Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a light wheeled tactical vehicle in Lucerne Labs product Line-up
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Silver Jedi, Directorate, Closed-Market
- Model: Panthac-class Compact Assault Vehicle
- Modularity: Weapons
- Production: Mass-Produced.
- Material: Alusteel Frame, ferroceramic plating, Desh-Spun-plast run-flat tires, standard vehicle components
- Classification: ground car
- Role: Reconnaissance / Light Attack Vehicle
- Size: Small
- Weight: Light
- Armaments:Low - Modular Weapons Turret (can take one of the following options)[/COLOR]
- 1 E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster
- 1 Reaper Mag Cannon
- 1 CR-28 Flame Cannon
- 1 MM-s3 Grenade Launcher with 100 grenades
- 1 Heavy Stun Cannon
- 1 Stormflash Ion Encumbrance System
- Two Shockwave Missile Launchers
- Defenses: Low
- Maneuverability Rating: High
- Speed Rating: High
- Propulsion: Wheels
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 2
- Passenger Capacity: 1
- Cargo Capacity: Very Small
- Modular Turret: The Panthac's turret ring can accept a variety of smaller weapons, allowing the Panthac's crew some variety in their weapon choice.
- Trailer Hitch: The Panthac has a trailer hitch, allowing it to pull small trailers or pieces of equipment behind it.
- Old School Tech: The Panthac runs on older technology, using Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel cells like the Myrmidon before it. It does not need any electricity to operate, thus making it a reliable mode of transport on ion storm wracked worlds or against enemies who prefer to use Ion/EMP weapons. It also has a small sensor signature because of this and its small frame.
- Fast: The Panthac is a fairly fast and nimble vehicle.
- Compact: The Panthac is fairly small, being the size of a speeder bike or two. This small form factor makes it difficult for many vehicles to attack and also means that a large number of them can be carried in many dropships and other vehicles.
- Ion/EMP Resistant: The Panthac is almost unaffected by Ion/EMP weapons due to its extensive use of mechanical systems.
- Weak Armament: The Panthac's armament is fairly weak against other vehicles, and typically anything more than a military speeder bike or landspeeder outguns this vehicle.
- Weak Defense: The Panthac has minimal armor, making it a poor choice for confrontational 'slugging matches' against other vehicles.
- Wheeled: The Panthac is a wheeled vehicle, which has some limitations in negotiating terrain compared to conventional repulsorlift vehicles.
The Panthac is an example of the classic CAV category of an militarized dune buggies, where its small size and light weight combined with a powerful engine provides the vehicle with an impressive amount of speed and maneuverability. The small size and performance of these vehicles makes them ideal for reconnassiance and skirmishing duties, much like speeder bikes and landspeeders. Unlike these two latter vehicles, the Panthac intentionally makes use of dated technology to provide it with a reliable means of movement in areas with unusual electromagnetic fields or against enemies who like to make use of high-tech Ion/EMP weapons or repulsorlift jammers. This also has a side benefit of having a very low energy signature, which reduces its sensor signature to a minimum, making it relatively stealthy from a long distance. This allows Panthacs to creep up from a distance for observation missions or to launch sudden strikes.
The Panthac does have a small, manually operated turret at the back that support a variety of typically crew-served weapons. These usually are only useful against relatively small or lightly defended targets. The Panthac's passenger often uses his or her own personal weapons to provide additional firepower. Consequently, typical combat usage of the Panthac is in fast, lightning-strike hit and fade runs, where the relatively quiet Panthacs can show up to quickly inflict damage on a variety of soft targets before fading away.
Panthacs see some use in reconnaissance outfits within the Directorate and Silver Jedi, as well as some exploration units. A reasonable number of the vehicles have also turned up in the hands of Directorate-backed guerillas and freedom fighters, who make extensive use of the vehicles to conduct hit and fade attacks.
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