Spelljammer (spelljammer)

Spelljammer "The Spelljammer is no god, but it is a child of a god, the seed of a god. It will one day spring forth as a full-blown god, and we will be there to worship it."

- St. Janeti

The Spelljammer was a legendary sentient ship. It was the only one of its kind and the largest spelljammer in all known space.

Description
The Spelljammer was shaped like a cross between a manta ray and a scorpion. It was enormous, almost twice as wide as it was long.

The ship was highly intelligent. Its advanced and alien intellect allowed it to move at spelljamming velocities and to cross between wildspace and the phlogiston at will. When doing so, it left permanent openings on crystal spheres that could be used by other ships.

Normal operation of the Spelljammer required no crew. It produced its own crew of constructs, known as shivaks, to perform maintenance tasks. However, the ship could support a population of over 5,000 passengers of all races, who inhabited the various towers located in the citadel on the ship's back. The ship constantly emitted a magical substance into its air envelope that caused all living creatures onboard to become charmed by it. Unless the individual managed to resist the effect or if blocked by a dispel magic, wall of force, or antimagic spell, the Spelljammer inspired all onboard to defend it and prevent anyone from harming it. It also made it impossible for a charmed creature to leave the ship voluntarily.

History
The origin of the Spelljammer was surrounded by myth and legend. No precise records were known, but it was believed to be as old as the crystal spheres themselves.

The Spelljammer first received its name from the elves, and all other spelljammers were named after it.

The Spelljammer visited Toril in the Year of Nightsilver, 623 DR. It was seen by Amlaruil Moonflower gliding over the waters on Evermeet's northern coast.

The Spelljammer was once sighted over Kara-Tur, on an unknown date in the 32 year of the reign of an emperor of Shou Lung, as recorded by the emperor's scribe, Lu Pi. The emperor, who saw the Spelljammer himself, ordered Lu Pi to search for the ship and bring it for his personal collection.

Some time before the 13 century DR, the Krynnish gnome Judd Oskoshtormirange witnessed the destruction of a Spelljammer at the hands of the neogi. Judd, at the time a slave on board one of the neogi ships, reported that the neogi assault required a fleet of over fifty ships, most of which were destroyed, considerably weakening the neogi presence in wildspace ever since.

Rumors & Legends
The Spelljammer was surrounded by myths and rumors. The sea elf Dolphinlaugh claimed to have witnessed the ship sailing above the surface of Toril and felt the strong allure of the ship. Another Torilian, Kali Makabuck, claimed that the largest stores of gold and books were to be found aboard the ship. Kali was also familiar with the rumor that no adventurer who had set out to explore the Spelljammer had ever returned.

Inhabitants

 * Austinius Corbundium, a satyr from the Elven Court who was forcibly summoned by a group of adventurers and brought to wildspace. He later lived in transit between different places, including the Rock of Bral, until he finally set up residence on the Spelljammer, where he lived as a priest known as "Father Goat".
 * An enclave of approximately 80 humans from Shou Lung led by Si Loo inhabited the Shou Tower in the Citadel district of the Spelljammer. They considered themselves "pure" and racially superior to other humans, including Shou and Wa inhabitants of other districts.

Ecology
The Spelljammer was a living ship. As such, it reproduced by creating smaller versions of itself: ships known as smalljammers. The ship could only create these smaller spacecraft when a captain, chosen by the ship itself, was in command of its spelljamming helm. During a captain's tenure, the Spelljammer created about 100 smalljammers. When in the phlogiston, the ship released its young, in an event known as "the Flight". The smalljammers then spread to as many crystal spheres as possible, in the hope that a few of them might survive long enough to reach maturity.

In the event of the destruction of the Spelljammer, a signal of its death was propagated through the Ethereal plane until it reached the nearest smalljammer. It then grew to become a full-sized Spelljammer, identical to its predecessor, within one year. Only one adult Spelljammer existed at any given time.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Maelstrom's Eye &bull; The Radiant Dragon &bull; Finder's Bane
 * Into the Void &bull; Tymora's Luck
 * Into the Void &bull; Tymora's Luck