As noted in the 2011 edition of the SFB Omega Master Rulebook, and in the Castes of the Worb Technocracy article in Captain"s Log #46, the Worb species is defined in no small part by the fierce rivalries between its constituent sob-castes. Be it the efforts of the High Worb to assume a dominant place in Worb society; the struggles of the maverick Broad Worb to thwart such High Worb ambitions at every turn; the pacifist stance taken by the scholarly Low Worb; and so on and so forth.

This is reflected in the rules and SSDs currently available for the Worb in SFB. The High Worb were the ones to design and build Worb dreadnoughts; the Broad Worb insist on fielding phaser boats, such as the escort cruiser; the Low Worb operate scouts, yet are reluctant to use them in support of wars of aggression (though are ready to fight in self-defence); and the aggressive Yellow Worb campaigned for their two-turret medium destroyer over the one-turret light destroyer championed by the High Worb, at least until a change in their fortunes on the Worb governing council brought DM production to a sudden halt.

Even in the case of attrition units, High and Broad Worb rivalries play a part; though, in the case of "volatile warp" gunboats, this is a topic I have posted about elsewhere.

With this in mind, I was thinking of which current Worb hulls might see certain "combat variants" - specifically, those leaning more heavily into the antiproton beams salvaged from the Ymatrians - that might be championed by this or that particular Worb caste (or group of castes, perhaps).

-----

At present, certain Worb ship classes, such as the heavy destroyer, light destroyer, and frigate, lean into the use of subspace rockets as their heavy weapons.

SSRs are powerful direct-fire weapons, or can be in the right circumstances. However, they are "time-on-target" systems: depending on how far they have to move from the hex they are fired from, it can take between one and five impulses before they arrive in the hex of the target they had been fired at. Thus, the faster and more agile the enemy unit is, the more likely it can escape the worst of the SSR's damage output.

In contrast, APBs are relatively unremarkable (as two-turn direct-fire heavy weapons go) without a LNC to double their firepower along the "hex row of death" in which the lance is facing. But, they are single-impulse weapons, without the "time-on-target" delay imposed on the SSR.

For comparison's sake, the "standard" Worb PF is equipped with APBs, though there is a variant armed with SSRs. It is noted that the SSR variant is quite unpopular, given how difficult it is to leverage against fast-moving and/or agile opposition.

At some point, a tactician (or few) aligned with a certain Worb caste (or castes) might ask: is it better to rely on a heavy weapon that is more flexible, yet is hampered by its "time-on-target" delays; or one which is less flexible, yet which impacts its target on the impulse of firing?

-----

So, just as the Broad Worb insist* on flying "phaser boats", I might suggest that certain Worb castes, or inter-caste alliances perhaps, might argue in favour of ships armed with APBs in place of SSRs, even if the engineering involved precludes the installation of a LNC.

But which classes of ship? The OR-section data on certain hull types notes that they are exclusive to such-and-such a caste: this rules out such units (to include the Yellow Worb's DM) from consideration here.

But, that still leaves the DH, DL, and FF to consider. Each of those could simply swap their SSRs for APBs on a one to one basis, in order to function as "combat variants" here.

I suppose one could consider a range of APB-armed fighters, also - along with an APB-armed variant of the light carrier from Module Omega #3, plus a set of variant ground bases (based on those in Module Omega #5) from which to operate them. However, just as High and Broad Worb fighters and pilots do not mix, so too would both castes avoid serving in "mixed" squadrons with such would-be antiproton attack shuttle types.

-----

In short, it might be interesting to consider certain antiproton beam variant Worb units, beyond those they have already - and to frame such designs in the context of the perpetual inter-caste rivalries within Worb society at large.

Any thoughts?

-----

*On a side note, there should probably be a Broad Worb variant of the light carrier, which swaps out the SSRs on the prow turret with AP-1s...

By Stephen E Parrish (Steveparrish) on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 - 01:10 pm: Edit

Gary: I agree with you. The SSR is a powerful weapon, but hard to use against fast opponents, or Adromendans with a displacement device. Another thought is an upgrade to the SSR that skips the first impulse of launch, though that might make them too powerful.

I don't know how much more Omega we will see in the future.