Capital Ships (AKA Huge Freakin' Ships)

    I haven't seen much activity on the list lately, so I thought I would
post something...

    Let's face it, Spelljammer is basicially a fantasy version of
science-fiction, with many of it's conventions converted into a fantasy
equivalent.  One of the things missing, though (and IMHO) is the concept
of capital ships (a term I took from Star Wars, though I am sure it
originated elsewhere).
    For those who may not know, a capital ships is essentially just a
really big ship.  Examples from sci-fi include the SDF-1, Star Destroyers,
Borg Cubes, and the alien attack ships in Independence Day.  The closest
thing SJ really has are the Armadas, and other 100 ton ships.  Relatively
speaking, these aren't that exciting.
    So, in my own campaigns, I decided to add bigger ships, plus the means
to propel them.  First up are my replacements for the Elven Armadas, as
well as the magic item that moves them (which I posted once in the past).
Also included is the fighter craft that one of the ships carries.

    A quick note:  The stats for these ships were created with my own
modified version of the WCC system.  With the Armadas, this won't mean to
much (except maybe AR).  A big, slow ship is a big, slow ship.  With the
Fireflies, though, a person who doesn't like my numbers may have to do
some tinkering, though it should be minimal.
    Another quick note:  There is mention of Spirit Warriors made in the
descriptions of these craft.  IMC, the Elven Imperial Fleet still makes
use of them.

    BTW, these ships still look alot like the old Armada, excepting size.
The wings of the Leviathan are used for battlements and more building
structure.

The Crown of the Leviathan
    This magic item, which is actually more of a metal headband than a
crown, was crafted by elven wizards to combine the motive power of
spelljammer helms to allow the use of larger ships in space.
    The Crown allows for more than one helm to be active on a ship at any
one time.  If the Crown is worn by an elf who sits on a major helm, and
the Crown is activated with its command word, the other helms can be
powered up.  All power they produce is channeled through the Crown's
wearer, which is then channelled through his major helm.
    The only types of helms that will work in this network are major
helms; minor helms do not provide enough power.
    The speed generated by this is determined by the lowest level of those
in the network, as if they were powering a minor helm.  So a group of
mages who were 6th, 14th and 20th level would move the ship at an SR of 2.
    The tonnage that can be moved is 100 per helm.
    As noted above, the Crown of the Leviathan can be only used by elves,
and must be activated with a command word.  The moment the weaer gets up
off a helm the Crown deactivates.
    The Imperial Fleet considers Crowns to be soley theirs, and will do
anything in their power to regain one should it be stolen or salvaged.  If
a person or group seems to have found it legitimitely they will pay them
for it, usually around 25,000 gold, but will not take no for an answer.


Leviathan Class Armada

Built and Used By:		Elves
Cost:
Tonnage:			350
Hull Points:			Body 250, Wings* 50 (each)
Crew:				4 Helmsman
				15 Officers
				5 Priests
				10 Technicians
				55 Marines
				6 Spirit Warriors
				200 Weaponeers (181, plus backup)
				35 Riggers
				15 Support Crew

				345 Total

Maneuverability Class:		F
Landing - Land:			No
Landing - Water:			No
Armour Rating:			5 (Partial Enclosure)
Saves As:			Ceramic
Power Type:			4 Crown of the Leviathan networked major
				helms
Standard Armament:		Main Body
					8 Heavy Catapults
					8 Light Catapults
					6 Heavy Stone Ballistas
					3 Light Bolt Ballistas
					2 Greek Fire Projectors
				Each Wing (x2)
					6 Heavy Catapults
					6 Light Catapults
					5 heavy Stone Ballista
					2 Light Bolt Ballista
Cargo Capacity:			150 tons
Keel Length:			450'
Beam Length:			100'

* Although the ship is one piece, the wings are big enough to be attacked
separately.  There is no penalty for doing so.  If the wings are destroyed
they will separate from the ship.  Anything on or attached to the wing
will drift away with it.  This  will also reduce the air envelope
accordingly, which can have severe repercussions.

	The Leviathan class Armadas are the flagships of the Elven fleet,
with one in each sphere the elves have a major presence in.  It carries no
small war craft of its own, relying on support from the Hive class Armada,
but is fully loaded with weapons and armed soldiers.  It does have ten
elven shuttles, which are used as landing craft, boarding craft or escape
ships.
	The Leviathan carries enough food and water to survive for up to
eight months.  But, in practice, they rarely stay out this long, as it
tends to reduce morale.  Not to mention elves aren't big fans of dry
rations.
 	The Leviathan cannot land on water or earth.  Actually, it cannot
enter a planet's gravity well for long at all.  The wings of a Leviathan,
though they do well in space, have problems in the unidirectional gravity
of a planet.  For every five minutes beyond the first thirty that a
Leviathan is in a planets gravity it takes 2 hull points of damage to each
wing.  When a wing has taken 20 points of damage this way it falls off,
taking whatever was on it with it.  Luckily it only takes about ten
minutes to refresh the ship's air envelope.
    	These hull points can be restored as normal.
    	They do not suffer from this problem while in a gravity plane, as
the bi-directional force helps support the wings.
   	All of the Leviathan's weapons are turreted.  All weaponeers are
well trained, giving the crew a +1 to hit.  All crews have at least one
trained weapon loader, giving them one round bonus on loading times.  Most
(75%) will have two, in case of casualties.

Hive Class Armada

Built and Used By:		Elves
Cost:
Tonnage:			200 (400)
Hull Points:			Main Body 100, Wings* 50 (each)
Crew:				4 Helmsmen
				10 Officers
				6 Priests
				16 Technicians
				20 Riggers
				20 Marines
				2 Spirit Warriors
				18 Support Crew
				50 Firefly Helmsman
				50 Firefly Riggers
				150 Firefly Weaponeers
				54 Weaponeers

				400 Total

Maneuverability Class:		F
Landing - Land:			No
Landing - Water:			No
Armour Rating:			5 (Partial Enclosure)
Saves As:			Ceramic
Power Type:			4 Crown of the Leviathan networked major
				helms
Standard Armament:		Main Body
					4 Heavy Catapults
					4 Heavy Stone Ballistas
				Each Wing (x2)
					1 Heavy Catapults
					3 Heavy Stone Ballistas
Cargo Capacity:			90 tons
Keel Length:			400'
Beam Length:			100'

* Although the ship is one piece, the wings are big enough to be attacked
separately.  Their is no penalty for doing so.  If the wings are destroyed
they will separate from the ship.  Anything on or attached to the wing
will drift away with it.  This  will also reduce the air envelope
accordingly, which can have severe repercussions.

	The Hive class Armada is the sister ship to the Leviathan.  It is
designed as a spacecraft carrier, normally carrying 50 Fireflies and their
crews.  It is relatively low on marines and weapons, and relies on the
Leviathan for part of its defense.
	Like the Leviathan, the Hive's wings have a problem handling the
gravity of a planet, and suffer the same sort of damage.  This can be a
bigger problem for the Hive, though, since all ships are on the wings.
	The Hive has some unique problems when  it comes to air.  When all
the Fireflies are aboard the ship has a tonnage of 400, and the
appropriate air supply.  But as each Firefly leaves the ship it loses
tonnage, and the smaller ship takes it portion of the air with it.  So, a
Hive with out Fireflies is 200 tons, and has enough air for 200 people for
four months before it starts to stale.
	This problem isn't too serious, since each Firefly usually also
takes with it the men it needs to function.   And when it returns, so does
its air..
	The Hive holds enough food and water for eight months in space.
But, like the Leviathan, it rarely needs it.
   	All of the Hive's weapons are turreted.  All weaponeers are well
trained, giving the crew a +1 to hit.  All crews have at least one trained
weapon loader, giving them one round bonus on loading times.  Most (75%)
will have two, in case of casualties.

Firefly

Built and Used By:		Elves
Cost:				9,000 gp
Tonnage and Hull Points:	4
Crew:				1 Helmsman, 1 Rigger, 3 Weaponeers
Maneuverability Class:		A
Landing - Land:			Yes
Landing - Water:		No
Armour Rating:			2 (Partial Enclosure)
Saves As:			Ceramic
Power Type:			Tactical Helm
Standard Armament:		1 Heavy Stone Ballista
				Rigging Shears
Cargo Capacity:			1 ton
Keel Length:			25'
Beam Length:			10'

	The Firefly is a light attack craft, designed to attack in
numbers, not singly.  Its primary attack strategy is to loop to and from
the ship it is attacking.  As it approaches, it uses its heavy stone
ballista.  It then passes, making a shearing attempt.  It then loops back,
readying its weapon for another run.
	The Firefly is sometimes used to drop Spirit Warriors on ships.
On rare occasions they are used for boarding.  They also see regular use
as landing craft and shuttles.




   owner-mystara-l@??.com      Leroy Van Camp III      van891@??????.edu
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