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Upgrades to Rael Technology


Please note that this article assumes you have read and understand the material presented in Tale of the Comet (TSR 1143).

As time passes, tecnology improves. Here's what the Rael have been up to:

Warp Drive:
As many gateways are no longer safe, the Rael use them as little as possible. They have developed a Quantum-Singularity based faster-than-light propulsion system. The fastest overseer ships can manage .99 times light speed. With this new technology, however, a Rael ship can move as fast as 5000 times the speed of light. The approximate speeds for warp-capable ships are noted below.

Rael Star Cruiser: Maximum Warp is 4200 times light speed.
Rael Space Superiority Fighter (See below): Maximum Warp is 5000 times light speed.
Rael Cargo Vessel/Transport (See Below): Maximum Warp is 3450 times light speed.

Space Superiority Fighter:
Similar to its atmospheric companion only in function, these ships are warp capable attack vehicles. Many types exist, but the standard is a small vessel with a crew of two. These are armed with four heavy blaster cannons and two 12-bay missile arrays. Some also have four light blaster cannons for close defense.

Cargo Vessel/Transport:
When the Rael abandoned their gateways, they also lost the ability to move supplies instantly from place to place. Thus they have settled for second best. Cargo Vessels are bulky, unarmed freighters used to move large amounts of cargo all at once. As they have no weapons, they will always be escorted by other ships, but they are still much faster than overseer units, as they possess warp drive. Many also have cloaking dveices as an additional defense. Cargo Vessels are capable of either inter-stellar or atmospheric flight. The time needed to rig the ship to fly in the opposite contition (i.e. when landing on a planet) is about one hour.

"Un-Dooming":
This long-awaited technology allows the Rael to stun the doomed and bring them home. After removing the cybernetic implants, the individual's memory can be restored from a brain-scan stored in the massive medical computer on Tam-Rael. Some "saved Rael" choose to retain certain implants, usually those which enhance physical abilities. Of course these are completely reprogramed so that the overseer cannot control them.

Medical Advances:
Cures have been found for many of the diseases caused by the overseer's infectious gas. There is a 50% chance that a cure is availible on any given arcology, and a 75% chance on Tam-Rael. The overseer doesn't know this, and posseses no effective way of finding out.

Cloaking Device:
Like Seekers, the Rael also have cloaking technology now, but with some severe limitations. No attack may be made while cloaked, as the cloak is a physical barrier. No communication is possible while cloaked, as all light, radio waves included, are bent around the cloaking shield. Finally, unlike the overseer's cloaking device, the machinery used to generate this field is huge. The smallest vehicle capable of employing a cloak is a fighter, either the space or atmospheric varieties. Another quick note: If a cloak is employed during atmospheric flight, a slight disturbance will be visible in the air, similar to heat turbulence. Thus the penalty for attacking a cloaked ship in an atmosphere is only -3 (instead of the usual -4).

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