Full Thrust Xar Fleet Revisited

 

Had some time to work on the Xar fleet project I started back in this post:

http://brokenstarsburningships.blogspot.com/2017/08/full-thrust-xarr-strike-swarm.html

The fleet's grown considerably, with three new classes of ships.  UNDIA is deeply concerned by this expansion, largely because they're rapidly running out of codenames that start with the letter X and no one wants to lose a ship to a Xylophone.  New intelligence has also led to the original "Xenophobe" class being re-rated as a frigate-class hull, now equipped with a full-powered pulse torpedo.  In other words, I finally got around to comparing the minis sizes and decided the little guys are way too big to be mere corvettes.

Xevexex-class Xar Assault Frigate (UNDIA Codename Xenophobe)

Mass 24 NPV 81 / CPV 63

Thrust 6  q 3 q

FTL q

1 Fire Control System q

1 PDS q

1 Pulse Torpedo (F/FS/FP) q

1 Armor, 6 Hull (2/2/1/1, 2 DCTs)

m

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An agile and aggressive design, the Xenophobe has been designated as an assault frigate by UNDIA observers.  They commonly operate in strike swarms of up to a dozen ships, relying on speed, concentrated fire, and sheer numbers to make up for their small size compared to most human combat vessels.  Equipped with an alien equivalent to human pulse torpedoes, they pack a powerful punch for their size but suffer from a lack of rear-arc weapons coverage.

Xovaxex-class Xar Assault Frigate (UNDIA Codename Xenovore)

Mass 24 NPV 81 / CPV 63

Thrust 6  q 3 q

FTL q

1 Fire Control System q

7 Beam-1 (360) qqqqqqq

1 Armor, 6 Hull (2/2/1/1, 2 DCTs)

m

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pq

q

p

The Xenovore class shares major spaceframe elements with the Xenophobe, but sports a completely different and more specialized weapons payload.  Studded with light energy projectors, these ships have very short range but tremendous hitting power and unequalled firing arcs.  They lack dedicated point defense systems but the sheer amount of beam fire they can put out still makes them a hard target for fighters and missiles.  Xenovores make up the majority of most assault swarms, backed up by smaller numbers of ships armed with longer-ranged weaponry.

Xax-class Core Cruiser (UNDIA Codename Xerxes)

Mass 74 NPV 316 / CPV 329

Thrust 6  q 3 q

FTL q

Screen-1 q

ECM System q

2 Fire Control Systems qq

2 Point Defense Systems qq

3 Beam-2 (F/FP/FS) qqq

1 Pulse Torpedo (F/FP/FS) q

1 Armor, 21 Hull

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The exact role of the Xax class is poorly understood by human intelligence analysts.  They appear only in very small numbers (rarely more than one a swarm) and carry extensive sensor jamming systems but don't act as any kind of recon or stealth ship.  They carry slightly heavier weapons than the smaller assault frigate classes but don't appear to be pure combat ships.  They are among the largest commonly seen Xar ships but they don't seem to perform any actual command role, and their destruction has no appreciable effect on swarm coordination.

Xavxevxevvex-class Scout (UNDIA Codename Xanthous)

Mass 6

NPV 32 / CPV 27

Thrust 8  q 4 q

FTL q

Enhanced Sensor System  q

Point Defense System q

1 Hull

p

Xanthous?  What does that even mean?  Oh.  Yellowish.  Okay, I guess I see that.  You sure we're not just running out of X words?  Well, okay.  It's a tiny scout ship.  Most swarm fleets have one or two along.  They often show up in advance of the main attack and scan defending systems for opposition and then lead the assault ships to them.  Pretty much unarmed and as fragile as it gets.  Kill them if you can, but don't waste shots on them if something with more teeth is in range.