Re: Mtal Space : NEW Sphere

----- Original Message -----
From: "George "Loki" Williams" <chaos93@?????????.net>
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Mtal Space : NEW Sphere

I've knocked up an idea for a new type of dwarven spelljamming weapon. I think it might be
useful for your Adamantium Fleet. I hope you like it, but if you don't want to use it,
I'll find somewhere else where it can fit in:

***********************

Anvil Ram

An anvil ram is a two part weapon invented by the dwarves in Metalspace. Because of the
isolation of that crystal sphere they are only used on ships of the Adamantium Fleet and
are not found anywhere else.

The idea behind the design of this weapon was to build a tough ship that could hit an
equal sized ship until that ship fell apart. The weapon consists of an anvil that is used
to ram an opponent and a hammer that is used to cause more and more damage every time it
is reloaded.

Anvil rams can only be fitted to the sturdiest of ships - ships made from solid metal such
as iron or adamatium. The ram comes in two parts. The fist part is the anvil ram itself.
>From a distance an anvil ram looks very similar to a piercing ram, however close
examination reveals that the top surface is totally flat and level with the ships deck. It
is designed to penetrate deep into an enemy ship. Just like a piercing ram it can get
locked onto the ship it is used to ram (5% x enemy ships tonnage).

Like a piercing ram, an anvil ram also causes "Hull Holed" and "Ship Shaken" critical hits
when used successfully.

However, unlike a piercing ram, an anvil ram has a secondary weapon - the hammer. This is
designed to smash down upon any enemy that is successfully rammed by the ship. Because a
lot of this force gets transmitted through the enemy ship into the anvil ram, the anvil
has to be much stronger than any other ram. It extends deep into the structure of the ship
and counts as two weapons for installation purposes.

The hammer fires at point blank range and automatically causes damage and a "Ship Shaken"
critical hit every time it is fired, it may also cause a second critical hit. A hit roll
should be made to see if the anvil causes the second critical hit (same chance as a
catapult of the same size). This hit roll is only for the second critical hit and does not
change the regular damage or the automatic "Ship Shaken" result.

The firing mechanism of a hammer is similar to a catapult, however (instead of throwing a
shot into space) the hammer is designed to come down on the anvil with full force. It is
mounted in a fixed position immediately behind the anvil and can not be moved to target
anything that is not on the anvil. There are three versions of the hammer. Each has a
similar size, power and crew to a catapult of the same size.

(As usual, if the anvil or hammer cause the enemy ship to loose more than 50% of its hit
points that ship will suffer an additional critical hit.)

The hammer can be reset at the same speed as a catapult of the same size. It will cause
further damage and critical hits again and again, unless the enemy ship manages to break
away, kill incapacitate or drive off the hammers crew or damage the weapon itself.

A heavy hammer counts as two weapons for installation purposes (a total of four if you
include the anvil ram).

If a hammer is fired without a ship being impaled on the anvil. The shock is transmitted
from the anvil into the rest of the ship that it is attached to and the ship suffers a
"Ship Shaken" critical hit. However, the anvil is designed to withstand this sort of
impact and no additional damage is done. If an anvil is removed from a ship (or broken
off) and the hammer is fired, the hammer will overextend and tear itself off of the ship
it is mounted on. This causes a "Ship Shaken" critical hit.

Trying to walk across the anvil when the hammer is loaded is very dangerous. The hammer
automatically hits the anvil when fired and the only way to avoid the damage is to not be
under it when if falls. Crew with some sort of dodge ability (like the Uncanny Dodge
ability a Rogue has) can attempt to jump out of the way of a falling hammer, other
characters do not get a chance to get out of the way. For dodging purposes only, a
character should treat the hammer as if it is a catapult of the same size, and use their
dodge ability vs a catapult attack. A character that successfully dodges the hammer blow
is deemed to have jumped off of the side of the anvil just before the hammer was fired.
This leaves them floating in space.

Crew members on the underside of a ship can walk on the bottom of the anvil, where the
hammer will not hit them, but this is still risky. If the hammer is fired the impact is
transmitted straight through the anvil and throws anybody on the anvil into space. Unless
the gravity plane of the rammed ship is below them, people that are thrown off of the
anvil they will slowly drift away from both ships.

The only safe way for crew to board another ship across the anvil is to wait until after
the hammer is fired and cross before it can be reloaded.

Because the hammer is not able to hit any ship unless that ship is impaled upon the anvil,
it is viewed as useless by a captain that is not willing to use a ramming attack during
combat.

As it has a similar firing mechanism to a catapult, a hammer can be partially disassembled
and converted into a catapult by someone who is able to build siege weapons. This catapult
can be converted back into a hammer. (However, a normal catapult can never be converted
into a hammer due to the force a hammer throws into an anvil when it is fired.) The cost
and time of either conversion is one quarter that spent building a new catapult. If the
parts taken out of the mechanism are kept the cost doesn't need to be paid again, but the
conversion time is still the same.

Many of the captains of ships in the Adamantium Fleet have converted their hammers into
catapults. However, these unusual weapons are still very popular with the giff. Every five
years or so the giff have a ramming competition between two crews. Each crew is given an
empty ship as a target and the winner is the crew that can cause their target ship to
break up first.

Weapon: Anvil Ram
Cost: 200 gp per ton of the ship (this does not include the cost of the hammer)
Range: ramming only
Hull Damage: Ship shaken and Hull Holed critical hits
Personal Damage: n/a (unless ramming causes further critical hits)
ROF: n/a one attack per round
THACO/Attack Roll: Special
Crew: n/a (success depends on helmsman)
Second Critical Hit n/a (see hammer for further damage)

Weapon: Light Hammer
Cost: 500 gp
Range: n/a - only works on rammed opponents
Hull Damage: d2 hull points plus ship shaken critical hit
Personal Damage: 2d10*
ROF: 1/2
THACO/Attack Roll: Special
Crew: As per light catapult (1)
Second Critical Hit: As per light catapult (20)

Weapon: Medium Hammer
Cost: 700 gp
Range: n/a - only works on rammed opponents
Hull Damage: 2d2 hull points plus ship shaken critical hit
Personal Damage: 3d10*
ROF: 1/2
THACO/Attack Roll: Special
Crew: As per medium catapult (3)
Second Critical Hit: As per medium catapult (19-20)

Weapon: Heavy Hammer
Cost: 1,000 gp
Range: n/a - only works on rammed opponents
Hull Damage: 2d4 hull points plus ship shaken critical hit
Personal Damage: 3d10*
ROF: 1/3
THACO/Attack Roll: Special
Crew: As per heavy catapult (5)
Second Critical Hit: As per heavy catapult (18-20)

***********************

David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Virtual Eclipse Role Playing Club
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071937434/Spelljammer_001071430476
http://virtualeclipse.aboho.com/