Maj Space: The Belt - dwarven helm (1st draft)

This is a proposed cut-down Helm for use by the dwarves of The
Belt, in Maj Space.  Only a first draft.

Comments, please?


Rock Boats and Star Hearts - 15/Sep/06

Rock boats are smaller dwarven craft carved from solid rock which
they use for movement around in The Belt, where something like a
Dwarven Citadel would be too unweildy.  They do not use
spelljamming Helms, as the dwarves do not tend to have the skills
to make these, or the spellcasters to pilot them, but instead use
something called an Anvil Helm, and as a power source a rare
gem/crystal called a Star Heart.  They can land - put them down
on water and they'd sink.

Hull        KL  BL  SS  T/HP  Crew  MC  AC  Hard  Cost
Small Boat  30   8   1     1  2/ 1   C  16    1     5
Boat        45  12   2     5  5/ 5   D  14    1     8
Large Boat  60  16   3    10  7/10   D  12    1    10

An Anvil Helm is a metalwork helm which would look more at home
in a smithy, bolted to the deck of a rock boat.  These are
ritually prepared anvils which have soaked in the creative
energies of a Forge, in the foundry room of a Dwarven Citadel,
for at least thirteen months and a day.  For every anvil soaking
up energy the Forge will be -1 SR, so there is rarely more than
one soaking at once, and an extra 10,000 gp of work is needed for
that period.  Further, the forge master must be a dwarf of at
least 15th level (which is the Helm's Caster Level), though he or
she can have deputies who work the other two shifts who need be
no more than 8th level.  Market price of Anvil Helms is 20,000
gp.

Even though once it's preparation is complete an Anvil Helm is
ready to use, on an indefinite basis, it still needs a source of
power, and even the largest possible rock boat is far too small
for a proper dwarven forge.  There is a special, padded, socket
in the base of each Anvil Helm in which must be placed a Star
Heart, a fist-sized gem/crystal which faintly glows with the
light of the stars, and is only rarely found growing on a
permanently dark side of a few asteroids.  These have a normal
rated value of 10,000 gp.

A Star Heart is charged-up ready for use by exposing it to
concentrated sunlight, usually produced by a carefully arranged
array of metal mirrors, the more mirror, the quicker the charging
time.  Normal time is two hours at the distance the Belt is from
the sun, Ra, using a 36 square ft. mirror, down to ten minutes
for an immense mirror array.  A fully-charged Star Heart can move
one spelljamming ton (i.e. one hull point) of vessel at SR 2 for
ten days (moving at SR 1 does not extend this period).  While
powering an Anvil Helm a Star Heart cannot be charging.  Once a
Star Heart has been use in a Helm it will work in no other Helm,
and one will last for about twenty-five years in standard use,
light use fifty, and very occasional use much longer.  There is
no reason, apart from cost, that a Helm should not have more than
one Star Heart used in it.

Using an Anvil Helm is something that is only possible using the
creative abilities of a dwarf, i.e. the helmsman must be a dwarf,
and at the least the anvil must be tapped with a small hammer, at
least once per two rounds.  Some more traditional dwarves insist
that they must be working on a small piece of metalwork while
using the Helm.  In all other espects an Anvil Helm functions as
a standard spelljamming Helm, limited to a maximum of ten tons. 
An Anvil Helm may only be powered by a Star Heart, so a rare
dwarven spellcaster would not be able to substitute their own
magical energies.

-- 
Dreamer
dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk
http://www.romsys.demon.co.uk/