Source Starship Operations Manual pg. 91
Medium transport
Speed 4; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift —
AC 18; TL 18
HP 85; DT —; CT 17
Shields light 60 (forward 15, port 15, starboard 15, aft 15)
Attack (Forward) flak thrower (3d4; 5 hexes), heavy laser array (6d4; 5 hexes)
Attack (Aft) laser net (2d6; 5 hexes)
Attack (Turret) linked mining lasers (4d6; 5 hexes)
Power Core Pulse Green (150 PCU); Drift Engine none; Systems advanced short-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 4 armor, mk 4 defenses, mk 2 mononode computer; Expansion Bays cargo holds (3), escape pods, physical science lab; Modifiers +2 to any 1 check per round, +4 Computers (sensors only), +2 Piloting; Complement 4 (minimum 1, maximum 6)CrewCaptain Computers +10 (4 ranks), Diplomacy +10 (4 ranks), gunnery +9 (4th level), Intimidate +10 (4 ranks), Piloting +12 (4 ranks)
Engineer Engineering +15 (4 ranks)
Gunner gunnery +9 (4th level)
Pilot Piloting +12 (4 ranks)DescriptionThe RC-HPR, colloquially known as the rock hopper, is a stockstandard dwarven mining ship that’s been widely adopted by other operations since. Although sizable, the starship’s small enough to fit into (and more importantly, get out of) tight spots in crowded asteroid fields, jagged planetoid surfaces, and other dangerous regions bearing valuable minerals. Its combination of agility and pokey speed have earned the RC-HPR—an abbreviation for Retrieval Craft (High-Potential Resources)—its endearing and somewhat derisive name. Rock hoppers are so dependable and efficient that many expeditions use much larger Drift-capable ships to transport them to job sites in Near Space or the Vast, often at great expense. Such ventures generate considerable buzz, and the payloads are inevitably worth fortunes. At least one such expedition famously disappeared, inspiring treasure hunters to seek the missing trove and its accompanying mining fleet.
While these craft were designed to excel at mining, their primary function, they’re surprisingly versatile. Rock hoppers’ mining lasers are utterly devastating when applied as a self-defense weapon, and although the starships’ pointdefense weapons are intended to obliterate floating debris before it can damage the hull, these armaments just as readily disable incoming missiles. However, the rock hopper isn’t designed to fend off especially maneuverable or distant foes, and its precious payloads force it to rely on escort starships for protection; this is especially true in quadrants frequented by pirates and other ne’er-do-wells. Even knowing these risks, cash-strapped operations and expeditions on tight deadlines regularly understaff their rock hoppers or dispatch them without any escort, instead relying on hiring mercenaries to aid their beleaguered starships in the event of catastrophe. Dwarven excavations near their sky citadels (often Shalar, featured on page 123) regularly take these risks, knowing that reinforcements are never far away.
Rock hoppers typically keep working until they’re literally falling apart, mining millions of cubic feet of rock during their long lifetimes. Their famously durable dwarven engineering lends them to affordable repair and modification, and rock hoppers retired from service make reliable first or second vessels for adventurers setting out into the galaxy to make a name for themselves.
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