Vipership

Vipership A vipership, also known as a darkviper, was an early human-designed spelljammer. It was highly sought after by swashbucklers, pirates, smugglers, and explorers for its ease of operation.

Description
In addition to their sleek and graceful lines, viperships were also remarkably easy to fly. They required a minimum crew of only one person, who could run the ship alone or accompanied by up to as few as three crewmates. Viperships with larger crew compliments of between 12 and 16 people were also common. The ship could support a maximum compliment of 29 individuals without compromising its air envelope.

Typical viperships were heavily armed with three medium ballistae, a catapult, and a jettison. They were most commonly powered by minor helms, but also occasionally by major helms and, more rarely, furnaces.

When operated by a single person, it was common for a vipership to be decorated to reflect its owner's personality.

A heavily armed modification of the vipership design was known as a fireviper. Typically built by humans, it was often employed as an escort ship or in planetary defense fleets. Typical firevipers were fitted with bombards that replaced two of the ballistae and sometimes the jettison. Their cargo holds were filled with smokepowder charges and had heavily reinforced armor, at the cost of reduced maneuverability. Firevipers were commonly seen as escort ships and in planetary defense duty.

Another vipership variant that was employed in planetary or even crystal sphere defense was known as a stingviper. In these versions, the medium ballistae were replaced by heavy ballistae and the aft jettison was replaced by an additional heavy ballista, which gave the design its name. These battleships also typically carried two spelljamming helms, with a backup minor helm installed in the aft section of the ship in addition to its main major helm.

History
Initially designed and built by humans, most early viperships were captured by orcs and goblins and subsequently destroyed by elves. A few captured ships survived and were sold back to humans, some of whom managed to take the design apart so refit existing ships and construct new vipership designs.

Notable Viperships

 * Tyr's Strike, the flagship of the Emerald Brotherhood, a modified vipership with improved maneuverability and firepower.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Maelstrom's Eye