The Man-O-War is a spelljamming ship built and used by elves.[1][2][3][4]
Description[]
Built on the largest grown hull commonly available in space, the Elvish Man-O-War is an extremely versatile craft. Its basic design is derived from the much smaller Elvish Cutter, but the Man-O-War is a much sturdier and heavily armed warship. The ship follows the same basic forms of all elvish ships; a titanic butterfly in space.
In its basic form, the Man-O-War is a far-ranging warship. Its weapons are distributed throughout the craft for advantageous firing positions and to prevent a single mass damage spell from disabling them all. The "head" of the craft serves, like on the Cutter, as a weapons pit for two medium ballista. Unlike the cutter, the head is much bigger and there is room for a medium catapult on top. This catapult does not take up the entire space, as elvish archers like to use the forward deck as the prime position for them to rain down their deadly arrows on enemy ships. Behind the catapult is the bridge, where the captain commands the ship. He communicates with the rest of the ship via voice tubes (sometimes magical). The helm is located here as well, reducing risks of miscommunication between the captain and the helmsman. Above the bridge is another catapult, protected in a turret.
Behind the bridge is a massive open space, capped by a hemispherical glass ceiling. This space was purposely added by elvish designers to make the craft one of the most versatile in space. It is easily modifiable, and can be changed to suit the needs of the ship's owner or the mission. At times, it serves as a garden, a barracks, a cargo bay, or a hanger. Ships that have fallen into other races' hands have a variety of other uses for this space as well.
Beyond this space is the quarters of the captain and his officers. Their quarters are the most spacious and of the best quality on the ship. Above the officer quarters is the flight deck, which serves as landing platform for flitters of the Navy. The rear section of the flight deck is another weapons platform for two more medium ballista.
The main deck, below the command deck, is the largest section of the craft. The quarters of the sailors, marines, and the weapon teams are all located on this deck. Guest quarters and even a brig are also located on this deck.
The lowest deck, with an opposite gravity plane than the upper decks, is the observation deck. The galley, mess hall, and special rooms for mages are all part of this deck. Some ships have libraries and magical labs for onboard mages, while others convert the space into quarters for priests.
Crew[]
An elvish Man-O-War needs surprisingly few men to fly or fight. A mere dozen sailors are needed to keep the vast wings of the craft under control. Another twenty elves are needed to man all the weapons, leaving almost thirty elvish marines and archers to conduct boarding operations and man archery nests. The captain, the helmsman, the ship's primary mage, and at least four guards will always be located on the bride. Archers will be located on the forecastle and the flight deck. Marines pretty much roam the rest of the ship, filling in for those who fall in battle and stand ready for boarding actions.
Ship's Uses[]
Patrol: One of the primary purposes of the Man-O-War is as a deep range patrol ship. The elves have special configuration for this type of mission. The multi-purpose space behind the bridge is converted into a massive garden. This garden, lit by magical lights and watered by magical spells, is large enough to freshen the entire air envelope. In this fashion the craft can remain in deep space for as long as the food and water holds out. Some craft equipped with magical items can remain in space for years at a time. This is the type of craft most often encountered by ships of other races in space. It is also the most common warship of the fleet.
Light Carrier: This type of ship is not commonly seen these days. The armada has replaced most of these craft, but they are still seen in some spheres. To fill this role, the multi-purpose space is converted into a hanger for two flitters, with another two flitters able to attach on the roof of the hanger. To launch, there is a large set of doors set in the side of the ship. A flitter is attached on top of each wing, and another flitter is hung underneath each wing. One last flitter is docked on the flight deck. In total, this ship is capable of launching a squad of nine flitters. This type of ship is most commonly used to support command ships and is most often found in larger fleets. Typically, 1-4 of these ships will be found in the larger fleets.
Troop Carrier: Sometimes the Fleet will have need to transport a large number of troops over a long distance. The Patrol-configured Man-O-War is especially good for this, as the interior garden provides enough air for almost 200 people. Typically, a troop carrier will have a full crew in addition to fifty-to-one hundred and fifty additional troops. Parts of the ship may be converted into barracks to house so many men. However, with the need for air eliminated, the elves can transport the troops farther and faster than fleets using more conventional ships. These ships are either converted to make landings or have a number of flitters onboard (attached to the wings) to deploy troops.
Trader/Cargo Hauler: The most common non-military craft the elves use, a trader Man-O-War most often converts the garden into a second cargo hold. This gives them an additional 12 tons of cargo space. This modification is most commonly seen on in-system traders; most flow-running traders forgo the additional cargo space for the advantages of the large garden. The Fleet sometimes uses this configuration of Man-O-War to support their larger fleets.
Command Craft: In the days before the elvish Armada, this craft was a common sight. They served as flagships for virtually every fleet the elves had. However, recently, they were replaced by the Armada. Most were converted into deep patrol craft, while others were mothballed. They are now found in spheres without a large elvish presence (such as spheres without any resident elves). These ships will serve as flag for a small fleet of 2-5 elvish cutters.
For this duty, the Man-O-War's hull is strengthened to hold a pair of towers (located over the gardens). The first tower is two stories tall, and serves as a turret for an additional medium ballista. The two levels below the ballista serve as barracks and an armory. The second tower, over three and a half stories tall, is the office and private chambers for the admiral assigned to the craft. The tower also holds a room for his personal aide and secretary.
Other Configurations[]
Saloon: In at least one case, an enterprising band of elves and dwarves have bought a Man-O-War from the Fleet and converted it into a roaming saloon. They travel the spacelanes, looking for ships with thirsty crews. The prices they charge are high, but men on long voyages with no sign of civilization in sight are more than willing to pay. They also sell star charts and directions to those that have become lost. Their ship, the Thirsty Tankard, is a welcomed sight in many spheres. Even pirates and raiders will not attack it; any ship that does can expect immediate attacks from ships the Tankard has serviced. Even the Fleet has toyed with the idea of introducing such craft into their larger fleets to boost morale.
Temple: Sometimes powerful elvish priests will decide to go on long missions to convert elves in other spheres to their faith. To this end they use specially converted Men-O-War as mobile shrines. The crew are always drawn from the faithful and are loyal to the priest. With their faith guiding them, these brave elves search the spheres for lost elvish colonies and worlds that have not received the benefit of their "enlightenment." Depending on the situation, these ships are either welcomed or shot at on sight.
Named ships[]
- The Queen of Spheres was derelict man-o-war that had been owned by the Company of the Flaming Arrow before being trapped in a ship graveyard at the heart of a space vortex.[5]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Man-o-war article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, Concordance of Arcane Space, 1989, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Ships of Wildspace, page 32
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, Lorebook of the Void, 1989, (TSR Inc.), chapter 2 Spelljammers, pages 40-41
- ↑ Jeff Grubb, AD&D Adventures in Space, 1989, (TSR Inc.), ISBN: 0-88038-762-9, Man-O-War data card
- ↑ Dale "Slade" Henson, War Captain's Companion, Ship Recognition Manual, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Ships of the Spelljammer Universe, page 33
- ↑ Nicky Rea and Wes Nicholson, SJR8 Space Lairs, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Dwellers in the Vortex chapter, page 48-49