T.W. "Eclipse" class Line Brig / Ocean vessel:


The Cruizer class Brig was the most numerous class of warships built by the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. A total of one hundred and ten were build. The only class of vessels built in larger number was the smaller ten gun Cherokee class brig. The Cherokee class only ten guns while the Cruizer class was armed with eighteen guns. The Cruizer class had excellent sailing characteristic, were fast, and had an extremely powerful short range battery. Unfortunately for historians, no Cruizer class brigs survived until the coming of the Rifts with some being sunk in action, others foundering, and many being sold into civilian service.


No plans appear to have survived until the coming of the Rifts. Still, a few models and some fragmentary information was recovered. These were used by a group of British techno-wizards to develop a small but powerful class of ley line vessel. It is larger than the “Speedy” class brig but far smaller than the "Unicorn" and “Pandora” class of techno-wizard ley line vessels. The closest in size is probably the American “Hornet” class Ley Line Sloop although the American ley line vessel is slightly larger and heavier armed.


One advantage that the smaller ley line vessels have over the larger vessels is that they are less expensive. They also require less time to build compared to the larger vessels. While some techno-wizard vessels are almost thrown together and are not actually sea worthy, the Eclipse class are finely constructed and are quite sea worthy. They are each works of art and while extremely similar, each vessel is different in various details. Many captains like to customize their vessels in various manners. They do have two masts compared to most larger vessels, which have three masts.


The wood that these vessels are constructed from is a mixture of naturally growing and wood created by earth warlocks. In some cases, the original trees that the wood of these vessels were built from is not readily available. Some experiments have been done on using magically created teak instead of oak when building these ships. There boats are enchanted with the spell of “Ironwood” so that they are able to withstand the damage of modern weaponry. This enchantment makes the vessels the equal in strength of any high tech alloy or composites. They are enchanted after the vessels are basically complete because otherwise the wood would be far more difficult to shape properly.


Even though capable on the open water, these ships rarely travel on the surface of the oceans. Instead these ships travel along the ley lines of the world. While limited to fourteen or fifteen knows on the surface of the water and at the mercy of the winds, on ley lines the boats can travel at speeds up to one hundred and fifty miles per hour, almost ten times faster. They can fly up to around a thousand feet and like most ley line vessels, they use the levitate enchantment to be launched into the sky.


Main weaponry are eighteen enchanted cannons. Unlike conventional cannons, these weapons do not require gun powder and can be fired faster than conventional weaponry. There are two nine pounder bow chasers and each broadside has eight thirty-two pounders. Originally the Cruizer class mounted a pair of six pounder guns but these were replaced by nine pounder guns in the Eclipse class. The nine pounder bow chasers are long guns while the much heavier broadside batteries are shorter ranged carronades. Each long gun and carronade has a total fifty rounds, a mixture of magical Dragonball, Dragonfire, and Grape Shot.


Four small lightning blasters are mounted to deal with smaller targets. While they do not inflict as much damage as the larger light blasters mounted on many ley line vessels, having four mounts is often more effective against missile volleys and other airborne threats. Limited fire control allows the tracking of missiles and other fast moving targets. The enchantment on the guns needs to be reactivated each month if the weapons are used or not.


In addition, the crew is normally armed with a variety of small arms, most designed to have the appearance of weaponry from the age of sail. T.W. Firebolt Pistols and Firebolt Rifles are commonly carried weaponry.


Similar to many similar techno-wizard ley line vessels, the vessel has a variety of enchantments. One is a techno-wizard battery to provide magical energies to the various enchantment. The battery stores magical energies while the vessel is on a ley line or ley line nexus. Because the ship usually operates on ley lines, the battery is usually constantly recharged. However, if the ship operates on the oceans, the battery does not recharge normally. Members of the crew who are spell casters can also recharge the battery. As far as built in enchantments, the ship has an “Armor of Ithan” force field which can be activated three times per day. Finally, there are the enchantment of invisibility and impervious to energy. There are also enchanted optics that allow the captain and crew to see invisible opponents.


The ship is designed around a crew of just over a hundred and twenty. As small as the ship is, this means that crew quarters are extremely cramped. Modern naval vessels have far more space for the crew than the brig. Officers do have far more space but even their quarters are cramped. The crew themselves sleep on hammocks. The ship normally has at least two techno-wizards as part of the crew and usually several other crew will also be spell casters. Usually these spell casters are the senior officers aboard the vessel but not always. A small marine compliment are usually embarked. Commonly a small number of mystic power armors are part of the marine compliment. Magical sanitary and water facilities are part of the enchantments on the boat making it more comfortable than the original boat would have been.


Model Type: "Eclipse" Ocean & Sky Ship
Vehicle Type: Ocean & Sky Sail Brig
Crew: 121 with usually at least two techno-wizard, two air warlocks, and two other spell casting types recommended but not absolutely needed.
Troops: 30 (Normal of 10 pilots for Mystic Power Armors, 20 soldiers in body armor)


Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:

30Mystic Power Armors (Possible)


M.D.C. by Location:

9 pounder Long Guns (2, Bow):80 each
32 pounder Carronades (16, 8 on each side)150 each
Light Lightning Blaster Mounts (4, main deck):60 each
[1] Foremast (Forward Mast):240
[1] Mizzenmast (Rear Mast):260
Sails (12):50 each
Rudder:280
[2] Main Body:1,800
[3] Armor of Ithan Force Field (Three Times per Day):400


Notes:
[1] Destruction of a mast reduces ocean and ley line speed by 1/2 for each mast lost.
[2] Destroying the main body causes the ship to lose structural integrity, causing the ship to sink if in the water. There are enough life preservers and inflatable life boats (one of the few items of technology added) to accommodate everyone on the ship. The ship does have the Techno-Wizard addition of impervious to energy. Specifics are listed in Weapon systems.
[3] As per the spell “Armor of Ithan” - Magic, fire, lightning, and cold all inflict one-half damage. Each activation lasts for 30 minutes.


Speed:
Ocean Surface: 15 knots or higher depending on the wind (approximately 17.27 miles per hour or 28 km per hour)
Ley Lines: 150 mph (240 kph). Requires the Telekinesis Spell (double cost at 16 P.P.E.) or 20 I.S.P. to initiative take off and Telekinesis Spell (double cost at 16 P.P.E.), Levitate Spell (double cost at 10 P.P.E.) or 20 I.S.P. to land the ship. Otherwise, the ship will float away slowly (2 mph) at about 100 feet (30.5 meters) off the ground. The ship can only travel through the air along ley lines and can switch directions at ley line nexus points.
Height: While Flying, maximum of 1000 feet (305 meters) and minimum of 200 feet (61 meters) without landing.
Range: Effectively Unlimited. The ship carries three months worth of supplies on board.


Statistical Data:
Length: 100 feet 6 inches (30.63 meters) overall and 77 feet 3.75 inches (23.56 meters) at the keel.
Beam: 30 feet 6 inches (9.30 meters)
Draft: 12 feet 9 inches (3.89 meters)
Displacement: 388 tons
Cargo: 25 tons (22.68 metric tons) of nonessential equipment and supplies. Most of the ships spaces are take up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons, sails, and other equipment.
Power System: Magic and sails.
Market Cost: 150 million credits, there is a long waiting period and the cost to get one will often involve many extra costs as well.


WEAPON SYSTEMS:

  1. Two (2) T.W. 9 Pounder Long Guns: These weapons are surprising powerful weapons and use special magic ball that inflict large amounts of damage. Two are mounted on bow of the vessel and are designed to fire forward. The cannon balls look like standard Iron balls but in reality come in three different types. The first is Thunderball which inflict considerable damage and creates a thunderclap that effects everyone within 10 feet (3 meters) of the cannon balls impact. The second is called Thunderfire and it erupts into fireball and inflicts greater damage than Thunderball ammunition but does not have the Thunderclap. The Third type of ammunition is Magic Grape Shot. This shot is designed to be used against a wide area and is very effective against personnel. The cannons use telekinesis to throw the rounds and does not use any gunpowder.
    Maximum Effective Range: 4,860 feet (1,481.3 meters)
    Mega-Damage: Thunderball Ammunition: 5D6 per round or 1D6x10 for both guns. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell (thunderclap effects a 10 feet (3 meter) radius.) Thunderfire Ammunition: 1D6x10 per round or 2D6x10 for for both guns. The Thunderfire will often also ignite flammable materials. Magical Grape Shot Ammunition: 3D6 per round or 6D6 for for both guns. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell. Each Magical Grape Shot will effect all targets within a blast radius of 20 feet (6 meters).
    Rate of Fire: One shot per cannon per melee (all cannons can be fired at the same time). Cannon can be loaded and fired quickly due to not needing to load gunpowder.
    Payload: 100 rounds (50 per cannon), standard payload is 40 rounds of Thunderball ammunition, 40 rounds of Thunderfire ammunition, and 20 rounds of Magical Grape Shot ammunition
    Notes: If the cannons are used against small targets (personnel, aircraft, missiles, etc) the cannons have a -4 penalty to strike (Grape shot has +4 to strike and can be used against small targets) with no bonuses to strike to strike for hand to hand or physical prowess. As well, only a single cannon can be targeted against a small target.
  2. Sixteen (16) T.W. 32 Pounder Carronades: Carronades fire a larger ball for a smaller cannon when compared to long guns but have a reduced range when compared to long cannons. The cannon balls look like standard Iron balls but in reality come in three different types. The first is Thunderball which inflict considerable damage and creates a thunderclap that effects everyone within 10 feet (3 meters) of the cannon balls impact. The second is called Thunderfire and it erupts into fireball and inflicts greater damage than Thunderball ammunition but does not have the Thunderclap. The Third type of ammunition is Magic Grape Shot. This shot is designed to be used against a wide area and is very effective against personnel. The ship has nine carronades on each side. The cannons use telekinesis to throw the rounds and does not use any gunpowder.
    Maximum Effective Range: 3,510 feet (1,069.8 meters)
    Mega-Damage: Thunderball Ammunition: 2D6x10 per round or 2D6x80 for a complete broadside (eight guns.) Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell (thunderclap effects a 10 feet (3 m) radius. Thunderfire Ammunition: 4D6x10 per round or 4D6x80 for a complete broadside (eight guns.) The Thunderfire will often also ignite flammable materials. Magical Grape Shot Ammunition: 1D6x10 per round or 1D6x80 for an entire broadside (eight guns.) Each Magical Grape Shot will effect all targets within a blast radius of 20 feet (6 m).
    Rate of Fire: One shot per cannon per melee (all cannons can be fired at the same time). Cannon can be loaded and fired quickly due to not needing to load gunpowder.
    Payload: 800 rounds (50 per carronade), 400 rounds of Thunderball ammunition, 200 rounds of Thunderfire ammunition, and 200 rounds of Magical Grape Shot ammunition
    Notes: If the cannons are used against small targets (personnel, aircraft, missiles, etc) the cannons have a -4 penalty to strike (Grape shot has +4 to strike and can be used against small targets) with no bonuses to strike to strike for hand to hand or physical prowess. As well, only a single cannon can be targeted against a small target.
  3. Four (4) Light Lightning Blaster: These are designed to look like swivel guns but are lightning blasters. These are lighter than the Lightning Blasters mounted on most larger craft and shorter ranged. Additional optics and fire control have been added to enable the system to track and target aircraft and missiles The weapon must be recharged once a month using the spells “Call Lightning”, "Energy Bolt", and 50 P.P.E.
    Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914 meters)
    Mega Damage: 1D4x10+10 per electrical blaster
    Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
    Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
  4. Techno-Wizard Modifications: The "Eclipse" has the following Techno-Wizard Modifications built into the ship. These require P.P.E. or I.S.P. from the ships crew or P.P.E. battery.
    Special Features:
      Impervious to Energy (6th Level) - 40 P.P.E. or 80 I.S.P.
      Invisibility-Superior (6th Level) - 40 P.P.E. or 80 I.S.P.


Special Systems:




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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


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