Re: Mtal Space : NEW Sphere

Dave Shepard, if I haven't said it before I will say it now. You are a true
asset to this list and I have enjoyed your postings very much since you
joined us.
I love your ideas, as well as the holes you have been punching in my logic.
This is my first time completely designing a detailed sphere, and I chose
one where I knew I would be hampered by my games previous continuity so as
to make it a real challenge. Metalspace is a working title, I am in need of
something a little nicer but have not quite found it yet.
A lot of the errors you have been pointing out have been the result of sleep
deprivation combined with general mania. I live one block off the parade
routes in the middle of New Orleans, the city is in the grip of a two week
party as Mardi Gras has begun. My house if filling up with people, I just
started a new job (24 hours internet cafe/bar), and I have to get ready for
the parades my Marching Krewe (correct spelling here-Krewe is a Carnival
organization) marches with. So as you may imagine, my work will be slightly
more erratic until this is all over. Glad to know I have you guys at my
back! (BTW-y'all will be credited in the write up)
The Anvil Ram is terrific! As are many of the other concepts you have
brought forth. I will polish out the inconsistencies and get a nice finished
sphere together that we can all play with.
BTW, a not on inaccessibility of the sphere. I will be introducing Arcane
devices aplenty, including some that can open portals where you shouldn't be
able to. I plan on using this as an opportunity to do some stuff with the
Arcane. I am also contemplating a gate to the inter-dimensional city of
Union from the Epic Handbook. It would make perfect sense as that is an
Arcane city...
Gotta jet, they're blocking off my street right now for parades and I have
to be somewhere else before they do... Wish me luck.

George "Loki," Williams
New Orleans Music Reviews http://www.neworleansbands.net
Planescape: Planewalker.Com The Official Planescape Site Section Mgr for
Snail Outfitters http://www.planewalker.com/snail/index.php
Spelljammer: Beyond The Moons, The Official Spelljammer Site Contributing
Artist/Developer http://www.spelljammer.org
Spelljammer:  Into The Void (Coming Soon) Columnist
http://intothevoid.spelljammer.org/index.html


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Shepheard" <david_shepheard@???????.com>
To: <SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 6:50 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] 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/
>
> ********************************************************************
> The D&D; Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd
> The Spelljammer Homepage: http://www.spelljammer.org
> To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@??????.???????.com
> with UNSUB SPELLJAMMER-L in the body of the message.