Since I wrote Kashmere Commonwealth, the opinions of the ships reflect a definite bias. Please let me know what points you agree and disagree about and I'll add your comments to the page.
Hell Bender K
BPV: 26 / 1 Crew
Well, the Hell Bender K is really a scenario specific ship. It's special
sensors and FTL drive play no part in the normal "two-fleets-meet-in-space"
battle, so I doubt anyone would choose this ship. But in case you do, treat
this fighter just like a Talon or other similar ship. Move around the perimeter
of the battle, wait for a ship to get separated from the others and pounce
on it. The Hell Bender K is a great choice to take out those ships that
have been stripped of everything except a little bit of drive. Use the Autocannon
to blast them from 20 hexes away, earning some much deserved BPV.
Karttikeya
BPV: 150 / 4 Crew
Well, it should be obvious that you always want to point your Karttikeya's
front arc at a ship and then unload on it. The 360° Ion Ram should allow
you to attack a target every turn. Remember the Ram's 15 hex range. Hang
back for a few turns and snipe at targets with it. When a ship decides to
get close enough to hit the Karttikeya, punish him. The Drive is very high
for a Gunboat and its DR is quite nice as well. The Defensive Value is only
11, so be careful around ships armed with Plazguns and the like as they
will hit almost 50% of the time. The Karttikeya's Point Defense can attack
6 torpedoes a turn with a 50% chance to hit, providing a nice defense against
pesky Mk. 10 torpedoes. Finally, the 10 Mk. 20 torps provide decent punch
with good drive, allowing you to chase down any ship that tries to turn
and run. I typically launch the torpedoes in groups of four or five. Also,
never forget the missile launcher. I use it to cripple any small, annoying
fighter that is buzzing around.
Lakshmi
BPV: 83 / 2 Crew
The Lakshmi is a fast cargo ship, with decent armament. Use its high drive
to swoop in and attack a straggling target. The twin Impulseguns are accurate
and damaging, while the twin Pulse Lasers are decent defensive weapons.
The four torpedoes are excellent harassment weapons and can keep enemies
from following too closely. Its DR is average, as its Defensive Value (13).
Where the Lakshmi really shines is its damage track. Since it was designed
to run away from most attackers, it keeps its drive for a long time. Also,
it takes 25 hits before the ship takes a weapon hit. Late criticals also
help to keep the Lakshmi in the fight. While it does not have the firepower
of a Salamander or Death Wind, the Lakshmi will be flying around for a long
time after the other ships are empty hulks.
Marut
BPV 15 / 1 Crew
I love this fighter. It looks cool, has a high Drive, is hard to hit, and
packs a heavy wallop. I usually use my Maruts in pairs, using one (typically
with a Piloting and Gunner of 1 each) to draw out an attacker and then move
his wingman in to a safe firing arc against the ship foolish enough to take
the bait. The Impulsegun is great, providing decent accuracy with High damage.
Many think the Pulse Lasers are vestigial, but they do serve two great purposes.
First, there are times when you need that extra +1 to-hit, especially against
torpedoes where damage scored is not important. Second, it is always the
weapon to be destroyed when the 'w' hit is encountered, leaving the Impulsegun
to fire until the ship is destroyed. Which brings us to the great weakness
of the Marut. It just does not take much damage to destroy. 11 points of
damage will do one in so do not expect the Marut to have a long life in
battle. Pick a target and send in two to four Maruts after it. Before they
are all destroyed, they should strip the poor ship.
Teal Hawk III
BPV: 40 / 1 Crew
The Teal Hawk III is identical to the Teal Hawk with the following exceptions:
additional cargo space and no gunner. The tactics for the Teal Hawk III
are therefore similar to the Teal Hawk. This is how I always envisioned
the Teal Hawk by the way, a single-mans smuggler craft, sort of a poor-man's
Millennium Falcon.
Ushas
BPV: 345 + Pod Value / 9 Crew
Again, the Ushas is a freighter, so do not expect to take on other Warhounds
with impunity. It's Drive, DV, DR and Point Defense are all quite low. It's
weaponry is defensive except for the Repeating Blaster. It is a Warhound
though so it can take an impressive amount of damage and still move. Of
course, if you add a battle pod or two to the Ushas it suddenly becomes
a cheap weapons platform. The battle pod with 5 100-ton fighters in it can
be a nasty surprise. 5 Maruts suddenly appearing will make anyone unhappy.
As with the Vishnu, concentrate on your victory conditions. Leave the fighting
to those ships designed for it.
Varuna
BPV: 120 / 3 Crew
The Varuna was designed for escort duty and so, it is fairly defensive oriented.
It has a high DR (4) so it can absorb a decent amount of punishment. It
has a very large number of decoys, adequate point defense, and 6 Mk. 10
torpedoes for harassment / anti-torpedo work. The 360° Ion Ram has a deceptively
long range, allowing 15 hex pot shots at enemy ships. The triple Pulse Laser
is useful against hard to hit fighters like the Dart, while the quad Splatterguns
keep enemies from sneaking up behind you. The Vaurna's damage track allows
it to keep its weapons long into the fight, and has lots of empty boxes
up front. If the Varuna is not protecting another ship, fight aggressively
with it. Move it right in the middle of an enemy formation, and let fly
with the weapons. Its low Defensive Value assures it will be hit often,
but its DR and Damage Track allow it to keep going and going.
Vishnu
BPV: 50 / 4 Crew
The Vishnu is a freighter, nothing more. So do not expect it to do anything
other than draw enemy fire and be a big juicy target. It is slow, pitifully
easy to hit, has little armor, and purely defensive armament. Typically,
if you are flying a Vishnu, you have a goal to reach which involves leaving
the map safely. With that in mind, the only reason to deviate from your
goal is if you have large numbers of torpedoes bearing down on you. Otherwise
drive forward and ignore the attackers. While the Vishnu has a lot of damage
boxes, if a ship moves in behind it, the Vishnu's Drive will quickly drop
to 0. Rely on your escorts, or the threat of the Vishnu being a Yama to
keep your enemy back. Proper formation use is the only way to keep the Vishnu
alive.
Yama
BPV: 50 + Pod Value / 4 Crew
Well, on the outside, the Yama is identical to the Vishnu. It is still slow,
easy to hit, and easy to damage. What it does have though is one of the
most flexible weapon mounts in the game. With three different battle pods
mountable on the ship, the Yama can deal with any situation. My personal
favorite is to choose pods VY3 (100 ton bay, twin Impulsegun), VY1 (4 Blatguns,
2 20 shot missile launchers), and VY5 (8 Splatterguns, 2 20 shot missile
launchers). With these, the Yama can attack a variety of targets. Of course
the crew costs are high, but it is devastating. If the Yama is flying with
one or more Vishnu, let your opponent close for one or two turns before
revealing your weapons. The knowledge that a Yama is inside a freighter
convoy often forces would-be pirates into using long range sniping tactics,
which should give you time to leave the board. Once you reveal the Yama's
weapons, hunt down and kill one or two ships a turn. Remember that once
the Yama reveals its weapons, it becomes primary target number 1. It's Drive
will quickly be destroyed, so use its firepower quickly and decisively.