On the history of the “Shadow Spiral” and her sister ships

By Matthew Hannum


 

Decades ago, the government of East Point sought to increase their naval power as Gaianar continued to rebuild from its dark age and the other governments began to gain an edge in technology. While there was little use for massive ships of the line in a world, they instead realized the importance of being able to transport high value goods in nearly absolute safety, and thus designed a class of sailing ships to meet that need. The end result was very expensive and long-running project that produced a trio of the finest (and perhaps most dangerous) ships to sail the seas in many years. These vessels were classified by the government as SATS (semi-autonomous treasure ships) and were significantly larger and more lethal than almost any non-supernatural vessel on the high seas. While present-day Gaianar has few dedicated warships, these vessels would rate as such, and could be considered about as dangerous as a frigate in modern naval terminology.

 

No expense was spared, and the ships were granted respectable armor, a vast array of safety and damage control features, and a sufficient weapon loadout; it is rumored that they may also have regenerative geometric shields. That said, these ships are still under gunned for their displacement, with a focus instead placed on speed and survivability. Their primary purpose is that of moving valuables safely, not engaging in ship to ship battles, though they would win most such engagements. Finally, the ships each contain a theoretical engine as a backup propulsion system and a highly-advanced, non-sentient Construct AI to oversee the ship and act as a co-pilot, navigator, and so forth as needed. It is rumored that the ships can slowly regenerate and even sail themselves in an emergency to a nearby port, but this may just be East Point propaganda.

 

There was, however, an unforeseen flaw to these ships. Designing such vessels so far beyond what local industries could support came at a price. The East Point government turned to the nefarious Immortal known as the Smith to handle the details of the project, for he promised to deliver them everything they asked. He succeeded, but as is the case with all of the Smith’s more potent creations, there is a price to be paid for using them.

 

The AI’s within the ship are each tinted with dark magic and thus manipulate their crew in subtle ways. This is a common aspect of the Smith’s creations – they always change those who use them while technically serving their original purpose. It is said that the Smith adds such corrupting elements to his work as a form of twisted curiosity, seeing the whole world as a series of experiments in improving his designs. For example, a masterwork shield is only a starting point - would the shield protect a coward? To gather such data, he would curse the shield to instill cowardice in its wielder. The ships he created were no different; each an effective and dangerous vessel, each a risk to its crew for any length of time.

 

Three were built, and details of each follow; note that most of this information is either unknown to the general public or twisted into legends, and The Smith has only added to their capabilities over the years. The East Point government has never dared to say “no” to him, and they currently lack the technical skills to properly maintain them at peak capability on their own.

 

The Crimson Gyre: The first ship completed, this vessel slowly instills a sense of hatred in its crew. It’s been rumored to have served as a commerce raider now and again, and has had had several murders onboard and one near mutiny. The AI is unusually skilled with the ship’s weapons and defenses, and will lure its crew into situations that encourage violence against weaker targets. Of these ships, the Crimson Gyre is sailed least often, save in times of war, because of its corrupting properties.

 

Hull Type: J – Large Cargo Ship

Structural Points: 85 [up-armored from 40]. AC (2) [up-armored from 5]

Masts: 5

Secondary Propulsion: Theoretical Propulsion System

Tertiary Propulsion: Alcohol-fueled internal combustion engine

Cruising speed: 3//

Maximum Speed: 6// (wind + secondary or tertiary system engaged)

Onboard AI: Narrow sentience only. The ship’s AI is exceptionally skilled in offense-based battle tactics and ship maintenance. The ship can respond to voice command or tablet input.

Regeneration: 1 StP/Hour

Maneuverability: “C” (improved from “D”)

Shield Generation: Two independent cube-effect generators

Shield Rotation: Yes

Shield Strength: 3 StP

Repair Bots: 6 (appliance-level awareness)

Crew: 26

Capacity: 35 tons (improved from 20)

Weapons: 4 cannons (2 port, 2 starboard), 2 harpoon guns (1 fore, 1 aft), 2 catapults (1 port, one starboard) , 2 anti-aircraft guns (mounted on top of the forecastle and sterncastle)

Special offensive capability: The ship can project aggression and hate upon the crew of the target vessel (at a strength of E30). Affected targets will take -2 to all rolls that pertain to judgment, reasoning, strategy, or a steady hand.

 

 

The Golden Helix: The second of ship of its class, this vessel instills greed in its crew, and the ship’s AI is particularly skilled in protecting the ship and its cargo at all cost. This has proven disturbingly effective from the point of view of East Point’s government, since the greed-stricken crew will go to extraordinary lengths to protect the ship’s cargo. The drawbacks, however are making sure the crew doesn’t steal anything from the ship, and crew members often need extensive rehabilitation after long tours of duty on this vessel.

 

Hull Type: J – Large Cargo Ship

Structural Points: 90 [up-armored from 40]. AC (1) [up-armored from 5]

Masts: 5

Secondary Propulsion: Theoretical Propulsion System

Tertiary Propulsion: Alcohol-fueled internal combustion engine

Cruising speed: 3//

Maximum Speed: 6// (wind + secondary or tertiary system engaged)

Onboard AI: Narrow sentience only. The ship’s AI is exceptionally skilled in defensive battle tactics and ship maintenance. The ship can respond to voice command or tablet input.

Regeneration: 1 StP/Hour

Maneuverability: “C” (improved from “D”)

Shield Generation: Three independent cube-effect generators

Shield Rotation: Yes

Shield Strength: 4 StP

Repair Bots: 8 (appliance-level awareness)

Crew: 26

Capacity: 40 tons (improved from 20)

Weapons: 2 cannons (1 port, 1 starboard), 2 harpoon guns (1 fore, 1 aft), 2 catapults (1 port, one starboard) , 1 anti-aircraft gun (mounted on top of the forecastle)

Special defensive capability: The ship can project an aura of dilapidation against the crew of the target vessel (at a strength of E30). Affected targets will view the ship as empty and not worth capturing and may even hallucinate that the ship is a derelict or possibly cursed/haunted.

 

 

 

The Shadow Spiral: Third ship of its class, this vessel instills ignorance in its crew. The ship’s AI is very skilled at keeping the ship stealthy, and this vessel has a strange habit of being ignored even in obvious situations, and it often goes missing from shipping logs as well. These advantages come at a price, however; crew members of this ship slowly forget themselves and becoming increasingly hostile to new ideas as their minds ossify.

 

Woe to any pirate or coastal guardsman who should come upon these vessels; nearly every government on Gaianar who has is aware of them has a standing order to avoid them and only engage in combat if there is no other option.

 

Hull Type: J – Large Cargo Ship

Structural Points: 75 [up-armored from 40]. AC (3) [up-armored from 5]

Masts: 5

Secondary Propulsion: Theoretical Propulsion System

Tertiary Propulsion: Alcohol-fueled internal combustion engine

Cruising speed: 4// (upgraded from 3//)

Maximum Speed: 7// (wind + secondary or tertiary system engaged)

Onboard AI: Narrow sentience only. The ship’s AI is exceptionally skilled in plotting courses and evasive maneuvers. The ship is also skilled at maintenance. The ship can respond to voice command or tablet input.

Regeneration: 1 StP/Hour

Maneuverability: “C” (improved from “D”)

Shield Generation: Two independent cube-effect generators

Shield Rotation: Yes

Shield Strength: 3 StP

Repair Bots: 6 (appliance-level awareness)

Crew: 26

Capacity: 40 tons (improved from 20)

Weapons: 2 cannons (1 port, 1 starboard), 2 harpoon guns (1 fore, 1 aft), 4 catapults (2 port, 2 starboard), 1 anti-aircraft gun (mounted on top of the forecastle)

Special defensive capability: The ship can project the illusion of darkness and fog upon the crew of the target vessel (at a strength of E35). Affected targets will hallucinate seeing a thick fog and/or supernatural darkness. The illusion will often allow the Shadow Spiral to retreat from danger whilst foiling pursuit.