This article is about the Vodoni vessel known as a Werewolf; for the lycanthropic creature of the same name see here.
The Werewolf, known to the Alliance as the Vodoni Butcher, is a spelljamming ship built by the Zalani for use by the Vodoni and other humans.[1][2][3]
"The typical tactic of the Werewolf ship captain was to rush upon the enemy, firing his forward weapons as he closed, and ramming the target ship at full speed. The boarding ramp would strike home as the enforcers, mad with blood rage, charged onto the deck. Once the mighty jaws of the ship closed on its prey, few non-dwarven vessels of its size or smaller ever escaped."
- Memoirs of Admiral Highforge, Volume II[4]
Description[]
The workhorse of the Vodoni naval forces, the Werewolf is a powerful heavy warship, well suited to the standard tactics used by the Vodoni. The Werewolf, designed and built for the Vodoni by the enslaved Zalani race, appears as a huge, red-winged wolf with open jaws to rip, tear, and grab a hull when ramming. The Werewolf is heavily armoured, and is designed to close with enemy ships as quickly as possible so that targets can be rammed and boarded. During the fall of the Vodoni empire, many Werewolves were captured by the factions involved in the empire's defeat. The elves wanted nothing to do with these ships, since they do not fit with their sense of aesthetics. The dwarves, as ever, prefer their own ships of stone, while the beholders would not deign to use the ships of an inferior race. Few of the treacherous neogi involved in the war survived, and it is believed that those who fled did not capture any Vodoni ships. While the illithids kept a few captured Vodoni craft, the vast majority of those captured during the war made their way into the hands of various human factions, either because the humans captured the ships, or because they were captured by another faction which then sold the ships to the humans. Notably, the human empire of Tyrannous has reverse-engineered the Werewolf with the help of several "liberated" Zalani shipwrights, and has begun to produce new Werewolves for its own navy.
Crew[]
When used by the Vodoni, a Werewolf would carry 2-3 breeders (human dual-classed warrior/transmuters) who served as the captain, first officer, and navigator. All breeders on a Vodoni ship also serve as helmsmen and battle-mages as required. Between 20 and 30 normal human sailors would be carried to handle the ship and man the weapons (the typical Vodoni tactic called for the weapons to be loaded before coming within firing distance of the enemy, and then manned by a single sailor who would fire the weapon once before ramming - reloading was considered unnecessary), as well as 20 Vodoni enforcer marines. The enforcers were the true weapon of the Werewolf, and would pour down the boarding ramp in battle, slaughtering the enemy crew. When a Werewolf is operated by non-Vodoni the crew organization will vary greatly. As a general rule, however, the vast majority of Werewolves are operated as military ships, and so they will usually carry between 50 and 60 men, including a significant number of marines.
Ship Uses[]
Warship: Most Werewolves are used as combat vessels. This is the role that they were intended to fill for the Vodoni, and most captured ships are used in this fashion.
Reaver: While the Vodoni empire has fallen, a large number of Werewolves remain in Vodoni hands. Without any sort of a command structure for these ships to fit themselves into, most Vodoni-controlled Werewolves have become independent reavers, acting on the sole authority of the commanding breeders. Such ships are highly dangerous, attacking indiscriminately, and taking whatever they want. As no new breeders are trained, and no new enforcers are created, these Vodoni-operated reavers will eventually vanish from the spaceways as attrition takes its toll.
Cargo Galley: The Vodoni used a significant number of Werewolves as cargo galleys. These ships supported Vodoni forces throughout their empire, and would usually be crewed by a small number of breeders and enforcers controlling a slave crew. After the fall of the Vodoni empire these poorly-manned ships were easily captured, and most have since been converted to warships by those who captured them.
Other Configurations[]
Warwolf: Some captured Werewolves have been converted by human navies into the version which has become known as the Warwolf. Warwolves add extra armour plating, and thicken the hull. This gives the ship AR 2, but reduces MC to E, and cargo space is reduced to 24 tons. The catapults on a Warwolf are replaced with more heavy ballistas, and often a fourth heavy ballista is mounted on the hull just aft of where the ship's head meets the wings, further reducing cargo space to 20 tons. Warwolves are used in fleet actions as heavy attack ships, and the powerful but clumsy vessels are intended to be supported by more nimble ships.
Notable ships[]
- The Blood Feast was a raider which attacked the gnomish sidewheeler Whizz-Pi'Tang-Pi'Tang and slaughtered the entire crew.[5]
- The Dominator was a modified slave galley used to transport goods and slaves between the moon base and the mines of Calandia in Vodonispace.[6]
- The Howler was a modified slave galley stationed on Calandia in Vodonispace.[7]
- The Nightlash was a modified slave galley stationed at the moon base above Calandia in Vodonispace.[8]
- The Nightstalker was a warship stationed at the moon base above Calandia in Vodonispace.[9]
- The Red Bear was a warship stationed on Calandia in Vodonispace.[7][10]
- The Scourge was a modified slave galley stationed at the moon base above Calandia in Vodonispace.[8]
- The Vanquisher was a modified slave galley stationed at the moon base above Calandia in Vodonispace.[8]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ According to the original source text (SJA4), the Werewolf was equipped with a minor helm as standard; this of course makes no sense due to the size of the vessel and this was subsequently changed to a major helm in the later source (WCC).
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Grant Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix D: New Spelljamming Ships, page 59
- ↑ Grant Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Werewolf deck plans, book cover
- ↑ Dale "Slade" Henson, War Captain's Companion, Ship Recognition Manual, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Ships of the Spelljammer Universe, page 54
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 41
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 1: Small Universe, pages 7-9
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 20
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 22
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 23
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, pages 19 and 22
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 24