The Ranger Class Subsidised Merchant

Sometimes dubbed a ‘Fast Trader’, the Ranger class is a variant of the 400 dTon Type R that is commonly encountered in the Domain of Debeb, where the relatively sparse Imperial settlement calls for hulls rated for longer jumps and which are capable of conducting wilderness refuelling operations as part of their planned schedule.

The variant sacrifices most of the aft habitation volume of the upper deck for additional fuel tankage and part of the aft-cargo volume for an expanded engineering space, enabling it to make jump-2 FTL transitions and maintain 2G of thrust for in-system operations while still being capable of hauling over 180 dTons of cargo in the lower deck hold. Like the type R it can be minimally crewed with just five spacers (Captain/Pilot, Astrogator, Engineer, Engineer’s Mate or Medic and Steward/Supercargo), permitting the aft four staterooms to be used for passengers – but owners frequently roster extra crew into these staterooms (most often additional pilots, engineers and gunners) to support extended operations on longer cruises.

Below is a low cost example making extensive use of low quality subsystems that was commissioned by the Pax Rulin Quartermasters Megacorporation for independent freight commissions and supply runs in support of their operations across the Trojan Reach.

Kiishermi’s Fancy, Ranger Class Frontier Merchant (400 dTon, TL12)

Cost: MCr82.93, Monthly Maintenance: Cr7108,
Life Support: Cr12000 (minimal crew) – Cr20000 (fully crewed)

Component	Description	dTon	Cost (MCr)
Hull	400 tons, streamlined		24
Armour	Titanium Steel, 0 points
M-Drive	Thrust 2, increased size	10	12
J-Drive	Jump 2, energy inefficient	25	28.125
Power Plant	Fusion, TL12 Power: 165	11	11
Power Requirements	Basic systems: 81 Manoeuvre drive: 80 Jump drive: 104 Sensors 1 Weapons: 12
Fuel Tanks	4 weeks operation, J-2 Fuel processor (20 dT/day)	82	0.05
Bridge	Bridge	20	2
Computer	Computer/5 bis		0.045
Software	Jump control/2 Manoeuvre		0.2
Sensors	Civilian sensors (-2 DM)	1	3
Weapons	4 x single turret Beam laser x2, inaccurate Sandcaster x2, inaccurate	4	0.8 0.75 0.375
Systems	Launch bay 20t Launch Low berth x6	22 3	5.5 2.37 0.3
Accommodation	7 x standard stateroom Common areas	28 7	3.5 0.7
Cargo		186

Quirks

• The tradition of ‘jump dimming’ is a necessity on this vessel as the powerplant is not rated to fire the Jump drive while also powering basic systems. The bridge also has to dim basic systems if they go to action stations and want to actually use their beam lasers.
• The cargo hatch of the aft hold can be mated with the cargo hatch of the launch, permitting cargo to be transferred to the launch’s cargo bay in a shirtsleeve environment.
• The passage from the habitation space to the aft airlock and launch bay access tube passes through cryogenic fuel tankage. It is both narrow and cold, plus surfaces are prone to condensation; so it is only used if no other route is viable.
• Weapons turrets are controlled from workstations on the bridge, however access for maintenance is gained via the launch bay for the two dorsal turrets and the engineering space for the two ventral turrets.

Backstage
I needed a design for a medium freighter that my PCs encountered while wilderness refuelling at Ergo in the latest session. Since in the heat of the game I had already established that their prize was capable of 2G thrust, had a crew of 13 and was carrying 140 dT of cargo, I needed something different from the stock designs in High Guard; hence this variant of the Type R Subsidised Merchant which has traded cargo and cabin space for slightly longer legs.

While I was playing around with the ship design spreadsheet (based on one posted to Reddit a few years ago by Kieran Hartnett - aka /u/bluekieran) I thought I would experiment with installing budget systems for maximum economy, thus the engineering systems and turret weapons were provided by a low bid contractor and have some drawbacks.