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An official version of this ship is available in the Command Division sourcebook.
Welcome to Starship Sunday, presenting a new spaceframe for the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game, filling in some gaps until official material can be released.
Continuing February’s theme of ships that fought against the Dominion, this week presents the small Saber escort.
Built in response to the Borg threat, it shares a similar role to the Defiant-class: a fast and agile frigate that can protect larger ships. Like the Steamrunner, the design of the ship makes it look smaller, especially as it is described as one of Starfleet’s smallest ships. However, the Saber is slightly larger than the Defiant (while paradoxically having a smaller crew and more decks). Really, it should be described as one of Starfleet’s smallest ships…. of the 24th Century. Despite being a tad larger, the Saber likely has less firepower than the Defiant, as that class’ offensive capabilities were problematic. Instead, it’s likely faster and more agile, so it can maneuver into an advantageous position to strike.
As a small ship, a Saber might be a good ship for a starbase-focused campaign. It’s the ship used when travel is required. It might also be the first command of a rookie captain, or even a commander given the rank of acting captain due to necessity or a wartime field commision. The Saber is almost too small to function well on its own for extended missions, and likely doesn’t venture far outside the Federation. It’d be an awkward fit for an exploratory campaign, unless the desire was to have a less equipped ship thrust into an important role.The ship works well in campaigns set during the Dominion War, telling military stories such as escorting a convoy, aiding in an attack, or scouting enemy movements.
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Thanks for this! I loved the Sabre since playing Armada 2.. but was I was gutted to find out it doesn’t have cannons in lore. I really wanted to run a Dominion style campaign with this ship but i’m not sure its up to the task looking at its capabilities.
Don’t be discouraged! Spaceframes are just a starting point. Mission Profiles help focus the ship in a direction, as will picking it’s final talent. And the abilities of the crew will help. And if you have a table of 4+ players, their extra number of actions over a Scale 3 ship can really help.
Plus, characters can use their milestones to swap around Department and System numbers, customizing the ship as desired. After a few missions, the ship can be quite different.
And it should totally be possible to change armaments on a ship. It’s not in the rules, but it just needs to be explained in the story. As the result of a captain putting in the request or the admiralty testing out a possible refit. Giving the players a customized and specialized ship can make them feel important.