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A Spirit warrior is a huge undead weapon created by the Elven Imperial Fleet in the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1]

Overview[]

Spirit warriors are enormous undead insects converted into manned battlesuits, and were created by the Elven Imperial Fleet as its primary long-range infantry weapon during the First Unhuman War. All spirit warriors were placed in stasis at the end of the Unhuman War, and are occasionally deployed in times of crisis in modern times. A spirit warrior is operated by an elven pilot (also known as a "spirit warrior") from within a cavity in its chest.[1]

Description[]

There are three types of spirit warriors, namely: carnivores, herbivores, and nektars.

Carnivore spirit warriors are created from a praying mantis, and have slashing, grasping forelimbs and biting mandibles. Their wings bear eye-spots that they display reflexively before combat.

Herbivore spirit warriors are created from a katydid, and though they are thin and spindly, their powerful limbs allow them to jump 600-feet (183 meters) forward or backward, and up to 400-feet (122 meters) vertically. Their wings and limbs are leaf-shaped.

Nektars are created from a hybrid insect that boasts elements of both butterflies and wasps. Nektar spirit warriors are brightly colored, with iridescent thoraxes and alternating bands of color on their abdomens. Their wings are large and colorful, with various patterns.

All types of spirit warrior have at least two clawed hands, feet that adhere to any surface, and functional wings that enable them to make gliding leaps of between 100 and 600 feet (30 and 183 meters) while on a planet's surface. They can also wield various melee weapons scaled to their size.[1]

Combat[]

The efficacy of a spirit warrior is totally dependant on the skill of its pilot as a warrior. Most spirit warriors are armed with a huge longsword, while some use specially constructed bows with a range of 500 yards (1,500 feet or 457 meters). About one-in-twenty arrows carried by a spirit warrior will be an arrow of slaying. All spirit warriors can also attack using their claws.

The various types of spirit warrior also have unique attack forms as follows:

Carnivore spirit warriors can bite with their mandibles, and can use their forelimbs to grapple an opponent, and then crush them to death. Smaller opponents are immobilized and can automatically be bitten by the spirit warrior.

Herbivore spirit warriors can change color like a chameleon, allowing them to ambush their prey. They also have a screech attack which deals sonic-based damage. A herbivore can use its leaping ability to jump over its opponent, somersaulting in midair to land, and then strike them from behind.

Nektars have a smooth wasp-like stinger, which in life allowed them to inject poison into an opponent, inflicting a painful wound. The spirit warrior has a hollow stinger outfitted with a small fire projector with a range of up to 50 yards (150 feet or 46 meters), with enough alchemical fire for up to 3 shots.

A spirit warrior's body retains enough of its instinctive behavior from its previous existence as a living insect to confer upon its pilot a sense of absolute balance, making disorientation impossible. The bond between a spirit warrior and its pilot means that damage inflicted upon the spirit warrior is relayed to its pilot. In the event of a critical injury, the pilot may die from shock, disabling the spirit warrior.[1]

Acquiring a spirit warrior[]

Spirit warriors are weapons from the First Unhuman War, and there are three possible ways to acquire one: find one that has been abandoned, wrest one from its owner in combat, or create one by performing the appropriate ceremony. Since the Wars raged over a vast area, the chances of finding an abandoned warrior are quite small. Similarly, a spirit warrior that is still in use has most likely been around since the time of the Wars, so wresting one from its pilot in combat would pose a significant challenge.

That being said, if an unclaimed spirit warrior were to be discovered, there is a one-in-twenty chance that the would-be pilot can forge a new bond with the undead construct. Alignment affects this chance, as the warriors created during the Unhuman War were meant to be bonded with pilots that were of either good or neutral alignment. If the would-be pilot's alignment differs from the that of the warrior, the chance of bonding decreases.

If the attempt to bond with the spirit warrior fails, the effects on the would-be pilot range from devastating to deadly. A lucky few (about one-in-four) are merely knocked unconscious for up to 3 days. Unfortunately, the rest are incapacitated and suffer the effects of a catastrophic cerebral hemorrhage, including the loss of motor skills, speech impairment, etc., while a few may even die due to massive stroke and psychic trauma.

The reason for such severe trauma is the bonding process itself, which forces significant physical changes on the would-be spirit warrior's brain and nervous system. When the bonding process takes place between the undead insect and its original pilot, the links are easily forged due to the years of intimate contact. For a stranger to attempt such a bond is incredibly dangerous.[1]

Creating a spirit warrior[]

To create a spirit warrior, the would-be pilot must incubate a pinhead-sized insect egg in a warm and secure environment, preferably next to their body. When the egg hatches, the pilot must nurture and protect the fragile larva from six months to a year, until it achieves maturity. During this time, the pilot must forge a strong emotional bond with the creature, usually through close contact involving stroking, petting, cuddling, thinking pleasant thoughts etc., much in the same way a person would bond with a pet or a familiar. Nektars and katydids feed on one or two specific types of flowering plants, which need to be grown in a hothouse, while the mantids will have their own preferences in prey and are far more insistent. An insect can eat up to 30 times its body weight in a day. A pilot may become anxious when their insect is hungry, resulting in mood swings and irrational behavior (for instance, drastic reductions in the local space hamster population) in both pilot and insect.

Once the insect is mature enough (usually after a year), the magical process of transforming the insect may begin; however, for the strongest bond to form, the transformation process may be delayed until after the insect has died of old age. If the ceremony is performed on a living insect, it dies during the process.

The process of transforming an insect into a spirit warrior involves spells that enlarge, animate, strengthen, and physically modify the insect's remains. These spells also link the minds of the pilot and the undead insect in an unbreakable bond, unaffected by magic, disease, physical attack, or mental control. During the final stage, a specialized minor helm is installed within the hollow chest cavity of the insect warrior.[1]

History[]

During the First Unhuman War, elven mages attempted to create armored, super-strong weapons to counter the orcish monsters being released on various worlds. At first their years of research resulted in failure as the giant undead insects ran amok, killing researchers and damaging armada Noble itself.

However, an assistant named Rowan Starblade eventually discovered that the ceremonies failed because the researchers and the insects shared no emotional bond. When one of Rowan's “pet” research insects rampaged after its ill-fated ceremony, she threw herself in front of the creature, begging it to stop. To her surprise, the giant insect obeyed her command!

Further experimentation with Rowan's pet zombie revealed that when she secured a modified minor helm into the insect's hollow chest cavity with gold and platinum wire, she could sit in the helm and pilot the insect with her own speed and agility, but enhanced by the insect's strength.[1]

Zwarth[]

A Zwarth is an enormous version of a spirit warrior, operated by crews of up to 8 people. A zwarth is capable of achieving spelljamming speed and can be armed with a variety of weapons. It is also equipped with a spell projector which enhances the power of any attack spells cast by its crew. Zwarth construction resembles that of a spirit warrior, but requires that the entire crew undergo the nurturing and bonding process.[1]

Notable Spirit warriors[]

  • During the invasion of Spiral by the scro Tarantula Fleet, a 35-foot zwarth crewed by eight elves ambushed General Vorr as he directed the landings. He would later mount two of the creature's four-fingered clawed hands on his office wall as a trophy.[2]

Appendix[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Newton Ewell, MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Spirit Warrior entry
  2. Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 17
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