I know that LF and FFG just recently came up with the concept for this beauty, but have they fully fluffed it out yet?

What is its crew complement and how many crew/passengers can it carry?

What weapons does it carry?

Can it land on any planetary surface?

It's just so sexy I want to know more about it!

This would've been a better spot for it:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/forum/422-x-wing-off-topic/

As what you're asking does not relate directly to the game itself. .

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

That is basically all we know at this time. For it to be more fully fleshed out I think we'd have to wait for the RPG, the Rebels cartoon, other EU works or possibly but unlikely one of the new movies. The RPG is probably the best bet.

"Kuat Drive Yards began manufacturing the Raider-class corvette in 6BBY as a dedicated anti-fighter vessel after it was successfully pitched by Lira Wessex, the designer of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. She recognized that the Imperial Navy lacked a small, modern craft to reinforce the TIE fighter squadrons deployed by Star Destroyers, and she designed the Raider-class corvette as a durable, 150m vessel that featured multiple hardpoints and would excel at suppressing Rebel fighter attacks."

"The Raider is a starship made specifically for anti-fighter warfare. Its six dual heavy laser cannons proved more accurate against snubfighters than the turbolaser batteries of its Star Destroyer cousins, and the disruptive effects of its ion cannon emplacements, along with the efficiency of its localized command, make it a powerful addition to small strike forces."

“It’s also a ship that’s particularly well-suited to fighting alongside a number of TIE Advanced. Both the Raider-class corvette and TIE Advanced are well-suited to quick assault missions. They are both equipped with hyperdrives and enough defenses to stand up to a wide range of threats. They can jump into a sector, launch a quick assault, and then jump away. Then, they can leave after the mission is complete. This makes them ideal vessels for use in the Outer Rim"

That's pretty much all we know and all we will know for a while until we see this thing show up in a comic or Rebels or something. I doubt the expansion itself will contain much more lore about the ship than what they gave us in the article.

It is reasonable to assume that it is comparable, though not identical, to the CR-90.

I have plans to use a Raider-class Corvette as the base of operations for an antagonist Inquisitor character in the RPG I'm Game Mistress of for Edge of the Empire.

I'm sure that FFG will come out with more information for the RPG, but it would be an even better fan project.

While FFG's game designers are awesome, to really flesh this one out will take time and dedication that would cost FFG too much labor cost to do right. By fleshing out, I mean deckplanning and figuring out the crew/passengers - and what all they do - and the other things that Stormtrooper721 is talking about. That requires a labor of love - as well as people to criticize bad ideas.

That's essentially part of a project that I am already a part of for the Imperial Star Destroyer (and why I ain't volunteering for a similar project with the Raider). You can read about our (slow but significant) progress on this thread at the Rancor Pit. The Rancor is a forum for the community of players of (or otherwise enthusiasts for) the old D6 rpg by West End Games, but the designs our ISD team is working on are system neutral.

[/shameless plug]

Anyway, I think that FFG will probably give us the bare outlines soon(ish), but if you really want to get a feel for this ship, you're going to have to really stick some time into it, and it's gonna have to be a fan project.

In my head canon it's small enough to land on planets, as a pure military ship has a minimum crew, 6 gunners per turret, command staff of about 12 engineering team of ~20-30 ish, misc operations of about 60ish and can carry roughly 100 Troops, - not including the security crew of the ship which is probably 20-40 naval troops.

Standard weapons loadout (headcanon) 4 ion batteries, 2 turbolaser batteries, 4 quad guns.

I am probably totally full of it.

This would've been a better spot for it:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/forum/422-x-wing-off-topic/

As what you're asking does not relate directly to the game itself. .

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

That is basically all we know at this time. For it to be more fully fleshed out I think we'd have to wait for the RPG, the Rebels cartoon, other EU works or possibly but unlikely one of the new movies. The RPG is probably the best bet.

Good news! The rebel cartoon is official canon, and not Extended Universe.

This would've been a better spot for it:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/forum/422-x-wing-off-topic/

As what you're asking does not relate directly to the game itself. .

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette

That is basically all we know at this time. For it to be more fully fleshed out I think we'd have to wait for the RPG, the Rebels cartoon, other EU works or possibly but unlikely one of the new movies. The RPG is probably the best bet.

Good news! The rebel cartoon is official canon, and not Extended Universe.

Actually it is both. Anything that is not one of the main movies is EU whether it be cannon or legends.

Of notice: a CR90 has a minimum crew of 7 but generally a crew of up to 60.

I worked out my numbers factoring work shifts but maybe drop command staff to 4 officers - CO, XO, NavO and TacO.

Let's drop engineering crew to 4 from 20ish as well.

Operations I reckon a dozen, Gunners 2-4 per turret, factoring in work shifts.

My original figures are still viable, but these revised ones might make more sense.

Questions to be answered: can the ship board other ships to deploy marine/stormtroopers.

Can it land with repulsors?

In doing so, does it need specific docking areas to land?(a CR90 can land planetside but needs a docking port).

Does it have a brig?

In my mind it can land but would need a dock - i need to see the underside of the ship to be sure, maybe it does have a crew ramp or elevator (see the Acclamator and Gozanti for examples of each).

In my mind:

It would have a brig, it can in certain circumstances roost TIE's but this is a modification/jury rigging rather than main purpose, it would carry a complement of naval troopers for boarding activities - possibly stormtroopers.

Before figuring out crew complement, especially added troops, it'd be worthwhile to figure out how much room there would be for people. Given the massive size of that engine, and figuring the size of the reactor necessary to power it, space might be pretty cramped.

Also considering the size of that engine, I hope it moves well, or at least has a serious hyperdrive multiplier.

The Emperor Is On it.

Before figuring out crew complement, especially added troops, it'd be worthwhile to figure out how much room there would be for people. Given the massive size of that engine, and figuring the size of the reactor necessary to power it, space might be pretty cramped.

Also considering the size of that engine, I hope it moves well, or at least has a serious hyperdrive multiplier.

Military ships are typically going to be cramped anyway.

I expect hot-bedding and cramped crew quarters onboard the Raider.

Before figuring out crew complement, especially added troops, it'd be worthwhile to figure out how much room there would be for people. Given the massive size of that engine, and figuring the size of the reactor necessary to power it, space might be pretty cramped.

Also considering the size of that engine, I hope it moves well, or at least has a serious hyperdrive multiplier.

Military ships are typically going to be cramped anyway.

I expect hot-bedding and cramped crew quarters onboard the Raider.

I dunno, looking at the dimensions and official crew of a star destroyer, that screams cramped to me. - With it's trooper complement anyway. A star destroyer is literally a flying city (and has been described officially as such - see the Stele chronicles). It does have a concourse and common areas, but crew quarters aren't going to be big or luxurious. That's a mile long star destroyer though.

a 150 metre to 200 metre long Raider...?

That's way more comparable to the cramped modern military ships.

Im sure that everything is cramped on the Raider. Its not very big, and I would say have a crew of +-30, could probably run on a skeleton crew of 10 or so. If you have ever been on a modern warship you will find that they are very cramped. People would share the same bunk beds and such. The officers would have better space, but still not much.

I imagine on an Imperial Star Destroyer it would be much the same way. There is a lot of stuff that is inside a SD, its gotta be cramped.

Anybody else watch Star Trek and think "my goodness thats a butt ton on space". Star trek ships are not realistic in the amount of interior space they boast...

I completely agree that the Raider would be cramped. That's why I'm skeptical about too much of a trooper complement.

I dunno, looking at the dimensions and official crew of a star destroyer, that screams cramped to me. - With it's trooper complement anyway. A star destroyer is literally a flying city (and has been described officially as such - see the Stele chronicles). It does have a concourse and common areas, but crew quarters aren't going to be big or luxurious. That's a mile long star destroyer though.

Yes, there's a lot of stuff inside an ISD. There's no question about that - but once you get to things being a mile long, you really start to gain some space. People are really small compared to those dimensions, even when you realize that a lot of space is taken up by the hangars area, the reactors and propulsion systems, and the bulk holding tanks in the bow. However, the lower superstructure is reserved for crew quarters and the like, and that's still a lot of real estate.

The way we're deckplanning it, we're taking account of a very hierarchical society, where officers get quarters according to their rank, and enlisted are expected to be packed tight.

Despite its 150m length, with that huge engine, it doesn't really look at big. I was looking for a side view and then the other day it was posted(along with the rear pic of the engine). It's tapered to a point to the bow so it's hard to see it being more than 2-3 decks high plus the command deck. Just hard for me to imagine crew walking around unhindered. It also looked to me that the 6 turret points might actually be pop-ups which eats up interior space as well.

I have no trouble seeing the Raider landing on a planet covertly or otherwise.

I do believe that it would have to have at least modifications re an external rack for carrying support though.

Just wait for some author to Mary Sue it to galaxy shattering levels, and make it so some reb/honorablepirate/emp-done-good steals it and makes the same galaxy it was going to shatter a better warm fuzzy place.

Well, actually the Empire were not wholly evil and did a lot of good things in the greater galaxy, given the ships size system patrols for piracy were probably a common mission type.

Also unlike a slow, unwieldy Star Destroyer, I can actually see one of these catching (perhaps with the help of ion batteries) a smuggler craft. The fastest ship in the galaxy only moves a white 1 forward when ioned.

I just wanted to comment on ship size vs crew compliment and how much space would be available for living conditions. I was on an oiler in the Nav. My ship was about 215 meters long, with a crew compliment of about 245 members. The super structure of the ship was about 25 meters long by 20 meters wide and seven stories high. all operations and officers and chief quarters were in that section.the majority of the crew of about 215 members live in the lower decks under the superstructure. Two decks at about 20 by 30 metres housed the crew. we had 4 berthing that had about 50 crew each, and everyone has their own rack. hot racking was basically for submarines only. the deck above the crew quarters had the galley, ship store, supply room, library, electronics and offices. Engineering comprised two additional decks below the berthings, plus it went back aft another 15 meters. I hope this gives you a better idea of how many crew and what kind of living space can fit in a very small area of a ship. we could go underway for 6 months and still find living on the ship bearable.

I also looked up size and crew complement of a ballistic submarine to compare with. a ballistic sub is about the same length as the Imperial raider at 492 feet, which is close to the 150 metersof the Raider. a ballistic sub has a crew of about a hundred and forty but you have to remember the beam is only about 12 or 13 meters compared to the Imperial raider, which will vary depending on how you design the crew space.

If anyone has seen the crew accommodations on the U.S.S. Olympia docked at Philadelphia compared to the sub docked in Cleveland you can make a fair comparison between the Raider and a Star Destroyer. The Raider would probably be skippered by a senior Lieutenant though he'd be addressed as Captain. The SD would be skippered by a senior captain. No provision on the Raider for VIPs while the SD would have such accommodations for admirals or Vader. Figure a crew compliment on par with one of our WWII destroyers for the Raider. Add a small contingent of Storm Troopers like our Marines and you should come up with a reasonable crew number.

Figure a crew compliment on par with one of our WWII destroyers for the Raider.

Don't forget it's Star Wars, though -- droids and heavily automated systems.