“Iron Gauntlet” Modified Dwarven Iron Ship (T.W. / U.W.W.):

Over the years, a number of damaged or heavily stressed Dwarven Iron Ship have been stripped for useful systems in order to supply other ships of the same class. Some fo these stripped ships are later sold for scrap and find their way into the hands of mercenaries or adventurers.

The ship that eventually become the Iron Oak was one such. She was largely stripped of what was seen as useful and then sold for scrap. In fact, she had been stripped more completely than most before being sold. Even so, the techno-wizard mercenaries decided that she was worth being refitted.

As stripped as she was, she would require an almost complete rebuilding. After seeing the design of the Oakenheart class light cruiser produced by the planet of Lothrain, the techno-wizards decided to see if the old Dwarven Iron Ship could be rebuilt in a similar fashion. The planet of Lothrain uses the wood of the Great Banner Oak where others might use advanced alloys and composites.

Virtually all of the enchanted iron plates had been stripped from the ship. Those that had not been stripped had been those that were hard to remove. It was decided to strip the remainder in order to reinforce some areas where there were structural issues. This would also enable them to easier replace system which needed to be replaced during rebuilding.

Once the major internal work was done however, wooden planks replace the original enchanted iron plates. Even though the wood of the Great Banner Oak is incredibly strong, it is still enchanted with the spell of “Ironwood” making it as strong as some of the strongest alloy and composite materials. In fact, the ship is better armored than it was originally. Interestingly, the ship actually masses slightly less than a standard Dwarven Iron Ship due to the weight of the wood in comparison to the crude iron plates used in the standard version of the ship.

For additional protection, a Dwarven Iron Ship mounts an “Armor of Ithan” force field generator. This was removed sometime in the past. Instead of replacing it with a similar generator, it was decided to replace it with an “Invincible Armor” force field generator. It gives about fifty percent better protection than the original force field although does also require greater mystical energies.

The original techno-wizard reactor was largely stripped. It was decided that it would be easier to simply replace it with a conventional fusion reactor of a civilian design. More compact, the civilian design requires less maintenance than the one it replaces along with requiring less personnel. The mystic energy generator was completely stripped from the ship and it was decided to replace it with a pair of generators from the Oakenheart class light cruiser.

By the time that the Iron Oak was sold, the contra-grav propulsion system was outdated and modern units produce the same output in much smaller units. It would cost too much for the United Worlds Warlock to replace them wholesale on their vessels. For the Iron Oak however, the propulsion system had been stripped in order to maintain other ships and it was decided to replace it with a civilian system. Even though it is both less message and requires less maintenance, it provided greater acceleration.

As far as the Rifts Jump Drive, it had been completely stripped from the cruiser. It was replaced by a slightly updated version from the Oakenheart class light cruiser. It is considered to require slightly less maintenance although otherwise requires the same amount of mystical energy to activate.

With respect to weaponry, all but the two flame cannons and the rifts projector cannon had been stripped. It is quire likely that the rifts projector cannon was simply too large to easily strip and flame cannons were probably simply not considered worth stripping. There was some minor work required to return them to operational service but otherwise are identical to those on a standard ship.

As far as the original five inch anti-ship lasers, it was decided to replace them with “Annihilate” cannons. While slightly shorter ranged, they have greater potential damage against a target. Because they are powered by mystical energy instead of from the main power grid, the electrical system could be simplified in some areas. In addition, six could be mounted instead of just four.

For standard defense, the Dwarven Iron Ship mounts eight particle beam mounts. In their place, the Iron Oak mounts the same number of heavier laser cannon. In fact, the weapons are useful at close range against even larger ships. Backing these up are eight twin telekinetic machine gun mounts. This gives the ship a better ability to engage targets which are impervious to energy weapons.

Even if they had not been stripped, it is unlikely that the bottle demon missile launchers would have been retained. In their place, six medium range missile batteries are mounted. These are basically just civilian launchers carried on a number of merchant ship designs although missile payload is vastly increased.

A few Dwarven Iron Ships have been refitted to mount capital missile launchers. With the Iron Oak, four were mounted in the bow in a similar manner to how they are mounted in the Iron Gauntlet. These are Wolfen style launchers stripped from retired vessels. Each launcher has a payload of sixty missiles for a total of two hundred and forty missiles. Advanced fire control software enables the ship to fire volleys of multiple capital missile.

A special effort was made to improve the quarters of the cruiser with the stock quarters of Dwarven Iron Ship being pretty drab. The crew is reduced from standard with several systems requiring less manning although this is partially counteracted by additional shipboard weaponry.

With respect to embarked troops, all are outfitted with mystic power armor. Otherwise, the cruiser carries twenty “Crystal Hawk” space power armors produced by Thoth Industries. Even though extremely expensive, they are also quite effective. Unfortunately, the “Crystal Shard” space fighter manufactured by Thoth Industries was considered simply too expensive. Instead, the ship operates the Boomerang fighter with two squadrons of the standard model and one squadron of the advanced model. It is planned to eventually upgrade all fighters to the advanced model.

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-C15 (Upgrade).

Class: Space Cruiser (techno-wizard).

Crew: 225, including a magic team of 16 techno-wizards (levels 2-6).

Troop Capacity: 60 Marines (Typically 30 stay on board for ship defense), 48 fighter pilots, 20 Warlock Combat Armor pilots, and can carry up to 20 passengers in addition.

Vehicles:

Power Armors & Robots:

	20	Thoth Industries TI CHSPA-01 “Crystal Hawk” Space Combat Exoskeletons.
	60	Thoth Industries TI DS-MPA-2W “Dawnstar” Improved Mystic Power Armors.

Fighter Compliment:

	24	QF-1A “Boomerang” Space Fighters.
	12	QF-1TI “Boomerang” Space Fighters.

M.D.C. by Location:

	Rift Projector Cannon (One, in front):	1,850.
	Flame Cannons (2, one on each side):	1,200 each.
	Turret Mounted “Annihilate” Cannons (6):	800 each.
	36 mm Heavy Point Defense Lasers (8):	300 each.
	Twin Telekinetic Machine Gun Mounts (8):	150 each.
	Cruise Missile Launchers (4, front):	1,000 each.
	Medium Range Missile Batteries (6):	300 each.
	[1] Main Bridge:	12,500.
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	12,500.
	[2] Main Body:	40,000.
	Hangar Bay:	2,500.
	[3] Magical “Invincible Armor” Force Field:	15,000.

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 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 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 1,500 P.P.E. and require one minute (4 melee rounds) of spell casting to restore the force field. When knocked down, no additional damage beyond which destroyed the shield will be transferred to the cruiser.

Speed:

Driving on the ground: Not Possible.

Water Surface: 40 knots (74.1 km/46 mph).

Underwater: 30 knots (55.6 km/34.5 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 0.90 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.)

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: 80 feet (24.4 meters) main body; 160 feet (48.8 meters) from the bottom of the main body to the top of the bridge.

Width: 80 feet (24.4 meters).

Length: 800 feet (244 meters).

Weight / Mass: 116,000 tons (105,230 metric tons).

Power System: Conventional Advanced Fusion 20 year life span. The cruiser also has a pair of P.P.E. generators that produces 4,000 P.P.E. per hour / 16.6 P.P.E. per melee each (Activating the Rifts Jump Drive costs 4,000 P.P.E.) and can hold up to 16,000 P.P.E. in storage each. This P.P.E. can be used to power the Rifts Jump Drive or can be used to power spells cast by the cruiser’s crew.

Cargo: Cargo holds can hold up to 2,000 tons (1,814 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: A standard Dwarven Iron Cruiser would costs 22 billion credits to construct. The ship is no longer in production or for sale. The cost of the upgrade has been estimated as between 2.5 to 3.0 billion credits. Cost does not include embarked fighters and power armors.

Weapon Systems:

One (1) Rifts Projector Cannon: In the nose of the ship is large opening which is the main barrel of the cannon. The cannon creates a huge rift in front of the cannon that has a variable effect. This weapon can become a danger to the ship if it fails. The cannon has a 0.5% cumulative chance of failure (i.e., becomes 1% after two shots, 2% after four, and so on). This cannon has penalties to strike small targets. For more information on the Rifts Projector Cannon, refer to page 155 of Dimension Book 2: Phase World (Except ranges are 1,000 times range in book in space.)

Maximum Effective Range: 50,000 miles (80,000 km) in space and 50 miles (80 km) in an atmosphere.

Mega-Damage: Roll on table in Dimension Book 2: Phase World page 156.

Rate of Fire: Can fire once per minute (4 melee rounds/ 60 seconds).

Payload: Requires 1,000 P.P.E. each time fired.
Two (2) 16 Inch Flame Cannons: Mounted along the sides of the ship, these weapons are generally considered the main battery 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. 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) “Annihilate” Cannons: These replace the original five inch laser cannons. Mounted in turrets on the cruiser, these cannons are extremely powerful and act as the secondary guns of the cruiser. The cannon fires a black sphere which is magically contained anti-matter. It inflicts incredible damage to the target although range is limited compared to heavy lasers. Weapons system, when used hit fighters and small targets, has half the normal penalties to hit due to sophisticated fire control. The barrels can be fired either forward or behind and can be rotated 60 degrees horizontally or vertically.

Maximum Effective Range: 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in space and 10 miles (16 km) in an atmosphere.

Mega Damage: 2D4x100 M.D.C. each.

Rate of Fire: four (4) times per melee per cannon.

Payload: Needs 300 P.P.E. per day to function.
Eight (8) Heavy 36 mm Point Defense Lasers: these replace the point defense particle beam mounts. Mounted on the sides of the cruiser, 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 parts of the 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.
Eight (8) 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.
Four (4) Cruise Missile Launchers: From scrapped or upgraded Wolfen warships and mounted to either side of the Rifts Protector Cannon. Missiles have a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and have an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship) in space. Whether missiles can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launching starship, and missiles. When drive goes dead, missiles will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct or receives a destruct code, but have 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.) Cruise missiles have penalties to hit small targets but are almost always smart missiles. While missiles are only launched at the rate of one at a time, the ship’s computer has special software that allows all the missiles to hit a target at the same time for the purpose of making the point defense of a target more easily overwhelmed. This is done by slowing down the initial acceleration of missiles and by setting some for delayed activation although the target must be at least 30 seconds away (2 melee rounds) with regard to flight time. Missiles are then considered to only have an acceleration of 5% of light for the first turn. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time although rarely are.

Maximum Effective Range: Cruise 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.

Mega-Damage & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Anti-Matter multi-warheads inflict 5D6x100 M.D.C. each and Fusion multi-warheads inflict 3D6x100 M.D.C. each.)

Rate of Fire: One cruise missiles per melee attack (special software allows 4 to 8 cruise missiles to be launched as one volley depending on gunner’s hand to hand attacks) per launcher. This allows total volleys of 16 to 32 cruise missiles to be launched in one melee round.

Payload: 60 cruise missiles each for 240 total.
Six (6) Medium Range Missile Batteries: These replace the bottle demon launchers. Launcher magazines are increased from standard capacity of 32 missiles per battery. Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and missiles (both cruise and long range missiles.) Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and have an acceleration of 6% of light per turn in space. Weapon system can be used on multiple targets simultaneously.

Maximum Effective Range: Medium range missile range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space.

Mega-Damage: Varies with medium range missile type (Multi-warhead heavy warheads inflict 5D6x10 M.D.C. each - See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)

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

Payload: 128 per battery for a total of 768 medium range missiles.
Techno-Wizard Modifications: The “Iron Oak” 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:

Impervious to Energy (5th Level)

160 P.P.E. or 320 I.S.P.

Invisibility-Superior (5th Level)

160 P.P.E. or 320 I.S.P.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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Special Features:	Impervious to Energy (5th Level)	160 P.P.E. or 320 I.S.P.
	Invisibility-Superior (5th Level)	160 P.P.E. or 320 I.S.P.