Most adventures in space take place on board of spelljamming ships, often simply referred to as spalljammers. While it is theoretically possible to travel space on the back of large creatures, such as rocs or dragons, most people prefer ships, which are easier to control and don't have their own ideas were they want to go. A spelljammer needs less crew than a seagoing vessel, but it is still likely to be quite crammed.

All ships (from the ethar crystal skimmer to the legendary Spelljammer itself) have planar gravity. They gravity plane usually is, where the waterline of a seagoing vessel would be. Ships for space are usually built with a relatively flat bototm, because the area below the gravity line is essentially unusable. Experienced sailors can actually toss items around the ship, using the peculiar properties of planar gravity. Everything that falls over board bobs up and down along the gravity plane a few times and then begins to float backwards slowly. A body behind the ship floats backwards and keeps on doing so forever, eventually leaving the ship's atmospheric envelope, unless rescued.

The atmospheric envelope is twice the diameter of the ships length, excluding a possible bowsprit. It provides enough air to support one person per ton of ship in fresh air for one month, in used air (-2 circumstance penalty on all checks) for another month and in thin air (-4 circumstance penalty on all rolls) for another month, before the air becomes fouled and poisonous. Magic can prolong the time air stays fresh and contact with breathable planetary atmosphere instantly renews the atmosphere, resetting the time of fresh air available.

All spelljamming ships are be built around a magical backbone, which creates the atmospheric envelope and the ship's gravity, which is part of the ship's structure and often made of a material harder than wood. The other central componet is the spelljamming helm, which provides the motive force of a ship. Tactical movement is described in the space combat chapter. Spelljamming speed, which can be reached, if there is no other well of gravity nearby, is 100,000 Miles per hour. A single magic-capable character can be the helmsman for eight hours, before their power is exhausted. The difference in caster level is only important for tactical speed. Even a 6th-level ranger can drive a ship at spelljamming speed for eight hours, but it will have abysmal tactical speed.

The Crew

The positions and structure of a crew on board a spelljammer are similar to those of a historical naval ship. The crew is a bit smaller though and the magical requirements of spalljamming create a few special posts.

Captain: The captain commands the ship and is usually the king or queen of that small enclave, only admirals and other commanders of fleets (if the ship belongs to one) are higher ranking.

1st Lieutenant: The second in command and traditionally closer to the crew than the captain. The 1st Lieutenant sees to all the everyday running of a ship and pulls the complex commands of the captain apart into crew commands.

Navigator: Even more so than on the sea, navigation is of central importance to get somewhere. The navigator is often a cleric, as divine magic provides the important locate... and find the path spells. They usually double as healers. The navigator in game terms is also the one responsible for any complex manoeuvreing, independent of his or her actual rank.

Helmsman: The spelljamming helm provides the motive force of a spelljammer and drains its user's magical or psionic energy. While the helmsman (or woman) has little actual effect on the manoeuvreabilty of the ship, they provide its speed and thus the ability to actually execute special manoeuvres. Often helsmen double as combat mages in on of the shifts, as the speed dpends on their overall power, not on the amount of spells still memorised. Yet ships have been known to go more slowly on helmsmen with very few spells left when taking the helm.

Sailors: Sailors fill all the other spots in the crew, individual crews for running specifc parts of the ship often having their own officer, usually ranking as 2nd or 3rd lieutent. Particularly the wing, rigging crews, and the coxswains are sailors, sometomes also the weapons crews.

Marines: This position is typical for offical navy ships, where they provide an elite fighting force for boarding and manning the weapons. On freelancing ships (such as those run by adventurers) and pirate ships, most sailors double as marines and there is no official distinction.

Adventurers: Obviously the helmspeople and the navigator are likely to have levels in spellcasting (or psionic) classes, making those typical positions for adventurers. The player characters may just be guests on board a ship to provide some additional fighting force and magical power, or they may be the officers of a ship of their own, but then they will also have to manage the crew.

Ship Entries

All entries for ships in this page follow the following format:

Name: The most common name of the ship in question, in the common tongue (english).

Size: The ship's size in length and width and in metric tons, with one metric ton equal to one cubic metre of enclosed space.

TM: The basic tactical movement speed of the ship in question, which may be increased by a powerful helmsman.

TR: The turn rating says, how many points of TM turning from one face of a hex to another takes the ship.

Helm: The type of helm most likely to be found in use on this ship.

HP: The total hull hit points of the ship. If those hit points are reduced to zero without doing structural damage, only the backbone of the ship remains.

Section HP: The hit points of each five foot by five foot close combat battle grid section. This value is mostly important to see, if a ramming attempt managed to penetrate the hull.

Hardness: The hardness and material of the Hull. (See the rules in the PHB pg.158 and 165ff for more information on hardness and attacking items.)

SI: The structural integrity raing of a ship. If the SI is reduced to zero, the ship disintegrates.

Backbone: The size and strength of the spelljamming backbone typically used in this ship. Vessels with multiple purposes tend to have tougher backbones, if used for military purposes or by pirates.

Weapons: The siege engines and the ram mounted on the ship. This does not include battle mages on board the ship, which may do far nore damage than the actual weapons.

Species: The race most likely to be found on board of this ship, usually the race originally making this vessel. While some vessels are (almost) exclusive to some species, the use of many ships has spread throught space.

Crew Sizes: Gives the minium crew size for the ship to be fully operational (theoretically any ship with a helm other than a forge or a series helm can be operated by a single magical or psionic character at low speeds and manoeuverability). The fighting crew, which is necessary to man all weapons and the maximum crew the ship can carry, without reducing its atmospheric capacity.

Primary Use: The original purpose of the ship. Constructions around for some time are likely to have passed through many hands and may have radically different uses when encountered.

Description: What does the ship actually look like, who makes it and which forces are most likely to use this vessel.