Types of Starships

Starships smaller than 30 feet are classified as corvettes. They are generally piloted by one person due to their limited interior space, though the occasional starfighter may be commanded by two. Their small sizes also limit their range since they carry less fuel, hold less air, and lack the room to outfit a sizable interstellar engine.

Still, corvettes are rather flexible in their usage and design thanks to their high speed and maneuverability. Many are used as fighter craft in void-based combat or landers to drop crew onto planets from larger starships. Those outfitted with less weaponry are used as leisure craft while modified special-purpose corvettes commute short distances between planets within a star system.

On planets or stellar stations with atmosphere, popular open vehicles called voidhoppers transport people and goods daily between various destinations. These are also considered corvettes but are flown using proficiency with air vehicles rather than void vehicles.

Starships between 30 and 100 feet in any dimension are classified as cruisers. They are the most popular form of starship for all void travelers since they are small enough for spatial maneuverability, but large enough to house all components and technology to sustain life indefinitely. Cruisers are often equipped with life support systems, decent weaponry, energy shielding, an engine capable of surfing the Current, and sometimes a corvette for crew landings or personal missions. Depending on their size, they can house up to 30 crew members or live cargo.

The purpose of cruisers also ranges widely. In combat, they can be artillery ships, shielding vessels, specialized bombers, or ionizers. In a civilian setting, they can be transports, limited freight carriers, towing ships, or even mobile homes. Hyper-customized cruisers fulfill special purposes ranging from battering rams to corvette carriers.

Starships between 100 feet and 1,000 feet in any dimension are called frigates. They are similar to their cruiser counterparts and differ primarily in size, speed, maneuverability, and durability. They can fulfill any purpose a cruiser can, but have more space, resources, armor, and defenses to accomplish them more effectively.

Frigates are most commonly used as high-capacity cargo carriers between extremely distant destinations, some of which make month-long journeys across the Galaxy. Other frigates are split between squadron command, heavy artillery starships, or armored transport, though some are converted for leisurely jaunts for the ultra-wealthy. In combat, corvettes and cruisers rarely engage with frigates, which carry much more offensive and defensive power by comparison.

Starships larger than 1,000 feet are called capital ships. Unlike a stellar station which has little or slow means of mobility, a capital ship is designed to post at strategic locations anywhere across the galaxy. In combat, flagships (or motherships) are responsible for carrying the entire fleet's worth of fuel, supplies, and weaponry — or even the fleet itself. Carriers serve as excellent staging points for starship combat as they can fly with hundreds of fighters on board. Starships longer than 2,000 feet begin suffering from defensive and resource issues.

Captial ships are rare in civilian operations as non-military groups typically don't need the strength and power of such an enormous ship. Sending objects of ultra-high mass, whether by Current or the Strand, requires exceptionally large amounts of fuel. Permanent stellar stations are easier to manage and do not require space to house a massive interstellar engine. In contrast, flagships must spend days, even weeks, absorbing energy from a nearby star to make the jump.