Restricted Ship Lancer-class Frigate

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LANCER-CLASS FRIGATE

AFFILIATION
Open market.

MANUFACTURER
Kuat Drive Yards.

CLASS
Frigate.

ROLE
Capital ship.

COMPOSITION
Doonium and transparisteel.

DIMENSIONS
Length - 250 meters.CREW
375-810.

PASSENGER CAPACITY
40.

CARGO CAPACITY
300 standard tons.

HANGAR CAPACITY

• 4x starfighter/light starbomber.
• 2x shuttle/light freighter.

CONSUMABLES
6 standard months.

SPEED/MANEUVERABILITY
The Lancer-class frigate has a top speed of 40 MGLT and has decent maneuvering characteristics.

ARMAMENT

• 10x dual medium laser cannon.
• 10x quad medium laser turret.
• 1x tractor beam projector.

EQUIPMENT

• 1x hyperdrive, 1x class 1 primary, 1x class 10 backup.
• 1x navicomputer.
• 1x heavy deflector screen generator.
• 4x docking ring with integrated docking tube and hull-cutting tools.
• Many x escape pod.

DESCRIPTION​

The Lancer-class frigate is a small warship designed and produced by Kuat Drive Yards, originally designed for the Republic Navy but coming into service during the early years of the Galactic Empire. The Lancer's story is unique in the lore of the Galactic Civil War, starting as an unwanted, unappreciated class which was only adopted due to contract commitments with the manufacturer, and winding up as the near-savior of the Imperial Navy.

Owing to the shortcomings of the Republic Fleet during Clone Wars, the Imperial Navy severely over-corrected, structuring itself almost exclusively around large, heavily armed battle-wagons such as the Imperial-class star destroyer. With some notable exceptions, ships smaller than light cruisers were almost entirely relegated to system patrol and planetary defense roles, with little effort made to integrate potentially useful designs into the fleet. The Lancer, at least initially, was one such vessel which fell through the cracks.

The Lancer, designed at the height of the Clone Wars, had in fact been developed to answer a very specific dilemma faced by the Republic Navy; mainly, the swarms of droid starfighters employed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. With a finite number of clone pilots, the Republic could not match the Separatists ship-for-ship, and thus realized the necessity to find another way to defeat them. The solution was a new class of warship, a dedicated anti-starfighter platform armed with comparatively light weapons which could track and destroy large numbers of the enemy, with robust enough shields and armor to wade into enemy fighter swarms and survive.

Unfortunately, the Lancer was not ready in time to sweep the vast formations of Confederate Vulture droids from space; the war ended while the first 1,000 examples were still being completed. Although not actually wanted by the new Imperial Navy, which had no use for such a craft at the time, contractual obligations agreed to by the Republic forced them to take delivery. The Lancers were subsequently assigned a system patrol role, and scattered throughout the Galaxy's backrocket systems. Within the Navy, command of a Lancer was seen as a punishment.

That was until, in 0 ABY, a handful of piddling little snubfighters utterly destroyed the largest, most technologically advanced battle station in Galactic history up to that point.

As it turned out, while the Imperial Navy hyper-focused on massive star destroyers, battlecruisers and dreadnoughts, the Empire's enemies took notes. Rebel pilots began to exploit the close-in weaknesses inherent in super-heavy capital ships, a phenomenon dubbed Trench Run Disease. Using blind-spots and surface-level flying, "inferior" ships - should they get close enough - could target the weak points of such vessels with precision, making them vulnerable. The tactic blindsided Imperial strategists, and they scrambled to come up with a solution.

In response to the new, very real threat posed by the latest generation of small, heavily armed starfighters, the Galactic Empire stumbled across the Lancer, and the capabilities - once dismissed by the destroyer-blinded high command - it had been designed with. Hastily, the Imperial Navy developed a program to integrate Lancer frigates with the fleet as pickets. Their weapons proved extremely effective; the Lancer was able to destroy incoming waves of enemy snubfighters where star destroyer turbolasers and squadrons of flimsy TIE fighters failed. Before long, it gained a reputation as one of the most feared ships in the Imperial Navy, with the Rebel Alliance detailing corvette and frigate squadrons to destroying them during any kind of large-scale combat.

Ultimately, the Lancer may have been almost single-handedly responsible for prolonging the Galactic Civil War; indeed, it is theorized that, had the Imperial Navy recognized its usefulness from the outset, the war may have concluded differently. Regardless, the type was eagerly accepted into service by the New Republic Navy after their victory, and was used by both sides during the First Order-Resistance War. Since then, it has been retained in the inventory of myriad system and sector defense navies.

LEGALITY​

Restricted. Lancer-class frigates are classified as capital ships under Galactic law, and possess powerful weapons. As such, civilian owners will require extra licensing to operate one legally, and will receive increased scrutiny by authorities.

INTENT​

To add a ship from Canon to our site's fanon.

RESTRICTIONS​

Lancer-class frigates are large capital ships with powerful weapons, and such vessels cannot be owned or operated by individual characters. They may be acquired as faction assets, however.