"Kogge" class light bulk transport (Merchantmen):

There are thousands of different class of merchant ships plying their trade around the Three Galaxies. Some of these ships are extremely fast, rivaling warships in how fast they are. Most merchant classes are more moderate but are still relatively capable vessels. Still yet there are merchant ships which are slow and considered death traps by ship crews.

There are some incredibly ancient vessels still operated within the Three Galaxies, many poorly maintained. Some are in such poor shape that they are banned from operating within some star systems and seized when found. Hundreds, if not thousands, of crews are rescued on these ships every year by Consortium Armed Forces and Independent Militaries but it seems like there are always more. The number lost and never seen again is many times the amount which actually manage to get rescued. Still, there are always individuals desperate enough to sign on one of these vessels.

The Kogge class transport is many centuries old and has not even been build for centuries. Still, a number of them still ply their trade throughout the Three Galaxies. Most have been scrapped since construction ceased on these vessels but a surprising number are still operational. Many of these are in incredibly horrible shape and should have been scrapped long ago. Some are owned by independent owners and others are owned by marginal shipping lines. These ships can often be purchased for little more than a song and a prayer, less than half the cost of a good condition merchantman.

At one time, the Kogge class was considered state of the art although still slow compared to military vessels of the same period. They were designed to be able to reach speeds of up to one and a half light years per hour. They were a smaller class of cargo vessel but had the ability to carry up to four thousand tons of cargo. As newer ships were introduced, these ships became less popular and most considered them to be tramp freighter. Many fell into disrepair. Simply put, they were not economical to upgrade. Eventually, they became the dregs of the merchant service. Many have been damaged over the years and their frames have been badly stressed. Some of this occurred through poor docking and rough landing.

Some of these ships are armed while others are not. There is no standard weaponry array carried on these ships and they do not have shields standard beyond navigational shielding. Many of the ships which were once armed have had their weaponry stripped from them. As might be expected, these ships are considered easy pickings by pirates. They have slow acceleration which makes them easy to catch and their sensors are so far below standard sensors that they almost cannot detect a pirate until it is too late. They have only have about a quarter the range of sensors on new civilian starships.

As with the weaponry and other equipment stripped from many of these ships, crew quarters have been stripped out in many of these ships. What remains often lacks most basic of amenities and often life support even is overloaded. Due to a lack of automation, these ships require twice the crew of a standard merchant vessel of the same size. Often, these crew members are pulled from poor colonies where they don't know how poorly they are being paid. As well, these ships are often operated by skeleton crews.

This starship design uses modified starship speed and weapon range rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World / Three Galaxies for more details.

Model Type: VQX-400
Vehicle Type: Light Freighter (Obsolete)
Crew: 58 (8 Officers and 50 Ordinary Crew)

Vehicles:

Mini-Tugs (Provision for cargo transport, not always carried)

M.D.C. By Location:

	Outer Hull (40 x 40 ft/ 12.2 m x 12.2 Area):	80
	Inner Hull (40 x 20 ft/ 12.2 m x 12.2 Area):	60
	[1] Bridge:	800
	[2] Main Engines (2):	1,200 each
	[3] Main Body:	4,000

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s hull. This ship does not have an auxiliary bridge. Even if the bridge is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Destroying the main engines means that the ship’s faster than light systems are destroyed and maximum sub light speed is reduced by half.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the merchant out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
(Hit locations assume a ship in good condition. For a ship in less than optimal condition, roll 1D6 and multiply by ten. Reduce all hit locations by that amount)

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 20 percent of the speed of light maximum due to civilian shields. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.4 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 200 mph (321.9 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 1.5 light years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. Carries about four month worth of supplies on board for the small crew but normally does not operate for that long without resupply. Can be stretched to six months in emergency.

Statistical Data:
Length: 580 feet (176.78 meters)
Height: 78 feet (23.77 meters)
Width: 104 feet (31.70 meters)
Weight: 11,500 Tons (10,430 metric tons)
Power System: Fusion with a 12 year life span. The ship is suppose to only goes 5 years between refueling and refitting although many crews stretch it.
Cargo: Can carry up to 4,000 tons (3,630 metric tons) of cargo in addition to crew’s supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ship’s officers have more space for personal items.
Market Cost: 50 million (No longer manufactured) - Sometimes less depending on condition

WEAPON SYSTEMS:
None Standard.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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