Tied for Second Place in the SJ Business Challenge!
The Three Moons Brewing Company is a small family brewery operating out of a Tradesman ship based in Jolanspace (a home-brew sphere, but almost any sphere could be substituted with only a few changes). The company brews only a small amount of ale, but it is reputed to be the best ale that can be found in the entire sphere. Owned and operated by the halfling Janbar Honeywine (somewhat of a misnomer since Janbar in fact only brews ale) and his extended family, the Three Moons' ship (the Sweetwater) is a frequent and welcome sight at the several asteroid bases in the sphere. Although the Sweetwater is only lightly armed, and would seem to make a tempting target for pirates, her popularity means that she often travels with an escort from the Imperial Elven Navy, or the Loquic League (a primarily human nation in Jolanspace, or you can substitute any asteroid empire, spacefaring nation, etc.), and so pirates usually leave the Three Moons Brewing Company alone.
Three Moons currently brews 9 different types of ale. The most popular ale amongst their elven customers is their honey ale, while the humans of the Loquic League prefer the darker 'black ale.' The Three Moons Brewing Company has a very protracted and complex plan which they follow in order to brew a batch of ale. First they travel to the outer asteroid belt of Jolanspace; known locally as the Frost Belt. They then attach the Sweetwater to one of the countless spinning balls of ice which the asteroid belt is made up of. The Sweetwater then travels to the desert world of Denboo to retrieve the best, sweetest water in the sphere from the savage elven settlement of Seeque. The elves of Seeque have built a special landing cradle for the Sweetwater, and there is a pit within which the halflings place the ice which they ahve brought. This large quantity of drinkable, but unremarkable, water is traded for a relatively small amount of water from the underground spring at Seeque, which the savage elves hold sacred. With this blessed water in their hold the Three Moons Brewing Company then travels to the heavily volcanic moon of Ingor, which has the most fertile soil in the sphere. The Three Moons purchase the best hopps and barley, as well as anything which they need for various specialty ales (such as their wheat ale), from the human farmers there (members of the Loquic League). This journey for ingredients is always undertaken at a time when the previous brewing is almost ready to be sold, and after leaving Ingor the Sweetwater goes to various locations where the ale can be sold. There are several places where the Sweetwater always goes to sell ale (such as the IEN asteroid base of Revlalar), but the route she takes is not set in stone. Sometimes Janbar takes the ship only to settlements within Jolanspace, but the Sweetwater is not an unfamiliar sight in ports as much as 3 or 4 spheres away (in other words the Sweetwater can show up anywhere the DM wants).
Twenty one members of the Honeywine family (and their cousins the Chubbs) are employed by Three Moons. All of these halflings are capable sailors, but they each also specialize in different aspects of the brewing operation which takes place in the hold of the ship. The two master brewers, Janbar Honeywine and Falco Chubb, serve as the captain and first mate of the Sweetwater, respectively. Boldol Honeywine (Janbar's brother) handles all of the financial aspects of the business, and is the person who buyers of Three Moons ale most frequently encounter. Dar Honeywine, a specialty priestess of Yondalla the Provider (see Dragon magazine #177) and the wife of Janbar, is most often at the helm, but she also serves as the cook and provisioner for the Sweetwater. Dar's daughter, Hopul (level 2), and Falco Chubb's son, Ferrick (level 3), are also members of Yondalla's clergy, and serve as backup helmsmen.
The Sweetwater is a fairly typical Tradesman, except that it has been equipped with a magical Rudder of Speed (+1 SR) that was recieved as payment from a Galleon full of thirsty dwarves. The armament is standard, as is the rigging. Below decks a great deal of modifications have been made, however. The spelljamming helm (a major helm) has been moved from the traditional location at the back of the ship (area 12 on the deckplans included in the Spelljammer Campaign box) to the bridge at the front (area 1). The space freed up by this (area 12) has been converted into crew quarters, and is filled with comfortable halfling-sized beds, separated from each other by heavy curtains. The galley/kitchen/pantry (area 11) remains in the same configuration as standard. The crew quarters to the starboard side of the aft stairs (area 10) are set up in a similar manner to the converted crew quarters in the aft (area 12). The chart room in the fore of the Sweetwater (area 3) serves double duty as the accounting office, and Boldol has his bed here. The captain's quarters (area 4) are used as the living area of Janbar and his wife Dar, who has set up a small shrine to Yondalla the Provider in one corner of the quarters. A small hut has been built abovedecks on the central sailing deck to perform the functions of the sail locker (area 8) and the locker (area 5). The head (area 6) has been moved to the former locker (area 5). The rest of the space belowdecks (areas 6, 7, 8, and 9) has been converted into the brewery. The only one of these areas which has not had the wall torn down is the former crew quarters (area 9) which now serves as the storeroom for tuns of ale. The middle of the aft staircase has been converted to a ramp slightly higher then the level of the stairs, so that ale barrels can be easily rolled up for unloading, while the crew walk up and down the sides of the staircase.
The Sweetwater
Built by: Humans (of the Curnal shipyards in the Loquic League)
Used by: Halflings of the Three Moons Brewing Company
Tonnage: 25 tons
Hull Points: 25
Crew: 10/25; 15/50 halflings (actual crew 21)
Maneuverability Class: D
Landing: no
Armour Rating: 5
Saves as: Thick Wood
Power Type: Major Helm
Ship's Rating: As for helmsman +1 (5 for Dar, 2 for Hopul, 2 for
Ferrick)
Armament:
1 Light catapult
Crew: 1
1 Medium ballista
Crew: 2
Cargo: 13 tons (almost entirely taken up by brewing operation)
Keel Length: 120'
Beam Length: 30'
Janbar Honeywine: AL CG; AC 5 (leather armour, buckler shield, DEX bonus); MV 6; halfing (hairfeet) male F6; hp 31; THAC0 15; # AT 1; Dmg by weapon type (dagger, short sword, sling); S 12, D 16, C 10, I 17, W 13, Ch 14; NWP Brewing (3 slots, check 19), Cooking (check 17), Gaming (check 14), Leadership (2 slots, check 12), Celestial Navigation (check 15), Sail Manipulation, Semaphore (check 17); WP dagger (specialist), short sword, sling, ballista, catapult.
Janbar is a middle-aged halfling of 61 years who inherited the Sweetwater from his uncle. His uncle was a simple trader, but Janbar had trained as a brewer in the halfling settlement of Finedale on the moon of Ingor, and he had no idea of how to be a trading captain. Instead, enlisting the help of his cousin and best friend Falco Chubb (who had trained alongside him), he decided to convert the ship into a brewery. Janbar thought himself very clever, since he knew that a local brewery paid merchants exorbitant prices for water imported from Denboo. By setting up his brewery in a ship he could cut out the middle man and get the water himself. His idea would also allow him to transport the finished product directly to his customers. Furthermore, since he owned the ship he would not have to pay rent for a building in which to house his brewery. Janbar had intially hired a human mage to spelljam for him, but he and the man did not get along very well, and at an asteroid base in a nearby sphere Janbar dismissed the man, hiring in his place a plump halfling priestess named Dar Goodpipe. Within the space of a year the two were married, and expecting their first child. Janbar is a cheerful, but somewhat driven halfling. He is somewhat obsessed with brewing the best ale in the spheres, and supporting his family comfortably in the process. Janbar greatly enjoys gambling with dice, cards, and stones, and when in port he can often be found in taverns playing a few friendly games. Janbar is always careful to limit his bets to 10 gp at the most, but he usually comes out slightly ahead.
Falco Chubb: AL NG; AC 7 (leather armour, DEX bonus); MV 6; halfing (hairfeet) male F4; hp 24; THAC0 17; # AT 1; Dmg by weapon type (short sword, sling, short bow); S 9, D 15, C 10, I 16, W 10, Ch 8; NWP Brewing (3 slots, check 18), Hunting (check 9), Celestial Navigation (check 14), Sail Manipulation, Semaphore (check 16), Weapon Loader, Catapult; WP Dagger, Short Bow, Sling (specialist), Short Sword.
Falco Chubb is the cousin and best friend of Janbar Honeywine. The two grew up together, spending almost all of their time together. When Janbar began to learn the art of brewing, it was only natural that Falco would do the same. In the years since Falco has grown to truly love his work. Falco enjoys his life on the Sweetwater, but sometimes he misses being planetside, where he used to enjoy hunting rabbits with his sling.
Boldol Honeywine: AL LN; AC 8 (leather armour); MV 6; halfing (hairfeet) male F2/T2; hp 10; THAC0 19; # AT 1; Dmg by weapon type (short sword, dagger); S 12, D 11, C 9, I 14, W 13, Ch 17; NWP Appraising (3 slots, check 16), Weapon Loader, Ballista; WP Dagger, Short Sword.
Boldol Honeywine is Janbar's little brother, and is in charge of dealing with customers, suppliers, and the finances in general. Boldol is very likeable, and people who deal with him almost always leave with the impression that he genuinely cares about them. In fact this isn't really the case, as Boldol is slightly selfish, and always looking for a legal way to come out ahead. Boldol is very loyal to his family, but he secretly considers that he is the most important part of the Three Moons operation.
Dar Honeywine: AL LG; AC 8 (Dex bonus); MV 6; halfling (hairfeet) female P6 (specialty priestess of Yondalla the Provider); hp 21; THAC0 18; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon type (mace); S 8, D 12, C 11, I 15, W17, Ch 14; NWP Spelljamming, Healing, Herbalism, Cooking; WP Mace, Catapult.
Dar is the devoted wife of Janbar. Before meeting Janbar she spent her days travelling the spheres, signing on to ships as either a helmsman or a healer. Dar enjoyed the time she spent in this adventurous manner, and she especially enjoyed meeting halflings from many different worlds, often serving in the role of judge for small communities of halflings as a part of her priestly duties. When Dar met Janbar it was love at first sight. As a priestess of Yondalla, Dar had always felt it was her duty to raise a large family, and she knew right away that Janbar was the halfling who she wanted to raise a family with. Dar sometimes misses her adventuring days, but she is much happier with her family. Dar feels as if she is responsible for everyone aboard the Sweetwater, and they in turn see her as a mother figure.
