3788 Scale Carnivon Heavy Cruiser (CA) SRZ

The Carnivons are a species that is often described as “wolf-like,” but they are in fact genetically related to the Kzintis and Lyrans, and all three apparently descended from some ancestral species. How they came to be on such widely separated worlds is unclear. Curiously, the felinoid species (descended from solitary hunters) created fairly unified stellar empires, while the Carnivons (descended from pack hunters) remained a species rather than a nation. There is no such thing as a Carnivon “government.” Instead, at any given time, there are anywhere from a dozen to two dozen hordes (each of millions of members), each subdivided into packs (each with hundreds of thousands of members).

Carnivon ships are different from those of almost any other empire in that the crew do not have cabins or staterooms but sleep in relatively small cubicles reminiscent of caves. Most of the Carnivon crew’s off-duty time is spent in common areas engaged in various sports or other social activities.

The Lyrans and Kzintis hated the Carnivons on sight more so even than they hated each other. It took just over 50 years for those two empires to slaughter the Carnivons. 

But what if the Carnivons hadn’t been wiped out? What ships would they build?

Before the General War, the Heavy Cruiser was the most common size-class-3 hull form in Carnivon service. It was a relatively balanced design, with exploration seen as an important task in addition to being a combat-capable ship. The ship was often more than a Kzinti strike cruiser could handle. Still, more than one was lost in the pre-General War years when a strike cruiser executed a successful overrun attack (usually against a relatively inexperienced Carnivon captain). The design had little room for growth, and later conversion to the heavy battlecruiser would require adding additional hull sections. Still, this design would soldier on through the General War and into the Andromedan War and would be the basis for the Carnivon advanced technology cruiser. The phaser battery was arranged primarily to provide a defense against Kzinti drones but was strong enough to make the ship a good match against Lyran heavy cruisers. The plus refit was installed to strengthen the rear shields in response to encounters with Orion pirates armed with hellbores, although such encounters were rare. Known names include Alkrik, Barkrik, Calkrik, and Dorkrik.

The ship is available in a variety of materials. Ships are unpainted, use standard flight stands available from many sources, and, while designed for gaming, make fine display pieces.