We end the A to Z Challenge with a submission from Charles “crmcneill” McNeill – the Z-15 Hunter/Starbomber.

A little about the craft from the document:

The Z-15 is essentially an upgraded version of the Z-10, utilizing most of the same basic systems. The Z-15, however, has a reinforced frame and hull, along with a shield generator. The auto-blaster has been redesigned and improved over the poorly thought-out cannon on the Z-10, and it now has its own fire control, independent of the ship’s sensor array. In addition, the Z-15 also features a multi-mode wiring and mounting system that allows it to accept and control a much wider variety of pod types than simple cargo pods.

 

When designing the pods, Starfeld cast as wide a net as possible in an attempt to anticipate the potential market for these ships. Example pod types include anti-ship torpedo launchers, anti-starfighter missile clusters, bomb dispensers, heavy turbolasers or ion cannon, jamming pods, comm/scan reconnaissance pods, in-flight refueling, minesweeping, ferry tanks and even passenger pods have all joined the basic cargo pod. In addition, Starfeld’s design teams are constantly on the lookout for new pod types, and will custom design pods to match a customer’s request. It’s Starfeld’s policy to consider such custom work as field testing, and if a customer’s design proves successful, it is added to Starfeld’s product line.

 

Starfeld did attempt to market their new design to the Empire, who rejected it practically out of hand. Undiscouraged, Starfeld marketed the ship as a low-cost alternative to system defense fleets. The versatility of the modular pod system was a big hit, as a small number of Z-15s could perform a wide variety of different missions simply by swapping out one weapons pod for another. A ship rigged for reconnaissance could return to base, swap out pods, and in a matter of hours be back in space on a torpedo bombing mission against pirate ships.

In addition, several planetary systems that are sympathetic to the Alliance have managed to “misplace” small numbers of Z-15s, and Z-15s now have a small but growing presence in the Alliance Fleet. Alliance doctrine is much more open to the use of small craft for operations independent of capital ships, and adding a few Z-15s to an attacking starfighter squadron can greatly increase its effectiveness.

This challenge was great fun because I brought out community submissions to each day. Keep submitting stats so that next year’s challenge will be all new!

The venerable Y-Wing starfighter/bomber has been in action since the Clone Wars. Here’s a little history lesson, this time in Canon form, from Wookiepedia:

Produced by Koensayr Manufacturing, these crafts were a mainstay in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars. Y-wings were used by Shadow Squadron during the attack on the Separatist heavy cruiser Malevolence. During the Battle of Ryloth, a squadron of Y-wings were used to break the blockade over Ryloth. A fighter was used to drop an experimental Electro-proton bomb on Seperatist forces near the end of the Battle of Malastare, completely annihilating the droid army. During the Second Battle of Geonosis, Y-wings were used to bombard Confederate gunners entrenched in the surface of Geonosis.^[6]

Slayn & Korpil’sA/SF-01 B-wing starfighter was designed as a potential replacement for the aging bomber. The Rebel Alliance used the Y-wing during the Galactic Civil War against Sheev Palpatine’sEmpire. The Alliance deployed the starfighter to their hidden fortress, and launched Gold Squadron and Red Group against the approaching Death Starduring the Battle of Yavin.

Flying with two wingmen, Gold Leader attempted the trench run to destroy the battlestation, but they were all shot down by Darth Vader in a TIE fighter. During the battle, all but one of the eight Y-wings were destroyed. Luke Skywalker, a farmboy from Tatooine and the son of Darth Vader, fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star.

Following the Rebel defeat at the Battle of Hoth, Y-wings were among the ships of the Rebel Fleet that met at the rendezvous point.

Y-wings also joined the Rebel Fleet to attack the Death Star II at Endor. During the battle, Y-wings were deployed asGray Squadron. Under General Lando Calrissian‘s orders, they joined in attacking Imperial Star Destroyers at point-blank range, and then followed him into the Death Star after its defenses were knocked out by Han Solo‘s ground team. Inside the Death Star, one Y-wing broke off and led TIE fighters away from Calrissian’s strike group, which succeeded in destroying the battlestation.

And here’s the variants:

• BTL-S3
• BTL-A4
• BTL-4 Advanced
• BTL-D1 Drone
• BTL-E5 Wild Weasel
• BTL-F1 Fighter
• BTL-P1 Prototype

As always, check the title of the file for its source. In this case, the majority are from our host, the D6 Holocron Wiki.

Today’s “X” factor will be the classic X-Wing starfighter. Researching the history behind this iconic Rebel fighter led me to share its Legends description:

The X-wing was a prominent series of multiple starfighters produced by Incom with a characteristic “X”-shape of four wings, known as S-foils, extending out from the fuselage. These starfighters were found in the service of the Rebel Alliance, New Republic, and also the Galactic Alliance. They were originally meant for the Galactic Empire but when the entire Incom design team defected with the prototypes to the Rebel Alliance this deal was over. Despite this, however, at least one X-wing was stolen by a Stormtrooper.

Now, we’ve got variants of the X-Wing over the past 120 years ABY (your canon may vary):

The T-65 Series:

• T-65 X-Wing
• T-65A3
• T-65AC4
• T-65B
• T-65BR Recon-X
• T-65C-A2 X-wing
• T-65D-A1
• Tandem X-wing

The XJ Series:

• XJ X-wing
• XJ3 X-wing
• XJ5 ChaseX
• XJ6 X-wing
• XJ7 X-wing

Then there’s a few extra variants:

• StealthX
• X-83 TwinTail starfighter

The sources are listed within the filenames once you click the link. We don’t have all the ones listed at Wookiepedia statted. If you care to share your versions of the ones we’re missing, leave a comment!

Another thing in the future will be the fighter highlighted in Episode VII : The Force Awakens…but that’s a book all in itself….

For “V” I’ll go with the domesticated voorpak, which comes to us courtesy of the D6 Rebellion, converted from a Star Wars Gamer article.

Then, for “W,” I bring you the planet Was III, which reminds me of a hive world from Warhammer 40,000 with a polluted atmosphere and almost-bereft of resources.

I’ve got some Unifying Force adventure conversions to fill in the “U” spot.

Here’s The Fall of Eradyia and Waves of Conflict. Both of these come from the SWRPG Network. The Fall of Eradyia was converted by Jonathan Bell, and Waves of Conflict by Gabriel Johnson.

This one’s from our resident starship combat guru, Charles “crmcneill” McNeill.

The Truncheon is a weapon that uses kinetic impact as its form of damage, and designed for planetary bombardment.

The full write-up and stats are here!

Womp Rat Press is pleased and honored to bring you the Medical Sourcebook! If you’ll remember, we previewed the book way back in December, and expect to hear a review of it in the next episode of Shooting Womp Rats!

Until then, have a read for yourself, and share what you think in the comments or in the G+ community!

Sounds more like an excited utterance than a creature…

Don wrote up the sand sloths as part of his Droids : The Animated Series Sourcebook. Now you too can enjoy them as well.

Sand Sloth

Don and I dragged in one of my players from my Friday night games, Marcus Wallin. Marcus chimed in on a few items of discussion:

• We have new team members on the Womp Rat Press front – Gennifer Bone and Peter Lomas on art and layout respectively!
• Don’s been burning the midnight oil on some Edge of the Empire conversions
• We talk about the newest Womp Rat Press release, the CEC Sourcebook

All this and more inside! Listen all the way though for a special Joey-inspired surprise!

Yep. This is a challenge, but it’s one I’m willing to take on.

“R” brings us Don’s vision of Rhommamool with the bonus of Osarian, two planets mentioned in the Expanded Universe. You can grab these here.

In a bit of behind-the-scenes news, Gennifer Bone, our new artist, is hard at work designing the cover for Wild Space Magazine Issue Three. I’ll be updating the blog soon with a sneak peek.