Valkyrie Pattern Fighter

Stats

ST/HP Hand/SR HT Move Lwt. Load SM Occ DR fDR Range Cost Loc Stall Total Chase Rolls
90 +5/3 12‡ 15/600* 7.0 1.1 +4 1SV 75† 300 18,000 $15M g3rRWi 50 +19/+20*†

With Hypersled

ST/HP Hand/SR HT Move Lwt. Load SM Occ DR fDR Range Cost Loc Stall Total Chase Rolls
115† +3/3 12‡ 8/350* 12.3 1.1 +5 1SV 75† 300 45,000 $20M g3rRWiS 80 +16/+17*†

Notes

Valkyrie as Signature Ship

Valkyries are a rare and premium ship. They may be purchased for 5 points, in which case the PC has an old, outdated model likely salvaged or poorly maintained. It has HT 9, no Hypersled and a single Psychotronic Module.

For +1 point each, the Valkyrie may have:

  • A second psychotronic module
  • A hypersled
  • HT 12, and sufficient spare parts and access to mechanics that it maintains HT 12 unless something directly interferes with the ability to maintain the fighter.

For +3 points (8 points total), the PC may have “the whole Valkyrie package.”

*The Valkyrie is equipped with an Afterburner which improves the Move to 22/700 (+15) and consumes four times as much fuel (reducing range to 4,500 miles, if used continuously). For a Valkyrie with a Hypersled, the afterburner improves Move to 13/500 (+14) and consumes four times as much fuel (reducing range to 10,250 miles, if used continuously).

†The Valkyrie’s 75 DR covers the entire vehicle and comes from Diamondoid, and has half DR vs crushing damage. It also has a DR 300 force screen; the hypersled itself has DR 75 and no force screen of its own (but it is covered by the force screen of the Valkyrie, if it’s attached); it has 75 HP if on its own, and treat it as SM +5.

‡ Valkyries are notoriously fickle and require technological secrets largely lost to the Galaxy from centuries ago. All rolls to repair and maintain a Valkyrie suffer a -2. Furthermore, Valkyries that have been poorly maintained drop to an HT of 9; at the GM’s discretion, if the Valkyrie is not being well-maintained, apply a -1 HT penalty after each flight of at least one hour until it drops to 9.

ECM Rating: -4 (Distortion Jammer)

Electronics:

  • Psiberface Controls: This allows a psychic character to directly control the vehicle with their mind. This provides a +1 handling (already included in the stats) and allows the character to add their level of the Ergokinetic Interface ability, if they have it, to all rolls with the vehicle. For additional optional benefits, see “One with the Machine” in Pyramid #3/30.
  • Medium Tactical Ultra-Scanner: 30-mile scan, 3-mile imaging/bioscan; 360°;
  • Targeting Computer: +5 to hit target with a scan-lock.
  • Night Vision Sensors: +9 nightvision, ×8 magnification (up to +3 to aimed attacks, if the vehicle aims for three turns).
  • Distortion Jammer: -4 to target with missiles; +2 to jam missiles.
  • Tactical ESM: +1 to dodge missiles.
  • Decoy Launcher: +1 to dodge missiles and +2 to jam missiles.
  • Medium Holographic Radio: 1,000 mile range (orbital); “palm sized” holographic console.
  • Security And Safety: Complex Biometric Locks. Ejection Seat.
  • Life-Support: 5 days

What qualifies as "Psychic?"

A character must be a trained psychic to operate the Valkyrie's Psiberface controls. This means they must have at least one point spent in a psychic ability and one point spent in a psychic skill; Weak Latency (Psi) does not count (the the GM might allow it at a -4 to handling, reflecting their struggle to control powers they didn't realize they had). To make use of the pscychotronic modules, the character's psychic abilities must be associated with the appropriate psychic power. An electrokinetic cannot make use of ESP modules or vice versa. The character needn't have the specific abilities associated with the modules (a character with Psychic Hunches might make use of the Combat Sense Module or the Tactical Awareness Module, but not a Dread Crusader module). These are limitations specific to the Valkyrie and might not be valid of other forms of psychotronic equipment.


Psychotronic Alliance Fighter Vehicle Electronics with Hypersled:
  • Hyperdrive: Rating 1.
  • Additional Fuel: The Hypersled includes 4 “fuel points,” each of which can give the Valkyrie one hypershunt or an additional 12 hours of fuel.
  • An isolated sled has 75 HP, 75 DR and is SM +5.

The Valkyrie has room for a single pilot.

Armament

Lightly armed, the Valkyrie has two, twin-linked gatling fighter cannons mounted in its body (total ROF 24; +4 to hit).

Weapon Dmg Acc Range Ewt. RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl
ARC Gatling Blaster 6d×5(5) burn 9 2700/8000 1600 12 200/Fp M -10 2

Psychotronic Modules

What if I already have the power?

It's quite likely that someone who pilots a Valkyrie will have access to the power that their module has. In such cases, add the level of your power to the level of the power supplied by the module. In most cases, this will have a negligible effect, but in the case of Combat Sense, it can be quite useful. Furthermore, the character may use their psychic skill associated with the ability as normal, including activating any techniques associated with it, such as the Suppression technique from the EK Shield ability, and using Extra-Effort to improve it. If the character wishes to use a technique, or to apply extra effort, to the module, they must have the skill and they must spend double the normal FP. The effects apply to both their native ability and the module.

For example, if a Grimshaw pilot with EK Shield 30 flies a Valkyrie with the Electrokinetic Shield Module, he'll have a total of 330 DR from his module, rather than 300. If he uses extra effort to double the power of the shield, he must spend 4 fatigue rather than 2, and doing so increases his EK Shield DR to 660.

All Valkyrie craft have design space for a single psychotronic module at no additional cost. This module is not modular in the sense that it can be easily replaced (but a skilled mechanic can replace it as easily as he can replace any other integral component), only in the sense that the module can be chosen when the vehicle is created, meaning that Valkyrie-Pattern fighters have individualized psychotronic capabilities.

All psychotronic modules make use of the psychic powers of the pilot. They are, in effect, just psychic powers that have been technologically augmented. As such, they are vulnerable to Anti-Psi effects. They do not require the character to have the ability in question, though the character using the module will benefit from knowing the associated skill.

Generic Psychotronic Modules

Karmic Amplifier Module: The construction of this subtle psychotronic module has been lost and thus only found on older models, most often Devils and Crusaders. Once per hour, the module can apply subtle changes to the world around the fighter; the character can gain the benefits of a Lucky Break or dictate the results of a die roll that applies directly to their fighter. Each use costs the user 4 fatigue.

Psychotronic Amplifier Module: The psychotronics of the Valkyrie are boosted. The pilots attempt to use the psychic powers associated with the Valkyrie (Electrokinesis for a Valkyrie, ESP for a Devil, etc.), they gain +4 to their rolls, and have 15 “free” points of fatigue they can use for powering techniques or for Extra-Effort. This is intended primarily for psychic powers available to the vehicle through its modules; the GM may choose to allow the player to augment their own psychic powers this way (for example, a ESPer using Seekersense while in their Devil-Pattern interceptor). In such cases, halve the bonus to rolls (+2 rather than +4) and double the fatigue cost of activating techniques or using Extra-Effort (ie, 4 per technique or for Extra Effort, as though using psychotronics associated with the vehicle).

Psychotronic Imprint Module: The psiberface records a psychic imprint of the pilot. This requires several days of flying to establish the imprint. Once in place, the Valkyrie can fly itself. It behaves as though it had the skills of the pilot but with an IQ and DX of 9. Thus, if the PC has Electronics Operation (EW) at IQ, and Piloting at DX+5, then the ship has Electronics Operation (EW)-9 and Piloting-14. The ship can act independent of the pilot, or it can act in concert with the pilot; treat this as one free Passenger Action per turn.

Valkyrie-Pattern (Grimshaw)

Electrokinetic Shield Module: This replaces the force screen on the ship. The EK shield supplies 300 non-ablative, non-hardened DR that provides half DR against non-energy attacks (missiles and collisions, primarily); if the character has the EK Shield skill, they can use an EK-Shield block to double the DR of the screen; this may be improved with extra-effort like normal, or improved with any EK Shield technique the character knows (including suppression), but double the fatigue cost!

Electronic Shadow Module: This replaces the Distortion Jammer. The pilot has a -6 penalty, rather than -4, to all attempts to detect him with active sensors (such as an ultrascanner) or to target him with a missile. If the pilot concentrates, he can totally shroud his vehicle from electronic detection. While so concentrating, the character may not attack or make any stunts (they demand too much attention), but the Valkyrie is totally invisible to active sensors (treat this as a -10 if it matters). They cannot be detected, scanned, their opponent cannot benefit from the bonus of a targeting computer, and they cannot be targeted with missiles. If the character knows the Machine Invisibility skill, he may use extra-effort to boost the working of the module, or use any techniques he knows, but double all fatigue costs.

Surge Module: If the character has the ability at any level, this module projects the ability to so that it faces no range modifiers: the character need only see the target (thus it may not be used “Beyond Visual” range) and rolls the better of the character's Will or his/her Surge skill in a quick contest with the target vehicle’s HT. Success inflicts 30d non-wounding surge damage that ignores DR. If the character knows the Surge skill, he may use extra-effort to boost the working of the module, or use any techniques he knows, but double all fatigue costs.

Lightning Cannon Module: The module turns the entire Valkyrie into a conduit for a single, electrokinetic strike. This requires 30 seconds of “charging” the Valkyrie up (treat as a full Action Vehicular turn), during which the vehicle may operate normally, but it visibly crackles with electricity. After fully charged, it can fire, using the statistics below. Against targets with “metallic” armor (treat as any non-diamondoid armor that provides no bonus against shaped charges or plasma), this attack drops DR to 1. Furthermore, the vehicle may be stunned, as per surge rules. During the turn it fires, no other weapon on the vehicle can fire. This physically drains the pilot: each use of the lightning cannon costs the user 4 fatigue! If the character has the Electric Lash or Lightning power, they may use any techniques they know or attempt to empower it with Extra-Effort, but double all costs.

Weapon Dmg Acc Range Ewt. RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl
Lightning Cannon 6d×30 (5) burn sur arc 6 2000/6000 NA 1/30 NA M -10 2

Devil-Pattern (Sabine)

All Devil-Pattern variants of the Valkyrie lack a window (remove the “g” from the vehicle) and their cockpits mimic sensory deprivation chambers. Outside of the heat of battle, they can be used as such; in the heat of battle, characters with the Blind Psi perk may apply the benefit of the Perk to their psionic powers and their modules.

Combat Sense Module: This grants the fighter a +2 to all dodge attempts. Characters with the Combat Sense skill may use any Combat Sense techniques they know, or attempt to improve it with Extra Effort, but all fatigue costs are doubled.

Tactical Awareness Module: This replaces the ultra-scanner on the ship. The pilot is granted the equivalent of the Awareness ability with a range of 3 miles. This can be used to gain a “target lock” via integrations between the psiberface controls and the targeting computer. Use of the ability requires the higher of Per or IQ-based Electronics Operations (Psychotronics) or Awareness. The Tactical Awareness module is immune to distortion jammers, machine invisibility and the effects of a nebula, but not to Mind Clouding; the character can use any Awareness techniques he has as normal, but all fatigue costs are doubled.

Tactical Prognostication Module: This psychotronic module blurs the boundaries of time for the user, allowing him to constantly see the next few minutes of space combat in a way that provides tactical insight for him and his formation. This grants a +4 to all Tactics rolls made while in their fighter, provided it covers a scale of their immediate combat. If the pilot constantly relays that information to other pilots, he can perform a Tactical Coordination passenger action for free while also performing other maneuvers, but the constant visions of the future tend to be distracting and apply a -1 to his other rolls on a turn in which me makes a Tactical Coordination passenger action. He also gains +4 on any rolls to detect an ambush, and a +4 on Strategy rolls to get a sense of what the overall combat strategy of the enemy might be. If the character has the Visions or Prognostication skill, he may use those skills to glean additional information from his visions that don’t directly pertain to tactical analysis.

Crusader-Pattern (Elegans)

Dread Crusader Module: This amplifies the natural fear and uncertainty of combat and centers it around the fighter. Once per hour, the pilot of the Crusader may attempt to frighten any other pilot or vehicle crew member that can see him; roll a Will (or Instill Fear skill, if he has it) against the Will of his target. If he is successful, the target must either suffer a penalty to all rolls made in relation to the pilot (attack rolls, chase rolls, dodge rolls, etc.) equal to the pilot’s margin of success, or roll on the Fright Check table with a penalty equal to the pilot’s margin of success (pilot’s choice). This follows the same rules as the Instill Fear power, and the character may use the same techniques at doubled fatigue cost; the Group Scare technique is greatly expanded by the amplifier, and a standard use will apply the whole crew of a corvette or a fighter wing, a success by 5 or more will apply to a capital ship or a fighter squadron, and a success by 10 or more will affect a dreadnought.

Empty Mind Module: This module allows the pilot to reach out and “empty” the mind of a target. This requires the character to concentrate (for Action Vehicular combat, this counts as their attack for the turn), and then roll the pilot’s Will vs the target’s Will. Success stuns the target for a number of seconds equal to their margin of failure. Success by 5 or more Dazes the target for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure! The character may only stun or daze one target at a time, but characters with the Mental Blow skill may use it in place of their Will, and may use it to apply any techniques they know to the module. But double all fatigue costs.

Psychic Shadow Module: If the pilot concentrates, he can shroud his vehicle from the mind’s eye of others. While so concentrating, the character may not attack or make any stunts (they demand too much attention). Anyone who wishes to notice his vehicle by seeing it with their own eyes must roll Will vs the pilot’s IQ or suffer a -10 to all rolls to detect it (treat this as total invisibility); this value is halved for attempts to notice the character with electronics (the electronics will pick the Crusader just fine, but the target will find it hard to make the connection between the blip on his screen and the presence of the fighter). This does not penalize entirely electronic targeting systems, such as target locks or missiles, at all. Once the character has been detected, he must break line of sight on his vehicle (say, by diving deeper into a nebula, or flying into a debris field) if he wishes to apply this power again. Characters with the Mind Clouding skill may attempt to apply any known techniques to the module, but double all fatigue costs!

Psi-Shield Circuitry: The Crusader-pattern integrates psi-shield circuitry, granting the pilot (and anyone else who might be riding with him) a +4 to their Will to all attempts to resist mental intrusion or mind-altering psionic effects; this explicitly includes attempts to target their mind with the Dread Crusader module, the Empty Mind module, or the Psychic Shadow module. This effect is cumulative with any Mind Shield ability the character already has! Characters with the Mind Shield skill may roll it to realize an attempt was made to penetrate their mind, attempt to make a power defense roll to double the effect of Psi-Shield circuitry, and may attempt to use techniques like Mind Trap or Reflective Shield, though note that Mind Trap is useless against attacks the originate from psychotronic items, such as modules.

Athame-Pattern (Tan-Shai)

This model served House Tan-Shai; when the House joined the Empire, most pilots abandoned their Athame and recycled them, but a few elite aces kept them, and a few of those who remained true to the Alliance kept theirs. Their psychotronics tap the Eldothic Deep Engine to create a wide variety of effects. They can imitate the following modules (and only the following modules), but they can never benefit from Extra Effort or Techniques:

  • The Dread Crusader Module
  • The Lightning Cannon Module
  • The Psychotronic Imprint Module
  • The Tactical Prognostication Module
  • Psi-Shield Circuitry

The Deep Shadow Module: This acts like a combination of both the Psychic Shadow and the Electronic Shadow module; it replaces the Distortion module, and applies a -6 to detect the ship with active sensors of any kind, including psychic active senses (such as the Tactical Awareness module) or to target them with missiles. Furthermore, the pilot can concentrate (during which he cannot attack): while doing so, apply a -8 to all attempts to notice them with any active sensors or to target them with missiles. The character may also roll Electronics Operations (Psychotronics or EW) to jam or disrupt any missiles or attempts to gain a target lock on the character. Characters attempting to locate the craft must roll Will vs the pilot’s IQ or suffer a -6 to notice them. Their mind refuses to acknowledge their presence and their eye keeps slipping over the Athame.

Look and Feel

The Valkyrie and its variants is among the oldest designs in the ARC arsenal. They date from the Communion War, when the Maradonian houses borrowed from the innovations of the Templar fighters and the Immortal Legion’s own psychotronics to create their own fighters worthy of the aristocracy. Today, only the Valkyrie, fighter of House Grimshaw, is especially common, and since each is created specifically for the nobleman intended to pilot it, the GM is within his rights to require a Valkyrie-pattern ship to be taken as signature gear. House Sabine and House Elegans have their own variations (the Devil-Pattern and the Crusader-Pattern respectively). While the vehicle has been updated, it lacks a hyperdrive, a slot for a robot or more modern missiles.

The Valkyrie-pattern psychotronic fighter has a dagger-shape to it, with thin, forward-swept, curving wings angling out of the body like the edges of a particularly baroque blade. Its diamondoid armor gleams with almost an inner light, and the armor is usually a brilliant silver or a deep, star-speckled black. The Devil-pattern fighter has no visible cockpit or window: it has a hatch that allows the pilot to enter the sensory deprivation tank at the heart of the vehicle, while the other forms of the vehicle have a visible hatch perched on the “central ridge” of the “body of the craft.” The Valkyrie and Crusader both have controls (at the GM’s discretion, a non-psion could pilot them, but hand/SR drops to 0/2), but in all three, once the pilot is comfortably seated with the vehicle, they close their eyes and make a Will-based Pilot (Starfighter) roll, or Meditation, whichever is better, to gain control of the ship. The vehicle is controlled thereafter entirely with their mind (though they still roll the normal skills, such as DX-Based Pilot, etc., to actually control the ship). They “see” what the ship sees, and control the ship as they would control their own body.

When the Valkyrie was first created after the Communion War, most starfighters lacked hyperdrives. Today, though, hyperdrives become increasingly common. Modern Valkyries can connect with a Hyperdrive Sled, a device that forms a ring around the rear of the vehicle. This contains additional fuel and a hyperdrive that allows the vehicle to travel across the stars. Connecting or disconnecting from the sled takes about 5 seconds (treat it as a free action in Action Vehicular Combat) and while connected, the Valkyrie has an inferior combat profile from lugging the additional weight around. Most Valkyries ditch their sleds the moment they enter battle, and then reconnect with them once battle has concluded, provided an enemy didn’t target and destroy their ring.

The Valkyrie and its variants struggles to find a place in the modern Alliance. Its high acceleration and high top speed lets it compete directly with an Imperial Javelin, and it has superior defensive capabilities and equivalent firepower, which means it tends to win such engagements; it is one of the best dogfighters ever made, in the right hands. But as a “duelists” craft, it fares poorly when fighting larger craft, which means it contributes little to defeating dreadnoughts when compared to the Valiant or the Raptor. Worse, the fighter requires a psychic character to pilot it, and the psychic skills to really master it properly, and while the Alliance is loathe to admit it, their blood purity has waned a great deal since their heights during the Alexian dynasty and relatively few aristocrats have the psychic mastery necessary to pilot a Valkyrie. Thus, the vehicle sees no coordinated effort to mass produce, but some skilled nobles have one made for them, and bring it with them to battle. Thus, if one finds a Valkyrie parked in the hangar of their carrier, they know that someone onboard is either exceedingly pretentious or exceedingly deadly.

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