Star Trek -> Spelljammer

Greetings all,

	In light of the current ST -> SJ discussions, I thought I'd post
this here.  Chris's (the author) email address is given below.

>From JMcF@???????.com Mon Dec 30 21:08 EST 1996
>
>Below is the text of the ST-SJ writup you were talking about.  The
>text is current as of the beginning of the original series, after the
>second pilot. ("Where No Man Has Gone Before")
>
>Some of what's presented here comes from the Players Option series
>for AD&D (a new system which may keep AD&D alive against the
>"younger" games)
>
>Well, do with this what you will.  ;)
>
>Chris McFarland
>
>Spelljammer
>Star Trek
>
>Based on Classic Trek created by Gene Rodenberry
>
>Space...The Final Frontier.  These are the voyages of the spelljammer
>Enterprise.  It's mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out
>new life and new civilization, to boldly go where no man has gone
>before.
>
>The Ship
>USJ Enterprise
>Designation:  ICC-1701
>Class:  Cruiser
>Crew Compliment:  452, 73% male, 25% female, 2% other
>Captain:  James Rodenberry Kirk Commanding
>
>James R. Kirk, Captain
>Species:  Human, Male
>10th Lvl. Fighter
>The youngest captain in the Armada, Kirk is said to have a streak of
>luck as wide as his broad shouldered form.  Following in the
>footsteps of his father, Kirk joined the Armada as soon as they would
>let him in.  Blasting through the academy at the top of his class,
>Kirk proceeded to make his mark on the spacelanes through admirable
>service and a nearly unblemished record, which is remarkable as all
>of his commanders would simply smile wryly and remark on "that
>insubordinate little so-and-so."
>As captain, his first mission was that of ferrying an intergalactic
>circus around the galaxy, but was interrupted by the sudden
>appearance of a mysterious alien ship.  The subsequent events later
>let to yet another commendation, followed by more serious missions,
>one of which saw the death of his best friend, Gary Mitchell.
>James Kirk is also quite the ladies man.  The poster boy for the
>expression "a woman in every port," Kirk can be seen wooing a
>beautiful alien woman as often as he can be seen in the captains
>chair.
>
>Spock, Commander
>First Officer and Ship's Mage
>Species:  Half-elf (half human, half gray elf) Male
>15th Lvl. Dimentionalist Mage
>The enigmatic Mr. Spock comes from the Elven Homeworld.  His
>remarkable features include severely slanted eyebrows and pointed
>ears, common to his fathers race.  A good deal of elves devote their
>lives to the study of the various forms of magic-craft, and Mr. Spock
>is no exception.  A 15th Lvl. Dimentionalist, Spock is one of the
>premier Mages in the Armada, responsible for several innovations in
>Dimentionalist theory.
>Originally serving as the Enterprise's first officer under Captain
>Christopher Pike, Spock was at first rather neutral towards his new
>captain.  Since then, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock have become the
>closest of friends, and either would gladly give their life to save
>the other.
>
>Leonard "Sawbones" McCoy, Commander
>Ship's Cleric
>Species:  Human, Male
>12th Lvl. Cleric, Church of the Universal Constant
>"Bones" McCoy, oft called because he believes that the hands on touch
>is better than magic any day, is the ships grouchy old chaplain.  The
>emotional ballast to the hard and logical Mr. Spock, McCoy is often
>on Captain Kirk's left shoulder, offering advice or criticism as the
>situation warrants.
>
>Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Commander
>Ship's Spellmaster
>Species:  Human, Male
>11th Lvl. Artificer Mage
>Responsible for the upkeep on the ship and the Jamming engines.  Mr.
>Scott is considered to be one of the best Artificers in the Armada,
>and has held such prestigious positions as professor at the Academy
>and head of the Main Armada Shipyards on Terra.  Mr. Scott is also
>responsible for the latest design of the Bi-hoop line of Jamming
>engines.
>
>Hikaru Sulu, Lt. Commander
>Helmsman
>Species:  Human, Male
>10th Lvl. Bard
>The ships romantic and all around nice guy, Sulu is often the
>cheerful buoy on the bridge.  His beaming smile can be seen from the
>Spelljamming helm, directing the ship at ultra-high speeds through
>space.
>
>Nyota Uhura, Lieutenant
>Communications Officer
>Species:  Human, Male
>10th Lvl. Enchanter Bard
>Uhura's voice can often be heard throughout the ships magical
>communications system, lifting the spirits of all aboard with her
>sonorous voice and beautiful music.  Also in command of the Detectors
>department, most of her spells that aren't enchantment or charm
>related are Divination Spells.
>
>Pavel Chekov, Ensign
>Navigator and Weapons Officer
>Species:  Human, Male
>7th Lvl. Mage/2nd Lvl. Fighter
>The youngest of the crew, Ensign Chekov has pulled his weight as
>often as his brash mouth has gotten the crew into trouble.  Chekov
>reveres Captain Kirk almost as a father figure, changing his career
>plans to follow in Kirk's footsteps.
>
>The Federation:
>The Enterprise is one ship out of the entire Federate Armada, which
>serves to protect the Federation, an alliance of crystal spheres with
>common interests.  The formost members of the Federation are Humans
>and Elves.
>
>Primary Enemies:
>The Orcish Empire:
>The warrior race of the Orcs are simply one of the many goblinoid
>races comprising the Orcish empire, the Orcs just happen to be the
>most prevalent.
>The Orcish Empire is the result of many mistakes that lead to the
>Prime Directive of the Federation.  After first discovering the
>principles that made Jamming possible, humans shot out in a mad dash
>for the Spheres, meeting as many races as possible.  Most of the ones
>they met were also spacefarers, but a few, like the Orcs of the
>planet Orog, were only just getting into the "Industrial Era," and
>still held many of their old ways, including a nearly suicidal
>bloodlust resulting in many wars.  The Orcs immediately took their
>warlike ways to the Spheres, causing a reign of terror that was
>brought to a swift end when the Humans and Elves took steps to stop
>their advance.  By then, Orcs were an established space culture, with
>their own area of space that they protected like a mother badger
>protecting her young.
>
>The Drow Empire:
>Not much is known about the Drow, only that they waged a short,
>fierce, long distance war with the fledgling Federation.  No Humans,
>or any other species for that matter, have ever seen a Drow, and much
>speculation abounds.  The Elves, who have been a spacefaring race for
>much longer, are strangely closed-mouth about the Drow.
>
>AD&D Spelljammer Considerations
>
>Life-Antilife Engines:
>Zephram Chocran and his other-species contemporaries first created
>the Jamming helm, the standard fast movement magical device used
>aboard all Spelljammers.  It wasn't until the discovery of Dicryshal
>that allowed the opening of small, portable gates to the Positive and
>Negative Energy planes, even in the Phlogiston, that allowed for FTL
>movement.  This doubles the speed of any spelljammer in Wildspace,
>and can increase the speed of the spelljammer up to nine times normal
>cruising speed in the Phlogiston.  It also allows for much larger
>ships to be moved at normal Jamming speeds, even in Wildspace
>The unique magical reaction of Positive and Negative energy is known
>as a P-N explosion.
>
>Dicryshal:
>Dicryshal is magically treated crystal shell material.  It's special,
>nearly indestructible nature makes it the perfect conduit for the
>energies that result from a P-N explosion.  Due to the rarity of a
>crystal shell completely devoid of life, full scale mining can only
>be legally done in a few areas of space.
>
>Phasers:
>The Armada learned early on that often battles are decided at a
>distance when it comes to space fighting, so they began to develop
>magical weapons that could be quickly manufactured and used by
>everybody.  There are two types of Phasers currently in standard use.
> One is a variant of a magic wand with simplistic operation that can
>draw on even the most base intelligence in the user.  These type of
>phasers generally fire Magic Missiles and have approx. 50-100 charges
>each, easily rechargeable aboard any Armada spelljammer.  The second
>is a magic hand crossbow.  Instead of firing darts at the target, the
>hand crossbow throws either a stun missile (variant magic missile) or
>a disintegration ray.
>Spelljammer mounted phasers consist of ultra-powerful magic missiles,
>lightning bolts, or meteor streaks, (modified meteor shower)
>depending on the generation of spelljammer.
>
>Torpedoes:
>Take a smoke-powder cannon, increase it's size until it's nearly as
>large around as a giants arm and long as a dragon, add a "smart"
>cannonball (specially elongated to provide room for the magical runes
>and constructs), and you have one Armada issue torpedo tube.  The
>standard torpedo backloads into the rifled barrel, followed by a pre-
>measured amount of pure smoke-powder.  When fired at a normal target
>(one not invisible and moving in Wildspace) it will seek out the
>target based on the last minute information runes etched in by the
>weapons officer (done at high speeds through magical matricies and
>non-humanoid golems) and ignite the smoke-powder inside the torpedo,
>resulting in a large amount of damage from shrapnel, concusive force,
>fires, and searing damage.  Due to the no-small amount of magic work
>necessary in making even a single torpedo, they are difficult to come
>by outside official Armada channels.
>
>Gravity:
>Through a series of reverse gravity spells, gravity on the ship is
>maintained in a "downward" direction throughout the ship.  This
>minimizes strain on the superstructure of the ship as well.  On the
>outside of the ship, gravity works normally.
>
>Atmosphere:
>After several space battles in which Armada ships were taken out
>through such a simple maneuver as poisoning the air, Armada ships
>began to be constructed so the entire ship was enclosed and airtight.
> An Armada spelljammer will still likely have an atmosphere on the
>outside, but it can go without being refreshed for years at a time,
>though no one generally breaths this outside air, smoke-powder fumes
>make it unbreathable after only a few battles.
>
>Teleporters:
>Complex magical devices constructed by only the best Artificers in
>the Armada, Teleporters all but eliminate the need for boarding and
>landing craft.  Soon after their development, however, Psionic
>Shields were created, preventing anyone from teleporting in where
>they really weren't wanted.
>
>Psionic Shields:
>During the intense magical development of the Armada, Psionicists
>were almost left out of the loop.  That was changed with the creation
>of one of the first psionic items, the psionic shield.  Designed
>almost exclusively for Spelljammers and Spacebases, the psionic
>shield disrupts the molecular nature of any item and disrupts space
>in the immediate area (2-3 cm at most for advanced, strong shields),
>preventing any item or teleport to get through that area.  The
>psionic matrix that must be maintained by the shield generator is
>rather fragile, and can be disrupted in only a few shots.  (SR equal
>to 1.5 times that of the host ship)



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