

The cut-away view of the Verutum presented in the Interceptor rulebook.

Top view of a Verutum.
The Verutum is an older light starfighter still in service with TOG units in Shannedam County.
Etymology[]
The Verutum (pl. veruta) is named after a light javelin carried by the Roman skirmishing line (velites) before the Marian military reforms. It was used extensively in the Punian wars against Carthaginian troops and proved effective even against war elephants.
Design Philosophy and Tactical Role[]
Introduced in 6775 during the final stages of the TOG campaign against the KessRith Empire, the Verutum reflects the tactical doctrine of the day. It was designed to outrun the slower KessRith fighters, but by modern standards its acceleration is slow. Fighters who went toe-to-toe with Kess craft often came out the worse, so the Verutum was intended for quick in-and-out passes. Armour and shields are concentrated on the front and rear - those areas most vulnerable when closing with an enemy or retreating.
To combat the heavily armoured KessRith fighter craft, the Verutum was armed with a mix of light lasers and heavy particle cannon, enabling it to undercut armour. The combination of EPC and NPC gives it good damage capability at any but the most extreme ranges. A single missile hardpoint completes the weapons loadout. Since today´s TOG fighter doctrine emphasises high acceleration and quick saturation of targets with missiles, many Verutums still in service have been permanently converted to the high-thrust modification [detailed below].
TOG pilots tend to regard the Verutum fondly. It may be slow for a light fighter, but it is a tough little bugger that can mix it up with fighters twice its mass and power and have a good chance of coming out on top. Usually being out-massed by the bulky KessRith models it was designed to fight has earned it a reputation of hitting above its weight.
The more fluid lines of modern space battles have left the Verutum somewhat outdated, though. No longer able to intercept the faster modern craft, it is usually relegated to second-line stationary defense roles, leaving other, faster fighters for the role of deep space interception. In this capacity, its low-flicker side shielding, more appropriate for a light strike craft, somewhat limits its dogfighting endurance.
Production History[]
The original Verutum design by Almach Shipyards was championed by Illustrus Senator Lewis and won the bid against the submissions of several other ship-building companies. It was supposed to be faster and better armoured than contemporary light fighters, and carried a radical new type of armament combining an NPC and an EPC in a single weapon system, massing less and requiring less power than the two particle weapons combined.
Senator Lewis exerted political pressure to have the usual field testing requirements waived, and the Verutum was approved, produced and placed into front-line units by the tens of thousands without the usual trials.
The first reports from the units issued the fighters showed incongruencies. The NPC/EPC caused secondary explosions in the fighter´s interior, and the brittle armour was frequently breached by even glancing enemy hits that went through the fighters like lightning. Soon the Veruta were grounded. The same Senator Lewis who had pushed the design through the Senate headed the board of inquiry, which duly found that the explosions were caused by faulty maintenance by the ground crews, and that the reports of insufficient armour protection were unfounded.
The commanding officers of several affected units protested and were either silenced by political threats, sent to unpleasant front-line postings, or outright sacked. One of them, Commodore Valroma, conducted a two-year investigation of his own. He talked to, bribed, and intimidated people who had been involved with the Verutum´s design. His findings exposed a massive level of corruption, fraud and collusion between Almach and Lewis. Finally he walked into the Lictor´s office and dropped three pounds of confessions and tapes on the Overlord´s desk.
The ISS was quick to act. Senator Lewis was quietly executed, his estates given to Commodore Valroma as a reward. Almach Shipyards was dissolved, their assets seized and sold to other defense firms. All former Almach executives went to the slave mines.
The thousands of Veruta already built were stripped down, and the airframes readapted to carry more conventional armament and armour. Despite its inauspicious beginnings, today the Verutum is regarded as a reliable and rugged little fighter craft.
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Legionnaire RPG Values: Verutum Standard Variant[]

A squadron of Veruta.

A Verutum in the sights of a Renegade fighter in the computer game Renegade: Battle for Jacob's Star.
Hit Location | Sub-Location | Damage Boxes / Damage |
---|---|---|
[1] Structure | - | [][][][][] [][][][][] |
[2] FTL Drive | - | None |
[3] Shields | - | [][][][] |
[4] Engines / Thrust | - | [][][][][] [] ::: Thrust 6 g |
[5] Armour | - | [][][][][] [] |
[6] Crew | Pilot | [][][][][] |
[7] Weapon Computers | - | [][][][] |
[8] Sensors | - | [][][] |
[9] Life Support | - | [][][] |
[10] Weapons | [1] EPC 14 | Damage 6 |
- | [2] NPC 16 | Damage 5 |
- | [3] 5/1 Laser | Damage 2 |
- | [4] 5/1 Laser | Damage 2 |
- | [5] Hardpoint | * |
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Leviathan Values: Verutum Standard Variant[]

Veruta dogfighting with Renegade Cheetahs and Guardians under the guns of a Cingulum corvette.
Line battles[]
Since they are usually part of reserves or planetary defense units, flights of Veruta may occasionally encounter capital ships that attack their planet; more often, though, Verutum pilots and their craft simply find themselves drafted to flesh out the fighter complements of combat-depleted line capital ship squadrons that dock at the unit´s home location for repairs and replenishment. Considering the ad-hoc nature of this recruitment and the usual inexperience of planetary defense pilots in capital ship combat, Verutum units generally acquit themselves well. Neither really at home at short or long range, the Verutum is a reliable all-round fighter with a flexible mission profile in a battle between Leviathans.
Raiding missions[]
The Verutum is not really suited to carrier raids on planetary systems. Its low acceleration makes it susceptible to interception by faster enemy fighters. In a raiding capacity, it has been nearly completely superseded by more recent craft like the Spiculum or Lancea.
Group (72 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Armour Row 6 | [][][][][][] [][][][][][] []----- - | 50 | 83 | 58 | 6 |
Armour Row 5 | [][][][][][] [][][][]-- ---- | - | 69 | 48 | - |
Armour Row 4 | [][][][][][] [][]---- - | - | 55 | 38 | - |
Armour Row 3 | [][][][][]- ---- | - | 41 | 29 | - |
Armour Row 2 | [][][]--- -- | - | 28 | 19 | - |
Armour Row 1 | []----- | - | 14 | 10 | - |
Flight (24 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Armour Row 3 | [][][][][][] ---- | 10 | 28 | 19 | 8 |
Armour Row 2 | [][][][]-- -- | - | 18 | 13 | - |
Armour Row 1 | [][][]--- | - | 9 | 6 | - |
Squadron (6 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Armour Row 1 | [][][]--- | 0 | 7 | 5 | 10 |
Single Fighter Values | Armour | Missile Hardpoints | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Verutum (Standard Variant) | 55 | 1 | 23 | 16 | 6 |
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Variant: High Thrust Modification[]
This is a simple field refit that takes less than three hours of work for a good ground crew. The 5/1 wingtip lasers are replaced by missile hardpoints, and a compensator installed. In this configuration, the Verutum loses its ability to undercut armour, but gains a moderate increase in thrust and the ability to deliver a three-missile salvo or be fitted with specialist equipment pods. Since fast-pass reconnaissance missions with sensor packages fitted to the hardpoints would still require greater acceleration than the modified Verutum is capable of (at least where the target system has decent interceptor assets), its usual deployment is in strike roles, hitting an enemy installation with its missiles and retreating.
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Legionnaire RPG Values: Verutum High-Thrust Modification[]
Hit Location | Sub-Location | Damage Boxes / Damage |
---|---|---|
[1] Structure | - | [][][][][] [][][][] |
[2] FTL Drive | - | None |
[3] Shields | - | [][][][] |
[4] Engines / Thrust | - | [][][][][] [][] ::: Thrust 7 g |
[5] Armour | - | [][][][][] [] |
[6] Crew | Pilot | [][][][][] |
[7] Weapon Computers | - | [][][][] |
[8] Sensors | - | [][][] |
[9] Life Support | - | [][][] |
[10] Weapons | [1] EPC 14 | Damage 6 |
- | [2] NPC 16 | Damage 5 |
- | [3] Hardpoint | * |
- | [4] Hardpoint | * |
- | [5] Hardpoint | * |
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Leviathan Values: Verutum High Thrust Modification[]
Line battles[]
The added missile capacity gives the modified Verutum a good-sized one-time punch against capital ships, increasing its usefulness in naval battles. While the lasers´ removal impairs its dogfighting abilities, it is still able to deal out some damage at range.
Raiding missions[]
The increase in speed and missile payload enables the Verutum to be moderately efficient in carrier raiding missions, provided the target system does not have too much fast interceptor capacity. Dancing in from a CV waiting on the system´s rim, delivering missiles to a stationary target, and getting the hell out of Dodge takes more skill and experience in a Verutum than in a dedicated fancy strike craft like the Spic, but Verutum pilots take a grim pride in overcoming those obstacles.
Group (72 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Armour Row 6 | [][][][][][] [][][][][][] []----- - | 100 | 54 | 43 | 7 |
Armour Row 5 | [][][][][][] [][][][]-- ---- | - | 45 | 36 | - |
Armour Row 4 | [][][][][][] [][]---- - | - | 36 | 29 | - |
Armour Row 3 | [][][][][]- ---- | - | 27 | 22 | - |
Armour Row 2 | [][][]--- -- | - | 18 | 14 | - |
Armour Row 1 | []----- | - | 9 | 7 | - |
Flight (24 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Armour Row 3 | [][][][][][] ---- | 50 | 18 | 14 | 9 |
Armour Row 2 | [][][][]-- -- | - | 12 | 10 | - |
Armour Row 1 | [][][]--- | - | 6 | 5 | - |
Squadron (6 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Armour Row 1 | [][][]--- | 10 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
Single Fighter Values | Armour | Missile Hardpoints | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
Verutum (High Thrust Modification) | 55 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 7 |
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