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Wayward Heroes 2.0 - Sand Skimmers
The inhabitants of Greenbelt have recently developed the technology to create magical, desert-going craft known as Sand Skimmers. These vehicles are powered by stones attuned to the latent planar energy of Hergia, and their design and manufacture is blossoming during a period of expansion, exploration, and competition. Herein you will find the rules for their manufacture, operation, and maintenace.
What is a Sand Skimmer?
Sand skimmers are magical vessels designed to travel rapidly across land and water. A skimmer hull is shaped much like that of a tradition boat, but is flat instead of keeled. Propulsion is provided by a marvel of arcanomechanical engineering, the planar engine. This engine is a magical construction which uses the power of arcane cores, extremely dense stones that harness the power of ambient planar energies. The design and inner workings of the stones are known only to Liel and her most trusted associates. The exact mechanism used by the engine is up for debate, but the leading theory is that the engine moves the world around the craft, allowing it to travel like a stone on ice.
While the goblin pioneer Liel is responsible for the creation of skimmers, many others have already started to adapt her original designs. The dragonborn of Panabat have weaponized fragile flasks of glass and captured energy, named shatterflasks. The deep gnomes of the Lowercity added their own invention, a devastating alchemist's fire launcher. Other towns are developing their own designs, from larger craft for the ogres of Groper Gruz to swift craft for the aarakocra of Krekoram. Expect to encounter unique craft in your travels soon!
Sand Skimmer Designs
There are four basic skimmer designs ranging from the tiny, one-man skiffs up to the Man o'War with a crew of eight. In addition, each faction has taken a ground-up approach to designing a vessel particularly suited to their own aims. Roughly organized in the study of Arcanomechanics into "Tiers", their statistics are outlined below with ability scores listed on a following page.
Sand Skimmers
| Class | Skiff | Corvette | Frigate | Man o'War | Phantom (Reclaimers) | Empryean (Resurgence) | Seeker (Wayfinders) | Juggernaut (Sentinels) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Gold Cost | 700 | 1,200 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 1,600 | 2,400 | 4,200 | 5,000 |
| Size | Large (10x5) | Huge (15x10) | Garg. (20x10) | Garg. (30x15) | Huge (15x5) | Garg. (25x10) | Garg. (30x15) | Garg. (50x20) |
| Weight (lbs.) | 600 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 800 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 6,000 |
| Cores | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Crew/Passengers | 1/1 | 2/3 | 4/6 | 8/12 | 2/3 | 3/6 | 7/10 | 9/15 |
| Speed | 90 | 70 | 60 | 50 | 100 | 75 | 60 | 40 |
| Actions Available | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Travel Pace | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Miles/Day | 40 | 48 | 64 | 80 | 48 | 80 | 100 | 64 |
| AC | 17 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| HP | 80 | 100 | 140 | 180 | 100 | 140 | 200 | 240 |
| DT | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Cargo Capacity | 1,000 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 1,500 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 16,000 |
| Standard Armament | None | 1 Medium | 1 Large | 1 Large, 1 Medium | 1 Medium | 2 Medium | 1 Large, 1 Medium | 2 Large, 1 Medium |
| Upgrade Points | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Special | Agile | - | - | Modular | Clandestine | Perennial | Enduring | Battle-Ready |
Each skimmer consists of a hull, much like a boat, and an arcane engine powered by planar cores. They may also sport sails but the engine is the main form of locomotion, using the power of planar bleedoff to pull the skimmer across the ground. The engine also allows the skimmer to pseudo-hover off the ground, only barely touching. This allows them to reach great speeds as they carve across the landscape, including liquid surfaces.
Skimmer Statistics
- Gold Cost: The total cost to purchase the skimmer on the market, price does not include any upgrades or the cost of required cores.
- Size: Size of the craft. Used when determining ramming and other contested maneuvers' resolutions.
- Weight: Weight of an unladen skimmer.
- Cores: The number of planar attuned cores required to run the skimmer. May be found in the world as remnants of lost civilizations.
- Crew/Passengers: The number of creatures it can carry. Creatures include both the crew of the vessel and any passengers who might ride along. Passengers don’t generally engage in running a ship, but they also don’t need to be mere bystanders. The number of crew also determine what actions the skimmer can perform, see Skimmers in Combat for more detail.
- Speed: The distance a vessel can move per round.
- Travel Pace: The distance the vessel can move per hour.
- Miles/Day: The number of miles a skimmer can move in a day based on the cruising speed of the craft and other factors such as time needed to recharge the engine.
- AC: Armor Class of the vessel.
- HP: Hit Points of the vessel. Note that as an object, skimmers are immune to psychic and poison damage. Skimmer HP may only be repaired in town, see Maintaining Your Craft below for more information. A skimmer’s vulnerabilities, resistances, and immunities apply to all its components, unless otherwise noted in the stat block.
- DT: Damage Thresholds provide immunity to all damage unless the vessel takes an amount of damage equal to or greater than its damage threshold, in which case it takes damage as normal. Any damage that fails to meet or exceed the damage threshold is considered superficial and doesn't reduce the skimmer's hit points.
- Cargo Capacity: The maximum amount of weight the ship can carry while still being able to move. Assume each passenger takes up 300 pounds of weight to account for all their gear, with exceptions for larger creatures or unique circumstances as determined by the DM.
- Standard Armament: The number of weapon mounts, which come in medium and large size, present on the vehicle. Weapons can be added to mounts after the construction of the vessel for no extra cost, unlike upgrades.
- Upgrade Points: A vessel with upgrade points can be modified with upgrades. See Construction below.
- Special: Special features of the skimmer, listed below.
Special Skimmer Features
- Agile: May turn up to 180-degrees as part of its move. If no Move is taken, the pilot can use their normal action and bonus action.
- Modular: Vessel can be upgraded after construction, without extra costs.
Faction specific features are are provided privately to each faction.
Upgrades
Upgrades are options that can be added to a vessel at time of construction or after the vessel has been completed. If adding upgrades to a finished vessel, they cost 50% more gold.
| Name | Point Cost | Gold Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforced Railing | 1 | 300 | Creatures aboard receive half cover from attacks originating outside the vessel |
| Extra Seats | 1 | 300 | +1 maximum crew |
| Iron Ram | 1 | 300 | Adds the Iron Ram component. See below |
| Plated Hull | 1 | 300 | Vessel has resistance to crashing damage |
| Ironwood Hull | 1 | 300 | +15% vessel HP OR +1 CON |
| Enchanted Hull | 2 | 600 | +30% vessel HP +2 CON |
| Adamantine Hull | 3 | 900 | +45% vessel HP +3 CON |
| Spoiler | 1 | 300 | +10 speed |
| Racing Stripes | 2 | 600 | +20 speed |
| Expanded Hold | 2 | 600 | crew/passenger maximums halved (rounded down) but cargo capacity is doubled |
| Skimmer Bay | 3 | 900 | Requirement: Gargantuan Skimmer. Can house 3 Large or 1 Huge Skimmer, docked skimmers count against cargo capacity |
Iron Ram
Armor Class 20 Hit Points 100 (damage threshold 10)
The skimmer has advantage on all saving throws relating to crashing when it crashes into a creature or an object. Any damage it takes from the crash is applied to the iron ram rather than to the skimmer. These benefits don’t apply if another vessel crashes into the skimmer.
Skiff
Large vehicle (10 ft. by 5 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 1 crew, 1 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 1,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 5 mph (40 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (+0) 17 (+3) 11 (+0) 0 0 0
Corvette
Huge vehicle (15 ft. by 10 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 2 crew, 3 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 3,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 6 mph (48 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 0 0 0
Frigate
Gargantuan vehicle (20 ft. by 10 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 4 crew, 6 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 6,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 8 mph (64 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 0 0 0
Man o'War
Gargantuan vehicle (30 ft. by 15 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 8 crew, 12 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 10,000 lbs
- Travel Pace10 mph (80 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 11 (0) 17 (+3) 0 0 0
Phantom
Large vehicle (15 ft. by 5 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 2 crew, 3 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 1,500 lbs
- Travel Pace 6 mph (48 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 19 (+4) 12 (+1) 0 0 0
Empyrean
Gargantuan vehicle (25 ft. by 10 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 3 crew, 6 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 6,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 8 mph (80 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+2) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 0 0 0
Seeker
Gargantuan vehicle (30 ft. by 15 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 7 crew, 10 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 12,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 12 mph (100 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 11 (0) 18 (+4) 0 0 0
Juggernaut
Gargantuan vehicle (50 ft. by 20 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 9 crew, 15 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 16,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 8 mph (64 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 (+6) 8 (-1) 21 (+5) 0 0 0
Skimmer Armaments
| Weapon | Slot | Cost (gp) | Attack Bonus | Range 1 2 | Damage | Ammo | HP | AC | Actions Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dual Heavy Crossbows | Medium | 200 | +7 | 100/400 | 2d10 piercing | Crossbow bolts x 2 | 30 | 14 | 2 |
| Light Ballista | Medium | 300 | +6 | 20/120/480 | 3d10 piercing | Bolt (5g/10lbs) | 40 | 15 | 3 |
| Arcane Thumper | Medium | 500 | Special | 20/180/180 | 5d6 piercing, thunder, or fire | Shatterflasks (100 gp/10lbs) | 40 | 15 | 3 |
| Heavy Ballista | Large | 450 | +8 | 20/240/960 | 5d10 piercing | Bolt (5g/10lbs) | 50 | 15 | 4 |
| Arcannon | Large | 600 | +6 | 20/600/2,400 | 8d10 bludgeoning | Bolt (5g/10lbs) | 60 | 18 | 5 |
| Alchemist's Fire Launcher | Large | 800 | Special | 20/200/200 | 5d10 fire | Alchemist's Fire barrel (150gp/20lbs) | 50 | 16 | 4 |
| Dual Arcannons | 2 x Large | 1500 | +8 | 20/800/3,200 | 14d10 bludgeoning | Bolt (5g/10lbs) x2 | 75 | 19 | 6 |
1 If a weapon's range has three numbers, the smallest is the minimum distance at which it can target anything.
2 If a weapon targets something below the slot size category of the weapon, the attack is at disadvantage. Two large slots count as huge.
Weapons
Dual Heavy Crossbows: A pair of heavy crossbows sit in a gimballed mount, ready to make pincushions out of your enemies. Loading is included in the attack action with this weapon.
Light Ballista: A crossbow on a massive scale, this small siege weapon uses heavy steel bolts, requiring an action to load.
Arcane Thumper: A shorter, wider Arcannon, this weapon fires Shatterflasks.
Heavy Ballista: A reinforced and accurized Light Ballista, this is the most common armament for Frigate-class skimmers.
Arcannon: An arcane cannon that uses power from a skimmer's engine to propel heavy rods of cast iron through the air at destructive speeds.
Alchemist's Fire Launcher: A miniaturized catapult which flings barrels of Alchemist's Fire to deadly effect.
Dual Arcannons: Double the fun!
Ammunition
Crossbow Bolts: Standard crossbow bolts per PHP
Bolts: Skimmer bolts. 5gp each, 10lbs each
Shatterflasks: Glass spheres charged with energy. Available in flechette, thunder, or fire damage. 100 gp each, 10 lbs each. Each creature with 20 feet of an exploding shatterflask must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 (type) damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Alchemist's Fire Barrels: Small kegs containing a large quantity of Alchemist's Fire. 150 gp each, 20 lbs each.
Harpoon Bolts: A steel bolt trailing a chain. Can be loaded into ballista or arcannon, but range is halved. 100g/20 lbs.
Any creature/vessel struck by the harpoon becomes attached to the the firing ship. When this weapon hits a skimmer, that vehicle must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or it can’t move away from the attacker. As an action, the attacking skimmer can end this effect, and the target can end it by taking an action and succeeding on a DC 14 Strength check.
Crafting
Liel and her associates have set up shop in a large canvas structure at the south end of Greenbelt. Their artisans produce skimmers for sale to the general public as well as selling Planar Cores and renting space to construct one's own skimmer.
Construction
Skimmer hulls may be built using carpenter's, smith's, tinker's, or any combination of these three toolsets. The cores may not be crafted, only purchased or found as loot.
In order to acquire cores for your vessel, you must pay 500g per core (unless you already possess the required number of cores), then the vessel's cost must be crafted using normal crafting rules. Blueprints are freely available. Faction blueprints must be purchased from the respective faction.
A number of workers equal to the skimmer's upgrade points +1 may concurrently build or work on a skimmer hull at the same time.
Piloting Your Craft
Piloting Skill
Piloting a skimmer can be done by one individual, regardless of the size of the vessel. In order to operate the vessel, a creature must have Vehicles (skimmer) proficiency.
Below are examples of actions you can take while piloting or aiding a pilot of a skimmer.
- Navigation: Cartographer's and Navigator's tools are commonly used with Intelligence and Wisdom in order to plot a travel course.
- Redlining: Pushing your craft beyond 8 hours of travel a day can incur wear on the arcane engine. See below for more information on wear. Wisdom (Skimmer) checks are typically used to avoid wear.
- Captain: Combat is about reacting quickly to changing circumstances, which requires a single voice of authority. One designated Captain can add their Skimmer proficiency bonus to any of the vessel's ability checks.
Variant Skimmer Backgrounds
Any background that grants Vehicle (water or land) proficiency can replace that proficiency with Vehicles (skimmer) instead.
Skimmers in Combat
Whether skimming to war or hunting notorious pirates, skimmers make deadly weapons and dramatic battlefields. This section provides guidance on using skimmers in combat.
Initiative
A skimmer rolls initiative using its Dexterity, and it uses its captain's wisdom ability score bonus as a modifier.
All crew aboard the skimmer act on the vessel's initiative, working to perform the actions available on the skimmer's stat block, unless indicated otherwise at the start of a round.
Actions
A skimmer has a number of actions available each round equal to the number of active crew on the skimmer, which refresh at the start of the skimmer's turn. This specifies what the ship can do on its turn, using its special actions rather than the actions used by creatures. It even relies on its actions to move; it doesn’t have a move otherwise. A given action can be chosen only once during a turn. Components that require more than one action to activate can be used over several turns and will activate once the required number of actions have been spent.
All skimmers have a Move actions, which allow the skimmer to move up to its speed and make one 90-degree turn if it has cores installed, plus actions for any weapons or additional components. See example stat blocks for more details
Example: A basic Corvette with 1 active crew has 1 action available. If the Corvette has a Medium Ballista installed, which requires 3 actions to use, the single crew member will be able to fire it once every three rounds, assuming they only use their actions to operate it.
Ramming (Crashing with style)
What would a fast moving sled of wood and metal be if you could not weaponize it!? Boring.
If a skimmer moves into the space occupied by a creature or an object, the skimmer might crash. A skimmer avoids crashing if the creature or object is at least two sizes smaller than it.
When a skimmer crashes, it must immediately make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes damage to its hull based on the size of the creature or object it crashed into, as shown on the Crash Damage table. It also stops moving if the object or creature is one size smaller than it or larger. Otherwise the skimmer continues moving and the creature or object collided with moves to the nearest unoccupied space that isn’t in the skimmer’s path. At the DM’s discretion, an object that is forced to move but is fixed in place is instead destroyed
A creature struck by a skimmer must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + the ship’s Strength modifier, taking damage based on the skimmer’s size (as shown on the Crash Damage table) on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Crash Damage
| Size | Bludgeoning Damage |
|---|---|
| Small | 1d6 |
| Medium | 1d10 |
| Large | 4d10 |
| Huge | 8d10 |
| Gargantuan | 16d10 |
Travel
Your craft has a cruising speed, which is different from its battle speed. Miles traveled a day is representative of cruising for 8 hours, similar to mounted or on foot travel.
Pushing your craft more than 8 hours a day puts a great strain on the engine, known as Redlining.
Redlining
For each hour you wish to travel beyond 8 hours in a 24 hour period, you must make a DC 15 Wisdom (piloting) check. This DC increases by 1 for each additional hour of travel.
On a failure, your vessel incurs a level of wear, seen on the table below. Wear can be removed with great effort away from civilization, or with investment while in Greenbelt, so be careful.
Wear Levels
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Craft AC reduced by 5 |
| 2 | Cruising and battle speed halved |
| 3 | Disadvantage on piloting checks |
| 4 | Craft maximum HP reduced by 50% |
| 5 | Damage threshold removed |
| 6 | Craft destroyed |
Note: If maximum HP is reduced, the vessel must be repaired once the wear is removed. The HP is not automatically restored.
Maintaining Your Craft
Repairing Wear
Actively Fixing Wear: You may attempt to reduce wear on a vehicle over a 4 hour period with an Intelligence (tinker's tools) check. Due to the delicate nature of the arcane engine, only one individual may attempt this check every 4 hours. Wear reduced based on the table below.
Another creature may aid the attempt, granting advantage on the check, if they are also proficient in tinker's tools.
Passively Fixing Wear: Wear reduces by 2 levels per day in Greenbelt, where skimmer arcanomechanics are available to work on damaged ships. This service costs 50g per level of wear reduced and does not cost downtime.
Repair Rolls
| Tool Roll | Wear levels reduced |
|---|---|
| 15 | 1 |
| 20 | 2 |
| 25 | 3 |
| 30 | 4 |
Repairing Hit Points
Actively Repairing HP: Vessel hit points may be restored as a downtime activity. Due the specialized materials required, repairs to a vessel's hit points may only be done in Greenbelt or another location with adequate supplies and materials.
Carpenter's, smith's, or tinker's tools may be used to repair the vessel, at a cost of 3g in work per missing hit point, using the normal crafting rules.
Passively Repairing HP: Like wear, hit points may be restored by skilled arcanomechanics at a cost of 5g per hit point, up to a maximum number of hit points equal to ten times your level a day. This service does not cost downtime.
Patching Up Your Skimmer: You may patch up your skimmer while away from town, making a DC 15 Smithing, Tinkering, or Carpenter's tools check to add xd10 temporary hit points to the skimmer, where x is equal to the tier of the skimmer.
Skiff
Large vehicle (10 ft. by 5 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 1 crew, 1 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 1,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 5 mph (40 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 11 (+0) 17 (+3) 11 (+0) 0 0 0
- Damage Immunities poison, psychic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned, unconscious
Actions
On its turn, the skiff can take actions choosing from the options below. It can’t take these actions if it has no crew.
Move. The skiff can move using its arcane engine.
Pilot. The Pilot can use their normal action(s) and bonus action.
Hull
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 80 (damage threshold 3)
Arcane Engine
Speed 90
Arcane Cores 1
Move up to the ship’s speed, with one up to 180-degree turn. Without cores, the skiff’s speed is 0.
Corvette
Huge vehicle (With Ballista & Ram) (15 ft. by 10 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 2 crew, 3 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 3,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 6 mph (48 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 0 0 0
- Damage Immunities poison, psychic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned, unconscious
Actions
On its turn, the corvette can take actions choosing from the options below. It can’t take these actions if it has no crew.
Move. The corvette can move using its arcane engine.
Fire ballista. (3 actions) The corvette can fire its ballista.
Hull
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 100 (damage threshold 5)
Arcane Engine
Speed 70
Arcane Cores 1
Move up to the ship’s speed, with one 90-degree turn. Without cores, the corvette’s speed is 0.
Weapon: Light Ballista (3 Actions)
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 50
Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20/120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage.
Iron Ram
Armor Class 20
Hit Points 100 (damage threshold 10)
The skimmer has advantage on all saving throws relating to crashing when it crashes into a creature or object. Any damage it takes from the crash is applied to the naval ram rather than to the ship. These benefits don’t apply if another vessel crashes into the skimmer.
Frigate
Gargantuan vehicle (With Arcannon) (20 ft. by 10 ft.)
- Creature Capacity 4 crew, 6 passenger
- Cargo Capacity 6,000 lbs
- Travel Pace 8 mph (64 miles per day)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 0 0 0
- Damage Immunities poison, psychic
- Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, stunned, unconscious
Actions
On its turn, the frigate can take actions choosing from the options below. It can’t take these actions if it has no crew.
Move. The frigate can move using its arcane engine.
Fire arcannon. (5 actions) The frigate can fire its ballista.
Hull
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 140 (damage threshold 8)
Arcane Engine
Speed 60
Arcane Cores 2
Move up to the ship’s speed, with one 90-degree turn. Without 2 cores, the frigate’s speed is 0.
Weapon: Arcannon (5 actions)
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 60
Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20/600/2,400 ft., one target. Hit: 44 (8d10) piercing damage.