Pimp my Gazelle

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Most of the military ship designs in the core book and Traders and Gunboats are TL12, but it is hard to believe that the Imperial Navy, in 1000 let alone 1105, will want such out dated designs, so what might the stats for a TL15 Gazelle, operating out of Jewell in 1105 be? This is just an upgrade, not a totally new ship, visually and in terms of floor plans looks like the standard Gazelle apart from the dorsal and ventral barbettes and more sensor blisters.

Hull 400t, TL15, Hull 11pts 26.4MCr
Streamlined, Structure 11pts
Armour Bonded superdnes 12pts 40 tons 16MCr
Jump drive H TL15 Jump 4 40.5 100MCr
Manourvre H TL15 Thrust 4 11.25 64MCr
Power plant H TL15 Output 4 18.75 128MCr
Bridge 20 2MCr
Computer 5MCr
Electronics counter measure suite and enhanced signal porcessing
7 6MCr
Weapons, 2 Partical Beam Barbettes, very high yield and easy to repair, ea 5 tons, 16MCr (32MCr total)
2 triple turrets ea with 2 beam lasers (accurate, easy to repair) and 1 sandcaster, ea 1 ton, 5.25MCr (11MCr total)
Fuel 176 tons
Cargo 15 tons 15
8 staterooms 32 8MCr
Extras fuel scoop
2x fuel processors 2 100000Cr
40 sandcaster tubes 2
Launch 20 14MCr
Ships locker
Software Jump control 4 400000Cr
Manoeurvre 0
Library 0
Evade 2 2MCr
Fire control 4 8MCr
398.5t 430.4Cr

Origninally added radiation shielding, but that would have added another 100MCr to the price, but that may seem excessive for a patrol craft.

Anyway, a much more scarey opponent for a Zhodani scouting mission than the core model

Egil

 

[BFalcon]

Suggestion: Maybe rename it the "Sprinbok" class or something? Maybe the Navy in your setting is using the older ships because more shipyards can produce and maintain it, but has decided that they need a better version, so have pulled a load back for refits to the newer standard. In WWII, such refits often cause the class name to change, so there'd be precedent...

 

[Ishmael]

Springbok class escort
( mine is tech 10 )

 

[Liam Devlin]

I believe the TL-14 edge was predominately in the Imperial Navy through the Solomani Rim War, and was seeng the early TL15 designs by the end of it. Most were upgrades, not fully built vessels at that tech. Note the Azhanti-High Lightning Class Fleet Intruder gets a makeover with Jump-5 drives from their original Jump 4's at the refit yards in CT history in the post 990-1002 Rim War era, so the IN is undoubtedly making do with TL12+ hulls while they await key Yards getting up to speed on TL15 hulled ships.

In the Marches, there are only five TL15 worlds capable of such work; In Deneb (reviewing my notes) there are a few more, but most of these are smaller scaled yards. Internal upgrades can be achieved at C-class & better yards, and there are tons of places where this work can be achieved (the massive TL-14 C-class port of LILAD/ Zeng comes to mind!)

I likes this new variant! Good work Eigil
8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Actually a lot closer to the (TL14) Gazelle found in most editions of Traveller. That always had two big PAs (Good for chasing away the "casual" pirat using non-hardened computers etc) and two triple lasers for point defence. Heavy (for the size) armor and a nice 20dto Fighter/boarding craft

I am not familiar with pre-MgT material, so this is a case of parrellel evolution, certainly the variant in the core book is weakly armed for an expensive military ship

Egil

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

I believe the TL-14 edge was predominately in the Imperial Navy through the Solomani Rim War, and was seeng the early TL15 designs by the end of it. Most were upgrades, not fully built vessels at that tech. Note the Azhanti-High Lightning Class Fleet Intruder gets a makeover with Jump-5 drives from their original Jump 4's at the refit yards in CT history in the post 990-1002 Rim War era, so the IN is undoubtedly making do with TL12+ hulls while they await key Yards getting up to speed on TL15 hulled ships.

In the Marches, there are only five TL15 worlds capable of such work; In Deneb (reviewing my notes) there are a few more, but most of these are smaller scaled yards. Internal upgrades can be achieved at C-class & better yards, and there are tons of places where this work can be achieved (the massive TL-14 C-class port of LILAD/ Zeng comes to mind!)

I likes this new variant! Good work Eigil
8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Thanks.

Almost all of this could be built at TL14, trading off size of some components for less cargo space. I tend to think that the IN will have their ships built in the highest tech world available, and will have facilities at their bases to maintain that tech, so by 1100 even small IN vessels in the Spinward Marches will be built in TL15 facilities (remember that this is a frontier, not a back water), sub-sector naval vessels a mix of TL14 and 15, only plantary navies and some of the colonial navy ships will be TL12 (or less). By 1100 TL15 is not new tech, the IN has had decades to upgrade its ships.

Egil

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Suggestion: Maybe rename it the "Sprinbok" class or something? Maybe the Navy in your setting is using the older ships because more shipyards can produce and maintain it, but has decided that they need a better version, so have pulled a load back for refits to the newer standard. In WWII, such refits often cause the class name to change, so there'd be precedent...

Perhaps, but I tend to see these as a "Gazelle Mark 5" or similar.

Egil

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

May I suggest a Hardened Bridge? Also Stealth Coating is probably worth it for a ship like this. Holographic Bridge controls might be worth it too, it gives a nice DM to tasks.

None of these cost you tonnage, just credits and we all know the IN has lots of those to burn.

Seriously, after TL12, I would expect ALL military bridges to be Hardened and by TL14, all bridges, even civilians, will be Holographic.

 

[zero]

^ Much agreed, and in that case, why stop at the bridge and have full Radiation Shielding and a Stealth Jump Drive too? :wink:

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

May I suggest a Hardened Bridge? Also Stealth Coating is probably worth it for a ship like this. Holographic Bridge controls might be worth it too, it gives a nice DM to tasks.

None of these cost you tonnage, just credits and we all know the IN has lots of those to burn.

Seriously, after TL12, I would expect ALL military bridges to be Hardened and by TL14, all bridges, even civilians, will be Holographic.

Ageed, I was trying not to gold plate it too much...

Egil

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

^ Much agreed, and in that case, why stop at the bridge and have full Radiation Shielding and a Stealth Jump Drive too? :wink:

The full radiatian shielding would have cost 100Mcr, adding over 20% to the cost, I wanted to, but it is a lot of money (though the +6 benefit is very good as well)

Egil

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

So, it becomes a compromise. You WANT to add Rad Shielding but it costs 100MCr. Hardening the Bridge, is cheaper and gives everyone a place to be safe.

Perhaps you have 2 options: Gold-Plated with Radiation Shielding and Silver-Plated with a Hardened Bridge.

As an Escort, I personally don't think it needs a Stealth Jump Drive, but it could certainly be added for "special" mission versions of the ship.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

If it is a Mark1 refitted with Barbettes but not the changed turrets, is this then a Mark1b or a Mark5 or a totally different one? And what about Mark3s (Barbettes but pre-Holodisplay) that have been fittet with the new Command Chair (with coffee mug holder) and the Mark7 electronics, are they Mark7s or Mark3s?

And the most important question: Will Gazelles operating in Bowmans Belt get a special "asteroid belt" camouflage similar to this?

:lol: :lol:

"Gazelle Mk5 (barbette)"

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

So, it becomes a compromise. You WANT to add Rad Shielding but it costs 100MCr. Hardening the Bridge, is cheaper and gives everyone a place to be safe.

Perhaps you have 2 options: Gold-Plated with Radiation Shielding and Silver-Plated with a Hardened Bridge.

As an Escort, I personally don't think it needs a Stealth Jump Drive, but it could certainly be added for "special" mission versions of the ship.

I could image wartime builds having the rad shielding, but the peace time ones not, as a cost saving measure. Hardened bridge and holgraphic controls would be useful additions to both.

Egil

 

[atpollard]

OK, weapons and armor is all well and good, but where is the BLING?

I want my 'pimped out Gazelle' to mount large external speakers along the barbettes and dance on the tarmac, plus mounting gold propellers that spin in the wind and whistle when I cruise.

(Do turrets come in metalic purple?)

 

[rust]

I have a lingering suspicion that the way my online translation
program interpreted "Pimp my Gazelle" is not exactly identical
with the subject of this thread ... :shock:

 

[hdan]

I have a lingering suspicion that the way my online translation
program interpreted "Pimp my Gazelle" is not exactly identical
with the subject of this thread ... :shock:

LOL, I can only imagine!

In case you don't already know: There was (is?) a TV show in the US called "Pimp my Ride", in which people decorate their cars in outlandish ways. The "Pimp" part comes in because (at least in the US) Pimps (that is, "business managers" for prostitutes) often drive outlandish or ostentatiously decorated cars. Or at least they do in the movies, which is close enough.

 

[rust]

Ah - thank you very much.

This makes a lot more sense than the "enforced prostitution
of ungulates" proposed by the translation program. :lol:

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

OK, weapons and armor is all well and good, but where is the BLING?

I want my 'pimped out Gazelle' to mount large external speakers along the barbettes and dance on the tarmac, plus mounting gold propellers that spin in the wind and whistle when I cruise.

(Do turrets come in metalic purple?)

What else is there to do to keep your crew busy in the lonely patrols out of Jewell?

Confuses the Zhodani no end.

Egil

 

[BFalcon]

Ah - thank you very much.

This makes a lot more sense than the "enforced prostitution
of ungulates" proposed by the translation program. :lol:

In the 3I, you never know...