A pair of Cheetahs from the Grand Jaguars Naram fighter wing.
Overview[]
The Cheetah is the Renegade Legion's finest light fighter, a pilot‘s dream come true. The Cheetah has enough firepower to defeat most fighters and enough thrust to run from those it cannot. In the hands of a skilled pilot, a Cheetah can defeat TOG fighters up to twice its mass.
Since its introduction in 6815, the Cheetah has been deployed almost exclusively in a reconnaissance role. Jumping into a hostile system on an Escort-class ship, the Cheetah will make a high-speed pass through a system, carrying surveillance equipment in lieu of its lasers, rendezvous with its mother ship, and jump out. Most TOG System defense forces do not have fighters that can successfully intercept a Cheetah using such tactics successfully, and the few fighters that can (the Lancea and Spiculum), are in for a hard fight.
The cutaway view of the Cheetah from the Interceptor rulebook.
Top views of Renegade Cheetahs.
Cheetah fighter miniatures painted in Golden Medusas scheme by Trevor Marshall.
The Cheetah has two main drawbacks: its paper-thin armor and its cost. Cheetah pilots, unlike Penetrator pilots, do not complain about lack of armor. Most feel that armor is used by bad pilots as a crutch to make up for their mistakes. Cheetah pilots are also never concerned about the cost of their ships (although the citizen who pays taxes is). Ton for ton, a Cheetah is the most expensive fighter on either side of the border. For these reasons, the Cheetah operates in small numbers and almost exclusively in reconnaissance squadrons. Squadrons with high-speed attack or defense missions are normally equipped with the marginally slower but more survivable high-thrust-modified Penetrator.
Legionnaire RPG Values: Cheetah Standard Variant[]
| Hit Location | Sub-Location | Damage Boxes / Damage |
|---|---|---|
| [1] Structure | - | [][][][][] [][] |
| [2] FTL Drive | - | None |
| [3] Shields | - | [][][][][] |
| [4] Engines / Thrust | - | [][][][][] [][][][][] ::: Thrust 10 g |
| [5] Armour | - | [][][][] |
| [6] Crew | Pilot | [][][][][] |
| [7] Weapon Computers | - | [][][][] |
| [8] Sensors | - | [][][] |
| [9] Life Support | - | [][][] |
| [10] Weapons | [1] EPC-9 | Damage 3 |
| - | [2] EPC-9 | Damage 3 |
| - | [3] 5/1 Laser | Damage 1 |
| - | [4] 5/1 Laser | Damage 1 |
| - | [5] Hardpoint | * |
---