The Armada is a spelljamming ship built and used by elves.
Description
The largest of the elven ships (aside from the unconfirmed rumours of dreadnoughts made from starfly plant mother-trees), the Armada is reserved exclusively for the use of the Imperial Elven Navy, and individual elven nations. Possession of an Armada by other races or factions is punishable by death at the hands of the Imperial Elven Navy, both for the user and the individuals who provided the craft. The elven Armada is built along a butterfly-like body created from the magically-modified fruit of the starfly plant, but the wings are straightened and strengthened such that the upper surfaces form a landing surface for Flitters. A typical Armada will carry a total of 40 Flitters, five of which have magical helms, and the rest of which are de-powered. This is possible because elves only use major helms of the most powerful sort (those capable of moving up to 140 tons) on their Armadas.
Crew
The Armada, moreso even than any other elven ship, has a rigid, military crew and a strong chain of command. Since an Armada is often the heart of naval operations, commanding a number of lesser vessels, it is likely to carry more high-ranking officers than a Man-o-War. An Armada typically carries a full crew of 200 elves, which is enough to man the ship, operate all of the weapons, and provide pilots and archers for the Flitters the Armada carries. This overloading of crew is possible because an Armada carries extensive gardens that both freshen the air envelope, and provide fresh fruits and vegetables on long voyages. In addition, Armadas always carry large numbers of mages and priests who are able to magically refresh the air envelope through various spells.
Ship Uses
Military: The chief use of the Armada is as a base for large military actions against other factions, races, or planets. Their heavy firepower and their use of large numbers of Flitters makes them a dangerous weapon. The Flitters carried by an Armada are used as messengers, landing craft, and fighters, carrying archers and mages to target enemy weapon emplacements and crew. The heart of an Armada's operation is in the forward bridge, located in the "head" of the butterfly. This is the location of the helm and the captain's station. An auxiliary bridge is located in the tail of the craft, just foreward of the jettisons. This auxiliary bridge is equipped with a full set of charts and a second major helm (this second helm is often not as powerful as the primary, and an Armada forced to use it may need to abandon some or all of its Flitters). The Armada is the backbone of the elven fleet and often serves as the heart of military operations. A standard fleet may contain a single Armada, or 10 or more acting in unison, supported by a fleet of Men-o-War and hundreds of Flitters.
Other Configurations
Command Post: The flagship of a particular elven fleet will be an armada that has been modified to serve as a command post. These ships have command fortresses built on their backs, which house the fleet admiral and his command staff. These citadels are used both as military centres and as quarters for entertaining important allies, or for negotiating with surrendering fleets. These command posts add 20 tons to the size of the Armada (increasing hull points accordingly, and adding 10 tons of cargo space, but otherwise leaving the vessel's statistics unchanged), which reduces the number of Flitters that the ship can carry.
Wild Armadas: Armadas are normally not abandoned, given the length of time it takes to grow one, and their long lifespans. The elven nations would rather destroy this type of ship than let it fall into another race's hands. Should an abandoned, overgrown Armada be found despite this, its AR would be 9 and its MC would be E. This can be corrected with proper pruning and repairs equal to half the hull points of the ship.
Gypsy Moth: Drow operating in space are rare, and in recent decades have begun to operate their own custom-made spacecraft; however, long before their presence in space was confirmed, there were rumours of one or more so-called Gypsy Moth Armadas. The Gypsy Moth is a purplish Armada with a huge dome where the command post would be, in order to filter out light that would be painful for the drow, giving the ship the appearance of a bloated hunchback. These rumours have recently been confirmed, although it is unknown if the Gypsy Moth is unique. It is unknown how the drow obtained the Gypsy Moth (or possibly Gypsy Moths) from the Imperial Elven Navy; however, it seems unlikely that any new Armadas modified in this fashion will appear in space, since the drow now have their own Jade Spider Commandships that suit their needs better. The Imperial Elven Navy has organized several expeditions to hunt down and destroy the Gypsy Moth, but the wily drow crew has so far evaded their more numerous cousins.
Gallery
References
- Spelljammer reference: CGR1
- TSR reference: TSR 2130
- ISBN: 1-56076-347-7