Annoucement: New Ships

Hear ye, hear ye
	Just want to announce that I've updated my website, uploading a new
deckplan for the Man-O-War with really cool effects, and the Hobgoblin
Worg, a new ship for the goblin races.  My site is below:

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/7925/

	The description of the worg is below:

Hobgoblin Worg 
Type: Escort
Built by: Goblins, hobgoblins
Used by: Goblins, hobgoblins, orcs
Tonnage: 30 Tons 
Hull Points: 30
Crew: 8/30
Maneuverability Class: D 
Landing: Land or water 
Armor Rating: 5
Saves As: Thick wood 
Power Type: Lifejammer or Minor Helm 
Ship's Rating: As victim or helmsman 
Standard Armament: 
2 medium ballista, crew 2 each
	2 medium catapults, crew 3 each
	1 medium jettison, crew 3
	blunt ram
Cargo Capacity: 20 tons  
Keel Length:  135'
Beam Width: 25'

	A bulky but dangerous ship, the worg was the pride and joy of the
hobgoblin fleets.  While powerful warships in their own right, the worgs
were never numerous and the last were destroyed during the elvish hunt. 
The last remnants of these craft were burnt out hulls left drifting in
some battle-torn spheres.
	Or so everyone thought.  Since the end of the Second Unhuman War, worgs
have begun to reappear at the edges of wildspace, representing a new
threat to the elves.  So far, only a few of these ships have appeared,
but their numbers are slowly growing once more.
	The design of the worg is very similar to that of an ogre mammoth, but
much narrower and shallower.  The worg has a large, open deck easily
capable of carrying many more weapons than what it normally carries. 
The hobgoblins don't normally load their ships down with many weapons so
that they have more space for lifeboats and boarding actions.  Some
craft are specially-rigged so that a pair of goblin blade fighters can
land upon the deck and another 1-4 can be lashed to the underside of the
ship.

Crew
	A warg, as operated by the hobgoblins, will have a full fighting crew
of 45, far more than the ship can normally sustain for long.  The
hobgoblins rarely used the craft for anything more than a short-ranged
fighter, so they took aboard larger crews than normal.  Each ship is
ruled by a hobgoblin warlord with AC 2 (plate armor and shield), HD 6,
and +3 to damage rolls due to their great strength.  He will be
protected by 3-7 (d4+2) bodyguards with AC 3, HD 4, and +2 to damage
rolls due to strength.  Hobgoblin ships will usually have lifejammers or
minor helms powered by slaves or the rare hobgoblin shaman.  Some
hobgoblins hired human or goblin mages to power their ships.  All
hobgoblins will be skilled warriors and capable of holding their own
when battle breaks out.

Ship Uses 
Warship 
	The primary purpose of the worg was war.  The worg was a solid warship,
capable of dealing out considerable damage while sustaining a great deal
of damage itself.  When on short-distance raids, the hobgoblins will
load as many troops as they can, usually 150-200 hobgoblins (up to 300
can fit) and set forth to raid.  Some of the more lucky captains managed
to secure magical sources of air; such captains were bolder when
selecting the targets of their raids.

Troop Transport 
	The worg is capable of holding 300 hobgoblin troops and was often used
to transport up to two companies of the creatures (about 250 hobgoblins)
or four companies of goblins (about 500 goblins) to frontline
battlefields.  During the First Unhuman War, convoys of 3-8 (d6+2) of
transports would travel wildspace to provide troops for invasions and
conquests, protected by 4-7 (d4+3) warships.  Such convoys were rare,
and only five were ever reported.  With the recent hobgoblin activity at
the edge of Known Space, there could be a resurgence of these convoys.

Reaver 
	The very few worgs that survived the First Unhuman War found their way
into lawless hands.  A few human and elvish pirates used worgs as their
pirate ships, raiding shipping lanes at the edge of Known Space.  The
worg proved an excellent pirate vessel, but the number of vintage worgs
was so few that the practice was abandoned within a century after the
War because battle damage from frequent attacks left the ships
crippled.  Some desperate pirates tried to rebuild damaged worgs, but
the repairs rarely held due to a lack of people experienced with the
design.
	Pirate worgs run by hobgoblins are starting to reappear at the fringe
of wildspace.  Some were captured from the scro, but others are from a
completely different space power.  Evidence points to a new nation of
hobgoblins that is now sending out pirates to raid trade ships.  What
danger this new threat poses is yet to be realized.
	A pirate worg operates as above, but will have minor modifications such
as replacing a catapult with a heavy ballista or upgrading the rear
jettison to a heavy.  Most pirate worgs will have a wreckboat in case of
disaster.

Other Configurations 
Cargo Ship 
	When the orcs that would become scro fled from the First Unhuman War,
they brought with them a handful of these craft.  Though not as powerful
as their preferred warship, the mantis, the scro have other uses for the
worg.  Scro vessels have notoriously small cargo holds, barely enough to
carry food and supplies for the ship.  Other equipment, tools, and war
materials need to be carried on other ships.  The scro have adapted the
worg as a cargo ship, as it has a large cargo hold but is more heavily
armed and armored than a standard tradesmen.
	Scro cargo ships sacrifice the rear catapult, turning that space into
an observation deck and gaining 2 tons of cargo.  The jettison is
downgraded to a light jettison, gaining an additional ton of space. 
Such vessels were rarely seen in Known Space, as the scro only used the
craft to supply their close-range bases.

Free Adventuring 
	A handful of these craft have fallen into the hands of adventurers, who
adapt the ships to suit their designs.  Adventurers usually plate their
ships, giving them an Armor Rating of 4 and dropping the Maneuver Class
to D.  The rear catapult is sometimes replaced by a bombard, while
other, richer captains fit the head of their ships with wildfire
projectors that spew fire like a fire-breathing hound.  Such ships are
rapidly becoming known as Hell Hounds, and the design is gaining
popularity once more.
	An elvish company has captured one worg and have rebuilt it, replacing
the snarling worg head with that of an eloquent wolf head.  The ship,
the Silent Wolf, is painted white and armed with an additional light
catapult firing forward.  The Silent Wolf has four flitters, two located
topside, two underneath.  The ship now serves as headquarters for the
Wolves of the White Fire.  

-- 
Night Druid