Apologies but my brain isnt getting this. Let us say you were Vargr pirates on a 400 ton Vargr Corsair or just regular pirate cruiser. You wanted the ability to land say 20 pirates on a planet without risking your main vessel (even if the big ship is streamlined and could head down itself) . What sort of interorbital craft would you use and could fit inside/ remain docked to the big pirate ship please?
Shuttle or other for 400 ton Corsair?
- Thread starter SJE
- Start date
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
They'll probably prefer a fifty tonne assault shuttle or troop transporter.
I assume they aren't stopping to pick up snacks at the Seven Eleven.
A ship's boat probably is an affordable compromise.
I assume they aren't stopping to pick up snacks at the Seven Eleven.
A ship's boat probably is an affordable compromise.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
Unless you expect to land under fire, I'd think pirates would be perfectly fine with using a small, heavily armed, ex-merchant ship particularly one that was a prize. The second choice would be a larger ship's boat crammed with the troops that is a prize. Again, the key ingredient here is they don't expect to land in a hot landing zone taking fire. After all, they're pirates, not Imperial Marines...
The ex-merchant I'd think would be preferable (100 to 300 tons) as it has room for the loot and booty you expect to get from whatever you're doing / raiding. Just bring a few vehicles along to get to the target and back to the 'boat.'
The ex-merchant I'd think would be preferable (100 to 300 tons) as it has room for the loot and booty you expect to get from whatever you're doing / raiding. Just bring a few vehicles along to get to the target and back to the 'boat.'
The Assault Shuttle from the Judge's Guild "Starships and Spacecraft" would seem to fit the bill.
" The assault shuttle is a larger version of the ship's boat, capable of 5 Gs acceleration, carrying a crew of 2
and up to 30 combat troops. It displaces 40 tons. It has a fuel tank capacity of 3.8 tons. It can cany 20 tons of
cargo in lieu of personnel. The assault shuttle is armed with a single pulse laser in a fixed mount. Base price is
Cr43,700,000."
The 400 ton class P -- the old Pirate Corsair?
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
Point of clarification.
Are you talking about just needing to "deposit" 20 pirates on surface, in which case "mere acceleration couches" are sufficient to the task ... or are you talking about wanting a base of operations for those pirates to be able to return to for a long duration excursion/deployment?
If you're talking about a pure "shuttle" arrangement (up/down only) then a simple Ship's Boat will suffice for moving 20
If you're talking about a "deploy a base camp for extended operations" (such as a land grab, for example), then you're going to want a Modular Cutter and 2-3 Modules so as to be able to "deposit" not only the 20
Of course, as soon as you reach the point of 1-2x Modular Cutters + 2-3x Modules, you're not really talking about a 400 ton Corsair anymore ... you'll need something bigger in order to hold all of that (displacement). If you have to upgrade the assault modules from small craft staterooms (2 tons) to starship staterooms (4 tons) for interstellar transport (and accommodations during the trip) then you're starting to look at maybe needing 4-5x Modules to support your expeditionary base deployment, not just 2-3x Modules. Bare minimum, you're starting to look towards the 600-1000 ton transport Assault Starship intended for deployment of "marines" (functionally) from starship to world surface with enough supplies to mount a sustained campaign (see: Mercenary Cruiser "Broadsword"). The advantage of going the Modular Cutter route with all of this is that the starship can remain in orbit (on overwatch of the surrounding region around the landing zone) and the deployable base CAN BE "relocated" relatively easily (just move the Modules with the Cutters) in the event of a fallback/retreat being needed.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Ok, that has a 100 ton plus cargo bay, configured to my eye to be able to handle a Type S ship, and surely most any other small craft. I’m thinking small craft for that in part because it leaves plenty of room for acquired cargo.
If one did operate a full scout ship out of there, probably best to use a seeker. Not enough life support for a full boarding/raiding crew so vacc suits and hours instead of days, but has the advantage of being able to jump.
Maybe a further modified Seeker with some more staterooms, in extremis cold berths for crew or captives, and/or less safety fuel and more cargo.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Tactically speaking, if you chase a car, you might want to catch it.
Acceleration factor/two is more than enough for a planetary landing, but somewhat slow for everything else.
Acceleration factor/two is more than enough for a planetary landing, but somewhat slow for everything else.
Personally, I've always like the Gig (in the wedge-shaped Gazelle sub-craft form) as a multi-role small craft, but its normal passenger capacity of six is insufficient for the OP's stated mission requirements, and swapping the emergency low berths and cargo for seating only brings this up to 17 passengers, so it still ends up short (using Supp. 7 or Supp. 9 stats).
Therefore I'd go for a Ship's Boat. 6-Gs, enough space for 20 seats, weapons, and a small amount of cargo (or a computer if you want to make it into a more serious gunboat). A pinnace has more interior space, but it's also bigger and thus cuts into the mother ship's payload capacity (i.e. loot hauling and prize crew carrying ability), and also a pinnace has less acceleration, making intercepts and travel that bit slower.
If using MegaTraveller, much the same applies, though a Gig can be made to fit 20 guys (not much else though). TNE is about the same as MT.
Either of these small craft would fit with the Supp. 4 corsair's cargo hold/hanger (though it's not streamlined, which isn't ideal for a ship with no designed facilities for a sub-craft).
Therefore I'd go for a Ship's Boat. 6-Gs, enough space for 20 seats, weapons, and a small amount of cargo (or a computer if you want to make it into a more serious gunboat). A pinnace has more interior space, but it's also bigger and thus cuts into the mother ship's payload capacity (i.e. loot hauling and prize crew carrying ability), and also a pinnace has less acceleration, making intercepts and travel that bit slower.
If using MegaTraveller, much the same applies, though a Gig can be made to fit 20 guys (not much else though). TNE is about the same as MT.
Either of these small craft would fit with the Supp. 4 corsair's cargo hold/hanger (though it's not streamlined, which isn't ideal for a ship with no designed facilities for a sub-craft).
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
Um ... I don't know how to bring up this point ...
... but jumps do not take "zero time" to complete ... 
So if your life support endurance is (and I quote) ... "hours instead of days" ... then after "1 week" in jump, that Seeker is going to be full of corpses.
Plenty good enough for a "one way trip" to the mortuary ... but not all that great for anyone else.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
I’m not assuming a full raiding party for jumps except in extremis hence the reference to cold berths. More a whoops surprise SDB/fighters/patrol getaway where cold sleep is preferably to hot lasers.Um ... I don't know how to bring up this point ...
So if your life support endurance is (and I quote) ... "hours instead of days" ... then after "1 week" in jump, that Seeker is going to be full of corpses.
Plenty good enough for a "one way trip" to the mortuary ... but not all that great for anyone else.
Theoretically Fast Drug would solve that.Um ... I don't know how to bring up this point ...
So if your life support endurance is (and I quote) ... "hours instead of days" ... then after "1 week" in jump, that Seeker is going to be full of corpses.
Plenty good enough for a "one way trip" to the mortuary ... but not all that great for anyone else.
168 hours becomes 2.8 hours.
Or
1 weeks' life support for 4 passengers becomes 1 week's life support for 240 people.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Tough to fight a ship or board running at that speed.
A quick shot of the antidote solves that problem.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
The way I see this is:
1. Pirates usually, rarely, have the cash to blow on buying custom made, special purpose ships. Instead, they use prizes, cheap hulls that are modified, and the like.
2. They make up for lack of cutting-edge custom ships by using more of them. That is, they don't go pirating in a single ship.
3. As a rule, they don't engage in space battles. Instead, they use reconnaissance, snitches, and the like to find out when their target is in a position that makes them helpless and defenseless. For example, they wait for the target ship to set down on a poorly defended world and begin refueling or something.
4. They use overwhelming force and intimidation to minimize own casualties and swiftly take their prize.
I would think most piracy, short of having the pirates onboard the target ship, would mostly operate planet-side. They'd be more like Viking raiders than pirates trying to take a ship in space.
1. Pirates usually, rarely, have the cash to blow on buying custom made, special purpose ships. Instead, they use prizes, cheap hulls that are modified, and the like.
2. They make up for lack of cutting-edge custom ships by using more of them. That is, they don't go pirating in a single ship.
3. As a rule, they don't engage in space battles. Instead, they use reconnaissance, snitches, and the like to find out when their target is in a position that makes them helpless and defenseless. For example, they wait for the target ship to set down on a poorly defended world and begin refueling or something.
4. They use overwhelming force and intimidation to minimize own casualties and swiftly take their prize.
I would think most piracy, short of having the pirates onboard the target ship, would mostly operate planet-side. They'd be more like Viking raiders than pirates trying to take a ship in space.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
And, outside of mutiny and hijacking, getting financing for pirate ships would be unicornian.
or 4.b. Hire a bunch of expendable Mooks, {don't gotta pay'em if they get killed}
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Luckily, Vargr are colourblind.
