Shadows Scout Class

Craft: Shadows Scout
Type: scout
Scale: capital
Length: 350 meters
Skill: capital ship pilot
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Astrogation: 3D+2; Capital Ship Pilot: 3D+2; Capital Ship Gunnery: 3D+2; Communications: 3D+2; Sensors: 3D+2; Planetary Systems: 3D+2; Tactics: 3D+2; Command: 3D+2
Passengers: 0
Cargo Capacity: none
Consumables: 20 months
Hyperdrive: x0.5
Nav Computer: yes
Maneuverability: 2D+2
Space: 9
Atmosphere: 400; 1,150 kmh
Hull: 4D
Stealth: 3D
Sensors

• Passive: 150/5D
• Scan: 300/6D
• Search: 450/7D
• Focus: 15/8D

Weapons

• 3 Phasing Pulse Cannons

Fire Arc: fore
Crew: 1
Scale: capital
Skill: capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 4D
Space Range: 1-15/35/75
Atmosphere Range: 2-30/70/150
Damage: 8D+1

Notes

• Living Ship: The Vorlons and Shadows are masters of bio-technology, to the extent that they are able to construct (or perhaps grow) spacecraft that are actually sentient and aware. It is able to make intelligent decisions for itself. It is able to execute up to five orders per turn. It has a skill rating of 14D+1 for all skills. If this special ship trait is ever neutralized, the craft must have its command functions taken over; else it becomes merely a drifting hulk.
• Shadow Pilots: The skill of a Shadow ship is partly dependent on the abilities of the living pilot bound inside, although the Shadow’s advanced technologies and augmentations mean that almost anyone can be turned into the brain of a lethal killing machine. Its skills are similarly equal to 3D+1 + the skill of the pilot. For most ships, this works out as an average of 7D+1 for skill checks.
• Shadow Jump: The Shadows’ understanding of hyperspace is unrivaled even by the Vorlons. Their craft may phase in and out of hyperspace seemingly at will, without creating a visible jump vortex.
• Shadow Scream: A Shadow ship emits a partially psychic screech when it wishes to do so, unsettling nearly anyone who ‘hears’ it. When a Shadow ship ‘screams’ anyone within Close range of it must immediately make a Willpower check, difficulty 15 or suffer a –2D penalty to all rolls in the next round. A ship’s crew can only be affected once per encounter in this way.

Description: Amongst the deadliest ships of its size in the entire galaxy, Shadow scouts are swift, lethal and usually the first wave of reconnaissance for larger fleets lurking in hyperspace. Able to use their sensors across the confusing and disruptive energy fields of hyperspace without any degradation of effect, the scouts are suspected to possess specially designed capabilities for ‘peeking’ into normal space without having to leave the safety of hyperspace. It makes sense though, as they are so attuned to the tides and ebbs of the other dimension and can move back and forth between it without error or fail, that they no doubt have better ways to pinpoint their arrival trajectory – meaning that the scouts must be able to ‘see’ across the dimensional barriers in order to do so.

Shadow scouts are not known to engage their enemies in a straight fight – while they are fully capable of defeating enemies much larger than they are, they prefer to maneuver around an enemy, stay in its blind spots (if any) and pelt the victim with phasing pulses until either it is destroyed or the scout has bought enough time for its larger brethren to home in on its signal, arrive and finish the fight in a blaze of molecular light.

Source: Babylon 5: Ships of the Galaxy (page 83); thedemonapostle