Second Place Winner in the Unique Ship Challenge III!
The Regal of Stars is an incredibly beautiful ship. All of the sails are of a deep blue color trimmed with golden thread and embroiled with alien runes. The wood of the ship has been polished and stained so deeply that the grain has taken a deep crimson hue. All metal parts are of an alloy of gold and mithral, which shimmer in the starlight of many spheres. The craft is actually much sturdier than it appears; it was constructed from Bloodwood (a reddish variety of ironwood) and magically enchanted for extra strength.
Of the hundreds of pirate hunters throughout all of Known Space, few are as feared as the Regal. The Regal is both feared for its deadly armament and for its extremely deadly captain, Athura, a renegade reigar. Athura leads an elite crew of lakshu amazons, helots, and a mixed bag of other races Athura has picked up over the years. This ship has taken many commissions over the years, usually at very high prices. In all cases, the result of these commissions are extremely satisfactory to her employers. At least two pirate ships have surrendered on the spot at sight of the Regal coming for them.
The history of the Regal is marked with numerous victories. Her most recent victories were against the scro. The Elvish Fleet hired the Regal to intercept a secret shipment of magical items the scro were transporting to a conquered elvish world. After a long series of fights, the Regal left two mantis ships and a viper ship left to burn in space and a scro tradesman in toe. As a direct result, the scro lost a number of ground conflicts and were eventually driven from several elvish forests and forced to retreat to a handful of conquered cities. Past commissions include working for the illithids (who wanted to 'pay back' neogi slavers who shortchanged them), beholders (to take out a renegade ship that fled their clan), and various human nations to deal with marauding pirate ships.
All of the Regal's weapons have been magically enchanted by the Reigar. The hull itself has been enchanted for extra strength and repels attacks with ease. The ship is equipped with a planetary locator, a hold of holding (15 tons), 35 mage shots, and a rudder of speed +2. The Regal may have other magical devices aboard.
Athura
CN Reigar female bard 14th level
Among the reigar, Athura is considered a renegade. Still young and headstrong, she left her kind years ago for a life of adventure. After serving as a crewman on a dozen ships, she eventually won position of captain on a squidship (after the former captain tried to force himself upon her; it is not know what exactly his fate was). After another year of work, she earned enough money to commission construction of the Regal. Ever since then, she has taken a particular passion in the eradication of pirates.
Athura is exotically beautiful. She keeps her deep red hair very long with crystal beads braided into it. Her skin has taken a tanned appearance from her love of adventure in hot spheres. Most apparent is her glorious halo about her entire body. This halo glows with a life of its own, glowing golden when she is pleased and takes a brimstone red hue when she is angered. The effect is quite frightening to her enemies, and any NPC that faces her must make an immediate moral check (with a -2 penalty) or flee from her.
Athura is armed with a gemsword +4 with three gemstones (one each of cabochon, crown-cut, and square-cut stones). In addition to the normal powers of any gemstone, Athura has further enchanted her weapon to "flash" a continual light spell at will, being able to direct it to blind her opponents. In addition to her gemsword, Athura has a shakti in the form of a great radiant dragon. It grants her an AC 0, massive wings that allow flight (MC B, MV 48), and allows her project a cone of force that inflicts 4d8 points of damage (50' long, 10' wide at end). It also gives her a secondary weapon in the form of a powerfist (mimics the Bigby hand spells) that allows her to attack with her fist for 2d8 points of damage in addition to her attack with her gemsword. Other magical items include a Lyre of the Spheres, a pair of figurines of wondrous power (lions), a necklace of missiles, a horn of blasting, and at least two other magical items.
Lioness
N Lakshu female Fighter 8th level
Lioness is the highest ranking lakshu aboard the Regal. She is also the toughest fighter and extremely brilliant in combat. She is second in command and as such, is in charge of the forward weapons. She personally commands the helots assigned to operate the forward catapult, and is the first to leap into any boarding action. In battle, she dons a suit of armor with lion-like features, giving her AC 0. The suit comes with twin claws that she can attack (d6 damage each) with if her flaming bastard sword +3 is knocked from her hands. Her suit also gives her the ability to roar, causing all within 30' of her to save vs. paralyzation or be stunned for 2d4 rounds. Only Athura herself is more dangerous in battle.
When relaxing, Lioness lets her thick green hair down and discards her heavy armor. She strips down to her under garments to enjoy the freedom of movement. She always keeps her Shakti around her neck in case of battle, allowing her to don her armor in a single round. For the most part, she enjoys casual gossip with the rest of the crew after a long day at work. She is particularly proud of her many trophies and shows them off to any guest. Those not impressed by her accomplishments are coldly dismissed from her presence.
Wolf
N Lakshu female fighter/mage 6/6th level
Wolf is somewhat an anomaly among her kind. Not only is she a great warrior, she also has the abilities of a magic user. Though her skills at the Art of magic are limited, she has learned many combat related spells. Her personal favorites are magic missile, web, and blur. When engaged in battle, she magically dons her suit of armor with a wolf theme. Her suit comes equipped with a rapier +2, which she wields with great skill. If the battle starts to go against her, she can howl, unleashing a blade barrier that moves with her and provides her with great protection. When not in personal combat, her duties are to direct and aid the helots manning the rear catapult.
Off duty, Wolf enjoys a much different attire. She prefers a loose fitting white shirt, a pair of brown trousers, and knee-high black boots. If not for her feminine form and her emerald green hair, one could easily mistake her for some dashing noble hero. She likes to think of herself as one, romancing handsome young men when in dock. Unfortunately, her strong personality and dominance has scared away more than one potential suitor.
Mouse
N Lakshu female fighter/thief 3/6
Mouse is Athura's "undercover" operative. She is extremely skilled in infiltration and extracting information from people. Despite her young age, Mouse is an accomplished warrior and a skilled thief. She has worked in several large cities, including Greyhawk, Waterdeep, and the Rock of Bral. She has a knack for blending in and adapting to odd cultures. With the aid of her magical items, there are few cities that she can't disappear in. More than once she has joined a pirate ship as an innocent sail hand, only to betray them at a critical point when the Regal attacks. Usually, she strikes at the helmsman, slaying him and crippling the vessel before escaping via her ring of recall.
Mouse keeps her sea green hair cut short to accommodate wigs and her helmet. Her skin color varies greatly and can go from very dark (after hours of sun bathing) to pasty white, depending on the circumstances of her assignment. In battle, she dons a suit of armor with fearsome rat features. A short sword of quickness is her primary weapon, and her secondary weapon is a dagger of venom (both of which she can use in battle at once). Mouse does not, however, like to go toe to toe with her opponents. Instead, she likes to use hit and run tactics, tumbling skills, and quick moves to take opponents out one by one.
Off duty, Mouse likes relaxing by reading. For an odd reason, she has taken a liking to Scave, and the two spend much time together. The two have developed a friendship, but nothing more.
Scave
CN "Human" male fighter 3rd level
The youngest member of the Regal, Scave is somewhat an orphan. His past is quite interesting, and he has come far from his early beginnings. Scave is a 5' 2" human boy of 15 years of age with raven black hair, a pair of reddish eyes, and, when angered, the demeanor of a predator.
Scave was not always human. At one time he was a night scavver preying on ships in Greyspace. However, everything changed ten years ago when he raided the Regal. Athura, unconcerned with the scavver, cast a randomized polymorph spell upon it, hoping for a creature that would give her crew a better fight (like a dragon or like creature). She was not prepared for the scavver to be transformed into a 5-year old human boy. Somewhat guilty about the prospect of killing a boy, Athura took him in. Ever since then, Scave has had to learn to adjust to his new form. He has learned to be human, but sometimes regress to his more base nature in battle. He is slowly becoming a skilled warrior. He is armed with a longsword +1, and Athura has promised him a Shakti when he comes of age. When off duty, he spends his time with Mouse, having developed a fast friendship with the only other person near his age.
Bah-thurk
CG Dragon-kin male Priest (of Bahamut) 9th level
For years Bah-thurk was an ordinary dragon-kin, waylaying travelers for magic items. Things changed a few years ago, however, when he had a chance encounter with an avatar of Bahamut. An evil adventuring group was desecrating one of Bahamut's temples, and he dispatched an avatar to deal with them. Unfortunately, the avatar was not prepared for a magical item of bonding that entrapped him. Bah-thurk, attracted to the magic, swooped in and slew the priest. He was about to leave when the avatar itself caught his eye. He was fascinated with the magical creature, and helped it kill the remaining adventurers. After the battle, the avatar bestowed great insight to Bah-thurk, who gained in intelligence and wisdom. He became a priest of Bahamut at that moment, and has served as his agent ever since.
Since joining the crew of the Regal, Bah-thurk has enjoyed the pirate hunts and the destruction of evil beings greatly. He hopes to convert new followers to his god, but has found few takers other than a small tribe of lizardmen. Two of the lizardmen, female daughters of the tribe's shawmen, joined the crew of the Regal. Both are 3rd level priests of Bahamut.
Remaining Crew:
5 Lakshu warriors (Fighters 5th level)
9 Giff warriors (Fighters 4th level)
24 helots (golem-like golden elves, HD 5)
