Drazi Redux: Reimagining the Drazi in A Call to Arms, Part 2

 

In Part 1 I went over my proposed new rules for The Drazi Warbirds and the fighters they carry. This time I will be completing the Patrol choices with rules for the 'Eagles' and also look at the new workhorses of the Drazi, the Sunhawks.

Like many other races the Drazi utilise a number of smaller ships to patrol their space and act as customs enforcement. The Stareagle-class Frigate is a direct successor to the Merlin-class and replaced that ship in service as they were retired from frontline service. Many Merlins were converted into minesweepers, a much more efficient use of a hull than converting Warbirds for the purpose, or sold to third parties such as traders or the Drazi Hunters (Raiders). The Stareagle then, was often called upon to hunt down the very ships that it replaced in service and continues to act in an anti-piracy role to the present

The Sunhawk was the winner of a design contest to produce the next generation of warship for the Drazi Freehold. It beat an improved version of the Warbird, which had been in service since 2002, to be adopted as the new frontline warship of the Drazi Freehold. The new Warbird design too was adopted as it was a significant improvement over the original Warbird. It was still less capable than the Sunhawk but was significantly cheaper to produce.

Visually the Warbird and Sunhawk are very similar. The only difference being the cowling on the reactor section at the rear being present on the Warbird, and absent on the Sunhawk. The Sunhawk is still a relatively new design but has already spawned a selection of Variants.

Stareagle-class Frigate

The Stareagle is a very old design but the Drazi have kept the type updated with modern technology. It is small and not particularly well armed and is used a a system picket or patrol ship. It can be threatening when used in large numbers in a fleet engagement but its armament is not ideal for engaging enemy capital ships.

*The Stareagle is one of the more powerfully armed 2 for 1 patrol ships and compares very favourably with the Tethys or Haven. The main disadvantage it has is that its primary weapon is bore sighted and not a beam or mini-beam. It will often be used as an initiative sink and I went this route to ensure that its firepower wouldn't overshadow the other patrol ships. A pair of them can throw out an impressive number of shots if you do manage to bore sight something though but otherwise it is outgunned by almost anything.

Claweagle-class Direct Assault Frigate 

Produced in vast numbers during the Dilgar war the Claweagle was often a priority target for the Dilgar and as such suffered horrendous losses. Production was discontinued after the war and those that survived are often tasked with hunting Raiders.

*A very interesting ship that is more a gimmick than anything. The boarding claw ability is very hard to achieve as it requires a contested crew quality roll, and the ship itself in the official rules is incredibly weak. You require huge numbers of them. I made it a direct variant of the Stareagle (with the higher crew and Dodge). Its also not going to be using its dodge ability if it manages to clamp onto an enemy ship so you lose the ability while clamped on.

Kestrel-class Corvette 

Slightly newer than the Stareagle the Kestrel is a very light ship intended primarily for anti-Raider activities where its superior speed and, for its size, powerful armament allow it to chase down Raider ships with ease. It can also act in the frigate role when called upon and support the Drazi fleet in action where its superior speed can quickly land it in trouble.

*The Kestrel is a police ship and there are other fan rules out there but those have the kestrel being incredibly powerfully armed. My version is fast but very fragile. combined they can mass the same firepower as a Warbird which makes them a credible threat. They will die a lot faster than the Stareagle though so there is definitely a choice to be made if you are going to take either of them.

Sunhawk-Class Battlecruiser

A squadron of Sunhawks and its variants

The Sunhawk is one of the most commonly encountered ships in the Drazi freehold. Slightly larger than the venerable warbird, faster, tougher and more powerfully armed, the Sunhawk entered service not long before the Dilgar war. It is the first ship in the Drazi fleet that comes close to matching the Centauri Vorchan and its hull is easy to modify into a number of variants.

*As outlined in part 1 I swapped the priority of the Sunhawk and the Warbird to more closely match the background by Agents of Gaming. I made a couple of changes to the ship, firstly I increased the speed to 14. This is both so that it matches the speed of the Vorchan (which it does in Babylon 5 Wars) and also so it is a little more difficult to keep a mixed formation of Warbirds and Sunhawks together. Secondly as I have done with most of the Drazi ships, the secondary armament can now shoot in the Forward arc rather than being bore sighted.

Darkhawk-class Missile Cruiser

A very common variant of the Sunhawk, the Darkhawk brings some long range ability to the battlefield by replacing the wing mounted weapons with missile launchers. It is the Drazi fleets only real long range ship as the version based upon the Warbird was unsatisfactory and only produced in small numbers, but still retains the powerful Particle Cutter which it can use if it closes with the enemy

*The Darkhawk is noticeably tougher than the official version as it is based upon a Skirmish level hull rather than a patrol level.. 

Eyehawk-class Scout Cruiser

A rare variant of the Sunhawk this scout ship has a very impressive sensor array that can perform a variety of functions. The ships main advantage is it's jump engine which allows it to perform any independent missions it may be called upon to make as well as leading other Drazi ships on attack missions.

*Most scout ships are quite poorly armed, particularly if they also have Stealth. In the case of the Drazi, the ship is well armed, but those weapons have a short range. The ship also has a Jump engine which is a departure from the official rules but in line with the version in Babylon 5 Wars.

Jumphawk-class Command Cruiser

Green is good

Designed to lead Warbird and Sunhawk formations into battle, the Jumphawk has an enlarged command deck and is also equipped with a Jump Drive. The Jumphawk replaced the old Goshawk-class jump ship in this role and was one of the main causes of that class being retired.

The cost for the added capabilities on such a small hull is a reduction in the ships offensive firepower, but this is more than compensated by the increase in capability.

*Slightly better armed than a Patrol ship the Jumphawk makes up for it with Command +1 and a Jump Engine.

Guardhawk-class Battle Escort

The Dilgar war made it painfully apparent that the Drazi were ill equipped to deal with massed fighter attacks. The War Talon was the only dedicated anti-fighter ship the Drazi possessed at the time (unless you count the absurd but very Drazi Taileagle) and it was not up to the task of fending off massed Dart fighter attacks. The Guardhawk was introduced shortly after the start of the Dilgar was and is a much better anti-fighter platform and retains  respectable anti-ship firepower.

*The ship trades its Beam weapon for Escort and Anti-fighter 6, and a few extra shots on the repeater.

Solarhawk-class Battlecruiser

The Solar cannon is an incredibly effective weapon. It's main downside is its size rather than power requirements or range. Usually equipped on larger ships such as the Stormfalcon or Firehawk the Drazi found that it was possible to mount the weapon on the Sunhawk. there were lots of compromises required and in addition to the long cooling cycle of the Solar cannon, the ship also has a much reduced secondary armament compared to the Sunhawk. While technically a success, the Solarhawk has not been produced in very great numbers.

*The main change I made to the ship was adding a fairly weak secondary armament so that you can do something with the ship on turns where you can't use the Solar cannon. It also adds some utility in that you can also close blast doors and still shoot if you like. Also of note is that the ship has lost its Jump Drive. This was moved to the Eyehawk to match the ship configurations from Babylon 5 Wars.

Thanks for reading. In part 3 I will look at the Largest ships in the Drazi arsenal. There aren't many, The Drazi prefer to field smaller ships in larger numbers.

Thanks to Ginge for helping with the balancing of the ships and play testing

STL's by Tyrel Lohr

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Thanks for reading, and I will see you next time.