Omni Scale Carnivon Gunboat/PF Flotilla 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?

The Carnivons produced gunboats in vast numbers as local defense, base defense, and patrol craft. They operated in flotillas of six, usually including a leader (slightly larger with working tractor beam, transporter, and shuttle) and a scout (with special sensors to guide the flotilla to the target). They served with the fleet from special tenders designed to carry and operate a full flotilla of six gunboats. As they were useful to supplement the firepower of a fleet, many warships carried a gunboat or two on tractor beam mechanical links. These would be launched when the fleet approached combat to supplement firepower. Many versions existed with slightly different weapons, nominally for special missions, but the life of a gunboat was short and exciting, and whatever type of gunboat was present was used no matter what the mission entailed.

This tree of gunboats 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.