John Morgan class Frigate: 5th Succession War [by Liam's Ghost]

[Trace Coburn]

[[Posted by Liam's Ghost, 27-07-2006, 17:21:09]]

And now for something completely different   :P


                    AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
                                  VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name:  John Morgan class Frigate
Tech:              Inner Sphere / 3200
Vessel Type:       WarShip
Rules:             Level 3, Standard design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              750,000 tons
K-F Drive System:  (Unknown)
Length:            761 meters
Sail Diameter:     1,116 meters
Power Plant:       Standard
Safe Thrust:       5
Maximum Thrust:    8
Armor Type:        Lamellor Ferro-carbide
Armament:         
   16 Heavy NPPC
   20 NL55
   10 NAC/35
   32 Large Pulse Laser
   32 ER PPC
   32 Light Gauss Rifle
    4 White Shark
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==Overview:==
A common sight patrolling the borders of the Republic of the Sphere, the John
Morgan class frigate is none the less an unsettling prospect for most of the
Republic's larger, far more powerful neighbors, while at the same time serving
as a linchpin in the Republic's defense.

The John Morgan is the primary capital ship built and opperated by the
so-called Three Norns, and while this in itself tends to grant the ship an
aura of mystery and wonder, it none the less gives considerable insight into
the inner workings of this otherwise almost inpenetrable alien culture that
has made the Republic its home.

Perhaps the most fascinating insight is that the controling AI of each ship is
not designed specifically for this role. Indeed the AI considers itself a
seperate entity from the ship it controls, rather than just another part of
it. Indeed the controling AI of each warship is believed to recieve some form
of a regular wage for its services. This alone supports the theory espoused by
Doctor Jan Bayern that the Three Norns operate an entire virtual society not
too dissimilar in basic form from our own.

Whatever the exact details of their nature and society, the mercenary fleets
of the Norns has been a vital cog in the Republic's continued security for the
last generation, and the John Morgan has been a key element in that force.

==Capabilities:==
Unsurprisingly, the John Morgan is said to draw considerable inspiration in
its design from the Caspars employed by the old Star League, though the loss
of records over the centuries prevents us from determining exactly how alike
they might actually be.

The John Morgan is intended as a fast system picket and escort ship, able to
execute rapid high G burns as much because of her lack of a vunerable human
crew as her considerable acceleration capabilities. This makes the ship able
to rapidly respond to threats as they appear, while its exceptional mix of
lasers, PPCs, and autocannons allows her to quickly neutralize her most likely
opponents. Any manned vessels the John Morgan cannot defeat can be simply
avoided and reinforcements summoned via the ship's integral FAX based
communication system.

The FAX system also serves as an important cog in the John Morgan's fighter
control system. As with the rest of the ship, the Morgan's complement of
fighters and small craft are completely unmanned, in this case drones
controlled by the parent ship. While earlier versions of this system (first
developed, but never employed, by the Combine in the years before the first
succession war) limited the operating radius of the drone fighters to the
effective transmission range of the parent vessel, the FAX based system used
by the John Morgan allows the ship to control her fighters over interplanetary
distances, allowing effectively unrestricted operation and, once again not
restricted by the limits of human life, creating an entire series of new
tactical options.

In order to gain these impressive abilities, however, the Morgan has had to
sacrifice both range and durability. A barely minimal cargo hold prevents long
term deployment away from regular sources of supply, while a light hull leaves
the Morgan relatively frail, despite the use of lamellor ferro carbide armor.

==Variants:==
While this baseline configuration is the best known example in service, it
is rumored that the Norn fleets field at least two other variants. The first
is a dedicated missile carrier, said to trade its naval PPCs for numerous
AR-10s and carrying a good mix of both conventional missiles and fusion
powered standoff guided weapons.

The second is believed to trade its autocannons for additional fuel and hangar
space for as many as a hundred or more drone fighters. Given the ability of
its FAX communications system to direct its drones over even considerable
interplanetary distances, and given that the Norns do not suffer the
restrictive necessity of training pilots and could therefore concievably field
an endless stream of such expendable craft, this may very well be the most
terrifying version of all.

==Deployment==
The location of the shipyards that build the John Morgan is, like the location
of the homeworld of the Three Norns (if one exists in the physical sense)
unknown, as are the exact numbers of ships in service. It is believed that
even the official listing of Norn vessels in the Republic employ is
innacurate, some going so far as to suggest that the Exarch is maintaining a
secret fleet of Norn ships on retainer as a safeguard against the influence of
Comstar.

Despite the craft's relatively short range, sightings of ships of this type
have been reported on several occasions in the Periphery. This has led many to
speculate that either the Republic or the Norns themselves have some interests
in certain worlds outside the Inner Sphere, and have dispatched forces to
protect them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name:  John Morgan class Frigate
Mass:              750,000 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass 
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                      225,000.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 5
      Maximum Thrust: 8
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive:  Compact (Integrity = 16)               339,375.00
Lithium Fusion Battery                                               7,500.00
Jump Sail (Detachable): (Integrity = 4)                                 68.00
Structural Integrity: 50                                            37,500.00
Total Heat Sinks:    2,500 Double                                    1,785.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                   4,080.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:              1,875.00
Fire Control Computers:                                              4,281.00
Armor Type:  Lamellor Ferro-carbide  (630 total armor pts)             600.00
                           Capital Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                115
   Fore-Left/Right:                  105/105
   Aft-Left/Right:                   105/105
   Aft:                                  95

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Small Craft (2) with 1 door                                 400.00
   Bay 2:  Fighters (12) with 3 doors                                1,800.00
   Bay 3:  Cargo (1) with 2 doors                                    7,520.00

DropShip Capacity:  2 Docking Hardpoints                             2,000.00

Crew and Passengers:
     40 Marine Battle Armor Troopers/Elementals                        280.00
    200 Drones                                                       1,000.00
     34 Bay Personnel                                                     .00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Heavy NPPC               Nose        60     60     60     60  900 12,000.00
4 NL55                     Nose        22     22     22     22  340  4,400.00
2 NAC/35(40 rounds)        Nose        70     70     --     --  240  8,040.00
4 Large Pulse Laser        Nose     4(36)  4(36)     --     --   40     28.00
4 ER PPC                   Nose     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     28.00
4 Light Gauss Rifle(48 rounNose     3(32)  3(32)  3(32)  3(32)    4     51.00
3 Heavy NPPC               FL/R        45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
3 Heavy NPPC               FL/R        45     45     45     45 1350 18,000.00
4 Large Pulse Laser        FL/R     4(36)  4(36)     --     --   80     56.00
4 ER PPC                   FL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     56.00
4 Light Gauss Rifle(48 rounFL/R     3(32)  3(32)  3(32)  3(32)    8    102.00
2 NAC/35(40 rounds)        L/RBS       70     70     --     --  480 16,080.00
2 NAC/35(40 rounds)        L/RBS       70     70     --     --  480 16,080.00
4 Large Pulse Laser        L/RBS    4(36)  4(36)     --     --   80     56.00
4 ER PPC                   L/RBS    4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     56.00
4 Light Gauss Rifle(48 rounL/RBS    3(32)  3(32)  3(32)  3(32)    8    102.00
8 NL55                     AL/R        44     44     44     44 1360 17,600.00
2 White Shark(30 msls)     AL/R         6      6      6      6   60  2,880.00
4 Large Pulse Laser        AL/R     4(36)  4(36)     --     --   80     56.00
4 ER PPC                   AL/R     4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --  120     56.00
4 Light Gauss Rifle(48 rounAL/R     3(32)  3(32)  3(32)  3(32)    8    102.00
4 Large Pulse Laser        Aft      4(36)  4(36)     --     --   40     28.00
4 ER PPC                   Aft      4(40)  4(40)  4(40)     --   60     28.00
4 Light Gauss Rifle(48 rounAft      3(32)  3(32)  3(32)  3(32)    4     51.00
1 Computer Core                                                      1,000.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                            Heat: 7,392     750,000.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        10,385,496,000 C-Bills
Battle Value:      139,694
Cost per BV:       74,344.61
Weapon Value:      70,719 (Ratio = .51)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 4,967;  MRV = 4,875;  LRV = 3,588;  ERV = 709
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 517,992
                   (43,130 Structure, 272,638 Life Support, 202,224 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 780,000  (151% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      Not applicable

Where can I find more information on this setting?

At the moment the relative handful of ships on this board are all I've posted so far. I have been working dilligently on an actual introduction to the whole thing, between work and times where I haven't been working dilligently on it. Hopefully I'll have something up sometime this week.

You sneaky, sneaky devil, you!  8)  ^-^ :D

First off, the ship:  I really, really like it.  SI and armor are indeed both a little light, but given who two of the tree Norns must be (and whom the third might be), it's not entirely surprising.

Firepower is nice - the emphasis is on extreme-range, but with a solid medium-range suckerpunch, thanks to those NACs.  Both variants sound impressive, too.

And to think I was kind of depressed that I wasn't able to cram as much firepower and armor as I originally wanted into it.

I'll be honest though, the prospect of the carrier variant scares me. Normal carriers and massed fighter swarms are a dangerous enough proposition, but fighter swarms that don't require swarms of highly trained meatbags... yikes!

The use of fax machines in the role you have them in is inspired and downright evil - with that, and her acceleration, armor suddenly seems a very secondary concern.  This also explains how these compete in an Inner Sphere filled with your other beasties.

Just building on your earlier idea of using faxes to direct teleguided weapons.  O0

Now, on to the rest of the fluff....the Three Norns, eh?  I've figured out Verdandi (Belldandy), I think.  I'm curious to your interpretation on the others.  Excellent choice, BTW, since it has multiple interpretations.

The idea just came to me. Can't imagine where...

Rumors of my Oh! My Goddess obsession have been slightly exagerated. Peace of Celestine be with you.

And, dude, you've given me all sorts of fun ideas to play with, without pinning me down much at all, should I wish.  Very nice.  O0

All part of my evil scheme to present an interesting framework that will draw people in and inspire them to do most of the work for me join in on the fun.  ;)

[Giovanni Blasini]

Ah, those heady days before there were rules for all this stuff. ;D