The Evervictorious
Huge and unwieldy in the air, the Evervictorious is a Bombard class spelljamming ship trapped on Tarien after a mishap during the Great War. Part of the Wildspace Marines - 34th Battalion, it served as that combat unit's flagship when they broke the siege of New Solarin. Sadly, after an Elynthi assault, the ship and its two remaining crew members were flung into stasis as a side effect of a spell cast by Wilson the Wild. The crew emerged nearly 300 hundred years later - well after the war's completion and the expulsion of their comrades by the Mircle of Rebirth.
Without a crew to man the vessel and its many weapons, Colonel Marquis the Decanus, commanding officer of the 34th began the process of recruiting local talent. As none of these hired hands could ever fulfill the roles needed to command such a ship, he has taken it upon himself to serve as Noble Helmsman (who tells the actual helmsman what to do) in addition to his role as captain. He has also, reluctantly, given the position of Master Gunsman to Private Geoffri the Nearsighted. The private, who was a fine Puissant Crafter (and kept the ships great weapons working), has proven a terrible shot but the Colonel cannot bear to bestow the title of Master Gunsman - and therefore the privilege of firing the great cannon at the prow of the ship - to anyone else.
Without a clear mandate and in need of gold to recruit and train a new crew, The Evervictorious now travels about northwest Tarien, from the welcoming ports of Nerridon and Furnof to other, less cultured destinations like Gartcha and Yaty where the ship must land - precariously - well outside of the city and sail into port in order to avoid another 'incident' like the one they had in Dar'Reth. (No one will discuss the incident but merchants have noted a new crater just outside of town.) Unfortunately for the Evervictorious, various mishaps have kept their profits have been low, barely keeping up with the expenses of running such a might ship. The financial situation is so dire that the Colonel has been considering alternate lines of work claiming that "Just once I'd like to a job and get paid for that job."
Like most Giff ships the Evervictorious is armed with three ballista on each side. While effective, these weapons are considered old fashioned and a bit dull and are usually manned by the youngest Giff airmen. Her pride, over, is the massive Thunder Tube built into her prow. This cannon, size of three or four Thunder Tubes, requires two horns of Smoke Powder to fire its massive cannonballs in a deafening explosion. Given its size, it cannot be aimed in any manner other than by pointing the ship directly at its target.
Unlike other Bombard class ships, the Evervictoriousis capable of sustained in-sphere flight through a series of ingenious mechanisms. Travel in Wildspace still requires an arcane helmsman but, given their lack of innate magical talent, Giff inventors have worked hard to make their ships self-sustainable as possible. First, the ship is held aloft by several large balloons that are filled with gases that, when heated, cause the ship to rise. The crew can control their altitude by adjusting the temperature of the air. While this is easier managed with manage a forge in the center of the ship can be used for this purpose. The ship moves forward through a pair of giant circular fans attached to the sides of the ship by nacelles. These spin, the pushing air behind them and propelling the airship forward. Like the balloons, these propels can be powered magically through the ships helm or manually by a bank of propellers. Like rowers in an ocean going vessel, the propellers use physical force to move the fans. Instead of rowing with their arms, however, the propellers run in place, moving a series of foot pedals in a circular motion. Each fan is connected to a bank of eight, Giff sized rowers though even a pair of rowers can move the ship forward, especially if there is a tailwind. Both altitude and speed are also impacted by the weight of the vessel and in a pinch the crew can toss barrels of water, crates of food, ballista, and even prisoners of war overboard. The massive cannon on the bombard is built directly into the ship and cannot be evicted from the ship even in the most dire of circumstances. Though, in truth, Colonel Marquis would rather see the ship crash than lose its signature weapon.
Type
Great Bombard
Great Bombard
Owning Organization
Current location