OBT Forum

Love RL . . . no, I mean it!  Centurion, Interceptor, Leviathan . . . the only thing I didn't like was the Renegade RPG.  Did quite a few ships, fighters, and vehicles for my own gaming group, including this gem:

My take on the once-mentioned (and never again seen or heard from) Zeus-class Battlecruiser (TOG Interceptor Briefing).

ZEUS

The Zeus-class Battlecruiser is the latest design to emerge from TOG shipyards.  Built by Chandler Fleet Systems in their massive yard complex orbiting Nova Terra in the Orion district, these Leviathans are designed to deal with increasing Commonwealth and Renegade Legion incursions into TOG rear areas.  However, disputes over the proper doctrine to deploy this class at the highest levels of the TOG Naval Command have so far resulted in the production of just twenty-three vessels to date.

The original design proposal called for a ‘fast Battleship’ similar to the rapidly aging Mars-class vessels with a greater ability to engage targets at extreme range, while keeping mass and costs within reasonable limits.  Despite the success that CFS had in meeting the design criteria, various Overlords have criticized the project, citing that the modern front-line TOG Navy should be an offensive arm rather than concerned with reacting and responding to rebel raids.

As a result, production has been temporarily halted until full combat evaluations of the design have taken place.

At just over 2.1 million tons, the Zeus is just half the displacement of the main TOG ship-of-the-line, the Shiva-class.  Power production is also lower, although production costs have stabilized at just under 54% . . . a feature appreciated by the Imperial Treasury, to be certain.  The Zeus devotes a high proportion of its power production to an increased thrust, allowing for a standard acceleration of 3-g’s . . . and an emergency thrust of 9-g’s for limited periods of time!  Equal to that of most Frigates in service today, this high thrust capability allows the Zeus to rapidly maneuver and match velocity with the fast wing of Renegade and Commonwealth Fleet elements.

CFS decided against using the standard TOG mixed battery of differing laser types in the design; instead, the Zeus carries a uniform battery of Karpov-Lassiter ‘Nova’ 37.5/5-class lasers.  Although the lightest weapons of the 37.5-series, CFS installed one thousand on the Zeus divided into twelve bays (eight 100-gun bays and four 50-gun bays).  This has given the new battlecruiser unparalleled reach and damage potential for such a high-thrust vessel.  A Jankowski Mark IV Type D Spinal Mount provides hard-hitting forward firepower, while a Hellstorm missile battery (Type E) gives added punch that no one cannot characterize as battleship-level firepower.  A standard anti-fighter/anti-missile turret system rounds out the weapons configuration.

One key difference in the design of the Zeus versus most standard TOG battleships is the fighter complement . . . CFS provided twin hanger bays each capable of housing an entire fighter group (72 fighters), plus two squadrons of small craft (12 vessels).  Twice the complement found on the older Shiva, the fighters allow the Zeus to maintain an impressive CAP or conduct anti-shipping strikes at ranges beyond those of the onboard weapon systems.  The small craft bays are capable of housing vessels of up to 2,000 tons in mass, allowing the newest TOG battlecruiser to embark FTL capable Corvettes for long-range recon and courier duties.

Five hundred Marines are embarked, along with the capacity for 238 passengers and more than 50,000 tons of bulk cargo.  A separate Flag deck has been provided to accommodate an Admiral and his staff as well.

However, the first production units to reach the Fleet have been soundly criticized for the cramped onboard conditions for the crew and officers.  Internal volume has been cut dramatically by eliminating many of the amenities that Fleet personnel are long accustomed to (although the Flag quarters are spacious and well-furnished (indeed, some might say lavishly so) in comparison) resulting in cramped quarters and small (almost miniscule) spartanly equipped recreation facilities. CFS has proposed addressing those concerns by eliminating possibly as much as the 20% of the cargo volume in order to expand crew living quarters and add larger and more robust recreational areas.

Zeus

Class:  Battleship
Mass:  2,122,537 tons
Cost:  14,396,670,000 talents
Engines:  120,000 total power
Right Engine Rating:  40,000
Center Engine Rating:  40,000
Left Engine Rating:  40,000
Thrust:  3
Shields:
Forward 4
Left Forward 4
Left Aft 4
Right Forward 4
Right Aft 4
Aft 4
Armor:
Forward 200
Left Forward 200
Left Aft 200
Right Forward 200
Right Aft 200
Aft 200
Weapons:
Type Loc 1 3 6 10 15 20
50-gun 37.5/5 F 8 6 5 4 3 1
50-gun 37.5/5 F 8 6 5 4 3 1
100-gun 37.5/5 R 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 R 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 R 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 R 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 L 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 L 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 L 15 13 10 8 5 4
100-gun 37.5/5 L 15 13 10 8 5 4
50-gun 37.5/5 A 8 6 5 4 3 1
50-gun 37.5/5 A 8 6 5 4 3 1
Turrets:
Loc 0 1 2 3
Right 6 6 5 4
Left 6 6 5 4
Type E Missile Launcher 3 shots @ 150 points

Fighters:  144 @ 300 tons
Small Craft:  24 @ 2,000 tons
Cargo:  50,000 tons
Crew:  1,762
Marines:  500
Passengers:  238
Extras:  High Thrust Option
MA

Sites? No, not really.
But the yahoo group is still going. There may be some links to sites on there.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/renleg/info

Doesn't ring a bell. I only really picked up RL well after it had already died.
The one site I know of still in good operation is kannik's:

http://www.madcoyote.com/renleg/

He has a bunch of Centurion tech but nothing for leviathan that I saw.

I may have come across the site you mentioned at one point but beyond that. I asked on the renleg yahoo group so maybe someone knows of it.

SCIPIO AFRICANUS

Overview:

Designed at the same time as the legendary Serpens-class, the Scipio Africanus was intended to provide the TOG Fleet with a fast response Destroyer able to match thrust and vector with high acceleration Commonwealth and Renegade Legion Destroyers.  Although the design met (or exceeded) the goals set within the development program, ranking members of TOG decided against approving the design for full-scale production.  As this decision would have a disastrous effect on the local economy of nearly a dozen highly populated (and politically influential) systems, proponents of the design lobbied Illustrus Senator Thad Coburn who, in turn, pressured the Fleet to authorize 'limited' production of the new destroyer.

Rather than risking raising the ire of a powerful Senator, procurement officers made the design available for local system defense forces, as well as authorizing the purchase of some one hundred examples for the front-line TOG Fleets.  However, much to the distress of those procurement officers, the Scipio Africanus has become extremely popular in rear-echleon and garrison Fleets . . . resulting in the production and delivery of nearly eight hundred examples over the past two decades.

Rumors suggest that TOG is 'rethinking' their decision to relegate this excellent destroyer to second-line forces as positive evaluations of the design continue to arrive on Terra almost by the day.

Capabilities:

Appearing in 2806, the Scipio Africanus is produced by Birmingham Ingalls Ship Design Concepts of the Birmingham system in the Mochov District.  Designed and built at the same time as the prized Serpens-class Destroyer, the Scipio Africanus design spared no expense in an attempt by BISDC to win the TOG contract.  Unfortunately, the design, while remarkably effective, proved too radical in nature for the conservative officers of TOG's procurement offices. 

Compared to the Serpens-class, the new design is heavier and has a slightly greater cost.  But the use of three Imperial Dynamics SCA-11 engines provides for a 25% increase in available thrust.  This exceptional ability to accelerate is very rarely seen on TOG designs and allows the Scipio Africanus to match, if not exceed, the acceleration profile of even the swiftest Commonwealth and Renegade destroyers.

Armor, shielding, and point-defense are average for a Destroyer-scale vessel, but the weaponry improves upon the main battery of the Serpens.  Five 50-gun 22.5/15 laser bays form the main armament (arranged with one in the bow and two each on the broadside flanks); these guns provide a 66% increase in reach over the more famous TOG destroyer, while retaining the same damage capacity at ranges of 450 kilometers or less.  Unfortunately, the sixth laser bay (firing astern) consists only of twenty-five 7.5/20 lasers . . . viewed by many as a significant weakness of the class (possessing just half the range and less than a third the damage potential of the Serpens aft firing weapons).

Both ships use the Thunderball Type A spinal mount, but the Scipio Africanus falls short compared to the Serpens in missile firepower.  The use of the highly reliable and extremely robust Avenger 300 missile system improves readiness and each salvo has the same yield, but the missiles used by the Avenger lack the full reach of the Starburst 400 used aboard the Serpens . . . and lack the crucial third salvo of reloads loaded aboard the Serpens.

Both ships carry 24 fighters for self-defense and offensive operations, but here the Scipio Africanus once again pulls ahead.  The BISDC design carries three times the number of Marines.  And rather than the two 1,000-ton small craft carried by the Serpens, the Scipio Africanus instead carries twenty-four PAV-7 Champion multi-role assault vehicles.  A variant of the proven PAV-4 Hero design embarked aboard the Dochendal-class destroyer, the PAV-7 can be used for planetary assault as well as close-space and deep-space boarding actions.  Capable of carrying a reinforced platoon of Marine Rifle Infantry, together the twenty-four small craft can deploy all three of the embarked Marine Rifle Centuries (450 officers and Marines in total).

All of which makes the Scipio Africanus excel at boarding actions to either inspect neutral shipping or seize enemy vessels.

This aspect of the design was one of the reasons that TOGSOG initially declined to authorize construction.  The inability of the Scipio Africanus to embark heavier and more capable small craft (including T-space capable couriers and corvettes) was deemed a limiting factor in the vessel's flexibility.  BISDC has begun to address that issue with the Block II version which redesigns the small craft bays making them modular in order to accomodate up to twenty-four vessels at 500 tons each, or twelve vessels at 1,000 tons apiece, or six corvettes massing up to 2,000 tons.  Or any combination thereof.

Deployment:

To date, less than eight hundred Scipio Africanus destroyers have entered TOG service.  The vast majority of those ships have been assigned to local System Defense Commands and garrison Fleets posted to quiet Provinces and Prefectures far from the front-lines. 

Marginally more expensive than the more numerous Serpens, the Scipio Africanus is prized by its crews for the high thrust and long reaching weapon suite . . . although many remain concerned over the lack of reach and damage of the stern weapon bay.  The sizeable Marine complement and collection of PAV-7 assault boats also have elicited a postive response from formations whose primary duties include customs and boarding inspections, as well as (rarely) system defense.

To date, only four of these destroyers (INS Scipio Africanus, INS Belisarius, INS Gustav Adolphus, and INS Wallenstein) have been assigned to a front-line Battleship Squadron and seen action.  Posted to the 342nd Battleship Squadron (The Black Scorpions) and assigned to the front-lines of Kesserdal County, after-action reports have indicated that the Scipio Africanus-class serves at least as well as existing Serpens-class destroyers in the Fleet Escort role such ships provide for a Battleship Squadron.  Particulary impressive (according to the Admiral commanding the 342nd) is the new ship's high acceleration and impressive Marine complement . . . both of which have been used to the fullest extent in operations against Commonwealth and Renegade defenders.


Scipio Africanus

Class:  Destroyer
Mass:  591,019 tons
Cost:  2,996,321,107 talents
Engines:  48,000 total power
Right Engine Rating:  16,000
Center Engine Rating:  16,000
Left Engine Rating:  16,000
Thrust:  5
Shields:
Forward         2
Left Forward 2
Left Aft 2
Right Forward 2
Right Aft 2
Aft 2
Armor:
Forward         50
Left Forward 50
Left Aft 50
Right Forward 50
Right Aft 50
Aft 50
Weapons:
Type Loc 1 3 6 10 15 20
Type A Spinal   F       5       3       0       0       0       0
50-gun 22.5/15 F 8 6 5 4 0 0
50-gun 22.5/15 R 8 6 5 4 0 0
50-gun 22.5/15 R 8 6 5 4 0       0
50-gun 22.5/15 R 8 6 5 4 0 0
50-gun 22.5/15 L 8 6 5 4 0 0
25-gun 7.5/20 A 3 3 0 0 0 0

Turrets:
Loc 0 1 2 3
Right 3 3 2 1
Left 3 3 2 1
Type A Missile Launcher 2 shots @ 50 points (Range 8)

Fighters:  24 @ 300 tons
Small Craft:  24 @ 500 tons
Cargo:  10,000 tons
Crew:  585
Marines:  450
Passengers:  165
Extras:  Anti-Grav Drives, Streamlining, High Thrust Option
MA

Cool. Glad you found it