Ship: Ithaca Class Minelayer
Class Overview
| Class | Cruiser |
|---|---|
| Role | Minelayer |
| Manufacturer | Yorvanik-Ballantyne Engineering |
| Placeholder Quick Overview |
Ship Class Image
Class Specifications
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| HP | 60 |
| AC | 13 |
| Armor | 15 |
| Speed | 1 |
| Crew Skill | +2 |
| Power | 30 / 2 free |
| Mass | 50 / 5 free |
| Crew | 150 / 350 |
| Hull Class | Cruiser |
| NPC CP | 6 |
| Weapons | (see under Armaments (Game Mechanics)) |
| Fittings | Astromine Deployment & Assembly Facility, Advanced Navigation System, Extended Life Support, Extended Stores, Survey Sensor Array |
| Hardpoints | 6 |
| Cost | 850m base price, 51m maintenance, 12m yearly crew cost |
| Hull Dimensions | Length: 420m Width: 70m Height: 70m Mass: 55.000t |
Others (Technical Fluff)
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Power | 1x LFS FT/55X Fusion Cells |
| Propulsion | 4x CADR Di-Ion “Marathon”-I Engine |
| Sensors | LFS ABY/590x Phased Array Radar; ZCS DSWS Suite |
| Armaments | 2x CAI 60mm Autocannon Defense Turret 1x HMC 3x120mm Turret HMC Astromine Deployment and Assembly Facility |
| Cargo Capacity | 500 TEU |
Armaments here is what is physically mounted on the ship, for what weapons the ship can utilize in combat, see under Armaments (Game Mechanics)
Class Armaments (Game Mechanics)
| Weapon | Attack Bonus | Damage | Special |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60mm Autocannon | +2 | 2d4 | Flak |
| 120mm Turret | +2 | 2d6 | AP 10 |
| Astromine Damage: 5d8 |
Defenses (Only on Military Ships)
| Defense Type | Description |
|---|---|
| - | - |
Operational History
The Ithaca class was commissioned half-way through the Second Gate War, born from a desperate UPN need for strategic area denial. The Terran Empire’s aggressive flanking maneuvers had stretched UPN fleets thin. Rushed into service, the first of its class, the UPNV Ithaca, and her sister ship, the Odyssey, laid the critical minefield protecting UPN assets during the final, bloody weeks of the Battle at the Twin Gates. This Minefield is credited with blunting at least three major Imperial assaults, buying time for UPN forces to regroup and solidify the stalemate. After the war, almost all Ithaca-class vessels are tasked with the monotonous but vital duty of maintaining and expanding the defensive minefield that stretches along the Serengeti Line. Only a few are ever seen away from the front, usually returning to core shipyards for major refits or critical maintenance.
Typical Missions
| Mission Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Serengeti Line Replenishment | The bread-and-butter mission for most Ithacas. This involves patrolling a designated sector of the Line, de-arming and replacing aging or damaged mines, and deploying new, upgraded patterns to counter suspected Confederacy ECM or minesweeping techniques. It’s a tense, methodical job where a single miscalculation can be fatal. |
| Forward Area Denial | A rare but critical offensive mission. An Ithaca, heavily escorted, will push into a contested region like the Kryx Nebula to lay a temporary minefield. This can be used to block a rival’s access to a resource-rich asteroid cluster, seal off a jump point ahead of a fleet engagement, or create a safe perimeter for a UPN black site. |
| Insurrection Suppression | In systems plagued by unrest, such as those targeted by the Free People of Badigo, an Ithaca can be deployed to lock down orbital lanes around a planet. By mining the standard approach and departure vectors, it can effectively blockade a world, preventing insurgent vessels from escaping or receiving supplies. |
Story Hooks
- The Silent Section: A multi-kilometer stretch of the Serengeti Line has gone “dark”—all mines in the sector have stopped reporting their status. The PCs are assigned as part of the escort for the UPNV Ozymandias, an Ithaca-class sent to investigate. Is it a catastrophic system malfunction, a new form of stealth minesweeping by the Confederacy, or have the mines simply been… stolen?
- A Mine of a Different Color: The PCs are contracted for a clandestine mission aboard a decommissioned Ithaca operated by the UPoS Intelligence Bureau. Their objective isn’t to lay explosive mines, but sophisticated data-mines (spy probes) deep within the network of a corporate rival or a neutral system leaning towards the Confederacy. The mission is complicated when a Confederacy patrol stumbles upon their position, forcing them to use the ship’s more traditional capabilities to cover their escape.
- The Factory’s Ghost: The crew of the UPNV Argos is reporting strange malfunctions within their Astromine Assembly Facility. Systems activate on their own, half-finished mines appear in assembly cradles, and crew members swear they see figures moving in the cavernous, automated factory decks. The PCs are sent aboard to investigate, tasked with determining if it’s sabotage, a nascent AI forming in the factory’s logic core, or something genuinely supernatural haunting the heart of the ship.
Additional Details
The heart of the Ithaca-class is the HMC Astromine Deployment and Assembly Facility, a cavernous, heavily automated factory that takes up nearly a third of the ship’s internal volume. Raw materials are processed into a variety of astromines, from simple kinetic-kill impactors to sophisticated sensor-trip mines that can identify targets based on their drive signatures. This on-site manufacturing capability gives the Ithaca incredible endurance and flexibility, making it one of the most effective strategic assets in the UPN fleet. However, a critical hit to the assembly facility can be catastrophic, potentially triggering a chain reaction that could cripple or destroy the entire vessel.