The Frilitary Man-O-War is clearly a variation of the standard Man-O-War. On a Frilitary, the distinct bend in the "back" of the standard Man-O-War is absent, putting the entire fuselage on the same plain. Another difference is in the wing placement. The wings lie on a plane parallel to the body of the ship, somewhat like those of an Angelship or Aracoccra Corbina. The wings are placed this way to allow planetfall, and to allow the grappling ram to function. The "head" of the Frilitary has two bowsprits instead of one, and these can be used as a grappling ram. However, the grapple is only effective against ships smaller than, or equal in size to the Frilitary. Hard landings are handled by a set of landing legs, similar to those of a Damselfly. The legs are made of very strong metal (Mitheral is a common choice), and are grafted into the hull of the Frilitary during construction. Removing the legs destroys the ship.
In flight, the landing legs fall to the gravity plain of the ship (folding up like those of a butterfly), and never interfere with steering. When a large gravity well is entered, the legs fall into position, allowing the craft can be landed normally. When the legs are down, however, the ship does suffer a loss of maneuverability (from C to D) and this loss will continue until the ship is free of the offending gravity plain. An asteroid or other small body is not sufficient to pull down the legs. To land on such bodies, the crew must manually move them into place. This is not easy (it takes two turns), and fortunately it is rarely required. Elven Armadas, and major ports (like the Rock of Bral) typically have docking facilities for standard Man-O-War ships, and these facilities are used whenever possible.
The Frilitary was introduced during the first Unhuman War as a drop ship for troops and supplies. Groups of them would descend on target areas, usually under the cover of standard Men-O-War, or other allied craft, deposit their quarry, and quickly leave. In one noted case, a Frilitary was fitted with bombards, and the jettison was loaded with greek fire. This ship was used for strafing and bombing humanoid ground targets, then landing to dispatch troops to secure the area. Sometimes a single Frilitary was used as a command center for special operations or commando missions: While on the ground, a ship can be very difficult to find. Since the close of the wars, however, the Frilitary has fallen out of favor, especially since the Imperial Navy is nervous about landing ships powered by major helms. Still, the navy maintains a handful in mothballs, and new ones are built from time to time. Simply put, a Frilitary can go places a standard Man-O-War can not, and human built ships a re not always available or desirable.
The only standard variation on the Frilitary is the "Waterfly." This version is built with a set of pontoons as opposed to landing legs, and is designed to land on water. This variation is rarely used, even by elves, because the bloated pontoons lower the armor rating of the ship by two places. In the entire navy, only one is in service. When elves need to land on water, they prefer to drop small boats from a standard Man-O-War or Armada.
Military service is still the most common use for a Frilitary, but it has a following in other circles. Elven merchants are very fond of the Frilitary. It is clearly an elven ship (something they like), and the ability to make hard landings is very useful. Free adventurers of all races are VERY fond of the Frilitary: The grace and durability of a Man-O-War with the ability to land on planets is an excellent combination. The biggest problem with the craft is finding one!
