The sunhawk is a medium-sized warship and the workhorse of the Republic. As the name implies, it is shaped like a great wooden hawk. It has a pair of crescent shaped wings set along the gravity plane. The main hull of the ship itself is one great hawk with three decks. The bridge of the ship is located in the head of the hawk, while the weapons are all on the topside deck. Living quarters and officer quarters are located in the main part of the craft, while the cargo hold is in the aft most part of the ship. A pair of landing claws hangs under the ship, magically treated and strengthened to support the ship. The claws cannot inflict damage, but they are strong enough to support the ship when it lands, and balanced magically such that the craft doesn't tip over.
Warship: The primary purpose of the sunhawk is as a warship. It is the mainstay of the Republic's navy, often sent on patrols to hunt down pirates or protect Republic interests. When expecting trouble, a sunhawk will carry a full complement of 35 marines and 25 sailors. In times of war, a sunhawk will be equipped with two more medium ballista.
Trader: The secondary purpose of the sunhawk is for trading. When not on patrol duty, sunhawks are out trading, either with ports of the Republic or with ports elsewhere in wildspace. Sunhawk trader ships are dangerous to attack, and none have yet fallen to pirates.
So far, not enough sunhawks have been sold into private hands for significant variants to develop.
