So I finished the 'mini' campaign that was playing (thanks to all who contributed with their ideas in this forum, I used a lot! players loved it) and I'm back to my classic D6 campaign but finally using FFG system.

The idea of this campaign is that PCs are trying to recover their mother planet. They have lots of skill but very few resources vs the Empire which in this sector struggles to maintain their rule but they still have more resources (typical).

So there are blockades in key planets of the sector, some of them with Star Destroyers.

I need a ship that can challenge the Star Destroyers but that is smaller. The idea is that there is a particular planet in the sector with tough natives that have tough ships that can hide underneath the surface. They use a few always but have more hidden. They are a pain for the sector's Moff as they create problems every so often while other planets have pretty much fallen.

The aesthetics would be something like attached (taken from Master of Orion 4)

I thought starting with the Dreadnought - Class Heavy Cruiser. But I have literally no experience with capital ship combat. I'll be using the Capital Ship Combat Suplement that a forum user posted (version 2) and I want to do a few, basically 1vs1 (+ some starfighters) and the rest will be handled mass combat.

As usual, any ideas welcome.

If they're going against a Star Destroyer, they'll need to be very survivable and easy to repair. Survivable can come in either speed, shields, or tough armor. Given their size, they will likely need to have tough shields and armor, shields in particular. Avoiding damage is better than preparing damage.

They also can't stick around very long since they don't have the staying power, so alpha-strike is important. To this end, Proton Torpedo launchers or Assault Concussion Missile launchers are going to be very important. But getting those in range without being pummeled into oblivion is also quite difficult, so they may be best off loading up with really long ranged weapons, perhaps heavy mass drivers (like in Halo). Mass drivers have theoretically infinite range, but I'd suggest making it Extreme range with Inaccurate +1 for each band past X. That represents increased reaction time for distant targets.

Their object probably isn't to outright kill a ship, but rather damage it severely enough that it has to be taken out of commission for repair, or else has reduced operability for a time. Torpedoes are really good at this, mass drivers less so. Mass driver rounds aren't going to penetrate and do as much damage (lower crit, lower breach) and so do mostly hull damage, which isn't as important to the ship's operation.

They'll probably use ambush tactics whenever possible, particularly against weaker ships or ships with thin armor. Imagine being the captain of a Ton-Falk when you see a barrage of mass driver rounds incoming out of nowhere.

As always thanks for replying!

Torpedoes + Missiles, yes. Actually it's a great way for me to generate side adventures related to the mini campaign. That mini campaign happened mainly in this side planet outside the sector connected through a secret path through a nebulose. Planet is dodgy full of scumbags doing dodgy dealing so seems cool to have a mission to get illegal missiles that maybe somebody else wants to take.

Mass drivers sounds good but I haven't heard of that. I was reading the rules, do you know where can I find it? I was thinking if they are extreme that might not end up going into the whole moving out of range and chase?

17 minutes ago, Josemix said:

Torpedoes + Missiles, yes. Actually it's a great way for me to generate side adventures related to the mini campaign. That mini campaign happened mainly in this side planet outside the sector connected through a secret path through a nebulose. Planet is dodgy full of scumbags doing dodgy dealing so seems cool to have a mission to get illegal missiles that maybe somebody else wants to take.

Ah yes, I meant to mention that. It's a great side mission hook.

18 minutes ago, Josemix said:

Mass drivers sounds good but I haven't heard of that. I was reading the rules, do you know where can I find it? I was thinking if they are extreme that might not end up going into the whole moving out of range and chase?

The mass drivers have only ever been covered in occasional vehicles. Here's a thread on mass drivers from the Game Masters forum.

If they are extreme, then you are correct about the chase idea. The reason to get closer is to bring shorter-ranged weapons like missiles to bear or to be more accurate. If you add Inaccurate +1 for every band past Short when using Mass Drivers, now we're talking about +3 Setback dice to the roll.

Tactically-sound and story-useful are not always the same thing, and suboptimal choices may make for the best experience.