T.W. “Sting” class Light Ley Line Schooner / Ocean Vessel:

Build in Bermuda, H.M.S. Pickle was a quite famous British warship originally named “Sting” in civilian service but later renamed “Pickle.” It was too small to take part in the battle of Trafalgar but was the first ship to bring news back to England of Nelson’s victory in the battle. The schooner is also famous for the single ship battle where she captured the French privateer Favorite in 1807. However, Pickle ran aground in 1908 and was lost although there were no casualties.

Over the years there have been several reproductions of the Schooner and there were plans available for techno-wizards to reproduce the vessel. The reproduction of the Pickle was used as the basis for some other vessels including the slightly larger Speedy. Still, there are a number of people who prefer to operate smaller Ley Line vessels and it was decided a closer reproduction of Pickle would be produced. They preferred the old name of Sting however and that was adopted.

Because it is a smaller vessel, the ship is less expensive than frigates and other designs. As a result, it is both one of the more common and popular designs. Still, it is one of the higher quality designs. Some ley line vessel designs are not truly sea worthy. The “Sting” is quite seaworthy however. Each on of the “Stings” is a work of art with incredible detail in trying to reproduce ships from the age of sail. As a result, they take months of work to built each. While most larger vessels are of a three masted design, the “Sting” is a two masted design and is rigged as a top masted schooner.

It is often hard to get the wood needed to built large ley line vessels. As a result, while some of the materials used to built these vessels come from natural sources, much of the wood is created through Earth Elemental magic. Once the wood is carved and fitted, the ship is enchanted by the spell of “Iron Wood” to enable it to withstand the abuse that a vessel made from modern alloys and composites might otherwise be able to withstand. A secondary advantage is to make the ship virtually immune to the elements and attacks of marine organisms.

While there is a special emphasis made to ensure that these vessels can sail on the ocean and are fully sea worthy, these vessels most often do travel along ley lines. This is in large part because they faster along ley lines with the schooner being able to travel at a maximum speed of up to one hundred and fifty miles an hour along ley lines with altitudes up to one thousand feet. As with most line vessels, the spell of “Levitate” is used to launch these vessels into the air.

In comparison to most Ley Line vessels, the “Sting” is comparatively lightly armed. The main battery are four techno-wizard 12 pounder carronades. Carronades are shorter ranged than cannons but fire a similar sized projectile as a normal 12 pounder gun and inflict basically identical damage. Unlike conventional cannons, the techno-wizard battery does not require any gun power and there are a variety of special enchanted cannon balls. These cannon balls include “Thunderfire,” “Thunderball”, and Magical “Grapeshot.”

Mounted on the deck of the vessel is also a pair of light “Lightning Blasters.” These mounts require being reactivate once each month with the spell “Call Lightning” but otherwise have effectively unlimited payload. Unlike the main battery of carronades, the lightning blasters are designed to be able to move fast moving targets such as missiles and aircraft. As a result, they are fitted with tracking and fire control systems. In addition to these mounts, the crew usually has a variety of small arms including T.W. Firebolt Pistols and Firebolt Rifles.

A variety of other enchantments make these schooners even more effective than they might otherwise be. In order to provide mystic energy to power the various enchantments, there is a special battery which store energies while on ley lines and nexus points. Due to the fact that the ship most frequently travels on lines, the battery usually can be kept charged. The mystical energies can be used to power various enchantments on the schooner as well as being used by spell casters among the crew for their own spells.

Fitted to the ship are enchanted optics which allow the crew to see invisible targets. For standard techno-wizard enchantments, the “Sting” has enchantments of “Invisibility” and “Impervious to Energy.” While the hull of the “Sting” is incredibly tough, for additional protection the schooner mounts a magical “Armor of Ithan” force field for additional protection. This enchantment can only be activated up to three times per day but does not draw off of the magical energy battery.

With regards to crew, standard is forty, smaller than most techno-wizard sailing vessels. Even so, these ships are quite cramped compared to modern naval vessels. At least two of the crew are normally techno-wizards, most commonly the captain among them. A number of other spell casters are often embarked as well. While the crew sleep in hammocks, the ship’s officers have larger quarters aft although even those are quite cramped. Even the captain has comparative little space. Most frequently, these vessels do not embark troops although eight troops can be embarked. In many cases these troops will be equipped with mystic power armors. Magical sanitary and water facilities are part of the enchantments on the vessel making it more comfortable than the original schooner would have been.

Model Type: “Sting” Ocean & Sky Ship.

Vehicle Type: Ocean & Sky Sail Top Masted Schooner.

Crew: 40 with usually at least two techno-wizard, two air warlocks, and two other spell casting types recommended but not absolutely needed.

Troops: 8 (Normal of 4 pilots for Mystic Power Armors, 4 soldiers in body armor).

Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:

Mystic Power Armors (Possible).

M.D.C. by Location:

	Telekinetic 12 pounder Carronades (8, 4 each side):	80 each.
	Light Lightning Blaster Mounts (2, main deck):	60 each.
	[1] Foremast (Forward Mast):	170.
	[1] Mizzenmast (Rear Mast):	210.
	Sails (6):	50 each.
	Rudder:	180.
	[2] Main Body:	1,200.
	[3] Magical “Armor of Ithan” Force Field (Three Times per Day):	400.

Notes:

[1] Destruction of a mast reduces ocean and ley line speed by half 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 1,000 feet (305 meters) and minimum of 200 feet (61 meters) without landing.

Range: Effectively Unlimited. The ship carries two months worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:

Length: 73 feet (22.3 meters).

Beam: 20 feet 7 1/4 inches (6.3 meters).

Draft: 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 meters).

Displacement: 127 tons.

Cargo: 20 tons (18.14 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: 60 million credits, there is a long waiting period and the cost to get one will often involve many extra costs as well.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Eight (8) Telekinetic 12 Pounder Carronades: Four can fire to either side with one carronade movable to fire forward and one able to be fired aft. 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 two mounts which can fire with the broadside or act as bow chasers. The cannons use telekinesis to throw the rounds and does not use any gunpowder.

Maximum Effective Range: 2,610 feet (795.5 meters).

Mega-Damage: Thunderball Ammunition: 1D4x10 per round or 4D4x10 for a complete broadside. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell (thunderclap effects a 10 feet (3 m) radius. Thunderfire Ammunition: 2D4x10 per round or 6D6x10 for a complete broadside. The Thunderfire will often also ignite flammable materials. Magical Grape Shot Ammunition: 4D6 per round or 2D4x10+10 for a complete broadside. 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: 400 rounds (50 per cannon), 200 rounds of Thunderball ammunition, 100 rounds of Thunderfire ammunition, and 100 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.
Two (2) 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.
Techno-Wizard Modifications: The “Sting” 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:

Special Systems:

Magical “See the Invisible” Optics: The ships has several special optical systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will. 2,000 feet (610 meters) range. Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
P.P.E. Battery: The ship has a special P.P.E. battery, unlike similar systems in Phase World, it does not generate magical energy but stores magical energy. The system will store up to 300 P.P.E. and can be stored by crew members and absorbs P.P.E. from Ley Lines and Nexus Points. It will absorb P.P.E. at the rate of 10 per hour on ley lines and 20 per hour on nexus points.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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