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Arcane Mk I, II, & IV class Patrol Ships (United Worlds Warlock):

Along with the older Werewolf class Destroyer, the Arcane class Patrol Ship make up the bulk of the United Worlds Warlock navy small forces. There is believed to be approximately six thousand of these vessels in service with the Warlock navy and additional vessels in service with various independent forces. Most of these are other self defense forces within the Warlock Federation although some are also in the hands of mercenary forces.

A much newer design than the Werewolf class, the Arcane class patrol ship has still gone through several iterations since first introduced into the United Worlds Warlock Navy. The Mark II is the most common of the models although the Mark I is more commonly found in the hands of independent forces. The Mark IV has only been comparatively recently introduced. So far, no Mark IV versions are in the hands of any independents operators.

One might ask what happened with regards to the Mark III and whit it appears to have been skipped. While the Mark IV is actually far more of a continuation on previous designs, the Mark III was much more of a radical upgrade. Unfortunately, the design had several severe issues which all attempts to resolve failed. Only a comparatively few Mark III were ever built and in the end most were converted back to the Mark II configurations. One was however used to test some of the upgrades to the Mark IV design.

As one might expect, the three designs do share much in common with each other. Of course each of the “Marks” is a significant upgrade on the previous design. This is especially true with regards to the Mark IV, even though it is considered less radical than the planned Mark III. Some Mark III upgrades did however end up being incorporated into the Mark IV. Of course some vessels in independent service have been heavily modified, something which we do not have room here to describe.

Unlike the Werewolf class, the Arcane class is a mostly conventional design and does not have the appearance of something from an ancient surface navy. In fact, it looks similar in appearance to the design of some vessels operated by other navies. A number of sources are in error with regard to the vessel’s length, listing it as 30.5 meters. The actual length is far closer to 150 meters.

Starting with the hull, the vessel itself is constructed from advanced composites and alloys which allows for easier repairs than the enchanted iron plates used on a number of older designs. In addition, this vastly decreases actual construction costs of the patrol ships compared to previous designs. Largely because of this, the Arcane costs less to build than the Werewolf class destroyer even though the destroyer is far smaller. The material science of the United Worlds Warlock is a bit behind the major powers and the Arcane is not quite as tough as the similar sized Consortium Scimitar class patrol ship.

In comparison to the Consortium, Human Alliance, Trans-Galactic Empire, and Wolfen militaries, the United Worlds Warlock does not use much in the way of anti-matter power systems. Instead they mostly use hybrid techno-wizard fusion power systems. These systems simply do not have the power output per mass compared to modern anti-matter reactors and even many advanced fusion plants used on some merchant designs are more powerful.

These vessels do mount a mystical energy generator. This is used to power a number of enchantments on the patrol ships including the jump drives. One issue is however that the patrol ships require all of the energy which the battery can store up for four hours to make a single jump, leaving nothing for other uses. While these patrol ships have a number of common techno-wizard enchantments, this will depend on what the captain may have his or her ships fitted with to some extent.

With regard to propulsion, these ships use the previously mentioned jump drive which gives a range of twenty light years. However, the normal space propulsion is a conventional contra grav drive. Acceleration is considered a little on the slow side although able to maintain position with regards to the Dwarven Iron Ships in order to escort them. Even so, the much older Wolfen Hunter class destroyer has considerably better acceleration in comparison. In comparison to the older Werewolf class, the patrol ship is far better streamlined for atmospheric operations.

In some cases these classes have been criticized for what is seen as a lack of anti-ship weaponry. This is mostly undeserved with a skilled commander able to use the patrol ship extremely effectively. In addition, these patrol ships are generally consider to be excellent escorts, far better than the Werewolf class, with regards to both capital ships and merchant vessels by many officers.

First introduced on the Arcane class, but now smaller versions are mounted on several other United Worlds Warlock warship classes, is the “Death Cloud” cannon which opens a portal to elemental plane of water. As the water hits space, it freezes and becomes an extremely effective weapon against missiles, fighters, and other starships. Does not form so much a wall but the impact of the ice is still devastating. This weapon system is usually considered the brainchild of the Inglix the Mad, an insanely brilliant techno-wizard inventor.

Originally it was planned to mount four anti-ship lasers identical to those carried on the Dwarven Iron Ship and Werewolf class vessels. Unfortunately when tested, the power grid was not up to the task. As a result, they were replaced with heavy point defense lasers with plans to later upgrade the power grid to support the originally planned anti-ship lasers. In the end however, it was decided to retain the heavy point defense lasers.

Otherwise, close in point defense is eight sub-particle acceleration cannons although originally the same lightning rods mounted on the Shadow Bolt were mounted. In fact, the lightning rods were the standard point defense weaponry on the Mark I and early Mark II vessels of the class. In each case the enchantments are powered by mystical energy and require recharging each month even if they were not fired at all during the month.

Unlike most United Worlds Warlock vessels, the Arcane does not mount any demon missile launchers. Instead it mounts four long range missile batteries. There are a number of enchanted missiles available but even with conventional missiles, the long range missile batteries are extremely effective. They are capable against both fighters and larger vessels although they do not have the range of capital missiles. Each long range missile launcher has ninety-six missiles ready to fire with approximately an additional four hundred missiles in the ship’s magazines.

Normal crew of the patrol ship is around sixty with usually half a dozen of the crew being practitioners of magic of various types. In addition, the Arcane normally embarks almost fifty troops in power armors, usually the lighter W-F1 space version of the Warlock armor. Finally, the patrol ship also usually embarks four light fighters, usually the Shadow Bolt fighter.

As previously described, the Mark II is the most common model in service. Even so, there is a reasonable number of Mark I remaining in service even though it has long not been being constructed. While most older Mark II are believed to have had their lightning rods upgraded, few Mark I vessels have been upgraded in a similar manner. In addition, the composites and alloys used are older than those used in the Mark II and are slightly less strong. They were considered good when the ships first entered service however. As well, the “Armor of Ithan” force field generator is less powerful.

Only comparatively recently entering service, the Mark IV has been upgraded to far greater extent compared to the Mark II than the Mark II is with regards to the Mark I. So far, only a comparatively few Mark IV vessels have entered service. Due to rising costs, there have been concerns that the program may be delayed or even potentially curtailed although neither has yet been realized.

One important issue has been that the Mark I and Mark II simply were not able to effectively escort the new Morgana Le Fey and Mandrake class cruisers due to having lower acceleration. As a result, a more powerful contra-grav was fitted to the Mark IV making it slightly longer as well as increasing the mass of the upgraded patrol ship compared to the older versions.

There have often been concerns with the mystical energy generator and it was decided to fit a more powerful battery on the Mark IV so that it would still have a reserve beyond what is required for the rifts jump drive. The rate of mystical energy generation is unchanged however.

In same areas, the Mark IV was able to be better armored and the ship takes advantage of newer composites and alloys, allowing it to withstand slightly greater damage than previous vessels. Finally, the eight sub-particle acceleration cannons on the Mark II are replaced on the Mark IV with six sub-particle acceleration cannons and six twin mount telekinetic machine gun mounts, giving slightly better point defense.

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

Author Note: The author suggests that this writeup gets used in the place of the original writeup. The tonnage of the original writeup and the dimensions do not appear to match with other vessels of similar mass. Otherwise, the writeup expands on the original design.

Model Type:	UWW-ARC-I	Arcane Mark I.
	UWW-ARC-II	Arcane Mark II.
	UWW-ARC-IV	Arcane Mark IV.

Vehicle Type: Light Patrol Ship / Escort.

Crew: 60, including a magic team of 2 techno-wizards (levels 2-6.)

Troop Capacity: 48 marines and 4 fighter pilots.

Vehicles:

Power Armors & Robots: 

Fighter Compliment:

Notes:

[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s armor. This ship does not have an auxiliary bridge. Even if the patrol ship’s 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] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the patrol ship out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.

[3] This is not a variable force field, but a magical shield that must be completely depleted. Once the shield has been knocked down, it will cost magical energy (150 P.P.E. for the Mark I / 200 P.P.E. for the Mark II and Mark IV) and require one minute (4 melee rounds) of spell casting to restore the force field. Magic, fire, lightning, and cold all inflict one-half damage.

Speed:

Driving on the ground: Not Possible.

Sublight: Mark I and Mark II: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.8 percent of light per melee.

Mark IV: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.0 percent of light per melee.

Atmospheric Propulsion: Mark I and Mark II: Maximum speed is Mach 1.5 (1,142 mph / 1,838 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight.

Mark IV: Maximum speed is Mach 2.0 (1,522 mph / 2,450 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight.

Star Drive: All Marks: Rift Jump Drive; maximum safe jump distance of 20 light years every four hours (Jump costs 2,000 P.P.E. per activation.)

Range: All Marks: Life support will keep crew alive for up to ten years, as long as the P.P.E. generators are kept in working order.

Statistical Data:

Height:  All Marks: 70 feet (21.3 meters) main body and 90 feet (27.4 meters) including “Death Cloud” cannon.

Width:   All Marks: 120 feet (36.6 meters).

Length:  Mark I and Mark II: 480 feet (146.3 meters). Mark IV: 495 feet (150.8 meters).

Weight / Mass: Mark I and Mark II: 10,000 tons (9,071 metric tons) fully loaded. Mark IV: 10,500 tons (9,525 metric tons) fully loaded.

Power System: Combination Fusion & Techno-wizardry with 20 year life span. The patrol ship also has a P.P.E. Generator. This can be used to power the Rifts Jump Drive (costs 2,000 P.P.E.) or can be used to power spells cast by the patrol ship’s crew.

Mark I and Mark II: The P.P.E. generator produces 500 P.P.E. per hour / 2 P.P.E. per melee round and can hold up to 2,000 P.P.E. in storage.

Mark IV: The P.P.E. generator produces 500 P.P.E. per hour / 2 P.P.E. per melee round and can hold up to 4,000 P.P.E. in storage.

Cargo: Cargo holds can hold up to 200 tons (181.4 metric tons) of cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ship’s officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.

Market Cost: Mark I: 500 million credits. The Mark I is no longer being constructed but may be found as surplus. Mark II: 550 million credits. Mark III: 650 million credit. Currently the Mark IV is only in service with the United Worlds Warlock Navy and is not for sale although this may change in the future.

Cost does not include embarked craft.

Weapon Systems:

1. One (1) Magical “Death Cloud” Cannon: This cannon is mounted on the ship near the rear of the vessel. The weapon release a massive amount of water that quickly freezes. While the ice is not a solid barrier, the particle density of the ice is great enough to eliminate missiles and inflict large amounts of damage to larger targets. The weapon can also be used to block heavy plasma weapons and can be used to hide a ship on sensors systems. The “wall” of ice has a virtually indefinite duration in space but does drift at the heading and speed of the ship launching the “wall” of ice. If used in an atmosphere, the weapon has only a momentary duration and reduced effects. The weapon system is useless underwater. The cloud of ice is -6 to dodge normally with the penalties for large ships used as well.

   Maximum Effective Range: Can be accurately targeted up to 1,000 miles (1,600 km) with a diameter of 50,000 feet (30,400 meters) when used in space and 10 miles (16 km) with a diameter of 500 feet (30.4 meters) when used in an atmosphere.

   Mega-Damage: A ship or missile 4D6 x speed of target in percentage of light. For example, a ship traveling at 10% of the speed of light would have 4D6x10 inflicted on them. Larger ships will have greater damage inflicted on them. Destroyer sized ships (greater than 1,000 tons but less than 40,000 tons) have damage multiplied by 5, Light cruiser sized ships (greater than 40,000 tons but less than 100,000 tons) have damage multiplied by 10, Heavy cruiser sized ships (Greater than 100,000 but less 1 million tons) have damage multiplied by 20, and the truly huge ships like heavy cargo ships and battleships (1 million tons and greater) have damage multiplied by 100. Most missiles are automatically destroyed by the cloud of ice. If used in an atmosphere, the weapon will automatically knock missiles off course and anyone flying through the cloud of water will need to make a piloting roll at -6. Optional: The speed of the ship launching the cloud may also be calculated but it is math intensive due to the fact that direction of travel and vectors will also effect the damage of the weapon.

   Rate of Fire: Once (1) per melee round.

   Payload: Weapon may be activated 10 times per twenty four hour period. Further activations require 500 P.P.E. from either onboard magicians or drawing on the ship’s P.P.E. generator.

2. Four (4) Long Range Missile Batteries: These missile batteries are mounted in turrets in strategic locations around the vessel. Missiles have a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and have an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship) in space. Whether missiles can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missiles. When drive goes dead, missiles will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missiles, when unpowered, are at -25% to be detected.) Long range missiles do not have penalties to hit small targets, unlike cruise missiles, and are almost always smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.

   Maximum Effective Range: Long Range Missile range is 3,400 miles (5,470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.

   Mega-Damage & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Fusion warheads inflict 2D4x100 M.D.C. each.)

   Rate of Fire: Can fire long range missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), or eight (8) long range missiles per battery, per melee attack.

   Payload: 96 long range missile per battery for 384 missiles total. An additional 400 missiles are mounted in deep magazines which require two minutes (8 melee rounds) to reload per turret through a robotic feed system.

3. Four (4) Heavy 36 mm Point Defense Lasers: Mounted on all versions of the patrol ship, these lasers are considered relatively powerful for point defense weaponry and are even effective to a limited extent against larger vessels. They are however comparatively short ranged. Unlike the other secondary weaponry, these lasers are purely conventional in design and draw weapon from the vessel’s fusion plant. Mounted in turrets which have 360 degree rotation and can angle up to 85 degrees.

   Maximum Effective Range: 500 miles (804.6 km) in space and 5 miles (8 km) in an atmosphere.

   Mega-Damage: 4D6x10 each.

   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).

   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.

4. Light Point Defense Battery: As previously described, different Marks of the Arcane class patrol ships mount a different light point defense battery. The Mark I mounts eight “Lightning Rod” batteries. Some older Mark II also mounted the same battery although most have been upgraded. The Mark II mostly mounts eight “Sub Particle Acceleration” cannons instead. The Mark IV mounts six “Sub Particle Acceleration” cannons and six telekinetic machine guns.

   1. Mark I:

      1. Eight (8) Lightning Rod Mounts: Cannons turrets can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or 55 degree angle down and can rotate up to 360 degrees side to side. The gun does not have penalties to strike small targets. These fire magical blasts of electricity. The enchantment must be renewed every two months (costs 400 P.P.E. and 20,000 credits per cannon) but during that period, the weapons can fire unlimited blasts.

         Maximum Effective Range: 100 miles (161 km) in space and 1 miles (1.61 km) in an atmosphere.

         Mega Damage: 1D6x10 per cannon.

         Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (Usually 4 or 5).

         Payload: Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every two months whether the cannons have been used or not.

   2. Mark II:

      1. Eight (8) Sub Particle Acceleration Cannons in Single Mounts: Cannons turrets can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or 55 degree angle down and can rotate up to 360 degrees side to side. The gun does not have penalties to strike small targets. Uses the spell of the same name from page 143 of World Book 16: Federation of Magic (although has far greater range.) The spells must be renewed every two months (costs 400 P.P.E. and 20,000 credits per cannon) but during that period the weapon can fire unlimited blasts.

         Maximum Effective Range: 200 miles (320 km) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere.

         Mega Damage: 1D6x10+10 per cannon.

         Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (Usually 4 or 5).

         Payload: Effective Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every two months whether the cannons have been used or not.

   3. Mark IV:

      1. Six (6) Sub Particle Acceleration Cannons in Single Mounts: Cannons turrets can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or 55 degree angle down and can rotate up to 360 degrees side to side. The gun does not have penalties to strike small targets. Uses the spell of the same name from page 143 of World Book 16: Federation of Magic (although has far greater range.) The spells must be renewed every two months (costs 400 P.P.E. and 20,000 credits per cannon) but during that period the weapon can fire unlimited blasts.

         Maximum Effective Range: 200 miles (320 km) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere.

         Mega Damage: 1D6x10+10 per cannon.

         Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (Usually 4 or 5).

         Payload: Effective Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every two months whether the cannons have been used or not.

      2. Six (6) Twin Heavy Telekinetic Machine Guns Turrets: These heavy machine-guns are identical to those mounted in the Shadow Bolt Starfighter but are in twin mounts. Mounted on the sides of the ship in turrets. Heavy machine gun mounts can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or down and can rotate up to 180 degrees side to side. The machine guns do not have penalties to strike small targets. Because the machine guns inflict damage by impact, they inflict full damage to targets that are using are using the spell “Impervious to Energy.” The spells must be renewed every two months (costs 400 P.P.E. and 20,000 credits per machine gun) but during the period the weapon can fire unlimited blasts.

         Maximum Effective Range: 200 miles (320 km) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere.

         Mega Damage: 12D6 per burst for both machine guns a turret (6D6 per heavy machine gun.)

         Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).

         Payload: Effective Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every two months whether the machine guns have been used or not.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright © 2016, Kitsune. All rights reserved.

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