 May 28, 2016 - 10:08am | This is a typical pirate frigate in my game and a pirate assault scout as well. Note that I don't utilize full-on warship specs for pirate vessels, and I also don't have their craft depend on limited ammunition type weapons since they can be far from home (and supplies) for lengthy endeavors to keep such weapons armed. And just for grins, here's a pirate frigate crew that can be encountered in my campaign. |
May 28, 2016 - 12:57pm | And here's a pirate freighter I culled from my reverse Volturnus trilogy Star Devil game, updated for more modern game use. |
 May 31, 2016 - 6:28am | I liked the Light Frigate as a possible ship as well. I'd just reconfigure the crew quarters to fit more bunks to accomodate 12 bunks (24 crew). |
February 26, 2017 - 8:41am | On the topic of pirate ships, there needs to be a discussion of pirate ship equipment and the associated skills needed for them. The obvious question are: How does space piracy work? Scenario One: Based on my gaming experience with space piracy, the easiest method is to "tackle" or hinder the target ships ability to escape, and then either reduce their ships to near total destruction or simply kep them tackled until they agree to pay a ransom. This ransom was payed by either a direct, electronic transaction to a bank account (in game of course) or the victim would jetison cargo. The pirates would retrieve the cargo or receive the payment and then release to victim to go on his way. This scenario requires ship equipment and training in the necessary skills to "tackle" ships. It is by far the easiest solution to the above question. Scenario Two: Boarding Action - Very Hard Mode..... In this scenario, the pirate ship still has to tackle the target ship. Then they have to breach the hull; seal it once breached; combat and capture or kill the crew; seize the cargo and perhaps the ship; and then make an escape before authorities can arrive. Scenario One is the method that I will develope and it I believe fits well within the skill sets I was thinking about when thinking about the Pirate PSA. |
February 26, 2017 - 9:02am | While I'm not going to get into the validity of anything on wikipedia, we are talking about application in a fictional setting of Star Frontiers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particle What I pulled mostly from the article as this bit: Anti-alpha particle[edit]In 2011, members of the international STAR collaboration using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory detected the antimatter partner of the helium nucleus, also known as the anti-alpha.[13] The experiment used gold ions moving at nearly the speed of light and colliding head on to produce the antiparticle.[14]
In this I would base that specialized ship equipment, to tackle another ship, on. An Anti-Alpha Partical Weapon or (APW) System. |
February 26, 2017 - 10:24am | Boarding Action - Very Hard Mode.....
In this scenario, the pirate ship still has to tackle the target ship. Then they have to breach the hull; seal it once breached; combat and capture or kill the crew; seize the cargo and perhaps the ship; and then make an escape before authorities can arrive. Not necessarily...zero G and no atmosphere can work to their advantage...or it can hinder them if they are looking to take some passengers as slaves. Once the hull is breached that entire deck depressurizes (if it hasn't been depressurized prior to combat), so sealing the breach does nothing to aid or hinder the ship's crew yet hinders the pirates since they waste time sealing instead of boarding/capturing. Also noteworthy, defeating the airlocks is another handy trade for a pirate tech...simply override the lock and use the airlock to enter a fully pressurized vessel. |
February 26, 2017 - 12:25pm | I agree it could be done, and the action and adventure of a boarding action is the stuff of pirate legend, but there are easier ways to "skin the cat". Disabling their engtines, reducing their hull to about 10% HP and a strongly worded message will get them to "space" their cargo and prey the pirates settle for that. As for sealing the breach, unless the ships are linked by a docking portal (a risky endevourwhen one ship does not wish to be docked with), I'm suggesting some other means of entry would be needed. Yes, you are correct, with Zero-G suits, the boarding party has no concern about working in no atmosphere but pirates (histroically) were risk adverse unless there was no other choice. I of course will consider both scenarios as possible and think about, write and create accordingly. Thanks for your input. |
February 26, 2017 - 3:03pm | Selective targeting allows a gunner to nullify the drives and maneuverability ratings to zero. Most civilian ships lack any defenses so it's a simple matter of shooting until it turns into a floater, at which point dock-linking is routinely easy. For those occasional civilian ships sporting a battery or two, they have to be knocked out first and then the pirates can plink away at the ADF & MR. As such I would say it's quite typical for pirates on the whole to be lacking vacc suits, much like we saw in the opening module of Star Frontiers (the ransacking of the Serena Dawn). I would posit that only "elite" pirates would sport vacc suits for the more advanced boarding actions. |
 February 27, 2017 - 6:24am | I think pirates would avoid having or using expendable ammunition- assault rockets, rocket battery, Torp, etc. Let alone the logistics of obtaining nuclear tipped torps the economics are going to favor beam style weapons. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
