More Spelljammer articles for your reading pleasure
Introduction to Spelljammer
New Spelljammer Races
Additional Spelljammer Races - The Forgotten Travelers of the Multiverse

For the last couple of weeks, we've discussed Spelljammer character races, new and old. Released as Unearthed Arcana, we had a good idea of what races would be. Interestingly enough, they weren't too many adjustments, and the ones that were made, I think, were appropriate and helped provide balance to the Astral elf, giff, and hadozee.

This week we will examine something in Spelljammer I find much more exciting; the Spelljammer ships included in the Astral Adventurers Guide. Between the preview art released by WotC and the minis by WizKids, we've known of over a dozen of the ships that would be part of the Spelljammer universe. But beyond what they look like, there has been scant information. There is no Spelljammer setting without a ship to cruise the Astral Sea, making your ship the essential part of the campaign setting. If you've never seen a Spelljammer ship, you're in for a treat because they are as diverse as they are wonderfully bizarre. With sixteen ships to choose from, we'd better get started!

The Bombard

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 300
Damage Threshold: 20
Speed: fly 35 ft. (4 mph)
Cargo: 150 tons
Crew: 12
Keel/Beam: 140 ft./30 ft.
Cost: 50,000 gp
Weapons: Ballistae (2), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Giant Cannon (1), Crew 4, AC 19, HP 250, Cost: (cannon), 1,000 gp (giant cannonball). Cannon Ball - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 600/2,400 ft., one target. Hit: 88 (16d10) bludgeoning damage.

History - The Bombard was initially called the Great Bombard. Found in the 2nd edition sourcebook, The Legend of Spelljammer (1989), there were twelve of them in existence. The giff were unable to fly the ships themselves, so they hired on a Spelljammer to do it for them. The main feature is the colossal cannon that takes up most of the top deck. It requires five giff to man it and is so large that to reload, a giff must float to the front of the cannon, drop in a tremendous amount of gun powder, and then walk down the cannon, shoving the shot into place. The ship's captain gives the order to fire, which is relayed to the giff operating the cannon, and the largest cannonball in the universe is fired at an opposing ship, hopefully, one that you are not on. The great bombard also has a large brass blunt ram on the front of it, usually in the shape of a giff's head.

The great bombard had two primary purposes; a mercenary warship and a gunship. The mercenary warship was a ship for hire. The giff's primary purpose in the multiverse was being the best gun for hire anyone could employ. If you wanted to instill the fear of your god in your enemies, you'd hire this ship if you had the insane amount of money required. The gunship was the giff's favorite of the two ships. Gunships replaced the two ballistae, which the giff saw as wimpy weapons, with two more cannons of standard size. There weren't many of these converted great bombards since they needed a ton of gunpowder to operate them effectively.

5th Edition - The bombard is a ship created by the giff, everyone's favorite gunpowder-loving humanoid hippo (You can read more about the giff in our Deep Dive series). Not only can the bombard sail the Astral Sea, but it can float and sail on water. It cannot, however, land on the ground without tipping over onto its side. The ship has four decks. The top deck is the fantail deck, on which are mounted the two ballistae. Below the fantail is the signal deck, where the giff crew member's quarters are. Also on this deck is a giant winch that loads the big cannon. The giff may be incredibly strong, but not even they can pick up one of the fourteen 10-ton cannonballs found on the ship.

Speaking of the giant cannon, the 3rd deck in the cannon deck. The cannon is over three-quarters the length of the entire ship. It's so big that one-fourth of it extends out over the front of the vessel. I advise staying out of the cannon's sights because one hit can obliterate your ship and everyone on it. The other main feature of this deck is the Spelljammer's quarters, spelljammer helm, and armory. Below deck is where you can find the captain's quarters, their wardroom, more crew quarters, and the cargo hold.

The Damselfly

Armor Class: 19 (metal)
Hit Points: 200
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 70 ft. (8 mph)
Cargo: 5 tons
Crew: 9
Keel/Beam: 100 ft./20 ft.
Cost: 20,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (1), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Mangonel (1), Crew 4, AC 15, HP 100, Cost: (cannon), 100 gp (mangonel), 0 gp (stone). Mangonel Stone - Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.

History - The Damselfly first appears in the Concordance of Arcane Space (1989). It was created as the second generation of the dragonfly ship and was flown by humans and mind flayers. A damselfly was upgraded in several ways. The wood hull was replaced with metal, and the exposed portions of a deck were now covered. The damselfly was used in four ways. As a small fighter, a damselfly was carried into battle by the larger ships and sent out as a scout or small attack ship. Think of a damselfly as a tie fighter sent out by an Imperial Destroyer. A monster ship was when a mighty and very rich creature was the sole owner of a damselfly and cruised the Astral sea by themselves. The damselfly was also used as a smuggling ship and a small shuttle between worlds

5th Edition - The damselfly ship is similar to the dragonfly ship, and both existed in the 2nd edition. You can land them on the ground, but they'll sink to the bottom of the sea. damselfly captains paint their ships with bright, beautiful colors and designs. Those who own these ships love to trick them out and show them off to those damselfly captains. It's all metal, so it can take a shot and keep on going; plus, it's one of the faster ships out in the void. Pirates and explorers use these ships for those reasons. Military leaders use them as command ships, probably so they can tuck tail and run when the battle isn't going their way.

A damselfly has three decks. The Top deck is small, only 10 feet wide, 40 feet long, and sits right behind the ship's wings. A hatch behind its wings accesses it. The top deck house the mangonel, the primary weapon on the ship. The main deck is the primary deck, located where a dragonfly's tail and top half would be. It houses the Spelljammer helm, turret rotator, galley, crew quarters, and its modest cargo hold. The forward deck is where the mouth of a fly would be. It's tiny, only 20 feet by 15 feet. The gravity on this deck is reversed, so be ready when you drop down from the main deck. You can find the ship's ballistae here, so you'll be shooting bolts out of your ship's mouth. Neat.

The Flying Fish

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 250
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 40 ft. (4 1/2 mph)
Cargo: 13 tons
Crew: 10
Keel/Beam: 120 ft./30 ft.
Cost: 20,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (1), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Mangonel (1), Crew 4, AC 15, HP 100, Cost: (cannon), 100 gp (mangonel), 0 gp (stone). Mangonel Stone - Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.

History - The Flying Fish ship was initially called the Tradesman. Found in the Concordance of Arcane Space (1989), it was used by all sorts of races, including humans, lizard folk, elves, dwarves, mind flayers, and creatures that don't typically fly the Astral Sea, such as orcs and halflings. They were the main merchant ships in the multiverse, with massive hulls allowing them to carry large amounts of materials between planets. While many ships were independently owned, there were also trading costers. A trading coster was a large fleet of vessels owned by a corporation or guild, allowing them to save money on transport costs, especially if one was raided or destroyed. There were three primary uses for a Tradesman ship. First was as a shipping vehicle, traveling along known trade routes. A free adventurer ship was usually the first ship an adventurer owned because they were cheap and easy to come by. Lastly, they were a favorite of space pirates, mainly to hold all their booty in after a successful raiding trip.

5th edition - This vast ship is one of the most common ones you'll see in the Astral Sea. The ship has one 'pectoral fin' on both the port and starboard sides and what would be a fish's caudal fin at its stern. It also has two long thin pelvic fins, which you'd snap off if you attempted to land. This means you can sail in the water but can't land on the ground.

It has two decks. The main deck sits at the forwardmost part of the ship. You'll be firing all your weapons from this deck, with the mangonel facing forward and the ballista covering your six. The cargo deck is where you'll find all the rooms on the ship; the bridge, chart room, captain's quarters, cargo hold, crew quarters, and galley. Under the cargo deck are the ship's guts, housing steerage, and the ballast.

Interestingly, there is no mention of the Spelljammer's helm location on a flying fish ship. You can assume it's on the bridge. Still, looking at the original diagram in the 2nd edition Adventures in Space sourcebook, the Spelljamming helm and quarters are located where the 5th edition has the galley.

The Hammerhead

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 400
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 35 ft. (4 mph)
Cargo: 30 tons
Crew: 15
Keel/Beam: 250 ft./25 ft.
Cost: 40,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (1), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Blunt Ram (1), mounted to the front of the ship, used to ram another ship and gargantuan creature. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 0 ft., one object or Gargantuan creature. Hit: 88 (16d10) bludgeoning damage. The hammerhead ship takes half as much damage and comes to a dead stop. Miss: The attack deals no damage, the target moves into the nearest unoccupied space that isn’t in the hammerhead ship’s path, and the hammerhead ship can continue moving if it has any movement left.
Mangonel (2), Crew 4, AC 15, HP 100, Cost: (cannon), 100 gp (mangonel), 0 gp (stone). Mangonel Stone - Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.

History - The Hammerhead graces the world in Concordance of Arcane Space (1989). Built by humans and lizardfolk, the hammerhead was used by both races, along with mind flayers and elves. The hammerhead is the equivalent of a heavy galleon in size. In short, they are big with a capital B. Hammerheads are relatively common ships, meaning you must be wary of all those blunt rams in the Astral Sea.

A hammerhead was primarily used for three purposes; a pirate, military, and support ship. It's a bit paradoxical that the hammerhead is a standard pirate ship. Most sane pirates will only attack a merchant hammerhead if they are incredibly overconfident, but there aren't many sane pirates. Most pirate ships don't have the size or number of crew to raid one successfully. A military hammerhead is a support ship ferrying troops and supplies to the front lines. The Imperial Elven Navy also used hammerheads as support ships.

5th Edition - The hammerhead is as massive as it is expensive. Merchants love this ship to transport their goods; you'll love it as it has plenty of room to store your treasure. It is sea-worthy, but you'll tip it over if you try to land on the ground. The ship's bow is shaped like a hammerhead shark if it had a massive battering ram for a nose.

The ship's top is split into the forecastle and the sterncastle. The forecastle has four access points to the main deck, and the sterncastle has two. Your ballista is mounted on the bow, facing forward and one of the mangonels is the aft. The main deck is where you'll find the forward castle (directly below the forecastle), mess hall, captain and officers' quarters, charts room, Spelljammer helm and quarters, and a saloon. Yep, that's right. The hammerhead has its bar. The center of the Main deck is your access to the cargo hold. Other than that, it is empty and open, allowing one to gaze upon the majesty of the Astral Sea. The cargo deck is where the armory, crew quarters, stateroom, and cargo hold are. The cargo hold is enormous, 60 feet long and 25 feet across at its widest point.

The Lamprey

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 250
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 35 ft. (4 mph)
Cargo: 6 tons
Crew: 15
Keel/Beam: 115 ft./25 ft.
Cost: 20,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (4), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Grappling Jaws (1), mounted to the front of the ship, used to grapple another ship and gargantuan creature. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one ship or Gargantuan creature. Hit: 22 (4d10) piercing damage, and the speed of the lamprey ship and the target become 0 until the grapple ends. As an action, a creature can use the grappling jaws’ controls to release the target. Otherwise, the effect ends when the target or the lamprey ship drops to 0 hit points.

History - Originally found in the 2nd edition sourcebook The Lost Ships (1990), humans primarily used the Lamprey, although goblinoid races were also known to use them. These ships had three primary purposes, being used as a warship, shuttle, and raider. A warship (or war boat as they were known) replaced the grappling jaws with a blunt ram. The shuttle removed all its attack weapons except the aft ballista, providing short-haul transport between worlds. The raider is similar to the 5th edition Lamprey. One notable difference is the 2nd edition lampry's grappling jaws would create an opening into any unfortunate ship it grappled and transmit a barrage of fiery attacks into the grappled ship's interior. Fun for you, bad for them.

5th Edition - The oldest of the Spelljammer ships, the lamprey is excellent for boarding other ships. It is a decent size and relatively fast, making it an ideal ship for pirates and raiders. Its front grappling jaws allow the Lamprey to latch onto a vessel they wish to board, preventing it from slipping away and making it easy for the lamprey's crew to hop onboard and kill everyone….I mean, say hi to their new friends. They cannot land on the ground, but they can float on the water. It cannot move on the water as it does not have anything resembling a mast or sail, meaning the ship is at the mercy of the tides.

A lamprey is armed with four ballistae, all found on what is aptly named the battle deck. Three ballistae are mounted to the front of the ship, one facing forward while the other two are at 45-degree angles, one on the starboard side and the other on the port side. The remaining ballista is mounted on the back of the ship. It's located directly in front of the entrance to below deck. Below deck is where you'll find all the rooms on the ship, including the bridge, Spelljammer's, crew, captain's quarters, mess hall, and the cargo hold. The front part of the below deck, approximately 20 square feet, comprises the nuts and bolts of the grappling jaws.

The Living Ship

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 250
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 40 ft. (4 1/2 mph)
Cargo: 10 tons
Crew: 5 (plus treant)
Keel/Beam: 80 ft./20 ft.
Cost: 25,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (4), Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.

History - There were no living ships in the earlier editions or any I could find. Some elven ships used unique wood that could heal a space boat, but that's a far cry from having a treant as a part of the ship.

5th Edition - The Living Ship doesn't mean you'll fly around inside an astral dreadnought or any other gigantic space creature. The mature treant growing in the aft gives the living ship its name. The treat's roots are one with the ship's aft hull and cannot be removed from the ship, even in death. If you treat the ship right, the treant will repair the ship and refresh your fresh air bubble. If you don't, and it's reduced to 0 hit points, the treant dies, and you'll be flying around with a dead tree forever. Like many other ships, it will float and sail on the water, but there is no landing on the ground, or you risk tipping over.

The ship has decks. The sterncastle in the uppermost deck. Here you'll find the treant and your ship's ballista. The main deck is where you'll find the bridge and small cargo space. The head and companionway are also here, but I've previously left them out of our discussion. They are only necessary to mention because the treant's roots pass through these locations.

The crew deck contains the mess hall, a large cargo space, the galley, and the captain and Spelljammer's quarters. In the very back of this deck is the brig. It's the first ship we've seen with a jail, but it won't be the last. The cargo deck has four main rooms. There's a slightly smaller cargo hold in the hull than on the crew deck. Six extra hammocks are in the middle of the ship. Not sure why this is here, but at least you'll have additional sleeping quarters if you take on more crew. A large stateroom in the aft section of the ship.

The Nautiloid

Armor Class: 15 (wood)
Hit Points: 400
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 40 ft. (4 1/2 mph)
Cargo: 17 tons
Crew: 20
Keel/Beam: 180 ft./30 ft.
Cost: 50,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (4) Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Mangonel (1) Crew 4, AC 15, HP 100, Cost: (cannon), 100 gp (mangonel), 0 gp (stone). Mangonel Stone - Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.
Tentacles As an action, the ship’s spelljammer can make one of the following attacks with the ship’s tentacles. Grappling Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 30 ft., one Huge or Gargantuan target. Hit: 22 (4d10) bludgeoning damage, and the nautiloid’s speed becomes 0 until its spelljammer uses an action to release the target. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 16). If the target is another ship, the target’s speed becomes 0 until the nautiloid releases it, or until the target or the nautiloid drops to 0 hit points.
Teleport. Melee Spell Attack: +8 to hit, reach 30 ft., one creature. Hit: The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be teleported to an unoccupied space aboard the nautiloid that the nautiloid’s spelljammer can see.

History - The Concordance of Arcane Space (1989) brings us the Nautiloid, the preferred vessel of mind flayers everywhere. The ships would usually have 15 crew members but also up to 20 humanoid enslaved people, who would also act as crew. I'm sure these poor individuals got the worst jobs possible, including manning the ship's two catapults. It may seem odd, but remember, they were also the first targets an enemy ship would attack.

Nautiloids were commonly used as a pirate, military, and trading ships. Nautiloid pirate ships would masquerade as trading ships, allowing them the get close to their target, then strike with deadly consequences. A nautiloid isn't used in the mind flayer's astral navy but could be used as a spy and scout ship when needed. Nautiloids make up the bulk of the mind flayer's trading fleet.

5th Edition - The strangest ship we've looked at so far, the nautiloid is a mind flayer ship. It looks like a giant snail, but with long tentacles where a snail's head would be. It cannot float in the water or land on the ground, as it was built only to travel through space. The main feature of this ship is its ability to teleport the ship and everyone on it to a different plane of existence. You need to be attuned to the Spelljammer helm, but once you are, you can open what looks like a mini black hole. You, the ship, and all your friends are then on your way to a destination on a different plane you can envision. Roll well (a 5-6 on a d6), and you teleport again within 1 minute. Otherwise, it takes 24 hours to recharge.

The nautiloid has seven decks. The command deck sits at the very top of the ship, with only the captain's chair in this location. Next is the observation deck, split into two separate parts. The bow houses an observation deck so you can gaze out into the void, along with the three ballistae at the front of the ship on the bridge deck below. The aft portion of this deck is where you'll find the Spelljammer's helm. You can find the bridge deck below. The bridge provides direct access to the battle deck below, and the captain's quarters are in the aft section of the deck. The Battle deck houses the mangonel at the front of the ship, along with the chart room, extra sails, and two separate thrall rooms.

The battle prow is under the front of the battle deck. It's a small 15 by 20 feet area where the final ballista sits. Next up is the cargo deck. There is a huge cargo area, the mess hall, galley, and guard post on this level. The guard post provides access to the battle prow above and the prison deck below. The prison deck also has a guard post, mind flayer's quarters, the jailer's quarters, a storage area, and nine jail cells. The giant tentacles of the nautiloid are also located on the prison deck, but there is no access to them. If these tentacles successfully grapple your ship, I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing the inside one of the jail cells, as long as you're not dead.

The Nightspider

Armor Class: 19 (metal)
Hit Points: 300
Damage Threshold: 15
Speed: fly 40 ft. (4 1/2 mph)
Cargo: 50 tons
Crew: 25
Keel/Beam: 175 ft./50 ft.
Cost: 50,000 gp
Weapons: Ballista (4) Crew 3, AC 15, HP 50, Cost 50 gp (ballista), 5 gp (bolt). Bolt - Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Mangonel (1) Crew 4, AC 15, HP 100, Cost: (cannon), 100 gp (mangonel), 0 gp (stone). Mangonel Stone - Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 feet of it), one target. Hit: 27 (5d10) bludgeoning damage.

History - Known as the Deathspider, this neogi killing ship appears in the Concordance of Arcane Space (1989). Not a single race in the Astral Sea likes the neogi, and they are usually attacked on sight. The flip side is everyone is scared to death of these ships because no one wants to become a neogi enslaved person, who is eventually either sold off or fed to the deathspider's umber hulk crew.

Deathspiders act as the neogi's workhorse, functioning as a multi-purpose, do a bit of everything ship. They serve as troop carriers when the neogi during wartime. Trust me when I say no one wants to see a shipload of neogi and umber hulks headed toward them. Finally, the deathspider can become a broodship. Without going into too much detail, old neogi become colossal and are placed inside a deathspider's cargo hold. The old master is a breeding surrogate, holding young neogi in their abdomens. They must eat a massive amount of live flesh to sustain themselves and these baby neogis, resulting in their transforming, at least temporarily, into a broodship. Driven by their insatiable hunger, a broodship will attack any ship it comes across.

5th Edition - We talked about the neogi in our Deep Dive about them. They are not pleasant creatures. Using their nightspiders, they torment any ship that travels through the Wildspace. Laying in wait, the neogi, along with the crew of umber hulks, will ambush their prey, board them and take that ship's Spelljammer helm, along with any crew they decide not to kill. Nightspiders cannot float on water or land safely on the ground, as the long spider-like legs under the ship would be crushed under the ship's weight.

A nightspider has three decks. The battle deck sits at the top. The armory, which will be crammed full of weapons for sure, neogi and umber hulk quarters are on this deck. It's handy when they enter battle, as this deck has two ballistae in the front and two in the back. Also in the back is the ship's mangonel.

The main deck is an incredible 170 feet in length. The bridge is at the very front, and the enormous upper cargo hold takes up most of the back of the ship. The remaining rooms on this level are The Spelljammer's and captain's quarters, chart room, mess hall, galley, sail locker, umber hulk pen, and additional neogi quarters. The hold deck is at the bottom, with reverse gravity from the two upper decks. Other neogi quarters are also on this deck, along with the larder, a smaller cargo hold, jailer's quarters, and ten jail cells.

Next week we'll discuss the remaining eight ships available in the 5th edition Spelljammer setting!

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