Tyrant-class Cruiser

An Imperial Tyrant-class Cruiser

The Imperial Tyrant-class Cruiser is the most common of a series of Imperial Navy warships designed around the principle of superfired plasma weaponry by the famous Adeptus Mechanicus Artisan-Magos Hyus N'dai near the end of the 38th Millennium. Its superfired plasma batteries were capable of launching a boosted salvo of fire much farther than comparable Cruiser weaponry while still delivering virtually the same weight of fire at close quarters, a technique that had eluded ship designers since the secrets of building very long-ranged weaponry had been lost since the Dark Age of Technology. Thanks in large part to this advanced weaponry, the Tyrant-class became popular amongst the major Imperial shipyards in the 39th Millennium.

Unfortunately, even when combined with their torpedo launchers, the Tyrant's long-range firepower proved to lack the power needed to make it a serious threat to anything larger than an Escort. This led to two of the Tyrants that had been assigned to Battlefleet Gothic, the Zealous and Dominion, eventually being upgraded with weaponry salvaged from destroyed Chaos starships to provide them with the firepower equivalent of a Battlecruiser and making them deadly opponents at long range.

Notable Tyrant-class Cruisers

• Dominion - The Dominion is Tyrant-class Cruiser that fought in the Gothic War and had its short-range weaponry replaced with captured Chaotic long-range weapons batteries. Unlike the Zealous, it retains its original torpedo launchers.
• Euphrates - Originally appointed to Battlefleet Dimmamar, the Euphrates was a squadron-leader of cruisers during the great Battle for Fabris Callivant. Upon being boarded by the Orks, the Euphrates requested aid from the Hospitallers Battle Barge Shield of the God-Emperor. The Hospitallers' reaction was to destroy the Euphrates with a focused broadside: a mercy-kill to spare the crew a bloody death at the hands of the xenos.
• Incendrius - The Incendrius fought and earned renown during the Gothic War.
• Lord Sylvanus - The Lord Sylvanus is another Tyrant-class Cruiser that fought and earned renown during the Gothic War.
• Zealous - The Zealous fought during the Gothic War and was refitted with captured long-range Chaos weaponry partway through that conflict, making it a potent long-range threat. Its ability to deal damage at long range was further enhanced by the replacement of its torpedo launchers with a Nova Cannon.

Dimensions 

• Hull - 5 km long, .8 km abeam at fins.
• Class - Tyrant-class Cruiser.
• Mass - 27.2 megatons.
• Crew - 90000 crew, Approximately .
• Acceleration - 2.4 gravities max. sustainable acceleration

Sources

• Battlefleet Gothic Rulebook
• Rogue Trader: Into the Storm (RPG), pg. 153
• The Voice of Mars (Novel) by David Guymer, pp. 221-222