Arkenfire class Light Carrier (U.W.W.):

One weakness that the United Worlds warlock Navy had was a lack of carriers. The Warlock fleets contained a small number of Arcadia class carriers from converted from Dwarven Iron Ships and the main cruiser had a fairly heavy fighter compliment as well. Still, this was never really enough and often merchant hulls were commissioned to fill the role of carrier. This has always been a serious concern among the commanders of the fleet but there was little done to solve the problem. There was some discussion about converting more Dwarven Iron Ships although it was argued that it would be less expensive to actually build a new carrier class than convert more of those ships. Finally, it was decided that a new carrier would be developed although the resources were never given to developing a whole new carrier class. It was decided that the Mandrake class cruiser would be used as the basis for the new class. This new class became known as the Arkenfire class.

So far only one carrier has been completed, having been originally planned as the third ship of the Mandrake class but being converted while under construction. It is being used to train crews for the carriers which are planned to be commissioned later. Already, most crews prefer the Arkenfire over the converted Dwarven Iron Ships. Three more light carriers are nearing completion along with six more Mandrake class cruisers. There has been bitter fighting for the funding for the construction of more of the light carriers along with a larger fleet carrier. Many in the Navy would like at least five hundred of the light carrier design along with several dozen on a fleet carrier design. It is unknown how many they will actually get in the end.

The Arkenfire shares the same hull as the Mandrake class light cruiser although the design is lengthened by eighty feet compared to the standard cruiser design. Most of this extra length is internal hanger space although some of the extra space is devoted to repair bays, armored ordinance spaces, and additional crew quarters. In addition, the hangers on the side of the ship are lengthened. The Arkenfire class is much more of a comprehensive carrier than the Arcadia class and is much more efficient as a result. In appearance, the Arkenfire otherwise like a Mandrake class cruiser including the laser turrets forward of the superstructure.

For fighter compliment, the ship carries a slightly larger fighter wing than the Arcadia class. The carrier still has a total of eight squadrons of Shadow Bolt fighters although there is some discussion of replacing four squadrons of the Shadow Bolts with five squadrons of Komet II fighters. I was decide that Naruni designs would no longer be embarked and the carrier embarks a full four squadrons of Katana fighters. The Bushido Industries fighters are both faster and heavier armed. The carrier embarks half as many faster than light boosters as it carries Katana fighters. The carrier has a full squadron of Black Widow II heavy fighters instead of the half squadron carried on the Arcadia class. These fighters are suppose to be used for long range scouting although there is still concerns about the failure rate of the Rifts Jump Drive of the fighters.

A large troop compliment is also carried by the Arkenfire class although it is not much larger than the Arcadia class and no surface vehicles are embarked. A total of two hundred and forty power armors are carried onboard. The number of standard marine is reduced from sixty to twenty as compensation. A total of eight techno-wizard teleporter are carried which are mainly used for marine assaults. The crew of the Arkenfire is three hundred and forty-five compared to over four hundred on the Arcadia class even though it carries a larger fighter and power armor compliment. Much of this is done through increased automation. As a result, the new carrier is far less cramped than the converted Dwarven Iron Ships. Like the Mandrake class, the light carrier is not fitted to operate as a flag ship although it is likely that the Arkenfire class carrier will perform in this role.

Like the Mandrake class, the Arkenfire class is constructed mostly from mostly conventional materials. Due to this, the ship is only a fraction of the cost of a converted Dwarven Ion Ship. As well, the more conventional design means that the carrier is far less expensive to maintain. It does mount a Rift drive and enchanted force field along with a variety of other enchantments. The ship should not be considered conventional by any means. The same engines mounted on the Mandrake class are also carried by the Arkenfire class. Due to the increased mass, the acceleration is reduced a bit although it is still faster than the Arcadia class. As a light carrier, the Arkenfire masses about a good three quarters greater than the Mandrake class cruiser.

Unlike the Arcadia class, the Arkenfire does not carry the full weaponry of its cruiser sister although the weapon compliment is still extremely similar. In most ways, the carrier can still act as a light cruiser if needed. The change in weaponry is that the cruise missile batteries is reduced from four launchers to two along with a reduced number of cruise missiles carried for the launchers. The Arkenfire was designed with the ability for carry Bottled Demon Cruise missiles although none are presently embarked. There appears to be concerns with the embarked training crew mishandling the weapon. The remaining battery is identical to the light cruiser design except the ship carries sixteen point defense mounts instead of twelve. The extra length allows for the four additional defensive mounts. As well, no normal bottled demon missiles are carried just as the ship carries no cruise style bottled demon missiles. Instead, only conventional mini-missiles are carried. When the ship stops being operated primarily as a train vessel, it is likely that a full compliment of bottled demon missiles of both types will be carried.

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: UW-CVL120
Class: Space Cruiser / Light Carrier (techno-wizard)
Crew: 344, including a magic team of 16 techno-wizards (levels 2-6).
Troop Capacity: 20 Marines (Shipboard Defense), 225 fighter pilots, 240 Warlock Combat Armor pilots, and can carry up to 40 passengers in addition.

Vehicles:
Power Armors & Robots:

	100	W-1 Warlock Combat Armors
	140	W-F1 Flying Warlock Combat Armors

Fighter Compliment:

	96	WF-F15 Shadow Bolt Strike Ship
	36	BIF-67 Katana fighter ship (Half with FTL boosters)
	12	WF-P60S Black Widow II Heavy Starfighters

M.D.C. by Location:

	Flame Cannons (2, one on each side)	1,000 each
	Mini-Death Cloud Cannons (2):	200 each
	Medium Laser Cannon Turrets (3, Forward):	1,000 each
	Medium Laser Cannon Barrels (6):	500 each
	Cruise Missile Launchers (2, Bottom):	1,000 each
	Bottled Demon Missile Batteries (4):	600 each
	Sub Particle Acceleration Cannons (8):	100 each
	Twin Telekinetic Machine Gun Turrets (8):	140 each
	[1] Main Bridge:	12,500
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	12,500
	[2] Main Body:	55,000
	Hangar Bays (2, Sides):	10,000 each
	[3] Magical “Armor of Ithan” Force Field:	10,000

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s armor. This ship also has an auxiliary bridge. Even if both bridges are taken out, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but the ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridges 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 cruiser 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 1000 P.P.E. and require one minute ( 4 melees) of spellcasting to restore the force field.

Speed:
Driving on the ground: Not Possible.
Water Surface: 55 knots (101.9 km/63.3 mph)
Underwater: 35 knots (64.9 km/40.3 mph)
Sublight: 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 0.85 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
Star Drive: Rift Jump Drive; maximum safe jump distance of 20 light years every four hours (Jump costs 4,000 P.P.E. per activation.)
Maximum Effective Range: 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: 95 feet (28.9 meters) main body; 265 feet (80.7 meters) including wing structures.
Width: 168 feet (51.2 meters)
Length: 720 feet (219.5 meters)
Weight / Mass: 220,000 tons (199,600 metric tons)
Power System: Combination Fusion & Techno-wizardry with 20 year life span. The Cruiser also has a P.P.E. generator that produces 4,000 P.P.E. per hour / 16.6 P.P.E. per melee round (Activating the Rifts Jump Drive costs 4,000 P.P.E.) and can hold up to 16,000 P.P.E. in storage. This P.P.E. can be used to power the Rifts Jump Drive or can be used to power spells cast by the Cruiser crew.
Cargo: Cargo holds can hold up to 20,000 tons of additional material. 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: The carrier costs 4.8 billion credits to construct. The ship is not for sale outside the U.W.W. Armed Forces (The ship is presently not even be sold to U.W.W. member worlds.)

Weapon Systems:

16 Inch Flame Cannons (2 Cannons Total): The heavy battery of cannons gives the ship a very powerful punch and are mounted on the sides of the ship. Each mount can rotate 60 degrees up or down and has a 30 degree arc of fire to the sides of the ship that the weapon is mounted on. on. Firing giant fireballs, these cannons have enormous range in space. With regards to fire control, these cannons are not designed to lock onto any targets smaller than frigates. While these cannons are able to be used to bombard planets as well as well, they have comparatively limited range in an atmosphere.
Maximum Effective Range: 20,000 miles (32,200 km) in space and 20 miles (32.2 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 1D4x1000 M.D.C. each cannon
Rate of Fire: Maximum of two (2) times per melee per cannon (A total of 4 blasts).
Payload: Needs 1000 P.P.E. per day to function.
Six (6) 5 inch Laser Cannons mounted in Double Turrets: Each turret can rotate 360 degrees and has a 60 degree arc of fire upwards and 15 degree arc of fire downwards. All the cannons in a turret can be fires as one or each barrel can be fired separately. The ship can fire a total of three turrets forward. The ship will often engage attacking with the sides to increase the ship’s firepower. These are modern weapon systems that are powered by the ship’s reactor. The cannons are not quite as powerful as the cannons on the CAF classes but have a higher rate of fire which makes up much of the difference. Weapons have standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets for large starship weaponry.
Maximum Effective Range: 16,000 miles (25,000 km) in space and 16 miles (25 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 1D6x100 M.D.C. each or both cannons in a turret can be combined for a total of 2D6x100.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Mini Death Cloud Cannons (2): These cannons are mounted with one on each side of the ship’s superstructure. This weapon is very similar to the cannon that is mounted on the Arcane patrol ship. 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. Each weapon releases about 1/4 of the ice that the weapon mounted on the Arcane patrol ship does. 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 25,000 feet (15,200 meters) when used in space and 10 miles (16 km) with a diameter of 250 feet (152 meters) when used in an atmosphere.
Mega-Damage: A ship or missile 1D6 x speed of target in percentage of light. For example, a ship traveling at 10% of the speed of light would have 1D6x10 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: Twice per melee per mini-death cloud cannon.
Payload: Each weapon may be activated 20 times per twenty four hour period. Further activations require 100 P.P.E. from either onboard magicians or drawing on the ship’s P.P.E. generator.
Sub Particle Acceleration Cannons (8) in Single Mounts: Mounted on top of the ship along the sides of the ship’s hull in turrets. Cannons turrets can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or down and can rotate up to 180 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 Federation of Magic. 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. 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: Unlimited, although the spells must be renewed every two months whether the cannons have been used or not.
Twin Telekinetic Machine Gun Turrets (8): These cannons are identical to those mounted in the Shadow Bolt Starfighter but are in twin mounts. Mounted on the sides of the ship in turrets. Cannons turrets can fire at up to a 90 degree angle up or down and can rotate up to 180 degrees side to side. The gun does not have penalties to strike small targets. Because the cannons do damage by impact, they do full damage to targets that 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 cannon) 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 cannons in a turret.
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.
Two (2) Cruise Missile Launchers: The ship has two cruise missile tubes under the ship. The launchers are copied from those carried on a Hunter class destroyer. Missiles have a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship.) Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, the missile 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 the target does not move and missile, when unpowered, is at -25% to be detected.) Cruise missiles have penalties to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. While missiles are only launched at the rate of one at a time per launcher, the ship’s computer has special software that allows all the missiles to hit a target at the same time for the purpose to make point defense of a target more easily overwhelmed. This is done by slowing down the acceleration of missiles and by setting some for delayed activation and target must be a least 30 seconds away. Missiles are then considered to only have an acceleration of 5% of light for the first turn. These launchers can also be combined with pepper box launchers. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time
The launcher can also fire a special larger version of the bottle demon missiles although for safety purposes, only a few are normally carried on board. It has been said by many people that an escaped demon is worse than a matter/anti-matter explosion. They can be launched at the same rate as conventional cruise missiles, can use the same programming, and although slightly smaller than a standard cruise missile they are fitted into a collar that allows them to be used in the standard launchers. The missiles accelerate at the same rate as conventional cruise missiles. Missiles are super smart and have +4 to strike and +5 to dodge. Unlike normal missiles, the bottled demon does not explode and keeps striking at its target over and over. If the target is destroyed or vanishes, the missile disappears. The missiles are literally powerful demons summoned and bottled into a missile and are an aggressive and intelligent guidance system. The evil demons will continue to chase its target until destroyed (120 M.D.C. to the missile.) Optional: Because the super bottle demon missiles use a more powerful demon and the missiles are still experimental, there is a 5% chance that the missile will turn on the ship launching it.
Maximum Effective Range: Conventional Cruise Missiles: Missile range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space. Bottled Demon Missiles: Effectively Unlimited! Once fired, the demon controlled and powered missile will fly and pursue the designated target until its target or the missile is destroyed (or the target vanished from sight, jumps away, or gets away by another means)
Mega-Damage & Properties: Conventional Cruise Missiles: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Anti-Matter multi-warheads inflict 5D6x100 M.D.C. each.) Bottled Demon Missiles: 6D6x100 of magical energy every time the missile strikes (3% chance of releasing the demon every time it hits.)
Rate of Fire:One cruise missile per melee attack (special software allows 4 to 8 missile to be launched as one volley depending on gunners hand to hand attacks) per launcher. This allows total volleys of 16 to 32 cruise missiles to be launched in one melee
Payload: Conventional Cruise Missiles: 40 cruise missiles per launcher for a total of 80 cruise missiles. Bottled Demon Missiles: 5 demon missiles per launcher for a total of 10 demon missiles
Bottled Demon Missile Batteries (4): On each side of the hull the Cruiser has two bottle demon missile batteries. The missiles are literally demons summoned and bottled into a missile and are an aggressive and intelligent guidance system. The evil demons will continue to chase its target until destroyed (50 M.D.C. to the missile.) Bottled demons are slightly larger than mini-missiles and require special launchers. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration). Missiles are super smart and have +4 to strike and +5 to dodge. Unlike normal missiles, the bottled demon does not explode and keeps striking at its target over and over. If the target is destroyed or vanishes, the missile disappears. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each. The launchers have been modified so they can fire standard mini-missiles. This is done mainly by fitting the mini-missiles with a special sleeve that allows them to be fired from the launcher. This allows the launchers to be used for point defense and targets not worth a bottled demon. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
Maximum Effective Range: Bottled Demon Missiles: Effectively Unlimited! Once fired, the demon controlled and powered missile will fly and pursue the designated target until its target or the missile is destroyed (or the target vanished from sight, jumps away, or gets away by another means) Conventional Mini-Missiles: Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: Bottled Demon Missiles: 3D4x10 M.D. of magical energy every time the missile strikes (3% chance of releasing the demon every time it hits.) Conventional Mini-Missiles: Varies with mini-missile type (See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), three (3), four (4), or eight (8) per battery.
Payload: Bottled Demon Missiles: 32 per battery for a total of 128 bottled demon missiles. Conventional Mini-Missiles: 64 per battery for a total of 256 mini-missiles.
Techno-Wizard Modifications: The Arkenfire class Carrier 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.
Special Features:

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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