Neogi mindspider

Neogi Mindspider A neogi mindspider was a small and maneuverable spelljammer employed by the neogi in addition to their standard deathspiders.

Description
Mindspiders were small, fast, and maneuverable ships. They were more resistant than deathspiders, despite being less heavily armed. A mindspider needed a minimum crew of three neogi to operate and could sustain up to 40 individuals without compromising its air supply. The crew usually included umber hulks and slaves of other races, subjugated to the captain's command via charm spells. Crew hierarchy functioned as in other neogi vessels: the entire crew was seen as the property of its captain.

Mindspiders were employed in a variety of functions. Most typically, they were used in situations that called for more sublety, in which the large size of a deathspider could be problematic. Another common use for a mindspider was as the flagship in a fleet of deathspiders, the lair of the fleet's owner.

Less commonly, mindspiders were also employed as pirate vessels, commanded by renegade neogi captains. Such neogi could go rogue, for example, to escape from being transformed into great old masters. Ship modifications for this purpose could include more heavy armament, or changes to increase its stealth and maneuverability.

History
Sometime in the mid-14 century DR, a fleet of six mindspiders defending Elmonitae in the Tears of Selûne was defeated by the tsunami Storm of Honor. After salvaging the wreckage, the captain of the tsunami, Daimyo Akahu Nagasa, rescued the 100 captives that were being held on the asteroid.

Rumors & Legends
There were rumors that a neogi experiment in colonization was being carried out in mindspiders. It was possible for a mindspider to be modified to serve as a colony ship. Stripped of its engines and weapons, they were loaded with neogi eggs and an undead great old master, then deployed from their deathspider motherships onto planets deemed suitable for colonization and conquest. By the mid-14 century DR no such experiments had been successful.