus for the ship's crew when using their skills to affect healing for the ship.  Also, when making modifications to these abilities and their dice codes, it is left to GM discretion on wether the dice codes can all be enhanced together as a single ship system, or as three separate systems (hence why these abilities can have different dice codes).  A good rule of thumb would be to have a standard Difficulty Level for enhancing the Bio-Armor dice code as a whole for all three abilities, and then reduce the Difficulty Level if only modifying one specific ability of the Bio-Armor.

*****MINBARI STEALTH DEVICE: The Minbari employ a powerful stealth device that jams enemy targeting systems, making it difficult to get a target lock on their ships.  This device reduces enemy Fire Control dice by the die code listed for the stealth device.  In essence, it works exactly like the "Enemy Targeting Jammer" from a Star Wars A-Wing, using the Sensors skill for use, is part of the Sensor systems, but works at capital scale.  This means starfighters will be affected by the 6D scale difference, and may effectively have 0D Fire Control on their weapons (the penalties to Fire Control will not go past a reduction of 0D).

******SENSORS: Much like the White Star's sensors, the destroyer is a mix of Minbari and Vorlon technologies.  As such they are  able to detect many things that other ships of the younger races would never be able to detect.  For example, they can detect disturbances in Hyperspace created by Vorlon and Shadow technology that are artificially created to hide entire fleets with a method of Hyperspace stealth.  Any other kind of ship created by the younger races, including Minbari vessels, would normally not be able to detect such anomalies.  Also, as per the movie "In The Beginning" Minbari sensors are known to disable the ability of Earth Alliance/Earthforce ships to use Hyperspace Jump Engines to create jumpgates.  Earthforce may have fixed this problem after the Earth-Minbari War (unknown) and it is also unknown if any other species starships were affected this way.

*******BEAM WEAPONS: Beam weapons can fire a constant beam at a target and maintain the beam on a target after intitial firing.  As long as the gunner makes an appropriate gunnery skill roll every round against the range difficulties for the weapon (usually Easy at close range, Moderate at medium range, and Difficult at long range), the beam stays on the target and automatically deals damage every round against the target.  Using beam weapons in this way does not take into account movement of the target ships, such as the attacking ship flying towards a target and potentially flying past it, or other maneuvers.  Also, if the target can maneuver out of the fire arc of the attacker's beam weapon without the attacker's fire arc being adjusted (if it can be), then the "beam weapon" effect is negated and the attacker would have to readjust to target and attack again.  Beam weapons can also be used against a group of ships flying close together, like a squadron of starfighters or two close capital ships.  If the attacker makes an attack roll at +1 Range Difficulty Level for the beam weapon, they can wave the beam across several ships as a single attack.  Easy rule of thumb is that the targets must be in the same fire arc (GM discretion).  For every Difficulty Level the attacker rolls above that needed to fire the weapon on a single target, increase damage per extra Difficulty Level, as the beam is being kept on the same target long enough to bore into it for maximum damage.

********ENERGY WEAPON COUNTERMEASURES: When used, these are fired at the start of a round of combat.  A cloud of special material is launched into space to cover that fire arc.  The cloud lasts three rounds, spreading away from the ship and dissipating beyond use within three rounds.  In the first round, the cloud decreases incoming energy weapons damage -3D, -2D the next round, -1D the 3rd round, and then it is no longer useful.  The cloud also decreases energy weapon damage of the ship that fired it.  The countermeasures do not work against physical and ballistic weapons such as missiles.  If the defending ship moves away from the vapor cloud, it no longer protects the fire arc it was launched in (but, depending on circumstances, it may cover the rear fire arc as the ship moves away, unless an attacker moves around it).

-ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY: The White Star is a mix of Minbari and Vorlon technology.  Minbari technology is already far more advanced than the other younger races, with perhaps the Drakh being the closest in relative technology level.  This alone would require a Technology skill roll to understand the technology involved, starting at Moderate or Difficult level.  Vorlon technology, that of a First One race, is much more advanced beyond that of the Minbari and Drakh, equaled only by the Shadows and other First Ones.  This would make any technology rolls for understanding the Tech no less than Very Difficult, and then only under the utmost best circumstances.  Otherwise, these technology skill rolls will always be of Heroic Difficulty, perhaps even with a higher target number in mind.  Also of note, due to the White Star having Vorlon technology included in its design, certain features that function like other spaceships may have a more expanded ability to perform their functions.  For example, see "Sensors" above.

-MANEUVERABILITY: This ship was built using White Star technology.  It's weapons can target starfighter scale ships with no difference in scale.

-POWER TRANSFER:  The crew can pull pips from any numbered stat that uses power (Space Speed, Maneuverability, Energy Shields, etc), and add these pips to the desired weapon's damage dice.  These pips can be taken as much or as little as desired.  After every power transfer and weapon attack, roll 1D: on a roll of 1, the ship loses power for 1 round per pip of power transferred.  For every 3 pips transferred, roll +1D, and any roll of 1 on these extra dice has the same result.  Power is replenished after this time has passed and the ship can then fly, maneuver and attack with weapons, as well as any other functions that require power to use.  until then, the ship is dead in space and unable to move or fight.  Power Transfer can be done with any ranged energy weapon, though of course it usually makes more sense to use the weapon with the most damage and/or range.
-Example: In one episode of Babylon 5 to attempt using telepaths against the Shadows, a White Star was used to destroy a Shadow vessel while it was telepathically stunned and immobile.  The White Star had to transfer power from other systems to boost the damage of the Fusion Beam to kill the Shadow ship.


DESCRIPTION:

   The Valen Class Cruiser was a type of vessel developed and built by the Minbari Federation for the Interstellar Alliance in the early 2270s.

   In 2271 one of these vessels, dubbed Interstellar Alliance One, transported President Sheridan from Minbar to Babylon 5 for the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Alliance.

Design Notes

   I did up the Valen Cruiser using what little was presented in Babylon 5 The Lost Tales.  Weapons are upped from White Star cruisers, and downed from White Star destroyers to put the Valen somewhere in the middle.  It has all the acoutrements of a Minbari and ISA ship, with all the special rules from White Star type ships that make them so awesome.

   The countermeasures were added from the Liandra from Legend Of The Rangers as they seem like a common enough feature, and would be great to use on an "Airforce One" type of starship.  When used, they work much like a similar piece of equipment in Star Wars D6 Gundark's Fantastic Technology (or was it Galadinium's?), where a cloud of vapors is released with every used charge, and the vapor cloud reduces the effectiveness of incoming energy weapon attacks.

   It should be noted that it was never said if the Valen cruisers did or did not have hyperspace jump-point engines WITH the Quantum Space engines.  As advanced as the ISA became after acquiring Vorlon technologies, it is possible that they could make ships with both types of drives.  This would effectively give Babylon 5 ships a "backup hyperdrive", especially if the hyperspace jump-point engines could be made much smaller and cheaper now with the more advanced technologies.

OTHER INFO:
Status: Active
Affiliation: Interstellar Alliance
Class: Cruiser
Length: 900m
Engines: Gravimetric Engine
Jump Capable: Yes (Quantum drive)
Gravity: Yes