NEW IMPERIAL WARSHIPS

by Erik Setzer

The Apocalypse class battleship is one of the oldest designs for a battleship in the Imperium.  It is the predecessor to the Emperor battleship, though its weapons systems are much less formidable.  Unlike the Emperor class, the Apocalypse class were equipped with prow torpedo tubes rather than an advanced sensor system.
The Apocalypse class has served the Imperium well throughout its long career, but now only a handful are left.  Many have been lost over the years in various wars to newer, more powerful ships.  Many have simply been lost due to lack of maintenance.   The Apocalypse class remains a powerful ship in its own right, outdated as it is, and will continue to serve the Imperium until the very last ship of its kind is either destroyed or decommissioned.

The Vengeance class battleship is designed for sheer firepower.  A Vengeance battleship can put out an enormous weight of firepower.  Even though it was built almost 12 millenia before the current date, the Vengeance class is still able to compete with many of the newer classes of ships.  Even so, its time is almost at an end, as the last of its class are slowly replaced by Retribution class battleships.

The Judgement class battleship is a relatively new design, armed with full broadsides containing lance battery upon lance battery.  With its powerful lance batteries and multiple shields, the Judgement class has been able to destroy many rebel and pirate ships in the name of the Emperor.  The Judgement class is used as either a support ship to aid assaults on enemy fleets and planets, or as an escort for large lumbering Imperial tranports carrying regiments of Imperial Guard and their supplies.   The Judgement class has been occasionally used to spearhead assaults, using its broadside lance batteries to lay waste to enemy fleets as it passes through, using its dorsal lances and prow torpedoes to clear a path before it.

There are few Relentless Grand Cruisers still in active duty to this day.   Most are either destroyed or run-down, or have been refitted to use as training centers for Imperial officers.  The few still in service serve proudly, their launch bays and weapons batteries always primed to deliver death to the Emperor's foes.  The Relentless Grand Cruiser is one of the last classes of Grand Cruisers still used by the Imperium, and as Battlecruisers become more and more common, the Relentless nears the end of its prime.

Many Relentless Grand Cruisers were refitted to become training centers for Imperial officers, where they could learn aboard an actual ship.  Some of these ships were recalled back into active duty during the Imperium's many wars.

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The Oberon class battlecruiser was designed to be a gun platform, able to put out a sheer amount of firepower in any direction except to its rear.  The Oberon's hull is covered with turrets, laser batteries, plasma batteries, and various other weapons.  When firing at full effect, the Oberon can lay a virtual curtain of firepower out to either side, and to its front.

Imperial Carriers

The Imperial Navy recognized the need of dedicated carriers early on during the Great Crusade.  These carriers work as mobile attack craft bases, launching wave after wave of attack craft to support the fleets.

The Natal class battlecruiser was designed to be a ship that could have powerful firepower as well as be able to launch attack craft.  It is fully capable of making assaults on pirate bases and small rebel outposts with little or no support.   This class saw a lot of use in the years immediately after the Gothic War.

The Majestic class battlecruiser was designed to carry solely lances, making it a very powerful class of ship.  Its many lances have helped it destroy many a renegade or pirate ship in the past.  Even though this class is relatively new, its kill ratio is very impressive, and a single Majestic has been known in the past to cripple a renegade battleship.

The Goliath class battlecruiser is a variant of the Overlord class battlecruiser.  It has replaced the dorsal lances with weapons batteries and the prow torpedo tubes with lances.  The Goliath is a ship designed for firepower, able to withstand a prolonged battle against any ship of its size or smaller, and occasionally a battleship.  Even so, the ship is slightly vulerable to attack craft, and as such is usually paired with a ship that carries such craft.

The Resolution class battleship is a larger version of the Majestic battlecruiser.  It is a new design, less than six centuries old at the end of the Gothic War.  The Resolution runs up into the midst of a battle, firing upon any ship that gets near with its lance batteries.

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