Or is it?
Travelers in the Astral Plane have seen something similar to the legendary Spelljammer, hunting the Silver Void. Mariners of the Stellar Main have heard rumors of a great ship, like a dark mirror of the Spelljammer itself, appearing and vanishing within the spheres. Rrakkma bands and Gith corsairs mutter darkly of the "Spider of the Spiritweb" and make signs to ward off danger. Some few even claim to have seen Smalljammers attacked and destroyed by something, although whether that something is vessels of unknown origin or as yet undiscovered creatures remains to be learned.
There may, indeed, be another Spelljammer. And yet, the Spelljammer remains unique.
My interest in this came from a man I found floating in a nameless sphere, on one of my journeys back to the Prime. He was raving, and nearly dead from exposure. I cared for him as best as I could, but I am no priest to restore life and health with a touch. But, before he died, he told me this. It may be nothing more than the fevered dreams of a dying man. It may be the ravings of a man driven mad by the psychic winds of the Silver Void. It may even be true.
It is his tale of how the Souljammer came to be, and I reproduce it here for you.
"[cough] Aye...I crewed it, I did. I did. I was there...there...there at the beginning...gods...I was there...
"The captain...we'd...we'd found something...something...[cough]. A Helm, he said it was. A Helm, the Helm...the Ultimate Helm...power. It, with the ship...ship...Ship...Spell - NO! NO! IT HATES US! IT HATES US!
"[gasp] Smalljammer. Smalljammer. Smalljammer and the Helm. Smalljammer and the Ultimate Helm. Give us power, he said. Power. Power over the Spelljamme - NOOOO! NOOOOOO! HATE! HATE! IT HATES US! IT HATES US! IT HATES US IT HATES US IT HATES US IT HATES US IT HATES!
"[gasp][cough]power. Captain's Helm. Ultimate Helm. Take us there. But they attacked. Attacked. HATES US! It attacked. The Spelljammer ATTACKED! The Gith atacked. SPELLJAMMER ATTACKED! GITH ATTACKED!
"We ran, but it killed us. No. No. It moved us. Moved us. Somewhere. A void. A silver void, filled with...with...with...
"A void. Filled with webs filled with columns filled with silver filled with islands filled with cords filled with...
"We landed on an island. An island...it had to be an island...it couldn't be what it told us...it couldn't be what it showed us...it couldn't be a god be a Power be dead be still alive be...we were hungry. Don't you see? We were hungry the ship was hungry the captain was hungry the captain was hungry the ship was hungry the captain was hungry the ship was hungry...we had to. It couldn't be what it showed us...it was just an island...just an island...just an island made of flesh with arms with legs with hands with a face it was just an island! JUST AN ISLAND!
"We ate of it...we ate the island...it was just an island but we ate of it...it couldn't be what it showed us...it couldn't be a god...it couldn't be dead...it was an island...it was a god it was an island it was a god it was an island it was a dead god it was an island...
"The captain ate of it...the ship ate of it...the Smalljammer ate of it...the captain ate and the Smalljammer ate...Smalljammers don't eat but it ate it ate it ate it ate it ate it ate...it ate...it was just an island it couldn't be a god it couldn't be dead it was just an island...
"The ship grew...it grew...it grew I could see it grow...it grew and it ate and it grew and it ate and it grew and the captain ate and the ship ate and the captain ae and the ship ate and the captain ate and the ship ate the captain...no, it didn't eat the captain...it became the captain...the captain became the ship became the captain became the god became the ship became the god became the captain became the god...
'It was just an island...but the ship became the captain became the god..."
"It took us...made us part of the ship part of the captain part of the god...it hated...it hated...it hated the Spell - NOOOOO! NOOO! DESTROY! DESTROY IT! DESTROY IT! ONLY ONE! ONLY ONE! DESTROY IT!
"It took a name...Bhaal...Bhaal...a ship...not a ship...The Ship...not The Ship...Bhaal...Ship of the Void...Bhaal's Ship...Void Ship...Taker of Souls...Bhaal...Souls...Ship...Souljammer...Bhaal..
"It has to be stopped...it's a god it's not a god it's dead it's not dead it's Bhaal it's not Bhaal it's The Ship it's not The Ship...it hates...it hates...it hates The Ship...it hates the Spelljammer...stop it...stop Bhaal...stop the Souljammer...
"It wants death...Spelljammer's death...revenge...revenge for Bhaal...unique...only one...only one...unique...destroy all...destroy Spelljammer...destroy all...be all...destroy all...be all
"Stop it...somehow..."
That is what he told me. Perhaps a rational person would have left it at that, but I've always been too curious for my own good. I started asking questions, trying to learn about this "Souljammer". Getting the answers wasn't easy, but I won't bore you with the details. That's a story for a different time. I didn't learn much. But here is what I did learn.
Kalu Yeagun, of the Chainmen, on what he saw in the Sphere of Nocturne.
"We'd just taken our new prize, we had. A lovely cargo, lovely. Fine lasses to sell to the brothels, good strong men for the fields or the pits, even a dwarf. A beauty of a ship as well. Never seen the like of it before. Designed like the Spelljammer itself, it was; like a graceful manta, with a building on it's back. A fine haul for a good day's work.
"We were just gettin' ready to...test...out the lasses, when the watch begins callin' about how there's something off to port. So I looks meself, an' there it was. Looked like a star when yer near the shell, it did; y'know, how they look big at a distance, even when y'know yer at a distance? Like that. Only it was odd-shaped, like...well...like a man an' a bat at the same time. Made all outa silver it was, too.
"That's when we saw 'em. The silver...thing...rippled, an' started bleedin'. No, really. Started drippin blood, it looked like. An' those drops o' blood came flyin' towards us, fast. I've seen military ships move that fast, the ones with powerful sorcerers on the helm, but not that many. A dozen, maybe? No, more. Two dozen, if there was one.
"They come sailin in, the lot of them. Big, too. Twenty tons easy, if they was even ships. They were all glossy, lookin like drops o' blood flyin' through space. Came in at us, an' started attackin' that odd prize ship o' ours. I don't know with what, some kinda ray, looked like it was made outa blood too. It burned...no, more like melted the ship.
"I'm not ashamed to say we cut it loose and ran. Just before we got away from them, they finished an' came after us. Tymora was with us, though. We got to 'jamming speed before they caught us. Never seen the like before or since, and I hope I never do.
"I still wish they hadn't destroyed that prize, though. Would have earned us a lot of gold, it would. Ah, well. The slaves still sold well..."
Tehv'in, a Githyanki Knight, speaks of an odd sight in the Astal Plane.
"We were crossing the Spiritweb in pursuit of a - how do you say? - post-knight who had stolen one of our sacred Silver Swords. The pattern of his thoughts was still clear, and we were possessed of the hope that we would overtake him. None are so swift as us, in the silver.
"We then sensed a new current in the medium, a wave like unto the front of the mindstorms. But it was not the psychic wind. Our Senja'si informed us that it was created by a conflict. A great conflict. We knew not more than that, but it was important that we seek to illuminate the - how do you say? - the darks of it. That which may disturb the Silver in such a manner may be of concern to the True Children of Gith.
"We approached the origin of the disturbance, with difficulty. The wave pushed at our thoughts, seeking to drive us back. But we persevered, and drew within sight of the cause. It was the Chac Mool, the Guardian of Dead Gods, and another. Like unto a beast of the seas of the Prime it was, so much that I believed at first it had swam from the Living Sea. But it was most certainly not a beast of any ocean. Black and white and red were it's colors, white like unto bone and red like unto blood. A pattern like unto a skull was on it's back, surrounded by spots of blood. The consistency of it's flesh was like unto stone, as if it were creaed of the substance of the Dead Gods itself.
"The Chac Mool contended with this, this creature? I know not if it lived, or if it was a vessel like unto our own. I and my fellow knights could sense many minds within it, but also a single mind of power and wrath. The Chac Mool contended with it, and it fought back. Great power was invoked by both parties, and neither seemed to gain. The medium of the Spiritweb itself distorted with the unleashed fury of the adversaries.
"We withdrew, of course. It is not proper, nor is it safe, for mortals to witness the contests of such as they. Neither were they our first objective; the traitor still remained to be found."
Fevlin Nestral, Torilian expatriate and eye-witness to the Souljammer.
"Yes, yes, I saw it. Gods help me, but I saw it. I was returning to the Rock after a visit home to Waterdeep, and we had just entered Braalspace. That's where I saw it.
"At first, I thought it was the Spelljammer, and I didn't know if I should be excited or nervous. It was the Spelljammer, after all, and you're never sure if that means good luck or bad luck. But I wanted to see it for myself, anyway. a chance like that only happens once in a lifetime, after all.
"But it didn't look right. I've never actually seen it, but t didn't look the way the bards describe it. Oh, the shape was right. Mostly. But it didn't have a city on it's back, just some odd ridges and lumps. And the color was wrong; black and white, instead of grey and purple.
"It was near a small planetoid that had drifted out toward the sphere wall, just hovering near it. As I watched, there were flickers of red and the planetoid began to, well, shrink. Like it was drinknig it.
"Then the flickers of red began to circle it, moving faster and faster. As I watched it turned, so I could see it's dorsal side. The flickers of red moved faster and faster, and that's when it hit me what it looked like.
"You know those pictures, right? The ones that look like a goblet and then, suddenly, they look like two faces? It was like that. The white with the black patches, surrounded by a red flickering ring. It looked like. like the symbol of Bhaal. Not exactly, but close. Bhaal's symbol, spread across the Spelljammer.
"Then the flickers of red lept onto the Spelljammer, and it seemed to scream. It still terrifies me, that scream. It sounded like hatred and madness, only a million times, with terror in it as well. Like it knew me, and hated me. Then it turned silver, and vanished.
"I never want to get on a spelljammer again. It might be out there, somewhere. Waiting for me, and whoever else is with me.
"But, isn't Bhaal dead? That's what they say, especially the dark priests of Cyric. He's dead. So how can he control the Spelljammer?"
I am sure that there is more to learn about the Souljammer. Even this is not all, but only represents the most dramatic information I have learned about it. But I believe I have learned enough to construct a possible history of the Souljammer. Some of this is speculative, some is based on third hand tales. But it seems to fit the evidence I have learned.
Recently, during the height of the second Unhuman War, there was an Illithid named Sllstriss. It was the captain of a "privateer" (really, a pirate who preyed on both sides of the conflict), leading a band of the dregs of spacefaring society in a quest for wealth and power. Somewhere in it's career, Sllstriss came into posession of both an Ultimate Helm and a Smalljammer. Either would have been bad enough, but both together fired it's ego. It decided to seek out the Spelljammer and take control of it.
After a long and almost fruitless search, Sllstriss located the Spelljammer in a distant sphere. As it sailed towards the legendary ship, it's Smalljammer came under attack. Pirates of Gith appeared out of the Astral Plane, seeking to capture the Smalljammer. Sllstriss, confronted by what appeared to be it's race's ancient enemy, panicked. As the pirate vessels closed in, Sllstriss plane-shifted in desperation.
The plane-shift interacted with the mind flayer's Ultimate helm in a peculiar fashion. Instead of leaving the ship, Sllstriss hurled the Smalljammer and the entire crew into the Astral Plane. His mind damaged by the feedback, all Sllstriss could think about was escape. Powered by his Ultimate Helm, the Smalljammer hurtled through the void of the Astral, stopping only when it crashed into one of the rock-like islands of the Dead Gods.
The crew survived, but the Smalljammer was badly damaged. It would not fly again, not without extensive repairs. They did not know where they were, or how to escape. As far as they knew, they were trapped.
Time passed, as it does not normally do in the Astral. The crew watched their food supplies deteriorate before their eyes, rotting away even as they lifted it to their mouths. They were forced to bind Sllstriss to ensure their own safety and lives. And dreams came. Dreams of murder, of blood, of atrocities greater than even the hardened corsairs had ever committed. The dreams of the dead god Bhaal, forcing themselves into their minds, seeking new life.
The situation grew hopeless. The lack of food and drink took its toll on their bodies, and the dreams of the dead god took its toll on their minds. Then they saw Sllstriss gnawing at the rock and growing stronger. Half-insane, they followed suit. The rock-like flesh of dead Bhaal nourished their forms and ravaged their minds. They became mindless creatures, maggots feeding on the corpse of a god.
Slsstriss, it's damaged mind still stronger than the rest of the crew, retained some sense of self. It began to gain some limited control over the god's corpse, even as the dreams reshaped Slsstriss' mind in Bhaal's image. Slsstriss-Bhaal directed the flesh of the corpse to rise and cover the crippled Smalljammer. Slowly, slowly, the island absorbed the ship.
As the only Smalljammer in existence in a Plane where there was no Spelljammer, the dying vessel had felt the need to grow, to become a new Spelljammer. But dying, it could not. Now, though, now it could. It gained strength from the flesh and essence of the dead god. It drew power and purpose from Slsstriss-Bhaal through the Ultimate Helm. It grew large and strong, absorbing the matter of Bhaal to create a new Spelljammer.
When it finished, the island that was once Bhaal's corpse was no more. Bhaal was no more. Slsstriss was no more. There was no Spelljammer. A new, composite being had been created. It possessed the desire for uniqueness that was the heritige of the Spelljammer, the sense of superiority to all that lived that was the gift of Slsstriss, and the hatred and madness that was all that remained of Bhaal. It hated. It hated the Spelljammer for existing, it hated the Gith, it hated all that lived. It wanted to be superior. It wanted to be unique. It would destroy the Spelljammer, to be unique. It would destroy all, to be unique. Nothing would be spared, for nothing was worth sparing. It was superior, it was all that mattered. It was the Souljammer.
The first action of the Souljammer was to create it's Blood Tears. Using the remaining life and essence of Slsstriss' crew, it formed them into living vessels and fired them with a miniscule amount of what had once been the ower of Bhaal. And then it began to hunt.
Souljammer
Built By: Itself
Used Primarily By: Itself
Tonnage: 1.5 million ship tons
Hull Points: 1.5 million (15 million hit points)
Crew: 0/?
Maneuver Class: B
Landing - Land: No
Landing - Water: No
Armor Rating: 0
Saves As: All saving throws are 4+
Power Type: Unknown
Ship's Rating: 6, tactical only (Mv 300 in the Astral)
Standard Armament:
Ruby Ray - 1500 yard/3 hex range, 500 yard/1 hex wide. All in area of effect save versus death magic or melt into nothingness; successful save results in 10d10 hit point/1d10 hull point damage. Foreward arc, rate of fire is 1/10.
Sting - 500 yard/1 hex range. THAC0 10, 15 versus creatures smaller than gargantuan, 20 versus creatures smaller than huge. Damage is (1d100)d10 hit points/1d100 hull points. Rate of fire is 1/3.
Spells: May select clerical spells as a 20th level cleric with a 25 Wisdom. Major access to All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Elemental, Healing, Necromantic, Summoning. Minor access to Divination, Creation, Guardian. May choose to cast a Quest spell from any appropriate Major sphere, at a cost of 3 7th level spells.
Psionics: As appropriate for Illithid, but with 10 times the PSPs and range, and double damage or effect. If psionics are not used, has all standard Illithid spell-like powers with modifications as above.
Blood Tears: May have up to 13 at any one time.
Cargo: Unknown
Keel Length: 1,575'
Beam Length: 3,100'
Description: An enormous black manta-like ship, with a bone white skull pattern across it's dorsal side. It appears covered with spots of fresh blood; these are the Blood Tears.
Blood Tears
Built By: Souljammer
Used Primarily By: Souljammer
Tonnage: 50
Hull Points: 50 (500 hit points)
Crew: 1/?
Maneuver Class: A
Landing - Land: No
Landing - Water: No
Armor Rating: 5
Saves As: Best of ceramic or metal
Power Type: Unknown
Ship's Rating: 6, tactical only (Mv 300 in Astral)
Standard Armament:
Ruby Ray - range 1000 yards/2 hexes. Damage 10d10 hit points/1d10 hull points, target must save versus death magic or suffer 1d10 hit points/1 hull point of damage on the following round. Rate of fire is 1.
Cargo: Unknown
Keel Length: Variable, typically 120'
Beam Length: Variable, typically 30'
Description: A glossy vessel made of a liquid-like material, typically appearing teardrop-shaped due to stretching as it flies. It is the color of fresh blood.
Campaign Use
Whenever you have access to an insane and extremely powerful quasi-deity, wht question arises: what do you do with it? It's really too tough for any mortal to take on and hope to win (or even survive with their own minds and independent personalities). Expecting your players to attack it is really unfair.
So, what do you do with it? Well, it makes an excellent plot device. In Planescape, the tanar'ri and/or the baatezu may be attempting to recruit it in hopes of swinging the eternal Blood War in their favor. Thwarting their attempts, and living to tell the tale, could make several exciting game sessions. Or perhaps it is attacking a Githyanki fortress, and the players get involved in rescuing the Gith before they are destroyed. Maybe you can tie it into the events of The Great Modron March and Dead Gods.
In Spelljammer, it could become the focus of a campaign of epic proportions. The Souljammer destroys and consumes the homeworld of one or more of the players, and they begin an epic quest to find a way to destroy it once and for all. Or, perhaps, you never use it directly. Just have it floating around, confusing the legends of the Spelljammer even more.
It could even be tied to a Prime campaign. In the Forgotten Realms, it could become part of a plot by the faithful of Bhaal to resurrect their dead lord. Don't play in the Realms? Change it's origin to a dead god of your choice, and do something similar.
The possibilities are endless. The important thing is, have fun with it.
