This is the vessel given to the party by the Storm Mother Syrisie after she captured them in an ill-fated plot.
Appearance[]
It is a sleek, rounded ship about nine yards long and three yards across, made of black jade with orichalcum plating and trim, and clearly an ancient product of the First Age. It has two very large viewing hatches in the front and a port on the top just big enough for Largo and Sharha to fit through, and appears to be made for swimming through the water rather than sailing over it. It (very vaguely) resembles a legless beetle.
It has very thin walls and was constructed with a minimalist philosophy, though the minimalism of the High First Age is fairly impressive. It contains air purifiers and a water filter that can purify salt water from outside the vessel, sharply decreasing the amount of onboard supplies that need be carried. This is a good thing, because there isn't a lot of room, especially since Sharha takes up the entirety of the cargo bay if they need be submerged. There's enough space for the contents of the cargo bay to be stacked on top of the Solars, uncomfortably, for short-term and emergencies, or generally when the party needs to dive for a little while. Fortunately, there is a small deck atop the vessel, which provides room for the Simhata and allows cramped Solars a bit of space to stretch their legs besides.
Perhaps its most impressive feature, however, is its ability to collapse. The controller can press a button on the control panel to cause its articulations to collapse on themselves and the artifact to fold around into a barrel-shaped cylinder only about a yard high. In this configuration, the hearthstone is right on the top center of the artifact and many of the more delicate instruments are close to the surface and easy to get to, though not exposed. It is easier to repair in this state. Finally, and importantly, one of the core design aspects becomes obvious- there is very little material at all in the entire vessel, and it weighs only about 200 pounds in either configuration. It's not only easily transportable, it's borderline concealable.
The vessel also does not seem to be made for long, extended voyages. It requires a fair amount of maintenance and by First Age standards does not move particularly fast (at least for an Essence-powered vehicle), though it's quite fast by modern standards. Breaking character for a moment, it is roughly akin to a very nice underwater golf cart in a world of quasi-medieval technology. First Age Solars would never be reduced to such degrading travel conditions- but it's not bad by modern standards.
It requires a two-dot hearthstone to power it, along with a commitment of five motes. It is currently attuned to Adamant Fern.
A couple members noticed the number 9 on the side of the vessel in an Old Realm script, but aside from that, no name is apparent on it. The party has taken to calling it the Resplendent Dolphin IX.
Stats[]
Speed: 20/40 MPH/960 miles per day (half speed underwater)
Maneuverability: +1S (Lore 2, Sail 3)
- DV with Fern as Captain: ( 3 (Wits) + 2 (Sail) + 1 (Maneuverability) - 1 (Failure to meet Minimums) ) / 2 = DV 3
- DV with Dax as Captain: ( 5 (Wits) + 3 (Sail) + 1 (Maneuverability) - 1 (Failure to meet Minimums) ) / 2 = DV 4
Endurance:
- Attunement Cost - 5 motes
- Requires level-2+ Hearthstone
- Requires maintenance every month of regular use, or every two weeks of continuous use
- Difficulty 5 (Int + Craft) roll for Fern
- 3 base, +1 for being a point shy in Craft, +1 for substituting base Craft for magitech
- Difficulty 5 (Int + Craft) roll for Fern
- Takes one hour, doubling time reduces difficulty by 1
- Requires Resources 3 worth of repair materials
Crew: 1/1
Cargo: Carries 5 passengers, 1 simhata, and food for a few weeks
Armor: 15L/15B
Health Levels: Ux8/Mx6/Cx4/Ix2/D
Other Notes: Easily carried by Shahra or other characters in retracted form