Monthly Archives: July 2014

Jul 31 2014
Gallery

Ship Transparencies from Silverblade the Enchanter

I have done my best to collect as many ship transparencies as possible on this one page.  The intent of the artist was that others could make their own Spelljammer art with these images.  Click on the links for larger … Continue reading →

Jul 31 2014

The Battle of Glyth’s Rings (Book Excerpt)

“Tel’Quessir,” Captain Yvoleth began as he paced the Castle Deck, rounding the catapult turret, while the First Mate, whose name was Solahlyn Aelorothi, lurked by the hatchway with his arms folded, “I have just received orders from the Admiralty.  Strange ships have been sighted in the rings of Glyth.  They may be Scorpions.”

Shaundar let out a low whistle.  Well, that would complicate things.  Glyth was known to be a colony of illithids – squid-faced aliens who ate only brains – who kept humanoids of all sorts as “cattle” on the burnt out surface of the planet.  They were also known to patrol local space to add to their collection, despite the efforts of the Navy to curtail this.  Furthermore, the rings of Glyth were made up almost entirely of several small rocks and ice blocks, dangerous to navigate and often difficult to see.

“As the closest Navy ship, we have been ordered to investigate,” the Captain continued.  “If there are enemy ships present, we have been authorized to engage them.”

The blood started pounding through Shaundar’s veins.  Was this going to be it at last?

“So I’m sorry, leave is cancelled for now.  We need to see what’s there before they have a chance to move or hide.  We’re three days to Glyth from our present orbit.  Etriel Sylria, plot us a course.”

Sylria, Second Helmsman but Primary Navigator, saluted.  “Av, quessir.  I’ll head to the Chart Room now, sir, with your permission.”  The Captain nodded and she climbed down the hatch.

“Many of you have never seen combat before,” the Captain went on, fixing each of them with his kind but dark hazel eyes, which came to rest on Shaundar and Yathar.  “If this turns out to be the opening gambit of the War in Realmspace, keep calm, do the jobs you have been trained to do, and trust your crewmates, and all will be well.”  He smiled at them encouragingly.

“Av, quessir!” they chorused.  Eyes glittered and the smiles were jovial.  They were ready to fight.

“Mr.  Yathar, you are also certified as a battlepoet, are you not?” the Captain inquired.

“Av, quessir,” Yathar affirmed.

He grinned.  “I’m sure you know a few rousing battle ballads in addition to all those bawdy tunes you sing at the tavern.  Let’s hear one; that should put us all in the proper frame of mind.”

Yathar beamed.  “I’ll fetch my lute, sir!”  Yvoleth nodded and Yathar went to do so.

“Mr.  Sunfall,” the Captain said.

“Sir!” Shaundar replied, immediately at attention again.

The Captain smiled knowingly.  “I’m sure reverie will not come easily to you with a hot head to match your hot blood, but do your best.  We’ll be running full jamming shifts until we reach the rings of Glyth.”

“Av, quessir,” Shaundar nodded.

The Captain returned his nod sharply.  “All right then.  All hands to stations.”

The boatswain piped the order and the crew fell in as commanded. Continue reading →

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Jul 28 2014

Cephalocog

CephalocogCephalocog

Built Primarily By: Humans?
Used Primarily By: Humans, mind flayers?
Cost: 25,000 gp
Tonnage: 25
Hull Points: 25
Crew: 6/25
Maneuverability Class: D
Air Worthiness: 50%
Sea Worthiness: 50%
Landing: Water only
Armor Rating: 6
Saves As: Thick Wood
Standard Armament:
1 medium ballista (F)
1 medium catapult (A)
Cargo: 13 tons
Keel: 50’
Beam: 25’

Continue reading →

Jul 26 2014

Mystaran Skyships in Spelljammer, Part I: Ship of the Line

Champions of Mystara, released in 1993 for BECMI D&D, collected the Voyages of the Princess Ark from Dragon Magazine into a boxed set that also detailed the skyships of Mystara, and included ship cards, much like Spelljammer did. While the ship statistics are reminiscent of Spelljammer, there are a variety of key differences. In a number of ways, they are more powerful than Spelljammers, being primarily enchanted vessels, but they are also incapable of the high-speed flight that spelljammers are capable of. In addition, due to their enchanted nature, the Mystaran skyships are often vastly more expensive and labor intensive than even a standard spelljamming vessel and a major helm. Tonnage for skyships are weight rather than displacement, and hull points are essentially the equivalent to hit points (ship-based weapons do not deal different damage to creatures and ships). As such, conversion of these vessels allows (and sometimes requires) a lot of leeway. In general, I jettisoned magical defenses and abilities that these ships have, and went for close-matches on hull sizes rather than calculating out the tonnage to precision; as I feel making the ships work within the extant vessels is preferable. In addition, each vessel has been converted to be “generic”; available for any Spelljammer campaign, without requiring ties to Mystaraspace. Of course, those incorporating Mystaraspace into their campaigns can use them as Spelljammer versions of the skyships.

The first vessel up for conversion is the Alphatian Man-of-War, which I’ve named the Ship of the Line, due to the primary way the ship would be used in battle. This sailing vessel is of similar size to the Clipper, but wider. As such, I made it 100 tons; while it should probably be considerably larger (heck, the Clipper should be too), it seemed a good compromise which also allowed it to not need a special helm. At the bottom of the post are ship cards; the front is an altered card using the original art designed exactly as the Spelljammer cards are, while the back contains the original deck plans. I hope to eventually redraw them so they incorporate gravity planes and specialized Spelljammer terminology. Continue reading →