Submarine Vessels
Ships are constrained to the surface of the sea, which in Mythic Europe may be considered limiting. There are many sunken cities and faerie kingdoms waiting to be discovered and rediscovered, and a ship that can plumb the depths of the oceans can reap wealth and rewards undreamt of by mundane sea captains.
Three key effects are required: an effect to plunge the vessel beneath the surface and control its ascent and descent; an effect to ensure the crew can breathe underwater; and finally an effect to sail the undersea currents.
Poseidon's Chariot
ReHe 30
Pen: +0, Unlimited Use
R: Personal, D: Concentration, T: Structure This effect allows the ship to be commanded to sink into the sea, overcoming its natural buoyancy. The enchanted ship maintains concentration on the effect and keeps the ship at the depth specified by the crew. The effect can be canceled and the ship commanded to rise back to the surface.
(Base 3, +1 Concentration, +3 Structure; +5 maintain concentration, +10 Unlimited Use)
Required Lab Total: 1 season (44), 2 seasons (33), 3 seasons (30), 4 seasons (28)
If enchanted in the Hermetic Shipyard, the usual bonuses apply (+10 ships, +1 Rego), as do +5 sailing and +4 to affect dead wood, which both come from the ship itself.
Experimentation may influence the way in which the ship plunges into or rises from the sea, perhaps violently or even dangerously.
The Mermaid's Kiss
ReAq 43
Pen: +0, Unlimited Use
R: Personal, D: Concentration, T: Structure
Triggered by the Poseidon's Chariot effect, this effect wards the ship against the inrushing ocean. The effect protects all below-decks areas and any enclosed parts of the vessel's structure above deck, such as a castle. All doors and hatches are warded, as are any damaged sites that would normally let in water. The open deck, and in particular the mast and the rigging, is not protected by the ward, as this is considered to be on the outside of the structure.
Crew members needing to go up on deck must protect themselves from the ocean and its currents, and submarine ships should be designed and outfitted with this in mind.
The effect is named after the story that a drowning sailor, kissed by a mermaid, gains the ability to breathe water as though it were air.
(Base 5, +1 Concentration, +3 Structure; +10 Unlimited Use, +5 maintain concentration, +3 triggered by Poseidon's Chariot)
Required Lab Total: 1 season (86), 2 seasons (65), 3 seasons (58), 4 seasons (54)
The Hermetic Shipyard provides bonuses of +10 for ships and +1 each for Rego, Aquam, and Auram. As the ship already has one Rego effect invested, a further +1 is gained.
A submarine vessel is likely to have other devices enchanted with similar effects, such as boats that can be launched from the ship while protecting their crew, and helmets with variations of Lungs of the Fish (ArM5, page 122).
Catching the Tidal Winds
ReHe 33
Pen: +0, Unlimited Use
R: Personal, D: Concentration, T: Structure This effect propels the ship through
the water, riding the undersea currents as though the sails had caught a wind. The movement of the ship is controlled by both the rudder and the sails, allowing the crew to sail the ship under water just as they would on it.
As with the previous effect, this effect is activated when the vessel plunges into the sea under the power of Poseidon's Chariot.
(Base 3, +1 Concentration, +3 Structure; +10 unlimited use, +5 maintain concentration, +3 triggered by Poseidon's Chariot)
Required Lab Total: 1 season (66), 2 seasons (50), 3 seasons (44), 4 seasons (42)
The Hermetic Shipyard provides bonuses of +10 for ships and +1 for Rego. The ship itself provides bonuses of +4 to affect dead wood and +5 for sailing. And as the ship has been enchanted with two prior Rego effects, a further +2 is gained.
