Mediumweight Starship Subtypes

Mediumweight starships encompass cruisers, clippers, and most transports. They balance firepower and defense with speed and maneuverability.

A mediumweight starship measures 501–1,000 feet long. It occupies a 1,000-foot-by-1,000-foot fighting space (4 500-foot squares). In addition, all mediumweight starships share the following design specs.

Engines: All mediumweight starships have thrusters plus one other type of engine (see Starship Engines).

Armor: A mediumweight starship has one type of armor (see Starship Armor).

Defensive Systems: A mediumweight starship has a maximum of one defensive system per 25 Hit Dice (see Starship Defense Systems).

Sensors: A mediumweight starship has a maximum of three sensor systems (see Starship Sensors).

Communications: A mediumweight starship has up to two external communication systems (see Starship Comm Systems).

Weapons: A mediumweight starship has one beam, projectile, or missile weapon per 25 Hit Dice (see Starship Weapons).

These weapons are often fire-linked or arrayed in batteries. A minelayer is considered a single weapon. Although it weighs no more than a few thousand pounds, each mine consumes 100 tons of a ship’s cargo capacity (most of it taken up by the launch system and radiation shielding).

Grappling Systems: A mediumweight starship may have up to two grappling systems (see Grappling Systems). Each grappling system takes away one of the ship’s weapon slots (see above).

Mediumweight Ship Descriptions

Specific subtypes of mediumweight starships are given here.