Rudder of propulsion
Description A rudder of propulsion resembles any normal rudder found on a junk or similar watercraft used by the cultures of Kara-Tur on Toril, including the nation of Wa and the Empire of Shou Lung.
Description
A rudder of propulsion resembles any normal rudder found on a junk or similar watercraft used by the cultures of Kara-Tur on Toril, including the nation of Wa and the Empire of Shou Lung.
History
The rudder of propulsion was developed by the groundling nation of Wa from the planet of Toril in Realmspace for use on the small fighter-class vessels known as Locusts.
Powers
A rudder of propulsion is designed to propel any ship between 0.5 ton and 4 tons at a SR of 6 and a maneuverability class of A. The rudder functions by creating a small gravitational force behind the vessel, which can propel it through water, wildspace and the phlogiston.
However, the rudder is extremely vulnerable to fire and is not powerful enough to escape the gravity-well of any celestial body greater than size A. If the pilot wishes to, they may land on any such planet and travel freely within its' atmosphere, but they will be unable to leave the confines of the atmospheric envelope without outside help, possibly by being carried outside the planet's gravity well by another spelljamming ship (such as the Tsunami).
No more than one rudder of propulsion may be mounted on a single vessel. If a pair of rudders are mounted on a ship, their gravitational forces cancel each other out. Because the magic of a rudder of propulsion is not sympathetic with that of a helm, when one is mounted on a ship which already has an active helm, a number of side effects may occur, including the helmsman falling unconscious, the ship losing speed, the ship gaining speed and forging ahead in a straight line without stopping until the rudder is removed, the rudder exploding, the ship's gravity plane reversing direction, the helm ceasing to function until the rudder is removed, or the helm itself exploding and destroying the ship.