Ghost Battleships - U.S.S. Texas:
Somehow the people of Texas actually remembered their past. The Alamo was still visited by throngs of people and the U.S.S. Texas was still preserved. The old battleship had fought in both World War One with the British Grand Fleet and World War Two in both the Atlantic and Pacific where she earned a total of five battle stars.
Tour guides showed visitors around the grey steel decks of the war memorial. The people were nervous about the tensions at hand but they still thought that the government would handle the problems. Still, there was quite a bit of nervous chatting about recent events which seemed to indicate that they were more nervous than they wanted to believe.
Clear skies were predicted and just a bit of chill in the air. It was almost Christmas after all. The old battleship was hung with festive lights to celebrate the holiday. Suddenly though the sky drew dark. Not just some cloud cover but as if a black bag was dropped over the sky. It came in fast, like within just moments. Perhaps it was a tornado but technology had steadily chipped away at predicting those storms and there was no indications of anything like that.
There was the first flashes of lightning in the sky. They arced back and forth. It was an incredible light show like nobody had ever seen. The visitors about the U.S.S. Texas looked at the lightning in wonder. At first they just flashed white but the colors started flashing through the spectrum, red, blue, green, and other colors. This was beyond unusual.
A strong wind ripped across the ground. It felt like being in a hurricane with winds quickly peaking above a hundred knots. Objects became missiles as the wind grabbed them. People grabbed whatever they could but many could not hold on and were launched into the sky. There was a vortex forming in the sky, kind of a bit like a tornado but in other ways extremely strange.
A red lightning bolt hit a nearby building. Built to take the strongest winds which mother nature could withstand, it should have been unmarked. Instead, the high strength ceramics shattered like a china cup dropped onto a steel deck. More lightning bolts hit, devastating whatever they hit. The vortex picked up the shattered pieces of building and slammed everything around with them like they were cannon balls.
Somehow the Texas had not been hit by the flying debris or by the lightning which whipped across the sky. Many people sheltered from the storm aboard her deck, praying. It was then the ancient battleship’s turn. Several lightning bolts hit her tripod masts. Instead of the old ship shattering, the ship took on a glow like the ship was illuminated by fox fire.
The storms continued around but the ancient battleship continued to protect those on her decks. They were buffeted by the winds but as long as they could hold on, they were safe. Eventually, the winds subsided. The dry dock which she had been in was gone and she sat in the water for the first time in almost a century. She looked different somehow as well. No matter how well a ship was maintained, iron did rust and it was a constant battle to keep up with it. Now the old battleship looked new.
BB-35, the U.S.S. Texas was one of the most historically significant warships. She served in distinction in many places around the World, both in the Atlantic against the Germans and in the Pacific against the Japanese. She won numerous honors and eventually became a museum ship when she was retired. Her sister, the U.S.S. New York was not as lucky and was used as a target for atomic weapon testing after World War II. The Texas was kept looking as close as possible to how she had at the end of World War Two.
Even more amazing, the U.S.S. Texas survived the coming of the Rifts and survives today, the magical energies keeping her almost new. She seemed to be one of the few safe places in a storm and many of the people who were aboard her that fateful day made her home. In some cases, their descendants still serve aboard her. Many of them were changed by the magical energy just like the ship. Many seem to have an affinity for magic and have become techno-wizards. In fact, many were some of the first techno-wizard after the magic storms cleared. Many people have served for a time aboard her and she seems friendly to all who have called her home.
Still, she is a warship and is always ready for battle. She has served as the flagship for many forces and has fought in a great many battles. Several vessels, some normal techno-wizard craft but others ghost ships themselves have served alongside her over the years. Some of them actually are from not too far from where the Texas was reborn.
Over the years, many people have worked on the ship, improving her in many ways although working as much as possible to keep her profile unchanged. She does not seem to mind having minor changes although she does not like the idea of any major change which would change her appearance. The progress of modifying her has been slow and many changes have been made over the years with her. It has been almost a labor of love by many of the people who have been part of her crew over the years. Many of the modifications are similar to other Pre-Rifts vessels but has some of her own interesting twists as well.
Like most "Ghost Ships", the Texas pulses with magical energy and the old warship does not seem to mind sharing the energy with her crew. She is an extremely lucky ship and she also seems to always shield the crew from harm, especially magical harm. There have been cases where the navigator has become lost and somehow the old battleship also manages to bring the crew back to somewhere which is familiar.
This is not to say that she is not without her quirks although most of the crew seem quite willing to deal with them. Sometimes the loudspeakers will come on and big band music will begin playing. Sometimes as well, somebody will walk down a passageway and think that they hear somebody speaking. Very rarely, somebody will meet somebody. These people can almost seem real at times but they are ghosts. There seem to be a number, some dressed in old officer uniforms while others are dressed in the dungarees of enlisted men. As one might expect, they are all male. Often they just vanish after a few moments of conversation. Still, some give some quite good advice.
One item the magical energy did was make the ship extremely tough, much stronger than plain steel and the equal of if she was made from the incredibly strong composites and alloys of later warships. Like many ghost ships, she seems to be regenerate any damage that she takes. If something is actually destroyed, a new part is actually found in her stores. Unfortunately, this does not include her various new additions. When these take damage, they have to be repaired normally.
There are many problems with a ship as old as the Texas which were quite a task to solve. Possibly chief among these was the fuel situation. She was originally build to burn coal but was later converted to burn black oil. The oil would be hard to get in the quantities needed. At first she was converted over to a magical steam propulsion system but she was converted a second time so that she uses a pair of lesser elemental, one of water and the other of fire, to power the boilers. This eliminates any need for constantly pumping magic energy into the engines. They are not forced into service and eventually, the elemental creatures do get tired and board. When that happens, a new elemental has to be summoned. Somehow, the elemental gives also her a bit more speed than she did originally and she can actually push twenty two knots. It is quite an experience in the engine room though. She does not even have turbines but instead has Vertical Triple Expansion engines. When at full speed, the old battleship shakes quite violently.
The main battery was also a problem. The ten fourteen inch guns are potentially incredibly powerful mounts and could devastate almost anything afloat but no ammunition had been made for them in over a century and a half. As a result, there was an incredible effort made to produce new ammunition for her. Both standard and extended range rounds have been produced for her. Finally, a variety of magical projectiles have been invented to make her even more effective including an incredibly scary round which would like the spell "Annihilate." At the same time, the turrets were modified so that they could elevate up to thirty degrees to increase the range of the main battery. As well, there were concerns with keeping a large enough crew to man the guns and the mounts were automated.
Originally the ship had sixteen five inch casemate mounts but by the time she was made a museum ship she only retained six of them. These various five inch gun mounts were a bit less of a problem than the main battery although they did need to be modified to accept more standard ammunition types. As well, they were modified both for an increased angled of fire and to increase their rate of fire. They still are limited and cannot be used effectively against aircraft.
Virtually the whole light guns layout has been stripped. These have been replaced with eighteen twin flack cannons and a pair of box launchers for short range missiles are fitted on the sides of the superstructure. The flack cannons are virtually direct copies of the Triax weapon system carried on the Jaeger / Hunter power armor and the box missile launchers are similar to the Pre-Rifts RAM missile launcher although higher capacity mounts with thirty-six missiles in each launcher. The missile launchers replace a pair of quad 40 mm cannons and the other mounts replace a variety of 40 mm and three inch gun mounts. There is a twin flack cannon mount on either side of the signal bridge, four on either side of the superstructure, one on either side of the smoke stack on the main deck, two on the main deck on either side of the rear tripod mast, and two mounts on the fantail also on the main deck. Several other techno-wizard classes carry similar styles of mounts and they are extremely effective. Originally the ship carried some even lighter gun mounts but these were not retained because they would be too crew intensive to keep manned.
Originally, she mounted torpedo tubes although they were long stripped out by the time she became a museum ship. These have been replaced with modern tubes with an automatic reload system. Part of the reason is to give her some offensive and defensive ability against submarines although there are some extremely useful magical anti-ship torpedoes available as well. The Texas now carries once again two torpedo on either side with a total of thirty-two torpedoes for reloads.
As with all old warships, one of the biggest weaknesses of the U.S.S. Texas is against missiles. Her light mounts and missile launchers help to some extent but they are far from complete. A magical “Fireworks” defense system helps as well but her real defense comes from a “Shockwave” system. This enchantment works to knock missiles from the sky with a wide blast of five hundred feet in all directions. The main limitation is that it can only be activated once per melee round. Not really useful against missiles but the old battleship can also produce a magical smoke screen when needed. This pulls energy directly from the two elemental creatures who propel the battleship.
Of course the new secondary weaponry is noticeably different than it was originally but the only other real change externally is the addition of a far more capable radar system. Mounted where the ship mounted its original radar system is Pre-Rift SPS-49 radar system taken from a scrapped vessel. This radar system does not have a high resolution tracking ability but is quite long ranged. In addition, the ship had a sonar system fitted to it. The system is a bit short ranged but still gives the ship some manner of self defense. Other electronics warfare system including a jamming system and radar detection equipment are also mounted.
Magical “See the Invisible” Optics are carried aboard so that the crew can see invisible targets. One of the enchantments added to the vessel allows the crew to make her invisible as well. There is also an enchantment with allows her to blend in with darkness. A final enchantment allows her to become impervious to energy weapons. While many enemies rely on rail guns or missiles, many also rely on energy weapons. This greatly reduces how much damage which she ends up having to withstand in combat.
She has a much reduced crew compared to what she required when she served the United States navy, only about four hundred, although has space for quite a few more as well. Often she will carry a couple of hundred troops with most of them fitted with magical power armor types. She has berthing for about eight hundred although she has carried up to twelve hundred at times. Even so, that is a far cry from the more than seventeen hundred she had embarked during late World War Two. Crew quarters are far more comfortable than the were originally although quarters do become quite tight when more than around eight hundred are carried. The ship has magical life support systems which make the ship environmental. About two dozen of the crew are techno-wizards, over half descendant of the people who the ship saved, and likely a similar number of other spell casting types are part of the crew as well. Many other members of crew are psychic as well.
The ship mounts a catapult on the top of turret number three. While it looks like a period system, it is in reality an electromagnetic system. A pair of techno-wizard floatplane aircraft are carried for the catapult. The Kingfisher has some capabilities in anti-submarine warfare and also is useful for spotting roles.
Model Type: Modified BB-35 "U.S.S. Texas"
Vehicle Type: Ocean, Ghost / Techno-Wizard Battleship
Crew: 420 (Late World War 2 crew was 1,725) with normally about
24 or so techno-wizards and about 20 other spell casting types. Does not
include an indeterminate number of ghosts aboard.
Troops: 200 (6 Crew for Kingfisher Float Plane, 100 pilots for
Mystic Power Armors, and 100 soldiers in “Angel of War” armor)
Horror Factor: 15
Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:
Power Armors:
100 | Mystic Power Armors | |
100 | T.W. “Angel of War” Body Armors / Power Armors |
2 | Float Plane style Aircraft (OS2U Kingfisher) |
M.D.C. by Location:
Fourteen Inch Cannon Barrels (10, 2 each turret) | 300 each | |
Fourteen Inch Cannon Turrets (5 - Twin mounts): | 1,200 each | |
Five Inch Cannons (6, 3 on each side) | 150 each | |
[1] Twin Barrel Flack Cannon Mounts (18, Sides): | 280 | |
[1] Short Range Missile Launchers (2, Rear of Superstructure): | 150 each | |
[1] Torpedo Tubes (4, Sides): | 50 each | |
[1] “Fireworks” Magic Chaff and Flare Dispensers (8, superstructure): | 20 each | |
[1] Electromagnetic Rail Catapult (Top of Turret Three): | 200 | |
Rear Tripod Mast: | 800 | |
[2] Radar System: | 400 | |
[3] Bridge: | 2,200 | |
[4] Main Body: | 12,500 |
Notes:
[1] These hit locations are not original systems on the ship. As such,
they do not share the regeneration of damage with the rest of the ship.
[2] Destroying Search Radar will eliminate SPS-49 radar system. Due
to not being an original system, radar system will not regenerate damage
which it takes.
[3] If the Bridge / Tower is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted
from engineering but with a -15% to piloting rolls.
[4] Destroying the main body causes the ship to lose structural integrity,
causing the ship to sink. There are enough life preservers and inflatable
life boats to accommodate everyone on the ship.
Note: The ship will regenerate at 20% of the hit locations M.D.C.
per day, meaning all damage will be restored within 5 days of being damaged.
Only original systems / locations regenerate themselves.
Speed:
Surface: 25.3 mph (22 knots/40.8 kph).
Range: Effectively Unlimited (Special magical elemental power
source.) The ship carries six months worth of supplies on board
Statistical Data:
Length: 573 feet (174.7 meters) overall
Draft: 31.5 feet (9.6 meters)
Width: 106.25 feet (32.4 meters)
Displacement: 28,500 tons normal load and 30,500 fully loaded
Cargo: Can carry 600 tons (544.3 metric tons) of nonessential equipment
and supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal
items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal items.
Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons,
and engines.
Power System: Was original steam propulsion but has been converted
to a Magical power supply (uses water and fire elementals to feed power
system with an indefinite duration).
Black Market Cost: Not for Sale.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
- Five (5) Mk XII Double Barrel Fourteen Inch (356 mm) Naval Guns:
Two turrets are mounted on the ship forward of the ship’s superstructure,
one turret is mounted behind the superstructure but before the rear pole
mast, and two turrets are mounted on the rear of the vessel. Two turrets
can fire forward, two turrets can fire to the rear, and all five turrets
can fire to the side. The barrels have been modified so that can be elevated
up to 30 degrees and the turrets can rotate 280 degrees. These cannons
are less powerful than those that were mounted on the later Iowa class
battleship but are still capable of destroying a target in a small number
of shots. Likely, any other Naval ship that gets within these guns will
be destroyed in just a few minutes. The cannons are also very effective
in ground bombarding roles. These cannons do have a limited rate of fire
and are too large to be effectively used against aircraft. The cannons
can also use rocket assisted projectiles for extended range.
Maximum Effective Range: Standard Projectiles: 22.7 miles (19.7 nautical miles / 36.5 km). Rocket projectiles: 34.1 miles (29.6 nautical miles / 54.9 km)
Mega-Damage: Standard Projectiles: 5D6x10 to a blast radius of 50 ft (15.2 m) for High Explosive, 6D6x10+10 to a blast radius of 10 ft (3 m) for High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 1D4x100+100 to a blast radius of 50 ft (15.2 m) for Plasma. Rocket projectiles: 4D4x10 to a blast radius of 30 feet (9.1 m) for High Explosive, 5D6x10 to a blast radius of 6 ft (2 m) for High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 6D6x10 to a blast radius of 30 feet (9.1 m) for Plasma. Magical Warheads: Treat as spells of the same level cast at eighth level: Negate Mechanics, Annihilate, Electromagnetism, Hurricane, Tornado, and Tidal wave. Others are possible as well but are not common. Cannons can also use special purpose warheads, double the statistics for 203 mm artillery warheads for damage and effects (Go to Battlefield Artillery for Rifts for more information - standard or rocket assisted as appropriate).
Rate of Fire: Once every two melees or two shots per barrel per minute (Can fire up to 4 shots per turret per minute or up to 20 shots with all five turrets).
Payload: 1200 Rounds (240 per turret), usually carries 240 High Explosive, 300 High Explosive Armor Piercing, 300 Plasma, 120 Rocket Propelled High Explosive, 120 Rocket Propelled High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 100 Rocket Propelled Plasma rounds, and 120 magical warheads of various types (Only 10 Annihilates because they are very expensive). The ship will carry special rounds when employed in artillery roles. - Six (6) Five Inch (127 mm) Naval Guns in Casemates: Three
are mounted on either side of the ship in the superstructure on the main
deck level. All hull mounts have been removed since before World War II.
The cannons look like the original cannons but they are an automatic model
with a higher rate of fire. The guns have a limited arc of fire due to
the fact that they are mounted in casemates and cannot be used against
air targets. The cannons add enough firepower to the ship to be retained
and the cannons can be used against other ships and against ground targets.
The cannons can use rocket assisted projectiles but they are not normally
carried.
Maximum Effective Range: 12 miles (10.4 nm/19.3 km) for standard projectiles, 20 miles (17.4 nm/32.2 km) for rocket propelled rounds (If actually carried).
Mega-Damage: Standard Projectiles: 2D6x10 to a blast radius of 25 ft (7.7 m) for High Explosive, 3D6x10 to a blast radius of 6 ft (2 m) for High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 4D6x10 to a blast radius of 25 ft (7.7 m) for Plasma. Can also use special warheads, treat as 105 mm standard artillery warheads payload for damage. Rocket projectiles (If Carried): 2D4x10 to a blast radius of 20 ft (6.1 m) for High Explosive, 2D6x10 to a blast radius of 4 ft (1.2 m) for High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 3D6x10 to a blast radius of 20 ft (6.1 m) for Plasma. Cannons can also use special purpose warheads, use the statistics for 105 mm artillery warheads (Go to Battlefield Artillery for Rifts for more information - standard or rocket assisted as appropriate).
Rate of Fire: Maximum of four per melee per cannon.
Payload: 2,400 rounds (400 per gun mount), Usually carries 600 High Explosive, 600 High Explosive Armor Piercing, and 1,200 Plasma, Ship will carry special rounds only when employed in artillery roles. - Twin Recoilless Anti-Aircraft Flack Cannon Turrets (18):
The cannons are mounted in twins a protective turret on the sides of the
ship with each cannon is identical to the TX-862FC with the exception that
the weapon's ammunition bins are larger and are mounted in pairs. The mounts
replace 40 mm and 3 inch Cannon mounts. There is one mount on either side
of the signal bridge, four on either side of the superstructure, one on
either side of the smoke stack on the main deck, two on the main deck on
either side of the rear tripod mast, and two mounts on the fantail also
on the main deck. The cannon turrets can rotate 360 and the barrel can
tilt up to 90 degrees. It is normally used for Anti-Aircraft purposes but
also works as excellent but fairly short range artillery.
Maximum Effective Range: 10,000 feet (3048 meters).
Mega Damage: Single Round: 4D6 M.D.C., Two Rounds 1D6x10, and Six Rounds 3D6x10. Double weapons damage if the gun is firing both cannons simultaneously
Rate of Fire:Equal to the gunners combined hand to hand (usually 5 or 6) each (Firing both barrels counts as one attack)
Payload: Total 1200 for each barrel (2400 total for mount). That is 200 volleys of 6 rounds, or 600 two round volleys.
Special Feature: The flack cannon has both and independent power supply and its own laser targeting and radar tracking system (especially useful if radar system is destroyed). Sensor has a range of 11,000 feet (3353 meters). The system can also be set on automatic which gives it +1 to strike and three attacks per melee and will fire two round burst. Gives +2 when fired pilot. - Two (2) Short Range Missile Launching Systems: Each launcher
has a 36 Short Range Missiles and fills a similar role to the Pre-Rifts
RAM missile launcher. These launchers primary purpose is to shoot incoming
missiles. The missile launchers are mounted in the rearmost superstructure
position in the weapon mounts that originally carried quad mounted 40 mm
cannons. Missiles are usually 50% AP and 50% Plasma. Each launcher operates
independently.
Maximum Effective Range: As per short range missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Mega Damage: As per short range missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), six (6), or twelve (12) missiles (Each launcher operates independently.)
Payload: 36 missiles each launcher for a grand total of 72 missiles (Has 144 missiles for reloads kept in storage) - Four (4) Heavy Torpedo Launchers: The ship has two torpedo
tubes on each side of the ship. The original tubes were removed long before
the ship even became a museum ship but new ones have been placed on the
ship and are useful against both submarines and surface ships. Enchanted
torpedoes are also available. The ship carries caries 32 reloads for torpedoes.
Maximum Effective Range: 40 miles (34.8 nautical miles / 64 km).
Mega Damage: By Heavy torpedo warhead type (See revised Rifts torpedoes for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire torpedoes one at a time per torpedo tube (Torpedoes can be fired in volleys of two to either side), Reloading takes one full melee.
Payload: 2 torpedo each side for a grand total of 4 torpedoes (Has a total of 32 torpedoes for reloads) - Magical “Shockwave” Defense System: When it is activated, a circular
energy wave is emanated from the ship in all directions. The blast is semi-spherical
and effects travel upwards as well. The blast does not effect targets underwater.
It is longer ranged version of the eight level spell shockwave. Unfortunately,
the spell can only be activated once per melee and requires magical energy
every time it is activated. It is mostly used to destroy incoming missiles.
The system does not effect people and equipment on the deck of the ship
Maximum Effective Range: 1,000 feet (305 meters) in all directions
Mega Damage: 1D4x10 to all targets within radius of effect (S.D.C. objects will be completely destroyed). The system also inflicts knock as per the spell “Shockwave” on page 144 of World Book 16: Federation of Magic. (General Guideline: If the shockwave does not destroy the incoming missiles then missiles of medium range and smaller have an 88% of being knocked from the air, long range missiles have a 50% chance of being knocked out of the air, and cruise missiles have a 20% of being knocked out of the air)
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: One, requires 35 P.P.E. to be activated again. - Magical “Fireworks” Anti-Missile Chaff/Flare Dispenser (8): In many
ways this system is similar to technological versions of the Chaff/Flare
system. When the system fires, it looks like fireworks firing. The anti-missile
system works by combining three spells. The three spells are Fire Bolt,
Apparition, and Telekinesis. The physical effects of the system are similar
to the Triax Anti-Missile chaff but instead of being reloaded, it is recharged
by spells.
Effect:- 01-35 - Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud - Missiles
are all destroyed.
36-60 - Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (May lock onto another target.)
61-00 - No effect, enemy missile or missile volley is still on target.
Duration: 1D4 melee rounds.
Payload: 10 Uses before being recharged. Each launcher is recharged by the spells Apparition (20 P.P.E.), Fire Bolt (7 P.P.E.), and Telekinesis (8 P.P.E.). The cost for all launchers to be recharged is 280 P.P.E. All launchers must be activated at the same time to operate correctly. - Magical “Cloud of Fog” Generator: This system is built into the ships
smoke stacks and unlike most magical systems, does not require magical
from a spell caster and instead uses the steam from the ship’s engines
to produce the cloud of fog.
Range: 6,000 feet (1,830 meters) in all directions
Effect: Produces a fog bank that obscures vision. Visibility is reduced to 60 feet inside the cloud and even with thermal sensors, a penalty of -2 to strike parry and dodge
Payload: Effectively Unlimited - Techno-Wizard Modifications: The Texas has the following
Techno-Wizard Modifications built into the ship. These require P.P.E. or
I.S.P. from the ships crew or P.P.E. battery. The P.P.E. and I.S.P. values listed
inside of the parenthesis are if using higher P.P.E. costs for larger vehicles.
Special Features:- Shadow Meld (10th Level) - 10 P.P.E. or 20 I.S.P. (40 P.P.E. or 80 I.S.P.)
Impervious to Energy (10th Level) - 20 P.P.E. or 40 I.S.P. (80 P.P.E. or 160 I.S.P.)
Invisibility-Superior (10th Level) - 20 P.P.E. or 40 I.S.P. (80 P.P.E. or 160 ISP)
Special Systems:
The ship has all systems standard on a robot vehicle plus the following special features:
- SPS-49 Radar: Long range air search Pre-Rifts radar system. Radar system has a range of 512.1 miles (445 nautical miles / 824.1 km). Radar system can track up to 128 targets simultaneously
- SQS-53 Hull Sonar System: Mounted under the bow of the ship. Sonar system has a range of around 18.4 miles (16 nautical miles / 29.6 km). This hull sonar system has both a passive and active system built in. Sonar system can track up to 16 targets at one time
SLY-2+ Advanced Integrated Electronic Warfare System (AIEWS): Combination of radar / radio detection system (ESM) and an active jamming (ECM) system. The system can detect another radar system at around 125% of the range of the transmitting radar and is usually subject to radar horizon. This includes the ability to detect radar guided weapons. Can be used for limited targeting. In jamming mode, causes -25% to detection but when it is active, other vehicles/ bases can detect that it is jamming, and some missiles will home in on jamming signals. Some missiles also have AESA type radars themselves and/or have backup infra-red sensors. Jamming also causes a -4 penalty to all radar guided weapons. Can be used to jam a wide area or for focused jamming against several targets.
- Magical “See the Invisible” Optics: The ships has several special optical systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will. 2,000 feet (610 meters) range. Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
- Will of Its Own: The ship sometimes has a will of its own and carry out up to six actions in a twenty-four hours. This can include refusing to operate, change course, and activate the ship’s magical abilities. The ship can also make minor actions such as activating sensors, turning lights on, operating the ships speakers on its own without counting as an action.
- Regenerates Damage: The ship will regenerate at 20% of the hit locations M.D.C. per day, meaning all damage will be restored within 5 days of being damaged. Does not regenerate the newer systems added to the vessel.
- Modification Ability: The battleship WILL accept modern upgrades and newer systems. These can include both magical and techno-wizard additions. Unlike original components though, the systems will not regenerate along with the rest of the ship if damaged.
- Natural P.P.E.: 1,200, The ship virtually fairly hum with magical energy. The energy regenerates at the rate of 120 P.P.E. per hour. Double P.P.E. and regeneration on ley lines and triple P.P.E. and regeneration at a Ley Line Nexus. Magical energy can be used by the ships crew for spell casting.
- Lucky: Once per day, one critical roll for the crew can be rolled again if a botched skill roll (piloting, perception, read sensor instruments, etc.) The ship itself cannot reroll botched skill rolls if it misses a roll.
- Natural Sense of Direction: No matter how lost one might get, somehow the ship will find its way to the destination; +20% to Navigation rolls, or else a base Navigation skill of 65%. The pilot / captain / navigator just get a "feeling" of the right direction to take.
- Magical Shielding: Occupants are +10 to save versus magic and psionics.
Quirks as a Haunted Vehicle:
- Haunting Entities: Anyone attempting to do a Read Object, See Aura, or telepathic communication will feel the impression of multiple voices/presences, all attempting to communicate at once, and too numerous to make out individual distinctions or traits. Only the most general impressions can be made out in attempts to communicate with the vehicle's essence. Sometimes, the wisp of a figure will be seen as well.
- Ghost Voices: Snatches of archaic music or speech occasionally come from the radio system, even when it is turned off. Sometimes this is big band music while at other time there will be the ghostly sound of an unintelligible announcement.
- Spiritual Advisor: The vision of a former crew members of the vessel will occasionally appear to one or more of the present crew, and appear to assist them; pointing out how to operate something, advising them or warning the crew at a crucial moment of some threat. As well, in some cases these ghosts do not even say anything and just drift around. Still, none seem to do any harm and most are quite friendly. This presence appears to sometimes be a junior officer and other times a chief petty officer or an enlisted crewman. All ghost crew are male for the USS Texas.
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Special Credit to Talis D. Merrill (taalismn@pop.tiac.net) for many of the concepts and enchantments / powers for Ghost / Haunted vehicles.
Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2001 & 2010, Kitsune. All rights reserved.