Re: Answers [-very- long]

Mate u hafta post more stuff this is brilliant - i dunno if its a conversion
from that game u were talking about but wow i dont care ;) one of our PC's
wanted something sounding akin to this the other week and we had no idea wot
to do, but this..  this will make it possible ;)

but i still have comments of course ;)

> Sword Breaker class starship

nice name ;)

> Built by: Unknown
> Used by: PSI endowed captains
> Tonnage: 20 Tons
> Hull Points: 30

30 HP for a 20 ton ship??  that sounds a tad too much, though it is
relatively nice sized

> Crew: 1/5
> MC: A

im wondering if this is different for a wild talent/non-psionicist?  and for
a non-rigging ship its a bit high, but i understand most of it would come
from psionic power.  can u explain the propulsion a bit better, and maybe
include rules for different helmsmen?  for instance wild talents/normal
helmsmen it may be MC C, psionicists MC B, lv10+ psionicists MC A etc

> Landing: Land, no water
> AR: 0
> Saves as: Hard Metal
> Power type: PSI helm (see below)
> Ships rating: see below
> Cargo Capacity: 1 ton
> Keel Length: 40 meters (i think 120')
> Beam Width: 10 meters (i think 30')

that sounds a lil big to me for a 20 ton ship.  i believe the tradesman is
about the same dimensions - well close enough, and thats a 25 ton ship with
13 tons cargo..  have u done deckplans?  cuz the cargo room seems a lil low.

> Armament:
> -1 turreted medium ballista left flank up to down 180deg, front to aft 180
> degree.
> -1 medium ballista, same as above only right flanked
> -1 Main PSI-Cannon
> Special: Outher shell immune to non naval-sized PSI activity. See below
for
> the rest.
>
> [image]
> http://www.poli.studenti.to.it/~dragons/LosUni/sh-sb1.gif

nice image - u do it yaself or is it from another source??

> Description: [see image] This strange ship is not exactly the only one of
> its kind but it is as prized as a... well... you cannot really compare
> anything to this kind of ships. While not unique, the appearance of a
Sword
> Breaker is something -very- rare, and it is nearly impossible that a
> captain is foolish enough to sell it, expecially if it is a captain chosen
> by the ship itself (in which case it is just impossible). What? Why are
you
> looking at me like that? Oh... yes, i forgot to add something: This kind
of
> ships has its own will. Thanks to the few who have accepted to be tested,
> it is confirmed that this ship is just a single, enormous, psionic device,
> AND, just like any psionic device, it is sentient. Actually this ship is
> also able to project a tridimensional image of "itself" anywhere inside
the
> hull, and liyttle outside (no more than 10 meters, 30 feet i suppose). I
> mean... Well it does create an illusion of a woman or a man, and then
> refers to this image as itself, but the illusion is not solid, and the
ship
> can change it if it wants to. Each ship does have a name too. Normally
they
> are Neutral good in allignment, but any allignemnt has been seen.

sounds great.  im doing something similar to do with illithid ships, but
theyre more like giant ceremorphs (illithid tadopoles put into large beings
to make ships) - but my point is the intelligent (or semi-intelligent in the
case of my ceremorph fleet) ship idea is an interesting one for both plot
and roleplaying i personally believe :)

> Ok, lets get to the specifics. The helm of this ship actually looks like a
> golden medallion, while wearing it a mage normally could use the ship as
if
> using a minor helm. A priest would not be normally able to power the ship
> at all. Actually this helm is called PSI heml for a reason, it shows its
> full potential while worn by a Psionicist, in this case the Ship rating
> will be as if a major helm was being used, and actually the ship rating is
> increased by 2 compared to the major helm class. Actually even a wild
> talent could use this ship, even though it would propel it only at a SR of
> 1 unless it was the chosen captain. At the end of the normal 8 hour
period,
> any PSP or spells are drained, as for normal helms.

now inm assuming, cuz u say spells are drained, mages can use this type or
helm??  thats why i was thinking different maneuverability classes would be
interesting - if i misread it, then i still think the MC should be different
for different captains, but just ignore the spellcaster reference ;)

> Talking about the armament. The ship is equipped with a couple of turreted
> ballistas, which are normally handled by the ship itself [thac0 20,
critics
> as normal] but since the ship is not all that good at firing, anyone that
> is proficient with firing naval weapons can come on the main bridge and
> take control over the two ballistas from a special seat nearby the
> captain's seat, this seat will read the mind of the person sitting on it
> [which cannot be the captain] and adjust the ship's aiming with the
> knowledge given. This will dramatically improve aiming [DM ruling, but
> usually a +2 or +3 is given]. The ballistae themselves have each 10
> missiles, they recharge autonomously in half time a normal medium
ballista,
> since the missiles are shoved in through some sort of dimensional pocket
> directly onto place, they aim themselves without any external aid (if not
> what is said above), thus using this ship could be a one-man job, though
> there is enough air for 5 people. These Ballistae can also repair damage
> that has ben deal to them, In practice they regenerate, if one of them is
> hit enough hard as to destroy it, it will rebuild itself in 5 Turns
(nearly
> one hour). Normally it is not possible to reach them, if not walking
> outside the hul, and these balliste are also covered by metal domes whith
> several openings big enough to fire out but not to get in.

i think u need a list somewhere of all the psionic powers the ship has, and
its appropriate abilities.  for isntance, it would assumedly use telekinesis
or something to do this stuff with the ballistae - so if someone managed to
sneak aboard unwanted, ud assume it could use that telekinesis power (wihtin
the power's guidelines) against them.

> The main cannon cannot be used by anybody else except a psionicist,
because
> it is (in practice) a Psionic amplifier. If anybody wonders where this
> cannon would be, it is the area between the wings of the ship. This cannon
> can only amplify 3 specific psionic powers, the powers are at double
normal
> cost and maintenance, if a critical error is made while using the cannon,
> that specific power cannot be amplified any more for the rest of the day.
> Other side effects are to be applied as per the normal PSi power. The
> cannon cannot be used more than once per round, due to the nature of the
> cannon, "ammos" are only the PSPs spent for doing this (which, as i said,
> are twice the normal cost of the power).
>
> -Inertial barrier: the main cannon will create a sfere around the ship
> which prevents any hit from coming in or getting out, the barrier as an AR
> of -4 and 10 Hull points of damage, if the barrier is destroyed, the same
> power canno be used any more for another 24 hours.
>
> -Disintegrate: the main cannon fires a straight-forward beam which does
> disintegrate a sfere of 5' diameter (the sfere is 5' wide from side to
> side) on the outher hul of any ship, this does inflict a hull hole
critical
> hit, and 2 hull points of damage. The beam is considered to be fired with
> the captain's thac0 worsened by 4 points. It does attack an area 60
degrees
> wide in front of the ship (actually its a straight-forward beam, but since
> hexagons sides do cover a 60 degree angle....) and has a range of 10
hexes.
> Anybody on an open deck targeted by the disintegration ray must save
versus
> disintegration or suffer 2d10 points of damage if save is successfull,
only
> 1d10 points are suffered. Moreover, if the use of the power was a power
> score it will also deal a second critic on the target ship.
>
> -Project force: The most powerful use of the main cannon, it inflicts 1d6
+
> AR of target hull points of damage (that is, if a target has an AR of 8 it
> can take any damage between 9 and 14 hull points (1d6 +8)). Moreover, if
> the use of the power results in a power score, it also shovels a critic on
> the ship. As usual the arc of fire is 60 degrees forward, THAC0 is the
> captain's worsened by 4 points and the range is 10 hexes.

most people will likely say that this is all a bit sick, but what id like to
point out is that not really, because its rare for an psionicist to have
more than one of these powers unless they're an UBER-psi, and have planned
their psionics from birth to be just combat based.  with my psionicists, for
instance, i choose powers as i go along, based more upon role-playing than
anything (for instance, i have magnetise, so if i get bored i can play with
spoons like in "Powder"...)

> Finally The ship can at any time free itself of all the air inside and
> outside of its hull, (natually, void can be created only in the inside if
> there is air in the outside). Sword Breaker class starship are air-tight
> and water-thight, since there are no open decks (this also explains why so
> few people can stay inside it for a reasonable amount of time), even
> thought there are several glassteel areas that allow to see the outside,
> however due to the positioning of doors, water landing is not possible,
> unless you like flooded starship (the ship does -not- like to get
flooded.)

a specific power description more-fleshed out would be interesting for this
(a modification on suffocate?)

> As i said before, the ship can also choose a specific captain
(which -must-
> be a psionicist or at least a wild talent), if this person comes onboard
> there is a 10% chance that the helm will teleport from the previous
> captain's neck to the chosen character. If the chosen captain is on board,
> the ship will also have the following abilities:
>
> -It will travel at SR 15 indefinitely, whitout the captain suffering any
> effort. In fact it can travel even when the captain is sleeping or knocked
> out.

thats a bit too fast id say, try making it around the 4 mark ;) remember, SJ
speed is standard across all ships basically, although u may say due to
design or psionic power this one goes 10% above normal SJ speed or
something, but Sr 15 is waaay to uber.

> -It will regenerate itself at the rate of 1 Hull Point per day.

very good/useful/not to sick

> -It can teleport stuff inside or outside of the small cargo bay (the stuff
> can be teleported up to 10 meters (30') away or from the ship).

very useful :)  doesnt really matter much to gameplay but is much more
interesting for roleplaying/game effects (effects being different from
play - in other words it looks flashY)

> -It can navigate all by itself, and will show a map of the cristal sphere
> inside a cristal ball on the main deck (see the device i am referring
to...
> i don't remember the name).

would it use the navigation proficiency, or is it automatically accurate?
if it does use the prof, whats its intelligence etc?  in fact, it should
have an intelligence score like any psionic item - i suggest u refer to the
will & the way by TSR (which is available for free download, if u cant fdind
it on their site ill email u it, cuz i know how frustrating it can be
looking on thre sometimes)

> -It is mentally linked to the captain, unless the captain is outside the
> cristal sphere where the ship is (or viceversa, the ship is in the
> phlogiston and the captain is inside a cristal sphere), and could respond
> to his/her calling or orders, appropriately. (note that the ship does not
> know the exact position of the captain, unless the captain can tell the
> ship how to get to him/her)

how does the mental bond work?  is it direct telepathic link, or something
akin to a dragon's kindredbond?

heres an interesting question ;)  can people use powers on the ship
(friendlies), such as other people having telepathic communication over
distance, or could a dragon take this ship as its kindred?  very appropriate
for a radiant or stellar dragon i would believe ;)

> -While the chosen captain is on board, the ship can boast itself up to a
SR
> 50 for up to 4 hours or teleport instantly from the outside of a specific
> cristall ball to the outside of another cristall ball. This is incredibly
> stressfull for the captain which must make a Con check at -4 failure
> meaning a 1 month nearly comatose sleep, success meaning only 3d10 days of
> such sleep.

i dont believe teleportation works at all in the phlogiston,. and im not
talking just magic either.  furthermore, a SR of 50 is just ridiculous ;)
this is not the robotech RPG, u dont wanna be going 50 hexes reach round ;)

> -The helm cannot be removed from the chosen captain's neck, if this
> happens, the helm will instantly turn into dust, fly away and reform
itself
> around the neck of the captain.

fair enough :)  what happens if he is beheaded tho?  does that count?

> -The ship will clean itself thru small vortexes of air and water and
> sometimes reorder the disposition of stuff inside the ship (teleporting
> stuff), it might also happen that it could want to make the rooms "more
> beautiful" (It usually happens more with the "female" version of the ship
> and it might take a day or so... And no-one can dare getting inside! ^_^)
> which it does happen, but how is not really understood.

good for roleplsaying (the mage runs in to the helmroom, screaming about his
missing spellbook, and the ships image gets a cheeky grin and fades away
etc)

> A few ending quest notes:
>
> -A Sword Breaker is a powerfull ship however it is not undestructible, and
> destruction means death. Since this ship is a living being (well... at
> least it is sentient) it could be a great quest to find someone that could
> be able to resurrect the ship. If this happens i would first of all make
it
> really difficult, and the ship will be very weak upon resurrection, it
woul
> not be able to move at all for a few (1d8) days and the ship cannot attain
> spelljamming speed for at least a month. Moreover i would say that at
least
> the helm must be taken to the priest that will resurrect it.

very appropriate and fun id say :)

> -Being a Psionic device, the ship will -at least- panic if any PSI-feeding
> creature is taken (willingly or not) aboard. The ship might not notice the
> presence of the creature, but it surely will notice some side effects (the
> ship passing out? having blank stares? feeling sick?). This could make for
> very funny or dramatic quests for finding what is doing the damage, where
> it is, etc. etc.

also means NPC's who have knowledge of the ship could plant items like this
etc, very interesting ;)

> -In wildspace there could be some PSI-dead zones, maybe these could
> completely knock down the ship sentience...

id agree to that, i think if thers wild zones and magic dead zones, there
should be psio-dead-zones

> -What if all those "powers" the ship gets after it has chosen a captain
are
> due to "love" ^_- *wink* ^_- *wink*

now theres, a situation ;)

Tilaurin
tilaurin@???????.???.au
tilaurin@???????.com
"Dying Swans/Twisted Wings
Bring This Savage Back Home"
Brave New World - Iron Maiden