Dart

Heavy Cruiser

Built By: Humans

Used Primarily By: Humans

Cost: 250,000 (without helm); 500,000 (with helm); 750,000 (with helm & two shuttles)

Tonnage: 65

Hull points: 65

Crew: 18/65

Maneuverability Class: B

Landing - Land: No (shuttle can)

Landing - Water: No (shuttle can)

Armour Rating: 3 (ram 2)

Saves As: Thick Wood

Power Type: Major Helm

Ships Rating: as per helmsman

Standard Armament:

8 medium Ballista; crew: 2 each
Piercing Ram

Cargo Capacity: 20 tons, including 3 for shuttles

Keel Length: 145 ft

Beam Width: 80'

This ship is a very new design. So far only 5 have been built in the Haven dockyards to replace the cities aging Dolphins. The Dart is designed never to land on planets, rather it is a deep space patrol vessel and generally uses the 2 shuttles on board as landing craft.

The shuttles can land on either land or water and way about 1 1/2 tons. Each shuttle can carry 6 passengers or about 1 ton of cargo. Each shuttle includes a minor helm which makes them rather expensive so most private vessels will not be able to afford them.

The five ships that have been built so far are used as navel vessels. They generally carry a crew of 50 and enough supplies to survive in space for five months. The Dart is only found in the Rhymespace sphere at the moment, but as more are built they will spread to other systems.

Shuttle

Built By: Humans

Used Primarily By: All races

Cost: 20,000 gp (unpowered); 120,000 gp (powered)

Tonnage: 2

Hull Points: 5

Crew: 1/10

Maneuverability Class: C

Landing - Land: Yes

Landing - Sea: Yes (watertight)

Armour Rating: 2

Saves As: Very thick wood

Power Type: Minor helm

Ship's Rating: As per helmsman

Standard Armament: None

Cargo Capacity: 1 ton

Keel Length: 20'

Beam Length: 10'

This small vessel serves as a shuttle craft for the new Dart warships. They can carry five passengers plus a helmsman. Under the passenger cabin is a large area where up to a ton of cargo can be stored.

The introduction of shuttle craft has lead to most new ship designs being built for space, with the ship instead carrying 1 or 2 shuttles for planet landings. An example of this is the Dart warships that carry two shuttles, one for passengers, and the other for cargo. This enables the warship to mount weapons on both the upper and lower decks, unlike most other vessels that either have a shiplike hull or legs on the lower deck of the ship.

The shuttles are built from a single hardwood tree that makes them very strong and resistant to attacks and to fire. Each shuttle is padded and the seats are built so that the shuttle can survive a free-fall into a planet's atmosphere and the passengers survive. Despite this padding it is not guaranteed that it will survive.

A second version of the shuttle is also available. This version has the seats stripped out and can carry up to 1 1/2 tons of cargo. It can now be used as a transport shuttle carrying supplies from planets to ships unable to make planetfall.

Since this vessel was introduced 5 years ago it has become very popular with its maker, the Haven Royal Shipbuilders has been selling nearly a hundred a year, and is still unable to meet demand. Most military vessels from Haven now carry at least one of these shuttles.

The makers have a deal with the Arcane for a large amount of helms every year, and so the powered version is fitted with these lower priced helms. This makes a powered shuttle cheaper than buying an unpowered shuttle and fitting it with a helm bought from the arcane.