Jovian Diaspora: Alexander-class Destroyer

Image from http://www.fritzwork.de

Ever since I got Diaspora back when it was first released I've been toying with the idea of bringing the ships from Dream Pod 9's Jovian Chronicles into it. Jovian Chronicles was actually my first introduction to DP9 and although I've never managed to play in it I absolutely love the setting! Basically it's hard sci-fi in our own solar system with one caveat, there are exo-armours (think Gundam) and they play a large part in space warfare.

While I quite like the mecha part of the setting, what really got me was the ships, especially when I read the Ships of the Fleet series of books! They might be broken from a rules perspective, but damn, those are some great looking and well thought out ships! Especially the Jovian ones, but I really like the CEGA designs as well. If you're into space ships in general and hard(ish) sci-fi in particular I really can't recommend these books enough. While there are some rules pages in there they are far outnumbered by the pages simply bringing the ships alive! Each book describes three ships in exquisite detail and even includes interviews with crewmembers about their experience aboard. Great fuel for your imagination!

Although the JC vessels are a bit more visually stylized than the ships in Diaspora, mechanically they both adhere to a certain level of realism; exclusive use of reaction mass engines, no artificial gravity (besides, acceleration or spinning modules), actually caring about fuel etc. Basically it felt like a natural fit! So as we're gearing up for Diaspora, and inspired by Mike's excellent work over at The Redoubt, I thought I'd make up some stats for the different ships and use them as the navy for some T:3 system. First up we have the Alexander-class Destroyer.

Image from Ships of the Fleet Volume 1: Jovian Confederation.

T3, Alexander-class Destroyer

The Alexander-class is a fairly new and its main tasks are to help patrol trade routes and act as an escort. It is using a new modular design concept, making it easier to manufacture and maintain. As part of the design a spinning habitat module is included so the crew can enjoy some form of gravity no matter the acceleration.

Main features include wing mounted area defence lasers capable of creating a kind of "laser umbrella" protecting nearby ships from incoming missiles and a powerful spinal mounted particle accelerator. This makes the Alexander a versatile class of ships, being able to both defend against smaller "missile boats" as well as pose a threat to more heavily armoured vessels. (Of course there's a lot more information available in the actual book, 22 pages on the Alexander alone!)

V-shift 3, Beam 5, Torpedo 2, EW 2, Trade 0
Frame OOO OO
Data OOO
Heat OOO OO

Overwatch: May use its beam in defense of friendly vessels.
Slipdrive: Can traverse slipstreams.
Interface Vehicle: has a separate vehicle capable of landing on planet surfaces.

Defender
Trigger happy marines
Spinal mounted particle accelerator of death!
Modular, easy to understand components
Pirates beware


What do you think? A bit too vanilla? Would love to hear your ideas in the comments! I actually came up with a stunt for modelling the particle accelerator at first, giving you +2 to Beam when firing on a "stationary" (a relative term) target. But it seemed unnecessary as you could just cover it with a high Beam score and a fitting Aspect instead. Got to love FATE! If the inspirational juices keep flowing I'll work my way through the Fleet Books and make stats for the different ships.

And lets end the post with another lovely render from Fritzwork...

More later!