Greetings all,

Long time lurker, first-time poster and new registree.

I, sadly, am not in a position to play an awful lot these days, but my interest in the 40K world and fluff still remains extant. I have just about every 40K RPG supplement from all all the game lines, but find myself drawn back to RT again and again.

From my earliest haphazard ship designing attempts, and having finally shaken off a seemingly eternal attraction to the Conquest-Class Star Galleon, I have had a stab at designing a ship that I think would be fun, usable in a real campaign, not min-maxed but certainly viable and relatively versatile. Please let me know what you think of the design and the planned upgrades over a putative RT's march to the top of Rank 8.

The Executor of Assizes is quite clearly for a war-trader, not necessarily a ship killer (although it can more than hold its own at anything under a cruiser from what I can see). She is most certainly a "siege ship". She is not fast in real-space, but pretty quick in the warp. Tough little piece with good armour and impressive Hull Integrity. The Stygies Bombardment Cannons are thematic but could be quite fun. Once all the upgrades are done, which should be possible even with a starting PF of 20 in relatively short order. Built her on 73 SP from the Warrant Path + Child of Dynasty. The planned upgrades make this ship, in my opinion, a viable flagship even if the putative campaign ends up seeing a small flotilla of additional vessels come under the dynasty's auspices. Indeed, a raider or frigate with a deep space auger and a good turn of speed would be desirable as an early acquisition to serve as an "eyes and ears" consort, but I do not forsee a problem in that happening from what I have read online in terms of how people seem to accumulate ships relatively rapidly in the course of play.

Comments and criticisms welcome. I have gone ahead and included the Acquisition Tests (AT) that I have calculated to give an indication of how soon (or not) a given upgrade could be acquired. I have also put in my "house rule" method of crew improvement which seems the best option to me given the vagaries in the actual books. I would want the crew veteran from a thematic perspective as soon as possible!

Modified, refurbished and repurposed Lathe-Class Monitor-Cruiser “Executor of Assizes”

Statistics: Speed 4, Manoeuvrability +12, Detection +15, Hull Integrity 66, Armour 20, Turret Rating 1, Void Shields 1, Crew Population 100, Crew Morale 102, SP 73

Complications: Resolute, Reliquary of Mars

Essential Components: Modified Jovian-Pattern Class 3 Drive (Archeotech), Miloslav H-616.B Warp Engine, Single Void Shield Array, Gellar Field (Emergency), Command Bridge, Vitae Pattern Life Sustainers, Voidsman’s Quarters, BG-13 Assault Scanners

Weapons: Prow: Stygies-Pattern Bombardment Cannons (Str 3, Dmg 1d10+6, CR 2, Rng 4), Port: Sunsear Las-Broadside (Str 6, Dmg 1d10+2, CR 4, Rng 9), Starboard: Sunsear Las-Broadside (Str 6, Dmg 1d10+2, CR 4, Rng 9

Cargo Holds & Passenger Compartments: Barracks (Good Quality, Space)

Additional Facilities: Extended Supply Vaults, Murder-Servitors, Teleportarium (Archeotech), Trophy Room

Ship Modifiers: Ballistic Skill Tests When Firing Weapons +5 (vs Planetary Targets +10 Total) , Command Tests Made From Bridge +5 (vs Planetary Targets +10 Total), Command Tests Made When Undertaking Hit and Run Actions +40, If Transporting Troops +20 to Command Test Involving Boadring or Hit and Run Actions, Intimidation Tests Against Planet-bound Adversaries +20, Repair Skill Tests -10, Time in Warp Reduced by 50% (Minimum 1 day), Warp Encounters Every 3 days

Achievement Point Modifiers: Criminal +50 (Trophy Room), Exploration +50 (Trophy Room), Military +150 (+200 vs a Planet) (Barrack, Assault Scanners, Stygies Cannon), Trade +50 (Trophy Room)

Space and Power: Space 60 (58 used), Power 60 (60 used)

Planned Component Upgrades:

Increase to (Best Quality): Miloslav H-616.B Warp Engine (AT -20 & AT -30, +1 Power +1 Space), Vitae Pattern Life Sustainers (AT -20 & AT -30, +1 Power +1 Space)

Increase to (Good Quality, Power): Single Void Shield Array (AT -20, +1 Power), BG-13 Assault Scanners (AT-30, +1 Power)

Increase to (Good Quality, Space): Voidsman’s Quarters (AT -10, +1 Space), Stygies Pattern Bombardment Cannons (AT -40, +1 Space), Sunsear Las-Broadside (AT -40, +1 Space), Sunsear Las-Broadside (AT -40, +1 Space), Extended Supply Vaults (AT -10, +1 Space)

Planned Additional Components Post-Upgrades:

Compartmentalised Cargo Hold (Good Quality, Space) (AT -20), Observation Dome (AT -10), Munitorium (AT -50)

Planned Ship Upgrades:

Crew Improvements (Best Quality) (AT -10) Ostentatious Displays of Wealth (Good Quality) (AT -20 & AT -30), Starchart Collection (AT -30), Targetting Matrix (AT -70), Turbo-Weapon Batteries (Good Quality) (AT -50 & AT -60)

Planned Crew Upgrades:

Using a combination of the rules on BFK p. 126 and the “Vast” scale from RT:C p. 272

Competent to Crack (Professional) AT -40, Crack to Veteran AT-50

That ship is really sharp, although - for a dynasty flagship - I'd worry about the turret/shield rating there.

For a dynasty flagship however, I think it lacks a bit of potential. I'd rather have a full cruiser even if it meant leaving some Space open, tbh.

All in all, it's an excelent ship for an starting group looking to have some fun without worrying much about things a larger ship would incur, like: low starting PF, replacements for small craft, etc...

There is that. For 73 SP I could get a slightly-less-than-barebones Tyrant and see it work towards becoming a nasty siege ship over time, my only thought was that with a starting PF of 20 that would take a long time, and if I was playing I would probably want to actually enjoy my early missions too. I wonder if a Secutor rather than a Lathe could work, but at 58 SP that is not much less than the Tyrant to be honest.

BTW, "siege" usually means attrition, which means poor PF gain.

In my experience, militant-traders can gain the most PF through troops/arms dealing and not involving themselves in battle. Depending on how closely/severely your GM controls your PF gain/loss, spending the lives or your household guard and repairing hull integrity constantly, can be quite the drain on it.

The Secutor is one of the best hulls around.

BTW, if you want a good explorer, perhaps the shrike-class raider would be a great choice.

Ok, fiddled around with a Secutor and yes, it is amazing and you can make the "siege ship" concept. Actually the attrition point is well made regarding the word "siege". I could rename the concept "overlord" or "conquest" configuration, or quite simply the "extortion" configuration what with those Stygies looming overhead!

"extortion" configuration what with those Stygies looming overhead!

Now that's the spirit of a good entrepeneur. hahaha