Skylla Class Assault Ship (U.W.W.):

One weakness the U.W.W. Military has always had is a lack of assault ships. These are ships which can transport troops. The role is sometimes performed by Battlecruisers although their true role is as heavy warships. As a result, often civilian vessels are commandeered for troop transport roles. They are far from ideal for such roles though and have little nothing in the way of the ability to support personnel on the ground.

In a number of cases, Arcadia class light carriers have been pressed into support roles. This has met with moderate success and it was authorized to convert a small number of the light carriers to assault ships. Only around two dozen of the carriers were ever converted with a pair having been destroyed. There have been several requests to convert more but the light carriers are considered too valuable to convert. As a result, these ships are virtually always tied up in various operations.

There is plans for the production of a new class of Assault Ships although only a pair have been completed so far. These are an all new design which has the ability to carry far more in the way of both troops and equipment. Until more of these ships enter service, the Skylla class is likely to be expected to carry out far more than their share of jobs. In some cases, these ships have ended up deferring refits due to constantly needing to be on call. The plans for the new ships include only a limited number of ships so these ships still will not be able to be retired although these ships might finally have a chance to be updated and upgraded.

The basic hull of the ship is based on a Dwarven Iron Ship and it is outfitted with the weaponry of the standard cruiser. This gives the ship the ability to defend itself better than most assault carriers and support troop assaults. The Rift Cannon is almost never used and some captains have expressed the opinion that the weapon system should be removed. Still, it is considered too extensive a rebuild to replace the weapon though. A more conservative consideration is to refit the Bottle Demon launchers to fire conventional mini-missiles. They are far less dangerous and they also are more useful in the point defense role. There is a rumor that one captain payed out of her own pocket to have her own launchers modified.

The hanger bay on the Arcadia class is gutted to give troop support facilities and space for shuttles. The two shuttles do not actually have a hanger bay but instead a pair of recessed external areas are fitted for the shuttles. Even so, launching and landing are extremely tricky operation. Originally modified Human Alliance AS-4 Assault Shuttles were carried although they have been replaced by the S-22 Iron Spear Assault Shuttles.

Fighter compliment is greatly reduced with a total of three squadrons. Two are normally Shadowbolt fighters and one is either Naruni Broadsword or Fire Eater fighters. Some plans include the replacement of the Naruni fighters with Bushido Industries' Katana fighters and to replace on of the squadron of Shadowbolt fighters with eighteen Komet light fighters. No Black Widow fighters can be embarked onboard these assault ships.

Troop compliment is about four-hundred and sixty with three-hundred and sixty Warlock power armors. It is usually mixed between standard models and flying models. The ship does not have special facilities for Raider Augmentation packs and carrying armors equipped with packs reduces troop compliment. In addition to troops, the ship normally carries about two dozen Greataxe tanks.

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-AS35
Class: Space Cruiser / Assault Ship (techno-wizard)
Crew: 425, including a magic team of 25 techno-wizards (levels 2-6).
Troop Capacity: 100 Marines (Typically 25 stay on board for ship defense), 60 fighter pilots, 360 Warlock Combat Armor pilots, 96 tank crew, and can carry up to 40 passengers in addition.

Vehicles:
Power Armors & Robots:

	240	W-1 Warlock Combat Armors
	120	W-F1 Flying Warlock Combat Armors

Fighter Compliment:

	24	WF-F15 Shadow Bolt Strike Ship
	12	Naruni NE-SF10 Broadsword or FB-49 Fire Eater Fighters

Assault Shuttles:

S-22 “Standard” Iron Spear Assault Shuttles

Tanks & Other Vehicles:

WIFV-99 Greataxe IFV Tanks

M.D.C. by Location:

	Rift Projector Cannon (One, in front):	1,500
	Flame Cannons (2, one on each side)	900 each
	Medium Laser Cannon Turrets (4):	800 each
	Bottled Demon Missile Batteries (4):	600 each
	Particle Beam Cannon Turrets (8):	100 each
	[1] Main Bridge:	10,000
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	10,000
	[2] Main Body:	35,000
	Hangar Bays (2):	6,000 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 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 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: 35 knots (64.8 kph / 40.3 mph)
Underwater: 25 knots (46.3 kph / 28.8 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 0.7 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 160 mph (257.5 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: 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: 120 feet (36.6 meters)
Length: 800 feet (244 meters)
Weight / Mass: 180,000 tons (163,300 metric tons)
Power System: Combination Fusion & Techno-wizardry with 20 year life span. The Carrier also has a P.P.E. generator that produces 6,000 P.P.E. per hour / 25 P.P.E. per melee round (Activating the Rifts Jump Drive costs 4,000 P.P.E.) and can hold up to 20,000 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 vessel's crew.
Cargo: Cargo holds can hold up to 10,000 tons (9,070 metric tons) of additional material. If all the ships ammo for was taken out, amount of cargo the ship is able to carry would increase greatly. 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 take up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.
Market Cost: The Transport would costs 28 billion credits to construct. The ship is no longer in production or for sale.

Weapon Systems:

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 1000 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 on 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.
16 Inch Flame Cannons (2 Cannons Total): The heavy battery of cannons gives the ship a very powerful punch. 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.
Four (4) 5 inch Laser Cannons: These weapons are in their own turrets on the top, sides, and bottom of the ship. These are a modern weapon system that are powered by the ships reactor. Each mount can rotate 180 degrees and have a 80 degree arc of fire up and a 45 degree arc of fire down. The cannons are not quite as powerful as the cannons on the CAF classes but have a higher rate of fire. Weapon has standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets for large starship weaponry. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.
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
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Particle Beam Cannon Turrets (8): These light particle beam cannons are primarily anti-missile defense systems, but can also be used against fighters and robots. Turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire.
Maximum Effective Range: 2 miles (3.2 km) through atmosphere and 200 miles (320 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: 1D6x10 per blast.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined number of hand to hand at- tacks of the gunner.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
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 missile, 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.
Mega-Damage: 3D4x10 M.D. of magical energy every time the missile strikes (3% chance of releasing the demon every time it hits.)
Maximum Effective Range: 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.)
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: thirty two per battery for a total of 128 bottled demon missiles.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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