Adrias Class Battlecruiser

**This article, Adrias Class Battlecruiser, was written by Cornish Moose. It may be linked to any page without asking for the author's permission.**

## Adrias class Battlecruiser

Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of an Adrias class

## Specifications

### Maximum speed

3.8 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration.

### Standard armament

Macrocannons, Lances, Torpedoes

*Feel free to create ships to use in your own articles. If you let me know I will add them to the notable vessels list.*

The **Adrias Class Battlecruiser** is an extremely rare class of warship built only by the Forge World of Tvastar in the Aeaean Cluster. With the knowledge to construct and repair the potent engines of the class lost, just a few examples now remain in existence, including the flagship of Battlegroup Areion.

## Background

### Origins

In the waning years of the 34th Millennium, the Explorator fleet of Tvastar discovered an STC fragment for an advanced Plasma Drive, believed to be capable of propelling a capital ship to greatly improved accelerations. When the news of this drive reached the ears of the Sector's Battlefleet, they began lobbying for this drive to be put to immediate use.
The Logii of Tvastar began drawing up plans for a vessel to house this new drive. It was decided to exploit the speeds that the new ship would be capable of by producing an enlarged battlecruiser that would truly live up to the ancient Terran usage of the term, a capital ship that drew close to the firepower of a battleship while boasting the speed of a cruiser. An initial order for a run of vessels was placed, later expanded to replenish fleet losses incurred during Waaagh Mega Baz'us and fulfil requests from other Battlefleets. In total a modest number of vessels would be constructed and more were planned before the STC was lost.

### Performance

In combat the new vessel proved highly effective at its intended role, easily outgunning enemy cruisers and capable of engaging battleships in groups. Within a few decades of introduction the Cluster had been almost cleared of pirates, the few survivors retreating deep into their hidden bases within the Graecan Belt. The ships also proved resilient in full scale battles, in part due to the threat of dire punishment levied against any Captain and his relatives who decided to treat the vessels as battleships. They scored a significant victory at the Battle of Montabano, when several vessels flanked a Chaos warband and cut deep into their ranks, scattering the heretics. The primary downside of the class was the complex nature of the plasma drive which made it extremely intricate and time consuming to produce.

### Decline

During Waaagh Darrioz, Tvastar itself was besieged by the foul greenskins and subjected to a number of assaults before relief forces broke the siege. During one of these attacks the priceless STC fragment that housed the plasma drive plans was damaged and the knowledge to produce it and most spare parts were lost.
Then in the latter stages of the resultant Medean Crusade, a number of the surviving vessels were destroyed in the Battle of Artesium when a spatial anomaly separated the battlecruisers from the rest of the heavy fleet. Outnumbered and unable to withdraw, they were wiped out, though not before destroying a considerable number of foes.
By late M41 only a handful of ship are known to still be spaceworthy, thanks to further attrition in battle and the inability to repair drive damage. Most of the surviving vessels have been cannibalised for spares to keep the final ships running, with the hulks left to float lifeless at anchorage or be converted into System Monitors.

## Design

Originally conceived as simply another class of battlecruiser, the Adepts of Tvastar made significant alterations to the base schematic after the discovery of the new plasma drive. The engineering section was enlarged to accommodate it and the internal structure reinforced. Initial tests indicated that heavier armour and more weapons could be accommodated compared to a standard Battlecruiser, creating a warship that bridged the gap between more traditional battlecruisers and battleships.

### Weapons

While the plasma drive can provide more than enough surplus power, the Adepts of Tvastar had great difficulty safely connecting the reactor to the capacitors of the Lance turrets. Most attempts to do so led to massive overloads which resulted in considerable damage to the prototype and less importantly the loss of many servitors. They were ultimately successful, though at the price that the turrets can only be used sparingly to avoid overloads. Multiple safety systems are in place to prevent their overuse, though some captains have secretly obtained the information to bypass these. During the Battle of Beuan, several captains overrode these systems out of desperation to try and survive the enemy fleet. While these were able to fire off several additional salvos before overloading, they resulted in one vessel catastrophically exploding and two others crippled when the capacitors detonated.
The ships are also well equipped with Macrocannon batteries and torpedo launchers in addition to the lances, along with a number of hangar bays for strike fighters.

### Void Shields

Adrias class vessels boast strong Void shields, intended to help offset the lighter armour. The plasma drive means that there is plenty of energy to be drawn upon to power them.

### Propulsion

The signature feature of the Adrias class is the Advanced Plasma Drive. Arcane plasma coils, that continue to baffle the Tech-priest that built them, convert energy and fuel into plasma which is then fed into the engines. Uniquely the coils of the Adrias' drive seem to utilise some kind of quantum inversion field to focus and accelerate this plasma, resulting in a higher output thrust.

## Notable Vessels

* **Mackokarmot** - One of the last space worthy ships of Adrias class, the Mackokarmot is the Flagship of Battlefleet Aerion, assigned to the most important SubSector of the Aeaean Cluster.