This is offered for information on the Dynasty setting but is not required reading, though you may
find it interesting
This document represents the general knowledge and doctrinal wisdom of Terran militaries as of the
26th century. It is presented in an OOC form
Freighters
The most common type of ship that has FTL capacity, the humble freighter is a catch-all term for
ships ranging from small tramp freighters with a crew of five all the way up to huge bulk-haulers that
have a crew of a thousand and can haul enormous amounts of cargo.
Freighters do poorly in combat as they are not very well armed, if armed at all, and seldom have
great speed or manoeuvrability.
Freighters are, however, cheap and can carry large amounts of cargo or passengers.
Some poorer navy’s may use armoured freighters to bulk out their force but these ships tend to
perform poorly against any modern combat ships
Frigates
Small, fast and capable of operating alone, the frigate is the most common ship of war seen in the
former Empire. Frigates perform multiple roles, ranging from patrol and reconnaissance to search
and rescue. Frigates tend to have a small crew, anywhere from eighty to one hundred and fifty
people and can sometimes carry passengers like marines or specialists, though not in large numbers.
In battle, frigates perform the “picket ship” role, scanning and then engaging enemy frigates as they
approach, as well as trying to scan enemy capital ships as they approach. Frigates use their superior
speed and manoeuvrability to dogfight and perform quick passing strikes or ranged missile attacks.
Frigates can overwhelm larger ships if they can attack and fade away or simply overwhelm them
with numbers. However, frigates cannot mount huge heavy weapons and struggle to do serious
damage to larger ships
Frigates have a low maintenance footprint, making them a popular ship with smaller navy’s, pirates
and PMCs.
Razor-Shark Frigates
A fairly new addition to the Terran picture, Razor-Sharks are partial AI frigates, though they still have
a small command crew. A Razor-Shark will typically have a crew of about forty people and has room
to transport passengers.
Razor-Sharks offer an even lower maintenance footprint and some naval thinkers believe they are
future of Terran ship construction.
Cruisers
The “backbone” of the traditional Navy, most Terran cruisers were lost during the disastorous battle
of Vanhiem. The cruiser is a large, powerful and expensive warship, with a crew of around nine
hundred to thirteen hundred people onboard, with potential for room to transport troops and
equipment.
Cruisers mount a lot of powerful weapons, including spinal mounted heavy weapons that can
destroy frigates in a single hit and deliver a huge amount of punishment to other ships. Cruisers are
also rugged ships that can stand up to a prolonged battle.
Cruisers are, however, very big and very expensive, often taking years to complete and requiring a
lot of upkeep.
Battleships
The Battleship is a ship purely built for warfare. A massive, expensive and often rather slow ship
that sacrifices speed and mobility for devastating firepower, the Battleship is a prestige ship and
offers a huge amount of firepower.
The Imperial “Sovreign” class battleship had a crew of around two thousand and could also carry a
contingent of up to nine hundred marines for landing operations.
Battleships can mount multiple spinal mounted weapons and can deliver truly huge volleys of fire
which smaller ships, even cruisers, cannot survive.
Battleships take years to complete and have a vast maintenance footprint
Carriers
Another fairly new innovation, the Drone-Carrier became a main-stay of the Imperial Navy. The
carrier is usually somewhere between cruiser and battleship hull size but configured without the
devastating weaponry and instead houses hangar bays to launch massive numbers of autonomous
combat drones which it can launch to attack enemy ships.
Carriers, which range from the Nimitz class escort carrier to the Arasai class super-carriers have good
point defence to protect themselves against enemy fire but cannot win in a stand-up battle with a
heavy ship. Carriers instead launch drone strikes, preferably whilst undetected, against enemy ships.
No other major races makes use of drone carriers. The general wisdom is that the Tranoan and
Tazzyn navy’s may be able to EM hack into drones and either disable or even turn them against their
senders. However, this is just a theory.
Auxiliary Ships
There are also a large number of auxiliary ships that are not seen in combat, ranging from shuttles
that transport people or cargo to tender ships (non FTL capable ships that deliver cargo and
supplies), to sensor drones and numerous other types of ship. However, these are not really shown
“in scale” in the game
Fleet Composition
In brief, Terran navy’s are generally formed with frigates being the bulk of the force, along with
cruisers and battleships (capital ships) forming the centre of the line. It is generally considered
necessary to either have cruisers, battleships or carriers to win a major fleet enagement or to have a
major advantage in numbers (and be prepared to lose a lot of ships).
In detail, fleet composition tends to depend on whom you are fighting against.
In setting, it will be assumed that your military experts will always try to compose the best balanced
fleet they can. If you are in any doubt, check with the GM.
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