Tempestships

By Dave Seward (sewaka67@telenet.net)

Description

Travel within the Tempest has always been hazardous, whether by foot, reed boat, or caravan. Spectres, Maelstroms, and other denizens of the Tempest await the unwary or foolish traveler. As the popularity and practicality of sailing ships, and sea travel, within the Skinlands, arose, the number of relic ships and boats increased. At first, these relic boat captains used their ships for personal travel, carrying only themselves and their circlemates. This worked for a time, but the wear and tear upon the ships proved costly. To pay for these repairs, the captains began to hire their ships out to passengers, merchants, and even the Hierarchy to cargo thralls. The Hierarchy seeing a way to make travel safer, and a decent oboli, began to look for a way to build a Tempestship. They hired several Artificers to work on the design and construction. It took two years and thousands of souls to design and build the first ship, Charon's Oar. The ship was a success, and they were commissioned to build several more, and the same design is still used today.

Construction

The construction of a Tempestship is a long and arduous task. It can take anywhere from six months to five years, depending upon the intricacy and size of the ship. The price in souls to build one of these ships is tremendous. It can take from one hundred to several thousand. The Hierarchy realizes this and has put a limit on the number of ships to be built. The Hierarchy currently has seventeen hundred active ships in its fleet.

Class of ships

Freighter/Cargo: A cargo ship is the smallest and most commonly found class of ship in the Shadowlands. These ships are used to transport cargo or passengers from port to port. They need a minimum crew of five, but can hold up to ten crew comfortably. The Caroline is a well-known cargo ship.

Thrall: Thrall ships are a medium class vessel that sacrifices a cargo hold for a thrall brig. The ship requires a minimum crew of ten to run smoothly, however, most thrall ships carry more crew than thralls to quell thoughts of revolt. The thrall brig can hold up to thirty thralls packed wall to wall. The Paramour is an example of a thrall ship.

Explorer/Diplomatic: These are medium to large class of ships. They need a minimum of twenty crew to man the ship, but can carry up to forty crew at a time. These ships are used for trade, diplomatic, or exploring missions. The newly built Ulysses is a Diplomatic/Explorer class ship.

Warships: Warships are usually a large class of ship, but medium sized ships are not uncommon. They need a minimum crew of twenty to run properly, and can transport up to fifty men and crew if needed. Warships are used for patrol missions, and of course war. The Lassiter, Odessa, and Warsaw are large warships.

Command crew positions and duties aboard ship

The ship's Pardoner is responsible for the Castigation of the entire crew. He oversees a staff of Pardoners who he delegates this responsibility to. He is often the Command crew's Pardoner.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Castigate 4

Abilities: Empathy

The ship's healer is responsible for healing the corpus of the crew. The healer is also responsible for creating infuses of Pathos.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Usury 3, Moliate 2

Abilities: Craft

The ship's engineer is responsible for the repairing and maintaining the ship's integrity. He must also forge new weapons and equipment.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Inhabit 3, Moliate 3

Abilities: Craft, Repair

The ship's helmsman is responsible for the navigation and steering of the ship. It is his duty to ensure the ship uses the most direct and safe routes.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Argos 2

Abilities: Tempestship Handling (see below)

The first mate is second in command. It is his job to be liaison between the captain and crew.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Any

Abilities: Leadership, Empathy

The ship's captain is responsible for the whole of the ship and her crew. His is the final authority aboard the ship. He is also responsible for any diplomatic relations, and any and all business transactions involving his ship, crew and cargo.

Requirements of the position:

Arcanos: Argos 4

Abilities: Leadership, Empathy, Etiquette

Helming the ship

To helm a Tempestship, the helmsman must have at least a two in Argos, and must have the skill, Tempestship Handling.

This skill entails the ability to helm, navigate, and guide a Tempestship through the chaotic seas of the Tempest. A success on a Tempestship Handling roll can either cut down on the travel time, or choose the safest path to the destination.

*	"Ok explain to me this 'starboard, aft, port' thingy to me again."
**	Shift Helmsman: Can guide the ship for a little while without hitting anything.
***	Helmsman: Can guide the ship for long periods of time.
****	Overhelm: Can oversee a shift of helmsman and still guide the ship safely.
*****	Master Helmsman: Sulu, Lenier, and you.

Combat

Ship to ship combat within the Tempest is vastly different than that of the Skinlands. Since most ships take so much time and souls to build, destroying the ship is not the object of the battle. It is far more profitable to capture the ship, and her cargo. Most combat is of the hand to hand variety, although some relic ships do have cannon or guns. Still this too is very costly as relic cannon balls and shells are hard to come by.