The following material is an adaptation of the legendary and powerful ship from the sci-fi classic The Last StarFighter. Please feel free to use, copy, and distribute it as you see fit. All I ask is that you give proper credit to me and do not claim that it is your own work. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

GUNSTAR STARFIGHTER



  • Image from The Last StarFighter

    • Greetings Starfighter. You have been recruited by the
    Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the
    Ko-Dan Armada. Get Ready! Prepare for Blast Off!


    (Version 1.31 - Last Updated: 10/1/98)

  • Palladium RPG Stats by Jeffrey Cauley


    BACKGROUND

    Eons ago our ancestors created our great Frontier, a barrier of energy encircling the peaceful systems of the universe, forever shutting out the scourge that lurks beyond. Fellow Rylons, because of a dark betrayl, our Frontier will soon collapse. So we turn to you, Starfighters, and your Navigators, for of all the billions of creatures in the Star League, only you few were found to posses the gift. You, and you alone stand between us and the black terror of the Ko-Dan. VICTORY OR DEATH!

    These Starfighters pilot the powerful GunStars! A GunStar is the ultimate in StarCraft design. A ship, crewed by only to people, and the size of a small cargo ship, with the power to go toe to toe with a ship 10 times its size! It was designed by the Rylodians to be used agaisnt their arch-enemies, the Ko-Dan Armada.

    The war was waged for centuries and over time Starfighters, weapon operators on board the massive GunStars, became an almost legendary figure. It was the highest honor to be chosen as a Starfighter and justly so, since only the best of the best were allowed to become Starfighters. These legendary and gifted warriors are the bravest and most skilled of their species.

    One such StarFighter, a human named "Alex Rogan", with only the help of his Navigator took out an entire fleet of ships and gave rebirth to the StarFighter legend. His name was praised on a hundred worlds.

    Gunstars, although a bit unique and "boxy" in design can function reasonably well in an atmosphere for their shape and design. They can not engage in a dog-fight, but can land and take off inside of an atmosphere. The ship has become truly a thing of legend.



    RPG STATS:

    Vehicle Type: Experimental Space Superiority Fighter
    Class: Star League GS-X1 Experimental GunStar SpaceCraft
    Manufacturer: Star League
    Crew: One Navigator and one StarFighter, both in full body suits.


    MDC BY LOCATION: 
    (1) Transparisteel Navigator Canopy---------85
(1) Transparisteel Starfighter Canopy-------95
(2) Wing Structures (2)--------------------200 each
    Wing-Mount Engines (4)-----------------100 each
    Pilot's Compartment/Escape Pod---------115
(3) Rotational Laser Turret-----------------65
(3) Missile Launchers (4)-------------------75 each
(3) Side-Mount Plasma Cannons (2)-----------55 each
(4) Main Body------------------------------600
    		Wing Structure Animation


    NOTES:
    (1)

    Destroying the transparisteel canopy will expose the Navigator/Starfighter and will end up killing him/them. Since the transparisteel canopy is part of the escape pod, the pilot cannot hope to save his life by ejecting.

    (2)

    Destroying the wing structures (since they are the bulk of the ship) will cause the ship to lose its engines, two of its four weapons (the Death Blossom and Missile Launchers) and manuverability. Thus, seriously crippling the ship. For an explanation of what the "wing structures" are, move the mouse on the picture to the right.

    (3)

    These cannons are very small, and difficult to hit. They can only be hit on a called strike, and even then are at a -3 to hit.

    (4)

    Depleting the MDC of the main body will destroy the GunStar and the pilot (if he hasn't ejected already) will be killed in the resulting ex- explosion.


    SPEEDS:
    FLYING:

    In an atmosphere the ship can travel no faster then 200 miles per hour, however, in the midst of space, it can reach speeds in excess of Mach 15!

    STAR LEAGUE TRANS-WARP DRIVE UNIT:

    The GunStar has a rather fast trans-warp system allowing it to travel at a speed of 100 light years per hour in warp.

    STATISTICAL DATA:

    HEIGHT:
    9.6 meters from wing tip to wing tip.

    WIDTH:
    9.6 meters from wing tip to wing tip.

    LENGTH:
    12.5 meters from fuselage to engine.

    WEIGHT:
    45.4 metric tons.

    CARGO:
    The ship has a small cargo hatch in the belly of the ship. It can carry no more then 110 kg in an area roughly 6 meters cubed.


    POWER PLANT:
    The ship uses 4 StarLeague Proton Phase Engines to propel it. These are fueled by a Rylodian Nuclear Reactor that has an active life of about 20+ years. This reactor provides power to all of the ships systems.

    WEAPON SYSTEMS:

    1. RYLODIAN LASER CANNONS: Located below the cockpit of the GunStar is the ships primary weapon. A powerful double-barreled laser cannon that can blanket the entire lower hemisphere of the ship in scorching energy.

  • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault
  • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Defense
  • RANGE: ½ Mile.
  • DAMAGE: 2D6x10 M.D.
  • RATE OF FIRE: Standard
  • PAYLOAD: The cannon initially has 32 shots, however, after those shots are drained, it takes 1 melee attack to build up 4 more shots.

    2. STAR LEAGUE PROTON PULSE MISSILE LAUNCHERS (4): Located just below the upper set of engines and just above the lower set of engines on the Wing Structure, is a missile launcher. These missile launchers fire missiles charged with proton and emit a powerful explosion upon contact.

  • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship
  • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Fighter
  • RANGE: 3 km.
  • DAMAGE: 9D8x10 M.D. per missile.
  • RATE OF FIRE: The missiles can be fired in volleys of one or two.
  • PAYLOAD: Each launcher has three, which makes twelve all together.

    3. RYLODIAN PARTICLE BEAM CANNONS (2): Located on either side of the cockpit is a powerful particle beam cannon. These cannons can be fired in tangent with the laser cannons. If this is done, roll one strike roll and add up the damage of both attacks.

  • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Defense
  • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Assault
  • RANGE: ½ mile
  • DAMAGE: 3D6x10 M.D.
  • RATE OF FIRE: The cannons can only be fired in tangent or with the laser cannon.
  • PAYLOAD: The cannons each initially have 15 shots, however, after those shots are drained, it takes 1 melee attack to build up 2 shots for each cannon.

    4. DEATH BLOSSOM: This is an experimental weapon added onto newer GunStars. It holds 24 missiles in secondary missile hangers which are parrelled by a row of ten low-powered lasers on both the top and bottom, for a total of 80 laser cannons and 24 missiles. When the system is activated, 4 hanger doors between the missile launchers and the engines open up revealing this massive payload. Once the StarFighter decides that the enemy is in range, he unleashes the ships massive payload. The ship begins to rotate all every axis imaginable and while doing so, it is firing off its dangerous payload.

  • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Mass-Destruction
  • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Defense?
  • RANGE: Everything within a ¼ mile
  • DAMAGE: Everything in range receives 2D6x100 M.D.!
  • RATE OF FIRE: Standard.
  • PAYLOAD: The ship has only enough energy to use this system once before returning to base

    • STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR THE GUNSTAR SPACECRAFT


  • IDENTIFIER FRIEND/FOE (IFF): This is a system that is tied directly into the ship's scanners. It picks up the name and type of ship, station, or probe that are currently being scanned by the ship. It works in tandem with the targeting computer to register target locks and also hooks in with the scanners to record how much damage the target currently displayed has taken. Also, the IFF broadcasts to other ships what kind of craft it is linked to and, if it is a one man ship, who the pilot is.
  • RYLODIAN 6.2y TRACKING COMPUTER WITH "SIGHTLINE" HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGING SYSTEM: This system works with the IFF, lasers, and missile launchers to acquire targets, hold them in memory, and indicate when the ship is in range and if there is a successful target lock. This system can also target smaller parts of ships allowing it so that parts that have a deduction to strike can be targeted and fired upon without the deduction and even gain a +5 to strike! Also, it helps the torpedoes to gain a successful target lock. This means, that the missile will track the target for roughly two melee rounds. The missile travels at a speed of 100 Km/Min and they also have a +5 to strike.
  • SENSOR PACKAGE: This is a sophisticated system that has four different types of sensors. The first, a passive sensor, lightly probes the ship without the target ship knowing it is being probed. This probe can gather only small bits of information such as damage, IFF readings, distance, and speed. The second type of sensor is a Scanner. This system gets all the normal information, crew capacity, weapons systems, etc. It also returns the same results as the passive sensor only but along with the wider amount of information, it also alerts the target ship that it is being scanned. The search probe allows the pilot to input a certain system that is to be searched for. For example, the pilot wants to know if the ship has a hyper- drive system. He inputs his query into the computer and the target ship is probed to find out whether or not the system is on board the ship. The last type of sensor is an intense focus on a specific system. This system could be targeted on a weapon system such as a laser gun and the type of info- information that would be brought back would be something along the lines of power needed to operate, damage a weapon will do, etc. This sensor package is considered one of the Alliances better defenses against attack ships.
  • ESCAPE POD: The entire reinforced cockpit of the GunStar is a detachable escape pod that can be jettisoned when the fighter is destroyed. The ejected cockpit does not contain thrusters, but does contain a powerful locator beacon and an integrated life support system that can support the pilot for up to 30 minutes after ejection. The combat computer is programmed to automatically eject the escape pod if the GunStar is destroyed (main body MDC reduced to 0), but this can be overridden if the pilot is feeling suicidal for some reason.
  • HOMING SIGNAL: The escape pod of the GunStar is equipped with a homing device that enables rescue teams to locate a disabled craft or ejected life pod. The range of the signal is 400 miles (640 km). Most fighters and Alliance ships can key on and track/locate specific signals, and the on board computers will automatically notify their pilots if such a signal is detected.
  • STANDARD SURVIVAL KIT: The GunStar comes equipped with a portable survival kit. Inside the small reinforced box is a medium-sized flashlight, two hand flares, one rocket flare, a compass, infrared distancing binoculars, a small mirror, a pocket knife, dehydrated and concentrated food (can be stretched into a five day supply for one person) and basic first aid items (aspirin, bandages, disinfectants, etc.)
  • TACTICAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM: The GunStar's cockpit is pressurized, and also provides additional air feeds to the pilot's flight suit that provides him with pressurized breathing. The Star League flight suit also contains an upper and lower g-suit that promotes blood circulation even during high-g turns, thus decreasing the possibility of pilot's blacking out in combat.
  • PILOT FLIGHT SUIT: All Star League GunStars come with a custom-designed flight suit for both the Starfighter and Navigator. These flight suits consist of an upper and lower g-suit that promotes circulation even during high-g turns, thus decreasing the possibility of passengers blacking out in combat.
  • AUDIO/VIDEO COMMUNICATION: Long range, directional communications system with satellite relay capabilities. Range: 600 miles (960 km) or can be boosted indefinitely via satellite relay.
  • DEFLECTOR PLATING: This is an advanced armor plating for GunStars that lessens the damage taken from laser blasts. All energy based weapons do ½ damage.
  • ELEVATOR: When the GunStar is landed, it is standing vertically, with the cockpits up at the top. Due to this, their is a built in elevator that brings the pilots up to their cockpits.
  • TARGET LIGHTS: The GunStar is equipped with "Target Lights", these are basically small drones that fly around in a confusing pattern, the purpose of which is to give the Starfighter a little target practice between confrontations. Each drone is a 1 meter pyramid with about 10 M.D.C.
  • NAVIGATOR'S COCKPIT: This is the cockpit that is farther aft and slightly raised. It is where the Navigator controls the Communications, maintains life-support, and controls navigation and propulsion. This task is done so that the Starfighter can keep his mind on the battle in front of him.
  • STARFIGHTER'S COCKPIT: This is the key location of the GunStar. It is where the Starfighter sits. He sits in a chair that is directly linked to the cannons. The chair can rotate and swivel to sit at any angle imaginable. And since the guns track the Starfighter's movements, if the Starfighter can see it, he can shoot it.
  • TARGETER: While engaging the enemy the screen will reflect all battle instruments toward the Starfighter. This image will be holgraphically displayed in a xenon mist.
  • RADIO JAMMER: The GunStar has the capacity to block out any form of communciation from any other ships. This is effective within a 1 mile radius of the ship.
  • FLIGHT CONTROL AVIONICS PACKAGE: This advanced system helps experienced Navigators to better navigate the ship. Even if the pilot has never sat in the cockpit of an GunStar (highly unlikely), he and the Starfighter will still have combat bonuses as if he had been heavily trained in it. The bonuses are as follows:
  • +2 on initiative.
  • +4 to strike.
  • +3 to parry.
  • +6 to dodge.

    COMBAT BONUSES FOR GUNSTAR STARFIGHTER TRAINING:


  • 4 attacks per melee (plus those of the pilot).
  • Add one additional action/attack at levels two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, and fifteen.
  • +4 on initiative.
  • +6 to strike.
  • +8 to parry.
  • +3 to dodge plus an additional +1 to dodge at every even number level of experience.


    REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN

  • The Star Wars Trilogy by Lucas Arts, Inc.
  • The X-Wing and TIE Fighter Computer games.
  • Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels.
  • The Star Wars RPG by West End Games.
  • The X-Wing novels by Michael A. Stakpole and Bantam books.
  • Star Wars Technical Journal of the Rebel Forces: Vol. #3.
  • "The Last StarFighter" by Lorimar Films.
  • Format Copied from Dave Deitrich
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