Ship and vehicle types

GM tool

Checking on the Coriolis Discord, I read that the publishers are OK with players recreating tables, figures and data from the RPG source material where the only purpose is the facilitation of playing their game and I hereby promise this is my only intent with this article. The ideas stored here are my own content - Doctor Weather

I'm trying here to get to my preferred reading of the state of warships in the Horizon. Mercy III's offering doesn't add the interesting and considered detail that I'd prefer to see across the Factions.

Spaceships

Focusing here on warships, I may come back to civilian and corsair (i.e. the Syndicate) ships later. Without having played throught the Mercy campaign yet, I haven't added anything for the Zenithian's Nadir Flotilla that comes in the Mercy campaign but may come back later for that too.
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Types

	WARSHIPS
CAPITAL	Can lead a fleet of support ships
SUPPORT	Used in support of capital ships but can also conduct operations by themselves
TACTICAL	Cannot operate by themselves, needing a base of operations

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Capital ships

	CLASS	PURPOSE
BATTLE CARRIER	5	A single battle carrier can conduct a battle and secure a space lane by itself They can carry wings of all types of tactical ship with which to conduct offensive operations and have defensive weaponry to protect their operations from enemy firepower They are often supported by a flotilla of corvettes and destroyers however, to improve that defensive capability Notes: the upgrade to 'battle' carrier shows the progression from planet-bound navies that used 'carrier' to mean a ship that operated aircraft for offence but couldn't afford the space on ship to carry other armaments, as so much was turned over to runways for lift-off - space that isn't needed in the gravity-less void
BATTLESHIP	5	Heavy weapons platforms designed primarily for planetary bombardment and assault Unable to properly defend themselves ship-to-ship, they rely on cruisers to get them safely into the assault Once they have a path to their target they can eliminate space stations and cities with ease They carry large hangers for planetary-assault personnel and equipment thereafter Notes: though a redundant ship type on planets with the advent of the cruiser, in space the battleship reappeared as a planetary assault ship; though incapable of ship-to-ship combat, they are big enough to carry weapons capable of planetary bombardment and the personnel used in follow up assaults
CRUISER	5	Mainstay battle craft designed to protect battleships and assist battle carriers Fast moving multi-weapon platforms with numerous classes, some are mini carriers and others are more defensive Notes: unaltered from their planet-bound cousins in purpose

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Support

	CLASS	PURPOSE
CORVETTE	3	The smallest warship, they are cheap to produce and operate Mutliple classes exist for different operations, covering everything from fleet defence to solo operations as patrol craft and corsair hunters They tend to only be used solo in more civilised areas, as the lighter of the support craft Notes: unaltered from their planet-bound cousins in purpose
DESTROYER	4	Effectively a heavy corvette, destroyers are used in less-civlised areas, as they can sustain themselves longer Notes: a simplification for the sake of easier use and description in gameplay

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Tactical

	CLASS	PURPOSE
ASSAULT	2	Used to facilitate boarding actions, these are heavily armoured transports designed to protect soldiers on the way to the enemy ship They may simply be transports but can also be designed to ram and breach the hulls of target ships
FIGHTER	1	Anti-ship craft that are the mainstay of any real assault Most classes have a focus on space superiority, clearing the way of enemy fighters They usually also have a compliment of weapons to allow them to follow up on enemy capital ships but cannot carry enough firepower to go after many targets
GUNSHIP	1 or 2	Where there's a lot of heavy lifting to be done in destroying capital ships that the preceeding fighters cannot handle, the specialised gunships steps up Unable to defend itself properly against a squad of fighters, it's larger quantity of heavy weapons allow them to more easily tear through larger warships
PATROL	2	Smaller versions of the corvette in practice, these ships operate out of space stations and battleships to protect a fixed area of claimed space Like the corvette, the many classes of patrol ship reflect the needs of the paticular area of space being patrolled

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Usage by Faction

Legion	The Legion operates a well-rounded strategy, refined during the Portal Wars. It's larger ships see little active combat with the Third Horizon at peace but the Legion is diligent in maintaining a complete war capabilty for when the time inevitably comes.
Nomad Federation	The Federation does maintain warships but at best their larger craft could be considered cruisers and these are operated by the more powerful families only. The Nomads' combat strategy instead relies on the principle of the swarm, fielding far more ships than their opponent, mostly the size of corvettes and destroyers, supported by vast wings of tactical craft launched from civilian carriers that hang well back.
Order of the Pariah	The Order favours its monastery cruisers and attack strategies that remove the enemy from existence. Little concerned with targetted strategies and defensive operations, it maintains only a small number of battle carriers and battleships for the particular types of extermination they can better offer. Their monastery cruisers almost always carry wings of tactical craft and, in the main, the Order pursues a single-minded strategy to see the enemy obliterated by cruisers, fighters and gunships. With no desire or need to hold territory or support a civilian infrastructure after a war, this approach has served them very well so far.
Zenithian Hegemony	The Hegemony follows the Legion's principles of warfare, as the best example the Third Horizon has to offer - that is also prepared to share. It currently fields no battleships, as it has no desire to declare an intention to make that kind of offensive warfare, though the Daharab dockyards might reveal a change of strategy if a spy were to look.

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Naming conventions by Faction

	LEGION	NOMAD FEDERATION	ORDER OF THE PARIAH	ZENITHIAN HEGEMONY
Battle Carrier	Mythical people Famous artists	-	Aspects of the Judge's purpose or values	Zenithian family names
Battleship	Famous thinkers and scientists	-	Famous judgements (battles or civilian events)	-
Crusier	Famous kings, queens and rulers	Family founders and heroes	Adjectives, religious or values	Zenithian heroes and rulers
Corvette	Famous generals and admirals	Weather and natural locations	Plants and flowers	Famous Zenithians
Destroyer	Predatory animals and birds	People and items from stories	Natural features	Famous Zenithians
Tactical and in-atmosphere craft	Heroes from recent and ancient history

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Design style by Faction

Legion	The Legion has always built with practicality and function in mind, making use of hard or jagged edges and blocked shapes that serve the purpose of each module. Defensive gun banks, sensor towers and hangar bays protrude into the void in the ways that make them the most efficient in combat, all sported down long, dura-beam cores that provide a sturdy, unbreakable foundation to keep the ships in combat as long as possible. Ships tend to be grey in colour but increasingly sport golden shapes marking allegiance to Zenithian factions. Shipyards: Alhudu (Kua, asteroid belt - secret)
Nomad Federation	The Nomads have built fleets over the years from purchases and salvage, crafting them together into ships who key feature is that they contain features from all possible sources and designs mashed into one. Two prominent markers of Nomad ownership however, are phsyical weapon-like adornments and brightly colour decorations, the latter reminiscent of tropical fish. Both serve as heraldry to indicate the ownership by a particular family. The weapon-like attachments might seem to enable ramming actions but in practice this would be too risky for most ships to attempt. Instead, the weapons are an indicator of the family's strength, encouraging opponents to reconsider their attack in a way matching the Nomad's individual combat practices. Shipyards: Khorsabad (Marakanda)
Order of the Pariah	Inspired by their Second Horizon origins, the Order favours rounded, insectoid shapes in its warship. However, its independence in the Third Horizon has given rise to adornments of towers and domes. Smaller craft such as fighters retain an insectoid influence but with a practical consideration added: their fighters and gunships have the sleek visage of sharp, dark wings. Ships tend to be black in colour, used to make the various brightly-coloured glyphs that adorn entire hulls stand out. Shipyards: Karrmerruk (Zalos)
Zenithian Hegemony	Repeating the practicality of the Legion, the Hegemony ships are first functional but the character of the Zenithians is evidence in the added sleeker shapes, lavishly decorated and sporting gold panels. Shipyards: Darkos (Kuan asteroid belt) Halgria (Kuan orbit) Harima (Kuan Monolith)

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In-atmosphere vehicles

	PURPOSE
ASSAULT	Used to drop soldiers into the midst of a battle, these are heavily-armoured transport craft in the main They may maintain forward facing weapons to help clear a landing zone but may instead simply rely on heavy armour to protect their occupants and other craft to clear enemy combatants Both orbital drop ship and more-manoeuvreable, low-flying atmosphere variations exist in different classes
COMMAND AND CONTROL	These sensor-ops and commincations craft exist to perform the same function of the battle carrier and battle ships in orbit: the attack commander operates and gives orders from here, based on readouts from many sensor operators Command and control ships have the armour needed to take a few hits but aren't designed for actual combat - though several classes across the Horizon do maintain space for limited troop transport
FIGHTER	Anti-aircraft fliers used mainly for air-superiority and control but are usually also capable of strikes against land against small or individual targets
GUNSHIP	A heavier version of the fighter that cannot stand long against other aircraft but can obliterate land-based opponents
TACTICAL	Several classes of tactical craft exist to perform a wide variety of duties Some outfits are generalised to allow them to perform the duties of all other in-atmosphere craft to a limited degree, though they are quickly overwhelmed and need specialised craft to take over when sustained action or high impact is needed Most classes are instead specialised into longer-range, sensor-ops support of both ground and aerial operations
TROOP TRANSPORT	Heavily-armoured, large hulls dedicated to cargo space, used to transport larger ground-units - personnel, vehicles and equipment

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CC 61, segment of The Deckhand

Contents

• Spaceships
• Types
• Capital
• Support
• Tactical
• Usage by Faction
• Naming conventions by Faction
• Design style by Faction
• In-atmosphere vehicles

Related

• Legion ship names and classes