T.W. "Vixen" class Ley Line Schooner / Ocean vessel:

The New Iron Sides techno wizard frigate is incredibly powerful and is what many people think of when they talk about techno-wizard line warships. Still, they are extremely rare and incredibly expensive. The Hornet class ley line sloop is quite a bit smaller but still is a pretty large line warship. Smaller then either is the Vixen class ley line schooner. The design is based off of the first U.S.S. Vixen which was a twelve gun schooner which served against the Barbary Corsairs but was later captured by the British thirty-two gun frigate Southampton. Both vessels wrecked in the Bahamas soon after the Vixen was captured. The whole crew survived the wrecking although the captain, Lieutenant Reed, died of Yellow Fever in Jamaica before the crew was exchanged.

There were no deck plans for the Vixen found so the techno-wizards who built the ship had to make their own plans, coming as close as they could to the original design. Surviving pre-rifts drawings and other sources were used to develop plans for the vessel. Even so, the vessels are works of art and the techno-wizards and other who create these vessels are masters at their craft. Many individuals who cannot afford one of the larger designs purchase vessels similar to the Vixen class Ley Line Schooner. As a result, the smaller schooners are much in demand and the builders can barely keep up requests. Compared to larger designs, the Vixen class Ley Line Schooner takes far less time to build, around three to four months compared to around ten months for the Hornet class sloop. There are several other ley line vessels of similar size to the Vixen class but it is one of the most common. It is also one of the better built designs as is valued for its high quality.

There is an incredible effort to build the vessels with the traditional techniques used to build original sailing vessels around the time which the Vixen was constructed. The wood which the ships are constructed are in some cases magically created by Earth Warlocks. In some cases the wood would be next to impossible to actually find, especially in the longer lengths. Most of the larger beams and the masts use techno-wizard enchanted wood. Even though the ships travel primarily on ley lines, they are also designed to be sea worthy with special care being taken by the techno-wizards and other craftsman. There are some builders of line ships who are not as careful as the builders of the Vixen class. Once actually construction of the vessel is complete, the enchantments on the vessel are started. Probably the most important of the enchantments is to treat the hull with the enchantment of "Ironwood." If this was not done, the ship would be extremely vulnerable and would take just a couple of missiles to destroy the whole ship. The other advantage of the enchantments is that the ships are virtually immune to the weather and parasites destroying the vessel. Once the ship is reinforced by magic, the ship is enchanted so that it is a true ley line vessel and can fly along ley lines.

These ships are much lighter armed than the Hornet class Ley Line Sloops with a main battery of only twelve eighteen pound carronades with six guns on each side. Even though fairly lightly armed, the ships still have respectable firepower although relatively short ranged. These carronades are all enchanted so that they can fire cannon balls without the use of gunpowder using telekinesis instead. This allows the cannons to be fire more rapidly than they could originally and makes the weapons much safer as well. A variety of different can be fired from the cannon including thunderball, thunderfire, and enchanted grape shot. The ship mounts a single Gatling telekinetic machine-gun to deal with fast moving targets such as power armors. The ships have a variety of other enchantments and have a techno-wizard battery to power the enchantments.

Even though relatively small, the vessel still requires a relatively large crew. Still, it requires a much smaller crew than vessels like the New Ironsides and Hornet. In addition to the crew, the ship can carry up to twenty marines with some or all in mystic power armor. Sanitary facilities and water is magical in nature and the inside of the vessel is far cleaner than in the original USS Vixen. Still, the crew sleeps in hammock as they did on the original vessel. Officers quarters, which are in the fantail of the ship, are far more spacious and comfortable than the regular crew quarters.

Model Type: "Vixen" Ocean & Sky Ship
Vehicle Type: Ocean & Sky Sail Schooner
Crew: 91 with at least two techno-wizard, two air warlocks, and two other spell casting types recommended but not absolutely needed.
Troops: 20 (Normal of 6 pilots for Mystic Power Armors, 14 soldiers in body armor)

Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:

20

Mystic Power Armors (Possible)

M.D.C. by location:

	18 pounder Carronades (12, 6 each side):	100 each
	T.W. Gatling Cannons (1):	100 each
	[1] Foremast (Forward Mast):	180
	[1] Mizzenmast (Rear Mast):	220
	Sails (10):	40 each
	Rudder:	200
	[2] Main Body:	1,500
	[3] Armor of Ithan Force Field (Three Times per Day):	400

Notes:
[1] Destruction of a mast reduces ocean and ley line speed by 1/2 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] Each activation lasts for 30 minutes.

Speed:
Ocean Surface: 15 knots or higher depending on the wind (approximately 17.27 miles per hour or 28 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
Range: Effectively Unlimited. The ship carries two months worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 83 feet 6 inches (25.5 meters)
Beam: 23 feet 2 inches (7.1 meters)
Draft: 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 meters)
Displacement: 175 tons
Cargo: 20 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: 80 million credits, there is a long waiting period and the cost to get one will often involve many extra costs as well.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Twelve (12) T.W. 18 Pounder Carronades: Carronades fire a larger ball for a smaller cannon when compared to long guns but have a reduced range when compared to long cannons. The cannon balls look like standard Iron balls but in reality come in three different types. The first is Thunderball which inflict considerable damage and creates a thunderclap that effects everyone within 10 feet (3 meters) of the cannon balls impact. The second is called Thunderfire and it erupts into fireball and inflicts greater damage than Thunderball ammunition but does not have the Thunderclap. The Third type of ammunition is Magic Grape Shot. This shot is designed to be used against a wide area and is very effective against personnel. The ship has two mounts which can fire with the broadside or act as bow chasers. The cannons use telekinesis to throw the rounds and does not use any gunpowder.
   Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914.4 meters)
   Mega-Damage: Thunderball Ammunition: 1D6x10 per round or 6D6x10 for a complete broadside. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell (thunderclap effects a 10 feet (3 m) radius. Thunderfire Ammunition: 2D6x10 per round or 12D6x10 for a complete broadside. The Thunderfire will often also ignite flammable materials. Magical Grape Shot Ammunition: 6D6 per round or 3D6x10+20 for a complete broadside. Each Magical Grape Shot will effect all targets within a blast radius of 20 feet (6 m).
   Rate of Fire: One shot per cannon per melee (all cannons can be fired at the same time). Cannon can be loaded and fired quickly due to not needing to load gunpowder.
   Payload: 400 rounds (100 per cannon), 200 rounds of Thunderball ammunition, 100 rounds of Thunderfire ammunition, and 100 rounds of Magical Grape Shot ammunition
   Notes: If the cannons are used against small targets (personnel, aircraft, missiles, ect) the cannons have a -4 penalty to strike (Grape shot has +4 to strike and can be used against small targets) with no bonuses to strike to strike for hand to hand or physical prowess. As well, only a single cannon can be targeted against a small target.
2. TK Gatling Cannon (1): This cannon is the only know non-period weapon on the ship. The cannon is mounted near the bow of the vessel on the main deck and can fire forward as well as to the side. Mounts have been enchanted by a series of spells so the cannons act as a more powerful version of the TK Machine gun. This increases the weapons damage and instead of being reloaded, the cannons must be recharged by the spell Telekinesis and 100 P.P.E. once per month. The cannon does full damage to targets that are impervious to energy. Additional optics and fire control have been added to enable the system to track and target aircraft and missiles
   Maximum Effective Range: 4,000 feet (1,220 meters).
   Mega Damage: 12D6
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Unlimited, although the spells (100 P.P.E. each cannon) on each must be renewed every month whether the cannon have been used or not .
3. Techno-Wizard Modifications: The Vixen has the following Techno-Wizard Modifications built into the ship. These require P.P.E. or I.S.P. from the ships crew or P.P.E. battery.
   Special Features:
   Impervious to Energy (8th level) 40 PPE or 80 ISP
   Invisibility-Superior (8th Level) 40 PPE or 80 ISP

Special Systems:

• See the Invisible Optics: The ships has several special optical systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will. 2,000 feet (610 meters) range. Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
• P.P.E. Battery: The ship has a special P.P.E. battery, unlike similar systems in Phase World, it does not generate magical energy but stores magical energy. The system will store up to 300 P.P.E. and can be stored by crew members and absorbs P.P.E. from Ley Lines and Nexus Points. It will absorb P.P.E. at the rate of 10 per hour on ley lines and 20 per hour on nexus points.

[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.