Re: An Analysis of Elven Ships, Part I

Adam,
 
I really enjoyed this first segment.  As I am partial to the concept of
"living ships" I eagerly await the next bit.
 
You may also want to comment on the Armada "Crown of Corellon" in the
Spair Lairs module.  That ship was entirely too big to be a standard
armada, but may fit under the brief description found in the Realmspace
accessory for the lost Karpri space station (I hope I have this source
correct).  The seven satellites that radiate from the "Crown of
Corellon's" center seem to correspond to the Karpri's entry of seven
archaic man o' wars (50 ton versions) that had grown together.
 
Z
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Night_Druid <Night_Druid@??????????.net>
To: SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com
Sent: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 19:46:13 -0500
Subject: [SPELLJAMMER] An Analysis of Elven Ships, Part I[via LSMTP - see www.lsoft.com]


Hey guys,

    Here's an idea I had today.  Its an article about the appearance of
Elven ships throughout Spelljammer.  Its nowhere near done, and probably
needs some work, but here's the first part that I've done.  Lots more books
to do! :)

Adam


Leaves in the Wind
An Analysis of Elven Ships

Spelljammer is perhaps most remembered for its animal-shaped ships.  Of
these, few are as remembered and revered as the butterfly-shaped elven
ships.  Grown from the mystical Starfly Plants, these living ships have held
an unshakable presence in Spelljamming.  No less than seventeen ships, all
variations on the same basic theme, have found their way into a host of
Spelljammer books, comics, and related gaming material.


Lorebook of the Void

The basic theme of the elven ship, that of a green, butterfly-shaped ship
that is grown, rather than built, first appears in Spelljammer, AD&D
Adventures in Space boxed set.  The Lorebook of the Void book details three
such ships, the one-ton flitter, the sixty-ton warship Man-O-War, and the
one-hundred ton ship-of-the-line Armada.  These ships will reappear time and
again, in various forms and configurations.

The flitter is the smallest standard ship that can carry a helm, and is
described as uncomfortable to fly in for long.  It is five feet wide by
twenty feet long.  Size-wise, this makes it about as large as a small RV or
school bus, with likely an uncomfortably low roof.  For short elves, some of
whom are only four and a half feet tall, this might be manageable.  Images
of the flitter are somewhat contradictory.  The image on page 15 of Lorebook
of the Void shows only the flitter's belly, not its topside and gives no
clue to its size in relation to a pilot.  The image on page 33 of WCC shows
a flitter that is more on par with a small rowboat, with a crewman sitting
in the craft's head and another in the body.  Both men sit very high on the
ship, implying that the interior is either solid or packed with cargo.  Both
depictions of the flitter are perfectly valid, as flitters are grown in such
numbers that variations are bound to arise.

The Man-O-War is perhaps the most iconic image of the "elven ship", spawning
the most numerous variations on the same basic theme.  The Man-O-War is
shaped much like the flitter, only scaled up to a modest-sized warship.  The
most obvious difference is the wings.  Whereas on the flitter they were much
like those of a butterfly, the Man-O-War's wings are twisted back into a
very odd shape, almost as if they were lining a bowl somehow.  They have an
ethereal quality to them, as they appear to lack a mast of any sort to
support them.  The actual size of the ship is somewhat in dispute, as the
ship listing states that the keel is 200' long, while the actual deckplans
are merely 150' in length.  Generally, deckplans are considered more
accurate, as a Man-O-War fifty feet longer would appear stretched and thin.

The deckplans for the ship make it appear somewhat small, with three narrow
decks.  The ship is well armed with four medium weapons, which implies a
ship that attempts to stay at range and use its weapons to grind a ship to
dust.  It is implied, though rarely actually shown in ship write-ups, that
these ships tend to carry a larger than normal compliment of wizards.  The
Man-O-War's appearance has remained consistence throughout the various art
pieces it has appeared in.  Though a work-horse of the Elvish Imperial
Fleet, these ships have made their way into the hands of adventurers (a fan
favorite, to be certain!), merchants, illithids, and even the drow.

The largest and most powerful elven ship is without question the Armada.
This behemoth of a ship is 300' long, 30' wide, and weighs in at one hundred
tons.  There are no official deckplans for this ship, so the exact layout is
a bit mysterious.  Likewise, the actual game statistics for the ship, while
very impressive, actually manage to both break many Spelljammer rules as
well as create serious issues in regard to staffing.  The ship is presented
as somewhat a cross between a battleship, as the ship carries an impressive
twelve heavy weapons, and an aircraft carrier, as no less than forty
flitters are carried within its hull.  Where the problems arise is that
between the crew needed to actually sail the ship, those needed to man the
weapons, and pilots for the flitters (and possibly an archer or wizard to
act as the flitter's weapon, as it has none), the necessary crew approaches
two hundred, twice what the ship typically has!  Obviously, either a mistake
was made in the ship's statistics, or powerful magic is necessary to keep
the ship running smoothly.

The Armada is the sole property of the Elven Imperial Fleet; ownership by
anyone else is punishable by death.  It is purely a warship.  Some carry
large, dwarf-like castles on their backs, which are used by sphere admirals
as their flagships.  A rumored variation, the "Gypsy Moth", is said to have
a black crystal dome on its back in place of a castle, and is said to be
owned by the drow.

Armadas have appeared four times in Spelljammer artwork, each with
variations with each other.  The best picture of an Armada is on page 45 of
Lorebook of the Void, which shows the ship's front profile.  This image
shows a ship with the narrow body of a butterfly with enormous wings that
soar high above the gravity plane and flatten into landing decks for the
many flitters.  A large castle, easily three times as wide as the Armada's
main body, rests on its back, supported by gossamer supports that anchor it
to the Armada's body.  The Armada is also depicted in the ship cards that
came with the Spelljammer boxed set.  This image is a side profile of what
appears to be a shorter, broader ship.  The castle is set much higher as
well.  An Armada appeared on the Realmspace map, this time seen from the
aft-quarter.  The body appears to be much broader while the abdomen is much
narrower and shorter.  The castle appears once more, as a set of four towers
in a box-like pattern.  The final time we see the Armada is in the Ship
Reconnection Manual, this time in side profile.  This time, the ship is more
insect-like than before, with the head and abdomen bent downward.  The wings
are not as wide-sweeping as before, almost perpendicular to the side
profile, and the castle sits much lower.


Skull & Crossbows

The Skull and Crossbows adventure reveals behind the mysterious "Gypsy Moth"
Armada with the Monarch-class Armada.  These were older ships, grown prior
to the First Unhuman Wars, after which they were abandoned.  Only six were
ever grown, and three can be accounted for in official materials.  Two are
in the hands of the drow nations of Eternal Night and Black Widows, while
the third still serves in the Elven Fleet in Realmspace.  The Monarch
Armadas are enormous, even larger than the standard Armada due to fifty-foot
width.  These ships approach the size of the earliest air craft carriers!
The most notable difference between the Monarch and the standard Armada is
that the layout is more linear, with purely butterfly-like wings laid out on
the gravity plane, and a body that is much beefier and wider than angular
and insect-like.  Like the later Armada, the Monarch acts like a modern
aircraft carrier with flitters replacing fighter planes.

The deckplans of the Monarch show one large, open deck that runs from stem
to stern.  This serves as a hanger for flitters, just like on an aircraft
carrier, with the bridge up front.  This level is only shown in side
profile, so it is assumed the whole space is open, with no side alcoves or
rooms.  Above this space is a trio of staggered decks inside the ship's
hull, and a small domed room at top to serve as the throne room of the drow'
s Matriarch.  Unlike the standard Armada, the Monarch carries a smaller
number of flitters and weapons.  This actually puts this ship more in line
with standard Spelljammer ships than the standard Armada.

>From the history of the Monarch, we can glean that the Armada from Lorebook
of the Void is a relatively recent ship.  It is not known if there was an
even less powerful Armada that preceded the Monarch, although it is not
likely.  We can speculate that the Monarchs served the Elven Fleet as their
flagships in the days prior to the First Unhuman Wars, and that sometime
during or after those wars the standard Armada were first launched.  Given
the small number of Monarchs, this implies that the Elven Fleet was not very
large at that time, or they relied on other, smaller ships.


Spelljammer Comics

An Armada appears in issue 13 of the Spelljammer comics.  This is an Armada
unlike any other.  The ship is truly colossal, as a smalljammer, a 25-ton
ship, not only easily lands atop the ship, but it can be moved and hidden on
the top deck that very same ship.  The artwork shows the Armada completely
dwarfing the ship, implying a size much greater than the standard three
hundred feet long!  This Armada appears more a large city than a ship, with
a marketplace, gardens, dance hall (complete with caged, scantily clad elves
dancing suggestively), and a temple.  Obviously, either this ship is
immobile, or has means of movement that go far beyond the Spelljammer rules.
I suggest this particular Armada is a single, immobile city, perhaps the
result of elvish experiments.  It now serves as a center of commerce and
trade for elves and their allies, an elven equivalent to the Rock of Bral.

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