Venator-class Star Destroyer
Republic Capital WarshipGM · Enemy ShipThreat 18The Republic's carrier-battleship - a dorsal flight deck opens the full hull to launch 420 starfighters.
- Size
- Huge
- Length
- 1137 m
- Speed
- Average
- Reference price
- 70,000,000 cr
Lore
The Venator-class is what a navy builds when it cannot decide between a battleship and a carrier, and decides it wants both. At 1,137 meters it is an attack cruiser by designation and a fleet carrier in practice: the armored plates along its dorsal spine retract to open the entire length of the hull as a flight deck, and a single Venator could put 420 starfighters into space — 192 V-19 Torrents or V-wings, 192 Eta-2 Actis interceptors and 36 ARC-170s — alongside 40 LAAT gunships and two dozen walkers for the ground war underneath.
Its main battery is the part people underestimate. Eight heavy dual turbolaser turrets, backed by two medium dual turbolaser cannons, put out firepower that rivaled the main guns of the later Imperial-class, on a hull two-thirds the length. Fifty-two point-defense laser cannons handle the starfighters the open flight deck invites, four heavy proton torpedo tubes handle anything with shields worth cracking, and six heavy tractor projectors drag the rest in. It also out-runs its Imperial successor into hyperspace: a Class 1.0 main drive against the Imperial-class's Class 2.0, with a Class 15 backup. (Assumption: the cargo figure is interpolated from comparable capital hulls — no published tonnage exists for the class.)
Venators were the backbone of the Republic Navy through the Clone Wars and the ships most associated with the Jedi who commanded them — Anakin Skywalker's Resolute, Plo Koon's Triumphant, the Open Circle Fleet over Coruscant. They were also the design the Empire inherited and then replaced: Kuat Drive Yards took the lessons of the Venator into the Imperial-class, kept the wedge and the firepower, dropped the flight deck, and built a ship that projected fear rather than fighters. Surviving Venators ended up in Imperial reserve fleets, scrapyards, and the hands of whoever could get one running.
As an opponent, a Venator is not really a ship — it is a location with guns. Nothing a player crew flies is going to shoot one down: 1,800 HP behind 700 shields, AC 12, and turbolasers at 8d10 that will delete a light freighter in a round or two. It is a carrier, so the fight it generates is against what comes out of it, and the plot it generates is aboard it. Use it to launch waves, to blockade a system, to be boarded, or to be stolen.
Default Loadout
| Weapon | Mount | Attr | Range | Acc | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Dual Turbolaser Turret | turret | DEX | Long | +2 | 8d10 energy |
| Medium Dual Turbolaser Cannon | turret | DEX | Long | +2 | 6d10 energy |
| Point-Defense Laser Battery | fixed | DEX | Close | +1 | 4d10 energy |
| Heavy Proton Torpedo Tube | missile bay | INT | Long | +1 | 10d10 explosive |
Reference loadout for a stock chassis. Players swap, add, or customize weapons in the Starship Builder, subject to hardpoint caps and GM approval.
Special Conditions
Open-Spine Flight Deck
The armored plates along the dorsal hull retract to open the ship's full length as a flight deck. A Venator in Republic service carried 420 starfighters plus 40 LAAT gunships and 24 walkers, and could cycle them continuously - which is why it fights as a carrier rather than a gunship. It is also the most obvious boarding route on any capital hull in the catalog.
Six Heavy Tractor Projectors
Enough tractor capacity to hold several freighter-sized hulls at once. Breaking a Venator's lock is a piloting problem rather than a question of engine output.
GM · Tactical Notes
Do not run a Venator as a duel - a player crew cannot win a shooting match with 1,800 HP and 700 shields, and should not be invited to try. Run it as the source of the encounter: it launches fighters. Open with a wave of V-wings or Torrents (TR 2-4 each) and let the real fight happen between them, with the Venator's turbolasers as a clock rather than an attacker - one 8d10 hit is a crippled freighter. Its point-defense batteries mean closing to Dogfight range is punishing, not safe. The open dorsal flight deck is also the way in: it is the one capital hull in the catalog with a published, obvious boarding route, which makes it the ship to use when the adventure happens on board. Six heavy tractor projectors mean escape is a Pilot problem, not a thrust problem.
GM · Adventure Hooks
- A Venator has been sitting derelict in a scrapyard orbit for fifteen years and somebody has just put a deposit on it. The party is hired to get aboard and find out whether the reactor will light - and who else is bidding.
- The party's contact is a prisoner in the brig of a Venator in Imperial reserve service, and the only unwatched way in is the dorsal flight deck, which is open because the ship is still cycling fighters.
- A Separatist blockade breaks and a Republic Venator starts launching everything it has. The party is in the middle, in a hull nobody is bothering to identify, and both sides are now shooting at them.
How to use this chassis
This is a GM-side stat block — an NPC ship for the GM to fly against the player crew. Use it as-is for a quick encounter, or fold it into a larger fleet engagement alongside other entries from the enemy ship catalog (filter to "Enemy / GM" on the catalog grid). For combat resolution, see the Starship Combat rules page. Enemy ships do not appear in the Starship Builder.
Similar Enemy Ships
More combat craft-category ships in the catalog.
