Rao Technology Armory (Mor): The armory onboard a vessel, the "Morgue" (as PSU Marines call it) is the location of the ships battle and power armor, as well as the Marines’ heavy weaponry. One needed for every 50 hull spaces, size is ½ hs, 10MCr cost, +4 to combat on a ship, TL2, 1,000 dev. Courier Drone Bay (CDB): 1/2 Hs, 5MCr, and each holds 8 CDs, 2000 dev Cryogenic Storage (Cr): This system was first developed by the alien Rao race who were seeking to transport more colonists than the standard Q could hold. This system stores twice as many the normal number of people as a Q, but in cryo suspension. If TL goes up during suspension, they must spend 4 months retraining them per HTL increase. Can be stored indefinitely. Cost 50 MCr, TL6, 5,000 MCr dev. One Cr needed for every three Q. ½ hs Damage Control Room One (DCC1): One of the most serious aspects of warfare is battle damage, and the Rao Center Worlds came up with a clever way to fix such damage during the Kallista Emergency, by developing the DCC. One hull space in size, the DCC gives +1 to all damage control roles, TL5, 5,000 to develop. 35MCr each. Energybeam, Heavy (Eh): Cost 60, 6hs, dev cost: 7,000 Energybeam, Small (Es): Cost 42, 3hs, dev cost: 7,000 Enhanced Missile ECM (-q): This software upgrade is an evasive missile program (-1 to hit the incoming missile) that can be added to standard missiles. +25% to missile price. 2,000MCr to develop. Forcebeam Dampener (Of): The predominance of the forcebeam on the battlefield with the Kallista forced the Rao to develop the Of. A system that operates similar to the Overload Dampener, the Of can absorb one point of forcebeam damage per unit, or five points and then destroyed. One hull space, 35MCr, TL5, 15,000 development. Gun Launcher, Advanced (Ga): Developed by the Rao during their ever-growing conflict with the Kallista race, the Ga fires twice per turn, is three hull spaces in size, and costs 45MCr. It costs 9,000 to develop. Laser Spinal Mount (L-SpM): The first in a generation of weapons, the laser spinal mount took the enigmatic Kallista by surprise when the Rao first used them in front line combat. Cost is 108MCr, 12 hull spaces, TL5, dev cost = 8,000. Phased Array Radar (PhR): Invented by the Tigris (a Rao allied race) this system allows +1 to hit for point defense (only works vs missiles, not fighters, except in kamikaze mode). These are ‘fins’, mounted on the outside of a ship and are easily destroyed (before armor). One PhR per every five hull spaces and replaces one XO rack. One per D system required. Each PhR costs 15MCr, 2,000 dev, and TL6. Rotary Missile Launcher (Rl): Developed during the Kallista Wars, the Rl take up 2 hull spaces and cost 20 MCr each. Rl fires 1 SM(no Sprint-mode) or CM every other round per launcher. Each launcher only holds 6 SM or 3 CM. Rl become available at TL3. They are reloaded as XO Racks. 2000 to develop. Sandcaster, First Generation (Cs1): Due to the incredible damage Kallista heavy lasers can do to a warship, the Rao military developed the ablative Cs1 system. The Sandcaster releases a cloud of ablative sand to block incoming laser fire. The sand cloud is contained and shaped by the drive field of the ship. At two hull spaces, and 45MCr, the Cs was considered a bargain by the Rao, who had suffered terribly from the Kallista heavy laser system. When entering combat, this system goes into automatic fire mode, dispensing it’s canisters as quickly as possible. For each Cs on board two points of laser damage is ignored and the next two points is halved. This is per turn, not per volley! Any additional laser damage is applied normally. The dispensers are assumed to have enough ammo for continous firing during any engagement(like D) 2,000 to develop. Shuttles, Drop (std): As the Kallista Wars waxed on and off, these conflicts demanded the development of many new technological systems, thus the Drop Shuttle was invented. Drop shuttles have double the drop troop capacity of a assault shuttle and cost 40MCr to build. Dev cost: 2,000, TL 4. All other stats as ast. Shuttle, Heavy Cargo (hst): This heavy cargo shuttle has a cargo capacity of 250csp and a personnel capacity of .25 Q. All other characteristics are as st. The hst is the preferred shuttle aboard CFN cargo freighters. the hst is developed with the st and takes up 2 bbp, cost 20MCr each, and is TL1. Screen, Basic (Si): An active shield that is an ACTIVE defense (activates as D). Any BEAM WEAPON hit eligible to being stopped by shields can be blocked by the Si on a roll to hit of 5 or less. Each grade above or below average gets a + or - depending on experience(experience percentages: Poor 30%, Green 40%, Average 50%, Crack 60%, Elite 70%.). This system only works for three turns (not necessarily consecutive), then burns out and does not work when shields are up. Designed as a low-tech defense, only one may be mounted per ship (the fields react violently with one another: both generators instantly burn out. Needle beams and primaries still can shoot through it. This system must be placed before the first engine room. TL7. Two hull spaces in size. 50MCr, 8,000 to develop. Transport Shells (TS): First developed by the Tigris, Transport Shells were a cheap and economical way to ship pre-fabbed bases to remote parts of their Empire without tying up vital shipping. The pre-fabbed base is configured into a box configuration, a CD nav system is tack-welded on, as are four(4) Ic engines (at least until BS5 or larger comes along, then it’s 8 Ic), and a powerplant. The net effect is it moves Speed 2, period. A CD nav system is programmed with the destination (must be within CD range) and goes there on its moronic own. If it needs a crew, assume the BS life support and is just active enough to cover a caretaker crew of 5 or so. If it is caught by enemies, it is dead (don’t even roll) but attackers option is to capture - free tech toys. It will move itself to a final point (WPx in System y) and sit there. It is strictly one way, one time trip, after that it must be moved by a tug. Cost 45MCr in addition to the unit cost (the Base). TL4, dev cost: 2,000. Jumpgate Technology The Rao developed jumgate technology early on; most likely they reverse-engineered an alien artifact to create them. Each gate requires an enormous amount of energy and ships travelling through it can only move to a nearby star system. Travel time takes a few weeks (depending on the distance) and the ships moving between them are outside this material universe while in transit. The "Unknown Attacker" destroyed several jumpgates when they attacked the Rao Center Worlds, causing immense destruction across each star system that it was destroyed in: all electronics were utterly burned out, colonies on nearby moons were totally demolished, and the ecosystems of several habitable worlds were severely damaged by this destructive wave. Unfortunately, humanity has been unable to figure out how to make these remarkable objects, and the Rao aren't talking when it comes to jumpgate technology. Military Technology The Rao's warship weaponry developed along the normal lines of most interstellar nations: lasers, energy beams, forcebeams, and standard missile tech. However, they did create a few unique items that dramatically increased their battlefield performance, like the Phased Array Radar, the Laser Spinal Mount, and hard Screen technology. When the "Unseen Attacker" suddenly and violently decimated the Rao Center Worlds, the Rao's tech level was a standard TL9, with a few wild cards thrown in: advanced hetlasers and plasma guns. Surprisingly, the Rao never developed the Needle Beam or the Primary Beam family of weapons. The attack on the Rao by the unknown enemy lasted just 31 seconds across the entire Center Worlds, according to Rao military documents, which is just unheard of. Robotic ground troops also invaded Troma Rao itself and killed billions of its inhabitants before finally being annihilated by overwhelming numbers of Rao on the homeworld. Now, supportive joint PSU/Rim patrols are being conducted across Rao space as they attempt to rebuild their empire, with significant help from humanity. Finally, the PSU has introduced the Rao to gunboat technology, which they have embraced with a fervor because of the large body structure of the Rao. The Rishii Maze The Rishii Maze is an incredible construct of ancient origin and nothing like it has ever been seen in this galaxy before. It was apparently created by the "Builders" and consists of over 50 habitable or near-habitable worlds, all connected via the "skyway" or "roadway", a system of indestructible roads that stretches several million miles across the Rishii worlds. Initial colonists were the Builders, who apparently died out and then the Rishii, a aggressive bird-like race that inhabits several Maze worlds to this day. Almost a dozen species can be found in the Maze (more on this later). Carrier Bases(BSVx): While most races are able to utilize small fighter craft, many large-body races were not able to use them and the Carrier Base was invented to take the place of carrier warships. These Bases are able to deploy LACs and other small craft, as well as fighters and gunboats. A static platform, BSV's were mostly seen at warp points, defending important systems from attack. The BSV's pay normal prices for fighter systems, and triple costs for offensive systems (because they were not built/formed for them). TYPE SIZE TL COST BSV0 N/A 0 0 BSV1 15-25 2 4.5 BSV2 26-50 4 5 BSV3 51-85 6 5.5 BSV4 86-120 7 6 BSV5 121-180 8 7.5 BSV6 181-250 9 9 BSV7 251-375 10 10 Original concept by Kencyr and Michael Sauer