Ah....the leviathan class. Proof that in space, putting a sufficiently large engine in the back of a brick is a workable concept.
It's primary stomping grounds are the rimward areas of the Spinward Marches and the Trojan Reaches, so I'm going to give it a major upgrade.
Makes sense. The arrival of a single heavy freighter is a big deal on the worlds off major trade routes, so a suitably defensible ship is a worthwhile thing to have.
It MUST be completely self sufficient
Agreed. By its very nature it will be operating in systems which may not have fuel refining ability and/or service capability, so a decent quantity of operating spares (see capital ship endurance requirements in High Guard) and fuel processing capacity are indeed mandatory.
and have enough firepower to scare off even an attempt at high jacking by well armed and armored pirates, no to mention Aslan raiding and slave ships.
Accepted. But note the distinction - enough firepower to 'scare off' an attempt does not necessarily mean 'beat' said ships.
Just a note... I will have rail guns either in barbettes, or maybe even the 50 ton bay (can you say autofire!!!) because IMTU railguns are armor piercing, just like their smaller guass gun cousins. Imagine a 3d6 autofire rail gun ignoring 3 points of starrship armor! That would make anyone think before attacking a Leviathan class MC.
Railguns are awesome weapons, but - it should be noted - catastrophically short on range. Being innacurate at medium range is one thing, but being ineffective is quite another. On the one hand, railguns do give you impressive point defence against boarding craft, but it's very easy for a a more manouvrable opponent (and if you're a freighter with military pretensions, every opponent will probably be more manouvrable) to sit at medium range pumping called shots into your sensors and m-drive.
Personally, I prefer railguns on fast gunships and smallcraft which have the ability to close on an opponent - although I'm tempted to use them for ork/reaver type ships (heavy, scrap-built badguys who look scarier than they are). I occasionally use Ortillery torpedoes as ship-to-ship weapons for the same reason - it makes the point defence gunners feel awesome but make a big enough bang to scare the bejezus out of whoever lets the first one past...
Is a 50 ton p-beam or fusion bay overkill?
If it's legal, then no. It certainly justifies the use of the word 'cruiser' in the design!
I would advise fusion weaponry - you're not a military ship per se; you want a big enough gun to make a potential attacker go 'what the hell!' but hope never to have to fire it. The fusion gun is still 80% as lethal but has 40% of the ongoing maintenance costs.
Don't forget the original's optional external modules. 600tons of demountable fuel in 2 pods (port and starboard) plus 200tons of cargo OR 2 100ton Scout/Couriers slung between. So potentially up to 2,600tons originally. With more range and/or endurance. The fuel tanks would be handy for rift crossing or avoiding areas of high threat or other dangers.
Agreed. Docking clamps and drop tank mounts are good for general-purpose operations; a ship like this could find itself doing just about anything in a pinch. An 1800 dTon hull with a jump-3 capability can still manage jump-2 (which covers most routes) with a pair of s-type scouts, 200 dtons of cargo, or an extra jump-1's worth of fuel slung on its flanks.
As for added fire power while only fitted with 10 double turrets (6 beams and 4 missile/probe launchers) it did have a full hardpoint allocation, leaving 6 more hardpoints to add weapons to. In my opinion they'd be limited to fixed double mounts (no tonnage reserved or needed) supported by the model/7 computer (per the old CT rules in Solomani) and model/5 backup (averaging it to a model/6 for fire support of 6 hardpoints for ease of build )
Key point is the distinction between the roles of pulse and beam lasers (as opposed to the latter being simply a better version of the former).
Fixed mounts are fair enough - are almost a no-brainer unless you have a downside to them in your games*. Plus, this is a fighting merchant ship - in proper Hornblower-esque tradition, it's gotta have broadsides!
Carrying a bay weapon eats into your cargo carrying capacity.
True. But it does add a certain 'oh holy hell' moment to any pirate who thinks you're an easy kill. A 5D6 weapon can quite realistically total a 100 dTon ship with a single shot, so no-one short of truly gunned-up corsairs will dare go for you. You could, alternatively, take a set of particle barbettes, but the thing is that a fusion gun is the same price.
In stead of backup drives, I added extra armor and armored bulkheads for the maneuver drive.
Do I remember seeing somewhere that armoured bulkheads were only for internal components?
(i.e. not turrets or m-drives?)
It's a sensible move, anyway. Reinforced hull might be a nice one, too. It captures the feel of a ship whose survivability is mostly a matter of bulk...
- 0 tons, reflect coating (might drop since there are a battery of sand casters)
In all honesty, I'd rather keep the reflec than the sandcasters. On the other hand, the sandcasters cost 5 MCr and the Reflec costs 180 MCr. Even the most successful merchant in the most dangerous regions of the reach has to think of the bottom line sometime - that's Cr 180,000 in maintenance per month.
0 tons, radiation shielding (a very expensive add-on, but not critical)
I'd agree. Let's be honest, if a Theev pirate fleet wants to take this ship, it will do. The point of the merchant cruiser is to make attacking it economically and tactically unwise to the point that neither captain nor crews really want to do so. A fusion bay does a pretty good job of that. The thing is, radiation shielding only matters if the enemy is firing particle guns or nukes at you - in which case matters have already moved beyond the 'pirate seeking to disable you' range. As long as you've got a hardened bridge and repair drones the 'crew hit' isn't an issue and it's not like you're trying to build a real warship.
- 5 tons, very advanced electronics
Backup sensor array. Seriously. Bay weapons can't be damaged by external hits, but three sensors hits and that awesome cannon is capable of nothing but a pretty lightshow.
You know, when I think about it, partial streamlining only saves you 10% of the basic hull cost.
I kept it partially streamlined just to keep with the look and feel of the original design, but it might not be worth the savings if I get rid of the pennice bay... also the fuel scoops would be free...
True, but it kind of ceases to be a leviathan at that point. Plus that is 18 Mcr. On the other hand, knowing you can land at the class X designated muddy field in the arseendofnowhere system is reassuring to someone who makes a living on the fringes - so I'd call that a justifiable investment.
* We work that a ship which loses its m-drive loses the use of any fixed mounts.
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