Thus Spake Zarataylor/SkywolfDetails
izzylobo - 02/09/2004 06:25:12
Skywolf is Speed 7 - for a top speed of 140 mph, or 105 yards per turn. It's pretty unmaneuverable, however (-1) and there are penalties on control rolls if you try to maneuver in anything other than a straight line at top speed - rolls which the Warbird, with its 3 maneuver, is significantly better at.
Skywolf is probably one of the fastest, most maneuverable craft of its size - I think skyships of her general class and size were intended to carry Fast Attack units or initial-response forces into a developing problem. There might be some couriers or one-off skyships that were faster, and probably some smaller designs as well, but in general not much gets over Speed 8, I'd guess, and very litle above Speed 10. (keep in mind that a Speed 10 craft will cover over two thousand miles of distance a day - in Creation, that's a whole flecking LOT of ground to cover).
Scott Taylor
izzylobo - 03/04/2004 21:35:13
Okay.
On the second point first. Skywolf and her kin are not known for their long legs - how much of this is kitbashing to keep them operational at all, and how much of it is inherent limitations of the design I dunno - probably a mixture of both. But she needs an overhaul in some sort of drydock* every 300 hours of flight - less if she has to fight. After that, things start winding down.
On the first point - her total Terrestrial complement is going to vary depending on the mission. Skywolf and other air assets are treated more like airplanes than sea-going ships, at least in the Second Age - they're tasked for a mission, perform it, then return to base. While those missions might include "take a complement of soldiers on board, cruise from Lookshy to Farhold and back, and await instructions on the way, in case there is trouble", more often they're gonna be pretty targeted - "Take First Field Force, Fourth Warstriders to Nasaru Redoubt, return to Lookshy by most direct route."
Obviously, this is subject to change for the purposes of your game. In a game where the Skyships are more ship-like (and not the hangar queens that they are in Outcaste... :-), figure her crew includes engineers, gunners, navigators, etc. and away forces to the tune of not-quite a Talon in strength, including a half-dozen Terrestrials (Captain, Exec, Sorcerer-Engineer and a second, and a couple of gunners for things like Lightning Ballistas that can't be fired by mortals). Additionally, she probably carries another Talon of embarked troops as standard (leaving space for another two talons for longer-range deployments, or up to a Wing for short-range stuff).
That Talon is probably kinda weird, as Ship's Troops - maybe a Warstrider or two, some Dragon Warriors, Gunzosha, Rangers, etc. - maximum bang for weight, basically. (A weird mixed-forces Talon also gives you the ability to mix up character types with little problem). So total Terrestrial complement on the ship is gonna range somewhere between 10 and 20 or so, with around 3-5 sorcerers.
They likely have a couple of smaller craft (Chariots) on board, and (maybe, although this would likely replace nearly a Talon worth of troop carriage) a Manta, but that would be uncommon, I think - Manta's are uncommon enough that deploying one that will typically sit berthed on the topdeck doesn't seem an efficient use.
Thematically, Skywolf type ships were akin to multi-role light cruisers in deployment in the First Age, I think - they were pretty fast, reasonably tough, and pretty well armed - sufficient to deploy a fast attack unit with, or perform routine patrols. Sent up against one of the big sky juggernauts (like the one in Aspectbook:Air), and it would get pulverised, though it might give a good accounting on the way down.
Now, they are light cruisers being asked to do a battlecruiser, LST, and cargo ship's duties all at the same time - while being held together with bailing wire, bubblegum, a little bit of duct tape, and a whole hell of a lot of prayer. Skywolf, particularly, sees more combat than most of the others, just because she's still got most of her original armament (I think maybe on the original design there was a ventral gun mount with a pair or triplet of heavy essence cannons emplaced for heavy close-range anti-ground fire - but I think that was left off of Skywolf's actual build).
Scott Taylor
*(you could probably do it beached in a small lake if you had to - +1-2 Difficulty, maybe, although the support teams are likely only in Lookshy, and maybe a couple of the Redoubts, which would further increase the Difficulty)
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