This Is Not A Wiki

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== Helms and Movement ======
<HTML>
<P>The motive power that permits a ship to rise from a planetary surface and sail across and between the Spheres, is a powerful magical device commonly known as a Helm. Despite countless hours of speculation, both scholarly and drunken, on the sorts of Helms that <i>could</i> exist and the energies that <i>might </i>power them, currently there is only a single type that is actually capable of lifting a ship and thrusting it forward. Although the external appearance is variable, the operative principle is the same: a Helm converts magical energy into movement. Only magic users--priests, mages and (more rarely) sufficiently high level rangers and paladins--can be helmsmen and power a ship. The higher his level, the more mass a spellcaster can move, and every caster level above the minimum necessary to move the mass of the ship and cargo can be used to increase the tactical speed and/or manoeuvrability of the craft as well.</p><p>At the discretion of the helmsman, a ship can travel in either cruising or tactical mode. When travelling either between spheres through the primal dweometric Everflowing, or across the emptiness within a crystal sphere, ships moves at a constant rate of approximately one AU per day. However, when preparing to land on a planet, when manoeuvring through the lattices of a spheral boundary, when engaged in combat or exploration, or when inserting into a Discontinuity Point they must drop down to tactical speeds. It is then that the skill and experience of the Helmsman and the bo's'n most prominently come into play.</p><p>The tactical speed of a vessel typically ranges between 1 up to a practical maximum of 15 with one Speed Rating, or SR, equal to 500 yds a minute.</p>
<p>
<table border=1 bordercolor=gray cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=100%><tbody align=center>
<tr><td> </td><td colspan=15><font color=gold>Wizard Level Needed for a Speed Rating of</td><td> </td></tr> 
<tr><td><font color=gold>Ship Class</font></td><td><font color=gold>1</font></td><td><font color=gold>2</font></td><td><font color=gold>3</font></td><td><font color=gold>4</font></td><td><font color=gold>5</font></td><td><font color=gold>6</font></td><td><font color=gold>7</font></td><td><font color=gold>8</font></td><td><font color=gold>9</font></td><td><font color=gold>10</font></td><td><font color=gold>11</font></td><td><font color=gold>12</font></td><td><font color=gold>13</font></td><td><font color=gold>14</font></td><td><font color=gold>15</font></td><td><font color=gold>Max Delta-V</font></td></tr>
<tr><td>Greatship</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>23</td><td>24</td><td>25</td><td>26</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td>Flagship</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>23</td><td>24</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Lineship</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>21</td><td>22</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Lineship</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td>19</td><td>20</td><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Frigate</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>18</td><td>4</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Frigate</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>17</td><td>5</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sloop</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>8</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cutter</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>15</td></tr>
</tbody></table></p><p>

The Manoeuvre Rating of a spelljammer ship is based on the number of 500-yard hexes of movement in a single direction the ship must travel before it can perform a turn of 60 degrees.  This movement must be consecutive, but need not take place during a single round.  Unlike Speed, the lower the Manoeuvre Rating, the better, with the best possible Manoeuvre Rating of 0 – which means, the ship can turn in place.  If the Manoeuvre Rating is low enough, and Speed high enough, it is easily possible that more than one 60-degree turn could be performed during a single round.<p><p>

<center><table border=1 bordercolor=gray cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=100%><tbody align=center>
<tr><td colspan=2> </td><td colspan=6><font color=gold>Wizard Level Needed for Manoeuvre Bonus</td></tr> 
<tr><td><font color=gold>Ship Class</font></td><td><font color=gold>Manoeuvre Rating</td><td><font color=gold>1</font></td><td><font color=gold>2</font></td><td><font color=gold>3</font></td><td><font color=gold>4</font></td><td><font color=gold>5</font></td><td><font color=gold>6</font></td></tr>
<tr><td>Greatship</td><td>24</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>18</td><td>20</td><td>22</td><td>24</td></tr>
<tr><td>Flagship</td><td>20</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>18</td><td>20</td><td>22</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Lineship</td><td>16</td><td>10</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>18</td><td>20</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Lineship</td><td>12</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>18</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Frigate</td><td>8</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>16</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Frigate</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>9</td><td>11</td><td>13</td><td>15</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sloop</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>6</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td>x</td><td>x</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cutter</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>x</td><td>x</td><td>x</td><td>x</td></tr>
</tbody></table></p><p>

The Manoeuvre Bonus is subtracted from the base AC of a ship.<br>The hit points of a vessel are equal to its tonnage.</p><p>

<tr><td></td><td></td><table border=1 bordercolor=gray cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=50%><tbody align=center>
<tr><td><font color=gold>Ship Class</font></td><td><font color=gold>Base Armour Class</font> </td></tr>
<tr><td>Greatship</td><td>15</td></tr>
<tr><td>Flagship</td><td>13</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Lineship</td><td>11</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Lineship</td><td>9</td></tr>
<tr><td>Large Frigate</td><td>7</td></tr>
<tr><td>Small Frigate</td><td>5</td></tr>
<tr><td>Sloop</td><td>4</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cutter</td><td>3</td></tr>
</tbody></table></center></p><p>

<font color=gold>A helmsman expends a number of spell points per hour equal to the minimum caster level necessary to operate the ship. For example, a Cutter will operate at cruising speed or at tactical speed rating 1 at the cost of 1 sp/hr; a Greatship will use 12 sp/hr under the same conditions, while for a Greatship to achieve a speed rating of 15, a 26th level spellcaster will be expending 26 sp/hr.</font></p><p>While the helmsman controls velocity and has some very crude manoeuvrability control, the crew, working the sails and control surfaces, determine most of a ship's manoeuvrability. If the bo's'n fails his proficiency check by less than 3, the Manoeuvre Bonus is halved (if the bonus is 1, it is negated), on more than 3 the Manoeuvre Bonus is completely negated for the round. On a 20 it is fully negated for 5 rounds and the ship slows by 1 SR per round as long as the sails are afouled. (The time can be reduced with a successful check at a penalty that decreases each round: +7, +6, +5, +4, +3.)</p>

<p>There is also a 50% chance that on a bo's'n proficiency check failure the ship will move in a random fashion unanticipated or controlled by either the helmsman or the bo's'n. On a d6, 1 or 2 means the ship turns to port either 120 (1) or 60 (2) degrees, 3 means it goes up 1 hex, 4 means it goes down 1 hex, and on a 5 or 6 it veers to starboard either 60 (5) or 120 (6) degrees. </p><p>

<center><font color=gold>Buying a Helm</font></center></p>
<p>Used helms can sometimes be found for as little as 175,000 Dominions, but usually the price is quite a bit higher. Nonetheless, they are greatly prized. </p><p>New helms cost only 100,000, but purchase is tightly regulated, and requires a Dominion Writ of Usage Entitlement and a tax stamp (which costs another 25,000 Dominions). To obtain a Dominion Writ of Usage Entitlement, or DWUE, the buyer must prove his moral probity (including supplying proof that he has <i>never </i>been convicted of violating any Dominion law) and his legitimate purpose in acquiring a spacefaring vessel, establish proof of fiscal reliability and solvency, and pass several tests demonstrating his familiarity with Dominion space law and custom and his fitness and familiarity with all aspects of the operation of a spellship. This complicated, confusing, multi-step bureaucratic procedure takes an average of 5 <i>years</i> to complete, and, in recognition of the difficulty, in spacefarer slang, if someone works very hard at an arduous or unpleasant task over a long period in order to achieve something, they are said to have ''paid their DWUE''.</p><p>Only one helm can be used at a time, but smart captains are advised to keep another helm onboard as backup.</p>
</HTML>