Alphatian Military Skyships
by James RuhlandAlphatian Skyship Types (General Imperial Military Standards)
Ships of the Line
Ship of the Line, AKA "Man of War" - Alphatian military skyships generally are often referred to as "Men of War" or a "Man of War". The foremost ships are the true Men of War, but in order to avoid confusion with the general category, they will simply be referred to here as Ships of the Line (SOL).
Ships of the Line come in a variety of types, from the largest and most powerful to somewhat smaller, vessels, which are still considerably stronger than lesser skyships. For this reason, Ships of the Line have Classifications, from 1 through 4 (SOL I through SOL IV) - the SOL I is the largest and most powerful type, with the SOL IV being the smallest ship still classified as a Ship of the Line.
SOL I (Flagships & Imperial Guard):
Length: 220'
Beam: 70'
Depth: 55'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 48,390 sq. feet
Tonnage: 1,225
Cargo Capacity: 1,200 tons
Lift Capacity: 2,450 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 1
Hull Points: 588
Air Speed: 160' (80')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 21 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
20 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 200 Airmen, 204 marines (man artillery), 189 boltmen (60 with Wand of Fireballs, 60 with Wand of Lightning, 30 with Wand of Confusion, 30 with Wand of Death, 9 commanders), 7 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate, Shield (+5), Protection from Normal Missiles, Create Air, Climate, Spell Turning, Mind Barrier, Invisibility, Detect Invisibility, Teleport 1/day.
Construction Costs: 27,700,000 gp each (5,679,100 enchanting cost, 21,934,800 gp wizard's pay, plus other expenses. Does not include Wands or other magic items used by crew).
The above represents the true design characteristics and enchanting costs of the Alphatian Man of War described on the ship description card from Champions of Mystara. Discrepancies represent inaccurate calculations on the part of the author of that work. As the Designer's Manual implies (pp. 5-6) these are the largest, most powerful, and most expensive ships built by the Alphatians. They are used as flagships for Imperial fleets and as the battle ships of the Alphatian Imperial Guard's Aerial Assault Force).
The ship has 49 Hull Sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 100%) = 4 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Protection from Normal Missiles (3rd level) = 3 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Spell Turning (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Mind Barrier (8th level) = 8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Shield (1st level + 80%) = 1.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Invisibility & Detect Invisibility (both 2nd level) = 4 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Teleport 1/day (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 1,100 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 36.8 x 49 x 3,0000 + 5 x 49 x 1,100 = 5,679,100 gp enchanting costs.
Which is 5,687 mage-days in enchanting time (30th level Wizards are employed to insure successful enchantment of each hull section. They cost 27,000 gp/week at Alphatian Wizard's pay rates: mage can work on the project to decrease the total time, all such wizards must be paid for their time), or 812.4 mage-weeks. 30th level enchanters using Prepare Enchantment are employed, guaranteeing successful enchantment
27,000 x 812.4 = 21,934,800 gp in wizard's pay.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
21 x 75 + 20 x 150 = 4,575 gp.
Other appointments (sails, gilding & artwork, furnishings, etc) cost about 81,525 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 27,700,000 gp. Add to that 10,000,000 gp in cost of the Wands for Boltmen and magic items for leaders for a total of 37,700,000 gp cost.
Arming the Boltmen also costs a pretty penny. Each of the Boltmen's wands hold 7 charges (the Boltmen are informed they have 6 charges - these are the 6 charges they can expend. The remaining charge is used to keep the Wand from losing its magical power so that it can be recharged. Expending the last charge would render the Wand inert. Boltmen who waste their Wands in this fashion are punished).
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs each use 3rd level spells, 7 charges each, enchanting cost is 1,700 x 3 = 5,100 gp. Time to enchant is 13 days or 2 weeks pay. 25th level wizards using Prepare Enchantment are employed; at Alphatian wages they cost 19,500 gp per week in pay. Cost per Wand is 44,100 gp. Wands of Confusion use 4th level spells. 25th level Wizards are also used (failure rate of 1% per attempted Wand) in Enchanting. 6,800 gp/ea, which takes 14 days or 2 weeks. Cost per Wand is thus 46,300 gp (including adjustment for average failure rate). Wands of Death use 6th level spells. 28th level Wizards are used in the enchantment of these. They take 18 days or 2.57 weeks to enchant, with the wizards requiring 24,000 gp/week at Alphatian pay rates. Cost per Wand is thus 71,880 gp.
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs : 130 x 44,100 = 5,733,000 gp.
Wands of Confusion: 32 x 46,300 = 1,481,600 gp.
Wand of Death: 32 x 71,880 = 2,300,160 gp.
Cost for Wands is thus 9,514,750 gp. It becomes clear why the Alphatians cannot field entire skyfleets of ships like this, with crews equipped in this fashion. They only use these for their most important vessels (flagships & in the Imperial Guard), and even so each one represents several years of Imperial revenues, and thus they cannot afford to lose them, as they are nearly irreplaceable.
SOL II (Main Battle Ship):
Length: 200'
Beam: 65'
Depth: 50'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 39,420 sq. feet
Tonnage: 1,000
Cargo Capacity: 360 tons
Lift Capacity: 2,400 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 1
Hull Points: 480
Air Speed: 120' (60')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 18 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
20 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 150 Airmen, 192 marines (man artillery), 84 boltmen (80 Wands of Magic Missiles, 4 Wands of Lightning Bolts), 24 other.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Shield (+5), Protection from Normal Missiles, Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 10,050,000 gp (2,232,000 gp in enchanting costs, 7,680,000 gp in wizard's pay, 50,000 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
These are the workhorses of the Alphatian Men of War, the ships that form the main battle groups. The ship has 40 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Protection from Normal Missiles (3rd level) = 3 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Shield (1st level + 80%) = 1.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 18.6 x 40 x 3,000 = 2,232,000 gp.
Which is 2,239 mage-days in enchanting time, or 320 weeks. 28th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 24,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
320 x 24,000 = 7,680,000 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
18 x 75 + 20 x 150 = 4,500 gp.
Other appointments (sails, gilding & artwork, furnishings, etc) cost about 45,500 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 10,050,000 gp (a bit over a third of the cost of a SOL I). Add to that 2,600,000 gp in cost of the Wands for Boltmen and magic items for leaders for a total of 12,650,000 gp cost.
Wands of Magic Missiles use 1st level spells and thus cost 1,700 gp to enchant, taking 1.3 weeks to enchant. 23rd level spellcasters are employed to make these, charging 16,500 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. The Wands thus cost 23,150 gp each.
Wands of Magic Missiles: 80 x 23,150 = 1,852,000 gp
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs: 16 x 44,100 = 705,600 gp
Cost for magical equipment is thus 2,600,000 gp (including minor cost thrown in for items used by leaders).
SOL III (Secondary Battle Ship):
Length: 180'
Beam: 60'
Depth: 45'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 33,156 sq. feet
Tonnage: 825
Cargo Capacity: 300 tons
Lift Capacity: 1,150 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 5
Hull Points: 396
Air Speed: 120' (60')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 15 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
15 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 100 Airmen, 150 marines (man artillery), 44 boltmen (40 Wands of Magic Missiles, 4 Wands of Lightning Bolts), 6 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Shield (+1), Protection from Normal Missiles, Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 7,850,000 gp (1,762,200 gp in enchanting costs, 6,072,000 gp in wizard's pay, 16,000 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
These vessels are used to support SOL I & II ships in the line of battle and as the transport craft of the Alphatian Men of War, still capable of holding their own in a battle line. The ship has 33 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Protection from Normal Missiles (3rd level) = 3 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Shield (1st level) = 1 spell level (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 17.8 x 33 x 3,000 = 1,762,200 gp.
Which is 1,770 mage-days in enchanting time, or 253 weeks. 28th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 24,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
253 x 24,000 = 6,072,000 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
15 x 75 + 15 x 150 = 3,375 gp.
Other appointments (sails, gilding & artwork, furnishings, etc) cost about 12,425 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 7,850,000 gp (a bit over a quarter of the cost of a SOL I). Add to that 1,350,000 gp in cost of the Wands for Boltmen and magic items for leaders for a total of 9,200,000 gp cost.
Wands of Magic Missiles use 1st level spells and thus cost 1,700 gp to enchant, taking 1.3 weeks to enchant. 23rd level spellcasters are employed to make these, charging 16,500 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. The Wands thus cost 23,150 gp each.
Wands of Magic Missiles: 40 x 23,150 = 926,000 gp
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs: 8 x 44,100 = 352,800 gp
Cost for magical equipment is thus 1,350,000 gp (including minor cost thrown in for items used by leaders).
SOL IV (Reserve Battle Ship):
Length: 160'
Beam: 50'
Depth: 40'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 25,366 sq. feet
Tonnage: 625
Cargo Capacity: 225 tons
Lift Capacity: 875 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 5
Hull Points: 300
Air Speed: 120' (60')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 15 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
15 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 100 Airmen, 150 marines (man artillery), 44 boltmen (40 Wands of Magic Missiles, 4 Wands of Lightning Bolts), 6 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Shield (+1), Protection from Normal Missiles, Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 5,950,000 gp (1,335,000 gp in enchanting costs, 4,608,000 gp in wizard's pay, 7,000 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
These are obsolete vessels built in the aftermath of the Spike Assault War when new ships were needed quickly to replace losses. They served in the fleets until the SOL IIIs were built later, and have since been shifted into reserve service. They are mobilized in war along with smaller ships (in civil use in peacetime) to form the main striking power of reserve fleets intended to be deployed to patrol the home territories as the main fleets of the active skynavy engage enemy forces overseas. The ship has 25 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Protection from Normal Missiles (3rd level) = 3 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Shield (1st level) = 1 spell level (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 17.8 x 25 x 3,000 = 1,335,000 gp.
Which is 1,342 mage-days in enchanting time, or 192 weeks. 28th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 24,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
192 x 24,000 = 4,608,000 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
15 x 75 + 15 x 150 = 3,375 gp.
Other appointments (sails, furnishings, etc) cost about 3,625 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 5,950,000 gp (a bit over a fifth of the cost of a SOL I). Add to that 1,350,000 gp in cost of the Wands for Boltmen and magic items for leaders for a total of 7,300,000 gp cost.
Wands of Magic Missiles use 1st level +spells and thus cost 1,700 gp to enchant, taking 1.3 weeks to enchant. 23rd level spellcasters are employed to make these, charging 16,500 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. The Wands thus cost 23,150 gp each.
Wands of Magic Missiles: 40 x 23,150 = 926,000 gp
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs: 8 x 44,100 = 352,800 gp
Cost for magical equipment is thus 1,350,000 gp (including minor cost thrown in for items used by leaders).
Support Ships & Escorts
These smaller warships range from the Brigantine (strong enough to function as a warship on its own account) to the Sloop (small ships used mainly for reconnaissance), which make up the bulk of any fleet by number of ships, though not fighting power. In actuality ships like the Sloop and Schooner are often sacrificed to preserve the more valuable Ships of the Line from destruction, as they are much less expensive and comparatively easy to replace (which doesn't mean easy - it's relative to the difficulty of replacing a SoL).
Sky Brigantine:
Length: 100'
Beam: 32'
Depth: 16'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 8,226 sq. feet
Tonnage: 200
Cargo Capacity: 100 tons
Lift Capacity: 320 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 6
Hull Points: 96
Air Speed: 120' (60')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 5 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
5 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 75 Airmen, 50 marines (man artillery), 20 boltmen (18 Wands of Magic Missiles, 2 Wand of Lightning Bolts), 5 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 1,435,000 gp (340,000 gp in enchanting costs, 1,091,200 gp in wizard's pay, 3,800 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
The Brigantines are used to support Men of War in battle as secondary warships. The ship has 8 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 14.2 x 8 x 3,000 = 340,000 gp.
Which is 347 mage-days in enchanting time, or 49.6 weeks. 27th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 22,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
49.6 x 22,000 = 1,091,200 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
5 x 75 + 5 x 150 = 1,125 gp.
Other appointments (sails, furnishings, etc) cost about 2,675 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 1,435,000 gp (slightly over 5% of the cost of a SOL I). Add to that 600,000 gp in cost of the Wands for Boltmen and magic items for leaders for a total of 2,035,000 gp cost.
Wands of Magic Missiles: 18 x 23,150 = 416,700 gp
Wands of Lightning Bolts & Fireballs: 2 x 44,100 = 88,200 gp
Cost for magical equipment is thus 600,000 gp (including some cost thrown in for items used by leaders).
Sky Schooner:
Length: 80'
Beam: 26'
Depth: 13'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 5,347 sq. feet
Tonnage: 125
Cargo Capacity: 60 tons
Lift Capacity: 200 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 6
Hull Points: 60
Air Speed: 120' (60')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 4 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
2 light catapults (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 45 Airmen, 28 marines (man artillery), 15 mages, 2 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 906,000 gp (213,000 gp in enchanting costs, 691,460 gp in wizard's pay, 1,540 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
The Schooners are used as escorts to screen the fleets. The ship has 5 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 14.2 x 5 x 3,000 = 213,000 gp.
Which is 220 mage-days in enchanting time, or 31.43 weeks. 27th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 22,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
31.43 x 22,000 = 691,460 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
4 x 75 + 2 x 150 = 600 gp.
Other appointments (sails, furnishings, etc) cost about 940 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 906,000 gp (3.27% of the cost of a SOL I).
Sky Sloop:
Length: 60'
Beam: 15'
Depth: 8'
Hull: Wooden
Surface Area: 2,313 sq. feet
Tonnage: 75
Cargo Capacity: 30 tons
Lift Capacity: 120 tons
Motive Power: Levitate and sails
Armour Class: 6
Hull Points: 36
Air Speed: 140' (70')
MF: 1/2
Armaments: 2 ballistae (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 +6, range 100/200/300, ROF 1/2, Crew: 4)
1 light catapult (AC 4, hp 9, damage 1d8 + 8, range 200/250/300 (min 150), ROF 1/5m Crew: 6)
Crew: 30 Airmen, 14 marines (man artillery), 14 mages, 2 others.
Hull Enchantments: Woodform, Levitate (+40%), Create Air, Climate.
Construction Costs: 553,000 gp (127,800 gp in enchanting costs, 424,380 gp in wizard's pay, 820 gp in other. Does not include wands or other equipment of crew).
The Sloops are small, cramped-quarters ships used in reconnaissance and as light fighting ships. For long duration missions they must be supplied by larger ships (such as Men of War). The ship has 3 hull sections and its cost is determined as follows:
Woodform (5th level) = 5 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Levitate + additional lift (2nd + 40%) = 2.8 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Create Air & Climate (each 3rd level) = 6 spell levels (multiplied by 3,000 gp per hull section)
Hull Cost is 14.2 x 3 x 3,000 = 127,800 gp.
Which is 135 mage-days in enchanting time, or 19.29 weeks. 27th level Wizards are employed to enchant the hull, they charge 22,000 gp/week at the pay rates of Alphatian wizards. This means the cost for wizard's pay is:
31.43 x 22,000 = 424,380 gp.
Artillery (non-magical) is comparatively inexpensive. Ballistae cost 75 gp each, light catapults 150 gp each):
2 x 75 + 1 x 150 = 300 gp.
Other appointments (sails, furnishings, etc) cost about 520 gp to make up the rest of the purchase price of 553,000 gp (2% of the cost of a SOL I).
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"Nation: Blackrock City: Skyfyr The city was named Sky-Fire 1,000 years ago - so named by the Alphatians who invaded the Jennite city here and burned it to the ground" - PGtA, p. 11; PWA III p.23. Huh, and here I'd been told the Jennites were just simple savages before the Alphatians came, who needed their colonial masters to maintain civilization for them.
Note that these designs are generic ones, as I said in the first post, for when you need a ship quickly; of course there could be minor variations for specific, individual ships within a given ship class.