Viscount-class Star Defender

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The death of the Emperor and the destruction of the second Death Star were massive blows to the Empire, but the were far from conclusive defeats. The Empire had dozens of battle groups still controlling vast sections of space, and many of those battle groups had a Super Star Destroyer to lead them. Though Admiral Ackbar had successfully engaged and destroyed the Executor, the very difficulty of that victory convinced him that the Imperial Super Star Destroyers were the greatest threat the fledgling New Republic would face for the next several years. The Republic had nothing that could go toe-to-toe with a Super Star Destroyer. Though design and construction of such ships would take years, the decision was made to commit to a Super Star Destroyer scale of ship. The result is the massive 17-kilometer-long Viscount‑class Star Defender.

     For obvious political reasons, no one in the New Republic was going to allow their most powerful ship to be called a Star Destroyer, To symbolize the change in philosophy, the classification of Star Defender was created. A Viscount‑class is equipped with the firepower and support ships to defend an entire star system, without fleet support if necessary. The sheer size of the Viscount‑class caused numerous delays in its construction, and by the time the first ship of its type was completed (25 years after the Battle of Yavin), the threat of enemy Super Star Destroyers was minimal and the Imperial Remnant was seen as an annoyance rather than a well-matched foe. Indeed, many Super Star Destroyers had fallen into the Republic’s control, reducing the pressing need for Star Defenders. The viscount did track down and engage a few warlords who turned to mass piracy, but such engagements were rare events. Many political agents began to suggest that the Viscount‑class had been a waste of resources, and that the Mon Calamari should cease building the next few in the class.

     The Yuuzhan Vong invasion changed that opinion. Suddenly the galaxy was once more embroiled in massive warfare, and the need for ships able to engage entire fleets was again clear. As the New Republic collapsed and was replaced by the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, the Viscount‑class Star Defenders were among the few ships that could face Vong attack forces with a fair expectation of success. ships of the class formed the backbone of the Galactic Alliance defense fleet and were crucial to the Alliance’s survival at the Battle of Mon Calamari.

Capabilities

Concentrate Your Fire

When extremely large ships—such as Super Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari Star Defenders—enter the fray of battle, they can pose an incredible threat to other starships. The high number of weapons they can bring to bear makes it statistically probable that several of their attacks will result in critical hits. Smaller ships, such as space transports and starfighters, will almost certainly be wiped out instantaneously thanks to the likelihood of one of these massive capital ships scoring a critical hit, since no size disparity can save them. When using these massive vessels in an encounter, Gamemasters should be careful to limit the number of attacks originating from these ships that are aimed at vessels occupied by player characters, and important NPCs. Instead, consider placing other large, threatening targets on the battlefield for these ships to shoot at. If these massive vessels are tied up attacking one another, they will spare few shots for passing space transports and starfighters, allowing player characters to move about the battlefield without the risk of errant critical hits.

As with the Super Star Destroyers that inspired its creation, it’s difficult to overstate the power of a Viscount Star Defender. Each ship carried the firepower of a small fleet, enough support ships to take control of a star system, and massive deflector shields to protect the ship itself. In general the electronics, computers, and sensors of a Viscount‑class are superior to those of a Super Star Destroyer. Conversely, a Viscount does not carry nearly as many ground troops or heavy walkers, and it completely lacks the mobile garrisons common in Super Star Destroyers. The designers of the Viscount‑class assume that its fights will take place in areas where the planetary population supports the ship, rather than in areas where the Star Defender must oppress the populace.

     When fully stocked, a Star Defender carries a mix of support vessels. Optimally this includes 120 X-wings/Y-wings/E-wings, 48 A-wings, and 48 B-wings or K-wings. It also has enough troop transports and landing barges to carry its troop complement planetside and dozens of shuttles, patrol craft, and support vessels, allowing the Star Defender to carry all its own resupply cargo up from a planet or space station. Although the hangar bays and flight decks of a Star Defender can support hundreds more starships, its operating doctrine calls for these berths to be left open so that damaged ships flying in the Viscount’s support fleet can be taken in and repaired or evacuated. Lacking the massive open docking bay of Star Destroyer designs, a Star Defender can carry ships only of Colossal (frigate) size or smaller, but it can carry dozens of such ships. If no larger support ships are available, a Viscount can often carry its entire support fleet internally.

     Like many Mon_Calamari ships, the Viscount‑class Star Defender has backup shield generators, giving it regenerating shields. this makes it even difficult to take down than other ships of its size class, since its shields can quickly recover from massive bombardment. This capacity is backed by the incredibly massive armor the ship carries (which is the reason its hangar bays aren’t as large as a Super Star Destroyer’s). It is also equipped with hundreds of bacta tanks, enough lifeboat and lifepod escape pods for 500,000 personnel (to ensure that even if additional spaceships are carried, escape pods are provided for everyone), a HoloNet transceiver, dozens of docking clamps (to directly dock with other capital ships), and a droid repair team large enough for the entire ship.

     Tactical Fire: The Star Defender is the ultimate defense vessel, capable of protecting its allies from incoming assaults. As a standard action, a Star Defender can forgo all attacks to provide tactical fire to all squares in a 3-square radius around itself. All allied starships in that area gain +20 SR and a +1 bonus to Reflex Defense.

Mon Calamari Star Defender           (CL 45)

     Starships of the Galaxy, page 116.

Colossal (station) space station

Initiative: −3; Senses: Perception +6

Defenses: Fort 72, Ref 20 (flat-footed 19) ; +19 armor, Vehicular Combat

Hit Points: 2,700; DR: 20; SR: 400; Damage Threshold: 572

Speed: fly 2 squares (starship scale)

Ranged: 25 heavy turbolaser batteries +17* (see below) and
25 turbolaser batteries +17* (see below) and
25 point-defense laser cannon batteries +17 (see below) and
25 heavy ion cannon batteries +19* (see below) and
8 tractor beam batteries +17* (see below) and
5 heavy concussion missile batteries +17*

Fighting Space: 2×2 (starship scale); Cover: total

Base Attack: +2; Grapple: 84

Abilities: Str 134, Dex 12, Con —, Int 24

Skills: Initiative −3, Mechanics +6, Perception +6, Pilot −3, Use Computer +6

Crew: 68,174 (skilled); Passengers: 12,500 (troops), 200,000 (support ship crews/refugees)

Cargo: 200,000 tons; Consumables: 6 years; Carried Craft: 168 starfighters, 48 heavy starfighters, up to 1,000 other small craft

Payload: 6,000 medium concussion missiles

Hyperdrive: ×1 (backup ×12), navicomputer

Availability: Military; Cost: not available for sale

* Apply a −20 penalty on attacks against targets smaller than Colossal size.

Heavy turbolaser battery (5 gunners)
Attack: +17 (−3 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 11d10×5

Turbolaser battery (5 gunners)
Attack: +17 (−3 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 8d10×5

Point-defense laser cannon battery (5 gunners)
Attack: c, Damage: 4d10×2

Heavy ion cannon battery (6 gunners)
Attack: +19 (−1 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 4d10×5 ion

Tractor beam battery (5 gunners)
Attack: +17 (−3 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: — (grapple +84)

Heavy concussion missile battery (5 gunners)
Attack: +17 (−3 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 9d10×2, 4-square splash

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