Modular Taskforce Cruiser

[CRMcNeill]

IMO, the Modular Taskforce Cruiser is one of the few good things to come out of the Dark Empire comics series. Logistics and support is key to any military operation, as well as an exploitable weakness, and this is one of the few attempts made in the EU to actually give those support functions some attention. Guerrilla warfare combatants like the Alliance are at their best when hitting the enemy where they are weak, so support ships like the Taskforce Cruiser are much more viable targets for small irregular units (like the average player characters). Even as a capital ship, the Taskforce Cruiser's stats are low enough for players to have a chance if they play their cards right, and the ship's modular nature means mission hook possibilities.

One of the few issues I have with this ship is the description of the crew. According to the WEG stats, the ship has no actual operational crew, just the crews assigned to the various modules. I think it needs a standard crew to perform day-to-day ship functions. At the very least, it needs 30 gunners to run its turbolaser cannon...

What do you think would be an appropriate crew size for this ship? At 1,150 meters long, its almost the length of an MC80, but I'm guessing any regular crew would be found mostly in the drive module at the rear, with the specialist crew in the larger pod toward the bow.

Also, I'd like to expand a list of possible module types above and beyond the five listed in the stats. I have some ideas of my own, which I will be posting, but you guys always manage to come up with stuff I didn't consider. Let me stress that I don't think this thing is up to the stress of front-line combat, so modules mounting heavy energy weaponry and the like would not, IMO, be appropriate.

Thoughts?
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[CRMcNeill]

Here is a list of some module types I've already come up with. I have a few others which I will post once I work up descriptions for them.

Fire Support
Equipped with multiple missile launchers of varying sizes, as well as onboard armories containing a variety of different warheads. Used to provide fire support for army operations on planets where the orbital space has been secured but combat operations on the surface are still underway.

Minelayer
Pretty much what it sounds like. Can also be used to support siege operations by deploying orbital nightcloak satellite arrays.

Troop Transport
Transport capacity for a reinforced Army division and all their equipment, as well as landing craft to deploy them. The landing craft complement will be geared more towards bulk transport into a secured landing zone than establishing a beach-head (i.e. lots of barges and utility shuttles, but little or no drop ships or combat landers).

Carrier
Massive hangar bays with room for up to two full TIE wings. Can also be used as a base for various other small craft, such as blastboats or assault shuttles and drop ships (used to augment the landing capacity of other transport craft)

Heavy Lifter
Provides inter-system transport for non-hyperspace capable vehicles (such as the System Patrol Craft), as well as large planetary vehicles like the Mobile Repulsorlift Base or ocean going vessels like the Leviathan Submersible Carrier (as I've always felt that the Imperial military retained some traditional naval vessels for enforcing their rule on water worlds). Can also be used to relocate small space stations or other orbital platforms.

Logistics Transport
As logistics deals not just with transportation of supplies but also their coordination and distribution, this ship differs from standard bulk transports in that it is also equipped with an internal distribution network to quickly sort inbound and outbound cargo, as well as a small craft contingent that is used to distribute the ship's load to multiple locations simultaneously. Loses some cargo capacity to a bulk freighter, but has the advantage of being able to transport material directly to its end receiver (or at least closer than normal). Commonly used to support operations on planets with wide-spread military activity that lack a central supply base equipped to unload more standardized transports.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[CRMcNeill]

Here's the next list of modules. This pretty much hits the limits of what I think might be found in use. I'm open to suggestions.

Electronic Warfare
Equipped with powerful, broad-spectrum jamming emitters and the auxiliary generators required to run them, this module is often used in support of siege and blockade operations. It is sufficiently powerful to shut down nearly all sensors and wireless communication within a planetary system. When used in conjunction with other forces, the electronic warfare module will use a rapidly changing schedule of frequency windows to allow allied vessels to operate normally.

Communications Hub
Equipped with both hypercomm and directional subspace transceivers, this module is used to facilitate communications between Imperial ships and facilities. It is most commonly used to maintain communication lines between coordinated strikes in different star systems, as shields and weapons fire have a disruptive effect on long range comm systems.

Construction Base
Originally designed as a Prefabricated Garrison Base installation module, this module's versatility has proven useful at assisting in the construction of permanent bases, and even some civil engineering projects. Using the Taskforce Cruiser's atmospheric flight capability, a ship equipped with this module will usually hover over the construction site, using grapplers and tractor beams to lower construction materials to the ground and deploy work crews.

Science & Research
This module is reserved for science research operations which are generally judged to be either secretive for security purposes or too dangerous to be performed on a planet or other station. Commonly deployed to random locations in deep space to keep their projects isolated. (Note: GMs, this kind of module is a good lead-in for a horror campaign, as a derelict Science & Research Taskforce Cruiser could've been researching a zombie virus or bio-weapons research on an Alien crossover species).

Operations Base
This module is designed to facilitate Intelligence or Special Ops operations in a region, providing a secret, mobile base not connected to any known military facilities. It includes command & control facilities, mission planning and training, armories, docking bays for transports and scouts, and even R&R facilities for resting up between missions.

Technical Support
Intended to augment the dedicated Technical Force transport vessels, this module includes storage for spare parts and equipment, as well as housing and work bays for the technical staff, and docking bays for a variety of small ships used for deep-space repairs of naval vessels.

Bulk Transport
The simplest of all module types, it is essentially a large open bay equipped to haul standard cargo. Not in common usage, as other transports are almost always available, but the option is available should the need arise.

EDIT: Navigation Hub (Credit: garhkal)
A mobile version of the Navigation hubs found in major Imperial Navy orbital bases and installations, this module features a communications array and an advanced navigation super-computer. Naval vessels regularly upload their hyperspace navigation records to the navigation hub, which then analyzes the data, tracking radiation fluctuations and gravity levels over the course of the jump, then uses this data to generate highly accurate jump coordinates for the rest of the fleet. This is a continuing process, with jump information utilized to track patterns and trends over the course of months or years, and collated information being shared between hubs via the holo-net within the sector. While not as powerful as the Navigation facilities found at planetary and orbital installations, this module has the advantage of being able to travel with the fleet and provide it with dedicated navigation calculation services.

EDIT: Ordnance Transport
One of the least popular modules (as far as the ship's crews are concerned), an Ordnance Transport is an interconnected complex of ammunition storage bunkers. The module itself is heavily shielded and reinforced, but this does little more than offset the potential hazards of flying through space in a ship filled with high explosives. This module is crewed almost entirely by droids and naval personnel who have in some way offended their superiors. It is also one of the only modules equipped with automated ejection systems; in the event of catastrophic damage, the Taskforce Cruiser can disconnect from the entire module and abandon it to avoid destruction (hopefully).

EDIT: Decoy Ship (credit: Panzerjedi)
This rare module is externally identical to the Bulk Transport module, but appearances are most definitely deceiving. Mounting anti-starfighter weaponry, torpedo launchers and sufficient hangar space for two squadrons of TIE fighters (all concealed by a sensor masking system that disguises the hidden weaponry and starfighters from sensor scans), this Taskforce Cruiser variant is used as an ambush ship, either on its own or in defense of a convoy. While it lacks the durability and weapons strength of a front-line warship, the Decoy Ship can be a nasty surprise for lightly armed Rebel and pirate forces. This is one of the only modules to be equipped with an integrated reactor to power the weapons and sensor mask, and it has an added bonus; once the sensor mask is dropped, the reactor is used to augment the Taskforce Cruiser's combat shields.

EDIT (credit: Panzerjedi): Mobile Spacedock
The Imperial Navy Technical Service corps has the duty of repairing damaged ships and salvaging destroyed hulks. While their transports are equipped with tractor beams to tow ships that are too damaged to operate under their own power, using a tractor beam to tow a hulk in hyperspace is a risky proposition at best. As such, Technical Services of a Mobile Spacedock module to provide transportation. Using Prexton double-field generators similar to the Field Secured Container Transport (but on a smaller scale), the Mobile Spacedock is equipped with two spacedock frames on either side of its main keel. Each can hold a single Strike Cruiser, or several smaller vessels.

EDIT: Decontamination (credit: garhkal)
Weapons of mass destruction are an ugly facet of warfare, but the Empire is more than willing to use nuclear, biological or chemical attacks against enemy units or civilian populations. However, the indiscriminate nature of these weapons often results in friendly forces being exposed. Rather than waste valuable resources, Decontamination modules are used to extract, decontaminate and triage survivors. Decon ships rarely land, using ventral lift-baskets to bring survivors aboard, decontaminating them, then using shuttles from dorsal launch bays to transfer survivors to other locations. The mass decontamination system can process thousands of survivors at a time, and the docking bays are large enough to land full-size landing barges for passenger transfer. Decontamination modules are commonly paired with Hospital modules, and act as a triage center, filtering out the critical cases from the minor (and terminal) ones.

EDIT: Prisoner Transport (credit: RexMundiAbu)
This module is designed for the secure transportation of prisoners, and is one of the most effective methods of doing so short of a Dungeon Ship. Although mounted to the frame of a Taskforce Cruiser, a Prisoner Transport module is specifically designed to be completely cut off from the rest of the ship. Apart from latching grapplers and power supplies, the module is completely autonomous, and the ship's crew have standing instructions not to interact with the module in any way apart from regular comm-checks. In the event of a report of a prisoner riot or loss of communication, the Taskforce Cruiser will procede immediately to the nearest Imperial military installation (or Star Destroyer, if one is available) for armed response and relief of the guard force. The module has no landing bays; only external airlocks for shuttles to dock. The interior of the module includes a mix of varying degrees of security, from dormitories to ultra-max isolation cells, with armed guards and response teams in commanding overwatch positions. These modules are often paired with Inquisition modules to hold high-value prisoners (i.e. prisoners of political value or those potentially in possession of useful information).

EDIT: Quarantine (credit: garhkal)
This module is rarely seen, and always used in combination with Hospital and Decontamination modules. Composed primarily of thousands of individual isolation cells, this module is intended to isolate large numbers of people who have been exposed to diseases or infections. Patients are initially processed aboard Decontamination modules, then shuttled aboard in individual quarantine pods. Onboard medical droids and staff monitor patients for signs of illness, with the goal of insuring that those exposed are no longer contagious before being returned to their units or to the general population. It is also applied in more sinister fashion to analyze and potentially harvest previously unknown diseases for possible future use in biological warfare.

EDIT: Fabrication (Credit: ForbinProject)
This module is a complex of molecular furnaces and modular fabrication units that can assemble a wide variety of materials, including replacement parts for starships. It is used to provide extended manufacturing support for fleet units on extended deployments, such as expeditionary taskforces or blockades. While it is equipped with its own mining craft to provide it with raw materials for fabrication, it will generally be accompanied by a Carrier Taskforce Cruiser carrying additional space mining equipment.

EDIT: Tender (Credit: ForbinProject)
Tender support for frigates and corvettes in the far-flung reaches of the Empire is generally performed by specialized tender craft, which provide both replenishment and repair services to smaller craft. However, in some instances, such craft are unavailable, and Taskforce Cruisers are pressed into service in their place. A Tender module is equipped with two docks, one on either side of the ship's keel; each dock is capable of docking and servicing any Frigate-Scale ship up to 800 meters in length (and multiple smaller craft may use the same dock so long as their combined length does not exceed 775 meters).

EDIT: Recreation (Credit: ForbinProject)
This rare module is used to provide rest and relaxation services for military and other personnel deployed to remote or inaccessible areas that, for various reasons, have no access to standard R&R facilities

EDIT: Training (Credit: ForbinProject)
Another rarely seen module, Training ships are generally deployed to prepare Army and stormtrooper units to survive and operate under specific environmental conditions. This is always preparatory to troops being deployed on a planet with a specific or unique environment that can not be adequately duplicated on another planet.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[garhkal]

Nice list.. Though i notice no 'sensor unit' for say hyperspace routing.. Say one with very powerful and long range sensors, with a super astrogation computer, for computing up new courses.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[gavin storm]

What wont help is, complement seems to depend on what module is used.
_________________
Gavin Storm
Causing Imperials headaches, one punch at a time, since 2000

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

Added Ordnance Transport to the list.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Panzerjedi]

how about a Q-Ship Module? based on the bulk transport one?
_________________
The Empire: We'z Ownz ALL yer'z Star Destoyerz!!!

[garhkal]

[CRMcNeill]

[Panzerjedi]

hummm.... plausible new republic usage of this class, later, could mean some other moduales could be made..... one I can see is Colony modules, and Science modules.......... another is a mobile Drydock modules for Frigate-Sized, and smaller vessels.
_________________
The Empire: We'z Ownz ALL yer'z Star Destoyerz!!!

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

[garhkal]

What of a quarantine module. One that is made specifically to take the cruiser to a planet under quarantine for an epidemic with lots n lots of med facilities/droids, and mucho seals to prevent spread of any virus.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!