Catalog of Sathar military equipment

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 16, 2012 - 5:28pm
SF-1 Volturnus Planet of Mystery
Artifact: radio telescope, transmitter and automated laser defense

Cybo slugs- flame thrower tech Quickdeath Slavebots- radio controlled by a disembodied sathar brain
Sathar attack robot: (MV: Slow, IM/RS: 7/70, STA: 200, DM: 4d10)

SF-2 Star Spawn of Volturnus
“A large sathar army…..numbering 30,000 plus robots and other weapons”

“Attack on the Mechanon Force”
“a strange new automatic cannon” with ground and air attack capability
Warbots (machine gurns)
Combat robots (lasers)
cybots –slave bots? (gyrojet rifles)
Automatic cannon – 24d10 robot brain,
Sathar gun crew- laser rifle

The Edestakai Meet their Gods
Slitherer & quickdeaths
Sathar- laser rifles

Cybo Death for the Eorna
Cybo dragon – laser and flame thrower tech
Sathar- laser rifles

Charge of the Ul-Mor
Sathar- laser rifles

Sathar Patrol table (random encounters)
Gyrojet weapons, laser weapons, sonic disrupters, combat robot with machine gun.

Sathar miniatures from the box set:
 mortar tube, radio equipment.

Referee screen: Assault on Starship Omicron
Sathar use military skien suit, Albedo screen, laser rifle 20 SEU clip, frag grenade, belt pack.
Client Species: Zuraqqor
Zuraqqor use military skien suit, autorifle
Rogue Robot- zuraqqor design that takes control of and reprograms enemy robots (does this outside of combat or in between encounters) looks exactly like a std. robot of any sort from the Frontier
Cybodragon –flame thrower tech and laser tech
Quickdeath- bio construct

SF-3 Sundown on Starmist
Holographic projector
S.A.S.E. robot Sonic stunner, rocket launcher, electric defense screen
Agents from the core four
SAM rocket or Surface to Space rocket
Slitherer
Hover car
S.A.S.I. robot Automatic pistols and
implanted explosives 3d10 upon death, Sonic disrupter, and needler, Recoilless rifle
Gasmask- reserved for leaders

Bio-constructs:
Clinging violets
Fingerllies
Creepspine- made from a corrupted common animal in the frontier- uses paralysis poison
Grapal vine
Froggs
Lilly-Po
Sail snails
Tick tock tree
Weeping Wallows
Squirreletts

NOTE1: I did not catalog any sathar tech from the Beyond the Frontier series as that campaign would be latter in time than the SW1 and my purpose is to identify common themes in equipment and try to establish a base line on what the sathar carried during SW1.

NOTE2: The sathar artifact and everything in it represents 900 years old technology for the sathar though they must have serviced it during that time and it could have recieved upgrades.

NOTE3: Starmist sees the use of agents from the UPF and new items could also represent stolen tech being added to the sathar's arsenal.

NOTE4: there is the ares or polyhedron article about sathar Von Neuman machines- an automated factory that turns out robotic tanks or combat robots (have to review that) the point is that there is no date on the material and that tech can be present at the beginning of SW1 (In fact I like the idea of the sathar landing 1-2 factories on Laco and Pale and the Royal Guard and Ground Fleet being forced to take on formations of hovertanks- that said I'd like the hover tank design to look similar to the war tank in Starmist either as a suggestion of prior contact with the klikk or perhaps as coincidence-leave that up to individual GMs)
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!
Comments:

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 16, 2012 - 6:18pm
Something should be said at this point about sathar clans- Beyond the Frontier suggests that there are multiple clans vying for dominance with each other and that each focuses on particular techs

I believe that the sathar must trade tech with each other- so if one clan is good at bioconstructs it may trade for robots- thus any tech can be present in a sathar attack but perhaps there is a heavy representation of one technology. Clan Y in the above named KHs campaign focused on fighters. its also possible that a clan actually has a focus on 2 technolgies: robots and cybernetic organisms.

Baseline tech proposal for SW1
laser rifles
robots
cybernet organisms (Cybo dragon, cybo slugg, slave bot)- flame and laser tech a common integration with cybernetic organisms.
bio constructs (quickdeath, Slitherer)
Tech that is available but perhaps not so common: machine guns & auto weapons, gyrojet and other rocket tech, sonic and stun weapons, mortars and frag grenades

Leaders get skien suits, albedo screens, gas mask, and power belts.

Vehicles: shuttles, ground vehicles (trucks) and hover vehicles

I think its easy to also assume that the sathar have cold weather and hazardous enviroment equipment.

The bioconstructs of the Starmist era are undoubtably later creations due to experiementing with organisms taken from within the frontier.

Interesting statement in SF-2 concerning the auto cannon- that its "new"- we can either make something of that statement and state that its a new introduction since SW1 and seen first on Volturnus but I'm not sure that that is needed. Just from looking at the other equipment on the list its easy to envision that they had other "big guns" as well as other planetary defense weapons like the surface to space rocket in Starmist.



I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 16, 2012 - 7:23pm
Deryn_Rys wrote:
I would guess that because of their physical limitations Sathar would rely on power belt packs or back packs as opposed to using power clips, and even if they did use power clips, I think that sathar weapons would not be able to be powered by standard (UPF) clips. For tha matter perhaps sathar weapons have a simple squeeze trigger in the weapon's pommel, handgrip as opposed to a trigger, and because sathar have no shoulders, I don't think that they'd have rifles designed for use by non-sathar, except maybe the Humma (with some trouble)


This was very perceptive- it would seem that sathar dont like automatic weapons, probably because the recoil is difficult to deal with when you have no shoulder (house rule: sathar are -10 when using automatic weapons), Also I like the idea the the firing stud is a simple squeeze mechanism. Also of note is that some sathar robots are equipped with machine guns and the zuraqqor on Starship Omicron were also so the tech is well known to them they just dont like it.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 16, 2012 - 8:49pm
SFKW-3 Face of the Enemy wrote:
Sathar artifacts fall into two categories- those designed for use by both the sathar and their subject races, and those designed exclusively for sathar use. Most distinctively sathar designs will be incomprehensible to the peoples of the Frontier worlds. Character skills cannot be successfully applied to these. (This permits the referee to deny the use of certain captured sathar artifacts in the interest of preserving the mystery of the sathar).

On the other hand, many commonly used sathar artifacts (like weapons, tools, computers, and electronics gear) employ the same basic engineering principles as found in Frontier world technologies, and are designed to be used easily by sathar subject race, even those somewhat less intelligent and dexterous then Frontier races. These items may be successfully studied and used with character skills at the normal -20% modifiers for alien designs. You must decide how much time is decided to figure out the operation of an alien artifact.


SFKH-3 Face of the Enemy

Cockroach I security bots using: laser, electrostunner, sonic stunnner and needler weapons
Spider I work bots

Sathar gear in the submerged sathar vessel:
space suits and LS canisters
Gli-jets with tail directed maneuver controls
engineer tool boxes and engineer laser power torch and power supply
laser rifles and heavy lasers
grenade rifles
examples of every grenade (AD list)
TD-19 explosive
Stun sticks, electro stunners,sonnic stunners, laser pistols, vibro knives, sonnic knives
albedo screen skien suit combos.

On the mother ship- everyone on the mother ship has a personal robot (spider 2)- its a distinguishing feature of clan Y
Technitians and intelligence group have electrostunners and tangler grenades
Officers have laser pistol, tangler, frags and skien suit
Scout crew carries: vibroknife and laser pistol, skiens suit and anti shock implant but could carry hvy laser and grenade rifle
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 16, 2012 - 8:59pm
Blind side for the Sathar: no where is there a chronocom listed in sathar equipment. it is a limitation.
They do have radios but no personal communicators. they never issue them to the lower caste and they only feel that upper caste needs them or can be trusted with them.

I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 28, 2018 - 9:08pm
OK, the following information does not belong to me, but I remember seeing someone post every so often that they wanted to resurrect some information about Sathar weapons they created. I know I got this information from this website, but I can't find the originator.

So, if you see this, and it's yours, I have a Word document version of this that I can send.

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Sathar Physiology and Weapons Design

Sathar physiology and the manner in which it governs the design of their weaponry is a subject that continues to be plagued by a variety of unknowns. What follows in this paper is an attempt to describe and rationalise what is currently understood.

The design and layout of Sathar weapons, like those of the Frontier races, is governed by ease of use and practicality. However, the Sathar only share a few basic physiological similarities (i.e. limb and digit/pseudopod flexibility) with some of those races. This means that their weapons can appear somewhat odd when first encountered, but on close inspection several underlying principles become more obvious.

General Overview

Sathar weapons, especially rifles and pistols, can be broadly separated into two varieties:

'Type 1': those weapons carried by the Sathar during the first part of the Second Sathar War.

'Type 2': those weapons carried by the Sathar in the second part of the Second Sathar War and in more recent conflicts with the UPF.

In general, there is little functional difference between these types. Type 2 weapons now appear to be the most dominant as far as their general issue to Sathar forces, but it seems that a certain amount of Type 1 designs are still in use. The reason for the differences in design are not clear, but it's possible that combat with the UPF led to either refinements or reworking in order to best suit the demands of the new combat situation.

There are two obvious differences between the Type 1 and Type 2 weapons. Firstly, although both types have an exterior structure made from some form of rugged polymer, this structure seems more robust and refined in Type 2 weapons. There has been a definite change in the overall design of Type 2 rifles. Secondly, all Type 1 laser and gyrojet pistols and rifles feature what UPF troops have called a 'bayonet'. This feature is a sharp pointed sheath made from some kind of ceramic-like material that fits over the weapon muzzle. Combat reports have described how some Sathar used such objects in a bayonet-like way when engaging in hand-to-hand combat, whilst others have also noted that this object can inflict burns. Tests on Type 1 weapons with this feature do seem to confirm that it becomes very hot when exposed to fire from the weapon and can retain this heat for some time. It is unclear as to whether this is a design flaw or has some combat purpose for the Sathar.

Eyesight

No Sathar weapons feature gun sights of any kind. The reasons for this are not immediately clear from the outset, but by considering information gleaned from both forensic and combat reports several theories have been developed.

Initially, the study of captured weapons assumed that certain features resembled foresights, but further testing has shown that these are instead a type of cooling mechanism or fin (and more recent captured weapons even omit this feature). This counterintuitive lacking in Sathar weapons may be explained by the aforementioned combat reports. Sathars have not been observed bringing weapons to bear in a way that places them into line of sight - instead, all Sathars seem to fire their weapons 'from the hip' (to use a human phrase). To be more precise, when 'aiming' Sathars brace their rifle-type weapons on their chests (i.e. an area situated approximately between their upper limbs), whilst pistol weapons are held to one side in line with that area. Opportunity and general fire with rifles seems to involve a similar looseness. Despite this, no-one would claim that Sathars are generally poor marksmen. One theory as to why this is so is derived from studies of Sathar eyes and brains. It is well-known that Sathar eyesight is quite remarkable in itself, but it may also possibly mean that their depth and range perception may be acute in a way that aiming (in the sense that we understand it) is carried out in a different manner. Studies have shown that the Sathar visual cortex seems much more developed than those of the Frontier races, and that neural pathways from the eyes are much more complex. This in turn suggests that Sathar eyesight and brain visual processes may involve a very highly developed level of hand-eye co-ordination, although the reasons why the Sathar have evolved in such a way is not yet clear.

Weapon Handling - Rifles and Pistols

In general, Sathars are usually seen to use their upper limbs and hands when performing any combat functions with their weapons. Their lower limbs seem to be used more for carrying and using heavier weapons, although in general such weapons appear rarely in field use. In overall outline Sathar rifles and pistols seem somewhat organic, and it seems that this is related to the ergonomic needs and limitations of Sathar hands.

First and foremost, no pistols or rifles seem to include any obvious triggers nor safety features. Early trials of captured weapons by UPF and Star Law troops in the field were largely unsuccessful, with some weapons being fired successfully, albeit inconsistently, whilst others seemed completely inactive. Initially it was thought that they included some form of disabling function that prevented their use by non-Sathars. Such ideas were quickly abandoned when the weapons were scanned and dismantled. It is now apparent that safety and firing features are embedded within the weapons themselves, and that this is related to the way that Sathar hands apply grip to certain bulbed or curved surfaces. As has been mentioned previously, all Sathar weapons are sheathed in a rugged polymer. These all feature a flexible area at one key point, roughly akin to a trigger. This 'trigger' area controls several functions, as it not only initiates and prevents the firing mechanism but is also used to change power (akin to SEU) settings for laser weapons. To make matters even more complicated this 'trigger' differs in form from rifles to pistols, although ostensibly it performs the same functions. With rifles, the 'trigger' is positioned midway along the front surface of the handgrip; with pistols it lies within its curved underside. 

However, the 'trigger' is not an obvious feature to both casual nor close inspection, and seems highly calibrated to only two digits of the Sathar hand. The middle pair of digits on both Sathar hands appear to be the strongest and most dominant. Dissections have shown that nerve and tissue mass are concentrated in this area and close inspection of holo-vid footage of Sathars in combat also suggest as much. Although it is currently unclear as to how much pressure and twist these digits can apply in normal use, tests of the 'trigger' seem to infer that is activated and adjusted by them. Generally speaking, a certain amount of pressure deactivates the safety catch and initiates firing, whilst twisting pressure adjusts energy settings. To date, only the pseudopods of Dralasite researchers have been able to replicate the correct 'pull' and adjustments. That said, these results have been inconsistent and require a great deal of concentration. This means that Sathar weapons are effectively unusable in any realistic sense for any of the Frontier races (even Dralasites), requiring more co-ordination and attention than is practical in a combat situation. This problem is particularly more pertinent to Sathar pistols, as their more organic shape is poorly suited to the hands of all Frontier races, aside from Dralasites.

Weapon Handling - Bracing

As there is an apparent preference for recoilless weapons (lasers and gyrojets), Sathars seem only to brace rifle-type weapons when aiming, as has been previously noted. Their rifle stocks end in a flattened pad, which is placed centrally on the chest area and has some degree of flexibility. When using grenade rifles, Sathars always use this bracing technique - although they also seem capable of bracing such weapons on the ground and using them in a similar fashion to a mortar. It is unclear why the Sathar eschew the use of weapons similar to automatic rifles and pistols, or needler-like weapons. One theory is that, as they have become a space-faring race, they have excluded any recoil-operated weapons from their inventory. Another is that their bodies are poorly suited to using such weapons. It has been observed that Sathars seem to take some care bracing themselves when using grenade rifles, and either lean back on their lower limbs or some solid surface in order to help absorb the effects of recoil.

Weapon Handling - Ammunition

Ammunition clips for Sathar weapons are differentiated , like those of the Frontier races, between those that need a power supply and those that hold some form of physical ammunition. However, Sathar clips for either type appear to be of a strikingly similar bulb-like design and thus are difficult to identify until inspected at close hand. The reason for this seems to be one of functionality of handling, as all magazines are used as a form of fore grip on Type 1 and 2 rifles. Only close inspection of the round/energy feed part of the clip reveals whether it is an energy or gyrojet clip - the former has a chamfered hole at its centre, whilst the latter has a rectangular slot. It is not clear how the Sathar differentiate between the two, as crated clips in captured stockpiles look exactly the same until inspected more closely. Tests of both have shown that the energy clips have a slightly more bulbous cross section, although to the naked eye this difference is not visible.

All clips are easily inserted into their respective clip feed areas, and only required a small amount of twist in order to be released. This does make them seem somewhat fragile, but tests have shown that it does require a great deal of force to separate a clip from a  weapon if this method is not used.

One possible but unconfirmed feature of the Sathar energy clip is that it can been made to function as short-duration incendiary device. Anecdotal reports describe Sathars occasionally using them to start fires or to burn through materials. However, tests have not revealed how this is done or whether it is actually possible and it is unclear how this function is initiated.

Weapon Handling - Grenades

Sathar grenades seem to fulfil similar functions to those used by the UPF. However, as they share a similar 'trigger' mechanism to other Sathar weapons, their use by non-Sathars is extremely limited and therefore of little practical combat use. Another problem is there is no outward difference between the shape of the various different grenade types although (as with the Sathar energy clip) closer inspection has shown that there are extremely subtle differences in the shape of each type.

Weapon Handling - Rocket Launchers

Although uncommon, the Sathars do make some use of what could be called a rocket launcher. However, all Sathar rocket launchers are self-contained one-shot disposable weapons and are reliant on an individual soldier wearing a mounting harness. The launcher unit is attached to this harness in order for it to be fired, otherwise it remains inert. It is currently unclear as to how these weapons are fired once launcher and harness are united.

Functionality

Although very robust designs, Sathar weapons do appear to have certain functionality problems. The most pronounced of these is the complete inability for a Sathar soldier to clear weapon jams. There is nothing within the design of their gyrojet weapons, either Type 1 or Type 2, that allows a jam to be cleared. The difficulties encountered during tests of the Sathar trigger mechanism has meant that it is not certain how often weapon jamming occurs, and so the assumption is that jamming is extremely rare or that a Sathar is expected to use some other means of attack. The prevalence of laser weapons amongst the Sathar ranks suggests that this problem is either ignored or is unimportant as far as combat operations are concerned.

Another problem is that Sathar weapons are completely self-contained units. There is no way that a Sathar soldier can disassemble their weapon. UPF testing of captured weapons has been plagued by this inconvenience, as pistols and rifles have to be almost destroyed in order to access their internal workings. Sensor scans of the internal structures have, however, gone some way in helping researchers understand how the weapons work. It seems that they Sathar consider their weapons to be disposable and/or so inexpensive to mass-produce that there is no need for their maintenance in the field.

 

his is great.  Can't wait to see the finished sketches.  Once you're done, we'd love to publish it as an article in the Frontier Explorer.  I just wish we had had it in time to put into our last issue as that one was focused on the Sathar.

Some thoughts I've had on weaponry, specifically the laser pistol and rifle, feel free to take them or leave them as you will:

  • The power clips hold 16 SEU (assuming the sathar use a base 8 numbering system)
  • Their beltpack holds 32 (although I'm toying with 64)
  • The backpack holds 128
  • The power settings are not completely variable like on UPF weapons but rather are powers of 2.  The pistol can be set to 1, 2, 4, or 8 SEU damage
  • The rifle can be set to those plus 16 SEU for a single shot.
  • Their equivalent of the heavy laser can be set at either 16 or 32 SEU per shot.
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 29, 2018 - 6:24am
JCab747 wrote:


Some thoughts I've had on weaponry, specifically the laser pistol and rifle, feel free to take them or leave them as you will:

  • The power clips hold 16 SEU (assuming the sathar use a base 8 numbering system)
  • Their beltpack holds 32 (although I'm toying with 64)
  • The backpack holds 128
  • The power settings are not completely variable like on UPF weapons but rather are powers of 2.  The pistol can be set to 1, 2, 4, or 8 SEU damage
  • The rifle can be set to those plus 16 SEU for a single shot.
  • Their equivalent of the heavy laser can be set at either 16 or 32 SEU per shot.


I like this. This is the sort of thing I would use if the PCs are trying to scavenge sathar equipment for use.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 29, 2018 - 6:31am
Do you recall who might have created it? I remember seeing the user sometime in the past saying that he had moved and didn't have the information handy. He was originally going to try to whip it into shape to submit it to FE... poor FE... anyway, yes, it's pretty good stuff.
Joe Cabadas

Shadow Shack's picture
Shadow Shack
April 15, 2018 - 1:16pm
jedion357 wrote:
SF-2 Star Spawn of Volturnus 
“A large sathar army…..numbering 30,000 plus robots and other weapons”

According to KH that would take at least 3000 assault transports for the troops alone (bots & weapons would be shipped on freight transports). Which begs the question: why did the worms utilize such a meager fleet size when they attacked the civilized worlds? ;)
I'm not overly fond of Zeb's Guide...nor do I have any qualms stating why. Tongue out

My SF website

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 15, 2018 - 1:24pm
Shadow Shack wrote:
jedion357 wrote:
SF-2 Star Spawn of Volturnus 
“A large sathar army…..numbering 30,000 plus robots and other weapons”

According to KH that would take at least 3000 assault transports for the troops alone (bots & weapons would be shipped on freight transports). Which begs the question: why did the worms utilize such a meager fleet size when they attacked the civilized worlds? ;)

I think the Sathar Destroyer technical book that was put out helps answer that question. They can really pack'em in on those ships. Hey, maybe some of them come in stassis chambers and get thawed for the assault!
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 15, 2018 - 1:28pm
That's If I understood your comment correctly.

... wait a minute... Maybe they kind of know it's not a well populated world. They had thier monitoring station on Volturnus for what? Nine centuries!

Maybe the Sathar brain that operated the station liked staying alive and had his own miniature kingdom going on. If he... or it... reported the activities of the Star Devil and Eorna earlier, it probably would have shortened its lifespan.

No need for a monitoring station with Sathar brain if the Sathar fleet reappears and blows everything surviving to kingdom come, right?

The Sathar brain probably sent out the alert to the fleet when it realized the adventurers were going to conquer its station.

Just a little out of the box thinking.


Joe Cabadas

Shadow Shack's picture
Shadow Shack
April 15, 2018 - 1:41pm
JCab747 wrote:
I think the Sathar Destroyer technical book that was put out helps answer that question.

Canon-wise, no...but that is an interesting take.

Granted KH had not been penned when SF:2 was released, still...retcon says it would need a huge fleet for the uncivilized world of Volturnus yet less than 5% of that was dispatched to overtake 26 civilized worlds of the UPF.
I'm not overly fond of Zeb's Guide...nor do I have any qualms stating why. Tongue out

My SF website

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 15, 2018 - 1:48pm
Maybe the Sathar suffer from overconfidence in their war making abilities.
Joe Cabadas

Shadow Shack's picture
Shadow Shack
April 15, 2018 - 3:22pm
So I've been contemplating the Sathar Destroyer packing in troops. If they stow the troops as frozen class, they literally could transport hundreds (if not thousands) in a ship. After all I permit half sized holds on UPF capital ships (i.e. 2.5-unit holds on frigates, 3U holds on destroyers, etc) so it stands to reason those holds could be used as frozen berths instead of cargo when needed. 

However there is still a question (and maybe the SD manual has an answer, I never downloaded it before it disappeared): how do those troops get to the ground? A frigate or destroyer does not carry a compliment of shuttles, let alone enough to ferry hundreds (or thousands) of troops from orbit to surface.
I'm not overly fond of Zeb's Guide...nor do I have any qualms stating why. Tongue out

My SF website

JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 15, 2018 - 3:49pm
Shadow Shack wrote:
After all I permit half sized holds on UPF capital ships (i.e. 2.5-unit holds on frigates, 3U holds on destroyers, etc) ...
\
Now that's a neat idea.
Joe Cabadas

TerlObar's picture
TerlObar
April 16, 2018 - 7:16pm
Actually, I did put shuttles on the Sathar destroyer.  Eight in fact.  Enough to ferry the 500+ troops and attack creatures on board to the ground. And it's still up on the the Frontier Explorer website under the Special issues link.
Ad Astra Per Ardua!
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JCab747's picture
JCab747
April 16, 2018 - 9:06pm
I liked that design. "Canon" or not.
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
April 19, 2018 - 9:21am
JCab747 wrote:
That's If I understood your comment correctly.

... wait a minute... Maybe they kind of know it's not a well populated world. They had thier monitoring station on Volturnus for what? Nine centuries!

Maybe the Sathar brain that operated the station liked staying alive and had his own miniature kingdom going on. If he... or it... reported the activities of the Star Devil and Eorna earlier, it probably would have shortened its lifespan.

No need for a monitoring station with Sathar brain if the Sathar fleet reappears and blows everything surviving to kingdom come, right?

The Sathar brain probably sent out the alert to the fleet when it realized the adventurers were going to conquer its station.

Just a little out of the box thinking.




I like this.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
February 15, 2019 - 11:49am
I have the remastered version of Starspawn of Volturnus. Does the Sathar automatic cannon truly just have 60 structure points? No armor at all? Is it wheeled, tracked, or hover? And it needs two crew members? 

It seems like a very light vehicle but a hit does 24d10 points of damage to any targets in a square. Squares for the encounter were 5 meters across... so a 2.5 meter blast radius? 

Characters in the immediate surrounding squares "must make STA check or be stunned for 1-10 turns, Robots are neverstunned." So, the warhead has a secondary blast radius?
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
February 15, 2019 - 4:17pm
OK, I've come up with some statistics for the Sathar Automatic Cannon, using Larry Moore's vehicle design system from Star Frontiersman magazine (which in turn is based on the "Tanks a Lot!" story from Dragon.

SLAC-1 Sathar Light Automatic Cannon

Type: Light Combat Vehicle

Protection Level: 2

Size: 2 (2-4 person small car)

STA: 400

Crew: 2

Top/Cruise Speeds: 60 meters per turn/40 meters per turn (54 kph/24 kph)

Turn Speed: 40 meters per turn

Accel./Decel.: 40/60 meters per turn

Weapon: Sathar Small Automatic Cannon mounted on turret

Attack: 70

Damage: 24d10.

Blast Radius: 4/6 meters

Ammunition: 40 shells

ROF: 1

Defense: Inertia

Range: PB 150/S 300/M600/L 1km/E 2km

The SLAC-1 was first encountered by Frontier forces during the exploration of Volturnus. Apparently it is an infantry support/anti-aircraft weapon that is mounted on a lightweight, tracked vehicle.

Equipped with a sophisticated fire control system, its base chance to hit is 70. With its automatic shell loading system, it can fire one shell per turn at either aerial or ground based targets. The cannon cannot move and fire during the same turn.

The crew members include two driver/gunners, who can drive and fire the weapon. The two crewmembers are partially visible and receive hard cover if they are fired upon. These Sathar are typically armed with a laser rifle each with 1 power clip. They may or may not have additional armor or weapons.


Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
February 17, 2019 - 7:22am
JCab747 wrote:
I have the remastered version of Starspawn of Volturnus. Does the Sathar automatic cannon truly just have 60 structure points? No armor at all? Is it wheeled, tracked, or hover? And it needs two crew members? 

It seems like a very light vehicle but a hit does 24d10 points of damage to any targets in a square. Squares for the encounter were 5 meters across... so a 2.5 meter blast radius? 

Characters in the immediate surrounding squares "must make STA check or be stunned for 1-10 turns, Robots are neverstunned." So, the warhead has a secondary blast radius?


maybe its tech borrowed from a client or conquered species. this species went in for light armor.

In designing armored vehicles you have a triangle of features: mobility, armor and fire power, you cannot emphasize all three at the expense of one. high mobility invariably means less armor or less fire power. So yes this could have as low as 60 structural points. but should be fairly mobile balanced against how much firepower it has.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
February 17, 2019 - 7:49am
jedion357 wrote:
JCab747 wrote:
I have the remastered version of Starspawn of Volturnus. Does the Sathar automatic cannon truly just have 60 structure points? No armor at all? Is it wheeled, tracked, or hover? And it needs two crew members? 

It seems like a very light vehicle but a hit does 24d10 points of damage to any targets in a square. Squares for the encounter were 5 meters across... so a 2.5 meter blast radius? 

Characters in the immediate surrounding squares "must make STA check or be stunned for 1-10 turns, Robots are neverstunned." So, the warhead has a secondary blast radius?


maybe its tech borrowed from a client or conquered species. this species went in for light armor.

In designing armored vehicles you have a triangle of features: mobility, armor and fire power, you cannot emphasize all three at the expense of one. high mobility invariably means less armor or less fire power. So yes this could have as low as 60 structural points. but should be fairly mobile balanced against how much firepower it has.
 

That could be. I'll work on some revised stats. 

My guess is that it's weak on the structure point side because the PCs have to kill it off in the volturnus adventure. 
Joe Cabadas

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jedion357
February 24, 2019 - 1:09pm
Villains of Volturnus has a specialized sathar holo disk used by a sathar to pose as the leader of a pirate outfit.

It has an internal power supply but also mates with frontier power belts. it also seems to have a lower chance that someone might see through it. the standard for Frontier holo tech is 30% so maybe on a 5% chance?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
February 24, 2019 - 1:35pm
jedion357 wrote:
Villains of Volturnus has a specialized sathar holo disk used by a sathar to pose as the leader of a pirate outfit.

It has an internal power supply but also mates with frontier power belts. it also seems to have a lower chance that someone might see through it. the standard for Frontier holo tech is 30% so maybe on a 5% chance?
 

Sounds reasonable.
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
February 24, 2019 - 1:42pm
Ares Issue #15 "Matters of Fact" on Von Neumann machice
second part by David Cook "In Game Terms"

lists a Sathar Ravager
hovercraft armed with a hvy laser to laser canon. stats.

article seems to suggest that the Von Neumann machine is from theseus and was sent out to pre colonize by collecting and processing materials for follow on colonist. program was discontinued because a primitive race was wiped out by one of these automated factories and a vrusk colony was forced to fight one. not all of the Von Neumann ship/plants were found and the sathar ravager is presented as in conjunction with the frontier machines. suggesting that sathar found and corrupted one.

I'm inclined to make the sathar ravager a standard "armored vehicle" the the Royal Guard of Clarion fought on Laco during the SW1.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
February 24, 2019 - 4:36pm
jedion357 wrote:
Ares Issue #15 "Matters of Fact" on Von Neumann machice
second part by David Cook "In Game Terms"

lists a Sathar Ravager
hovercraft armed with a hvy laser to laser canon. stats.

article seems to suggest that the Von Neumann machine is from theseus and was sent out to pre colonize by collecting and processing materials for follow on colonist. program was discontinued because a primitive race was wiped out by one of these automated factories and a vrusk colony was forced to fight one. not all of the Von Neumann ship/plants were found and the sathar ravager is presented as in conjunction with the frontier machines. suggesting that sathar found and corrupted one.

I'm inclined to make the sathar ravager a standard "armored vehicle" the the Royal Guard of Clarion fought on Laco during the SW1.
 

Neat idea. You'd have to go for it since I don't have Ares Issue #15.
Joe Cabadas

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jedion357
February 24, 2019 - 9:43pm
https://ia801901.us.archive.org/17/items/AresMagazineSpecialEdition2/Ares%20Magazine%20Special%20Edition%202.pdf
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 5, 2019 - 9:23pm
what is the sathar wearing? I see a helmet
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 5, 2019 - 11:33pm
I forgot about the back cover! Yes, that's what it looks like undestroyed! So, it must be a hover vehicle, not a tracked one as I was guessing.

It must have to pivot in place rather than having a turret.

And those exposed shells! I'll have to count how much ammo it's supposed to have. Looks like a lot of stuff to go BOOM! when hit in the wrong place.

Yeah, only 60 structure points for that thing.
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 5, 2019 - 11:35pm
I guess 30+ shells for the ammo.

The crew looks like they are suited and wearing helmets.

The module says they are supposed to be mostly covered, well, they're pretty exposed looking here. Call for a sniper!
Joe Cabadas

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jedion357
March 6, 2019 - 5:23am
This is supposed to move? I thought is was basically and anti air/ artillery gun.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!