Combat Foil

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 06/06/2004)

When the colony mission collapsed and the colonists were spread across the planet, Ulrik Svensgaard knew he wanted to separate himself from the other emerging leaders. He wanted to explore the planet's oceans, to sail upon the waters of a new world, but the other leaders lacked his love of the sea. Despite his best efforts to convince them of the resources that could be harvested from the oceans, all of the emerging leaders disregarded his information. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Svensgaard left the ship on several captured escape pods with a handful of his closest friends and supporters and a number of colonists that chose to follow him. Landing in one of the uncharted oceans of Chiron, Svensgaard formed his faction, the Nautilus Pirates, around a simple vehicle that became known as the Combat Foil. The Combat Foil design began its life as a utility vehicle, much like the combat rover, but Svensgaard was able to acquire almost all of the foils that had been brought to Chiron to form the basis of his navy. Initially the foils were unarmed and unarmored and often served as tiny floating communities by lashing several foils together, but as time passed and the Nautilus Pirates were able to build their first floating colonies, the foils became exploration vehicles.

In an interesting development, combat foils often became associated with a particular family or group, passing down through the generations of colonists. Despite my upgrades and improvements, there are some combat foils that can trace their roots back to the original utility foils brought with the SS Unity. In addition, personal combat foils, often armed as well, is seen as a status symbol among the elite of the Nautilus Pirates, and many wealthy and powerful families own small fleets of the vessels.

Scouting the unchartered waters of Chiron was the task that the foil was originally designed to perform, and it performed it well, but when the Mind Worms appeared in the forms of the Sea Lurks and the Isles of the Deep, the Nautilus Pirates were caught completely off guard. Several small colonies were overrun before the first armed versions of the foils began to appear. Several years later, the foil was redesigned and built around a standard load of weapons and armor that could protect it from attack. These combat foils were among the first vehicles seen by other factions once they learned of the existence of the Nautilus Pirates. Eventually, the planet's native life forms adapted to the combat foils and grew larger and far more dangerous, forcing the Nautilus Pirates to first group the foils into groups and then eventually forcing the development of the larger Ocean Cruisers, but the foils continued to be heavily used by the Nautilus Pirates. In fact, the Data Angels were able to infiltrate the Nautilus Pirates networks and sold the design specifications to the combat foils to almost all of the other factions, allowing them to build nearly identical vehicles.

The combat foil was designed using the best naval technology at the time and has a trimaran hull that allows it to travel a high speeds and increased deck space for additional weapon systems. The vehicle is heavily armed with a torpedo tube in the ship's bow, a powerful turret at the front and back, and a missile launcher behind the forward turret. With this weapons load, the combat foil is a powerful and fast combatant, but to maintain its speed, the craft is not very heavily armored. Although there are some variations between the different factions, most of the combat foils on Chiron follow this same design philosophy, although the Nautilus Pirates have an obvious advantage in many areas.

Vehicle Information:

• Vehicle Type: Trimaran Ocean Patrol Vessel
• Crew: 8, captain, first officer (co-pilot), radar / sonar operator, communication technician, engineer, assistant engineer, and two gunners.
• Troops: Up to four people in full combat armor can fit in the cargo section of the ship.

S.D.C. by location:

Ceramic Armor

• Primary Weapon Turrets (2) - 100 each
• Secondary Weapon Turrets (2) - 50 each
• Missile Launcher - 100
• Torpedo Tube - 70
• Sensor Array - 50 *
• Main Body - 300 **

Plasma Steel Armor

• Primary Weapon Turrets (2) - 150 each
• Secondary Weapon Turrets (2) - 80 each
• Missile Launcher - 150
• Torpedo Tube - 100
• Sensor Array - 75 *
• Main Body - 450 **

Silksteel Armor

• Primary Weapon Turrets (2) - 200 each
• Secondary Weapon Turrets (2) - 100 each
• Missile Launcher - 200
• Torpedo Tube - 150
• Sensor Array - 120 *
• Main Body - 650 **

Armor Rating: 13
Notes:

*	Destroying the sensor array will blind the ship's sensors and knock-out the communication systems. Torpedoes have a penalty of -2 to strike, missiles cannot be guided by the ship, and all other weapons have a penalty of -1 to strike.
**	Depleting the S.D.C. of the main body will shut down the ship, including life support, communications, weapons, and engine, and will cause the ship to sink in 1D4 minutes.

Speed:

• Water: 100 mph (160.9 km/h / 86.9 knots)
• Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by drive system, but the ship generally carries supplies for three weeks for the regular crew and has room for far more food and supplies.

Statistical Data:

• Height: 20' (6.1 m)
• Width: 26' (7.9 m)
• Length: 80' (24.4 m)
• Weight: 48 tons (43.5 metric tons)
• Reactor System: Micro-Fusion Reactor with a life span of 10 years.
• Cargo: There is a large storage area that holds all the supplies necessary for an extended mission. Supplies for a mission normally includes three weeks of food and water, a long-range radio, a first-aid kit, several rifles and suits of body armor, ammunition, and usually ten extra missiles for the ship's missile launcher.
• Market Cost: Ten million credits for an unarmed foil.

Weapon Systems:

1. Primary Weapon Turrets (2)
   The Combat Foil has two primary weapon turrets with one located at the front of the ship and the other at the rear. Each turret can rotate 360 degrees and has an arc of fire of 90 degrees. The actual type of cannon mounted on the turret varies depending on which faction built the combat foil.
   • Rate of Fire: Each turret can fire five times per melee.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
   
   
   Laser Turret
   The laser turret consists of a powerful, long range laser cannon and is deployed on police foils, by Nomad groups, and by the Free Drones faction.
   • Range: 2000' (610 m)
   • Damage: 1D6x10 per shot
   • Cost: 20,000 credits each
   
   
   Impact Beam Turret
   This turret is based off of the widespread Impact Beam technology, which is similar to the powerful particle beams weapons. The Impact Beam turret is used by all of the factions except those that use the laser turrets or the powerful chaos laser turrets.
   • Range: 2500' (762 m)
   • Damage: 2D4x10 per shot
   • Cost: 22,000 credits
   
   
   Chaos Laser Turret
   The chaos laser turret consists of the powerful Chaos Laser recently developed by the University of Planet. The Chaos laser is a special type of laser that is hotter and stronger, giving it longer range and causing more damage. Shortly after being deployed by the University of Planet, the Cybernetic Consciousness stole the designs for the weapon and has begun to deploy it on its own vehicles.
   • Range: 3000' (914.4 m)
   • Damage: 2D6x10 per shot
   • Cost: 30,000 credits
2. Secondary Weapon Turrets (2)
   Although equipped with a missile launcher, two powerful energy weapons, and a torpedo tube, the combat foil is also equipped with two smaller turrets, with one along each side of the ship. The purpose of these secondary turrets is to provide the ship with an effective answer to the smaller native life forms that might attack the ship, like the Sea Lurks or the Mind Worm Locusts that might attack the ship from an angle where the primary turrets could not reach. Each turret can rotate 180 degrees and has an arc of fire of 45 degrees. The actual type of cannon mounted on the turret varies depending on which faction built the combat foil.
   • Rate of Fire: The turret can fire six times per melee.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
   • Bonuses: +1 to strike
   
   
   Laser Turret
   The laser turret consists of a powerful, long range laser cannon and is deployed on police foils, by Nomad groups, and by the Free Drones faction.
   • Range: 1000' (310 m)
   • Damage: 4D6 per shot
   • Cost: 6000 credits
   
   
   Impact Beam Turret
   This turret is based off of the widespread Impact Beam technology, which is similar to the powerful particle beams weapons. The Impact Beam turret is used by all of the factions except those that use the laser turrets or the powerful chaos laser turrets.
   • Range: 1300' (396.2 m)
   • Damage: 5D6 per shot
   • Cost: 10,000 credits
   
   
   Gatling Beam Turret
   The gatling beam turret using a specially modified impact beam cannon that fires a burst of energy blasts and was developed and used exclusively by the Spartan Federation.
   • Range: 1300' (396.2 m)
   • Damage: 6D6 per burst of energy blasts
   • Rate of Fire: The turret can fire six bursts per melee.
   • Cost: 12,000 credits
   
   
   Chaos Laser Turret
   The chaos laser turret consists of the powerful Chaos Laser recently developed by the University of Planet. The Chaos laser is a special type of laser that is hotter and stronger, giving it longer range and causing more damage. Shortly after being deployed by the University of Planet, the Cybernetic Consciousness stole the designs for the weapon and has begun to deploy it on its own vehicles.
   • Range: 1500' (457.2 m)
   • Damage: 1D4x10 per shot
   • Cost: 15,000 credits
3. Missile Launcher
   The most important armament on the combat foil is the large missile launcher located near the bow of the ship. This launcher provides the foil with its longest range weapons and impressive stopping power. Unfortunately, the weapon has a limited payload and the standard combat foil has no additional reloads for the launcher.
   • Missile Design: General Purpose Missile
   • Missile Type: Multipurpose
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Select two guidance systems.
   • Missile Warhead: Armor Piercing, High Explosive, and Plasma / Napalm only.
   • Range: 80 miles (128.7 km)
   • Speed: 1800 mph (2897 km/h)
   • Damage and Blast Radius: Varies with type of missile warhead.
   • Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 3, 4, 8, or 12 missiles.
   • Payload: 12 medium range missiles
   • Cost: 50,000 credits for the launcher, missiles must be purchased separately.
4. Torpedo Tube
   Beneath the waterline at the bow of the vessel is a single medium torpedo tube. It is fed from an internal magazine by an automatic loader that reloads a torpedo after one has been fired. The torpedo has a similar warhead to a medium range missile, but its range is far more limited.
   • Range: 5 miles (8 km)
   • Speed: 200 mph (321.9 km/h)
   • Damage: 2D6x10 per torpedo
   • Rate of Fire: One at a time.
   • Payload: 10 torpedoes
   • Cost: 60,000 credits for the launcher and the auto-loaded and 2000 for each torpedo.

Standard Systems:

1. Phased Array Radar System
   This system is comprised of a single array on top of the ship. This system is smaller, lighter, and requires less power than a system of fixed panels. If allowed by the horizon, the system can track out to 180 miles (289.7 km / 156.4 nautical miles) and can simultaneously track and identify up to 192 targets at one time. The system controls missile launched from the ship and can track and guide each individual missile to a different target. If a target is eliminated, missiles are automatically guided to a new target. The system can also control missiles launched from other linked vessels as well and can also act as fire control for gun mounts.
2. Advanced Hull Sonar
   Mounted under the bow of the ship. The sonar has a range of 10 miles (16.1 km / 8.7 nautical miles). This hull sonar system has both a passive and active system built in. The sonar system can track up to 32 targets simultaneously.
3. Combination Radar Detectors and Active Jamming System
   Combination of radar detection system (ESM) and an active jamming system. The system can detect another radar system at 125% of the range of the transmitting radar. In jamming mode, the systems causes -25% to detection but when it is active, other vehicles/ bases can detect that it is jamming, and some missiles will home in on jamming signals. Jamming also causes a -4 penalty to all radar guided weapons.
4. Combat / Targeting Computer
   System calculates, stores, and transmits data onto view screens in the ship's bridge. The computer assists in the tracking of targets. The system also has a data base of targets and has the ability to identify most common targets. Ships operated by the same faction are designed to share data automatically and act as fire control for other ships as well. As a final feature, the computer creates a map of the area based on sensor data.
5. Laser Targeting System
   The system is designed to assist in the selection and focusing on a specific target. The system gives a bonus of +1 to strike using long range weapons but must have line of sight. As well, most mini-missiles are designed to follow the laser beam to the target.
6. Spotlight
   The ship is equipped with four normal spotlights, one at each corner of the ship. Range: 600 feet (182.9 meters).
7. Visual Magnification
   This system allows magnification of x2 to x16 and it displays on a view screen in the bridge. The ship also has data recording equipment for 192 hours at the highest resolution and 576 hours at lowest resolution.
8. Thermo-Imager
   Range: 2000' (610 m). Finds the infrared radiations of things that are warm. Also enables the pilot to see in smoke, shadows and darkness. System has the disadvantage of being able to be detected.
9. Nightvision Optics
   Range: 2000 ft (610 m). Uses light amplification to make a picture. Emits no light but will not work in absolute darkness. System can be dazzled by sudden bright lights but does not physically blind the pilot.
10. Infra-Red / Laser Detector
    The system is designed to detect any infrared or laser beams which paint or target the ship. The ship has special sensors built into the exterior every few inches. Sensors gives the strength of the signal and the computer can often determine if they have been detected from the signal strength.
11. Compass and Clock Calendar
    In addition to other features, the ship is fitted with a compass, high quality digital maps, and a clock calendar. The ship has an inertial navigation system where the computer plots the location of the ship based on last recorded location and speed and course of travel. The computer will attempt to use recorded data from other sensors to refine the location. The computer also can use star positions for navigation purposes.
12. Radio Communication
    The ship is equipped with a long range directional communication system. The system has an effective range of 800 miles (1287 km). The ship is also fitted with a radio scrambler to prevent others from easily listening in on communications. The ship is equipped with a loudspeaker with an output of 100 decibels and an external audio pickup.
13. Advanced Life Support
    The crew compartments in the ship are reinforced to protected the crew from attacks. The compartments are air tight and is suitable for use in most hostile environments. The ship has a computer controlled life support system with artificial air circulation, gas filtration, and humidifier. The system is designed to be able to recycle the air to keep a breathable atmosphere for up to four weeks. The vehicle also has an independent oxygen supply which automatically engages and purges the interior in conditions of contaminated air environment inside of vehicle. The vehicle displays present atmospheric conditions including toxins in the air to the bridge. The ship has an internal cooling system and temperature control and it can be set to the crew's preferences. The system also keeps track of temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure throughout the ship.
14. High Temperature Insulation
    The ship is made from high temperature materials that are designed to resist temperatures up to 400 degrees centigrade. Normal fires inflict no damage but extremely high temperature fire, such as plasma and magic fire, inflict full damage.
15. Radiation Shielding
    The ship has radiation shielding which is far more effective than what is found on body armor. As well, the ship's armor is equipped with sensors to monitor the amount of radiation that the ship is exposed to. This is displayed to the bridge of the ship.

Faction Modifiers:

1. Nautilus Pirates
   The Nautilus Pirates are the masters of the sea and have spent years working on their area of expertise. Increase the speed of their combat foils to 120 mph (193.1 km/h / 104.3 knots) and increase reactor life span to 15 years. In addition, the ship is equipped with a more advanced Phased Array Radar System with a range of 250 miles (402.3 km / 217.2 nautical miles) and can simultaneously track and identify up to 244 targets at one time. Finally, the ship also has an advanced towed array sonar system that is carried behind the ship on a long cable. This sonar system has a range of 24 miles (38.6 km / 20.9 nautical miles), has both an active and a passive system built in, and can simultaneously track 64 targets.
2. Free Drones
   Like with most things, the Free Drones faction are behind in technology. While they can produce a staggering number of combat foils in a short amount of time if they chose, their combat foils are not as advanced. Reduce the speed of their combat foils to 75 mph (120.7 km/h / 65.2 knots), reduce the reactor life span to 8 years, and reduce the range of the Phased Array Radar System to 120 miles (193.1 km / 104.3 nautical miles).