T.W. "Pandora" class Ley Line Frigate (Light) / Ocean vessel:
The H.M.S. Pandora was a 24 gun Frigate, a fairly light vessel, of the British Royal Navy. It was tiny compared to the H.M.S. Victory. At the time, the British Navy was the largest navy in the world. It was sent in search of Fletcher Christian's mutineers onboard the H.M.S. Bounty. On her homeward voyage with fourteen prisoners onboard, the frigate struck part of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and later sank. She sank virtually intact when she sank in Seventeen Ninety-One and was later discovered by underwater explorers. Due to extensive excavation on the vessel, there was a huge amount of resources available to the techno-wizard in order to reproduce the vessel.
While the U.S.S. Constitution and U.S.S. Hornet are reproduced by techno-wizards in North America, techno-wizards in other lands reproduce other vessels. In fact, a group of techno-wizards converted the H.M.S. Victory into a techno-wizard vessel. The Victory is huge and in many ways, smaller vessels are more handy and effective. British techno-wizard of course were most interested in designs from their island and a group found plans for the H.M.S. Pandora and decided to use her as the basis for a ley line vessel. It is interesting that the Pandora class vessels are called "Frigates" while they are around the same size as the Hornet class Ley Line Sloops. The class took their name from the H.M.S. Pandora which they are based on and most of the vessels are named after women from ancient mythology. Like American vessels, these ships are works of art and are extremely beautiful. They are designed to copy as closely as possible the original vessel and require about a year to build. Each vessel has a figurehead at the bow which is a female figure, usually representing the figure from mythology.
These frigates are constructed from wood like the originals and are constructed through traditional shipbuilding for wooden vessels. The wood is partially created through the magic of Earth Warlocks. In many cases the original wood used in not readily available and would require scouring the world to find. As a result, the Earth Warlocks make the construction far easier than it would be otherwise. The ships are designed to be completely seaworthy. While the creators of the Hornet and New Ironside class do the same thing, not all Techno-Wizard who create such vessels do. To allow the ships to survive in environment of Rifts Earth, the ships have multiple castings of "Ironwood."While this is mainly to allow the ship to survive in combat, it also makes the ships virtually impervious to the oceans, weather, and parasites. After that, the ship is enchanted so that it becomes a true Ley Line Frigate. While still not a huge vessel, the Pandora is still larger than many other vessels including the "Windjammer" frigates.
For weaponry, these ships mount lighter guns than the Hornet class Ley line Sloops although the weapons of the light frigate are longer ranged. The Original H.M.S. Pandora mounted twenty-two six pound guns and four eighteen pound carronades. The techno-wizards decided to mount large guns than the six pounders and instead nine pounders are mounted. The beam of the vessel is increased slightly to compensate for replacing the six pound cannons with nine pound cannons. The four eighteen pound carronades are retained. Of course instead of normal shot, the cannons and carronades are converted to fire enchanted rounds through telekinesis. Through magic, the cannons rate of fire is greatly increased. While the firepower of the Pandora is not as great as the Hornet class, it is still impressive. Like many other Ley Line vessel, the ship has a pair of Gatling techno-wizard machine guns which appear to be of American Civil War vintage. They are mounted on the bow on either side. These are mainly used to protect the ship from attacking power armors and other small targets. The Pandora class frigates carry a techno-wizard battery to power enchantments.
The interior of the vessel is designed to mimic as closely as possible the original vessel although has additional techno-wizard amenities including magical sanitary facilities and water producing equipment. Officers quarters, especially the captain's quarters, are more comfortable. The Captain has his own fireplace, for example. In addition to the crew, the ship often carries twenty-five marines who are often outfitted with Mystic Power Armor.
Model Type: "Pandora" Ocean & Sky Ship
Vehicle Type: Ocean & Sky Sail Frigate (Light)
Crew: 140 with at least two techno-wizard, two air warlocks,
and two other spell casting types recommended but not absolutely needed.
Troops: 25 (Normal of 8 pilots for Mystic Power Armors, 17 soldiers
in body armor)
Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:
| 25 | Mystic Power Armors (Possible) |
M.D.C. by location:
| 18 pounder Carronades (4, 2 each side): | 100 each | |
| 9 pounder Long Guns (22, 11 on each side): | 80 each | |
| T.W. Gatling Cannons (2, 1 each side): | 100 each | |
| [1] Foremast (Forward Mast): | 210 | |
| [1] Mainmast (Middle Mast): | 280 | |
| [1] Mizzenmast (Rear Mast): | 210 | |
| Sails (15) | 60 each | |
| Rudder: | 300 | |
| [2] Main Body: | 2,200 | |
| [3] Armor of Ithan Force Field (Three Times per Day): | 500 |
Notes:
[1] Destruction of a mast reduces ocean and ley line speed by 1/3 for
each mast lost.
[2] Destroying the main body causes the ship to lose structural integrity,
causing the ship to sink if in the water. There are enough life preservers
and inflatable life boats (one of the few items of technology added) to
accommodate everyone on the ship. The ship does have the Techno-Wizard
addition of impervious to energy. Specifics are listed in Weapon systems.
[3] As per the spell - Magic, fire, lightning, and cold all inflict one-half damage. Each activation lasts for 30 minutes.
Speed:
Ocean Surface: 13 knots or higher depending on the wind (approximately
14.95 miles per hour or 24 km per hour)
Ley Lines: 150 mph (240 kph). Requires the Telekinesis Spell
(double cost at 16 P.P.E.) or 20 I.S.P. to initiative take off and Telekinesis
Spell (double cost at 16 P.P.E.), Levitate Spell (double cost at 10 P.P.E.)
or 20 I.S.P. to land the ship. Otherwise, the ship will float away slowly
(2 mph) at about 100 feet (30.5 meters) off the ground. The ship can only
travel through the air along ley lines and can switch directions at ley
line nexus points.
Height: While Flying, maximum of 1000 feet (305 meters)
and minimum of 200 feet without landing
Maximum Effective Range: Effectively Unlimited. The ship carries two months worth
of supplies on board.
Statistical Data:
Length: 114 feet 3 inches (34.8 meters) billet head to taffrai);
96 feet 3 inches (29.3 meters) at keel.
Beam: 33 feet 6 inches (10.2 meters)
Draft: 15 feet (4.6 meters)
Displacement: 520 tons
Cargo: 25 tons of nonessential equipment and supplies. Most
of the ships spaces are take up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons,
sails, and other equipment.
Power System: Magic and sails.
Market Cost: 180 million credits, there is a long waiting period
and the cost to get one will often involve many extra costs as well.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
Special Systems:
[Golden Age Weaponsmiths is a trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2006, Kitsune. All rights reserved.
