The Shrikeship is a spelljamming ship built by humans and used by humans, halflings, aarakocra, and elves.[1][2]
Description[]
This slim, light raiding ship has been used as a fast merchant trader and a light warship by humans and halflings. It is a recent design, but is gaining popularity amongst private merchant traders. The Shrikeship is often used along with a major helm to tow several cargo barges for long-range or heavy-hauling voyages, but it is more frequently used for light shuttle-runs within a sphere.
Crew[]
Human crews of Shrikeships tend to number between 7 and 10, while the smaller halflings usually have crews of about a dozen. When used as a light warship, a Shrikeship usually carries about 20 men, but in these cases the ship is usually used for only relatively short-range missions.
Ship Uses[]
Warship: Some human and elven fleets have added this ship to their planetary defense and patrol forces. The ship is considered graceful enough by the elves to include in their navies to supplement the grown ships for which they are known. The humans care less for the grace of the ship, and more for the Shrikeship's nimbleness and ability to pack quite a punch for such a small vessel. Sometimes a warship will be armour plated, giving the ship AR 4, but reducing MC to C. Elves will often modify the ship to land on water, adding outrigger pontoons for stability. Another common modification is to replace the central ballista with a catapult.
Trader: Shrikeships used as traders tend to either tow cargo barges, as indicated above, or perform light trading runs, often in dangerous areas. In dangerous areas, the ship's maneuverability and weaponry allow it to succeed where many other light traders would be destroyed.
Other Configurations[]
Messenger: This modification is being tested by several human navies. The messenger version strips the ship, worsening AR to 7, but resulting in a ship with an impressive MC A. The messenger Shrikeship usually also reduces weaponry to a single ballista, raising cargo capacity to 8 tons. The fast, nimble messenger is typically used as a messenger, as the name suggests, but is also being used to quickly carry needed supplies to navies.
Notable Spelljammers[]
- The Skyrra is a Shrikeship of the Aarakocra faction in Doomspace.
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, SJR1 Lost Ships, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Ship Catalog chapter, pages 60 and 61
- ↑ Dale "Slade" Henson, War Captain's Companion, Ship Recognition Manual, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Ships of the Spelljammer Universe, page 41