Gunstar

converted by Patrick Stutzman		 Gunstar in flight

The Gunstar represents the best starfighter manufactured by the relatively-unknown Irian Starships company. Rarely seen outside of a few systems in the Outer Rim near the Corporate Sector Authority, the Gunstar has surprisingly not sold very well across the galaxy.
  The Gunstar has a unique crew configuration that has proven to be quite effective. All weapons are controlled from the gunner's pod, separated from the pilot's pod in the cockpit. The gunner's pod rotates in three dimensions at the gunner's command without altering the attitude or bearing of the Gunstar. Sensors linked into the weapon systems cause the weapons themselves to match facing with the gunner's pod. This allows the gunner to concentrate solely on gunnery without worrying about the position of the ship or the positions of the individual weapon systems. This also frees the pilot from having to worry about positioning the ship to give the gunner a clear shot, allowing him to concentrate solely on defensive flight.
  In practice, the pilot of any Gunstar usually does nothing but pilot the ship during a dogfight, while the gunner takes his time on the weapons without worrying about any penalties for piloting. He can do this, because the pod rotates freely. Even if the ship is not in a good position for weapons lock, the gunner will be. And due to the sensor links, the weapons will be in just as good of a position as the gunner. Since the rotation of the weapons is controlled remotely by sensors, the weapons can be placed anywhere on the ship and still gain turret benefits.

SPECIAL PROTOTYPE WEAPON: DEATH BLOSSOM

Death Blossom is an experimental defense mechanism incorporated into Gunstar as a weapon of last resort. The designers used up all of the vessel's 100 kg of cargo capacity to install 40 blaster cannons in each of four covered sections along the side of the hull. When DB is activated, the covers retract, the cannons link, the ship begins to spin in three dimensions violently, and the cannons fire off at random. This creates a very dense cloud of blaster fire that is nearly impossible to avoid. Unfortunately, it works best against ships that are within close range of the desperate Gunstar. Any ship within range of DB (3 squares) takes 10d10x2 points of damage.
  The price for using DB is total loss of all power. This means no sublight engines, no hyperdrive, no weapons, nothing except life support. Many Gunstar pilots have used this weapon under inappropriate circumstances and died in space, because they didn't even have enough power to launch the ejection seats.
  Disclaimer: The Gunstar, borrowed from the movie "The Last Starfighter", is ©1984 Universal Pictures. Use of the name and elements associated with it are not intended as a challenge to that copyright.

Irian Starships Inc. GunstarCL 11
Gargantuan starfighter
Init +6; Senses Perception +8

Defenses Ref 17 (flat-footed 12), Fort 27; +7 armor
hp 140; DR 10; SR 30; Threshold 47
Speed 12 squares (max. velocity 980 km/h), fly 3 squares (starship scale)
Ranged twin laser cannons +7 (see below) or
Ranged laser cannons +7 (see below) or
Ranged concussion missiles +7 (see below)
Fighting Space 8x8 or 1 square (starship scale); Cover total
Base Atk +2; Grp +34
Atk Options autofire (twin laser cannons)
Abilities Str 45, Dex 20, Con -, Int 14
Skills Initiative +6, Mechanics +8, Perception +8, Pilot +6, Use Computer +8
Crew 2 (skilled); Passengers 0
Cargo 0 kg; Consumables 2 weeks; Carried Craft none
Hyperdrive x2 (backup x18)
Payload 24 concussion missiles
Availability Military; Cost 275,000 (125,000 used)

Twin laser cannons (gunner)
Atk +7 (+2 autofire), Dmg 5d10x2

Laser cannons (gunner)
Atk +7, Dmg 6d10x2
Concussion missiles (gunner)
Atk +7, Dmg 8d10x2