[Spaceships] Technomancer: Trailblazer

[DaltonS]

I've been using the GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet Version 2.0 Release Candidate 3 to redesign your ship, and discovered by applying "Magical Life Support" I had greatly reduced the habitat space required. So much so in fact, that by exchanging 10 cabins for 5 bunkrooms (which fits in with "more spartan" accomodations required by the weapon system installation) I was able reduce the size of the craft to SM+7. Here's what I got:

TRAILBLAZER INTERPLANETARY SURVEYOR

The Trailblazer represents the pinnacle of TL8^ astromantic capability, utilizing the latest NEMA reactor design and technomagically-augmented life-support (see GURPS Technomancer, p. 108). Crew accomodations are more spartan than originally intended, but the vessels original design had to be altered in order to accomodate a suite of magical weapons in case it encountered unfriendly entities on Mars.

The vessel is divided into three sections: a command module dominated by the hangar bays holding the colonization supplies and small orbital shuttles, a crew module for the 21 astromancers (the captain gets his own cabin), and an engineering module containing the warded NEMA reactor, fuel tanks, and VASIMR plasma rocket.

The Trailblazer is utilitarian in appearance, with a 300-ton (SM +7) unstreamlined hull about 30 yards in length. As a purpose-built vessel, the Trailblazer is unique; if successful, similar vessels may be constructed for additional Mars missions or journeys to the outer system.

TRAILBLAZER INTERPLANETARY SURVEYOR
PILOTING/TL9 (LOW-PERFORMANCE SPACECRAFT)

TL               Spacecraft              dST/dHP  Hnd/SR  HT       Move       LWt.     Load    SM     Occ       dDR   Range    Cost   
8^  Trailblazer Interplanetary Surveyor     50     -5/4   13  0.0002G/20 mps   300  53.45 [1]  +7  22ASV [2]  10/5/5    —    $39.64M

Length: 30 yd. (90 ft.) Crush Depth: 833 ft.
Power Points: +1 / -1 Magical PP: +1 / -1
Space Performance: sAccel: 0.0002Gs/20 mps


SHIP SYSTEMS

   FRONT     
[1-2]        Armor - Light Alloy
               dDR 10
[3-5]        Hangar Bay
               Cap.: 30 Tons / SM+4 / Launch: 20 Tons/min
[6]          Cargo Hold
               15 Tons
[core]       Control Room
               Comm/Sensor: 4 / 3 Stations

   CENTER    
[1]          Armor - Light Alloy
               dDR 5
[2¡]         Weapon Battery - Medium
               3 Weapon Mounts [3]
[3-6, core]  Habitat
               20 Cabins

    REAR     
[1]          Armor - Light Alloy
               dDR 5
[2]          Engine Room
               1 Workspace
[3-4]        Fuel Tank - Hydrogen
               30 Tons of Hydrogen
[5!]         Reaction Engine - VASIMR Electric Rocket
               0.0002Gs / 20 mps / 0.002Gs / 1 mps [4,6,TL9]
[6‡]         Power Plant - Magical - NEMA Reactor
               1 Power Point / 1 Magical Power Point / 50 yr Fuel [5]

User Notes: Crew consists of 21 astromancers. After arriving on Mars a skeleton crew of three will man the ship while the remaining personnel teleport supplies down to the surface and establish a network of orbital navigation and communication satellites. Since the hydrogen in the tanks has been enchanted with the Essential Fuel spell (SS7 p.20), it adds an additional refuelling cost of $111k per tank but provides 200 mps delta-V in high-efficiency mode or 10 mps in high-thrust mode.

Design Switches, Features, & Notes: 3 Airlocks (Capacity: 3 people each), Ammunition Cost: $200,000, Refueling Cost: $60,000

SHIP OPTIONS: Artificial Gravity, Magical Life Support
[1] Load includes: 2.2*tons of Crew & Passengers, 6.25*tons of Steerage Cargo, 15*tons of Cargo Hold, 30*tons of Hangar Bay
[2] Crew Requirement: 3 Control Stations, 1 Workspaces, 4 Office, 6 Lab Worker
[3] Magic Powered
FUEL USED: [4] Hydrogen (30 tons), [5] Hydrogen Isotopes
PERFORMANCE PROFILES: [6] Space Profile #1

HABITATS

Qty.   Location             Type           SM         Notes        
   2  Center [3]  Lab: Standard            +0  4 person, +1 Skill
   1  Center [4]  Briefing Room            +0           10 person
   2  Center [4]  Teleport Projector       +0  0.4 Tons, 2 person
  10  Center [4]  Steerage Cargo: Partial  +0           1.25 tons
   1  Center [4]  Lab: Physics             +0  2 person, +1 Skill
   2  Center [5]  Office                   +0            4 person
   2  Center [5]  Sickbay                  +0     2 bed; +2 Skill
   1  Center [6]  Bunkroom                 +0            4 person
   2  Center [6]  Steerage Cargo           +0              5 tons
   1  Center [6]  Cabin                    +0            2 person
   4  Center [C]  Bunkroom                 +0           16 person

WEAPONS TABLE

            Range Scale:        Basic Combat Ranges  Turn Length:   20-sec  
Qty.            Mount                  Weapon           Options    Options   Size        Damage       sAcc  Rcl.    RoF   Shots  MPS  Accel      SM      Range  
   2  Center - Medium - Turret  Ghost Particle Beam                         30 MJ  6d cr exp (∞) [1]   -3     1      1                                    C/S
   1  Center - Medium - Turret    Conventional Gun    Rapid Fire             6 cm      9d cr (2)       -10    3   20 [2]   500    1              -4        C

[1] Detonates inside the target. Only reality stabilized force screens protect, at 1/5 dDR. Any damage that gets past screen DR is tripled due to the internal explosion,
[2] Includes x2 for Improved

Created using GURPS Spaceship Design Spreadsheet. GURPS Spaceships Design Spreadsheet is copyright © 2009-2012 Eric B. Smith.
This spreadsheet is based on information contained in the GURPS Spaceships series of books.

Please note that the Teleport Projector is 50% smaller than it should be. This can be adjusted for by removing the Steerage Cargo: Partial. I also put most of the bunkrooms in the Center Core to get double the radiation protection. The Captain and the "mutant chimera" have to bunk in a hull section habitat. (The League of Chimera Voters and Nightclaw [TM p.115] better not find out. ;) )

Dalton "still proud of his Technomancer playtester credit" Spence

P.S. And of course, immediately thereafter, I discover the "Practical Astromancy" article in Pyramid #3/30 with an oversized under-crewed SM+9 Trailblazer. I still think my compact version is better. As Joss Whedon would say "Grrrr! Arghhh!"